Spencer Books

Re the 78 missing reviews: I hope this was part of the normal process for clearing old stuff on the site and not some worker (with green flunkey tendencies) exceeding his/her authority. But even more so, I hope this was not some editorial type exercising company (green flunkey) policy.

IT IS VERY TROUBLING TO DISCOVER THAT 78 REVIEWS HAVE VANISHED. ACCESS TO INFORMATION SEEMS TO BE "MANAGED" AND THIS RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHO IS DOING IT AND WHY? AT THIS POINT ALL I CAN DO IS TO RE-POST MY REVIEW OF MARCH 31, 2008 AND PROTEST THE ACTIONS OF CENSORSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL OR SOME ORGANIZATION.


I read Roy Spencer's book, Climate Confusion, this weekend. I don't know Dr. Spencer personally but I have followed his work and I've had some occasional email exchanges with him. I have found him to be the kind of personable ("really nice") guy with whom I would love to have a beer and discuss a wide variety of different topics. This book just magnifies that feeling by at least two orders of magnitude. The book was an easy read but it was not exactly what I had expected. But that certainly doesn't mean bad in any way -- the book was a very pleasant surprise! It provides an excellent foundation of weather/climate in layman's terms and then it goes into the philosophy of science, economics, politics, and religion and the implications of their interrelationships not only with climate science but also with science in general.

The key to this book is the subtitle: "How Global Warming Hysteria leads to bad science, pandering politicians, and misguided policies that hurt the poor."

I had anticipated that Roy might drive the nail into the coffin of anthropogenic global warming (AGW), but he did not! Rather, he gave the average guy a hammer and a lot of nails so he could decide for himself and then drive the nails into anything he wants, because the insights Roy provides are equally valid for many different government programs as well as human emotions and reactions in general. Even if your passion is NOT the global warming debate this book will help to make you think more rationally about any topic and just happens to use global warming as the example.

This is the book that poorly informed main-stream media types should read and is written at a level that anyone can understand. It is short, it is funny (at times), and it sets the stage for the reader to make his own decisions about AGW as well as many other issues in the complex climate-change SYSTEM -- where the climate-change SYSTEM also includes the politics, religion, economics, etc of climate.

The book is inexpensive enough at Amazon that everyone should buy multiple copies and pass them around to people who would never buy it themselves. After they read it, they will thank you for helping them to understand much more than just global warming. I bought two copies and one of them is getting mailed to a friend of mine who teaches climatology and is chairman of the earth science's department at a well-respected university. This book "WORKS" whether you are a student, businessman, or PhD in climatology. It is well worth the small investment in time and money. It will provide clarity to many more things than just the climate-change debate.

This review is being written for the second time because an unknown administrator erased all 78 reviews, mostly excellent reviews, yesterday. The book only has 150 pages but there is a lot to learn here.

First, a few words about the author. Roy Spencer is one of the main people behind the technologies and algorithms to measure the global temperatures from the satellites - achievements that have been rewarded by various awards and that may be giving us the most accurate data about the global mean temperature that is available, even more accurate than James Hansen's GISS data, indeed. (But, despite some people's prejudices, Spencer has been funded from pretty much the same government sources as Hansen, except for those USD 250,000 from Heinz Kerry that Spencer sadly didn't receive.) He is also a very witty and comprehensible expositor who has been writing a website with cute parodies. Recently, he co-authored potentially important papers about the regulating role of clouds for the climate and about the uncertainty about the direction of the causal relationships between the clouds and the temperature.

In the book, he first introduces some basics of climate science and explains the nature of the scientific consensus. If the censors had seen the book, they would almost certainly appreciate it. Spencer reveals that the mankind almost certainly contributes something to the climate change and the greenhouse effect is nonzero, too. I know he has also patiently explained many of these well-known things to some of the less educated and more "radical" skeptics and his balanced treatment in the book wasn't a surprise for me. He is clearly no biased partisan.

However, he quickly turns his attention to a more important question, namely whether the human activity poses a danger for the climate. He explains that there exist no scientific papers that would offer reliable evidence of such a threat and he exposes various political, ideological, profit-driven, and other non-scientific factors that allow the irrational alarm about global warming to thrive and solid science about these questions to be suppressed and neglected. There is clearly no consensus about a dangerous global warming and after reading the book, you will see why.

