Kidnapping Books

American children went missing before and after Adam Walsh, but his was the first to gain national media attention. His parents were likable, educated and well-spoken, and Adam was kidnapped from the safest place anyone could ever imagine, from inside a Sears department store. The Walsh family's story could have been any American family's story. I remember seeing the original news stories, and the national TV interview of John and Reve Walsh, on the same morning that their son's headless body was found in a Florida canal.

The true story that John Walsh tells is about a family nearly torn apart by the senseless murder of a little boy, and the anger and rage that they turned into positive action and change, establishing the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and later, becoming host of the TV show America's Most Wanted, which has brought home missing children and helped police to solve murders and bring killers to justice.

The murder of his own child remains unsolved, but Walsh believes that he knows the identity of the killer, a homeless drifter who later died in prison, where he was serving time for crimes unrelated to the murder of Adam Walsh.

I've never read a book so gripping or heart wrenching. My condolences to you and your family Mr. Walsh; my heart breaks for you.

John Walsh has decided he is the voice for victims everywhere. The problem is, fewer and fewer people want him to be. Why? Because of things like this book.

He seems to ignore reality in favor of what he wants us to think.

I agree that this book is very sad and heart breaking. I can only begin to feel the sadness and heart break that this man and his wife went through. This book reveal that. I could only somewhat feel his pain because I have never been through it. This book proves that something good can come out of tragic happenings.

This book is more political then I thought. This man has accomplished a lot Worth the buy.

AS A MAN YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO CRY, BUT I DID, READING WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS SON AND THINKING OF MY OWN SON I JUST COULDNT HELP IT! ITS A GREAT BOOK AND MAKES YOU WONDER WHAT YOU WOULD DO IF IT HAPPENED TO YOU!

Randy Ingermanson writes "Don't read this book late at night! Strongly recommended for the reader who thinks they can't be sacred." Well I believed him so the book sat on my shelf. I originally purchased it because it sounded good and the reviews were great but I typically don't do "scary". Finally I said "what the heck" and I picked it up. To my surprise it was really good and not frightening, very suspenseful but not frightening. Yes, it did use children as the victim (which is as bad as it gets) but it was tastefully written and vacant of the graphic verbiage it could have easily contained. It wasn't really the storyline that kept this book moving at a fast pace but the fantastic character portrayal of Jude Allman... one of the greatest developments of a character ever written. Don't get me wrong, the storyline was excellent and will have you on the edge of your seat but its Jude you will come to root for. There were a couple of non-surprises in the book and some minor flaws but really not worth mentioning especially because they would spoil the book for you. I also had a theological problem with the story but again if I said anything it would give away an important piece of the character development so you'll have to figure it out for yourself.

Mr. Hines is a gifted writer and I'm looking forward to reading more of his books. I'm glad I was on vacation when I read this otherwise my work would have surely faltered from lack of sleep. Some readers will find this book life-changing so buy some copies and give them away.

1 Star = Pathetic
2 Stars = Fair
3 Stars = Good
4 Stars = Excellent
5 Stars = Life changing

... in all aspects. Not only was the story line unexpected and the ending a crazy twist, but the book as a whole was much better than I would have thought to come from a new author and a Christian publishing company. While there was a clear religious undertone, it was subtle and wouldn't detract from the story for those who don't usually like Christian books.

One of the best thrillers I've read. Well written, deep characters and a real surprise ending. Just the way I like a book to be.

This book surprised me by being as good as it was. A lot of Christian suspense books get published just because they're "Christian", regardless of quality. But this book is right on par with a lot of suspense authors in the secular market I enjoy. There was excellent character development and the story line kept up a good pace, with a neat twist in the end.

Jude Allman had died, and been resurrected, three separate times by the age of thirty-one. The first time, he fell through the ice in a lake fishing when he was eight, the second time, he was hit by lightning in a field while hiking when he was sixteen, and the third time, he was driving in the ice and snow and skidded into a ditch when he was twenty-four. Jude wrote a book that he wished he hadn't, and combined with the notoriety from his "resurrection tri-fecta", he was very dispirited when he became immensely famous. He tried to hide from his unwanted fame by leaving town and using the name Ron Gress as an alias. As Jude/Ron disengages himself from the world, he becomes so paranoid, that he covers the inside of all the windows in his house with Sheetrock and installs a complex security system as well. Jude/Ron takes a job as a janitor at a school in a small town in Montana, and slides into a shrinking, introverted, paranoid, personality, that develops a natural aversion to human contact. He even has to sleep in a reclining chair because he's afraid to lay down in a bed.

As children start disappearing in towns in Montana, Jude/Ron starts getting strange copper tastes in his mouth, and visions, as a warning of impending danger to come, or as clues to save people already in trouble.

This first time author, deftly juggles multiple scenarios and plots simultaneously, like a seasoned writer. Some of the descriptive phrases he pulls from his writer's tool box are pretty enjoyable: "Streams poured from Jude's clothing as if he were a sunken treasure lifted to the surface after centuries in the murky depths." "A sweaty bald man with a paunch crawled into Jude's circle on his hands and knees. The lottery numbers, he hissed. Gimme the lottery numbers." "His father was talking about things that made no sense to him, scary things that crawled up and down his spine on icy legs." "An icy block of dread began to settle in his stomach." His lungs felt as if they were filled with spun fiberglass." "She felt a cold sliver of ice starting to wedge its way into her spine."


