Oregon Books

This Book will change you to becoming a consious living person, and therefore preventing chaos in your life, and therefore in the The World!

You need to read this book slowly and profoundly to be part of the new earth!!

I Was & Am Ready! If you are Strong enough to lose your own ego...Wise enough to take direction, Compassionate enough to contribute positively to the world, Brave enough to step out of your tiny little box...Then read this book! Take what you can use...And then USE what you take!
Rebecca K. Drnjevic
Yeah Buts The Little Book of Big Excuses
Rebecca's Writing,LLC

Eckart Tolle is a great teacher! He puts into words what many teachers have tought before, but the way he explains it is very well suited to make rational Western people get a glimpse of Reality beyond thinking.

As the title of my review indicates, this book is to philosophy what chicken nuggets are to fine dining. Tolle is an egotistic flake and his book is a cheap rip-off of Eastern philosophy. His dramatic pretenses at enlightenment, i.e. dead pan stare and drone-like speech, remind me of the scene inside a Buddhist monastery in Jim Carey's Ace Ventura.

What a joke. Oprah has gone off the New Age deep end.

Jesus was not on the path of enlightenment. He died on your behalf. literaly. compare what this book says about Jesus and find the quotes in the Bible and see for yourself... Tolle is using Jesus' words for his personal gain. how much has he made on this book alone?

A must read for everyone!!! Another great book is how to be rich by J. Paul Getty!!!How to Be Rich

Love the book. Easy read. T. Harv Eker gives great life examples that anyone can relate to. Easy for one to determine their money blueprint. This book definitely helped me to take a new view and approach toward life and toward myself. I bought a copy for my daughter and have recommended it to several others as a "MUST" buy.

I have only read 3/4 of this book and it is clear to me that I will read it again, with my highlighter in hand. It is so clear and he discusses his program in readable language.

Your mind is a powerful tool that will lead you to success or failure. The principles in this book show the poor, middle class and rich mindset. It's amazing how your environment and family upbringing can leave a lasting imprint in your psyche in relation to money. This book has pearls of wisdom to reach success in your business.

This is a fabulous book that challenges false perceptions about wealth and money. Even if I don't end up a millionaire by following the suggestions in this book, just having read it has been a worthwhile growth experience!

Haven't gotten a chance to read it yet. I glanced through it and it seems helpful in preparing my personal vision statement.

Despite being embarrassed to buy this book (I felt like a loser handing it to the cashier), I bought it anyway because I like Dr. Phil's show--he's entertaining. However, I didn't find this book nearly as helpful as Wayne Dyer, The Secret or Eckart Tolle. I didn't take anything away from it, and I wish I had bought something else instead of this book. Sorry Dr. Phil! I still love your show and that brilliant masterpiece, Dr. Phil House.

This book was bought for my neice. I already had it and believe me, after you read the first two chapters you know this book isn't just a lot of mumbo jumbo. Instead of giving you reasons why your life is messed up it actually helps you evaluate your life where it is at right now. You'll gain insight about your behaviors and how they affect your decisions. You'll understand how you invite people to treat you the way they do. It's not all roses but it's great information if you really want to make a change in how your life is going. There are so many "well, duh..that makes total sense!" moments in this book! It's a great read. I also have the workbook (which really is a WORK book).

Every person's experience in a reading a book is their own, and therefore, unique. I took away a sense of this book "making me think" and asking myself hard questions about life. I felt the exercises were way too long, but I got a much needed dose of mental focus from reading it.

Dr. Phil offers so good, sound, ideas that will cause you to look at how you are managing your life and how you can do it in a better way. I recommend that you read this book.

I have actually been through a long period of spiritual chaos. I have owned this book in the past. I also owned many other books that are of this kind. This book is actually useless. The best thing to do in times of turmoil is to keep things SIMPLY. That is the best solution. Think in a positive way but not to the extreme end that is advocated in all these self improvement books which are actually self DESTRUCTION books.
For those who question my opinion, I have been severely depressed for over 6 years. I stop being depressed back in 2003. I am currently a psychology major. REAL psychology books are VERY different from these SHAM books.
I hope my review have helped someone. If you have books like this, you should throw them away.