If I were rating the author's opinions about the origin of the species, he would get less than 5 stars but I suppose this is not what readers should be rating here. This review should be about the book which is witty, technically solid - although avoiding equations -, and revealing the true major scientific and social aspects of the whole debate. Such a book from a qualified expert deserves at least 4.8 stars and I recommend it to you wholeheartedly.

Dr Roy Spencer is a Principal Research Scientist at the University of Alabama and was formerly a Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA.

He says that we should ask - how much of global warming is the result of natural processes? Every scientist-sceptic believes that global warming is a fact, but it is not a fact that is manmade: scientists just do not know how much warming is due to natural climate change.

He explains why global warming is unlikely to be a serious threat. The atmospheric CO2 concentration was 320 parts per million in 1960 and 380 in 2005. The rise was one extra molecule for every 100,000 molecules of air, every five years.

He advises that we should also ask - how much will any `Green' proposal cost? Cutting CO2 would cut the benefits of industry, production, technology and energy use. Isn't Gore just another US billionaire telling the rest of us to stay poor?

The Kyoto Agreement encourages firms to move to developing countries, which have fewer environmental controls, so the firms can pollute more. Kyoto shifts, not cuts, pollution.
Kyoto is also causing the destruction of old-growth forests - which do not soak up carbon - because some third world governments cut them down and replace them with plantations that do soak up carbon. Kyoto has also made countries turn farm land over to growing biofuels like ethanol, which are very water-intensive, taking water from crops and people.
The world has enough coal reserves for 1,000 years or more. We should be building nuclear power stations like France, 75% of whose electricity is nuclear. So we don't need `alternative energy resources' - the hope of some new non-fossil fuel - which anyway is about as likely as some new alternative range of food.

Spencer points out that alarmism can be lethal, for example the ban on DDT has killed millions of Africans. Restoring residual spraying of African homes with DDT would save a million lives a year, but the EU threatens to impose trade sanctions on any country that does so.

I understand this book formerly had 78 reviews. If so, and they were deliberately deleted in a bid to discourage readership, I say shame on you, Amazon.

Childish? Maybe. Fun to read? Definitely. This book is a refreshing break from more serious books.

That's the slogan used by 12-year-old Bobby and his friends, Addie, Joe and Skeezie, as they form a No-Name Party in the upcoming junior high elections. Each of the four is tired of being called names -- Bobby for being overweight, Addie for being tall and outspoken, Joe for being gay and Skeezie for his troublemaking ways. Even if they don't win against the popular kids, they figure they'll get people's attention.

As the weeks before elections proceed, Howe explores the issues that surround each of the four's "flaws," interspersing them with humorous "transcripts" taken by Addie at the gang's weekly "forums," where they gather over snacks to discuss everything that irks them about junior high. Bobby, for example, discovers that his weight problem began in third grade, after the death of his mother -- something that his classmates would never have understood, only mocked as his worries and grief manifested themselves in his body.

Howe doesn't insult his readers with a Hollywood ending; it would be too unrealistic to assume that four unpopular adolescents could forever alter their junior high social circles simply by wishing it so. But the road toward their goal is just as interesting -- if not more so -- than the end in mind, and readers will cheer for Bobby, Addie, Joe and Skeezie as they learn more about themselves and their classmates.

This is an excellent book for teens, and any adult who has ever been a teen once upon a time, will enjoy it, as well. As a life-long teacher (37 years) in the middle school, I truly recognize the situations that are protrayed. This should be "must reading" for students.

Have you ever been teased or been called names just because of the way you look?, I'm sure a lot of people have especially during Jr high. Everybody is different in their own way.
In The Misfits by James Howe it teaches you a lesson about being different. "Misfit" means to not fit in. This book is about four friends: overweight Bobby, outspoken Addie, outrageous Joe and sloppy Skeezie. They are four best friends who are completely different from each other. The story is mostly based in 12 years old Bobby Goodspeed who has been through many hard times in his life. He lost his mother and had to start to work at a young age to help his widowed father. The group of friends formed a new political party in their seventh grade elections. They face more than one obstacle from their teachers and other students. It's about putting an end to things.
I really enjoyed reading this book because it's really funny and it teaches you a great lesson, judge people by who they are not what they look like The author is known for other great books like Bunnicula Howliday inn, Night-Nightmare, and many other books. He also has more than seventy books for young readers. He is also the editor of the Color Of Absence:12 stories about loss and hope.
I loved this book very much because it has so many parts of the book you can relate to. It makes you laugh and cry. It seems so real because you could relate to it. I recommend this book to everyone. GO GET IT!!!!!

