Nova Books

Luanne Rice's Follow the Stars Home is the story of Dianne Robbins, a single mother in New England trying to raise her special needs daughter Julia, who has spina bifida and Rett Syndrome (an autism-like disorder that results in gradual loss of speech, hand-wringing, loss of muscle tone, and seizures). Dianne's fisherman husband Tim McIntosh walked out on her shortly after finding out that their unborn baby would be born with genetic abnormalities, and Dianne, with her mother's help, has been raising Julia for the last eleven years. Dianne is a carpenter who builds elaborate wooden playhouses, allowing her to work from home and keep an eye on Julia's many needs (feeding, diaper changing, digestive upsets, etc.).

Tim's pediatrician brother Alan is Julia's primary physician, rushing over at each and every (frequent) medical crisis. He also happens to have dated Dianne before his brother Tim rushed to marry her, and Dianne carries a lot of baggage concerning her hatred of Tim for abandoning her and Julia. Even though Alan has been in love with Dianne for the past twelve years, her own deep emotional scars from Tim's abandonment and physical exhaustion from being the sole caretaker for Julia keep her from recognizing and reciprocating Alan's love.

Dianne's mother Lucinda is a legendary local librarian who is deeply troubled by Dianne's refusal of Alan, and when Amy, a young girl from an abusive home, becomes a mother's helper for Dianne, Lucinda finds many parallels between her own turbulent youth in an orphanage, and Amy's home life (Amy's barely-functioning depressed mother and her mother's physically abusive live-in boyfriend Buddy). Lucinda's favorite novel is Anne of Green Gables, and the novel plays a central role in Follow the Stars Home as an inspiration for both Lucinda and Amy (orphaned girl with a vivid imagination discovers the power of writing).

Much of the story revolves around the healing process as Dianne struggles to come to grips with Alan's deep love for both her and Julia (he was present at Julia's birth), being a "second mother" to Amy when Amy is taken out of her home by Child Protective Services (Dianne fantasizes about Amy as the child she would have had if Julia had been born without birth defects), the reality of Julia's rapid physical and neurological decline, and a final confrontation with Tim. The final poignant chapter is written in the first person by a previously unheard-from central character, and provided a fresh look at the many stories contained in the book.

The most startling storyline is revealed in tense fragments, with tantalizingly brief shards of the present traumatic event opening the story before whirring back into Dianne's past. Rice's storytelling is deliciously paced, full of small nuances and everyday detail that really lend her characters much more depth than was allotted to them in the faithful Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation Follow the Stars Home. This was my first novel by Luanne Rice, and based on my enjoyment of it, I look forward to reading more of her work.

On the front cover of my copy, it has a little blurb about what this book is about: "A novel of mothers, daughters and the courage to love again from one of today's most cherished authors." I don't think I have read many of Luanne Rice's books, though I do know of a few people who really adore her books. Because of their recommendations, I picked this one up at a garage sale over the summer and finally got around to reading this past week.

It is a novel of mothers and daughters and the courage to love again. It is beautifully written and very sentimental. It is about a woman, Dianne, who was abandoned by her husband before her daughter was born. Her daughter, Julia, was born with a lot of birth defects and was a life-time job of care-taking. It is beautifully written about her love for her daughter. It is also about Dianne's mother, Lucinda, who is always there for Dianne. It is also about a young girl who came into all their lives because she lives in a bad home. It is about all of them. It is also a romance between Dianne and her brother-in-law, Alan, who really inspired the definition of sticking through thick and thin for the last eleven years.

It is a beautiful story ~~ almost too sweet in some spots. It is compelling though since I couldn't stop reading it. It's perfect reading for those dreary winter days when it's too yucky to go outside to do anything. So curl up with this book and enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon escaping into the world of Dianne and her family.

1-14-07

Dianne Robbins has been a single mom ever since the day she learned the child she was carrying would be born with serious defects. Still, she's made the best of things, and created a loving home with her mother for 11-year-old Julia. Her ex-husband's brother Alan -- Julia's physician -- has always been there for them as well.

Meanwhile, local 12-year-old Amy Brooks is also feeling alone. Her mother Tess, depressed since the death of Amy's father, allows an abusive boyfriend to live in the family's home, neglecting and mistreating her young daughter. Amy flees to her longtime doctor...who in turn connects her with his sister-in-law and niece.

Upon first meeting, Amy is instantly bonded with Julia and Dianne. Unlike many others, she isn't the least bit put off by Julia's defects. Amy quickly falls into a routine, visiting the two after school and on weekends. Not only does she help Dianne take care of her daughter, but Amy also finds family and friendship for the first time.

Others, however, are not so content to let her do that. The anger of Amy's mother's boyfriend continues to grow, and if it's unleased upon the girl, it could prove fatal. In addition, Julia's health continues to prove problematic; and even though Dianne has been expecting precisely that for the past eleven years, the possibility of losing the one person she has truly loved is devastating.

Utterly Compelling.
Poignant and achingly beautiful prose.
Heart renderingly bittersweet, and yet so uplifting.
What an amazing journey Luanne Rice leads us through.
There really are no leads in this book. She writes the
story with such even-handedness. Each character fully realized, including a cat and a dog.
There are several love stories here.
Man and Woman.
Mother and child. Father and daughter.
And friends of the heart.
Her ever so gentle portrait of the love of a family for a severely disabled child is stunning. Reading about
the child's physical problems and the care she requires is not depressing. It is inspirational.
Another child has problems other than medical. I loved her character. Anne of Green Gables is mentioned as a favorite book
of one of the characters. This book has the same gossamer quality of happy-healing-loving warmth.
Just a downright beautifully written, perfectly realized story.

