Nova Books

You can read one of the three stories. You have to read all three. Nore Roberts is great with Trilogies.

This series is excellent. The story is about three sisters, and what they go through in their lifetime in high society. I really enjoyed all three books in this series. I just finished them, and would recommend them to anyone who likes Nora Roberts. I couldn't wait to finish the last book to see what happened. I am glad I pursued and read all three. I have not read a bad book of Nora Roberts'. She is one of my favorite authors.

This book is about how sisters stick together and it is a very uplifting story. I recommend you check it out and see for yourself.

I have to say I love this book, I could not put it down!!

This book is magnificent. I found myself so encrossed in the story. I am just amazed at how Nora Roberts can make you feel. The romantic scenes with Margo and Josh were so powerful. The passion, desire and love between the two of them was so strong. You could only wish you had that type of love in a lifetime. Bravo Nora you are magnificent.

Good look at the man behind Spock. As someone who is a fan of the show and movies, it was interesting to see the process behind them. Nimoy takes himself a tad too seriously occasionally, but his anecdotes are cleverly told and engaging.

Ask anybody, old, young, family, friend...if he knows about Mr. Spock: the answer will always be yes. Not anybody has seen a Star Trek TV show or movie but anybody knows about Spock the alien. Why?
Why is star Trek the only serie that has become a legend and has been played for more than 40 years, hundreds of episodes with different casts ?
Because of their creator Gene Rodenberry, because its vison of the future and better world was loved by millions of people, because of the unicity of their actors, especially the first ones, responsible of the creation of this worldwide cultural phenomenon.
So it makes sense to read this actor and art director Leonard Nimoy: Mr Spock has a lot to say here and made a great book, with fun, emotion, philosophy and a mine of information about the creator of the serie, the directors, other actors, etc - must read !

Mr. Nimoy, are you Spock, or are you not Spock? You wrote this book and also wrote another book saying the exact opposite. To write a book saying one thing and to write a book that says the exact opposite is NOT LOGICAL!!! Logic, logic, logic. Fascinating. No, how about stupid. Vulcans don't show emotion, so you should not feel insulted by this review, or will you? Since you can't decide if you are Spock or not hahahaha.

Star Trek fans will love this book, and non-fans should like it as well. Many celebrity bio's are so Narcissistic you can't finish. Although there was some ego present here it was not overbearing. The first chapter was slow, but it picked up after that. The conversations between Spock and Nimoy are worth the price even to a modest fan of the original series. There were moments when you felt like you were on the set with him. Which made me feel like going back and re-reading all of the Star Trek novels. He also was kind to others in his industry who at times were rather nasty to him. I feel he is an underated actor. His two seasons on Mission Impossible and his episode on Columbo are worth viewing. I give it four stars.

Well written. Mr. Nimoy remains humble and grateful for the success of the show. I am impressed; the book was an easy and yet extremely interesting read. Coming from the perspective of someone who grew up with the show - I enjoyed the details I never knew. Also, growing up without much financial resources (money) Star Trek -for some reason- gave me hope. May you (Mr. Nimoy) and the rest of the crew - live a long and prosperous live. Thank you for the years. May God bless Scotty.

This was a book club selection. We had not done a mystery and it was a fun, easy book.I enjoyed a few Tony Hillerman's, similar regional mystery novel idea. I had noticed that the author had a following and decided to try it. I did enjoy it. A multi-layered novel with multiple story lines that end up merging in unexpected ways. The criminal elements were a little transparent and predictable (I won't spoil anything by expanding on that). My parents are from Appalachia. This aspect of the writing I found to be top notch. She knows the subject, she writes from the heart. Appalachians are discriminated against and pre-judged ruthlessly and without criticism because it is not a particular race. The "ignorant hillbilly" slur has existed as long as most degrading slurs, and is condoned by the media and our society. Sharyn McCrumb gives her readers a glimpse into a complicated, sometimes closed culture that has many beautiful aspects to it. The religion, the customs, the loyalty, and the unique music are both interesting and mysterious. More importantly, these 1st, 2nd and now 3rd generation Americans helped build this country. From the anti-establishment bootleggers to the mine wars of the 1920's, it is a culture rich with history,tradition, scandal, and tears. Not to be overlooked. Bravo to Sharyn McCrumb.

