Rhode Island Books

This is my first Susan Wiggs book, Loved it so much can't wait to get more.

I have to say that I disagree with every review posted here. This book is not wonderful, but it is not awful either. It falls somewhere in the middle. Just okay. The beginning of the story where Rosa (heroine) is watching her friend Jason propose to her other friend Linda is hoaky and awkward. The middle of the book, where Wiggs describes the childhood relationship between Rosa (heroine) and Alex (hero) was the best part of the book. Then the reunion when they are adults seems predictable and boring. And the accident mystery I had solved chapters before Wigg's intended. Too predictable, and much of the writng was cliche and corney for me. Grade C-

I really liked this book. The characters were well developed and fun to read about. The book is a great feel-good story that kept my attention and left me wanting to read more by Susan Wiggs. I just put this book down and already I have a new one to read by Susan Wiggs.

I was so disappointed. Ms. Wiggs replays class consciousness. Maybe it was true several decades ago, but this book was published in 2004. And it does not pretend to be an historical.

This was my first Wiggs book. To say I was pleased is an understatement. This book was an experience, it felt epic to me. It spans 20 years and you just get lost in the bittersweet sad story. This is one of those books that you still feel in your heart long after you have put it down. READ IT ! READ IT! You won't be sorry. I can not wait to read another Susan Wiggs novel.

What a fabulous book! McLarty's "Traveler" is a book rich in character development. Every character is fully drawn, flawed in some way, and totally real. The setting and era in which this takes place -- Providence, RI, in the mid-60s -- is as much a character as any of the people. The depiction of the place and the mannerisms of the people is outstanding, and quite accurate.

Without giving too much away, the story revolves around a 50-something sort-of actor, struggling to find meaning in his life, who comes home to mourn the loss of a close old friend. While he's there, decades-old secrets are revealed, and Jono Riley's memories will never be quite the same. As with all books with such wonderfully rich characterizations, the choices the characters make -- which are often not the best choices -- make perfect sense from their point of view. An absolutely brilliant work of character fiction, wound together with a terrific story. IT'S A MUST READ!

Ron McLarty has developed a deep sense of place with his setting as well as deeply developed characters. I love his writing. He is truly gifted with all the elements that make writing great. His distinctive and appealing writing voice is all the more compelling on the CD. Am looking forward to, hopefully, another book soon. McLarty is the type of fully developed artist, others wish they could emulate and would like to get to know, in the hope SOME of his talent would rub off on them. Five Stars Ron McLarty- You've done it again. Such a compelling story, compelling characters and WOW! What a sense of place.

This book was disappointing. It read more like a series of short stories with new characters and situations introduced without interesting continuity. Corny at times.

When Jono Riley hears that his childhood friend (and secret love) Marie has died, he decides to head back home to East Providence, where he confronts his past and, by doing so, considers where he has come. The novel alternates chapters between stories of his past and his current Providence experience. Currently, Jono is an actor of one-man shows for whom five audience members is a good night, but he is most remembered for his commercial spots and part on a medical drama where he plays an autistic patient, who is mute so the show could pay him less. He makes his living as a bartender.

After providing some ample reminiscing/exposition for the audience, Jono finally arrives in Providence, and we are slowly introduced to his past, particularly childhood friends Cubby, Billy, and Bobby. As Jono explores his former home, we explore his childhood life: his love for Marie, his life with his friends, and their individual lives. Jono tells of how 12-year-old Marie was shot in the shoulder while they were making snow angels, the event which ultimately drives the plot of the novel. When it is revealed that Marie died from a "traveler", a lodged bullet suddenly moving in the body, sometimes fatally, the novel turns into a murder mystery, to find the man who only killed Marie decades after the shot.

McLarty succeeds on several accounts, the most impressive of which is his wonderful narrative voice. He paints a poignant and powerful picture of East Providence as a town where all old things are dying and the atmosphere is thoroughly working class. McLarty's writing comes to resemble what may be called "working-class poetry," a language rich in detail that flows like music, but concerning the hardly poetic subject of New England working life, which even Manhattanite Jono cannot escape. Some of the prose is simply fantastic, perfectly capturing the great difficulty of Jono confronting the town:

"I felt it seemed to be the perfect time to ask myself what I was doing here. Rhode Island. East Providence. The bartender/actor sinking in memories and mysteries. Threatened by aging mondos, seeing shadows of assassins. I would be the first to admit to a few strange notions of the world, nut I remain essentially a child of the working class, seeking at the very least a modicum of order. But where is the order in priests with trunks of guns and ex-cops obsessing about tap water. I needed [my bar] Lambs and my fifth-floor walk-up and especially my wonderful firefighter [girlfriend]."

The amount of time devoted to Jono's exposition in this novel serves as a wonderful platform of McLarty's highly-capable, winning prose. It also means that Jono's characterization is excellent; with language like this, full of nuance and detail, it becomes difficult to not portray the first-person narrator well. McLarty also wins points for his presentation--alternating the past and the present sculpts the humorous, melancholy, pain of returning home. And where Jono feels at home is in many ways the core question of the novel, as his memories battle his sensibilities and current livelihood. The moment when he comes to understand the proper place of his memories in his life is a beautiful moment.