This story will keep you anxiously reading till the last page. This is a thriller that combines spirituality along with horrific modern crimes. I can only hope that this is the first of many more terrific books by this author.

This is such a helpful book, I even purchased copies for my kids. This is a topic that needs to be talked about and exposed and this book is a great way to educate others on the topic of Parental Alienation Syndrome. It should be required reading for all involved in family court law. If I would have had this book ten years ago, my family may have been saved from the horrendous effects of PAS.

This book described my situation perfectly, as far as what PAS is. I am not and my kids are not adults yet, but it was good to know there is info on this "Syndrome".

Dr. Baker's work is becoming a solid seminal reference, helping children and families around the globe. This is the first study with solid statistics to give families warring with alienation, validation, hope and resources. If you or someone you know are at all affected by Parental Alienation, this is an absolute must read. The 40 case studies Dr. Baker describes, helps us understand the effects of grown up children that were alienated by a parent. In addition to describing the behaviors of how these actual parents alienated their children, Baker conveys the process these 40 grown children went through, realizing the alienation and the effect on their lives and perception of themselves. This is a real life look at 40 lives that were willing to share their story, so we might benefit. This is the first in what is sure to become a long line of research and statistical study for abused children and their families. Thank you Dr. Baker for your work of integrity and care. Know your research provides an integral base for connecting children, who have had part of their soul stolen, to tangible resources, help and healing. I look forward to the future research and study your work is instigating and inspiring.

As a targeted parent whose daughter has not spoken with him for the last 5 years, Amy Baker's book, "Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Breaking the Ties that Bind" has been the most informational and encouraging book I've read on the P.A.S. topic so far.

The reason is simple: This book is comprised of interviews of the KIDS (now adults) who were poisoned, not the parents who were either the alienator or target.

It was astonishing to read what these people, who as children were manipulated into hating one of their parents, had to say once they "woke up".

Without going into all of the results, let me mention the two most important lessons I learned from these kids:

1. The average length of time it took these kids to "wake up" was 20 years. Yikes! But, at least they woke up.
2. The overwhelming majority had wished the targeted parent tried harder to re-develop the relationship, regardless of how much they were "hated".

These two revelations are telling me: "Don't ever give up. Don't ever stop trying".

Thanks to Amy for doing this study and writing this book. It could prove to be the most important document I will see until I eventually reunite with my daughter.

Being a "targeted" parent as described in the book made this book quite helpful for me to understand exactly what I and my kids have and are going through. Dr. Baker's research and descriptions from those interviewed posted incredible similarities to my own experiences and gave me a new sense of hope.
If you are in fact a parent that has been alienated from your kids by another, this book is a must read. If you were alienated as a child from one of your parents, this book is no less an important read. If you are a therapist that counsels people in this position, it will prove to be an invaluable referance tool.

If you enjoyed Oke's "Love Comes Softly" series, you will surely love this book! This is my favorite of her books and I recommend this one to anyone who wants to read a good romance novel.

A gown of spanish lace is about a young women that is a school teach.
and a young man that has been raised by outlaws and without a mother.

its a wonderfull book about two young agult finding love..
and a young man finding out how he is... and coming to belive....
its a graet book full of mystery and Love and advetures. and a little acshon. graet graet book!
and I think you would enjoy it!
:-)

I loved this book it was wonderful they was they fell in love. Ariana and Laramie are perfect for each other. Ariana lived the life of a schoolteacher who was hungry for god's word. She wanted her students to feels the same. She loved her town and every thing it stood for. Well. She loved being a teacher. She was adopted. Her parents died in a raid on their wagon trail. All she has heft to remember her mother by is a dress, which she planes to wear when she gets married. That wont is for a while. Soon Ariana is kidnapped so that Laramie's father can get Laramie to kill some one. She is kept in a hut near the camp, the people that live in the camp our robbers and are horrible men. They are widely known. None of them know about Ariana being on there camp except for the boss and one of the other members of the camp. Sam, Sam told Laramie about his past, well at least as much as he knew. Gave him a trunk filled with Laramie's stuff. From when he was a baby. While Ariana is a captive her and Laramie fall in love by simple acts of kindness. Soon Laramie helps her escape. He almost kills someone for it. Once they escape there past begins to unravel, in a strange way the to lovers are connected very closely. Soon all is settled but the ending will take you by surprise. You don't see it coming.

This is the best book that Oke has written. I absoulty loved it and couldnt put it down until I finished it. Read it.

I really enjoyed this book.
My mom read it to me when I was three or four and recently
She recomended that I read it myself.
I am really happy that I did. It is about
a sixteen year old girl named Ariana who is a schoolteacher.
one day two men come to the school house and kidnap her during a blizzard.
She is taken far away to an old, small, dirty cabin and locked in. When she gets a new guard, Laramie, at first she is afraid of him, but then she starts to enjoy his company. He does not mistreat her and he buys her food and soap and all she needs. one day he decides to help her escape. It is a dangerous and risk, but Laramie is willing to take it and liberate her out of camp. Will they survive?
see for yourself. I think that you should definatly buy this book It has many twists that I did not mention. 5 STARS!

Interesting, detailed story. Typical Kertzer. A must read for students of Italian, Church and/or Jewish history.

