Rhode Island Books

August 3, 2008 represents the 60th anniversary of Whittaker Chambers'
appearance before the House Committee for Un-American Activities, which
led to the indictment of Alger Hiss ten months later. Allen Weinstein has
written a major historical work. Its command and breadth of documentary
material is amazing. The best way to advertise it is to excerpt it:
From >Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case< published 1997 by Random House
page 42: "The point we are making is that Mr. Hiss, according to this
document, delivered the Ford auto to the Cherner Motor Company on July 23, 1936. On the same date, this car was sold or transferred to one William Rosen, but there is no evidence in the sales records of this particular transaction."
page 47: In a memorandum filed that day, Mclean wrote, "Emmanuel Bloch,
attorney for William Rosen, told me the following [facts] today. Rosen does not know Hiss. Rosen did lend himself to a dummy transaction concerning the Ford car. Apparently Rosen did not sign the title certificate dated July 23, 1936. It is not clear whether Rosen knew at that time that his name would be used in this transaction. However, at some later date, a man came to see Rosen and told him that the title certificate was in his name and asked him to sign an assignment of (the
car) to some third person. The man who came to see Rosen is a very high (ranking) Communist. His name would be a sensation in this case. The man who ultimately got the car is also a Communist. Bloch hinted that Rosen is a Communist but did not say so expressly."
Mclean's memo tends to verify Chambers' account of how the 1929 Ford left Alger Hiss's ownership to be transferred by a "very high Communist"
[J. Peters] to another party member."
page 60: When one of the Hiss attorneys approached J. Peters' lawyer, Carol Weiss King, seeking information from Peters, he was clearly taken
aback by her response. The meeting with Mrs. King which took place in January 1949 was duly recorded in a memo by Harold Rosenwald: "She said that a liaison had been established . . . . I told her that I was not aware of any such liaison between Hiss's attorneys and the Communist Party. She smiled knowingly and mysteriously and refused to be more specific. She said that Hiss had been very foolish (inasmuch as he)
vigorously denied that he knew Chambers."

Americans were confused and perturbed when it emerged that Chambers had tried to warn the State Department about Alger Hiss nine years earlier
and that a typewritten account of that meeting had been retained by a
State Department official.
Weinstein was able to show that documents examiners hired by the lawyers
for Alger Hiss believed Hiss had written incriminating notes. They also
believed the Hiss's typewriter had typed other incriminating material. One documents examiner even "stated flatly" that Priscilla Hiss typed the
material herself!
Weinstein was further able to show that the Hiss attorneys interviewed
people who stated that Chambers had met Hiss.
page 122: "Alger Hiss did meet 'Carl,'" Josephine Herbst told Rosenwald.
In her interview with Mclean, Herbst gave a clear description of the
"parallel apparatuses" that Peters directed Chambers to organize in Washington.
>Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case< is one of the dozen most interesting books I have ever read.

This is the most thorough and comprehensive piece of investigative journalism ever published. Weinstein treats the case like an onion, he peels off one layer, then another, then another.... His treatment of when the Hiss typewriter was manufactured would fill a small book in itself. The same is also true of the transfer of Hiss's car to the communist party, the Soviet gift of a carpet to Hiss, the dating of Chambers' microfilm, and so on.

So why didn't Weinstein go on to become another Bob Woodward? Probably because his conclusion that Hiss was, in fact, a communist spy was unacceptable to so many people at that time. This was a great injustice to a man who told the truth and was himself suprised that the facts so heavily vindicated Chambers.

With the publication of Sam Tanenhaus's "Whittaker Chambers: a biography," the truth of Weinstein's conclusion has now been, finally, accepted by most people-even on the left. But why Tanenhaus's book, which contains hardly anything new, should have changed anybody's view seems odd. I suspect that with the passage of time, Tanenhaus's softer tone, and Hiss's death, many Hiss supporters felt the time had come to concede an unpleasant truth.