Traveler receives such a mediocre rating because its successes only slightly outweigh its failures. While Jono's character is well done, development of the rest is spotty. McLarty's narrative gifts are wasted on Jono's girlfriend, who is only described as "amazing," "wonderful," etc. Only through her dialogue is her personality allowed to show through, and while this isn't her story, she is interesting enough to merit more space. As a kind of foil for Jono, she could have been an excellent way to develop the theme and Jono's journey. Marie is only portrayed as a distant beauty and angel, and though Jono calls her the love of his life, she only occasionally appears in the story. Of his childhood friends, the only one who is reasonably fleshed out is Bobby, who is given his own mini-narrative towards the end of the novel. Cubby is mainly the brother of Marie and the son of Big Tony, who unofficially adopts Jono when his father dies. Billy just seems to be there as filler to make more plot elements work, like Jono's war experience. As a whole, these other characters are mostly boring, and drag down McLarty's rich narrative world which begins and ends with Jono. And while they are his memories, it would be a cop-out to say that makes it okay for them to be flat.

But by far the greatest problem is the story may best be described as "mushy" and "heavy". The elements of the novel do not form a succinct whole, and in absence of this, McLarty's great efforts feel uncoordinated. Jono begins talking about the parade of women he has lived with, a lengthy non sequitur that contributes nothing to the rest of the narrative. The memory chapters lack a continuity of characters and theme, and while some are good in their own right, their contribution is mainly to add weight to the plot, stretching it in too many dimensions and making the focus fuzzy and unclear. The narrative in the present fares only slightly better.

While this is certainly a novel where plot is not of supreme importance compared to character development, this book is in dire need of one. The unfocused plot makes wanting to carry on somewhat difficult: while the prose may be a reason to do so, it cannot stand as a reason on its own. Toward the end of the novel there is a greater amount of clarity and Jono's resolution shines through. But it is too little too late, and worse, the resolution hardly feels like it comes from the whole of the experience, but rather simply from the murder investigation, as if reading the first half were optional.

McLarty is a highly capable writer with a superb voice but shoddy plot skills. Traveler is an ambitious novel that demands a skill of narrative complexity, and sadly that need is not met. While it undoubtedly will please many thanks to its strengths, its merits as a work of fiction are deeply flawed. This is hardly meant to sound like distant critical nonsense; on the contrary, it made reading it a difficult, drawn-out, even sometimes boring experience.

[...]

Ron McLarty has done it again.

Ron McLarty, author of The Memory of Running, writes of wonderfully human protagonists whose lives and experiences resonate with the reader. Jono Riley is an aging bartender and part-time actor with a wonderful girlfriend and a fear of commitment. The death of Maria D'Agostino--Jono's childhood friend and first love--compels Jono to return to his childhood neighborhood.

In chapters alternating between present day and the past, McLarty paints a vivid portrait of growing up in an East Providence, Rhode Island neighborhood in the 1960s. The Traveler is the story of a man's quest to understand how a specific incident in the past creates ripples that travel with a person to effect life even forty years later. Though the description of this book is necessarily vague (it is hard to give a good description without giving anything away) the book is compelling.

I especially enjoyed the details--the way Jono chafes at being defined by his acting rolls, the feel of Jono's childhood, the love of and for an old friend that doesn't fade no matter how many years and miles separate them.

I was very pleased with my order. I received it within a few days of placing my order.

This was my first book by Staub and really got me hooked on the author. The author wrote in present tense, which was different than what I was used to, but have really grown to love. It makes the book so much more exciting and heart pounding. The storyline was believable and the characters were fully developed. I really enjoyed every page. The ending really caught me by surprise, as a great suspense novel should.

Famous actess, Mallory Eden thought she had gotten away with faking her own death to escape a stalker. Little did she know that her past would catch up with her in a small village on the other side of the continent. Someone knows who she is. Thinking the worst, Mallory, now going by the name Elizabeth Baxter fears that her stalker has finally found her after five years of being on the run, and there is no one she can trust with her secrets.

Fade to Black is suspenseful from start to finish, filled with twists and turns along the way. Unfortunately, the ending is a bit predictable, but then anyone who reads a great deal of mysteries would know how to pick the red herrings out of the real suspects. I have seen on the cover of most Wendy Corsi Staub novels how this author is being compared to Mary Higgins Clark. I don't see the comparison. MHC's style of writing is much different. (Less suspenseful, less twists of the plot, much more predictable ending) Wendy Corsi Staub also writes in a strange combination of both first person and present tense third person. Her sentences read much like first person, but without using any "I, me, mine,etc." It is a little difficult to get used to at first. All in all, this author has potential.

Is it worth buying?
The paperback price is still a bit higher priced than most in its class at $6.99, but this was a fairly decent mystery, so I would say yes.