We are accustomed to viewing excellent documentaries on the TV and the big screen. It is nice to find a literary documentary just as enjoyable. The mid 19th century was an incredible time for change. Europe was adjusting to the post Napoleonic ideals of political and religious freedom. The United States was fighting against the secular immorality of slavery. Prussia was building a military machine to dominate Europe. Italy was struggling with a unification which would require shedding the medieval yoke of the Catholic Church. In the midst of these changes a 6 year old Jewish boy , Edgardo Mortara, is kidnapped within the Papal States under orders of the Inquisition. The charge is that the boy has been secretly baptized. The baptism cannot be undone and therefore the boy cannot continue to live with his Jewish parents. Governments from around the world protest the kidnapping and Pope Pius IX responds with traditional dogma. This is a wonderful researched narrative which brings together themes which will be of interest to Christians, Jews and any reader curious about the changing role of the Roman Catholic Church in this period of European history.

The excellent DVD, "Secret Files of the Inquisition", (available from Amazon and Netflix) dramatizes part of this story and includes commentary by the author, David Kertzer.

Simply one of the most insightful books I have ever read. Thank you Mr. Kertzer for illuminating this fascinating event in our history.

Douglas Wood has already summarized and evaluated this book, justly praising its historical worth. I'd like to add a note about its shock value; in a moment of history when anti-semitism seems to be a joke in some people's minds, surely this is a book that might make the pain and folly of bigotry "real" in terms of a single family, and therefore accessible to readers who can't empathize with mass tragedy.
It's also quite a thrilling book to read, by the way, a better detective story by far than Dan Brown could manufacture.

A Jewish family's illiterate Catholic housekeeper sprinkles well-water over an infant child and furtively mumbles the baptismal sacrament. When the Inquisitor learns of the deed, he orders the kidnapping of the then six-year-old Jewish boy. This foul deed is almost certainly sanctioned by the highest levels of the Catholic hierarchy. The police forcibly remove the child from his family's Bologna home and swiftly transport him to the Church's House of Catechumens in Rome for reeducation. Despite all protests from the boy's family and the Jewish community and in the face of a destabilizing international uproar, the Holy Father refuses to yield. By holy grace, the boy has been miraculously saved and the Church keeps him, inculcates him in the Catholic Christian religion, and assiduously converts the boy.

The boy kidnapped in the name of religion? Edgardo Mortara. The Holy Father in question? Pope Pius IX. The year? 1858. That's right 1858, not 1458, not 1658, but smack dab in the middle of 19th century Europe.

Historian David Kertzer tells the complete tale in his excellent work, `The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara.' As Kertzer relates in the epilogue he learned to his surprise that there was no reliable work on this topic. Kertzer sets out to remedy this gap and succeeds by examining the episode in fine detail. Using detailed court and police investigation records, Kertzer explores numerous evidentiary questions such as whether the baptism took place at all, whether the proper conditions for a valid lay baptism existed, who put the girl up to it, and how did the Inquisition find out about it?

The story is told against the background of the movement to unify Italy under secular rule. And here is yet another surprise for the uninitiated reader, including this one: until 1861 the Pope was still the temporal ruler of a wide swath of the Italian peninsula (this rule continued on a lesser scale to 1870). The treatment of young Edgardo was one of the factors that helped build support across Italy and internationally for the Risorgimento or Italian reunification.

The episode also hastened Pius IX's evolution, shall we say, to reactionary beliefs. Pius IX not only made papal infallibility part of Church dogma, but he also issued his infamous Syllabus of Errors in 1864, a broad attack on rationalism, science, and religious freedom - really a frontal assault on the Enlightenment and most other signs of progress in the previous three centuries. If Kertzer's book does nothing more than direct his reader's attention to this astonishing document, he has succeeded in the historian's task.

Kertzer examines the trial of the Inquisitor in detail and the formidable difficulties facing the prosecution. For example, what crime did the Inquisitor commit when his acts were legal at the time he committed them? Would the new government prove willing to violate the fundamental principle that the accused must have had notice of the illegality of his acts?

As for Edgardo, he remained with the Church fathers until he reached his majority and by then his conversion had firmly taken hold. He went on to become a famed proselytizer for Catholicism especially among the Jewish peoples. This role may help explain why this story has remained untold: it embarrassed Jews and Catholics alike.

Some readers may find the detail devoted to the investigations and trials to be excessive, but bear in mind that Kertzer is writing the seminal history of Edgardo's kidnapping. A fascinating tale full of surprises, very highly recommended.

The third book in the Fearless series was fantastic. Just as good as the first two. The plot is really developing, and I am starting to see changes in all of the characters. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

I love these books and its the third time im reading these books and this is one of the better ones!! so yea woot!

Gaia Moore and one of her best - an only - friends Ed are just chilling out at Gaia's house one morning, and then Gaia opens up a HORRIBLE EMail. Her current crush Sam Moon has been kidnapped. And if she doesn't comply with the abductor's wishes in around 24 hours, Sam will die. Because, Gaia doesn't know that Sam is a diabetic and without his insulin he'll die. Gaia has a ton of crazy errands to run for the abductors - showing a pornographic video in her first hour class, and even murder! WIll Gaia get to Sam in time?