This novel makes such a strong statement about the destruction of a culture and its environment through the use of mystery, suspense and well-drawn characters. It also questions conventional perceptions of heroes and villains and thus revises the myths that the author is drawing on. That's what makes it so brilliant. She Walks These Hills in the best book I've ever seen from Sharyn McCrumb. I am in awe of her achievement.

Any book that Sharyn McCrumb writes is going to be an excellent read. Grab a cuppa "joe" or tea, put your feet up and enjoy! Just be sure you have plenty of time because once you start, you are going to want to finish at one reading. My Grandmother was gifted with "The Sight" and my mother is also gifted with "The Sight" and so I always enjoy the books that include "Rattler" and "Nora".

After a hard week of Reality, She Walks These Hills is a rare treat. McCrumb's ability to take one away from the concerns and intricacies of one's own day-to-day life is astounding.

She encourages all five of your senses to participate...her characters become your friends and the mystery and history of the Appalachians become part of your own past for a short time. You root for the good guy, boo the bad guy and in the end, can rest easy knowing that everything worked out the way it was supposed to.

SHE WALKS THESE HILLS by Sharyn McCrumb draws you deep into the culture of the Tennessee mountain county. Nora Bonesteel has the sight and she sees many things before they happen. It is not a comfortable, life but Nora has learned to live with it.
An urban graduate student, Jeremy Cobb begins a backpack trip into Nora'S mountains to trace the paths of Katie Wyler who was captured by the Shawnee. Jeremy isn't equipped to walk the hills and abandons his meager supplies as he fights to survive until he can reach help. The spirit of Katie walks to same path.
Hiram Sorley has escaped from prison and is also making his way home. His status as a local folk hero impedes Sheriff Spencer Arrowood in his search. All parties both living and dead travel paths where no man can follow in the complex novel.
A story that will stay with you for a long time.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHRS.

---Lullaby Town is the third in Robert Crais' Elvis Cole series and considerably better than the first two.
I have been reading the series in order after hearing about Crais. The Monkey's Raincoat, the Cole debut, spent a lot of time convincing us how cool Elvis is, and offered a plot that often stretched credibility.
But it was good enough to invest in the sequel, Stalking The Angel. That was better, not so silly, but still offered an unlikely plot.
But Crais seems to hit stride with Lullaby Town. The plot still stretches a bit, maybe more than a bit, but the action is taut, the character of Cole a bit more realistic and the writing snappy and crisp.
Next up for me is Free Fall. I can't wait.
If Crais keeps improving, he may turn out the most memorable private eye series since Ross MacDonald's magnificent Lew Archer books back in the 60s and 70s.

Robert Crais always holds my attention. I usually can't wait for his next book. I started reading Crais about 7 months ago. I ordered most of his other books. I tell anyone who likes mystery and suspense to read his books. RWH

Lullaby Town is a fast pace book on a father's search for his son. In comes Elvis Cole who is honest, yet blunt and to the point with a funny and smart-alec side to him. Elvis' job is to find the son of a Hollywood film director. Elvis finds the son in a short period of time but finds that the child's mother in a situation over her head. Instead of calling the film director to let him know his son has been found Elvis decides to help the mother out first remedy the problem so to speak. This decision finds Elvis' problems growing. The story intensifies. Now in hot water with the film director, as well as finding out that the mother is involved with the mob. Now his plan is to get the child's mother out of the mob, and bring the film director and his son together. Can Elvis pull it off. The book has a lot to offer. Read it and find out for yourself.

When you read a book with 320 or so pages and the thrilling part is written in less than 150 is a waste of time no-matter how good is the thrilling part.

LULLABY TOWN is the third entry in Robert Crais's "Elvis Cole" series about a LA Private Eye. I'm currently reading this series in order, and this novel is the most enjoyable of the three I've read.

The plot of LULLABY TOWN, which involves Cole taking on the mafia in a small Connecticut town, is borderline ridiculous, but it's still good fun. Crais takes a bit more time here in developing the story, and the storyline of this novel seemed to flow better than the prior two installments. The dialogue in LULLABY TOWN is quite humourous and sharp, better than almost any PI author in print. After reading this book, I can see why Crais became a superstar of the genre.

It is pretty clear that these early Cole novels are highly influenced by Robert Parker's Spenser series. This is not necessarily an insult, since the early Spenser books are some of the best genre writing available to modern readers. Still, my problem with Crais is that his early work strikes me as heavily derivative of another author's style, which means that it lacks the freshness and originality that are required for truly great fiction. Crais seems to feel comfortable following a formula, but I wish he would take more chances with his talent.