Screen icon Mallory Eden fakes her own death after succumbing to the pressures of celebrity and the actions of a stalker. Armed with a new identity, she hides out in a small Rhode Island town for five years, never getting close to anyone, always with the curtains drawn, fearful that her stalker might find her again.

When a card arrives in the mail with the words "I know who you are..." her imagination goes into overdrive. When her house is broken into, she has the locks changed and captures the attention of locksmith Harper, who also has a past he would like to forget. As he pursues her, she finally takes the first step to put her past behind her. When she is attacked and her stalker is arrested, bringing about tons of media attention, she flees back to LA to return to her old life. But was that really her stalker?? Or is it someone closer to her?

With plenty of hints tossed in, discovering the identity of the stalker is pretty easy, which in turns makes the story lacking int he suspense department. Not a good sign for a "suspense" novel.

Hate to be in the minority but I found this book boring. There was so much detail on stupid things. Two paragraphs on how a woman changes her baby's diaper. Three on exactly what someone puts on their sandwich. And Elizabeth/Mallory/Cindi was constantly questioning herself: Should I do this or should I do that. I understand that she would be paranoid after what she's been through but she kept going over the same things, again, and again, and again. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to suspect everyone of being the stalker, except the real stalker! I really believe that if this book had been cut back to 230 or 240 pages it would have been a big improvement!

I enjoyed this mystery. Penelope and Jack have a certain chemistry that keeps me coming back for more. A nice cozy mystery, but, not the first in the series. So, if you want to read this book, look back at this author's previous books in this series.

I am really enjoying these "ghost stories." The interaction between Mrs. McClure and Jack are heartwarming in their differences due to generation changes. I did miss the opening chapter dealing with Jack's death/murder in 1948 but there are other 'scenes' that do make up for the ommission. I look forward to how the relationship is dealt with between human and ghost in the future.

An old time film noir former bombshell, Hedda Geist, is nearly killed at a revival festival, and shortly thereafter, those who attended the Festival begin to die. Because the cops are completely off base in their investigations, Penelope Thornton and her ghostly partner, PI Jack Shephard, take on the case. Jack remembers Hedda from his days among the living, and many of the clues lie in his past, when he was alive, so that's where he takes Penelope. Once upon a time is now with this charming pair on the trail of a killer.

**** Time travel, magnificent, spectral rogues, mystery, and romance, what more could a girl want? Jack is one of the most charming spooks since Daniel Gregg haunted Mrs. Carolyn Muir. This book also solves a mystery for me personally; where did one of my favorite authors go, Alicia Alfonsi, and now I learn she's writing mysteries under two names and I have a whole new series to track down, something I advise everyone coming to these books for the first time to do. ****

Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews

This Haunted Bookshop series is a winner. This book is the fourth in the series, and I think that they are only getting better. I love the mix of cozy with noir detective story, and this one really plays on that as all the happenings occur around a "film noir festival" that is being held in Penelope's small town. And a lot of murder and mayhem is happening there too. As Penelope tries to make sense of it with the aid of her ghost companion Jack, she realizes that the motives for the murders may go back a long time (sixty years, and during the time when Jack was a practicing PI in New York City). We slip back and forth from one time to the next as the story progresses, and Ms. Kimberly keeps us interested and lots of stuff keeps happening. It's really unbelievable how really believable these stories are. The mix of paranormal with present day detection is a winning one, and it is highly addicting.

I loved the first book in this series, and it reminded me of Carolyn Haines Mississippi Delta Ghost series. Had no idea Cleo Coyle is also writing as Alice Kimberly - both series are solid, although I prefer this series to the coffee. She's developed Pen's friendship with Jack, the dead PI, with clear enjoyment and great humor to their dialogue, but I'm not giving this book 5 stars because of the thuds of too many dead bodies, plus the mystery plot was a bit too simple for me. But I really like her flashbacks into the past; they are smoothly handled. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It has it all...romance, mystery, suspense. I am a huge fan of Barbara Delinsky and have never been unhappy with any of her books. You will not want to put this one down. Good for yourself or as a gift.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE THIS BOOK! I THINK EVERY WOMAN HAS IMAGINED WHAT A SEXY SOUNDING DJ LOOKS LIKE. WE HAVE A REAL SMOOTH TALKER HERE IN AUSTIN ON MAIGC 95.5; BARBARA DELINSKY MUST HAVE HEAR HIM WHILE SHE WAS HERE ON TOUR AND CREATED JARED! JARED SNOW IS A WONDERFUL CHARACTER. IF ONLY REAL MEN WERE MORE LIKE HIM! YOU FORGET THAT SAVANNAH AND JARED HAVE ONLY KNOWN EACH OTHER SUCH A SHORT TIME BEFORE BECOMING DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH ONE ANOTHER. IT ISN'T HARD TO BUY. TO ME, IT WAS HEART WARMING!
THE SISTER RELATIONSHIP IS AWESOME AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP WITH MEAGAN IS COMPLEX. SAM CRAIG IS "REAL" AND FUNNY!
THIS IS AN AWESOME READ. ONCE I PICKED IT UP, I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. I AM NEW TO DELINSKY, HAVING ONLY READ FOUR OF HER NOVELS, BUT I AM HOOKED! I LOVE HER STYLE OF WRITING AND ALL OF THE BOOKS HAVE VERY GOOD FLOW. ONCE YOU START...IT IS HARD TO STOP. I'M ON LINE SNATCHING UP EVERYTHING SHE HAS WRITTEN NOW! I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE HAS WRITTEN SINCE THIS, BUT IF IT IS ANYTHING CLOSE TO HEART OF THE NIGHT, I AM SOLD!