The most impressive thing about Luanne Rice's writing lies in her ability to tell a lovely, poignant story using characters you feel you have met somewhere before. In "Follow the Stars Home," a realistic human situation provides the opportunity for the author to take a look at love from several perspectives.

Dianne Robbins, initially attracted to Alan, a charming and upstanding young doctor, is wooed away by his brother, Tim, who is battling his own personal demons. Dianne falls into the common trap of thinking she can save a man by marrying and loving him and chooses Tim over Alan. Tim ends up breaking her heart by leaving her pregnant with their severely handicapped child. Wary of men, she spends the next eleven years lavishing her tremendous capacity to love on her handicapped daughter, Julia. All this time, Alan, who has secretly loved her, has maintained a steadfast devotion to Dianne and Julia and has become their guardian angel.

In an effort to help both Diane and Amy, a troubled young girl, Alan brings Amy into Diane's life to assist with Julia. This placement ends up being positive for everyone involved and allows the author to explore another facet of the healing power of love. I found this story beautiful and honest and not sappy at all until the author decided to write that atrocious ending.

This brings me to my criticisms of this book, mostly in the area of mechanics:

Luanne Rice doesn't appear to trust her readers' intelligence. This is the only reason I can think of that she would repeat descriptions almost verbatim throughout her book. This is terribly annoying and distracts from the story. How much more satisfying to read a description ONCE then be shown in the remainder of the book how these initial descriptions affect the behavior and/or perceptions of this character by others.

I have seen this next problem in other well-known authors--Research. What is wrong with basic research? The constellation Orion figures heavily in this book. It would seem to me that with a couple of clicks of the mouse on the Internet, she could manage to find out that Stella the cat could not be sitting at a window looking up at Orion in the summer as Orion is visible at night in North America only between December and March.

My biggest problem, however, is with the ending. It was designed to preach at us--making certain we understand once and for all that Julia is a fully sentient human being. Rice did a far, far better job with this objective by developing it slowly over the course of the book. We see Julia through Amy's eyes. Despite her rough edges, Amy is kind and caring and not willing to accept the limitations even Diane sees in her daughter. Diane's love for her daughter is tenderness bordering on desperation. Amy, however, helps us to validate Julia as a fully realized person because she validates her. We did not need the spiel at the end. It did not tie up any loose ends since nearly all of the information had been given out earlier and Julia's comments do nothing to assure us of Amy and Diane's full recovery or the fate of Amy's mother, which would be new information at this point. It would have been much easier to swallow this tell-not-show summary if it was written as Julia's reminiscences of perhaps a year later following the patients' recovery and the subsequent wedding and life in the new house. This is a great story not managed as well as it could have been, but still worth reading.

This was one of the worst books I've ever read. The only one worse is its sequel. Why did I read them then? Because I saw the movie and was dissatisfied with the ambiguous ending. My husband and I both wanted to know whether "prot" was or wasn't an alien. Otherwise, I'd have never subjected myself to such pulpy drivel. This is awful. The author can't maintain a consistent direction. He doesn't appear to have any idea where the story is going, he just writes it as it pops into his head. He has done a pathetic job researching mental illness, and he creates unrealistic sub-characters and situations. Why this book was made into a movie, I'll never know, but to the credit of the filmmakers, they did a much better job telling the story. Definitely a case where the film is far better (though not great) than the book.

The book's basic story is excellent but poorly executed. It is preachy, contains unnecessary asides and is altogether un-interesting and uncreative. The makers of the movie, on the other hand, took the book's concept and created a wonderfully engrossing and powerful story. Thank you Hollywood for creating a terrific movie out of a poorly written book.

Gene Brewer's novel was highly intelligent while at the same time never failing to entertain. I didn't read his three novels until after seeing the movie of the same title, and found, as is usually the case, the book to be so much better. I couldn't put the book down until the last page, only to find that the story wasn't over. If you read this, you will want to take the entire journey. What a ride! Thank you, Dr. Brewer!

When a friend first recommended this book to me, I was a bit apprehensive at what I deemed was a typical alien conspiracy book. Admittedly, the first couple of chapters are kind of dull, but gene brewer soon gets over a rough start to develop an enthralling and thought-provoking story

The structure of the book is its strength. The book is essentially little more than a collection of the transcripts of psychiatric seesions dr. brewer has had with "prot". However, within this simple framework, brewer manages to flesh out characters, family, suspense and plot.

At the start, its easy to believe that prot is really the alien he claims to be, with his unusual ways and encyclopeadic knowledge of the universe. However, the introduction of an investigative journalist serves to strengthen the case for prpt being a human with a terrible past. the book becomes extremely interesting as prot's fascinatingly charming character and mysterious background are systematically developed. the other mental patients also provide fitting emotional accompaniment to showcase prot's mysterious ways

This book is an intriguing and enjoyable read thanks to brewer's clever character interactions and witty humour that serve to uplift an already scintillating exploration of the world of two very different men.

I was first introduced to K-PAX when I saw the movie as few years ago. Right away I was hooked by the movie. The book brings you into a world that is not here or there. Is he (Prot/ Robert Porter) an Alien or just another mentally ill earthling who has a acute knowledge of science? This book was truly fascinating. I can't tell if this is a Science Fiction novel of a medical thriller.