In the third book of the Fearless series, Gaia is on her first real adventure since the reader met her and so much happenes that it's hard to believe that all the events of the story occcured in one day. Sam, who is not on very good terms with Gaia (explained in book #2) is kidknapped under mysterious circumstances that not the reader nor Gaia knows about. The story follows her not only going on several tasks to save Sam, but takes the reader deeper into her past and the past of the other characters. I won't ruin the ending, but it isn't wrapped up in a neat little bow and solved happily. After the last page is turned, there are still a million questions the reader has. This was a great book in the series because it takes Gaia on her first adventure since starting in her new life. It puts a new spin on her relationship with Sam as well as some people from her dark past.

Gaia is angry. Sam is gone. He hasn't just disappeared on his own. No, he's been kidnapped. Someone has kidnapped him to get to Gaia. To hurt her. To make her feel pain. Now Gaia only has three hours to find him. Three hours. Or Sam will die. And it will be because of her. There will be no one to blame, except for Gaia.

This was a fantastic addition to the FEARLESS series. Pascal has created enticing and intriguing situations involving Gaia and her friends, that make you want to continue reading. A must-have book for fans of the previous books, FEARLESS and SAM.

(...)

I have great admiration for Yvonne Bornstein for having lived and breathed this horrific criminal act. The people who committed this crime should be shot, drawn and quartered! No-body should have to live through this kind of horrendous ordeal.
This book has been marvellously written and should be listed on the New York bestseller list.
I read via Google that Ms Bornstein is currently negotiating her life rights with a major Hollywood studio.
Out of something bad comes something good.
I truly hope that Yvonne succeeds in her venture, she really deserves it.

A Fantastic book. I highly recommend that you read it. It was interesting and I learnt a lot.

Monica.

In a popular Hollywood movie, one of the characters, playing a tough businessman who fancied himself a master of negotiating, expressed the opinion that in a business deal, there is no difference between a gun and a fountain pen. To believe that this is true is to believe that the use of force or violence to obtain monetary reward is equivalent to using artful negotiation, rational persuasion, or skillful selling. Coercion then becomes just another technique for the acquisition of wealth, and individuals in the business community who refrain from using it are to be viewed as "unrealistic" or even weak-minded. Strength of character therefore has its origins in a willingness to intimidate physically other people in order to bring about a desired end. Real business involves "doing whatever it takes" to increase wealth, even if this means causing extreme pain or even death.

There are many who believe in this equivalence, but thankfully there are many who do not. As the events of her life and skill in entrepreneurship indicate, the author of this book is a member of the latter category, and in this book has written an engaging (and terrifying) story of how she and her business partner/husband were forced to deal with some individuals of the former category. Kidnapped for eleven days, where they were beaten and intimidated by a collection of moronic and confused thugs, who could not distinguish the acquisition of wealth from its plundering, and who sadistically enjoyed the pain they gave their captives, the couple nevertheless got away with their lives, with the assistance of a unexpected collaboration between East and West.

For those, such as this reviewer, who are extremely skeptical of the competence of governmental security personnel, and of their abilities to cooperate constructively with foreign governments, this story will alleviate some of this skepticism (although the author describes the FBI as being reluctant to get involved). There are not too many things that are more frightening than the prospect of being caught in a foreign country where the laws and sense of justice are different, and where envy towards Westerners is predominant. And if one does find oneself in such a situation and does survive it, the natural thing to do it seems would be to obliterate it from memory. Reminders of it would be draining, both emotionally and intellectually, and would serve no useful purpose in everyday living.

The author though has chosen to tell her story, and has written one that is fast moving but still gives insight into her moods as well as her captors. It focuses of course on the concrete details of her captivity, but also motivates the reader to consider why her captors behaved as they did, and whether the wealth that they expected to obtain was really worth the energy they expended to get it. It is always perplexing to see a group of individuals conniving, planning, and engaging in violent acts, and expending vast amounts of energy just to obtain by relative standards a paltry sum of money. Considerably less energy is needed to obtain the same sum by legal and creative means, but for some reason these types of individuals cannot see this. The answer must be that they love the intimidation and sense of power that violence gives them. The neurons in their brains are over trained by sadism, polluted with cynicism, and allow no expression of compassion or empathy. The money they obtain is spent in no time flat, on fruitless physical indulgences or one meaningless card game after another. They idolize and prop each other up, with their handshakes and backslaps, and any real sense of achievement is completely alien to them. Taking is always better then earning. They unite under the creed that "only suckers work."

Interestingly, when the author discusses her emotional state with respect to her captors, she mentions the "Stockholm syndrome." This is supposed to be a kind of brainwashing that causes the captive to express sympathy for or even admiration for the captor. On the surface this does not seem too surprising, since when in a situation of dependence one's emotional processes are completely out of equilibrium, with a consequent loss of self-esteem. It is difficult to find definitive research on the reality of the Stockholm syndrome, due no doubt to low occurrence of situations like that of the author, and lack of explicit documentation of the emotional states of the captives, before and after their confinement. Such a syndrome could explain the reason why so many abused wives tend to remain emotionally attached to their abusive husbands.

At the end of the book, the author describes her homecoming and the skepticism that she and her husband encountered by some members of the press, who did not believe her story. Their business in shambles, they did pick up and move on, although the author describes her life as being very stressful for sometime after the kidnapping. And what happened to their captors? "Whereabouts unknown" says the author. Unfortunately these creeps are still wandering around, and their behaviors have been emulated on a grander scale in the form of the Russian mob, part of which is active in the United States.