Well, I'm 14 and perfectly authorized to write a review for this book since it IS for teenagers. The entire freshman class is being required to read this book as a part of our 48 Books Program and some of us like it and some of us absolutely can't stand it. I would give it the fact that it's remotely interesting but it's mean in a way that if you do something wrong you're totally undermining your self-esteem and I think that's just plain wrong. To make this book better he should have put more in that are popular that people actually know about and are funny, not just being used to prove a point. Also, the way he wants us to write in the book and stuff just doesn't appeal to ANY of us because of the way it's phrased before a line to write. Most of us just kind of think about it and go on. It's hard to hold my attention on it for very long because just reading through Habit #2 makes you read over a hundred pages of boring text. My school is in the top 36 elite high schools in the nation and they expect us to read this boring book that's of little or no help to the majority of it's freshmen? I mean, my math teacher thinks it's the best book on the planet, but seriously, he's kind of old. Us teens (who the book was actually written for) think it's not all that great. Whatever. Read it yourself and see what you think, this is only my opinion after all, not that a whole lot of people are going to read it or anything.

This book helps to answer the question- What must I
do to be successful? The author discusses good habits of
highly effective teens, as well as planning and win-win
scenarios. Above all, a teen must be a good listener in
order to influence people. Poor listeners are identified
by the author; as follows:

o Do you pretend to listen?
o Is your listening selective?
o Do you listen to words only or take in other things
like body language?
o Are you empathetic?
o Does your mind wander in another galaxy?

These are all good questions which the author poses.
Each of us has a style. Some students are imaginative,
creative or spatial. Others are investigative or
inquisitive. Still others tend to be realists or
fatalists. A minority of people tend to be too analytical.
This phenomenon is called "analysis paralysis". Our
tendency to over analyze a problem actually gets in the way
of successfully executing a practical solution on an
immediate basis.

Teams have all kinds of people. Some are plodders.
Others are followers. Some may innovate while a minority
of people harmonize the group and aid in its ultimate
cohesion as a unit.

The book is an excellent value, The author poses
questions aimed at getting teens to identify and correct
sloppy habits/predispositions. These negative aspects
may hinder academic performance later on.

This is a very good book for middle and high school age kids. It gives them a direction and a way to plan how they live and interact with other teens and adults. I'd also recommend getting the companion workbook The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Workbook [[ASIN:1929494173 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Workbook. It helps cement the concepts covered in the book

Like many of the reviewers on here, I too was one of the unfortunate teens who had this book thrust upon them in high school. I was always a negativist at heart, so I am naturally critical of self-help programs and feel-good books like this one. But since I was going through a rough patch in my life, I decided to give it an honest chance. Plus, it was given to us at no charge, which I did appreciate.

Unfortunately, this book is only helpful to one of two different types of teens, neither category of which I happened to fall into. First are the type of individuals who are already happy-go-lucky, self-confident, and have already fully developed a sense of identity. Teens who are depressed, have a bad family situation, have financial troubles, or have issues with self-image should forget this book even exists. The second type of rare teenage breed who might actually benefit from this book is the one who has the dedication and the energy to uproot his or her entire life in order to live it according to Sean Covey's strict specifications.

Personally, I found the book to be so overly enthusiastic that it actually sickened me. Covey seems to assume every teenager is of the same mold. He doesn't account for some very important variables which often contribute to teenage stress and hardship (i.e., moving to a new location, domestic violence, the death of a loved one, mental illness, etc.) and the issues he does address are often glossed over in a goofy, unrealistic manner. It's plain to see that Covey, despite his "I-used-to-be-just-like-you" attitude, didn't have too many problems growing up. Perhaps he should have let someone more qualified write this book.

Even the people who might enjoy this text will be turned off by its blatant profiteering. There are copious references to a companion planner that you are supposed to buy, as if all other day planners are somehow incompatible.

My advice for troubled teens: burn this book and keep listening to angry music and playing violent video games. It is far more therapeutic than reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens".

I come from a horrible background, my family has no moral structure, they're either on drugs or selling drugs.