It is a great tragedy that ideologically motivated "historians" have managed to "end" the debate on the Hiss case. This tome, which was greated with much media fanfare upon its release, is largely responsible for the current situation. Allen Weinstein's book is only as important as it is because of his credentials and status as an academic. When one ignores the hype and takes an honest look at Weinstein's sources and methods, his whole edifice collapses. "Perjury" is on par with Gerald Posner's disinformation masterpiece on the JFK assassination, "Case Closed," for dishonesty and duplicitousness. A few examples:

-Six of Weinstein's interviewees have stated that Weinstein misquoted them (one can only assume deliberately), turning statements not supportive of Whittaker Chambers into ones that are. One of these interviewees, Sam Kreiger, sued Weinstein. Weinstein and his publisher settled out of court for $17,500 and issued a public apology. An erratum slip was placed in subsequent printings of the book. In the current edition of his book, Weinstein quickly glosses over this incident in a very misleading fashion and leaves the rest of this disputed material unchanged from the original edition.

-Weinstein has backed down on his offer to make his research files available to all interested parties.

-Weinstein misrepresents a defense team memo, making it appear as if Hiss knew the location of the infamous Woodstock typewriter and was trying to cover up. In fact, Hiss offers several posible destinations for a typewriter (the Hiss family had had three up to that point).

-Speaking of the Woodstock, the evidence still demonstrates that it was forged. The serial number #230,099 is inconsistent with the timeframe in which the typewriter was supposed to be manufactured. Ditto with the soldering, which is not consistent with a Woodstock. Discrepencies between the type of #230,099 and the "Baltimore Documents" become plainly apparent when letters are magnified. Typewriter forgery is certainly not impossible, Martin Tytell built a replica of #230,099 and J. Edgar Hoover himself confirms in a memo obtained by Gil Green through FOIA that the FBI has both the ability and the means to forge a typewriter.

-The "Pumpkin Papers" consisted of blank pages and unclassified naval documents regarding the proper color to paint fire extinguishers. Obviously of great importance to the Soviets.

-The Venona cable, No. 1822, touted by Weinstein and others, regarding an agent named Ales appears to not have anything to do with Alger Hiss. Particularly relevant is the fact that Ales dealt in military documents while Alger Hiss was accused by Chambers of turning over State Department documents. A recently surfaced soviet document places Ales in Mexico at a time when Hiss was in Washington. This should persuade most intellectually honest people that Hiss and Ales are not one and the same.

I could go on and on, but I think this should be sufficient. To those still "In Denial," to use Hayne's and Klehr's phrase, I have only one thing to say: The truth actually feels pretty good, give it a chance.

This is a reasonably convincing look at the Alger Hiss case. Author Allen Weinstein initially set out to prove Hiss' innocence, but over time his research led him to the opposite conclusion. Weinstein uses much actual testimony, which points towards Hiss' guilt for perjury - and thus of having spied for the Soviets in the 1930's. Readers see that accuser Whitaker Chambers was hardly a sympathetic witness. He was disheveled, dishonest, homosexual, and a confessed traitor. But Chambers' remembrance about Hiss' bird watching and prothonotary warblers was powerful evidence, and it's hard to believe that Hiss would have given away his used automobile to a total stranger. This book doesn't prove Hiss guilty, but it points in that direction.

Sadly, the Hiss case was and remains too much about politics rather than truth. Republicans still use Hiss to attack New Deal liberalism, Yalta, and the patriotism of Democrats. President Reagan even awarded the Medal of Freedom posthumously to Chambers - a confessed traitor! Democrats, for their part, often reflexively defend Hiss without considering the evidence. Sound like O.J. Simpson or Oliver North? Regardless of your politics, this is a fascinating case, although the author's thick writing makes for a slightly laborious read.

This book is so credible, so exhaustively researched, it deserves substantial praise. You would have to be incredibly mean-spirited to smear this book.
The lies presented as facts in the negative reviewers' comments show that the twisted forces Chambers warned about are still very much at work, especially among "elite intellectuals" (just as it was then).
Ignore the deliberate lies that have done so much damage already. The author Weinstein himself was a hard-core leftist sympathizer, but the facts were overwhelming. Kudos to Weinstein for his own redemption.