I stumbled on this book in a used book store before its re-release, and fell in love with it.
I love the characters and their complexity.
I'm not a great fan of Barbara Delinsky, but I wish she would write another one like this.

I like Barbara Delinsky's books mostly because she has such a gift in making her characters come to life on each page. "Heart of the Night" definitely has a lot of heart in it. Love, lust, friendship, conflicted loyalties, fraternal twins' jealousies, insecurities, duplicity, real men with you know whats, kidnapping, frame ups and death, and of course the jerks who are bosses and coworkers. The main treat is the pulsating, throbbing voice of Jared Snow the DJ who keeps the ladies in R.I. drooling and doing other things all night long.

I can recall having had a "crush" on an all night DJ's voice that was like smooth, creamy, luscious (fill in the blank with your choice) orgasmic-like delight. Mine? - melt in your mouth chocolates! Mmmmm.

Well, anyway, although this book was written back in the 80s, it has an aura of timelessness that the author comments upon herself. I agree. And, in my opinion, of all Delinsky's books this one will remain my favorite. It is a wonderful, thoughtful tale filled with deeply drawn characters who remain in your heart and mind long after the last page. Buy it, enjoy it, and have some luscious Godiva or Sees while you read.

A bland and sluggish 1988 effort from the usually dependable Delinsky.
I found the main characters to be very one dimensional.
One character in particular is extremely annoying and highly unlikable. I don't think
it was meant to come across that way.
The plot had promise but in my reading experience it just didn't quite come together.
Another character is a sexy-voiced disc jockey.
If Heart of the Night was a radio station, you would be reaching for the knob well before the end of this song.
I don't like to be negative about authors I admire strongly, but the powerful narrative of
Delinsky is painfully missing here.
Buy it half-price if you are a completist and must have all
the Delinsky's.

If you are having trouble coping with winter depression, or blahs in any season, try escaping to a Greek isle, soaking up the sun, relaxing with bouzouki music, and meeting interesting people. OK, maybe the experience is vicarious; but, it might help you out of the winter doldrums. D.R. Ransdell's book, "Amirosian Nights", will enable you to do all of the above and much more. A fun read and a fast escape--you will be whisked away to another part of the world where you can quickly become a part of a displaced mariachi player's life. "Amirosian Nights" is definitely worth your time if you have any interest in Greece or music, and a "must read" if you like both!

Thanks, Carmen Besso

I enjoyed the book by Ms. Ransdell. It took me back to days when Greece was less developed and the spring out back served the taberna as a refrigerator and the cook worked by a fire out the back door. The islands which she writes about were a bit more civilized than when I was there; but, the tourists were present in both cases trying to forget the lands from which they came. Her interlacing of the Mexican and the Greek provided a unique contrast of the two cultures.

After reading Amirosian Nights I feel like I have been on the most refreshing vacation in Greece all summer. The vivid and thick descriptions in the novel capture my imagination in a way only the greatest literary authors do. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING THIS - YOU'LL LOVE IT. I especially like how she includes abundant colorful native Greek language with translations -- I learn while I am entertained. And if you like music this book will entrance you. This book is about music and life. Thank you DR Ransdell for passionately capturing the essence of a musicians life in print. You have given the world optimistic hope for the future. INSPIRING....BRAVISSIMO!!!!

Amirosian Nights is one-of-a-kind entertainment. It offers travel, music, language, culture, and romance. I couldn't put it down. The pace of this novel moves swiftly, but also keeps interest high. I was especially keen on the personal development of the main character, Rachel, in terms of how she relates and reacts to the people and events that surround her. This is D.R. Ransdell's first novel--a beautiful work and a very worthy read. I recommend Amirosian Nights for anyone who enjoys a mix of adventure and culture in an exotic setting. I loved this novel and eagerly anticipate her next one!

D.R. Ransdell's vivid, musical, and highly romantic "Amirosian Nights" illustrates exceedingly well the special ability a well-written novel has to make one feel like she or he has spent several weeks in a heretofore unfamiliar place--seeing new sights, hearing new sounds, having adventures... and learning a thing or two about life and oneself in the process.

That the novel is written in the first person gives an even greater feeling of "Total Recall," as one sees and hears not only the heroine's vivid observations of the exotic locations, but also her innermost thoughts and feelings. One becomes her, and it is fascinating to inhabit the mind of an intelligent, talented woman with such keen observational skills and romantic outlook.

