Crime Books

I really liked the first of the Jake O'Hara books. The characters were hilarious, the mystery interesting, the descriptions of different areas of NYC very well drawn. I particularly like the funeral scene in Calvary Cemetary. It was a perfect description of a burial in that old cemetery. This is a good start to the series.

I really enjoyed this book. One reason was because of the interplay between Jake, the amateur sleuth, and her mother with whom she lives. The book also covered an area of writing that has not been talked or written about much...the ghostwriter. It was interesting to learn about this group of writers and their feelings about their work. I couldn't help but wonder just how much was real and how much was author creation/speculation. All in all, an extremely good read.

Noreen Wald answers that question in her book Ghostwriter and she answers it well. This is a great first in a series.

A witty, quick read, Ghostwriter tells the story of Jake O'Hara, ghostwriter extraordinare. She lives in New York with her mother and belongs to GA (ghostwriters anonymous). All is fine until she is asked to ghost for the Queen of Murder Most Cozy and her fellow ghosts start turning up dead. Will Jake be next? Who is killing off her friends by the book? Could it be the handsome and wealthy Dennis Kim, a successful agent and a childhood enemy of Jake's? Could it be Too Tall Tom or the Mob? What about Gypsy Rose, her mother's best friend and occultist? Or the sensual therapist who seems to have a connection to everyone and anyone?

With the help of her family and friends Jake teams up with the police detective assigned to the case but can she find the killer before he finds her?

While this was not the most suspenseful mystery I have read it certainly was fun - mostly because of the wacky characters that Noreen Wald has so expertly drawn. I can't wait to read more of the series.

From Joan Mazza, author of Dreaming Your Real Self: A Personal Approach to Dream Interpretation.

Ghostwriter is a funny, funny book and a wonderful new character in Jake O'Hara. A page-turner as well. Can't wait for the next of the series! Noreen Wald's mix of humor, wit, and mystery lingers with a grin.

Ghostwriter was a fun book to read. The humor wasn't insulting and obvious. The author avoided stating the obvious, particularly when it came to the ethnicities of her characters. The final sentence was great. I particularly enjoyed the insight into the world of ghostwriting.

Sublime, just sublime. I can't think of a better writer. Maybe a few equals but no better.
The author was born and raised in the Ozarks and paints fabulous word pictures of what it's like to be part of a clan with a hundred years or more of "intrinsic" patterns of behaviour and grudges.
Doyle Redmond *thinks* he has escaped it all and after leaving the armed services (dishonourably almost of course) ekes out a living as an author.
A family errand takes him "home" and he finds himself involved in the interminable feuds and the unlawful behaviour of the area.
I could go on and on but here is just one example of the descriptive writing--The description of Mr Slager from the liquor store:
"He was a crisp little bantamweight fella, up in years, who affected neomilitary attire. His shirts always sported epaulettes, or else they were camouflage. You could get cheap thrills by sticking his spit-shined shoes under skirts and keeping your eyes on the toes. Slager was a decent old skin, yet he had a wistful air about him, standing in the store window in the uniform of the day, that gave me the impression that he felt he'd unfairly survived a patch of combat back on Pork Chop Hill or some battle of that vintage"
There is a chilling sense of inevitability about what happens. Even Doyle knows it but cannot avoid his destiny. Indeed he is almost proud of it!
Do yourself a favour and read this author.

Woodrell finds the best way of combining pulp fiction with actual literature. This, I think, is his best book so far. The noir feeling is mixed with a sort of Gothic-Faulkner that is incredibly appealing.

Don't get me wrong, though, the pace of this novel moves unlike anything Faulkner wrote. The characters are rich and unique. The reader often feels as if a world unknown (almost a parallel world in the Ozarks) is being glimpsed. I don't know if there are Goomer Doctors in real life or is this is one of the author's creations. Either way, the novel feels authentic in a way I haven't experienced since reading Hemingway.

This guy is that good. Burke, Grisham, Norden, Hegwood, all you southern noir types go home. Woodrell is that good. This guy is a real writer's writer. A-1 on the jukebox and nowhere on the charts I guess. Give Us a Kiss displays a voice and style that harkens back to Faulkner, James M. Caine and Walker Percy. A true gem.

Can't get much better than this Woodrell guy--not when it comes to fusing violence with country living. Dag nabbit, they just go together like spittle on a backy-chewin geezer's whiskers. Woodrell is somethin' fresh and mean and lonesome and true in the land of the hardboiled. He takes you down a crick with Doyle Redmond, his protagonist, all cozied up with 19-year old Niagra, the daughter of Doyle's big brother Smoke, and when them two drift down that flowing water, heat just naturally gets turned up. Cause Niagra has flames lickin' up her legs--her sexy red boots--and Doyle's first look at 'em does him in. He's hooked.