Grace Callahan, a single mother, is interning at KEY to America news and competing for the one job opening at the end of the summer in order to follow her passion and dream to become a journalist. The KEY news team is enroute to Newport, Rhode Island where they will be filming segments all week, when a body is found in an old slave tunnel on the Wagstaff property. The body is believed to be that of Charlotte Wagstaff Sloane who disappeared 14 years ago.

As the KEY News interns get close to discovering the secrets behind what happened 14 years ago one by one they are hurt, will Grace be able to solve the mystery before it's too late....?

Fans of Mary Higgins Clark, will definitely enjoy the work of her daughter-in-law Mary Jane Clark! She follows a similar (but slightly different) formula then her mother-in-law and she kept me turning the pages till I learned who the killer was! A fun read!

I enjoyed this book, as I do all Ms. Clark's novels.

This one wasn't as good as some of her past work. I found the shifting viewpoints distracting, especially in the beginning of the book when I didn't know who half these people were. And even as the book went along, there were so many characters and viewpoints that I often found myself skimming back to see who someone was.

But a nice surprise ending and enough suspense to keep you turning the pages until the end.

One of the editorial reviews said 'plodding". NO!! Great read, hard to put down, engaging characters. Loved it.

Grace Callahan is a single mother working as an intern for Key to America, a popular morning television program. She is in competition with students a lot younger than she for the one position available. Grace would not be able to do her job without her Dad's help, despite his failing health. Her ex-husband Frank is making things difficult for her when he sues for full-time custody of their daughter Lucy. Grace goes to Newport, Rhode Island with the show to do an in-depth look at the area. The investigation into the cause of death of Charlotte Sloane is re-opened 14 years after her murder when her remains are found. Grace befriends her daughter Madeleine Sloane days before she is murdered. Sam Watkins, one of the interns is knocked unconscious after witnessing the crime. Zoe, another intern is murdered. Residents and workers of Key to America are tense because of the escalating violence. The art of scrimshaw is mentioned often throughout the story without really being explained. Some storylines are taken up and dropped without explanation. The chapters are each a quick read without too much depth. The killer is not revealed until the end but by then my interest wavered.

It may not be the Great American Novel, but this book was certainly enjoyable. It has a similar style to her other books, and I was definitely surprised by the ending. I read it on a six hour airplane flight, and it was good enough to take my mind off of my fear of flying! If you like her other books, you'll like this one.

I would prefer not to give this any star at all.I can't imagine how any self-respecting publishing company accepted this book and then released it without ever having an editor work on it. Ms. Skomal needed an editor in the worst way. The book was so full of awkward sentences, childish constructions and misused words that sometimes I laughed out loud. Perhaps the problem arises from the fact that the book is mercilessly padded. There's good magazine article here and nothing more.

I would prefer not to give this any star at all.I can't imagine how any self-respecting publishing company accepted this book and then released it without ever having an editor work on it. Ms. Skomal needed an editor in the worst way. The book was so full of awkward sentences, childish constructions and misused words that sometimes I laughed out loud. Perhaps the problem arises from the fact that the book is mercilessly padded. There's good magazine article here and nothing more.

"Keeper of Lime Rock" was recently honored by the New York Public Library as a new listing in its 2003 Books for the Teenage. It is listed as one of only seven new listings under the category of "Remarkable People." Although not originally written for a teen audience, it has clearly found appeal among that market and I couldn't be more thrilled.

This lovely book, a story of a brave woman and the sea, is so well-written. It is obvious that it was a labor of love for its author. In less than 150 pages, Lenore Skomal manages to convey the spirit of Ida lewis and the times in which she lived. Despite the scarcity of primary sources such as journals, personal letters, or any other correspondence, the book is well- documented by the author. She has painstakingly put together this book, complete with some wonderful vintage photos.