The story centers around Rachel, a Tucson music teacher and part-time musician in a mariachi (Mexican folk music) group, who takes her summer vacation on the Greek island of Amiros, with it's sunny beaches, colorful cafés and tavernas, fun Greek musical groups--and attractive musicians.

When the opportunity arises for Rachel to stay several extra weeks as a substitute musician in a group headed by the bouzouki player she is highly attracted to, Rachel cannot resist--despite the fact that the musician, Vangellis, is reportedly married to a thus-far unseen wife.

Each scene in the novel is very well written, full of authentic details, giving a great "you are there" quality. One feels like she or he really has been to Amiros, and lived though Rachel's experiences, while learning about mariachi and Greek music, as well as the Greek language, culture, geography and history.

For female readers being in Rachel's mind will no doubt be quite enthralling--hearing her thoughts, comparing her perceptions and opinions to their own. For the male reader, however, it is an even greater, more awesome out-of-body adventure, just as intense (in a different way) as the most action-packed movie or intriguing mystery.

Thus in some ways men, even more so than women, should grab this book and devour it ASAP--not only for the virtual-reality tour of the exotic locals and people, but as important for the chance to get inside the mind of an intelligent, talented woman and see the world through her. (Even if at times it feels a bit weird, given that Rachel often shares her thoughts regarding Vangellis' attractiveness in no uncertain terms.)

The story does, however, rely a bit too much on coincidence. The way Rachel gets the musical gig (permitting her to stay in Amiros and spend time with Vangellis) comes off a bit contrived, momentarily causing a brief interruption in one's willing suspension of disbelief. But the moment quickly passes, so engrossing are the worlds of Amiros and Rachel's feelings.

The story also occasionally lacks drama, as Rachel sometimes goes to a new location primarily just for a change of scenery, to help her think. These scenes come across more like excerpts from a PBS "Travels in Europe" documentary rather than as vital parts of the story. Still, the locations are so fascinating one really doesn't mind the detour, and is in fact grateful Rachel didn't simply skip over them with a brief mention, even though the details aren't germane to the story.

Though there is a certain amount of tension in whether or not she will be able to keep the gig long enough to bring her relationship with Vangellis to fruition (given that various forces, mostly beyond her control, have the potential to ruin it), there isn't a strong plot. The main story essentially consists of discovering what kind of relationship, if any, Rachel is going to have with Vangellis.

Though one is grateful Ransdell resisted the temptation to artificially graft onto the story some kind of superficial mystery or detective plot, one still can't help but wonder if some other major story line, growing organically out of the existing characters and locales, might have been possible.

Though presumably women will love Rachel's constant ruminations, in her own mind and with her friends, over the meaning of every little gesture and word exchanged with Vangellis, men might find it a bit tedious. And the way every time Rachel sees Vangellis she describes in detail what he is wearing eventually becomes, to the male reader, almost comic, though presumably most female readers would only notice such descriptions if they were omitted.

(And to this [male] reader Vangellis doesn't come across as quite the wonderful guy Rachel thinks he is. Still, listening to Rachel's thoughts does give valuable insights into the way women look at men.)

The ending, more hopeful than happy, while consistent with what has come before and the unfortunate realities of the situation, still doesn't completely satisfy.

Although the love-making scenes are romantic, not graphic, it is still difficult to recommend this book for teenagers, due to the "frank depiction" of virtually everyone's (including Rachel's) constant smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and casual attitude toward extra-marital affairs (the honor code being, apparently, that it's okay so long as one isn't friends with the wife).

(Not to mention the truly heroic consumption of caffeine, mostly in the form of iced coffee.)

Not that this isn't an accurate portrayal of the way many people live--in Amiros and just about everywhere else--it's just that in this romantic setting the novel might be seen by the impressionable as an endorsement of such behavior. Those whose value systems are still forming might see, especially in this context, a heavy dependence on chemicals as part of the romance, rather than as a way people often deal with (or fail to deal with) their deepest fears and the often unpleasant realities of life.

Despite the minor flaws, however, this book has a tremendous amount to offer any adult, female or male, and it is strongly recommended. And you may find, as this virtual-adventurer did, that once you start the journey you can't stop until it's over--no matter how late the hour gets.

this book strays from the inhuman, demonic from hell type of thinking. it goes into quantom physics, and the rip in time, big bang way of thinking.the only thing imight question is his photos of ghosts. ir lights give off a host of lightrefraction, dust e.t.c. all in all a good read. not for your pop ghost hunter. i book that gives one pause to think.

I enjoyed most of the book and the author had some good ideas and interesting tales on the paranormal and combating negative energy. However, I could have done without the anti-liberal tirade near the end.

The writer could have gotten his point across without this sort of commentary, especially when "liberals" are more inclined to be open-minded about subjects like the paranormal and not treat the believer as is he/she is a crackpot. This was the first book I have read by Mr. Eno, but I will never read another because of these comments. If you want to sell a book or want the reader to read more, don't insult them.