All I know is that I could not put his book down, and I would have to give it my strongest recommendation.

Kirsten Lord is a district attorney who became accustom to threats directed at her from criminals she helped convict. All meaningless threats until, Ernesto Castro, a big shot in the drug trade, didn't threaten, but promised this: "Every precious thing I lose, you will lose, two." Soon after that promise, Kirsten Lord was burying her murdered husband. Soon after that, the Witness Protection Program gave Kirsten and her daughter new identities, a new life, and the promise of safety.

Typically, Kirsten was smart, at least she had enough smarts to know she couldn't hide forever, and had the intuition to know who to befriend and who not to trust. However, when at least one legitimate source and a few questionable ones threaten your life, and when you feel totally out-of-control, can you really trust your own intelligence and intuition?

Kirsten needs a place to voice the terror she feels every minute of every day, she needs to spell out the guilt she feels for her part in her husband's death and the dangerous situation she has now caused for her own daughter, and she needs to deal with her obvious issues of trust. The U.S. Marshal assigned to her case, refers her to psychologist, Dr. Alan Gregory. Dr. Gregory takes on this new and interesting patient without a clue as to what is in store for him and his wife, Lauren.

This was a great addition to Stephen White's thrillers about Dr. Alan Gregory, maybe a little bit longer than it had to be, but I would still recommend it as possibly the best the series has to offer thus far. For me, it was one of those books where you get to the end and not realizing it's the end you turn the page only to be disappointed that what you see is not more storyline, but the acknowledgments. I wanted more story!

4 ½ stars

Kirsten Lord's husband was gunned down in front of her outside of a New Orleans eatery, the murder fullfilling a promise made by a druglord whom she helped convict. Or, well, it's part of the fullfilled promise. It's one of those open-ended promises: for every precious thing I lose, you will lose two.

The resulting tale follows Kirsten through the world of the Witness Security Program, around obstacles such as shady US Marshalls, aging mobsters, and people and events in the past that refuse to die...or might die when they shouldn't. It's a story that is complex and compelling enough to be a nicely workable thriller. Literary enough and slick enough so that your bookmark, should you use one, won't stay in one place for too long.

For readers familiar with Mr. White's stories, however, the appearance of his most familiar character, Dr. Alan Gregory, will prove to be little more than an annoying footnote. In any event, White, it seems, has included his recurring character in this case for little other reason than to showcase his natural and lifelong experience with the psychologist's profession. It is mostly to the novel's detriment.

Likewise, although generally the text moves easily and unfettered by pretension or low-brow asthetics, it does clunk in some spots. White's normally consistent prose jars with a few oddly placed metaphors and ill-chosen words (boobs and poop?). And in an attempt to make foray into his central character's heart and soul, he constructed an extended and ultimately annoying whale metaphor that is more awkward and unnecessary than it is illuminating or endearing.

Still, highlights remain, such as the character of Carl Luppo, a retired hit man and one of Kirsten's only true friends, and the few action scenes that don't prove to be false leads or fake scares. And although the plot isn't spread evenly (it lumps in places) the storytelling is competent enough to keep the page numbers advancing.

This is the 9th book in Stephen White's series with psychologist Alan Gregory and a cast of characters that we have come to know over the previous eight books. The difference with this book is that it has little to do with Alan Gregory or any of the other characters. It was a risk in my opinion for the author to make his main star a minor character in someone else's story. And, the risk paid off.

I'll admit, I started reading this book because I was reading the series and thought it would be a good read since I already knew the characters. When I realized that the book was totally about someone else and their entrance into the Witness Protection Program and eventually their run from it, I decided I would not like the book. I kept reading anyway and soon I was caught up in the story just like all Stephen White's other books.

A different read, but a surprisingly good one.

The Program starts with one hit man and ends with another. Along the way it's an exploration of the Witness Protection (Security) Program and two participants who come from different directions. Kirsten (nee Peyton) is a prosecutor forced to seek help from the agency she has ridiculed to hide her daughter and herself. Carl Lupo is a hit man informer. Both lives take interesting and different directions when they both end up in Boulder Colorado. I enjoyed the way Carl "picked up" Kirsten. This is the first I've read of Alan Gregory, White's psychologist protagonist. He has a relatively small and tangential part in the story that unfolds. He and his pregnant wife play a bigger role at the end. If anything, their involvement in the story is it's weakest point. I found the story to be very well written. This felt like a Thomas Perry book, well written, nice characterizations, interesting story line, tension building . . . Recommended to me by my friend George, and I'm recommending it to you.

Dr. Alan Gregory is a durable hero. He's been shot, stabbed, pushed off of cliffs, almost pushed off of cliffs, stalked, variously assaulted, and attacked by at least one wild animal. And yet he remains a mensch - tiresomely physically fit and over-addicted to healthy living, perhaps, but still a mensch. He admires his wife, cherishes his friends, and generally respects his patients. He loves his dogs, present and past. The supporting cast is equally attractive/compelling: Lauren Crowder's independent intelligence and relentless bravery, Sam Purdy's common sense and generosity, Adrienne Arvin's dementedly charming chutzpah, Diane and Raoul's wit and whimsy, all serve to anchor the series. And the presence of Grace in the later novels promises to develop into a great child character, possibly rivaling Lucy Karp in the early Gruber-authored Tanenbaums. The incidental characters are vivid and generally believable, almost without exception. Some authors are better at male characters than female, or the reverse, but White is excellent at people, all people. Most of the books are first-person narration by Gregory, but White can shift to third-person with aplomb.