Overall, though, LULLABY TOWN is a very solid read, and I look forward to reading more novels in this series.

Ceremony in Death gives us a far deeper look into Peabody, Eve's aide. She starts to loosen up more around Eve, showing us some of her wisecracking self. We get to see some of the ways in which her 'Free-Ager' family has affected her, and we see some of the occult scene through her eyes and experience. We also delve into something that hasn't really been explored in the series yet: the question of psychic abilities, which, although not universally accepted, have apparently been studied and, to some extent, measured in this future time.

The question of identity as a tug-of-war between genetics, family influence, and self-determination is continued in this book (it's a powerful motif in the series). Peabody might seem the opposite of her Free-Ager family on the surface, but she isn't entirely. Roarke seems the epitome of the smooth businessman, but he still possesses the dark strength of his street upbringing. Eve still wonders if her father's brutality might express itself through her, and she finds this fear reflected in one of her suspects, a man she thinks may have taken up his father's love of ritualistic murder.

The 'white witches' are an interesting bunch, with some fascinating characters among them. They almost make up for the Satanists, who are a one-dimensional band of lunatics and hedonists. Those flat characters are pretty much the book's one flaw. On the other hand, sometimes you need a good old-fashioned lunatic when enjoying a deliberately melodramatic detective series, so this isn't a large flaw.

Adult material warning: we have our usual Eve/Roarke sizzling sex, but there's also some darker sexual matter in this plot that some might be uncomfortable with.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas may be facing one of the toughest investigations of her career. As Ceremony in Death opens, Eve is attending the funeral of colleague Frank Wojinski. Friends and family are distraught over the kind natured cop's death. Frank's mysterious granddaughter, Alice, slips a note into Eve's pocket indicating she is in danger, and Eve realizes she is being watched.

Alice reveals to Eve she is partly responsible for her grandfather's death. During her involvement with a local Satanic cult, she was witness to the ritual sacrifice of a child. Abused, raped, and tormented by what she had seen, Alice fled to the safety of a Wiccan coven and cut ties with Selena and her followers. Selena was not so eager to let Alice go, however. Believing that Selena was trying to silence her, Alice confided to her grandfather, who launched his own private investigation into Selena's sinister cult. Shortly after, Frank was dead.

All of this hocus pocus stuff is a little more than the logical, grounded Eve wants to entertain. But the more involved in the case she becomes, she discovers those close to her may have their own magical tendencies. And if Alice really did witness the murder of a child, she has every reason to fear Selena Cross, superstitions aside.

Robb keeps the reader in suspense, never quite knowing what is magic and what is trickery. The book closes with the reader still in doubt as to the spell casters' authenticity. Though it delves into some controversial theologies, it isn't a philosophical journey--it's a crime drama. Robb clearly delineates the line between good and evil.

Ceremony in Death is the fifth "In Death" book in a series of over thirty, with several to be released in 2008. The characters frequently reminisce about events that occurred in previous novels, and these mini flashbacks serve as excellent teasers. There is just enough information to build the reader's interest without confusion. It is the type of series that can be taken up at any point, but after the first book, Lieutenant Eve Dallas will become a regular in the reading queue.

The novel flows at a good pace, tying up all loose ends. The true killer isn't evident until the last scene, which keeps the suspense high. There are many points where the author could have fallen into proselytizing for one side or the other, which she avoided, making the story appeal to a wider audience. This is an impressive novel for such a "mass produced" author.

Another winner in the "...IN DEATH" series, CEREMONY IN DEATH finds Eve Dallas dealing with things that mere science can't explain. Although Dallas believes that evil comes in the form of men, you'll get a little surprise when you find out exactly how other characters from the series, including Roarke and Dr. Mira, feel about it.

Another great read, with high emotion, action, suspense, and romance.

This is an awesome series!

one of many in the eve dallas series. good prmise but draggy at times

I love this series... you must read it to understand. It's all about a homicide detective named Lt. Eve Dallas and how she goes about solving a case which always seems imposibble to solve at first.