This book was better than faces in the window, although it was good too, This is a book I will keep in my library.

While the stories in "Footsteps in the Attic" weren't anything shocking or amazing in most cases, I found them more believable because of it. Eno's simple, no-nonsense style presented the facts of each investigation in logically order.

I was struck by the way Eno would attempt to explain any paranormal activity in non-paranormal terms. This approach gave quiet credence to everything from his personal written accounts to the photographs in the book.

Furthermore, I enjoyed Eno's scientific approach to explaining the existence of ghosts. I found it very plausible, and supported much more strongly than previous explanations I had heard. Eno laid evidence as he saw it on the table repeatedly throughout the book, but always in what I felt were appropriate moments.

If you enjoy ghost stories, paranormal events, or even speculating on the afterlife this is the book for you.

I ripped through this book in a couple of sittings, and literally could not put it down. Paul Eno offers up some fascinating and, what I would call, groundbreaking theories about what exactly ghosts are, and where a lot of those strange little occurrences we have come from. His quantum mechanics approach may set any preconceived notion you have about why we see ghosts on its ear. Be prepared to consider a completely new perspective. The theories are not "dumbed-down" for those of us who have not made a study of quantum physics. They are explained in clear, thoughtful, and concise terms that any lay-person can understand.

The theories he poses go a long way in explaining the extreme and persistent déjà vu I have experienced all my life. The chapter on parasites gave me much insight into what that shadowy little wisp I had in my benign little middle-class house was, why it gained strength over the course of almost two years, and then turned not-so-nice after all. A trusted psychic told me at the time that the thing I had was not human, and that I had picked it up through Tarot cards, both of which Mr. Eno verifies with his explanations.

This is paranormal investigation at its finest. Paul Eno has set himself apart as a top-notch investigator of the paranormal. He and his team investigate, with methodical precision, each of these ghosts, poltergeists/parasites, and "tortured souls" with intellect and compassion. After reading this book, I will NEVER touch a Ouija Board again. Much information is here for the taking - highly recommended for anyone seeking an alternative explanation which is not afraid to deviate from the norm.

I read "Angles of Reflection" for a graduate course on untraditional history at Brown University, and as Joan Richards is our graduate advisor, she came to a class to discuss the book with us. The thing that struck me the most was that she said, "I just HAD to write this book". After you read it, you realize this book is a healing process, a way to come to grips with the whirlwind of drama that faced the Richards family as Ned's two medical mishaps came to light, and Richards' struggles as an academic and as a devoted mother. This book identifies the hardships academics face when the responsibilities of work and the devotion of family clash head on. I too highly suggest this book for those seeking careers in the academic field, but it is also a superb read for all. By the way, Ned is doing great, we too wondered about this :)

I want it for my mom she is and angle and she should be in this book!!!

I just spent the past Saturday afternoon reading _Angles of Reflection_ by Joan L. Richards and was quite moved by it. For anyone who has had to grapple with balancing work and family -- including in academics where one's schedule is flexible but at times consuming and unpredictable -- this book is a must read along with other similar volumes, such as _Divided Lives_ and _True North_. Richards's depictions of "mother's time" and "professional time", as well as the conflict between the two, could very well have been a chapter in Alan Lightman's _Einstein's Dreams_. German culture is not a very hospitable environment for working mothers, but Richards navigates skillfully through maternal care, professional meetings, and daily annoyances like sharply abbreviated hours for grocery shopping. Her depiction of the German medical system, a form of socialized medicine, might be looked upon as idiosyncratic and Byzantine by all except those of us who have to deal with American HMO's on a regular basis. Past and present, as well as life and art, overlap in this deliciously engrossing volume: as she cares for her son, Richards works through the intricacies of her biographies of Augustus and Sophia De Morgan and finds in their child, Alice, a parallel story of parental concern. Richards's story reminded me of a statement attributed to Jackie Kennedy Onassis: when asked about raising her children, she is supposed to have said, "If I fail at this, nothing else matters." Above all else, Richards's love and care for her two boys shine through this volume, even on pages dense with Newton, the De Morgans, and probability theory. This book, written in the tradition of Jill Ker Conway, is required reading for anyone, but especially for those curious about how the thinking lives of academics intersects with the practical and emotional lives of the everyday world. Highly recommended.

I have read this book twice, and recommended it to several friends, and find it a most complex and multi-faceted tale. On the one hand a poignant account of a sick child,and an examination of the difficult decisions everyone has to make under uncertainty, it is much more than that as it weaves Newton, Leibniz and Augustus de Morgan and the choices they made into the story. It was in many ways a brave decision of Joan Richards to write and publish this book, and those who read it can judge for themselves her success--I found it riveting, and even better on the second reading.