Smoke's woman, Big Annie, cottons to Doyle in a sisterly/motherly way since he's her beau's brother and also after her daughter. The four of them harvest their dope (i.e., marijuana) cash crop which a pack of nasties, the Dollys, try to weasel in on. Take over, in fact. And, yes, it is a backwoods legendary feudin' thing--the Redmonds vs. the Dollys. The noir-ness of the book is not just this feud; it's Doyle's and Smoke's tendencies to feel things in the extreme.

This is a great read cause Woodrell is a mighty fine writer. He knows how to sling the right words, blend them smooth as you please in an eminently readable way. Most entertaining. A genuine pleasure, if you ask me.

Pick it up and have a dang good time.

When our book club chose this book as part of its new author day, I thought "what kind of trash is this." But like a good shot of moonshine, it was revolting enough to leave its mark and tasty enough to make me want more. HOnestly, why hasn't this guy gotten his due? There is more slick writing, quirky characters and raunchy adventure i nthis book then many books twice its length. And with the lead character a sort of hillbilly writer/philosopher (that is not a contradiction in terms!) one has a narrator throughout the book who never fails to make you laugh. THe book centers around the adventures of Redmond Doyle, a hack writer who returns home to the Ozarks from a more "high falutin" environment, only to find out that you cannot escape your past or your roots. As he gets pulled into the inevitable feuds and violence that is part of Ozark lore, he wonders why he ever left in the first place.With plenty of fights, sex, hillbilly weirdness and the ramblings of the main character, the book is liike a canoe ride down the river in Deliverance. It will make you squeal like a pig!

High Steaks is a story that is ultimately about people. You get to meet a full spectrum of characters in this book, all of them equally fascinating, quirky and engaging. Mr. Loughran has the great talent of inciting emotion in the reader. I found myself loathing some characters and wishing I could buy a drink for some of the others. The story is fast-paced and immediately engaging. I highly recommend this book.

Rob Loughran's career has consisted of working in restaurants. HIGH STEAKS is his first novel, and is the winner of the Fourth Annual Mystery Award.

Davis O'Kane's ex-wife wants custody of their twin daughters, the house, and to make his life miserable. He adores his twins, and his restaurant isn't doing so well either. He is a certified member of Gambling Anonymous. But when Wanda Marie, his on and off girlfriend, is found dead in the freezer in the restaurant of Nightingale, Nevada, Davis begins to wonder if there isn't a conspiracy out to get him. Freddy Finnegan, the town drunk whom Davis feeds a nightly steak, turns up in the trunk of his car, and the IRS comes knocking at the door. All the while, notes from Wanda Marie are addressed to the friends of Davis urging them to bet on a horse named Future Glue that barely qualifies for its races. Something doesn't smell right:

"No one's stupid enough to have a horse work out the morning of a race. Davis fumbled with the HumVee's door and walked to the trailer-Woody monitored his actions in the mirror. Future Glue lolled against the padded and blanketed side of the trailer, held up by a bridle and three straps. The horse's tongue lolled, gray and dry, from the side of his mouth. Davis jogged back to Woody. 'You've been doping Future Glue?'"

HIGH STEAKS is a mystery packed with many subplots all leading to the same conclusion. Davis is a nice-guy hero who is surrounded by misfits; spies; mobsters; and bad cops. The plot is driven by vignettes involving the various characters and their motives, and the denouement is a squirmer for anyone who loves animals and horses in particular. HIGH STEAKS exposes yet another seamy side of horse racing and the greed that usually results in beautiful horses being destroyed. Throughout the story, the drifty but celestial writings of the deceased Wanda Marie provide insight and depth to a well conceived plot.

We can't help but root for Davis to put his life back together, and the lovely Tasha appears just as things are at their bleakest. All's well that ends well, and Davis becomes a humble hero in the end, inviting a sequel. The reader gets to see Davis win and stay unaffected. A good read.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Everything about this book is slick. It ain't like reading, it's like listening to music. It just flows through around-and-through-you. It's slick. I read a lot of mysteries and they're somewhat contrived--I love the town of Nightingale; I care about the people who live there. The minor characters in this book complete this book. They all have souls and friends and families I care about. I actually forgot this was a murder mystery--I cared that much about Wanda Marie, and Zenny, and Davis, and Rohn and John. I really did. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. You'll be delighted. I've never reviewed anything; ever. But this is such an entertaining and delightful book I must.

This will be a movie; hop on the bandwagon early and read this book.