"Justice" by Faye Kellerman, ©1995

"Justice" is an older story by Mrs. Kellerman. I have read stories by her that come after this, judging by the occupation and situations Peter Decker is in.
He is a detective investigating a homicide at a hotel after a prom dance. His main candidate for doing the deed is a nephew or adopted son of a Mafia kingpin from New York. The tragedy is that others get caught up and become so much trash on the way to a conviction. The bugaboo is that the fellow is not really the doer, and the doer is not necessarily the killer, because of drugs and what not. It becomes a sad dance of retribution nobody wins and the dead stay dead.

The book's story has its ups and downs as many books. It has the family story and the thrilling story but you'll be interested in both because neither one is boring. The end is like waking-up from a nightmare but it won't desappoint you. You'll have a good time reading this book.

This book, in my opinion, is the best of all Kellerman's. It's gripping and compelling and you just can't put it down... Also, Chris Whitman is indescribable: you fall for him despite everything and this is what's so scary. You know deep down that he is reeeeaaaaly bad but you can't help hoping for him to some how turn out good...
To find out more about him and Terry you should read Stone Kiss.

Having read this book I still don't know what the main theme was. Is it a love story, a crime novel which follows a serial killer, a disturbing look on how teens spend their time on prom night, an inside look into a mafia family, or just a chilling detective story?

Nevermind, it's up to detective Peter Decker to unravel the complex murder of a girl that was strangled on prom night. There is a nice balance between action and suspense(multiple murders) and the private life of Peter Decker when he talks to his wife Rina Lazarus about his hard and difficult life as a LAPD detective. This gives us a little time to relax, before the suspense starts all over again.

Faye Kellerman is also great in describing Jewish rituals, which is interesting if you don't know anything about the Jewish religion. Another case for Peter Decker to solve, hopefully many will follow !

i enjoyed this book,it was okay it had interesting twists.... i figured most of them out which was a bit of a dissapointment but other that it was good. I liked how she connected religon racism and what was it called before... police politics... yeah thats it its all connected in there. and i wish there was a lil openin to ter and chris but i guess thats the mystery of it.

Eve and her rich fiance Roarke are about to get married, but that doesn't mean all is puppies and rainbows. Mavis, Eve's best friend, talks Eve into using Mavis's new fashion maven boyfriend as her wedding dress designer, but dear Leonardo turns out to be the start of Eve's latest case. Or rather, his ex-lover (a famous model) is, when she turns up dead in Leonardo's flat after an argument, and Mavis is found unconscious near the body, her fingerprints on the murder weapon.

Once again Eve finds herself trying to walk a fine line between her duty as a cop and her loyalty to the people she cares about. She sets off into a world of models and actors, business and crime, drugs and beauty. At stake is nothing less than immortality---or rather, Immortality, a new drug that promises youth, beauty, energy, power.

While Eve and Roarke's relationship still sizzles, there's a bit more attention paid this time to the difficulties of trying to deal with something as big as marriage when two such headstrong loners are involved. Eve's childhood memories also rear up to smack her full-out this time, and the reader isn't spared any details. The things that happened to her as a child were horrific, and not everyone will feel comfortable reading about them, even though they're handled in a non-prurient and non-sensationalistic manner.

This mystery kept me guessing much longer than the previous one, which I very much enjoyed. There was plenty of misdirection and guilt to go around, confounding the guessing game beautifully. I love Roberts's heady mix of futurism, mystery, romance, mild erotica, and sharp personalities.

I am a HUGE Nora Roberts/JD ROBB fan and all of the "in death" books are soo great, cant read them fast enough! Eve Dallas is the best! The romance with Roarke is HOT HOT HOT!!!

Immortal in Death (In Death, Book 3) In this exciting third book on tape. Susan Ericksen brings the characters to life once again. Eve's about to get married but a murder gets in the way, will Eve and Rourke get hitched or not? We find out more about Dallas' past and we find out that there is rivalry in the different divisions. It was well worth the price of the audiobook.

I love this series... you must read it to understand. It's all about a homicide detective named Lt. Eve Dallas and how she goes about solving a case which always seems imposibble to solve at first.

This time around, Eve Dallas catches a case that has her professional life merging with her personal one.

When her friend Mavis is accused of murdering the former lover of her boyfriend, Dallas finds it difficult to gain enough facts to exonerate her -- especially since all of the evidence is pointing directly towards Mavis. Leonardo, Mavis' new love, has been hired to create Eve's wedding gown, but things turn ugly when Pandora, a high-class, world-renowned model and his former lover, turns up dead in his studio.