My freshmen year of high school was really hard for me, my moms drug use escalated and I felt trapped. I was about to give up and go towards the bad stuff my family did/does. I just wanted to be accepted, I was too weird for the normal kids, but not hardcore enough the kids that let me hang with them.

I had no support, and I felt like I couldn't reach out, after a suicide attempt, I was put into a leadership class and the Curriculum was the Seven habits of highly effective teens

This book helped me:
Over come my family (I moved out when I was 16)
Get better grades (I went from a 1.6-3.8 in one year and graduated with a 2.5)
It helped strengthen my moral goals (and give me some also)
and It helped me take care of myself

I am now 19 a freshmen in college and working towards becoming an abnormal Child Psychologist.

A few good teachers and this book saved me from a life of crime and drugs.

I feel like there are a lot kids out there that need this book, and a few good teachers.


P.s. I still have my copy from my freshmen year, all beat up and highlighted and I re-read it every so often to remind myself of all the awesome stuff in there.

So far this stuff from Rob is working great! I'd say all negative reviews on this are by people who've only just finished reading the book and haven't applied the technique sufficiently. I've been looking at self-help, gurus and all for about 16 years now. Almost all hasn't worked, but this has and in only 5 days. Busting loose from the money game are literally the words I'd use -- stuff I'm really glad to be free of finally! Actually I got the Journey to the Infinite system also from Rob (not this book, though I believe the discuss the same stuff). At first I was really dissapointed and felt I'd been scammed big time, but such as life .. and he was offering a ticket out of the Matrix.

I was put onto Rob's work by a man named Bill Harris who makes these Holosync meditation CDs (which I'd also recommend). He sent me an e-mail about Rob's work. And I trusted Bill's recommendation, because he, like me has tried everything under the sun in the way of self-help stuff, and his meditation CDs sure were working, so I just had to have a go!

So yeah, at first I felt really scammed, but I had a bad back and was lieing down with nothing to do. So I just kept applying the process and after 5 days, I've busted loose, and want to see what else this baby can do for me!

5 stars! (so far)

The book starts out promising enough discussing quantum physics, the limits of physical reality and how to break out of those limits. However, as I got going into the author's plan to break out, I began arguing vehemently with him, marking notes in the margins, and finally just tossing the book aside in absolute frustrating. For someone who claims we're too limited by "The Money Game" and other games created by a higher self that is looking for an ultimate experience, when he goes about relating his method for breaking out...he goes right back into a new set of limits...HIS. If you don't follow his plan explicitly his way, you can't break out. And his plan essentially has individuals seeking out a long Dark Night of the Soul in order to get past some barrier. I'm sorry, I believe that all he has done is create his own version of torment, and I don't intend to join him in it.

This book is simply absurd. Basically it says that nothing is real. Everything you see is a hologram! Just stupid!

After years and years of playing the Money Game, literally, I found this book to be the missing piece of the puzzle I have been looking for. No more Cashflow 101 for me! If the rules say I can lose it as fast as I earn it, I want new rules. That's exactly what "Busting Loose" gives you! The new rules YOU want. I LOVE THIS BOOK! And I have recommended it to EVERYONE I know who is in the awakening process! A real gem and my absolute favorite book on money EVER! Warning, however, if you are closed minded - this book is NOT for you. If, however, you are a fan of the law of attraction, Abraham Hicks, Canfield, Joe Vitale, James Ray, Neville, Wattles, and the like - YOU WILL BE AMAZED!

I write things down on 3 by 5 cards review them daily and receive them in god's time. I don't ask how- I just receive inspiration and act on it. Rather than relying on my rational mind only, I use subconscious mind programming, prayer, and reliance on a power greater than my rational mind. Robert Scheinfeld's book expanded my ability in his emphasis on working with negative feelings. Also many of us blame someone else for our problems. His teaching emphasizes that each individual is responsible for creating his or her situation in life. Lots of people resist this notion especially people in prison or professional victims. Read the book your life will work better because you have more tools to be a victor and not a victim. We are finding that combining this with EFT tapping is an effective combination.

Archie Sheridan is a famous homicide detective. He tracked down Portland's most notorious serial killer (and, as Cain says repeatedly, it doesn't hurt that the serial killer was a beautiful woman). Of course, he only managed to catch her because she tricked him, kidnaped him, tortured him, and then called 911 on herself when it looked like he might die.