Ida Lewis was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1842. Her father, Captain Hosea Lewis, was a coastal pilot who in 1853 became the first keeper of Lime Rock Lighthouse on a tiny island in Newport Harbor. After years of back-and-forth travel, a house was finally built on Lime Rock for Lewis and his family, but they had lived in the house for just a few months when a stroke disabled him.

Ida, 16, already having assumed a heavy burden of household duties, now began to take care of the light--she filled the lamp with oil at sundown and again at midnight, trimmed the wick, polished the carbon off the reflectors, and put out the light at dawn.

Ida and her mother tended the Lime Rock Light from 1857 until 1872, when her father died. Her mother was appointed lighthouse keeper and remained in this position until she died in 1879, even though Ida continued to do the work.

In 1879, Ida was officially appointed to the keeper's job with a salary of $750 a year and she remained in this job until her death.

During her 39 years on Lime Rock, Ida saved 18 lives, although some reports say this number may have been 25. In 1858 Ida performed the first of her many rescues and saved the lives of four young men whose boat had capsized.

Ida's fame spread quickly after a daring 1869 rescue in a snowstorm, and articles appeared in the New York Tribune, Harper's Weekly, Leslie's magazine, and other major newspapers. On Independence Day in 1869, Ida was honored by the town, but this shy. retiring woman was distressed by all the attention.

She was briefly married to Captain William Wilson in 1870, but they separated after two years.

Although never awarded the Carnegie Medal, as was rumored, Andrew Carnegie did give her a pension in her later years.

On the night she died in 1911, the bells on all the ships anchored in Newport Harbor tolled in her memory and flags were flown at half-staff throughout Newport.

In 1924 the Rhode Island legislature officially changed the name of Lime Rock to Ida Lewis Rock with the lighthouse named after her --the only such honor ever paid to a keeper. In 1995, a new class of Coast Guard buoy tenders was named for Ida Lewis.

The buildings at Lime Rock were sold in 1928 for $7,200 and became the Ida Lewis Yacht Club. The Yacht Club remains in operation today, with many additions surrounding the original buildings. A causeway now connects the rock to the mainland.

A well-done effort about an interesting but little-known part of our coastal history.

I have to say that more in depth information would have been good.The only reason I say this is because I am the great, great, great grand-daughter of Ida Lewis and I have Just recently found this out, I think more about the family and life of Ida Like when she use to pull the plank so that my grandmother could not get to the light house, because Ida wanted to be alone. We have the certificates that were presented to my grandmother from the president of the united states, after her death. So much was missed for a bioagraphy.

Being closer to this than most people because I knew Amy briefly and being from R.I. I felt closer to the horror more then most readers would. I followed the story from the beginning with disgust and vengeance enveloping me. Reading this book brought back those same feelings.
The photos are as disturbing now as they were then. Great job.
Donald Reddy

Don't waste your money or your time with this poorly researched hackjob. Save your money and do a Google search for the victims of this horrible crime instead. The author includes nothing original nor anything that you can't find on the internet with merely a cursory search. He conducted no interviews and doesn't even credit the newspaper articles he ripped off. He clearly wanted to make some money off the tragic deaths of two young people as quickly as he could without paying proper tribute to the victims or the families of the victims. I wish that I could have given this "book" no stars.

Thrill Killers was a fascinating, behind the scenes look at a senseless crime which originated in Providence, RI. The true story was told by the detective on the case and offers a look at the under-belly of Providence, RI. The story not only provided an inside look at this heinous crime committed by five losers, but I truly felt sorry for the victims and the pain suffered by their families.

The authors of this book most certainly did their research on this horrific event. Anyone who lives in RI or Massachusetts will remember this crime as it touched all of us. The author(s) did a wonderful job capturing the emotional impact these senseless murders had not only to their families/friends but to the detective on the scene. I felt a connection to not only Amy & Jason, but to the detective as well and although I knew the ending, I did not visualize the many details found in this book until I read the book. No other publication brought this story to true form the way Thrill Killers did.