As Eve works to clear Mavis, things get worse when more people associated with Pandora start dying, and at the center is a new drug called Immortality.

This is another winner in the "...IN DEATH" series, and you'll do well to pick up a copy -- and read the series from the beginning!

O'Connell has created a book that is both original and incredibly fascinating. I read this book in under four hours at one sitting simply because I couldn't put it down. Mallory (main character) might be on the verge of being a sociopath, but at the same time evolves as a character by not outright killing the bad guys in the end (at least most of them). But the uniqueness of this book doesn't lie in just the creation of a deeply flawed and borderline sociopath lead-all the characters are some of the most complex and colorful people to be written about in any book, period.

O'Connell is a master at using seemingly insignificant details and phrases to describe places and people that make them unforgettable. She has a way of writing whole paragraphs that should lead up to a predictable conclusion-but then in the last sentence floors the reader with a different perspective. (Usually Mallory's rather illegal or sociopath views) This makes for some of the most humorous and thought provoking material that I've read in a long time. O'Connell is simply at the top of her game here, making this book, in my opinion, much better than the previous three books in the Mallory series due to tighter editing, a more emotionally involved plot, and an insane setting.

The detail of Mallory's name at the end of the book completely shocked me. It showed that O'Connell has either planned out this book from the very beginning of the series, or simply is a master writer. Everything about this book is incredible-from the autistic piano player with broken hands and the old dog waiting for his owner to the haunting stone angels in the cemetery and a mischievous old lady who lets her mansion go to ruin. In short, incredible.

If only Mallory could be a smidge, just a smidge, more human this book could have gone from 'interesting' to 'riveting'. In my opinion, its the humanity behind the mask that make 'troubled' fictional characters fascinating. Otherwise they are just kind of mean people, who aren't so interesting. We do seem some redeeming traits in Mallory but more would have been better.

Overall a fairly solid mystery, a little much at the end I thought but if you like a 'big ending' then this book is for you. I liked the element of small town secrecy and long buried secrets. The writing itself was solid, good dialogue, descriptions, etc. It did wander into stereotype land a few times (I got, by the 16th time it was mentioned, that Charles is a Devoted Sidekick who would do anything for Mallory, that Lilith was a Rookie Cop and Mallory was oh-so-much savvier than her, and that Mallory is Cooler than Cool in her gunslinger outfit). Overall, for me, it bordered on being great but in the end was more 'good'.

It was all right but could have been better. Too much Charles, not enough Mallory and I think a little more of her past relationship with her mother and may be a hint of a future story about who her father is. In my opinion it could have been much better.

A touch of gullibility in the reader is needed to admire Mallory right out of the box. But this reader is perfectly willing to be treated like a child in the interests of a truly good read. If you don't enjoy this one, you'd better swear off Mallory; she doesn't get much better than here.

Stone Angel by Carol O'Connell is the fourth in her Kathy Mallory mystery series and one of her strongest books yet.

At the end of book three, NYPD detective Kathy Mallory fled NYC without telling a soul and leaving her job and friends behind. Friend Charles Butler sees a newspaper photograph of a stone angel grave marker that looks like just Mallory. He travels to the bayou town of Dayborn, Louisiana to investigate. Mallory's partner, Detective Riker, is not far behind. Not only does Charles find Mallory, but she's being held in jail as a material witness to a murder. When Mallory was seven, her mother was stoned to death by a mob of 27 townspeople. The crime remains unsolved and not one person has ever been charged. Butler and Riker suspect that Mallory has returned to her hometown to seek revenge.

The characters in Stone Angel would make Tennessee Williams proud. They include an autistic savant, an evangelist tent preacher, a mute sculptor, and an eccentric woman who is letting her mansion crumble around her to become a bird sanctuary. As with any southern-style novel, there are lots of secrets, gossip and high drama as well as a dash of alcohol and good food. We learn more about Mallory's past in the first chapter than in the first three books combined. She is determined to solve this seventeen year old crime despite a wall of silence.

Two aspects of Stone Angel kept me from giving it five stars. First, O'Connell's characters are just a little too over the top (especially regular Charles Butler). But I forgive O'Connell this fault because her writing is so good. Second, this is the third mystery that I've read recently where the main character (cop or private eye) goes back to investigate the unsolved murder of their mother. I encountered the same theme with Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch series) and James Lee Burke (Dave Robicheaux series). Despite these faults, I still really enjoy O'Connell and the Mallory series.