The oddly twisted bond between this kidnap/serial killer and her victim/pursuer is the foundation oh which the surface plot of Heartsick unfolds--what appears to be a brand new serial killer is now loose in Portland, and only Archie can catch him/her(?).

Layered on all of this is a newspaper feature writer (as she states many times, NOT a reporter--she has an MFA, not a journalism degree) who is assigned to do a feature on Archie in the middle of this new investigation.

Exactly who among this triangle (cop, killer, reporter) is using who, and to what end, is what gives this story tension, and the ending is superb.

My only qualm is that it took far too long before we figured out who was who, and what the story was all about. I found the first 50 or so pages hard going--but I'm REALLY glad I didn't give up!

In sum, Heartsick is a powerful read. Good, spunky characters; some interesting development of the Stockholm Syndrom theme; just enough to make us care about the people, so as the mystery unfolds we keep on going.

I had heard an interview with the author on the radio driving home one evening. Her facination with the relationship between killer and cop intrigued me as well, it sounds morbid, but interesting. I purchased the book the moment I got home and it was well worth the decision. I found the suspense addicting, the story line compelling, and nearly felt the characters manipulating me to continue. I had ordered a UK paperback and the cover was quite a conversation starter (and ender as well), no words, just drops of blood and a bloody hand print picking the book up at the binding.

This is one of the most manipulative books I've read in a while, and I'm not talking about how the author got me to polish it off in a single three-day weekend.

Damaged Detective Archie Sheridan manipulates the news media into sending a message to the After School Strangler, punk reporter Susan Ward manipulates both the males she interviews and the male authority figures in her life, infamous serial killer Gretchen Lowell manipulates everyone she encounters, especially Archie Sheridan, and Archie Sheridan manipulates her.

The pages flew by as the story advanced, both the desperate search for the present day killer and the flashbacks to Archie's horrific captivity by Gretchen and Susan's increasingly relevant adolescent struggles. The attempt to tie it all together in one neat little bow at the end was only a partial success, perhaps because though the book ends well, the story continues: Sweetheart.

Gretchen Lowell is a beautiful serial killer that cons her victims into doing things for her or with her, followed by their demise in a slow. deliberate way. Archie Sheridan is an experienced cop who unknowingly falls under Gretchen's spell. Archie wakes up groggy with a body on the floor beside him in a place he did not recognize. How did he get here? Gretchen had placed her services as a psychiatrist to help Archie and the authorities find the many victims that were still missing. Gretchen "helped" Archie all right to the point of him being so drugged up that he could not think straight but he did recognize a beautiful woman that was controlling him and brutally attacking his body with various weapons including nails through his rib area.

Then when she got Archie to the edge of death, she changed her mind and decided to save him. She took him to the hospital and turned herself in to the authorities. She had a connection with Archie that she did not have with anyone else. Archie eventually recovers to the extent he could resume his detective duties but his body would always be wracked with pain thanks to Gretchen. While in prison, Gretchen would only talk to Archie during which time she would divulge the name or names of her victims and where they could be found. Archie was falling for Gretchen even though he was married and divorced from Debbie, who he still had feelings for, and he loved their children.

Susan Ward was a young, brash, and wild reporter for the Oregon Herald who wanted to go places fast but her young and wild appearance turned off many. But she did wrangle a chance to work with the task force that was working on finding Gretchen's victims. Archie did not really want this young whippersnapper working with him but when Susan showed some smarts he gave in and allowed her to work with him and the task force, sometimes sorry he made that decision.

This leads to a terrific story that I found hard to put down. Chelsea Cain is an author I never heard of before but I am very aware of her great work now. I was very fortunate to read her follow-up book, "Sweetheart" that picked up intensity right where "heartsick" ended. You will not be sorry you purchased this book but you will not be able to close your eyes and go to sleep!

This is one of the most riveting books I've read in a long time. As a fan of Patricia Cornwell's early work, I missed reading novels that had the same gripping power (a quality lacking in Cornwell's later writing). But HeartSick provides this. It consists of short, intriguing chapters that develop the plot but still leave enough mystery to keep one reading. Furthermore, the characters are developed rather interestingly, especially the main detective. This book definitely made me want to read more from Chelsea Cain.