Never have I read such an intelligent dissection of white trash mentality. High Steaks exposes the mores and foibles of Nevadan society--but lovingly. There is a humorous juxtaposition between the slick prose and what that prose describes that is wickedly clever. Very visual book; I can't wait for the movie.

Swiftly moving, gripping, heartfelt, intelligent, funny, sensitive, emotional, and brutally honest down and dirty. Rob takes you on a journey with masterly crafted interwoven plots, but doesn't let you get lost in them. He gives just enough info to portray the scene and to make the reader feel up close and personal with the characters, but does not overwhelm the reader with unnecessary and excessive detail. And boy could he. Who has this depth and scope of knowledge of so many topics?? Again what intelligence! The characters are all so different and fleshed out really well, you really feel like you're there with them - a sweeping scope of human existence in many of its forms. An intriguing plot hard to put down...It felt as though I was watching a movie. Can't wait to see it! Keep em' coming Mr. Loughran!

This book is well written. Always keep you on the edge of your chair. I love the Murder She Wrote Series of books. It is as good as the TV show.

When Jessica is asked by her love interest, George Sutherland, to come to his family castle in Wick, Scotland, Jess is thrilled. She invites some of her friends from Cabot Cove along too.
When Jessica arrives, she is greeted by a ghost. When an eccentric movie director wants to shoot there because of the ghost, it is all Jess can do to keep him off her back. But when a young girl is found slaughtered the same gruesome way the "ghost" was, the vacation is ruined.
Since Jessica is always investigating the murder, she has no time to spare with Sutherland. The reasons that I like this book are because you get your favorite Cabot Cove chararecters in an exotic setting. Second, the characters are all two dimevsional. A great read!

Jessica Fletcher is invited by her friend, George Sutherland, to visit his castle in Scotland. But the castle is rumored to be cursed by the witch executed centuries ago. Bizarre incidents happen one after another, and superstitious people blame George and his castle.

I like "Murder, She Wrote" TV series and I expected this novelization was also nice. But I am disappointed. This book's Jessica lacks the most important quality that makes her successful as a mystery writer and a sleuth; namely curiosity. Every time an incident happens, she dismisses it to enjoy her vacation. That's not an attitude of a sleuth. That's NOT Jessica Fletcher I like. Just an ordinary amiable lady.

And the truth is extremely easy to guess. I feel that the author deliberately keeps Jessica inactive to lengthen the story. Indeed, in the last 50 pages, Jessica gets suddenly active and easily solves the mystery. Disappointed.

Excellent! I was a little skeptical at first, but was wonderfully delighted. For those who loved the series, this is a great book!

My mom got me into the Murders She Wrote books. This by far is the best one! I have read them all and this is my all time favorite. This is an awesome book to have. If you love mysteries you will love this book.

I liked this book. It had an intricate plot and nice pacing. Dr. Chern could have used even more doctor speak as far as I am concerned.

I would have liked a bit more on the other characters, but that is hard to do when the story is told from the point of view of the author.

The story would have been better with fewer bodies. The author is too calm surrounded by so much death.
She takes unreasonable chances.

Still, I was left wanting more.

Excellent first effort. Please put more stories on the menu.

If you're looking for a book that will keep you turning the page, reading during your free time and late into the night, this one's it! It's got a great pace and every element is entertaining. Plus Ms. Chern's topic is fresh and intriguing. And her writing style is reminiscent of the best in the field. This is one writer that you will want to hear from again and again.

Waiting for the next one, Ms. Chern.

I particularly enjoyed the gact that although the baddies were fairly obvious, and the existence of a connection among the different occurrences fairly obvious, the explanation was actually, for a change, NOT obvious. (i can't speak to its plausibility, though). The relationship between tamsin and her significant other, while not as fully drawn as i hope it will become, was much above average in its level of interest. Tansin's fear of the "other Woman" was overblown, and the other characters were not fully drawn. however , I would expect ms. chern to get better at this, and i will be looking forward to the next one.

I particularly enjoyed the gact that although the baddies were fairly obvious, and the existence of a connection among the different occurrences fairly obvious, the explanation was actually, for a change, NOT obvious. (i can't speak to its plausibility, though). The relationship between tamsin and her significant other, while not as fully drawn as i hope it will become, was much above average in its level of interest. Tansin's fear of the "other Woman" was overblown, and the other characters were not fully drawn. however , I would expect ms. chern to get better at this, and i will be looking forward to the next one.

I loved this book and I hope there are more to follow in the series. The storyline flows on at a great pace with loads of interesting developments.

I bought this to help perform research on a security course that I'm preparing. Even though the information on some of the honeypot programs is a bit outdated, I still found the book very helpful. It's well-written, and gives a very good explanation of how to implement honeypots. It was a tremendous help in my research.