This is a true story of "man's inhumanity to man" and a wake up call for those living in the television provided security of their living rooms. One cannot accuse Yvonne of of any zest for growing roots into the sofa, au contraire. However, the dangers she encounters go far beyond anything she ever imagined. Russia's organized crime proves too tough, too well organized, and too cruel, when Yvonne and her former husband, Danny Wienstock, are kidnapped by predatory thugs. This terrifying account of the torture and dramatic rescue is recounted in vivid detail Bornstein's suspenseful tale, ELEVEN DAYS OF HELL.


Yvonne's testimony drives home the fact that the events taking place in Russia affect everyone ... it's a small world we live in today. This is a read that tears at the nerves; Bornstein paints a lucid picture of the events of her and her husband's captivity in the town of Noginsk, involving horrible mental and physical abuses heaped on them. Fortunately, back at the ranch some good guys still work at the CIA, and they manage to unite forces with Russian and Australian authorities. The two stories are entwined in a way that builds tension nicely to a thrilling rescue, yet this is not the end. Yvonne must now grapple with the internal demons unleashed by her tormentors. The made for TV drama may be over, but, in the aftermath, her real battle has only just begun.

For anyone who wishes a peak into the horrors and mind set created by events that few of us have or will ever experience, this book is a must read. That said, those who have already experienced "man's inhumanity to man" may have a difficult time getting through the disturbing sequence of events. On the other hand, other victims of violence may be reasssured that justice does exist in the world, and it is sometimes served to the thugs who deserve it.

Yvonne Borstein and her husband Danny were kidnapped by a band of Russian gangsters and ex-KGB villians in early 1991. They were tortured physically and emotionally for a 1.6 billion dollar random (which was orders of magnitude above the liquid assets of the heavily-mortgaged Australian business-couple).

Was Yvonne an innocent tourist kidnapped in Russia? No. A do-gooder helping revive post-Iron Curtain Russia? Well, no. How about a profiteer involved with shady business deals on Russia's black market? Yep, that's it. In hindsight, Yvonne admits that she and Danny were dazzled by wealth, heavily over-mortgaged on their house, gambling by paying out millions in anticipation of high (but dubiously legal) returns, and they were unwilling to wake up to the many signs of trouble in their Russo-Australian import/export business. As a reader, I appreciated her candor and lack of excuses or assignment of blame.

Even shady entrepreneurs in economically ravaged countries don't deserve to be tortured for an insanely high ransom. Yvonne's book is the story of her entire life, from her childhood to her early troubled relationships before meeting husband Danny. Yvonne lays out the events which unraveled and lead south to the kidnapping. In captivity, Yvonne and Danny leveraged one another's strengths, plotting to get messages out to the world and to present the right "face" to their kidnappers. The couple only survived because of their union. When Yvonne was sexually assaulted, she knew she had to hide it during the captivity, to prevent her husband from violently assaulting their tormentors.

Bornstein bills her memoir as evidence of al-Qaeda alive and well in early 1990's Russia. This is certainly a good advertisement in the post-9/11 world, but it is a shaky claim at best. Sure, there is evidence of al-Qaeda, but don't pick this up expecting some all-conclusive smoking gun expose on Afghan terrorism.

Yvonne is a survivor and as inspiration to women everywhere. She dug up a lot of information to provide context to her own personal (and painful) narrative. Thanks for sharing your story, Ms. Bornstein!

What a unique and multi-dimensional character Mr. Douglas has created in Sara. I found myself drawn into her life right from the start. She is a strong female lead, who solves her problems herself. She doesn't go to some man to find her kidnapped niece and some man doesn't come to the rescue when she gets in trouble deep. Sara takes matters into her own hands and all I've got to say is that the guys who got between her and her kidnapped niece got what they deserved. This is a great story with a great female lead and when you throw in the non-stop action you really have a winner.

This is a fast paced book about two little girls who are kidnapped and how they elude their captors, while a desperate woman goes the extra mile to try and save them. I read this book over two nights and loved every second of the sleep I didn't get.

I finished the book Desperation Moon and I have mixed opinions about it.
I think it all depends on what a person is willing to read. I did find the language a bit vulgar, but it was meant to be that way. It didn't bother me too much because English is a 2nd language for my dad and cursing is his first. Even so, he is everyone's PaPa in our old neighborhood.

I had a hard time with Rice wanting to rape and touching Paige especially because she was a teenager. I think it could have been easier to digest if it were kept in his thoughts and he never touched her. This is just how I because of what I think about adults that prey on children in this manor.

With the exception of what appeared to be a few typo's and a mistake when you mentioned Sarah parents died in a plane crash then followed it up with them dying in an helicopter cash; I thought the writing was good.

The writing is very discriptive; I found myself in the bar when Rice was coughing, inhaling the red dust during the race in Australia, I saw Carole from behind standing in Sarah's kitchen, and I felt the mud in the ditch and on and on. I think that one of the most important things about writing is that a person should be able to feel and see what they are reading. I have not written much and do not consider myself a writer but as a reader. I have to feel the joy and pain when I read a book or it can take me forever to finish it by force.