Aside from the great characters, the plots of this series are outstanding. We learn about a private end-of-life corporation, cold-case volunteer groups, the Mormons, DB Cooper, the cult of personality, Grand Canyon adventures, and the fallout from the JonBenet case, all without stretching the seams of the community based in Boulder, CO. When the plots call for suspense, the books are literally terrifying, real white-knuckle reads. White is witty and insightful and the very best craftsperson of the English language I've read in years. His casually correct use of the subjective fills me with delight, as do his always-agreeing pronouns, and his elegant but unpretentious syntax. His prose is a pleasure to read.

The settings are wondrously vivid - views, trees, coffee houses, the streets and walks of Boulder and environs. White brings food to the table and vistas to the eye. You can track his characters on GoogleEarth and see just what he describes. I fell into this series at a gruesome time for me, professionally, and reading them all in a period of a couple of weeks has been an exercise in staying sane. Some are, of course, better than others - Kill Me, The Program, Higher Authority, Manner of Death - and there are some weak links (Cold Case, Private Practices), but I can't imagine reading 15 books by any other contemporary author sans break and still wishing for more.

The Program gives us a new main character, Kristen Lord, who comes to Boulder and Alan Gregory's practice as a protected witness. Kristen is a interesting character, brave and cautious at the same time; worried about her daughter and her own life, her fear/panic is palpable, but we never see her as a victim - quite an accomplishment for White. There are some nifty minor characters and a great new dog in the mix, as well as a chance for Lauren and Alan to work together.

The formation of the powerful Strange - Quinn team. Two opposite DC types that complete each other

My son lives in Italy and wanted this. Thanks for the speedy delivery of it so I could send it to him.

Terribly simplistic book. The only redeeming qualities are that it is a very fast read and it is always interesting to read books based in DC which do not involve politics. The story was weak and simplistic and the characters were right out of a cereal box. If only I could get/understand all of the music references, maybe that would have made the book more solid. In my opinion, find a different crime novel to read, maybe even another Pelecanos book.

This was my first Pelecanos novel. I became aware of him through his writing on "The Wire," which in my opinion is one of the best TV shows ever created.

When I first started reading this book, I thought I was going to be getting Richard Price without the beautiful language. It didn't stay at that lofty level, but it was an effective novel nonetheless.

The main characters here are an older black PI and a white ex-cop who shot and killed an off-duty black police officer, which caused a media mushroom cloud in D.C. (where the action takes place).

Strange, the PI, is hired by the slain officer's mother to clear her son's reputation and get his name on a memorial downtown for officers who have died in the line of duty. After Strange approaches Quinn, the ex-cop (he left the force after the storm his shooting caused, though he was found to be in the right), Quinn slowly starts to aid Strange in the investigation.

Unlike a lot of other reviewers here, I liked the story Pelecanos tells in "Right as Rain." It's not "The Maltese Falcon," but it's surely not an episode of "Scooby-Doo," either. Considering that Pelecanos clearly wanted to make this a story about what has become of D.C. and the racial tensions that exist there, I would say the story is nicely plotted and inhabited by real characters that give it a strong sense of legitimacy.

I think the one flaw of this book is that at times it deals with the racial tensions in mature, honest ways, and then at other times Pelecanos spouts off cliches and hits you over the head with a sledgehammer. I found that Pelecanos holds his white characters to an impossible standard. And he never examines the racism from the other point of view -- of blacks toward whites.

While I think Strange is a well-drawn, complicated, feels-true character, I never felt the same about Quinn. I don't think you get to know him that well. And constantly in the book people meet Quinn and say he's "disturbed," but where is the evidence of this? I just don't see what they see.

Overall, though, Pelecanos keeps his prose simple and his dialogue humming. Strange's eventual acceptance of Quinn is what this book is really about, and it's their relationship that I enjoyed the most.

There was definitely enough good in this book to make me want to read the next Strange/Quinn saga.

'Right as Rain' started the Derek Strange and Terry Quinn series of crime novels set in Washington DC by George Pelecanos. Strange and Quinn are each former-DC cops. Strange is black and Quinn isn't. Strange is a private detective and Quinn isn't. Strange is under control and Quinn - nope.

Strange is hired to look into the shooting of an off-duty black cop by a white cop - who turns out to be Quinn, which begins their unlikely collaboration. Pelecanos creates some vivid characters - an inner city drug lord, a junkie or two, a couple of redneck drug suppliers, as well as members of the urban black middle class.

Pelecanos was one the writers (along with creator David Simon and Dennis Lehane, Ed Burns, and others) who made 'The Wire' (The Wire - The Complete First Season) one of the best TV dramas of all-time. In the written word, Pelecanos creates the same gritty feel for the underbelly of the city's drug trade and of its collateral damage. Helluva read. Highly recommended.

This is the first of the series I read by the sisters. It was enough to make me want to read the entire series. I am now four books in and it's still my favorite. The love story is a little flat but the mystery and plot twists kept me turning pages.

This is really mostly a romance novel rather than a mystery, and a not very believable romance novel at that. It was hard to swallow that Nina and Collier could be fighting in court one second and 5 minutes later be all passionate and lovey-dovey with no hard feelings. Plus they were so hell-bent on being ethical (even though the fact that they were dating in the first place was EXTREMELY unethical!) that they wouldn't say 2 words to each other about what was going on with this homicidal maniac, which eventually led to an easily-preventable tragedy.