Not only the trip itself, but the journey of self discovery, holds the reader. Despite some needless repetition, the abscence of which, would have made the story move better, this was a great read. I would have named the bad guy, jailhouse justice could do him good.

The story of what happened to Jentz is horrible and makes for great drama. The aftermath -- her search for her still-unknown attacker, which is the main subject of the book -- could have made a decent story as well. Unfortunately the drama of it is oversold, and the story is wildly overwritten, both in length and in tone. Jentz's discovery of a prime suspect is unfortunately larded over with melodramatic writing -- those of you who've waded through the book know the title of this review is a reference to the dozens and dozens of "In Search of"-like rhetorical questions -- and a level of self-obsessiveness that, while understandable in a person's diary, should not have made it into the final version. Perhaps the editor wanted to provide an open window into how messed up Jentz became as a result of the attack; perhaps only the actual publication of far too much detail could provide her with the catharsis that she absolutely deserves. Anyone with a heart would wish Jentz peace after what she went through. But her story lost much of its power in the telling.

A lot of reviewers stated that this was too redundant, that the author tended to go on and on over the same territory, and that the story could have been completed in a lot fewer words. After reading this story, I have found that I was "hooked" and that this story lingers on long after the final page is turned. It is a haunting story made all the more engrossing by the fact that it is a totally truthful accounting of one woman's attempt to identify her attacker - to identify the person who hacked her and her friend up with a hatchet and left them both for dead. I understand completely her need to do so, as well as I understand completely her friend's need not to do so. This was a catharsis for the author, and a much needed one. I can identify with this. I believe had I been the one this happened to, I would also want to know the who and the why of this terrible crime. My hat is off to this very brave lady, and I feel that this book is well worth the read! You cannot truly be a critic of this manuscript unless you yourself have experienced the same as this author.

The random 1977 crime horrified all who heard about it, although the girls survived. I even read about it when I lived in Chicago. Yet after days, months & decades though the Cline Falls community knew who'd done it, authorities never prosecuted anyone. Why? In this extraordinarily eloquent & riveting memoir of the author's life & times before & after that innocent bicycle trip that ended a hair's breadth shy of murder, she records her emotional reality & her 20 year search for the man who devastated her young self. I thought it quite unsentimental & engagingly intense. Sit back & immerse yourself in this writer's record of her quest for the rest of her soul, of her return to Oregon & the leads to who knew & helped her back then, who investigated the crime & why it was closed. With her you'll meet all sorts of people who could connect the dots of the perpetrator's violent life before & after he attacked her &, incidentally, you'll be at her side when he is at last brought to some semblance of justice, although not for his crime against her. A haunting & satisfying read by someone who knows how to write well & has an astonishing tale to tell. Very well done.

Imagine being 20 years old, on the first real adventure of your young life, sleeping soundly after a strenuous bike journey...only to be awakened and find yourself under a truck, staring at the well-dressed torso of a cowboy yielding an ax. That is what Terri Jentz, the author of this amazing book, asks us to envision.

She and her friend, renamed Shayna, process the aftermath in two different ways. Shayna has selective amnesia based on her injuries, and is unable -- and unwilling -- to confront what has occurred. Terri, on the other hand, after several years of ennui and fear, decides to courageously confront the episode and to try to make some sense of it in order to fully heal.

This journey is what comprises this book. Interestingly, the individuals she meets again -- ranging from the teenage couple who helped save them to the nurses who were there when they reached the hospital -- were all permanently affected by this senseless act. Together again, they all help heal each other. The would-be murderer himself is larger than life and also so much smaller than life. One of the tragedies is that most of the town knew who did it, and yet, thanks to the bungling of three overlapping law enforcement agencies and overprotective parents, his act would never have been totally revealed were it not for Terri's perseverance.