I recommend this book to anyone who reads true crime stories to not only understand a piece of the sick puzzle, but, to also feel a connection to the innocent people forever affected by evil senselessness.

One of the best true crime books I've read in years. Thrill Killers tells the story of a small town police department and a tragic high profile double murder. The lead detective puts the reader in his head and into the criminal investigation and trials of five murderers. The senseless act is made all the more real as the book delves beyond the dramatic headlines and introduces the reader to the two victims and their families. As you read the book, the connection you feel toward them will provoke strong emotions. Even if you wanted to put this one down, you won't be able to.

This is a wonderfully poetic, sophisticated, and learned story of the isle of Corfu as experienced by Lawrence Durrell during a two-year idyll there in 1937 and 1938. Durrell was young (mid-twenties), he was still married to the first of his four wives, Corfu was beautiful and unspoiled, life there had changed little for generations, and World War II was yet to come. (When it did erupt, Durrell remained on Corfu until the fall of Greece, but he does not date any of the entries in this book, save the last, later than 1938.) Durrell wrote the book in 1945. Thus, it is scarcely surprising that there is a distinct sense of nostalgia, that the book is almost elegaic for a Corfu that, in 1938, was still a place out of time -- but by 1945, who knew? And we, reading it 60 years later, know all to well that globalistic forces have overwhelmed the Corfus of the world.

The book proceeds gracefully back and forth among anecdotes about Durrell's life on Corfu and his circle of friends there (all of whom are true characters and quite engaging); tales of history, mythology, and folklore; evocative descriptions of the land and sea; accounts of local practices and customs and livelihoods (principally fishing); snapshots of the Greeks as a people; philosophizing; and on and on. Throughout the writing is leisurely and superb. I compiled a lengthy list of striking quotes, but here I will limit myself to several examples.

On the Greeks: "The loquacity, the shy cunning, the mendacity, the generosity, the cowardice and bravery, the almost comical inability of self-analysis." Or, "We Greeks are not religious, we are superstitious and anarchic. Even death is less important than politics."

On land and sea: "The little bay lies in a trance, drugged with its own extraordinary perfection -- a conspiracy of light, air, blue sea, and cypresses. The rock faces splinter the light and reflect it both upward and downward; so that, staring through the broken dazzle of the Ionian sun, the quiet bather in his boat can at the same time look down into three fathoms of water with neither rock nor weed to interrupt the play of imagination . . .."

On local customs (and on time): "Not that time itself is anything more than a word here. Peasant measurement of time and distance is done by cigarettes. Ask a peasant how far a village is and he will reply, nine times out of ten, that it is a matter of so many cigarettes."

PROSPERO'S CELL (the title comes from speculation that Corfu was Prospero's island in Shakespeare's "The Tempest") is often classified as a travel book, but that doesn't really do it justice. It is virtually sui generis. If you are going to spend some time on Corfu, by all means read it (in addition to your Fodor's or other generic "travel guide"). But even if you are not fortunate enough to have been to or be going to Corfu, or even if you do not normally enjoy "travel books", you may very well luxuriate in this literate, sophisticated, and poetic book of a place and time that are no more. It is a splendid gem.

... this book is probably excellent. Poetic at times, amusing at others, and funny almost always, it's a good read and a nice introduction into the landscapes and people of Corfu. You get to know Zarian, Nicholas, N., and the rest of the uncanny people that seemed to be the expatriate tribe in Corfu at the time.
However (I wouldn't have given it 3 stars if there weren't a "however"), that's not always what you're looking for in a travel book. If you're into Theroux, you'll probably find this book boring at times, too intent on seeking brilliant metaphors.

The English writer Lawrence Durrell spent four years on the island of Corfu together with his first wife Nancy Myers in the years 1935-1939. He has collected his memoirs on this period during his staying in Alexandria during the WWII.