Also, the character development was pretty bad. I thought for most of the novel that Collier might be the murderer because so little was said about what he thought. He seemed really weird and woosified because he was too perfect. Except for the fact that he would run off for no reason and leave Nina alone at parties, which by the way was never explained.

And the son Bob, age 12, was really a dork - he rode sleds with his mother instead of his friends, never complained about his mom being home about 5 minutes out of 24 hours, didn't mind that she married this almost complete stranger, etc.

The end was the most unbelievable. Here was Nina, supposedly dying of fright after this maniac had already attacked her family, forgetting to lock her back door. She didn't bother to get a gun or do anything at all to protect herself, she just set herself up to be murdered by lying around an isolated house all by herself at night. Get real! What an idiot!

I'm a mystery reader but this book was horrible. I mean the plot was thin, their were cardboard characters, and overall nothing in the book revolved around a mystery. It focused more on the main character's (Nina) love life than an actual mystery. It was like a romance novel revolved around a mystery. I was disappointed and I am still disappointed I can't believe I waste time and energy reading this book. It was so boring I found myself scanning and skipping pages just to get through it.

Although the book was a fast read, there were too many negative points for me to try another in the Nina Reilly series. A summary of my main points of contention: way too much dialogue and not enough descriptive action; unbelievable 'love story' that leads to an intense coupling and a tragic loss; the assistant, Sandy, is unsympathetic and annoying rather than inscrutably intuitive or compassionate; and the villain was far too immature in his actions and verbiage to provide real suspense. Back to Fairstein, Kava and Coulter...

I listened to this book as an abridged book on tape and I'm hoping some of the problems I have with the book were really due to the abridgement.

Problems:

1. her son Bob - he never speaks. He never does anything but be the perfect son who never, ever does anything wrong while mom sometimes spends outrageous hours out of the home. Watch out for this kid - he's going to be trouble!

2. Her son Bob says nothing, nothing at all about mom getting married to a man she just started re-dating while he's off on a trip to Germany (apparently unplanned since the tapes bring it up as he's packing the day before).

3. I don't know about you, but I think it would be pretty unethical to start dating the prosecutor during your defendent's murder trial.

4. The book spent much more time on the character's conflicted feelings (not conflicted about how this affair would affect her client's case, mind you, just hot and bothered about dating this man again)and not much on the case. If the story had focused, a 3 hour book on tape would have lasted about an hour. That means I was listening to 2 hours of romance novel on tape! Aaaargh!!

While not as action-packed as "The Last Detective" (which follows "Indigo Slam" in the series, but I've not read a single one of them in order so why start now?), this is a strong book. Lots of smart comments, action and twists and turns, although the very last twist was so obvious that only the clinically brain dead couldn't see it coming. But, that didn't lessen the overall value of the book for me.

The audiobook is read by David Stuart who captures the voice of Elvis Cole perfectly. The entire book lasts about 7 hours.

Excellent story another Elvis Cole and Joe Pike detective agency winner, along with sad family plot about widower father and his three childen. Keeps you on your toes front start to finish

Mr. Crais knows how to write. If you enjoy detective suspense as a genre, you'll like this book. It has all you could want, a likeable hero, a fascinating sidekick, several emotionally appealing protagonists, some characters that fall into a gray love/hate area, and two different sets of antagonists, each scary-bad in totally different ways.

What starts out as a simple missing person case that should have been a snap, turns into a nightmare of complications, including three children desperate to avoid Child Protection Services, counterfeiting, the Russian mob, and the Federal Witness Protection program. At the same time, our hero's love life, seeming so rosy in the beginning of the story, becomes instead a bad dream, with the ex-husband creating an epic and nasty power struggle for control of his child and former wife. The action is fast, intricate, and the pages keep turning while time slips away.

The lead character, Elvis Cole, and his sidekick, Joe Pike, are extremely appealing characters. They are variously clever, witty, charming, stoic, morally upright, and very good at what they do. This is one of their best outings so far. Thank you, Mr. Crais.

This is another installment in the classic ongoing Elvis Cole and Joe Pike detective series. The story starts off with a three year flashback to a rainy night in Seattle as Clark Hewitt and his three children are being clandestinely extracted from their home by Federal Marshals. Gunshots are fired and one of the Marshals is killed. As the family is whisked away in a van, the then twelve-year-old eldest daughter Teri holds her trembling Father tightly and feels his shaking ease.

Three years later as Elvis sat in his Los Angeles office talking on the phone to his girl friend, the door opened and three children walked in. The oldest of the children said: "Mr. Cole, my name is Teresa Haines. This is my brother Charles, and our sister, Winona. Our Father has been missing for eleven days, and we'd like you to find him." Teri is now two months shy of being sixteen, Charles (one of the great characters in the story) is twelve, and Winona is nine. Charles is already creating problems by touching Elvis's Jiminy Cricket statuette and like every person who has ever entered this office, from FBI agents to lawyers to killers, is taken aback by Elvis's Pinocchio clock that hangs on the wall above the file cabinet. "The clock has eyes that move from side to side as it tocks and is a helluva thing to watch." Despite being only twelve years old, anytime Charles didn't like what he was told, or just didn't like an individual in his vicinity, he would cough and say "assh*le". Or cough and say "pri*k". Or cough and say "eat me". They had looked Elvis up in the phone book and chose him because his ad said "confidential investigations".