Interesting perspective in this murder and subsequent trial. Marty Kalish, an investment banker in love with a married woman, pleads guilty to the murder of the woman's husband... he was at the scene of the crime, he had a motive and he manipulated the evidence to hide his guilt. He confessed. But WHAT is he confessing to, what is he really guilty of, and what DID HAPPEN the night of the murder. The narrator is Marty and the story is told from his perspective, but the author keeps you guessing right up to the end of the trial and the book.

Awesome book. One of the most unique in terms of plot and viewpoint I've ever read. Great stuff.

I rate this novel 3.5 stars. Let me start by saying I really enjoyed reading this first effort by David Ellis. The courtroom scenes were riveting. I enjoyed the plot as well as the fleshed out characters. Maybe the author set a pretty high standard which made it more disappointing for this reader when things went horribly wrong with the messy ending that was wrapped with a bow for the reader at the very end. Most of the story was extremely well written with all the details threaded throughout. One scene in particular highlights the highs and lows I found while reading. (SPOILER ALERT) The unidentified first person narrative that pops up during trial that tells us it is a 15 year old boy trailing a married man meeting Rachel. He is amazed at their public displays of affection. At first reading I was perplexed, what is this? Is this boy the character who has been providing the italicized narration in the novel? Well that would change things...... at the end, I realized this was a one time narrative and the person who obtained the video and audio of Rachel' secret lover for the private detective on behalf of Marty Kalish. The audio contained very adult sexual content for anyone to hear, let alone a 15 year old boy! How cleverly the author has laid the ground work for the unethical behavior of the private detective at the end and makes his behavior before vacationing in the islands very believeable. However, if this secret couple wasn't that careful, how did they escape detection? Rachel was extremely careful with Marty to make sure NO ONE ever knew about them so why so cavalier about Rudy? I paid no mind to minor incidents like this until and the major one discovered only upon finishing the novel. It opens with Marty waking up in a sweat after the murder, recollecting how poor Rachel was unconscious when he left her and worries about her. We find out this is blantantly untrue. Why would Marty lie to himself when he's thinking things through? It is only there to mislead the reader and I did not like that one bit and it left me feeling cheated. Also, the author certainly knew his stuff when writing about the trial but then why in the world would he have the DA's office continue the prosection of Marty after he cleverly frames Rudy near the end of his own trial? The Police now have a lot of PHYSICAL evidence against Rudy for the murder of Rachel's husband. They only have circumstantial evidence against Marty and their star witness' creditability has just been blown away by super defense attorney Paul. This makes no sense whatsoever except to provide a tidy ending. This would not happen in the real world and the author should know this being an attorney himself by trade. Then to have Rudy be brought to trail after Marty is found not guilty by the jury, only to also be acquitted after Marty makes a deal with him is incredible. In exchange for information from Rudy about himself and Rachel, Marty will testify for Rudy at his trail by claiming the fifth when asked about the murder. To top it all off, Rachel escapes the risk of her immunity being nullified by her blatant perjury. Holy soap opera! Of course the whole story is recapped for us by Marty as he tells his friend Jerry Lazarus everything, just in case the reader didn't get it? But the worst infraction, in my view, was Marty's reconciliation with his mother's memory after the whole thing was over. He reflects to himself that having gone through this experience, it has taught him that you never know what a married woman is feeling and that one should be more empathic. What!?! His mother cheated on his saintly father throughout his childhood by his own recollections and his affair with a married woman proved her to be manipulative and cruel. Marty mentions he always thought his mother's affairs were sexual and now he realizes they were emotional. What part of using you for a sacrifical lamb to cover her other affair did Marty not understand? Or finding out that the real object of Rachel's exhibitionist strip tease was that other man and the fact she knew Marty was watching too only played into her own twisted plans? This is emotion you don't want, trust me, and in no way fits with the Hallmark moment as written. This ending was so wrong on so many counts that it ruined an otherwise excellent read. Still, this book is better then most offerings out there. This author knows how to write a good story and I look forward to reading more from David Ellis.

If you're seeking a legal thriller that's not the same old standard plot line and cliched characters - this is it. An enjoyable read, as good as any Grisham.

