Colorado Books

I'm truly not sure what any reviewers see in this book. The characters are shallow and poorly developed, the plot is similar to "Kiss the Girls" but minor league - maybe pee wee league - in comparison and there are very few redeeming characteristics in any of the book's characters. Talk about unrealistic; a woman who is raped, who kills the rapist immediately makes a date and almost as quickly starts having sex in the back seat of the investigating detective's car? Not even the original James Bond moved that quickly (or with less conscience). By page 40, about the only remaining suspenseful(?) question is whether all of the book's characters will have sex. Ycch.

This one is guarenteed to impress just as much as the others in the "Laws" series. Hansen has done it again. I highly recommend this thriller!

Kayla Beck is a law student. Life is going along well until she receives a strange phone call where the voice is distorted. The caller tells her there's a woman being held in a box car, and she's the only one who can save her and only if she acts quickly and follows the directions exactly. Kayla does so and is able to save Aspen White, but not before Aspen kills a man. They become friends and pair up to try to find the serial killer who called Kayla.

Denver Homicide Detective Bryson Coventry is called to the murder of a man in a box car. Then later a law student is found dead by the tracks. Bryson feels in his gut these cases are related, but he can't find what ties them together.

Tracking down a car seen at the first crime scene, Bryson arrives at Kayla's apartment only to find Aspen White. He is drawn to her because she is so beautiful, and they become involved.

When more young women go missing and end up dead, Bryson realizes he is on the trail of a serial killer. An FBI profiler, who is also Bryson's friend, comes to help with the case. She's been tracking this guy for years. What neither of them knows is that Kayla and Aspen are also looking for the same guy. Can they find him before he kills again and without putting themselves in danger?

I have to say this is one book you will have trouble putting down from page one. The author has done a fabulous job of pulling the reader in and keeping them there. He has a great knack at switching from one part of the story to another at just the right time. He will keep you wondering what is going on until the last page. There are lots of twists and turns and suspense.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more. I highly recommend this book! Just remember, start it when you have lots of time to read. You won't be able to put it down!

Kayla Beck loves her life as a law student; excited as to what the future holds for her. Then the deep, scrambled voice coming through her cell phone threatened all of that. Next thing she knew, she was caught up in another woman's obsessive journey into revenge.

Denver Detective Bryson Coventry is the best homicide cop around. It seemed that all the best - and most complicated murders - come his way. True to form, he has stumbled into another one. First it is just a murdered drifter. Then a young law student shows up dead. The two deaths seem unrelated at first, but Bryson's gut tells him differently. Digging deeper, he finds himself in a race to catch a serial killer.

This is the fourth book in the author's series of "Law" books. Having read the other three, I have to say when I heard there was a fourth I was a bit skeptical that Mr. Hansen could keep up the same pace and mystery that the previous books had.

"O ye of little faith," keeps running through my head. How could I have ever doubted that the author was up to the task? Not only did I learn a few new things about him, I got to fall in lust again with the same sexy and intriguing Bryson I had met before. One thing that still amazed me is the way this Detective attracts women. He is never content with just working through the mysteries of his cases, but continually wanders through the ever-changing mystery of women. (And they always seem to be beautiful women.)

Just as with the previous three books, this one grabbed me from the first page. My habit is to go through a book a few chapters at a time. With this one, I sat down just after dinner, and other than a couple of breaks, I finished it the same night (actually it was the next morning). The story does not get boring or bogged down in details. This author has a great knack for going just deep enough into one area and then shifting to another just at the right time. This technique also helps to build the tension. And believe me - there is tension.

Should you read this book? Yes, definitely. I have said this before about this author's other works and it still applies now; turn off your crime thrillers on television and tune-in to this book.

K. Martin
In The Library Reviews

Deadly Laws is the fourth title in Jim Michael Hansen's scintillating Laws series.

Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry has been called to a railroad yard to investigate a shooting death. He found more than just a man's body. There was evidence that an unknown person had been held captive (by a dog collar) and escaped from the boxcar where the murder victim had been found.

Third-year law student Kayla Beck receives a chilling telephone call. A man challenges her to a game: follow his directions and save a woman's life, or ignore the call and the woman dies. Kayla believes the caller and follows his directions. She came upon Aspen, tied up in the boxcar, as she was being raped.

Kayla helps Aspen escape and is told a chilling tale of a serial killer that involves seemingly random citizens in his maniacal game of death. And if the `helper' doesn't help him, they eventually become the targets.

Coventry, Aspen and Beck are after the killer and once again, Hansen neatly intersects the stories of the victims and the police. The women are the hunted, but are determined to control their own fate and become the hunters. Their investigation parallels the police's.

Deadly Laws is a thriller that won't let the reader shake the terror of the story. Long after you close the book, you'll be looking over your shoulder, wondering if you're in the `crosshairs' of a nameless, faceless, monster who is only interested in the thrill of torture and murder--yours.

Hansen's plots are masterful and terrifying because they could be real life. His characters are rich, multi-dimensional and deeply flawed. Sometimes you love them and sometimes you don't.

My only criticisms of Deadly Laws are Det. Bryson Coventry's `skirt chasing' comes off as juvenile and unprofessional. It makes him less likeable than in the previous books in the series. Hansen also litters the landscape (in all of his books) with what I feel is too much gratuitous sex. Toning it down would add to the richness of the story.

Armchair Interviews says: Deadly Laws, while flawed, is a page-turner that leaves you scared, wary of strangers and breathless.