It turns out the kids Father is involved with counterfeiting, and after becoming a witness against the Russian mob entered the witness protection program. That was the reason for the multiple last names and his disappearance. Elvis develops a paternal fondness for the kids and takes the job despite the fact that he is losing money from his very first investigative flight to Seattle. The case winds up involving the Federal Marshals, Secret Service, Treasury Department, the Russian Mob, Vietnamese Revolutionaries, dope dealers and numerous other luminaries on both sides of the legal fence. This book is never dull with the combination of unknowns at every turn, the reader is also blessed with the author's non-stop parenthetical humorous thoughts and comments going on in Elvis's head. And throughout this epic tale, you can always count on Charles's "coughing-vulgarities" and twelve-year-old un-restrained machismo, whenever he appears in his "award-winning" supporting role. This is a non-stop fun ride from start to finish!

Robert Crais is a highly skilled crime writer, and I think his "Elvis Cole" series is well worth reading. Unfortunately, INDIGO SLAM, the seventh novel in the series, is a flat and uninspired installment.

INDIGO SLAM starts out quite well, with three young children hiring Cole to find their missing father. But it doesn't take Cole very long to find out where he is, and all the mystery of the plot soon evaporates. The last two thirds of this book is pretty much a lot of action, mostly at the expense of characterization.

Cole doesn't have much at stake in the storyline, and you ever really worry about his safety. I also didn't really care for the father at all, and his three children are little more than stereotypes. In the end, I cared little for how things turned out for them.

Crais is ultimately a formulaic writer, albeit a very solid one. Still, INDIGO SLAM contains a bunch of scenes and situations that are pretty much identical to earlier installments of this series. Reading this novel is a bit like watching a TV show in its final few seasons, when it's way past its prime. My advice is to skip this novel, and try earlier Cole books like FREE FALL, LULLABY TOWN, or VOODOO RIVER.

Po Bronson is Silicon Valley's Michael Lewis. Po Bronson does with this novel what Scott Adams did with comic strips. The characters in the book reminded me of the movie Office Space. Although, the book has a much superior plot. This book caricatures the personality of the Silicon Valley and is written to be made into a movie. It made me burst into laughters and some steep turns in the story made me gape in wonder.

It was a nice and fun read; with a peppy and ruthless sense of humor. It is a casual read for the most part. When the plot thickens, you've got to pay attention to some details to convince yourself that you did not get tricked. Fellow geeks and nerds would enjoy it the most, if not all engineers!

I read this book when I was straight out of the university. And man what an influence it had over me! Over the past two years, I am going through almost the same as I am struggling to start on my own. The deeper I get into the business world, the more I can relate to it. This book is, by all means, a must read for young engineers.

Po Bronson is a major non-fiction writer of our tgime-- he was a feature writer for WIRED and has written for NY Times Magazine, Forbes ASAP and more-- He knows the culture. You may be familiar with his more recent books -- especially on career change. This is a fun book written back in 2000 that holds up well. Especially because it's about a breakthgough technology lab caught up in a power struggle and a filed IPO etc. A little bit Manic, very funny and high tech insider views. Opens with the exit interview transcript for Andy Caspar, sales and marketing and his voluntary departure...NO it's not about BILL GATES in his author's notes Po explains that there is some relevance to the NOT GATES phrase because when electrical power comes into a NOT gate, the charge is canceled. As a writer for WIRED -- he kept hearing stories that represented in effect NOT gates-- entrepreneurs who were impeded, cheated or canceled by the gatekeepers of power-- in other words how they tried to fight red tape and get the big guys on their side and it was a no go. He mentions that his subtext is to bypass Bill Gates operating systems -- to create a new paradigm of technology that ignores operating systems...and it reminds us that as he says the human creative spirit is irrepressible, maybe you can spindle, fold and stamp it out for awhile but it the flame comes back-- sometimes as a simmer, sometimes as a boiling point and sometimes as self-immolation but it's hard to STAMP IT OUT -- the gate opens and closes -- and sometimes you have to wirecut a hole in it or jump over it or create a new design and get rid of the barbed wire old-fashioned look. Much of the time you're working with a team and that's this story 4 oddballs (but aren't we all in some way) who strive to beat the system at any cost-- but it does cost them a LOT.

Bad characters, inane and obvious plot and zero writing style make this one of the worst books I've ever had the misfortune to read. If you have any interest in the world of business or silicon valley and the computer industry you should find this book laughable. And to make matters worse Po Bronson takes the kindergarten level theme and story so seriously it makes you doubt his credentials.
I actually thought this might be a fun read as I was going through a similar situation as the lead character but just found this to be insulting me on every single page. I hope Amazon don't take it as a spoiler if I tell you the ending is unbelieveably stupid. In a word: Avoid.

Author and Silicon Valley insider, Po Bronson, writes a very funny novel about four quirky guys with the right stuff who want to create something that matters in the realm of computers. From cutting edge software and hardware development companies to Palo Alto think tanks, the plot follows the creation of a less than $300 computer from a list of low priority projects at the think tank level to the actual modeling of a prototype that gets one rival top dog engineer's undies in a knot. The trials and tribulations that face the group compare to the highs and lows of an EKG with enough back-stabbing, personality manipulation and corporate espionage to keep the reading at a wonderous pace up until the last 20 or so pages. The crafting of the dramatic persona, especially the four progtammer/hardware specialists hinges closely to the usual stereotypical portrayals of techno geeks seen in movies and television shows. However this does not detract from the fun level of the story; indeed one gets the sense that these portrayal closely model reality. What does detract is the rather abrupt ending which winds down what could have been an all out page-turning business adventure with a stop-on-a-dime conclusion that certainly did not satisfy me.