Prospero's Cell evades genre classification. It is an autobiography, but not a particularly factual one - for instance, along with Lawrence and Nancy, the whole Durrell family - his mother, two brothers and sister - came to live on Corfu for the same period, a fact he only acknowledges in a passing remark or two. It is written in a form of a diary, but the story flows without paying any attention on the interpunctuating dates. It claims to be a guide to the landscape and manners of the island of Corfu, but is useless as such. It spends a considerable time discussing the history and myths concerning Corfu, but the material is not laid out in a systematic and scholarly manner, and is probably of low value as a historical text.

Apart from ephemeral characters, the four personae make out the main cast: apart from Lawrence and his wife, there is also a doctor, biologist and polymath, Dr. Theodore Stephanides, and a bohemian Armenian journalist, Ivan Zarian. (Both are actual persons, of course; apart from here, Stephanides also appears on Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals, and Henry Miller's The Colossus of Maroussi.) However, Durrell has taken the liberty to interrupt occasionally this chronicle of their living, their thoughts etc. with a treatise on the Saint Spiridon, the island patron; or Karaghiosis, the puppet theatre hero; or a long treatise on the island history and myths concerning it. Prospero's cell ends with "some peasant remedies in common use against disease", a "synoptic history of the island of Corfu", lists of places to see, things to visit etc., and finally concludes with an anthology of letters written by Edward Lear, an English painter who spent on Corfu several years in mid-19th century.

Durrel's language is like brocade: rich, heavy and very sophisticated. He is too serene and spiritual to talk humour, even when the topic is indeed funny, e.g. the accident with the Corfu fire brigade, the Zarian's obsession with "Mantinea 1936" and the Stephanides' confusion with the brain cutlets, he merely cites the narrator. Still, it is a nice holiday reading, an intellectual supplement to any *real* guide to Corfu you happen to take with you. And, while you are there, don't forget to get yourself Hilary Whitton Paipeti's guide, In the Footsteps of Lawrence Durrell and Gerald Durrell in Corfu (1935-39), which will help you connect the world of Durrells with the contemporary Corfu.

William Durrell's investigation of modern love in THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET announced the author's interest in blending geography and metaphysics, which probably originates in his Indian heritage.

The Corfu that the British author knew in 1936-7 might have disappeared already, yet his romantic portrayal of Mediterranean culture captures the spirit that despite inevitable historic changes and the ravashes of modernisation still prevails on the coasts of this historic sea. The bittersweet mixture of melancholy and happiness that is at the soul of everything Mediterranean, and even his philosophical reflections are impregnated with the soft sensualism in which the Mediterranean tradition of tolerance and antiquity is embodied.

PROSPERO'S CELL was published in 1945, four years after the author had left the island, and thus the nostalgia that pervades his writing further contributes to the beauty of this book. Some narrative chapters seem far-fetched in their anglicising romanticism, like the moonlight discussions on "Greekness" with the rich and bohemian Count D., but still Durrell's passionate portrayal of Greece should help enliven some rainy winter afternoons.

I've lost track of how many times I've read "Prospero's Cell." Durrell's use of metaphor and simile is at times brilliant; it is always interesting. Every time I return to "Prospero," I become Durrell's companion, walking the cobblestone streets, swimming in aquarium-clear waters, treading grapes. He has the finest understanding of Greek character I've ever seen in a non-Greek. His honest respect and affection are so real. The books of he and his brother Gerald ignited the mid-twentieth century tourist boom to Greece. Deservedly so!

Reviewed by David Lundberg, author of Olympic Wandering: Time Travel Through Greece

The book was a fun read, and I guessed the means long before it was revealed, because it was in fact the "means" used in the Dorothy Sayers classic, The Nine Tailors. In the Sayers novel, the "murder by sound" was unintentional, but appears to have caused the same cadavaric spasms. I kept waiting for Poppy to bring up Sayers' use of that method.