This is a courageous book from a tenacious individual, and it spans 700 pages. I truly understand why Terri Jentz needed to write this book in its entirety, but I believe she needed a better editor. It lags in the middle pages, as Terri meets up with one after another lead (some true, some false); the momentum of the story begins to drag as a result. There is also very little reflection on her personal life -- the key focus is outward, not inward. We know that Terri is gay and she had an unrequited crush on Shayna. There is certain anger that Shayna is unwilling to be the "perfect listener" and to explore the ramifications of that June 22 night. I also wonder how Terri's sexual orientation played out in a conservative, cowboy town, when young women were blamed for their own independence. But these are minor points: all in all, I greatly admire Terri Jentz's courage and her larger observations on our society's passion for violence. She has important things to say.

Just finished this book and it did not disappoint. After reading the first two I did find myself skipping all of the silly songs and incantations that the Mackenzies spew in this novel. I thought it was a bit of overkill. Anyway this novel has all of the merits that the first two books had, great story, exciting and bloody action, etc. I might be crazy but I had hoped that the war would have been a bit more drawn out. The actual war was over rather quickly and I had thought there would be a bit more give and take before the final throw-down. Sam of clan Mackenzie was almost nonexistent in the later portion of the book which was disappointing since he was my favorite character. Still it was a great finish. I will NOT spoil the end of the book but will say it was very well done!

The first book in this trilogy, Dies the Fire, was wonderfully written and chock full of inventive approaches to social organization and technology. Unfortunately the author seems to have run out of the novel ideas that drove the initial entry into the series by this point, and the characters, though still compelling, developed little. That said, though, the plot does move along at a decent pace, and I chewed through the book quite quickly - The action and the ending were reasonably satisfying.

If you read The Protector's War (which featured no war), then The Meeting at Corvallis (which features no meeting at Corvallis, but does feature a war) is certainly worth the read. If you're considering whether or not to finish the series after reading the stellar Dies the Fire, you might be better off investing your money in the other side of this story as well. The entire Island in the Sea of Time trilogy is very well written, and the characters and technologies in the series develop at a much more even and compelling pace.

This was a decent book. Given the ability, I'd have given it another half-star, but it doesn't warrant a full four-star rating.

A Meeting At Corvallis, the final volume of the Change trilogy that began with Dies The Fire, comes to a satisfying, rollicking, action backed end, and there's plenty there to satisfy anyone who became a fan of the first book and followed it all the way through.

After spending two volumes, stretching over nine years, building up to a confrontation between Norman Arminger's Portland Protective Association and the loose alliance between Clan Mackenzie, the Bearkillers, and the monks of Mt. Abbott, Stirling doesn't disappoint this time and gives his readers not one, but two epic confrontations that will decide the future of the characters that we've come to know, and perhaps the new post-Change world itself.

For the first time, he spends considerable time in the territory of the PPA where people are under the thumb of a man that they rallied behind when their lives seemed near an end, only to find themselves in a bondage unseen since serfdom ruled Russia. We also see the conflict about to come from the perspective of the people living in PPA and, while it doesn't really change the moral calculus of good vs. evil, it does paint a broader picture and give depth to characters who otherwise would've been little more than cardboard cutouts.

More importantly, though, this final volume of the trilogy shows why Stirling really is such a good writer. Not only does he take care to humanize his characters, he makes you feel like you're right there in their world with them, which makes the things that happen to them, both good and bad, all the more personal.

Stirling has started a new series based on the world of the Change. The Sunrise Lands takes place about ten years after the events of Corvallis and looks to introduce new characters, new challenges, and at some point perhaps an explanation for what happened to the world back on March 17, 1998. I look forward to continuing the adventure.

As with the original Dies the Fire, this entry carries on an excellent vision of a post-modern world where physical laws have been altered by an unknown source. Great characters, great fun!

Well, the first book was interesting, the second tolerable, but the final one is terrible. Heavily padded - we know the details of every meal eaten, and every journey has several long lists of local flora and fauna. The armor of nearly every important character is described again and again. Even small things are repeated endlessly - every time a character in armor hugs or is hugged we get a reminder of the armor (which generally was described a page or two back).
There continues to be no explanation of The Change, other than hints of a divine origin. Given that the basic laws of physics have been severely tampered with, this is not very satisfactory. And still, most characters seem relatively uninterested in the reasons for the Change. A bit of bad pseudo-physics is given but only annoys.
There are long, long battles and duels, described in painful detail which slows the action to a crawl.
The end is not bad, although the hints of things to come are painfully obvious.
Sigh...if you were intriged by the premise in the first, and slogged through the second, save yourself. Don't buy this book.