Perhaps having seen the rather burlesque film version of this novel, I naively was expecting more bells and whistles and a more thorough troncing of rival engineer and threat Benoit. It never came, but perhaps that is due to the fact that I know nothing about the world of Silicon Valley where Bronson's could-be spoofs on the computer industry's behind the scenes star would lose their bite. Happily, the novel does not force a romance between Caspar and his housemate as in the movie version; here the attraction is noted and the reader can use his imagination to determine the outcome. Thank you, Po.

All in all, I enjoyed the novel; I just wish it had a longer ending.

I'm happy to say that I'm hooked on Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. I know I'm late to the party, but hey, better to be late then to not show up at all. I started the series from the beginning with "The Monkey's Raincoat.", and immediately after reading that, I grabbed "Stalking the Angel" The first books was great, and this book, no exception.

Robert Crais has created some of my new favorite characters to date, I love the always witty and wisecracking Elvis "Hound Dog" Cole, and the quiet Joe Pike.

The plots are very intriguing, but for me it's the characters that I enjoy the most. Each time I read them, its like being with a friend. I don't find that very ofter in a book. Props to Mr. Crais.

I plan to read the whole series. (12 so far and counting)

As long as Robert Crais keeps them coming, I will keep reading them.

Do yourself a favor and get hooked with me...it feels good!

Happy reading!

captivating suspense story that reads like a goood novel. A pleasure for the novice or the suspense finatic.

I'm a big fan of Michael Connelly and the Harry Bosch series. When I found another crime / mystery novel series set in LA, I was hooked. You've got the smartass, charming, darning detective in Elvis Cole. You've got the serious, mysterious character of Joe Pike. It's a great team.

This novel deals with a missing book, a screwed up family and lots of adventuring. I found that I couldn't put this novel down. The chapters were fairly short and the action was fast and furious. And if you live/lived/visited Los Angeles, it's even more fun as there's a lot of good geography contributing to the story.

Thumbs up!

STALKING THE ANGEL is the second novel in Robert Crais' "Elvis Cole" series, about a private detective in Los Angeles. I though it was a pretty enjoyable read, although a bit too derviative of Robert Parker's Spenser novels.

Elvis Cole is like Spenser in a variety of ways: he's a non-stop comedian, he's a war vet with a code of honor, he has an ultra-tough sidekick (named "Pike" instead of "Hawk"), he has a love-hate relationship with the cops, and his clients are typically rich, privileged, oversexed, and insufferably arrogant.

The plot of STALKING THE ANGEL, which involves a missing Japanese manuscript, reminds me of the first Spenser novel, which also involves a missing manuscript. Elvis Cole also tries to "save" a young girl from her dysfunctional family, which reminds me of Spenser novels like EARLY AUTUMN and CEREMONY. In other words, there is very little here that struck me as fresh and original.

Still, Crais is a highly skilled writer, and STALKING THE ANGEL is a funny and entertaining diversion. If you like Robert Parker's work, this book is definitely worth a try. My understanding is that the Elvis Cole series gets better with time, so I will definitely try some of the later installments in the near future.

Stalking the Angel, by Robert Crais, is the second entry in the Elvis Cole Los Angeles Private Investigator series. I guess this should be more appropriately referred to as the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. I read an interview by the author in which he stated that he didn't suggest reading the books in order, as the recent books are much more indicative of his style and the characters. In spite of that, I have elected to read the books in order, and I am glad that I have. This novel dwelves even further into the odd relationship between Pike and Cole. Pike is at ease killing bad guys, or making Cole breakfast.

The mystery here, or case, involves the Japanese mafia, and one very dysfunctional family that hires Cole to locate a missing Japanese treasure. The story was enjoyable and the characters are outstanding. The wise-cracking Cole had me laughing at several times as I read. While Pike in all his stoic glory is a delight. This book really focues on the true ambiguity that sometimes exists between right and wrong and the good guys and the bad guys.

I highly recommend this book and would encourage any potential Crais readers to jump right in. A strong 4 stars.

Robert Crais is an excellent writer. Everytime I purchase one of
his books, I can't put it down. RWH

Lots of the reviews here give this one 3 or 4 stars. Perhaps it was the format, perhaps it was the end of the school year rush for me and the welcome respite this book provided. Perhaps I just liked it better. Nevertheless, it was a good thriller, despite the fact that problems with Elvis and Joe's case are telegraphed from miles away.

My audio version was read by a narrator who has done multiple tours as a reader for Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. So, the listener is naturally drawn to make comparisons between Elvis Cole/Joe Pike/Lucy and Spenser/Hawk/Susan. Readers familiar with them both can see the analogies already. "Sunset Express" is probably the most Spenser-like of the Cole novels I've read or listened to so far. Lots of relationship discussion (for Cole anyway, a little less than average for Spenser).

I give this one a grade of A-

I'm a big Robert Crais fan but I think he can do better than this one. While it was an exciting read, it was not very original because it draws too many comparisons to the OJ Simpson case. For example, you have a very wealthy man with lots of connections who hires a dream team of a defense counsel to represent him after getting charged with murdering his wife.

Again, there were some good dialog and action scenes but the storyline was not very original.

Robert Crais is considered one of the best crime fiction writers working today, and I can understand why. He writes in a crisp, entertaining style that keeps me turning the pages. Crais is best known for his "Elvis Cole" series about a private detective in LA, and I'm currently reading the series in order. SUNSET EXPRESS is the sixth book in the series, and it's just an okay read.