I got this book because I had just been down in the RI/CT area and the premise sounded interesting. In fact, the plot was interesting, the concepts were good and the method of murder something I have never heard of in real life or in books so that was intriguing. The writing style is not that great, conversations are sometimes hard to follow and some scenes seem repetitive and the pace could have been picked up. Also the heroine is imbued with too much goodness : the "native Block Islanders" are described as keeping to themselves yet they take to her immediately? And can she really cure an alcoholic by meeting him??
All in all the author has great ideas and shows great promise but needs a better editor.

Apparently for a "reviewer" here, there is some confusion about what a novel is and what fiction is. Speaking as a novelist whose novels are all set in real places (where else should they be set? Anytown, USA? An imaginary generic Eastern European village? The planet Zurgle?), I can say that SHE'S NOT THERE is a wonderful work of fiction for many reasons, and one of them is, in fact, the way the setting embraces the plot. Lively, imagnative, witty, suspenseful -- this is one of Smith's best. I can't wait for her forthcoming Poppy Rice novel next month!

Let me mention upfront that I live on Block Island. Not a native, but I moved here and live on the Island year round. I got the book because of the nature of it's setting, not the storyline or the author.
I found the book slow without a "hook" to keep my interest. The storyline is unimaginative. The "real" story, it seems, is the Island and island live and characters. To that end the author goes to great pains to write as if she actually knew anything about the island. However, beyond some topographical knowledge, she has none. Indeed, she completely distorts the live and people here. To be sure, we actually have a complete police department, Police Chief and all. Moreover they do live in nice homes, not broken down lean-tos. As for the "rich" natives riding in customized, fancy cars, I have never seen a single one. These are just a few examples of many.
Now don't get me wrong, I believe very much in "poetic license" but not under the cloak of personal, intimate knowledge of a place and people. Clearly, as the previous reviews show, the author dupes readers with her alleged knowledge when in reality there is none. In an interview to our local paper she explained this complete lack of local knowledge and distortion by calling her work "fiction". I would accept her rational, had she desribed a "fictional" place. Instead the author has gone through all her pains of picking a real place, seemingly describing this real place and people who live here.
So - if you like slow, unimaginative stories about a real location distorted by ignorance, this one's for you.

Block Island is the perfect place for FBI agent Poppy Rice to recuperate--along with her lover, ATF agent Joe Barnow. Admittedly, the law on Block Island is comprised of one aging Constable and an alcoholic state trooper, but that's all right. There was never any crime on Block Island. At least there wasn't until Poppy almost runs over the body of an overweight teenage girl twisted and tortured in death.

A con man has opened a camp for overweight girls on Block Island and someone is targetting the girls. Joe goes into retreat, unwilling to accept the possibility that his island harbors a serpent in its heart, so it's up to Poppy, along with alcoholic Fitzy, to get to the bottom of the case. Bumbling officials in Rhode Island and in the Center for Disease Control end up making things more difficult for Poppy.

Author Mary-Ann Tirone Smith writes a compelling page turner. Her descriptions of the people of this north-eastern island are convincing and three-dimensional. Poppy is sympathetic and smart, without being superwoman. I especially enjoyed the character of Fitzy--a hugely damaged individual who battles himself and his own fears.

I very rarely send a book back, but I did this one. It should have been called "Restaurants in Providence", as that is what most of the book seemed to cover. I have lived in Tiverton and Little Compton for twenty years, and found nothing that I did not already know. It certainly did not cover the state comprehensively.

This is a very insightful book that goes beyond the usual Providence 'Bling' restaurants and uncovers some great local flavor. Oak, for example, is probably my favorite restaurant--not only in Providence, but maybe in the whole world--and the author clearly recognizes its quality. Chef John Cully's inventiveness and hospitality also comes through loud and clear. Bravo!

This book is a revelation. We moved to RI because we suspected there was a vibrant, fun civilization humming away under veneer of Cardi's and I-95....this book confirms our suspicions! The shops and restaurants in it are delightful, fun-- and the writing, which is amusing, does give you a distinct impression of things. We have tried four new restaurants and they were all top-notch; I can't afford to visit too many of the shops, because the 2 guide-approved ones I've tried triggered shopaholism. Great book.