Like all his books, it is very hard to put down once you start to read it.
There is nothing like a good fast past book full of adventure for reading.
I an now just starting to reread his Dirk Pitt novels again and they are great this time as they were the first time I read them.

The plot moves quickly, keeping interest from beginning to end. I've been a Cussler reader for a very long time now and I wasn't disappointed.

Skelton Coast was an excellent book. This is the type of writting that made Clive Cussler one of my favorite authors.

I have read all of the Oregon Files and this is by far the best one yet. Although they explain plenty in the first three novels the main character is truly brought to life in this latest adventure. The authors get into gritty details as to why Jaun Cabrillo is the way he is and make him as close to home as his counter part, Dirk Pitt. If you are a Clive Cussler fan or just want a good read I reccomend this book!

Skeleton Coast is the second of Cussler's Oregon Files novels I've read, and while not as strong as Golden Buddha, it still delivers.

Skeleton Coast brings the reader back to Africa (setting for Sahara) and a rich background against which Cussler paints his tale of greed, hatred, and eco-terrorism.

Like his other Oregon Files novels, Skeleton Coast doesn't wallow in long, man-against-nature episodes, but instead moves the action from one setting to another across a huge variety of settings, plots, and characters. Cussler generally keeps the juggling act in tact, but it is clear that he's cutting corners and starts to drop a few plates by the end.

Not to worry, the finale wraps everything up in a neat tidy bundle with a devastating finish to the villains that you won't soon forget.

The Third Victim
The story starts out interestingly enough and then it all falls apart as the plot unfolds. The Sheriff's son is involved in multiple murders at his school. The Sheriff is actively interfering with the investigation. The lead investigating officer is Rainey Conner. She works under the Sheriff. Conner has a long personal friendship with the Sheriff and enough personal baggage that normally would prevent her from ever being a cop in the first place. Holy comflict of interest Batman! State and Federal agents are called in but who is in charge, the admittedly unqualified, conflicted, unstable, Rainey Conner! Oh Please!!! If you removed the unqualified cop, had a realistic chain of command with the investagors,and put the Sheriff in jail for interfering this might be a good read.
My suspension of disbelief button was pushed too many times on this one.

I didn't like this book for several reasons. The school shooting theme is very disturbing to me and I honestly don't think that the author did a good job exploring or explaining that issue. Another reason I didn't like the book was because the Rainie character was severely irritating. I'm so sick of the "macho" woman in these suspense thrillers. Rainie needs to grow up and get over herself. Lastly, the villain in this book didn't make any sense. His motives and reasoning were stupid. This book had potential, but fell flat.

If the Amazon Star System allowed the possibility, I'd give this one four and a half stars, rather than four. But it doesn't. So, rounding off, I've given it four.

Let's get my very minor quibbles out of the way first: (1) There's no way a town small enough to need a law enforcement staff of only three people plus a volunteer is going to have a 'Dairy Queen.' They'd be 'lucky' to have a 'MacDonald's.' (2) The inhabitants of such a town would have to be insane to think they could hope to land a Wal-Mart. (3) There are no 'towering mountains' in the Oregon Coastal Range. I suppose an author from the east coast, which this one is, might be tricked into thinking that rolling foothills qualify as mountains, but they don't. (4) There is one small paragraph which violates the Point of View style set up in the rest of the book, and the exception is jarring, as it intrudes the book's 'omniscient' author into the mix-- always a big problem when editors don't catch it, which in this case they didn't.

But that is the sum extent of my quibbles. Other than that, this is a very good example of the type of book it is: the formulaic thriller slash mystery. Great Literature it isn't, but it makes no pretense to be, so there's no need to mark it down any for failing to be so. It's even character-based as opposed to plot-driven, which automatically elevates it several notches above the mid-ranks of the genre.