Published in 2001 by James Howe, author of the popular children's "Bunnicula" series, THE MISFITS is intended for slightly older readers, primarily children in the sixth through ninth grades.

The story concerns four "misfit" seventh graders in a small town junior high school. Bobby, the narrator is overweight; Addie is tall, mouthy, and too smart for popularity; Joe is effeminate; and Skeezie has adopted the dress and mannerisms of a 1950s greaser. They have become friends for the simple reason that most other people at their school consider them outcasts, and each week they meet at a soda shop to discuss a topic designated by Addie. Some times they take it seriously, most of the time they do not, but when Addie decides they should form a third party and run for the student council they begin to take life very seriously indeed. Along the way they will have conflicts with teachers, the popular students, and even themselves--but when they decide to run a platform to end the nasty name-calling so typical of elementary, middle, and high school students they make a bigger impact than they ever expected.

From an adult point of view, THE MISFITS deals with a touchy subject--the inescapable fact that school age children have a pack mentality that leads them to verbally attack any one who seems to differ from the norm: "Fatso," "Know-It-All," "Fairy," and "Geek" are merely four of the words Bobby, Addie, Joe, and Skeezie remember when they begin to list the names they have been called over the years. It is also about the effect this sort of name-calling can have, an effect that can, as Bobby discovers, stretch out over an entire lifetime. It is also about standing against such attacks by simply being true to yourself.

Although the story is predictable, the writing is clever, and Howe raises several very interesting issues in a fairly subtle way. The first of these is race, an issue that arises when Addie presses a black boy, DuShawn, to be their candidate as president: does Addie want him to be their president because he's the right person or because she wants to make a statement through his race? Without beating the subject, Howe uses the situation to demonstrate how even smart people with good intentions can stumble into stereotypical thinking. Howe also, even less obviously, raises the question of when labeling serves a legitimate purpose--and when it is acceptable comedy--and when it crosses the line into hurtfulness.

While I found the portrait of seventh graders slightly less than realistic, Howe is not writing Cousine Bette; he knows his audience. It is unfortunate, however, that those who would most benefit from reading the book are those least likely to do so. Even so, I think most of the target audience will enjoy it quite a bit, and I think it would be a good "read along with your kid book," for this would open the door to conversations with your child on the subjects the book raises.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Can you ever go wrong with a classic Lavyrle Spencer? This book's slower pace sets the tone for the slow building love between two loners in society. Will Parker (ex-con) is alone and can't find his place in the world. Being unfairly fired from jobs based on his stent in prison, he is about to give up hope when he reads a want ad in the Whitney, Georgia paper for a woman seeking a husband. Having no other leads and nothing to lose he answers the ad and when he shows up at a dilapitated and run down house he realizes he's getting more than what he bargained for. He sees a woman greet him from the door with 2 small children and with a pregnant belly to boot. Elly Dinsmore is considered the town loon because she lived her whole life behind closed doors under the nose of religous fanatics. Needing a set of hands to help her after her husband dies, she places the ad and also gets more than what she bargained for.....a love like she's never known.

Will agrees to answer the ad and to finally have a place to call home. The house created a challenge for Will and he was grateful to anyone who would give him a fair chance. Elly was that person. Over time they discovered eachother and found a love so pure it leaves you breathless.

Many other elements give this sweet story and exciting element....Will gets drafted into the war and reading their love notes to one another is heartbreaking....get your hankies out ladies!

I loved, loved, loved this story. 3 dimensional characters, the friendships they formed, the love that was undeniable, the tension, build up, excitement. It has all the elements of a timeless love story. I recommend it highly!!!

Ms. Spencer's book "Morning Glory", she said she read it and loved it. She told me the plot,and I searched to find it. I'm a sucker for hero's who have lost all hope, and never have found a place in this world. Though set at the beginning of WWII it was for me a history buff a wonderful story of two very hurt souls who found in each other and the 'magic of love'.