I found this book to be very well written, and at the beginning I had high hopes that I would like it very much. However, I found that as the book went on, I was less and less sure what point the author was trying to make and just what the focus of the book was supposed to be. What the author's son Ned went through with two unrelated and severe medical problems was compelling to read about, but not really enough to carry the book. The math history parts of the book often seemed quite unrelated to the main tale. Perhaps the book was a way to expose the many uncaring or distant medical professionals the author encountered, but this was not tied together into a real message. Or perhaps the author was telling her story to justify her decision not to return to the States with her son once he ran into medical troubles in Germany---which in my eyes didn't really need justifying---I would not see Germany as having less competant medical care than the US. In any case, I found the ending a bit unfinished---I didn't really see how all of a sudden Ned's elbow was fixed, and we were not told much about the final outcome of his seizures or his brain surgery, although the book was published at least 3 years after these problems started. I feel there could have been a much better book here with more focus and more of a unified point. However, I did finish the book and am still thinking about it--a sign of something worth reading.

Madeline Vandermeer decides to become a saint after she performs a miracle or two when she is 11. Her significant miracle (the other one involved moving a glass of water across a table by brain power alone) happens when her journalist father travels to Idaho by himself. One night during his trip, Madeline is awakened by a man's voice repeating her name. She falls asleep again to dream of snow in Idaho, and wakes up convinced that her father is in danger of being killed by an avalanche.

Madeline dresses and slips out to hurry to a Catholic church, where she prays for God to save her father. When she finally arrives home, she is greeted by the news that her father has survived a horrendous avalanche. From that moment on, Madeline is convinced that she is on an inevitable path to sainthood.

Her father arrives home a changed man. He seems depressed and says he needs to spend time working in New York. In fact, he becomes famous after writing about surviving the avalanche. For once, their family seems to be headed for financial stability. But then both parents break the news to Madeline and her little brother, Cody: they are getting divorced, and Dad is moving to New York City.

Madeline is sure that when she performed her big miracle, she also ruined the rest of her life. She is convinced that she can right this situation by performing just one more miracle. But in the meantime, as she writes letters to the Pope and befriends a girl in a large Italian Catholic family, she blames her mother for what has happened to the family. Mom is seriously depressed, barely coping, and bewildered by Madeline's sudden fascination with a religion foreign to her own family.

Madeline continues with her belief that she can fix everything by performing another miracle, despite the fact that her father remarries. His new wife, Ava Pomme, is a well-known gourmet tart baker, and they have a baby girl named Zoe. In fact, this new family, in Madeline's eyes, is a real family, while the fractured group of Mom, Madeline and Cody is no longer a family at all --- just an unhappy group who happens to live together. Madeline yearns to be a part of her father's family, who is unavoidably seen on television shows such as "Oprah" where the avalanche survival story is recounted repeatedly.

When Mom announces that the magazine she writes food columns for will send the three of them to Italy on vacation, Madeline's dad announces that he, Ava and Zoe will also be in Italy. Madeline and Cody spend vacation time with both parents --- and Madeline discovers the most unexpected miracle of all.

Madeline, Cody and their mother are appealing characters, and I empathized with Madeline's heartbreak and anger. Although some of the people in her life seem a little less well-rounded and a few story threads (such as Madeline's ballet) feel a bit flimsy, readers will be compelled to find out how Madeline's story concludes.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

For those of us who've loved Ann Hood's novels, stories, essays, here's a book we can read along with our kids--daughters and sons! Yes, 12-year-old Madeline is a pain sometimes, but she's just not getting the respect she assumes she deserves for a saint-in-training. After all, didn't she save her father's life with her first miracle? But that was her other, perfect life. The one with two parents in the same house, not a father she visits occasionally with his new wife and growing new family. Ann Hood hits on just the right tone for a seething pre-teen who's taking her parents' divorce out on the parent she's living with (that would be her boring, writer mother who forces them to eat the healthy concoctions she's writing about for her magazine column). With a Nervous Nellie of a little brother, assorted, mostly nerdy friends, and a budding ballet career, Madeline is a character kids can relate to in a story perfectly written and resolved.

Twelve-year-old Madeline Vandermeer is on her way to becoming a bona fide saint. Oh, she's not religious or anything, and her family never goes to church, but she's already performed two miracles. The first was when she slid a glass of water across the kitchen table by only thinking about it. The second was when somebody called her name in the middle of the night, and she woke up with a terrible premonition that her father, on a writing assignment in Idaho, was in danger. After spending a day deep in prayer, she learned that he was one of only two people to survive an avalanche.

However, after her second miracle, everything else in her life goes downhill. Her father, now rich and famous from his harrowing experience, divorces her mother, moves into a posh apartment in uptown New York, and marries Ava Pomme, a sophisticated woman famous for her apple tarts. Soon, they have their own daughter, and Madeline and her little brother, Cody, are forced to travel between the two parents.

Madeline adores Ava and the feeling of once again being part of a family, if only for a weekend. How different Ava is from her own boring mother, who cooks disgusting food for her cooking column and embarrasses Madeline just by being there. If her mom hadn't been so ordinary, crying and scatterbrained over the simplest things, then maybe Madeline's father would have stayed. Determined to find some solace from her life, Madeline concentrates on ballet and her journey into sainthood, although that journey may not lead where she expects.