This book is written with obvious passion towards honeypots as the author obviously believes in the power of honeypots in making the corporate network a safe place. The discussion cover simple and advanced topics in honeypot motives, creation and trapping hacker information. In all, a well researched book that evangelises the use of honeypot intrusion detection

This book did a great job of presenting the concepts of modern honeypot technology. It begins by covering the basic concepts of what the different types of honeypots can do, the different design concepts of production honeypots vs. research honeypots and how honeypots can be an aid to network security in any organization. The one thing I did'nt like was the "flow" of the book and the way some chapters were written. There was an exessive amount of fluff, some topics were beat like a dead horse. The book could easily have shaved off 50 pages making it a better read. Overall, it was a great book, I learned a lot, and would recomend it to anyone looking for an intro to honeypots. The included CD was a plus as well.

Honeypots is an excellent introduction to the subject of honeypots, useful as a reference for experts as well as for beginners to the subject. It is written very clearly and provides step-by-step instructions with plenty of examples and screenshots. It covers commercial, open source, and do-it-yourself solutions, from very simple low-interaction detection honeypots to very high-interaction research honeypots. A CD-ROM is included with software and example data collected by honeypots. One defect is a fairly large number of typos.

Honeypots: Tracking Hackers By Lance Spitzner (Senior Security Architect for Sun Microsystems, Inc.) is an advanced computer science text to understanding and making use of "honeypots" (technological systems specifically designed to be compromised by online attackers) as burglar alarms, incident response systems, or tools for gathering information about hackers in order to better guard the security of one's compter data. Technical know-how, advanced theory, guidance from three legal experts, and more fill the pages of this excellent and very strongly recommended resource for anyone invested with cyber security responsibilities. An accompanying CD-ROM contains white papers, source code, and data captures of real attacks to facilitate the deployment of honeypot solutions to serious computer problems.

Product was used but in good condition. Description was helpful and accuraate. Mailed at a reasonable timeframe and rate.

I'll keep this short - READ this book. Well written, scarey as heck and true ! A must-read for true crime buffs.

Stephanie Stanley was a reporter for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans in 2002. She proves to be a talented true crime author with this book.

There is a common theme with some serial killers-an abusive petty criminal breaks the law with impunity and recieves little or no punishment. As a child nothing is his fault. Derrick Todd Lee shares that theme with Kenneth McDuff.

The investigations into the multiple murders that Lee committed were hampered by two factors. First,the usual routine of looking at those closest to the victims as suspects. Husbands and boyfriends. Next was the F.B.I.'s profile that suggested a white male was the serial killer. The author spotlights the pain and disappointment of victims' families as well as some members in law enforcement that believe Lee could have been investigated 5 years earlier, sparing lives of latter victims.

Another problem in the investigations was the fact that he killed in multiple jurisdictions, crossed racial lines in selecting victims,and used different means of killing. A versatile murderer. It took time for authorities to link up the crimes.

As with many cases, DNA evidence was crucial in eventually connecting Derrick Lee to 6 victims. The author explains some of the process without getting too technical.

"An Invisible Man.." is one of the better,recent true crime books that I have read. I recommend it.

This is a must read if you like to be scared and love true crime. I read a lot of true crime but must say this book really got me scared. Reading it late at night, I double, triple checked all the locks before I went to bed! This story of a serial murderer who gets into women's houses in nice neighborhoods to brutally murder them, is frightening and terrifying.

I read loads of true crime, and this one is very well written and is a good story. I wasn't familiar with this case and I like to learn the details of a case as I go along, and that is the way this is written. Some true crimes give the ending away in a preface, or a first chapter which I do not like. This is very a very intersting case of a serial killer, and I can only imagine the horror this man inflicted, seemingly for his own satisfaction. Well, I guess that is the definition of a serial killer/psychopath/sociopath. Call him what you will, he is an awful man and belongs where he is! Held my interest from first page to last page. Hopefully Stephanie A. Stanley has written other books ..... I keep up-to-date on new true crime books through the search button at Amazon, and always read the reader reviews, if there are any. This book had good reviews, and they were right on. Thanks to all the readers who review at Amazon!

I had very ambiguous feelings about Kirsten Miller's first Kiki Strike book Inside the Shadow City. Although I loved the cover art and most of the characters, I felt like the book didn't live up to its full potential. Despite my misgivings (and the fact that no one shared them), I remained optimistic about Kiki Strike #2, feeling confident that it would be better than the first since Miller would have had more time with the characters she was writing about and to iron out her writing voice (which I thought was inconsistent in the first book).