This is a different kind of thriller that starts out fast, slows greatly in the middle, then picks up to a huge end. Marty is a person who seems to like to hang out on the outside of Rachel Rheinhart's house and look in the window. One night while doing this he witnesses Rachel's husband striking her and then tearing at her clothes. This causes him to break into the house, struggle with the husband and apparently kill him with a gun, then drag out his body and dispose of it and the gun.

What enfolds is that Marty apparently was involved with Rachel and was coming to her defense. He has no idea what she will tell the police and for a few weeks they think that the husband was kidnapped and then realize that the husband was probably murdered (since there is no ransom demand and they had found a lot of the husband's blood at the crime scene).

During this time, Marty sets up an alibi that puts him at work during the murder. Eventually the police suspect Marty of the murder and arrest him when he appears to have confessed to it. What follows if Marty's trial while a lot of apparent shady things seem to be happening with Marty and a special investigator he has hired.

The book is full of twists and turns throughout and you are never quite sure what happened until the very last page and even then there are some serious open questions. I liked the book a lot and would have given it five stars had not some of the explanations given not seemed so unbelievable.

I liked this book very much. Granted the plot is a little different but the way it's written is beautiful. There are so many quotes I could pull that are just magnificent. All together it's a pretty good book and didn't end at all like I thought it would.

I read this book several years ago and loved it. I bought it just to read again and it was just as good the second time. The writer explores relationships from a man and womans perspective and reflects on how our childhood really affects our choices in relationships. Easy read, very easy to transform yourself to the coast of Africa and to the Islands and watch the story unfold.

This book paints the story of a brilliant but realistically flawed protagonist (Solomon), cycling through seasons of living with a Carribean wife, a Ghanaian wife, and a woman in New York City who abstains from commitment for ten years because she is secretly in love with him. Being an American man, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the blind devotion of the three women towards a character who isn't convincingly charming in anything other than description.

The book does take too long developing, with no real plot until about halfway in. However, this book begins to become compelling once Solomon breaks his seasonal pattern and is forced to confront his polygamy, which is only acceptable in the Ghanaian culture but in practice not satisfying to anyone. It's hard to sympathize with Solomon, who, despite his professional significance as a writer bridging multiple cultures, is utterly flaky, selfish, and irresponsible in his treatment of women. But this is a realistic and cross-cultural look at what makes committed relationships work.

I read this book years ago, I have since read it several times over; I don't usually re-read novel. This one is like a favorite movie. My only problem is that she has not written another book. I love the story and her style of writing.

I read this book for the first time 6 years ago. I enjoyed it so much that I have been waiting with bated breath for Ms. Busia to write another book. I suggested Beento Blackbird for my book club and recently re-read it. It was even better the second time around. This is on my top 10 list of all time favorite books.

Ms. Busia is a very gifted writer and story teller. The way she linked the Carribean, Africa and the United States through the experiences of one man (Solomon) was masterful. The thing that most impressed me about the book was that she dared to tackle a "taboo" subject, polygamy, and did it in such a manner as to not put off the reader. As an American woman, my instinctual response to Solomon would be to dislike him and write him off as a cad. And, to some extent, I feel that he was a cad. However, I was still able to care about him and empathize with him. I also liked how she presented the subject matter from the point of view of the wives, Miriam and Ashia. I was able to understand their motives and why they made the decisions they made, whether or not I agreed with those decisions.

Another thing I liked is that all three main characters were strong. Even in times of weakness, you could still feel their strength. Neither character sold themselves out. I respected them. By the same token, the author's character development was so complete that even the peripheral characters were significant and I was able to see their importance to the story.

Her prose is very lyrical and descriptive. I felt transported to the Carribean and Ghana. I could feel the breeze from the ocean, I could smell and taste the foods, I could see the people and their activities, I could hear the music, the language... I was completely enthralled. I love when a book takes me to another place and I feel as if I am walking right beside the characters as they are living their stories. This book does that for me. Some members of my book club commented that she was a bit too "wordy" in the beginning (I did not feel this way), but were glad they "stuck it out" as the story unfolded and they enjoyed the rest of the book.

I also like that the ending provides closure. You are fairly certain of the fates of the characters and not left "hanging."
Nevertheless, Ms. Busia, I'm still holding my breath, waiting on another novel from you. How long before I can finally "exhale?" ;-)