Ms. Spencer built up each character, gave this reader a backstory for each that made me love and want these two to find love together. As always her characters aren't perfect and that gave them depth. When the story came to an end, the ex-con and the widow with two kids, one on the way...had found that elusive thing(happiness) loved 'Morning Glory' teared up a time or two, the small town feel of the novel resonated like 'Peyton Place' in some ways...and you know that's what I love books that take you to a place you've never been and the author makes you feel that you have....JV

I got this book, along with Years, after both of them were highly recommended by a friend. Years was absolutey riveting--I sat up until 2am on a work night to finish it. I was thrilled that I had another great book to read.......then I actually read it. ECHH!!! Cardboard characters, dialogue that put me in mind of listening to toddlers try to converse, a story that was so predictable that I already had the plot figured out by the 10th page, and so on. I kept on plugging through in the hopes that it would get better--I loved some of the secondary characters, but the dreadful main story just kept dragging on and on and on and on. I don't know if I can ever force myself to read another novel by this author--I'll probably give her another try and decide after that. PLEASE do not read this terrible, boring book--instead read something else and be glad you spared yourself the suffering.

I enjoyed this story & I'm not a prude, but it was just too explicit for me. I understand that Lula's character had to be described & the sexual tension between Will & Elly had to be developed, but it got to be too much. I agree with the reviewer's comment about the obsession with tongues--it became annoying after awhile. I also think the repetitive descriptions dragged the momentum down as well. (How often do we have to read about Elly staring at the moles on Will's back?!) Enough already!

One of Spencer's gifts is invoking the feel of the time period she is writing about. It's all in the little details that are included to give you a real sense of the time and place.

I re-read Morning Glory every year or so and enjoy it every time. Will and Elly are classic characters finding love and redemption from hard-knock lives. The only quibble I have is that the book gets a little buried in sincerity and goodness. A little more humor on Will or Elly's part would have gone a long way to liven up sections. I know Spencer was going for deep, homespun love, but at times it just feels lethargic.

Still love it though and love what little humor there is in the book.

Very much recommended.

AMAZING read! I have never been interested in History of any sort before and afte reading a bit about her on Wikipedia I couldn't wait to learn more! She is fascinating, flaws and all! This book gave a wonderful outline of the time period, the rulers in charge and the goverment, but loaded with interesting facts and how her life had impacted so much of that time period. It proved to me that times were not too different back then as they are now with sex, drugs, affairs, addictions and celebrity obsession. I couldn't put this book down and after finishing it you'll want to look for book on her fascinating friends and aquaintences as well! It's a must buy even for the uninterested in history, couldn't tell you the dates of the civil war type of person

This is a wonderful biography. I was somehow worried it would be boring. However, the author manages to narrate Georgiana's life and times in such a way that I could not put it down, and read it in less than three weeks' time.

There are already may good comments, so I will only add something that the book does not mention. The case is that a portrait of the Duchess had also a interesing story to be told. In the XIX century Adam Worth, a real-life Moriarty, stole Gainsborough's portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire - and later returned it. It is mentioned in "The Napoleon of crime" by Ben Macintyre. I remember that Macintyre quotes a XVIII century sailor who said somethink like "I could lit my pipe with the starks from her eyes".

Other excellent biographies of women in the middle of their age's politics (in fact, a couple of much maligned queens) worth reading are "Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God" by Jonathan Clements and "Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman" by Stephen Zweig.

Georgiana had a fascinating life complete with adventure, intrigue, heartbreak, vast wealth and opportunity and of course, great beauty. In short, she makes for a great subject. But this book is also well-written and researched. I read if on a beach vacation and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. It was fun, plus very informative.

I bought this book after seeing the movie. The book is so much more in depth and captures the spirit of an amazing woman. Georgiana was a woman ahead of her time in many areas however her political prowess is to admired. In the true spirit of all women her life was a tapestry of joy, pain, sacrifice and success. Ms. Foreman's biography is written in a knowledgeable and thorough manner but it reads like a story. Her style of writing kept me engaged and captivated.