Well, I finally had a chance to read Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb and am very happy to say, my hopes were not unfounded as this book was definitely better than the first in the series. Although this book does follow up on plot points from the first book, this one does stand alone. There is enough summary of important information that, if you read the first one a while ago (or not at all), the storyline will still make sense.

The story once again follows the Irregulars--brilliant albeit sometimes misguided Girl Scouts who were recruited by girl spy extraordinaire Kiki Strike to help her map Manhattan's secret Shadow City and protect it from criminal exploitation. This time, however, the Shadow City is not the major plot. Kiki and narrator Ananka Fishbein also take a back seat to fellow Irregular Oona Wong who, for lack of a better word, is the star of this story--just look at the cover if you don't believe me.

Master forger turned entrepreneur and sometimes blackmailer, Oona has always been one of my favorite characters and I was really happy to see more of her in this book. Unfortunately, the Irregulars don't feel the same as they grow tried of Oona's continued snark and snobbery. To make matters even worse, that means no one has time to hear Oona's important news.

That isn't to say that the other girls don't have problems. Kiki's life is in danger (again). Ananka's mother is threatening to send her to a boarding school in Virginia of all places if she can't get her grades up. Meanwhile Betty, the group's master of disguise, seems to have attracted the attentions of the giant squirrels that have started wandering the city's parks. Add to the mix a haunted mansion, a prodigal parent, and Oona's dramatic secret and you have a story jam-packed with excitement.

The tone of The Empress's Tomb feels a lot more even than Miller's first Kiki Strike book. I suspect this has to do with the book being grounded in one time period instead of starting with the characters at the age of twelve the way the first book did. In addition to being a fast-paced read, the novel also offers an interesting commentary on secrets (when to keep them and when to share them) as almost every character has something up her sleeve in the way of hidden information.

Speaking of information, Miller also once again includes some of Ananka's useful information at the end of some chapters. Her findings include: how to be mysterious (learn to be quiet and invent a secret among other things), how to find information in people's trash (and what to avoid placing into your own trash), as well as a quiz on events in the book that, were I a teacher, I might assign to students if I had them read this book in class--which I really could. Because Miller writes a good story with a lot of practical information that could be applied to everyday life (maybe you'll never be digging through someone's trash, but it's good to be aware of what people might find if they dug through yours).That is one of the reasons I stuck with Kiki Strike, and one of the reasons The Empress's Tomb was so much fun to read: Miller doesn't just write a good story she writes a good, informative (and fun) story.

Welcome to New York City, home of rogue princess Kiki Strike and her band of Irregulars. Sound familiar? Well, this story has nothing on Sherlock Holmes! The lead character in this particular mystery is Ananka Fishbein, one of the Irregulars. We begin our adventure helping with the mapping of the Shadow City - it's almost done, but this last little bit has some secrets of its own and Ananka is just the person to unearth them. However, giant squirrels are popping up all over the city while people are claiming muggings - by gigantic squirrels! What in the world could be going on? Ananka is suspicious of the stories until one of her fellow Irregulars is mugged - and now the only map of the Shadow City is missing. The Irregulars band together to solve the mystery of the secret squirrels - and end up uncovering a much bigger secret than a nutcracker!

Tensions are running high amongst the Irregulars - Oona is being irascible while Kiki is missing meetings and not returning calls. With the introduction of Kaspar, the boy who lives in the park, to the group, uncertainty writhes its way into the trust of the friends. Not to mention the pressure from Ananka's parents, who are noticing her school absences and exhaustion which have been causing lower grades at her private school. With the threat of a farm-based boarding school on the horizon, she continues to risk her freedom for the Irregulars despite the doubts that have been creeping in about the loyalty of some members. Their arch-enemy (well, one of them at least) Lester Liu has retired from the crime life and has suddenly become a benevolent philanthropist, but the girls can't believe the abrupt change in character and dig to find the truth behind the haunted mansion where he now lives, as well as the art exhibition he's donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But will they live to uncover Liu's deceptions to the public, or will the Shadow City rats become immune to the rat-repellant fragrance and attack?

This is an awesome young adult/juvenile mystery. There is a lot of character development and many sub-plots going on to help with the concepts of loyalty and trust amongst friends & family, as well as the moral of believing in people and liking someone - no matter the age or sex - for who they are. Bonus information is provided on how to know if your house is haunted, improve your memory, and things you can learn by going through the trash.

Let me first say that the first book in the Kiki Strike series is my favorite book of all time, so I was, obviously, extremely excited when I heard that a second book was coming out. I had very high expectations, since I had loved the first book so much. Now, this book was written very well, and it is still notable, but while I was reading it, I couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed. It almost felt like one of those sequals that were written just because its predecessor sold so well. Nonetheless, I still fell in love with the characters once again, but this time, the plot was not as genious, and the book just didn't quite keep me at the edge of my seat.