I hope that you continue to write and publish new books. I haven't read any of your other books yet but I think I will. I think that in this age of what appears to be a attack on our young people, because your writing is good and very discriptive,some people may not be able to deal with it.
There were periods where I had a hard time with the contents and wondered what some of the women in my book club would think about me choosing this book.

I had thoughts of what kind of person could write in such detail about what Rice wanted to do and did do to Paige.

I was pleased that Rice could not go through with what he thought he wanted to do to Paige. I probably would have either stopped reading the book or skipped that part if he did. I felt like Somewhere in the back of his sick mind, he could not go through with it because she was a child. He felt that this would make him a freak or something.

He said something to the effect that someone who would do something like that to a child was sick earlier when they were all in the car and
he looked at Kelly.

My book club meeting is at 7:30. It takes us about an half hour to get settled. I would like to call you around 8:30 CT if this is not a problem. We shouldn't take up much of your time. to the meeting. We have also listed to a recorded interview of an Author at one
of our meetings. I think that getting to know an author can help with understanding the Author's message. We have a couple of ladies that are hard core readers and will more than likely have a couple of questions. I think this would be good for you as well to get started again.

Last but not least, I wasn't surprised when I saw the picture of you on a boat at the end of the book. At one point during my reading, I saw a connection with you and Seth. There may not have been but I knew that you had to have a boat and either had or wanted to sail the seas and live on your boat.


Alfreda

This is a very intense read. Sara Hackett is racing across the Australian Desert with her sister as navigator, she wants to win the race, but her car breaks down and she has to come back to America early, where she discovers her husband has left her for a young woman's he's made pregnant. Then she finds out her niece, who she had been raising has been kidnapped. Then her house is burned down and a man is found burned to death in her bed. Now the police are after Sara, but she can't worry about that, because she has to find the kidnappers before they harm her niece.

Okay, there you have the gist of this almost too intense read. The characters in the story are good and I believed in them, but there was almost no breathing space. Between all the troubles that were piled on Sara and the chase scenes and the intense bad guys, there was almost no time to settle back and take a breath. I would have like the relationship between Sara and her no good husband fleshed out a little more. He was a pretty bad guy, but I don't think the readers really find out why. I did like the ending though, I won't say what it was, but it was good.

In DESPERATION MOON Ken Douglas provides his readers with one of the most despicable bad guys I've come across in a long time. I'm talking about Rice, the aids infected kidnapper of two young girls, who somehow doesn't think he's a pervert, when he so obviously is. Rice is hired by Huntington Beach police officer Clay Tredway to kidnap his wife Sara Hackett's niece along with the daughter of a wealthy software developer.

Sara is a racecar driver and when she comes home early from a race in Australia, she finds a pregnant woman in her house. Apparently hubby Clay is a philanderer as well as a kidnapper. Soon after she finds out about the kidnapping, she figures out what a weasel her husband really is. She sets out to rescue the two girls. But Clay doesn't make it easy for her. He frames her for the murder of the software guy and now she is on the run even as she's running to save the girls.

Meanwhile, Rice, and his not-to-bright accomplice Gundry, have problems of their own as the girls have escaped into an oil field in the heart of California, where the kidnappers had been holding them hostage. Now they don't care about the ransom anymore, they just want the girls dead. Can Sara, and the quirky band of characters she's enlisted to help her, get to them before the killer/kidnappers do?

In a frantic race against time which involves stealing a small plane in the middle of the night, a midnight swim and more tension than you can shake a stick at, Sara finally confronts her bad cop, no good, two timing, kidnapping rat of a husband. And if you're a girl who has ever been two-timed the way Sara has been, you are absolutely going to love the ending of this book as it plays out to the tune of Bob Dylan singing "Tangled up in Blue." This is a thriller.

Amy Billig was a teenage daughter in the 1970s Coral Gables, Florida. She had loving parents and an equally loving brother. One Saturday, she went hitch-hiking to meet some friends for lunch downtown. Hitch-hiking in the 1970s was common, acceptable behavior. Nobody thought it was dangerous. Amy Billig was never heard or seen again! I will always remember reading this book while I did jury duty and I have seen Susan Billig on television searching for her daughter. She would travel the world searching for her. She doesn't know for sure about her fate. That's the tragic part of this book is that she would rather know than not know. I remember reading "Not knowing is worse than knowing." It is because Susan probably has accepted that Amy will never return home. Her daughter would have never stopped contacting her parents or try to get in touch. Susan has researched biker gangs in America and in England. She has spent all her savings in search for her daughter. A mother's love like hers is not rare because Susan is an extraordinary woman who is relentless in her pursuits for the truth no matter how painful that can be. I think deep down that Susan has accepted Amy's fate but as she wrote to not know is worse than knowing. If Amy is dead and it's sure, she can grieve and move on with her life. Until then, I can't imagine Susan not searching or ever giving up hope.

Horrible and haunting. You want so much to believe she's still alive.

I read this book in a few hours. I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what would happen next. It was fascinating! Sue Billig simply amazed me. As a mother I was able to feel her pain and frustration. What she went through trying to find her daughter stemmed from pure courage, tenacity and love.

I was frustrated myself at the end. I was hoping so much it would tell what happened to Amy, but mainly you just have to guess for yourself.

Mind-blowing read!