SUNSET EXPRESS is a thinly veiled critique of the OJ Simpson trial and verdict, and how a celebrity defendant can manipulate the justice system. In this novel, Cole is hired by a prominent defense attorney who is defending a wealthy restaurenteur accused of murder. Within days, Cole uncovers evidence that could break the case and exculpate the restauranteur. But is the evidence legitimate, or is Cole just a pawn in some larger scheme to hide the truth?

This novel is entertaining enough, but I found some of the twists to be unbeleivable and over-the-top. Crais's major weakness as an author is his tendency to rely on Hollywood-esque plotlines that have little basis in reality. Of course, a novel doesn't have to be realistic to be entertaining, but the cartoonish quality of this book's storyline robs it of any strong emotional punch in the end.

I enjoyed SUNSET EXPRESS well enough, but I think Crais has done better, with earlier Cole novels such as LULLABY TOWN, FREEFALL and VOODOO RIVER.

If you see a "MICKEY MOUSE PHONE" on the desk and little figures of "JIMINY CRICKET" on the cabinet and a "PINOCCHIO CLOCK" on the wall with eyes that move SIDE-TO-SIDE, you are most likely in the office of "master" Los Angeles detective Elvis Cole. While in Elvis's office if you see a man who stands about six foot one, with short hair, sinewy muscles, and bright red arrows tattooed on the outside of each deltoid pointing forward, which are a statement of his being, that man is Elvis's partner Joe Pike. If you have the courage to have a conversation with Joe, you'll know you've done well if you receive as much as a miniscule facial tic in return. You are forewarned not to waste your time trying to determine the weather or the time of day by the fact of whether Joe is wearing sunglasses or not. Day or night, winter, summer, or fall, Joe is wearing them and the author hasn't introduced a character yet that would dare question Joe regarding the practicality of his sunglasses in the current time and place.

This particular episode in the ongoing "ELVIS COLE" series by author Robert Crais revolves around the murder of famed restaurant owner Teddy Martin's wife. Teddy's restaurant is the type of place where everyone famous in Los Angeles eats at to be seen, as much as for what they eat. People who are "nobodies" want to eat there to be near "somebody's". Jonathan Green a renowned lawyer known coast to coast for his long list of victories in court as well as for his TV appearances is hired to defend Teddy. Jonathan then hires Elvis to do some professional sleuthing. Before you know it a cop is being framed, people who are known by one name are really someone else, rewards are offered, dupes are framed by scumbags, witnesses are changing their stories faster than your local gas station can raise their gas prices. What makes this story so enjoyable is the quick-witted humor interspersed amongst the skullduggery. Any crime story that can freely sprinkle comments regarding "MOE HOWARD", "FRED MUNSTER", "RALPH CRAMDEN", along with a character who calls his beer a "BREWSCALERO", and also say; "she shook her head, and her lips went WUBBA-WUBBA-WUBBA like a cartoon character", has to be rated above your average crime fiction. And don't forget about "MICKEY MOUSE", "JIMINY CRICKET", and "PINOCCHIO"!

VOODOO RIVER is the fifth installment in Robert Crais's "Elvis Cole" series about a wisecracking PI in Los Angeles. I am currently reading this series in order, and I thought this was an entertaining read.

As I've mentioned in prior reviews of Crais's work, I really enjoy his writing style, which reminds me heavily of Robert Parker's Spenser novels. Like Parker, Crais writes his prose in a very crisp and witty manner. Half the pleasure of this novel is simply listening to Elvis Cole's descriptions of the setting and his reactions to the often colorful people he encounters.

Crais's plotting is ultimately quite formulaic, and there's very little in VOODOO RIVER that I haven't seen before in other Elvis Cole books like LULLABY TOWN. The only major differences here are (1) the Louisiana setting and (2) a new love interest for Cole, who's been curiously celibate for the past few novels. These are probably the best two elements of the book, although I personally felt the romance was a bit sudden and underdeveloped.

Overall, VOODOO RIVER is another solid entry in the Elvis Cole series. While Crais's work lacks the emotional depth of the work of authors such as Michael Connelly, George Pelecanos, or Nelson DeMille, he's definitely one of the better writers in the genre.

Voodoo River is an easy and relatively fast paced novel. Elvis Cole is hired by a television actress (who was adopted) to investigate her biological parents' health histories. (So she says). Elvis does get to the heart of the mystery. All the pieces comes together. Elvis meets his future love Lucy in this novel. Elvis is a kind , compassionate person. I was not bored. (A-).

I love all the Elvis Cole books that Robert Crais has written. He is one great guy. Mystery is always in the mix and he solves them very well. I'd like to have read them in sequence, but didn't get that order until after I'd read about 5 of his books.

Love his books.

Other than being introduced to that Cajun delicacy, this book was pretty much a waste of time. The plot started off okay but just kept getting weaker and weaker and then totally bombed at the end. The ending was just too contrived. The characters, mostly, didn't seem real. The romance seemed unrealistic. Even the setting -- not far from James Lee Burke bayou country -- lacked Burke's superior narration and authentic feel. Crais should have ceded Lousiana to Burke and stayed home in L.A. Crais' books seem to be very good or, well, not so good. Sadly, this one falls into the latter category. He's a much better writer than this.

Robert Crais' Elvis Cole is everything you want in a private eye. He wisecracks, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and he can set-em-up and knock-em-down. Plus, there's always Joe Pike for when things get really nasty. Voodoo River is a sensational book, and Crais has never been better.