Just as good as the first one and maybe even better! It's action filled and full of mysteries. This should go on everybodies must read books!

I thought this would make a nice present for my daughter, but as she's only 11, I thought I'd read a chapter or two to make sure it was appropriate for her. Danged if I wasn't up til 4am reading all the way to the end!

The author knows how to keep the story moving, and the internal dynamics of the seven friends will keep any reader's interest.

I wish these books were better known and easier to find than other, inferior books in this genre.

I took "Lt Colonel de Maumort" on a cruise in 2006. I started reading the book on the flight out and was virtually in awe of what I was reading. The discription of his youth and his relationship with his father was very impressive. When it came time to start the cruise, I put on my seasick patch that kept me from getting seasick but also dulled my mind enough that this book suddenly became "over my head". After I had switched to a less intensive series of books, I returned to Lt.Col de Maumort and read it one chapter at a time. I liked it better that way for some reason. Maybe it was because it is so intense a style and depth of writing that I preferred savoring it. When I came to the end of the book, I planned on reading the 130 or so pages of letters and files that comprised, I believe, the further notes on the outline of this posthumously editted and published work. I still haven't gotten to that part but I'm sure I shall some day. This is the fourth book by Roger Martin du Gard that I have read and all, with the exception of the short novel "The Postman", seemed to be very deep. I am always on the look out for more of his work translated into English. I have read a book entitled "The Thibaults" but I get the impression that it was just one vollume of a larger worker under the same name. I would appreciate any information that might clarify that for me. In the meantime I would rate "Maumort" as the best of his works that I have read. The book bogs down a bit about halfway through with a prolonged incident that didn't, in my opinion, add much to the book.

As I understand it, du Gard left a partially completed novel that was completed largely on the notes he left behind. I an many others are grateful for the effort. Often it is an author's lessor works that appear after their death (probably because the author might not have thought that particular book was worthy of publication). However, in the case of Roger Martin du Gard, it is just the opposite.

Some people like short books, others like them long - I like them great. I read this book in every spare moment I had for two weeks. I've finished it, and now I am bereft. Reading it, I felt so known, so human, so accompanied. I want the honesty and clarity of this book in my life.

I stopped reading Colonel Maumort at the halfway point. So good, I'm saving it for vacation. Same feeling I had when I read Tolstoy.

I was hooked early in this amazingly ambitious novel by a lovely metaphor where the narrator Maumort compares the way our early memories follow one another to the fish that came each morning out of the lake on lines that he and his sister had set the evening before. Yet memory is only part of the story, as Maumort, a career army officer, is also in thrall to matters abstract, in love with ideas, theories, analysis--all that intellectualising that we Americans love to have the French do for us. However all that cerebration also serves du Gard in developing his characterisation of the Lt Colonel himself, a man determined to understand himself and his society. That such an ambitious story reads so fluidly and fluently is a testimony to both du Gard's and his two translators' splendid prose. Midway in the novel is is a cinematically rendered and unsparing account of a tragic seduction that utterly establishes du Gard's gifts as a novelist, and which by itself might justify the entire novel, were there not so much more here: the marvellously canny portraits of character after character who Maumort encountered in his life, the unflinching account of human sexuality (especially early male sexual experience), the lavishly detailed picture of French society, and as already mentioned, no shortage of food for thought. All this capped by a poignant and powerful moment of dark paralysis towards the close, as the aged Colonel, having just reclaimed his beloved rural estate from its Nazi occupiers, takes one last look back at a relentlessly examined life.

Timothy Crouse has always had an eye for the telling story that's right under everyone's nose, but which most everyone else misses. His book "The Boys on the Bus" was the first not only to notice the enormous power of the press in a presidential campaign but also candidly to describe its operations.

His journalism over the years has been marked by a stubborn willingness to describe contradictions and unfairness, bringing a clear Orwellian eye to an examination of the social and political conventions by which we live and would just as soon forget. Yet he has always been among the most entertaining and fluent of writers, successfully tackling many genres.

His update of the libretto to Cole Porter's musical "Anything Goes" matched that 1920s show with the madcap spirit of the `80s, and ran for years in New York.

When, lately, the word trickled out that for his latest project Crouse was engaged in translating a massive, 60 year old French novel, by an obscure (to Americans) Nobel Prize winner that dealt in detail with French life in the 19th century, readers wondered what was with this chronicler of our own times and spirit.