I am a True Crime addict and I remember watching the story of Amy Billig on "Unsolved Mysteries." Even though I had seen the story, I figured I would learn a lot more if I bought the book, so I did. I am a slow reader and usually it takes me months to read just one book. "Without A Trace" was different. This book kept me interested all the way through and I seemed to breeze through it. It is a very good read. I even read it in the bathtub while I was taking a soak!

Amy Billig was just 17 when she disappeared from Coconut Grove, Florida in 1974. Amy had planned to meet friends for lunch and was going to drop by her dad's art shop on the way. However there were some greasy, tattoed, leather-clad visitors who were also dropping by that fateful day. The forboding rumble of motorcycles going through town told people to heed their caution. It was the annual biker gathering again. When Amy didn't arrive at her dad's shop and never met her friends, Amy's parents, Sue and Ned Billig, knew something terrible must have happened.

Let me say that reading this book made me take a second look at mankind. I was angry as I followed Sue's relentless quest to find her missing daughter only to be taken advantage of by greedy, shallow-minded people such as the Glasser twins, who claimed to have Amy, and Hank Blair who tortured Sue Billig with sexually explicit telephone pranks about Amy for about two decades which lead to a lengthy court battle in the process. But through it all, Sue would do anything to find her daughter from searching into different tips, meeting up with and traveling with bikers such as the infamous Paul Branch who had claimed to have Amy, traveling to prisons to interview bikers who may have a clue, and even frequenting biker bars to search for her daughter.

Some of the images portrayed in this book make your spine shiver. How about picturing a pint-sized, middle-aged woman from a well-to-do life, clinging to a rough and rowdy biker while riding on the back of his motorcycle? How about picturing this woman mingling with dirty, tattoed, chain and leather-clad bikers armed with guns inside scudzy trailors cluttered with rusty auto parts, beer cans and cigarette butts? While these bikers are peeking out of windows fearing any vehicle that drives up, a biker couple can be heard having sex in the other room. Authors Greg Aunapu and Susan Billig do an outstanding job of taking us on the journey over the boundaries of safety and into the world of the bikers who are murderers, drug dealers and woman-beaters. After all, women are considered property and bikers give them away and pass them around to other bikers as such. As a female myself, this was difficult to read about. But I think I can safely say that I would do the same things that Sue did if my daughter went missing.

The most frustrating part (and indeed I feel for Sue and can relate to her frustration), is all the leads that fall dead. Unfortunately with just about every huge case, there are leads that are looked into and nothing comes of it. Therefore you've just wasted precious time. Poor Sue had to go through so much of this. Calls at all hours of the night, plane trips to places like Tulsa, Seattle and New Jersey on tips from bikers such as Paul Branch, investigations into strip bars where bikers usually make their "old ladies" work at; everything seemed endless. But Sue was relentless, taking every call to heart and jotting virtually every call down in her journal. Many leads brought people who said Amy was a biker girl who was drugged up and called "Mute" or "Sunshine." The tips came and came. She was at this particular market with wome Outlaw bikers buying soup and crackers. She was at this store in Seattle looking at health food. And it's truely amazing how many biker names come up in the search for Amy, from Paul Branch, to "Dishrag Harry," to "Creature." It seems endless.

I just have to give the ultimate kudos to Sue Billig for all that she had to go through in her search. She is the real model of strength that many women should strive for. She is inspiring in every sense of the word. When people told Sue to give up, she wouldn't. When people told Sue that Amy may be brainwashed and never the same, Sue didn't care. When there was any little hint that Amy may be in a particular place, Sue would dash there. If she needed to stand up to bikers, she would stand up to bikers and force herself to be unintimidated. Even cancer couldn't keep Sue down, nor her husband's tragic death. She is an obsessed mother determined to bring her daughter home. Some may think being that obsessed is a bad thing, but it is not. It makes you amazed at how the human spirit handles pressures when things get to be dangerous and life seems to crumble.

The description of the bikers and their hangouts and the places that Sue explored were absolutely fantastic. Every detail gets you right into the book and you are automatically sitting there suffering with Sue. You are riding on the back of a biker's motorcycle with nerves pumping through your body and the wind tossing your hair around. You smell the smoky air, the sweat and leather. You hear the rough voices and see the scowls and other facial expressions. You feel the rage and disappointment when pranksters exploit. And the hardest part through it all is that Amy always seems just out of reach somehow. There is always this feeling of not being able to get to her. I personally have had dreams like that and needless to say, it is tough on the emotions. Even in the end, Sue is still taken advantage of from Branch's "old lady," "Tootsie's" so called deathbed story, to British producers ordering Sue to engrave Amy's name on a headstone. The anger of it all!

But the question remains. Is Amy still alive out there? Is she dead? Is she tortured daily? Is she a drugged-up stripper? Is she pregnant? How did Paul Branch really know of Amy's appendix scar, or that she liked folk music? We may never know what ever happened to the carefree 17 year-old who loved life and was truly inspired by it. It was the simple things in life such as a sunset and the wind blowing in the trees that Amy loved. She was indeed special and very insightful. It was also a much different time. It was seemingly a more innocent time; at least away from the underworld of the bikers. But much has changed since 1974, and as the years progressed in this book, I could truly feel that nostalgic emotional feeling of the fact that Amy had been gone for so long as the times changed.