Lorraine Connor, a young deputy sheriff in a small coastal Oregon town who is tough but unsure of herself, and both vulnerable and quite capable of taking care of herself, is asked to be 'primary officer' at a bloody crime scene-- a school shooting in which two students and one teacher have been killed. The teacher-- the 3rd Victim of the title-- has been 'taken out' with a small caliber shot directly to the forhead, while the two students have been 'shot up' at much longer range. This discrepancy in methodology eventually causes the investigators to believe that there is more than one shooter involved. (A fact which the reader, but no one else, has been apprised of early on.)

The suspense comes in the form of delays and dead-ends in the process of finding out who the 'other' shooter is. One perpetrator, a kid, has already been caught, and has confessed, but refuses to talk about the crime, and for good reason: the other criminal is a serial killer with the ethics of a boa constrictor who knows how to scare kids into refusing to talk, sometimes permanently.

There are subplots galore: (1) Lorraine herself has something to hide concerning another shooting many years ago. Will she end up having to 'tell all' or won't she? (2) There's a nasty big-city investigator on scene, who is trying to undercut Lorraine and steal her case from her. Will he succeed? (3) An troubled FBI agent from Quantico finds Lorraine fascinating. Will they end up in bed? (4) One of the victims comes from a family with nasty secrets to hide. What lengths will other members of that family go to to 'protect' their past?

One of the most refreshing things about this book is that nothing is predictable. Not one of these subplots ends up being resolved in the way you think it's going to be. I can't begin to tell you how relieved I was by that!

I've avoided till now dealing with the true heart of the book, though, so the time has now come. On one level this books is 'mere' thriller, but on a deepler plane it's a fascinating glimpse into the world of disturbed psychology, particularly that of children. I'm not about to give anything away here, but just rest assured that this author has done tons of homework and has created characters who behave exactly the way that real people do. So much so that there is an air of realism to this fictional story that lifts it far beyond the bounds of most examples of its kind.

I highly recommend The 3rd Victim.

This is an entertaining thriller that kept me turning the pages. I have read a number of books by this author, and I have yet to be disappointed. Her characters are reasonably interesting, and the plot is well-thought out. Those who like easy reading suspense will definitely enjoy this author's books.

The plot centers around a school shooting that divides the small town of Bakersfield, Oregon. Three people were killed, two of them children. The townspeople are demanding justice. After all, a young boy has confessed to the shooting. It seems, however, that the evidence indicates that he may not have acted alone.

Officer Rainie Conner is the lead investigator in the shooting, but there are those in the town that feel that her past is impacting on her investigation, as controversy is brewing over her involvement. FBI profiler, Pierce Quincy, assists Officer Conner with the investigation, as he, too, is convinced that there is more to the shooting that meets the eye. They both want to see justice done and begin a deadly cat and mouse game with a shadowy character that lurks in the background and may, in fact, be the mastermind of all that has happened.

Those who enjoy the works of Mary Higgins Clark, Carlene Thompson, and Tami Hoag will be sure to enjoy this book, as will all those who enjoy suspense thrillers with a lot of twists and turns.

Lisa Gardner does it again. One of the few authors out there that can consistently turn out grab-you-by-the-throat thrillers.

In a small town of Oregan, a horrific school shooting takes place, leaving several dead, including a well loved teacher and 2 young girls. When the smoke settles, the mass murderer left holding the smoking gun is 13 year old Danny. Danny is the son of Sheriff O'Grady. Witnesses reported seeing a man dressed in black, roaming the halls of the school shortly before the shooting began. Did Danny have an accomplice? Is he just a pawn in a much larger game? Was it a random act of violence or were the victims hand picked?

Ms. Gardner answers these questions and much more in this taut thriller. What I enjoyed the most about this book was there were so many things taking place at the same time. The author keeps the storytelling tight and close to her chest, revealing bits and pieces at a pace that has the reader scrambling to turn the pages in a hope to discover what is truly going on.

The only complaint I have is the ending. The author seemed to want to wrap things up and have a great ending, but I felt it didn't make sense. The herione, in the end, is handled in a way that shouldn't have happened. If I explain it in any more detail, I will ruin the story for you, so I will just stop with that. The book is overall a great read and is well worth your time.