Trust Crouse, however, to find the contemporary in what everyone else thought of as antique. The book, "Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort" (Knopf), written by Roger Martin Du Gard, is now out in a fluent, companionable translation done jointly by Crouse, and his collaborator, Luc Brebion Ph.D.

Brebion himself is a distinguished, Berkeley-based, writer, translator and lecturer on aesthetics

As an example of the translators' art, Brebion and Crouse have produced a model. The text flows easily and persuasively; the notes are few and unobtrusive; the narrative voice is candid and companionable. In age when most writers are writing books designed to be read in 10 minute spurts, Brebion and Crouse offer a text that inveigles the reader into a richer, more rewarding reading experience. The ten minutes you have before bed for reading, quickly becomes with "Maumort" thirty, thirty minutes become forty-five.

Ostensibly the memoir, written as the Nazis invade France in 1940, by a retired French officer of his life in the previous 80 years, "Maumort" is a surprisingly frank and insightful account of social, family, political, intellectual, and sexual manners.

It may indeed have been too frank - the author, Martin du Gard, who died in 1958 before he could finish the work, had, at any rate, ordered its publication to be posthumous.

One of the most modern portraits is of a single woman, who adopts a child, only to be disappointed when the adopted child fails to prove to be brilliant. The consequences are horrible as the mother withdraws from the adopted daughter. As Martin duGard writes, "In fact, she was not satisfied with loving the girl, she wanted to be proud of her as well, wanted her affection to be, as it were, justified by the child's exceptional qualities." This novella, "The Story of Henriette," sounds an eerie current note as one listens to contemporary parents measure their children's worth primarily in terms of schools, and tests.

Written with enormous sympathy for the plight of each of its characters, "Maumort" nonetheless posits that much human behavior is situational, not innate. As Americans, these days, feel more and more that they are born into tribes, some may find this view controversial, others, objecting to the reduction of personality to traits, may find it welcome. It is an insanely contemporary discussion.

Martin du Gard's detailed portraits of marriages will leave readers' jaws agape as they see themselves in the lives of these early 20th century Parisian couples.

And as baby-boomers find themselves in small families, wondering about old age, Martin du Gard's assessment of the failures and strong points of large families, and on the emotional life of the aging, is vivid and apposite.

"Maumort" is one of the first novels in which there is a serious, modern treatment of gay themes. A subsection of the novel, entitled "The Drowning", an account of a tragic obsession between a schoolteacher-soldier and a baker's apprentice, rivals Melville's "Billy Budd" as a depiction of the high cost that is paid when societal strictures cross passion, drowning not only happiness, but also courage.

Not the least of the book's valuables, is the vocabulary Martin du Gard - and here the translation work of Brebion and Crouse is at its most pellucid - gives to the evanescent moments when a relationship shifts and suddenly redefines itself.

Although Martin du Gard was unable to finish his portraits of French military leaders, his panorama of Parisian intellectual life is rich. Again, while these portraits are rooted in a long gone age, they are of more than antiquarian interest: Here is the academic who, beguiled by the media scene, never writes anything important. Here is the blustering ideologue who has nothing to say, but says it about everything. There, the trust-fund baby, rendered impotent by an addiction to comfort, who nonetheless considers himself part of the great world of affairs.

His sketches of French military and political leaders also resonate deeply. As I read them, I found myself thinking, "that's as apt a description of Bill Clinton [or George W. Bush, or Al Gore, or Bill Bennett, say] as I've ever read.

So Brebion and Crouse have pulled from history, a novel valuable not only for its description of olden days, but primarily for its uncanny, and needed, articulation of the people, mores, and manners of our own day.

Part and parcel of the book is a section containing Martin du Gard's notes and files. These "Black Box files" offer a fascinating insight into an author struggling with, and conquering, problems of narrative. A boon for writers.

I love suspenseful novels that keep you guessing, and this is one! I'm usually very good about picking the killer but EVERYBODY was suspect to me in this book. When an author can hide the killer the entire time, it's a real treat. I wasn't surprised at who it turned out to be because I knew it had to be one of the several people I suspected.

In addition to the suspence, this novel has a thread of romance. You easily fall in love with the characters and invest in their relationship. I cared what happened to these characters and cared about the survival of their relationship.

If I had to complain, I would say that I wished it was even more scary. I was expecting to be scared out of my wits but it was hard to relate to a woman who lived in the middle of nowhere with no electricity in the 90s. I think if the setting had been an apartment in the city, I would have been more likely to feel frightened because I would be thinking this could happen to me. Instead, I was distanced from the situation because I could not relate to the setting.

However, I think this is a wonderful novel and worth the read. I highly recommend!