What I love about this book--and I do love it--is that it's like having an incredibly cool friend. A cool friend who's done a huge amount of legwork to find a ton of restaurants and stores that pass her coolness test and then taken beautiful pictures of them and written about them in a really organized and useful way. It's not trying to be Michelin or Frommers or some stuffy authoritative guide. Like any cool person it's got it's own point of view, which is honest and interesting and full of new ideas. In five minutes with this book I found as many interesting new places as I've found in the last few years living in Rhode Island, and so far there hasn't been a dud among them.

In November, 2006, archaeologists hired by Chronognostics completed still another excavation of the Newport Tower. They came to the same conclusion as the excavation in 1951 by William Godfrey; i.e. it was built in 1650-1670, probably by Benedict Arnold's grandfather who owned it and claimed it in his will. So much of the book focuses on this that it is suspect in my mind. Additionally, the factual evidence on Sinclair having been in Rhode Island is meager, indeed. Dr. Diane Holloway

The lost Colony of the Templars uses a wealth of historical evidence to support its controversial theories regarding the Newport Tower and other evidence of the Knights Templar in North America, and I highly recommend it. Also highly recommended are two other fine Grail books, one non-fiction and the other fiction, and both are by Michael Bradley, a renowned Grail expert who served as a researcher for the Da Vinci Code movie. Bradley's Swords at Sunset is a non-fiction work that also contends the Knights Templar spirited the Grail to North America, primarly Niagara Ontario and Vermont state; while his fictional novel, The Magdalene Mandala is a wonderfully written thriller with a twisting plot that moves at break-neck speed. It also has well drawn characters and in the view of many is superior to the Da Vince Code. For anyone like me with a growing interest in the Grail, do yourself a favour and check out Lost Colony; Swords at Sunset and The Magdalene Mandala, which sent my heart pounding. These are three very good books and they're all highly recommended.

This fascinating work reveals the fact that Templar baptisteries started with the discovery of Jerusalem's secrets. They spread to Ireland, Portugal, Scotland and France and finally to America. Before Columbus. This book proves that the so-called Viking Tower could not have been built by anyone but an initiate who understood the advanced astronomy known to the Templar knights. This is groundbreaking and will forever change the debate over the Tower's origins.

This is more of a book to experience than it is to enjoy, due to the frustration of the main character and the gore of some graphic details. The story gives the reader much unrest with the constant hope that another character, a hero, will appear to make it all right, or the main character will somehow find a way to resolve this matter in a different way.
What I found most amazing about this book is the author inserts a piece of poetry between each chapter. Each poem is so incredibly moving that each piece could stand alone. While reading the book, I would find myself rereading each poem, relating the meaning to the story, all the while trying to hold back tears. I would love to read more of the writer's poetry. Perhaps she will continue with this talent.

This book was so riveting that I read it in one evening. And I don't read books! It really gets a person to thinking how they would handle a situation such as Mary's. It also gives you insight into how the court system is somewhat flawed. After having done everything Mary was supposed to do and did do by the book, the system failed her leaving her so desperate that she had no choice but to take the course of actions that she did. At the end of the book, it left me wanting more to read. That's how engaging this book was. I highly recommend getting and reading this book!!!

This book takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the unanswered rage the main character feels as she plans and then implements her revenge on the one person she feels stole her soul.
I think perhaps, there could have been more preamble as to how the main character came to such rage. More of the background, early childhood, flashbacks, would have helped the reader step more easily into her shoes.
In any event, having never felt such blind hatred, I feel the author does a good job of taking you into the the heart of the killer.

Who knew there could be such a lot going on in our smallest state? "Peggy Thinks Back" by Matt Drummy is a highlight, but all of these stories have something to recommend them.

I came across this while browsing in a library in Providence. What a neat little collection! Nothing trendy, nothing hip, just a nice variety of styles and stories about Rhode Island.