Although Sue spent 25 years searching for Amy, she had eventually found a way to bring that chapter of her life to a close even though she still mourns for her beloved daughter. Now her son Josh has kids of his own and she is able to channel her energy through them and see traces of Amy in them. The ending of the book was very fitting. It is a haunting passage that Amy wrote shortly before she was kidnapped and it shows the very essence of the wonderful young woman she was/is. It will leave you thinking for days after you finally put this book to rest.

Reviewers before me have said it best. Out of all the true crime books I've read, I estimate 10% rate as "can't put down page turners" and this is one of them. That says it all.
I would put this book in a class of my favorite true crime books including:
Careless Whispers
Zodiac
The Ultimate Evil
Dreams of Ada
Minds of Billy Mulligan

Zane Mackenzie is everything you want to see in a Navy SEAL -
Dang! but he is hot!
Finally we get a young woman that is worthy of the hero.

Barrie Lovejoy takes the only out to driving away the emotional and physical trauma she was subjected to in her kidnapping.

Zane Mackenzie, in the tradition of his father and brothers is man enough and sensitive enough to deal with Barrie.

When Zane is wounded in portecting Barrie, she becomes distaught at being forced to leave Zane behind without knowing if he would live.

I loved finding about Wolf and his family, especially Michael and Josh [why don't they have stories of their own?] Poor Joe, 5 sons and no daughter. It took Barrie and Zane to pull a fast one.

There is just something about these Mackenzie men that puts your hormones on red alert. We need more of these guys and more women like Barrie.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- definitely all are keepers - what a collection of men.

Linda Howard loves to minimize her female characters into nothing more then sex objects. All of her female main characters are virgins. Quite frankly I am sick of reading about how super important that really is. All of her female characters make love for the first time like insatiable beasts ignoring their physical response to having been made love to for the first time. These characters are so fake and I am really getting sick of them. This novel really hit the bottom because her virgin girls theme I have just described to you, that has been a consistent theme in all of her other books in the Mackenzie line repeated the same ridiculous line. Why can't someone write about a beautiful woman who isn't a virgin and who really does enjoy sex for sex...without having to write an erotica?

Another satisfying story about a MacKenzie brother. I enjoyed every word. And Barrie was a good match for Zane. Linda Howard is a master story teller.

I also like Beverly Barton but didn't care as much for Defending His Own as I have some of her other books. Secret baby stories bore me so that's probably the reason. Also, I don't much care for stories where something happens to a character as a teen and he/she holds it against the world forever. Good grief! We all grow and mature. Some of these people never do. Along with the secret baby, this is an over-used and unnecessary plot device. It creaks.

Another MacKenzie that I fell in love with! I read the story in one sitting. I just could not put the book down. Zane is so intense and sweet and sexy! Wow! The anecdotes about Nick are so wonderful. Makes me want to have a Nick of my own. I'd love to read her story when she's all grown up.

Having read SARAH'S CHILD, I was not too impressed. Having read DUNCAN'S BRIDE worked much better, but while it was a good read, it was not an outstanding read. Several review sites recommended MACKENZIE'S MOUNTAIN, but I never bothered to find a copy. In December 2005, I stumbled across this book (MACKENZIE'S PLEASURE), which is the story of Zane Mackenzie, the youngest son of Wolf Mackenzie and his wife Mary Elizabeth (hero and heroine of Mackenzie's Mountain). I have mixed feelings about SEAL-themed books - while I have loved Brockmann's series, I somehow prefer reading about firemen to reading about SEALS. Give this book a chance, if you share my hesitations.

Zane Mackenzie is called upon to execute a mission to rescue an ambassador's kidnapped daughter Barrie Lovejoy out of Libya. The first third of the book is about how the rescue takes place and with what consequences. In the second third, Zane and Barrie are separated by circumstances until they manage to find each other. Since there is a mystery and a bit of romantic suspense to the plot, I will not go further with the plot summary. It is probably sufficient to say that Barrie's kidnapping and rescue is somewhat more complicated than either Zane or Barrie realized.

The book begins with Wolf Mackenzie worrying about his children, from Joe down to his adopted son Chance and his youngest son Zane. Thus, Linda Howard provides the new reader with sufficient background to Zane, to understand what kind of family he comes from and what kind of person he is likely to be. The book then moves to a botched Naval exercise which leaves Zane short of two men. It is at this point that he is asked to rescue the Ambassador's daughter. Barrie Lovejoy is no spoiled socialite, although she has been protected by her father all her life (for understandable reasons). Her courage and endurance, as well as her unusual (but understandable) decisions, appeal to Zane. Barrie is poised, emotionally mature, and able to make decisions quickly. Zane has been dedicated to his job, but frustrated by the promotions that take him away from active duty. When Zane and Barrie end up spending an intense night and day together while hiding out, they form a bond even though they know virtually nothing about each other.

The book moves from the US to the Mediterranean back to the US. Despite these changes of locale (sketched in deftly for the most part), we remain focused tightly on the hero and heroine. MACKENZIE'S PLEASURE is one of the few stories where I genuinely liked the hero and heroine from the outset, and where I also felt that they were right for each other. That this contributed to my liking the book is not in question. Linda Howard's writing style also helped, as did her characterizations. Zane is an alpha male but not an overbearing alpha, but a protector and leader. The other SEALS came alive as did the heroine and her Ambassador father. What didn't work so well for me was the villain and his motivation (especially as explained to Barrie at the end).

Written by bookjunkiereviews 22 January 2006