Artist Katie Summers has not had a real relationship since the death of her fiancée, Todd. No man has ever come close to stirring her feelings the way he did. She is devastated when he is killed in the Vietnam war, but knows she must continue living. She finds a job at a local coffee shop and lives in the small town of Belleville at Black Lake in a home owned by her late aunt.

After being stood up by her boyfriend, Katie drives home in a terrible storm. She is shocked to see a pair of "dead" eyes staring at her in the rearview mirror. Her car crashes and she winds up in a coma for four days. When she wakes up, nobody believes she saw anything in her rearview mirror, especially when she claims the eyes were identical to her dead fiancée's.

As a psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shea is called in to consult on Katie's condition. He finds her story hard to swallow, but he can't put her genuine fear out of his mind. Jonathan has his own troubles, as he recently requested a one-year sabbatical from his job to clear his head after the suicide of one of his patients. Still, Jonathan finds himself intrigued with Katie's situation and promises to keep a watchful eye on her.

When Katie is released from the hospital, strange and terrifying things begin to happen to her and the people she cares about. She can't figure out who would want to hurt her like this. She tries to resist the concern of the handsome Dr. Shea, but she finds herself leaning on him more often than not. She isn't even sure he can be trusted.

LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS has shades of the old gothic stories, complete with the scary old house. Joan Hall Hovey's characters are life-like and you can actually feel the fear the heroine is experiencing. Hovey's descriptions make the story jump out at the reader in this compelling, page-turner. This story has the makings of a classic. Review by Yvonne Hering

Joan Hall Hovey's novel, Listen To The Shadows is an incredible page-turner. The suspense is so real, the characters so alive that you can practically touch them. It is a must-read for any reader of suspense. It draws you in so quickly and tenaciously, you won't be able to put it down until you're finished. You simply cannot afford to miss reading it. --

Jordan Zed, singer/songwriter

***** 5 Stars (Excellent Read)

I have to admit that I have never read any of Joan Hall Hovey's books until I read this one. Now, I'm truly sorry I didn't discover this author's worth earlier.

In Listen to the Shadows, Ms. Hovey gives us a chilling, and very believable, insight into the mind and motivations of a true sociopathic killer. Obsession, icy lack of emotion or real feeling for another human being, and more. To say this book is a spine-tingler of the first order is to do it a grave injustice. It is a brilliant novel that portrays just how wrong a human mind can go; to the limits of insanity.

I won't spoil the story by telling the audience what the book is about or how it ends. Let's just say that if you miss out on this one, you've missed one of the best thrillers written in this century.

As well as penning suspense novels like 'Listen To The Shadows' and 'Nowhere To Hide', Joan Hall Hovey's articles and short stories have appeared in such diverse publications as The Reader, Atlantic Advocate, The Toronto Star, Mystery Scene, True Confessions, Home Life magazine, Seek and various other magazines and newspapers. Her short story, Dark Reunion was selected for the Anthology, Investigating Women, published by Simon & Pierre, edited by David Skene-Melvin.

Joan Hall Hovey is also a writing instructor. She lives in Gondola Point, New Brunswick, Canada, in a modest but comfortable home overlooking the banks of the Kennebecasis River, with her husband, fat cat, Sasha, and neurotic poodle, CoCo. She is currently working on her third suspense novel.

Ariana Overton, Author and Senior Editor/Clocktower Fiction.com

Written with the finesse and grace of a master, Joan Hall Hovey's first novel, LISTEN To THE SHADOWS, is an engrossing tale of fear and danger certain to keep the reader awake, turning pages long after bed time, and listening carefully to everything around them.

A man without a conscious stalks artist Katie Summers. She hasn't seen him, but she senses his presence. A tingling on the back of the neck, a flicker out of the corner of the eye, and an instinctual awareness of danger are her only warnings.

Stood up by her date late one night, Katie leaves the restaurant alone to drive through a storm to her remote country home. She doesn't notice the headlights following her. But when she does glance in the rearview mirror, the sight of a dead man's sightless blue eyes staring back at her results in a nearly fatal accident. She doesn't know, as she lies unconscious and bleeding, with her car crushed by a telephone pole, that her stalker lurks close by, watching.

After four days in a coma, Katie awakens in the hospital. There she meets Dr Johnathan Shea, a sexy, vibrant, man carrying a heavy load of guilt over the loss of a young patient. A romantic interest develops, spiced by fierce attraction, sexy intrigue and danger. But the question remains as to whether he will be enough to protect Katie from a madman.

Joan is a powerful new voice in the world of suspense and mystery. Her tight plot, well-developed characters and originality will satisfy the reader's craving for tension and danger. I certainly look forward to more novels by the promising author with great eagerness.