Based on all the glowing reviews, I was expecting a fascinating read. But this book was anything but exciting. I found it really hard to get into the story. About halfway through, I finally gave up and just skimmed the rest of the book. This reads more like a history book than a biography. The author goes into a lot of detail, but she fails to get into Georgiana's head. I'm giving this 3 stars because the author did an incredible amount of research. But it's too bad her writing style is so dull. At the end, I couldn't understand why this book was written or why Georgiana was supposedly such an intriguing person. Hopefully, the movie does a better job of making Georgiana seem like a real person.

This book is one of my all time favorite stories! It is about a little girl who goes to stay with her "mean" grandfather high in the Swiss mountains. She thrives in the mountain air and shares a special love with her grandfather. She is later taken away to live in Frankfurt with a wealthy family as a companian for a sick little girl, but being away from her grandfather and mountain air makes Heidi so homesick she actually becomes physically ill. She finally is able to return to her mountain and is part of a miracle that takes place there. This is such an enjoyable book to read and is a beautiful picture of love and forgiveness. I have read it several times and each time it gets better.

this is my favorite book of all time. i started crying at some parts and heidi is cute, genorous, and funny...

the book that arrived was not the one i ordered. I tried to contact seller by email and got no reply. the book they did send was just the plain book heidi it was in great shape and arrived quick.

When I was a child, I was struck in the eye with a rock thrown by my brother. I was injured to a point that I was bedridden for 6 weeks, and had to take one inch steps in order to heal my eye. I was also confined to a dark room. My mother would read "Heidi" to me as I lie in misery. The doctor said that I had to lie still. He did not want me to injure my eye even more than I had.

Heidi is a book that changed my life. It gave me hope as I lie in darkness. It made me taste goats milk even though to this day I never have. I hope to take this book and read it to my 84 year old mother soon so that I may turn the tables. This book is amazing. Buy it. Read it. Share it with your loved ones. I cannot emphasize enough that this story is magic. God Bless all who read this. Jen

This book is marvelous for both adults and children! Very well illustrated, so you can read the book to the tiniest of children and use the pictures to help them along until they're old enough to understand and read the words in the book. Can start children on this book as a picture book and work their way up to reading it. I read it as an adult and found it very enjoyable. You won't regret buying this book!

This is the most informative book on the market for persons about to journey to Walt Disney World. It is absolutely essential if you want to approach your WDW vacation with knowledge enough to make the most of it. My advice is to purchase the most recent edition, as it is updated each year to include new attractions, and there are always new attractions. The book is filled with information about hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, and attractions throughout the entire Disney property. I have made about 25 trips to WDW, and I buy a new one each year I go so that my information is current. Well worth the reasonable price.

This was the book we used on our first visit to Walt Disney World. We would never have gotten around Walt Disney World without this book. If you have never been to Walt Disney World I recommend that you really get a copy of this book or the most current version of it. If you really enjoy Walt Disney World like we did you may want to hold on to your copy of this book. It is just as much a souvenir as anything else you may purchase on your visit. This book will hold fond and cherished memories for you and your family.

This book is a must to own when planning your trip to Disney. Alot of very useful information that other travel guides do not have. I loved this book alot it helped me plan my trip.

I was very impressed with this book. It was very informative and covered every subject concerning a Disney vacation, from what to pack and how to get there, to planning your itinerary and figuring your budget. It also gives info on the different resorts and restaraunts in the Disney park and their price ranges. There are illustrations on every page, my kids can't put it down. It describes every attraction and gives it's location as each park is divided into sections. It covers transportation needs, including the surrounding areas like Downtown Disney,Pleasure Island, Boardwalk, and downtown Disney West Side, and what they entail. Several water parks are also discribed. It even breaks down the Florida weather for each month so you can choose when to go. The book offers tips on saving money, avoiding crowds, and etc. It gives schedules for character meals and labels her "Birnbaum's Best" for best family restaraunts, best dinner shows, best fireworks view, and many more. There are even money saving coupons in the back of the book that are good through December of this year. I plan on taking this book with me on my trip this year to use as a guide.

We just got the book a few days ago, and my husband and I can't put it down! We were already excited about our anticipated trip to Disney World next year, but this book is heightening the excitement! Lots of information on lodging, food and the parks, what more could you want?

A very nice book if one is interested in understanding how DNA analysis is being used to trace human migration and from where it started. This whole subject is about tracing back whatever factual information can be used to reconstruct our traceable origins.