I absolutely gobbled up this book. Even though Madeline's treatment of her mother sometimes disgusted me, I found her reactions, opinions, and character flaws to be incredibly lifelike and endearing. Although I am not religious or from a divorced family, I found this book to be most enjoyable, and highly recommend it to any preteen girl.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

This book is beyond incredible! Ann Hood is such an amazing writer and her book is so good and so real. Madeline is a character that so many readers will relate to, laugh with, cry with--and travel to Italy with! Her story is funny and sad and so true. And Madeline's struggle to understand her life is so real: her parents who don't understand her, her annoying little brother, her weird friends, and her love of ballet. So many readers will feel like they're reading about their own lives--and will love this book!

Also recommended: Princess Diaries Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You The Invention of Hugo Cabret Series of Unfortunate Events All Judy Blume Gossip Girl The Clique

When Madeline's father was trapped in an avalanche, his daughter was miles and miles away. She was safe at home when she felt an inexplicable urge to pray for his safekeeping. Because he survived the ordeal, she becomes convinced that she saved her father's life and develops an unusual obsession for a kid her age: saints and sainthood. After her parents divorce, her obsession only grows. She blames her mother for the divorce and thinks her father is infalliable. Before the book is over, though, Madeleine realizes that he is only human, and that her mother has her best interests at heart.

In addition to being a future saint, Madeline is also a dancer. I wished the scenes on stage were detailed, to truly capture the experience and thrill of dancing. She has a quirky habit of taking off one shoe and working on her extension. (This is why she is only has one shoe on the book cover.) As a dancer myself, I felt the need to correct her when she commented upon another girl's field hockey legs and compared them to her thin legs, because, as a ballet dancer, especially one doing pointe work, Madeline would have developed strong legs with thick muscles, quads, thighs.

Partway through the book, Madeline befriends an interesting girl named Antoinetta. Antoinetta's house, always filled with relatives, noise, food, and plastic-covered furniture, was easy to picture.

There was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it line early in the book that reveals the bulk of the story takes place a year after the divorce. As this line came just when characters were being established, it was easy to miss or misinterpret. The story and its characters would have benefitted from the inclusion of that transition period. Madeline's mother was occasionally painted in broad strokes. Thankfully, she is finally given more attention towards the end of the book.

Children of divorce can easily blame one parent and idolize the other, and it can hurt when parents can fall off of the pedestal lodged in their children's eyes. That was also clearly shown at the end of the book.

The descriptions of historical saints and miracles may make kids curious about other religions, but Madeline's quest for sainthood is far more about saving her family than saving her soul, making for an inoffensive journey which fits the character as well as the story's target audience. A decent story overall, though I ultimately wanted more.

Interesting book and a good story. I could identify with the areas and type of people, but it was not proofread well enough (4 spelling errors is a lot for a book of this size). The "language" in it seemed forced and it would have been a better book without it for sure.

Rick Koster of The New London Day called Roberta's Woods "a love letter to Rhode Island and a way of life that might be vanishing," and I'd agree with that assessment. An energy crisis in the year 2013 has the state of Rhode Island trying to force everyone to live in a ring around Providence. But some of the Swamp Yankees in South County refuse to give up their homes and land, and as their oil and gas supplies dwindle and the lights go out their independent way of living is put to a test. With the price of gas hitting $4 a gallon this book could not be more timely. Add Cotter's wonderful characterization of Swamp Yankees and this book is a great read.

Read this book and you'll remember it every time you fill up your car with gas. It's a bit of a love story, a bit of a mystery, but it is also a prescient look at southern New England at a time that may not be far off, when the oil begins to run out. This clever premise is the backdrop for a page-turning story of the struggles of an old Rhode Island family facing not only the challenges of a new world order, but some of its own long hidden demons that are finally rising to the surface. Cotter has a wonderful sense of the past and future and bridges them beautifully in a story that will keep you spellbound to the surprising end. It might also make you appreciate even $4 a gallon gas.

I'm not typically drawn to "women's fiction," as Betty Cotter's ROBERTA'S WOODS is categorized -- but this well written book is much more than genre fiction. The story is at heart about a family coming together in difficult times, but there are so many intriguing elements that Cotter weaves effortlessly: the futuristic, big-brotherness of an energy crisis, a historical romance, a mystery -- and even slight hints of supernatural. In lesser hands, such plotting would probably cave in under the weight of its own ambition, but Cotter pulls it off wonderfully.

It's easy to try and label this novel chick lit, because it involves a woman, but its so much more than that. It's almost like a historical novel set in the future. A gas crisis a few years down the road (made very real by the nation's current situation) has forced people to revert back to many old fashioned ways, as power outages and the lack of cars make modern life pretty difficult. But on top of that there is a mystery built in here, as Roberta of the title returns to her family home and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. I enjoyed this book, and I found myself turning pages to find out what was going to happen next. Great characters and an action-packed ending made it an engrossing read.