It is a hard read in certain areas especially if you are mostly illiterate about DNA and its link with genealogy.

This was a major letdown. While one might be somewhat entertained by it, you won't come away from it with any understanding of anything. The writing is vague and the scientific methods are hardly mentioned. I suppose the author or his editors were afraid of scaring people. Here's the entire description of restriction enzymes: "...biochemical techniques can generate DNA fragments of a particular length based on their sequence." That's it. He manages to take a few sentences to vaguely describe gel electrophoresis, but of course never bothers to use the term "gel electrophoresis." Don't bother with this one.

I came to know about Dr Wells' work through the PBS documentary and I made sure that I got it on video so that I could slowly digest the information in it. I was amazed at the findings that we all have a common ancestor from Africa and as recently as only 60 thousand years ago! As the documentary stated at the end, any notions of racism and bigotry based on race after this discovery is just plain wrong and parochial and the implications is that we have no excuse to try and segregate but instead it makes more sense to integrate and work to a common cause: the betterment of the human race.

Still, as any movie is constrained by time, I was sure that there must have been more to this than was presented and so I decided to get the book as well. I wasn't disappointed; there are loads more information here that added to my understanding from what I learned from the video. Although it is around 200 pages long, I found it to be an easy read for the layman like myself with little technical jargon used that is not fully explained.

Wells has got a talent for simplifying complex ideas for lay understanding. If you liked the PBS documentary and want to understand further then this book is the one to get.

Highly recommended.

I really got a lot out of this book--it's a bit of a dry read at times, and some of the genetic science gets a little bit heavy (particularly in the beginning), but I learned a lot from reading. A lot of quotable new ideas in here that I wanted to talk about with friends immediately--the extinction of Neanderthals, the early advent of modern humans in Australia, the difference between human and animal as appreciated by a simple grammatical structure, and the ability to track lineage from placental and Y chromosom DNA being some things that spring immediately to mind. Worth dipping into.

I absolutely loved this book! I think the Genographic Project is amazing. Sadly I wish more people could accept Evolution. It's just hard for some to break away from indoctrination.

Someone recommended this book to me ages ago, and it's languished on my TBR pile because I could never get past the title. Even now, knowing what goes on in the book, I hate it. It really does the book no favors because the mystery of Ukiah's heritage which is supposed to carry the first two-thirds of the book becomes not a mystery at all. It becomes a waiting game for Ukiah to catch up to the reader, which lessened my connection to him during that time. I also got drastically slowed down by the florid writing and exposition dumps in the first few chapters. Seriously, I almost put it down. I'm glad I didn't. About a third of the way into the story, the writing smoothed out into something more readable for me, and the story itself started getting more engaging.

There are never really any surprises in this as most developments get telegraphed in advance, but the characters and the depth of feeling between them helps to compensate for that. I liked the relationship between Ukiah and his partner Max best; Max filled a much needed role in the young man's life. Though I liked the character of Agent Indigo Zheng, I didn't really believe the instant love that happened between her and Ukiah. Still, it was nice to see a strong woman who wasn't a bitch. I'll be picking up the second book in the series. In the end, it's worth it to hang around these characters more.

I have read this entire series and just cant get enough. Wen Spencer has to hit my to 10 sci-fi authors list with this series. An absolutely killer twist with character development on steroids. If you buy this book be ready to fork out for the rest of the series. Its like MM's you just cant stop at one.

I just want to know when the next book in this series comes out.

Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. This is a series that pulls you in and engages you with the characters and plot. Very well thought out. I hope Spencer continues with this character, I'm impatient for more of Ukiah's adventures.

I've just finished the series of four Ukiah Oregon novels - twice! READ THEM IN ORDER!!! Detective stories aren't usually a reread for me, especially right away, but I've reread these before they are due back at the library, and I think I'll buy my own copies sometime in the near future. I've loved her other works, and now I think I'll make her an autobuy. Wen Spencer is a good author who doesn't find one successful universe and stick there, rewriting the same type of story over and over (see Tinker), but I'll definitely read more about Ukiah!

I don't "do" literary analysis, but I didn't find the writing style bad, as some have. It must be a matter of taste. I also won't review the plot, as has already been done.

The mystery of discovering who he is drew me in despite the gruesomeness of some of the scenes. The relationships were good. I like characters who I can respect and who are, at the same time, not perfect. I like the slow character maturation.

Warning, the third novel in the series has some "off-camera" violence against very young children.

This is definitely worth a try, and I think you'll be sucked in as I have been by this excellent and inventive writer.

I really enjoyed this novel, and like other readers, it inspired me to get two of the other two books in the series. The characters are sympathetic, and the book is well-paced. If you like scifi and werewolf stories and mysteries, you'll probably like this.

Call me a prude but I erased every swear word in this book before I read it and enjoyed the book immensely. Why do authors think they have to use God's name in vain (especially when a supposedly God-loving priest involved). I'm not the judge, but I'm not sure God likes to hear people belittle his name like that, and it is so not necessary to make a book a great book. I can only assume this is everyday language to the author.
I would read all of these books the stories are so well written. What a compeling plot, a baby left on church steps, all the people who are prospective suspects of the murders committed after. It really kept me guessing until the very end. Set in the Adroindack Mts. was both beautiful and remote. The characters were perfectly placed. However, I'd have to go through all the books and cross off all the offensive words and I don't know if I want to take the time. Plus, I'm sure there are enough people who love to read that kind of language to sell many books. I'm just not one of them. I'm sure no loss to the author.

I loved this book and it's characters, can't wait for the next installment in the series!

I was stunned that a writer this good could have escaped my notice long enough to publish six books, though of course thrilled that there were already so many available. These are to die for; the characters are full-blown, the writing is intelligent, the mysteries are convincing and the ongoing love story is so, so moving. I would marry Russ Van Alstyne myself if I could get my hands on him! I am waiting for book number 7 with great eagerness. If you like Reginald Hill's work, you'll love this.

This is the first of Ms. Spencer-Fleming's books that I have read. I enjoyed it overall. Some slow spots, but all books do that. Recommended.

I'm not a big fan of who-dun-it type books, but I really enjoyed this one. The writing style is entertaining, and the twists and turns of the plot kept me going back for more. I was sure I knew who did it....and I was totally wrong. I'll definitely be buying more books by this author.

Like most Unofficial Guide, this is no nonsense, yet authoritative and useful. I would recommend this book for first time investors in real estate or even for people who may have done some investment in the past but want to become serious in real estate investment.

Book is dividied into 7 major sections - Understanding Real Estate as an investment, Secrets of real estate investing, Mastering the Market, Setting your investment goals, Putting your money on the line, property management essentials, Facing your fears.

I think most initial investors (prime target audience for this book) will find section 1, 2 and 6 useful and something they should read as part of their preparation for starting a real estate investment career. Other sections are well written and will probably be used more as reference as opposed to an end to end reading during the first skimming through the book.

If you want a no nosense book about Real Estate Investing this is the book for you. No fluff, just basic things you need to know in order to be successful. I recommend this book highly.

as to whether you will find this book helpful or not.

When I first entered the real estate market, I was a novice investor. I found this book to be very helpful and insightful and gave me a good solid vocabulary enabling me to converse intelligently with the Real Estate agents I was working with. I am now a full time Real Estate Agent specialing in commercial real estate and I continue to recommend this book to my customers with little background in Real Estate investing and purchasing.

If you are a seasoned investor with many purchases in your background and portfolio, then this book may not be for you. While you may or may not be aware of the many calculations and insights this book offers, I believe it is still a worth while addition to an investors library.

If you are new to Real Estate investing I highly recommend this book. It contains many helpful calculations and insights to give you a good solid background of what you need to know to invest in real estate.

The calculations are real world examples used in practice by both Residential and Commercial Real Estate Agents. It offers topics on Creative Financing, Property management as well as an overview of the various types of Investment properties.

I purchased a duplex 18 months ago and a triplex 6 months ago. I wish I had this book then. There are several things I would have done differently and many of my questions would have been answered. It's a great book for a starter. I give it only four stars because it gives little description on closing costs of properties but besides that it is excellent for people purchasing 1 to 4 unit properties. Tip: This book is at the library for free.

This is a beginner book on real estate investing, it covers all the essentials, but in a very boring school textbook style. It is so generic and so ultimately forgettable, there is not one piece of information that isn't covered in any other REI book with better insights and more detail.