I read Cohen's first Pepper Keane story, "The Fractal Murders", because it looked like (and was) a different twist on the murder mystery novel. Cohen handled the concepts of fractals very well, and he wove a credible story around the idea that applied mathematics can be worth a lot of money, even enough to kill for.

This novel wasn't nearly as inventive. The characters were colorful, but the plot wavered between being rather ordinary and being somewhat unbelievable. (As when Keane accepted a job to find a dog that was stolen from the murderous head of a biker gang, when Keane was in fact himself the dognapper. C'mon.)

The real problem with this book, though, is the writer's annoying habit of adding trivial details. He has Keane describing the appearance of nearly every character using society-page details of colors, patterns, fragrances, clothes styles, cloth types and hairstyles. This prissy level of description does not jive with the tough-guy image Keane tries to project. And if this were not enough, there are useless details of Keane and his buddies running, pumping iron, doing squats, performing Kata and doing other exercises to manscape their bodies. Boring and a bit gender-bending.
I kept wondering if Cohen would have named his character Queen there hadn't already been a fictional detective with that name. (Yes, Pepper has a girlfriend, but their relationship has issues.)

Bluetick Revenge is the second book in the Pepper Keane mystery series. Following The Fractal Murders by Mark Cohen, Bluetick Revenge is a fast-paced action mystery book about a P.I. named Pepper Keane. Once a dog-napper, Pepper has now taken on the job of protecting Karlynn (a sadistic biker's wife) from Bugg (the sadistic biker :)). The story, however, evolves into something more when Pepper discovers the where abouts of the man who killed Hal and an FBI agent.

The characters and their style really seem to jump out at me, more so than other books. The clarity of the messages sent made the book quite understandable. Although there was no mystery plot per-se, this book still kept me hooked.

I would highly reccommend anyone looking for a good, easy-to-read mystery to read this.

Mark Cohen Does a great job in telling this gripping story. Relating to his previous book "The Fractal Murders" including the great Pepper Keane. If your looking for a fast pace suspenseful,thriller with a great storyline this is it.

Mark Cohen is a Denver native who is a former JAG and municipal judge in Boulder, Colorado. He presently lives in Nederland, Colorado. His first mystery was THE FRACTAL MURDERS, and BLUETICK REVENGE is the follow-up Pepper Keane mystery.

Mysteries involving private eyes with a military background are particularly engaging, but add an ex-Marine with a JAG background who has a law degree with a penchant for Philosophy, who formed and quickly retired from his own law office, and you have the character of Pepper Keane. Pepper may have left the vagaries of the law behind, but his ex-partner, Matt, calls on him to steel a champion bluetick hound for a client ready to turn state's evidence on her husband, who is the leader of a biker empire called the Sons of Satan. Pepper becomes her bodyguard until she can enter the Witness Protection Program, but she decides to take off. Pepper accepts a job from her husband to find her, and when he double-crosses the husband, his life is suddenly in jeopardy. Pepper's girl is teaching in China, so she is safe. He enlists his friend Scott to help him find the girl, collect evidence against the bikers, and stay out of the line of fire. Scott is as much of a Renaissance man as Pepper:

"Scott McCutcheon. Unemployed astrophysicist. Former Navy SEAL. Fifth-degree black belt. One-time field goal kicker for the Colorado Buffaloes. Brad Pitt with a receding hairline. I thought about him as I sipped coffee at a small table beside the fireplace inside Nederland's Pioneer Inn this cold Saturday morning."

Cohen leads the reader right into the world of sadistic bikers who think nothing of killing to gain their ends. Pepper and Scott aren't afraid to follow them into their lair and beat them with a combination of military skills and intelligent strategy. Pepper's dogs add a rich texture to an already excellent plot, and the bluetick hound is Cohen's centerpiece of the tale.

Mark Cohen has a way with words. His style is crystal clear, his characters jump out at the reader. His background in law, the military, and with self defense makes him a knowledgeable author. BLUETICK REVENGE is a mystery the reader can't put down, and Mark Cohen is a bright new star on the mystery scene.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Mark Cohen and his signature character, hard-nosed PI Pepper Keane, were new to me when I picked up this book on a recommendation. What a great find for me as Cohen effectively fully develops his characters, makes them interesting enough that I care for them or against them, and employs wonderfully detailed descriptions of the cities and mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho that make me wish I were there. And, he very adroitly creates a sense of constant tension as the mystery deepens and new layers are added to old layers.

Cohen's leading characters have deeper backgrounds than most fictional PI's. Pepper Keane is a PI with a military background rather than a law enforcement background. He is an ex-marine with a law degree who opened his own law firm and soon retired from it to become a PI, probably because his studies of philosophy and his inner search for his core ideals lead him to the freedom of being his own boss. His best friend and sometimes partner, Scott McCutcheon, is "an unemployed astrophysicist, former navy SEAL, fifth-degree black belt, and one-time field goal kicker for the Colorado Buffaloes." See, I told you they had deeper back stories. And Keane's array of support characters are back including his love interest, Jayne Smyers, brother Troy, Uncle Ray, and his two great canine friends, Buck and Wheat.

In this stand alone follow up to "The Fractal Murders", Keane agrees to dognap a prized bluetick hound that is part of a bitter divorce conflict as a favor for his old partner Matt. This seemingly simple assignment leads to an extension assignment requiring him to babysit and protect Matt's client, Karlynn Slade and her hound, from her soon- to- be- ex, Thaddeus Bugg, a vicious, morals challenged leader of a sadistic biker gang and a major drug producer. Keane is retained to protect her until she can enter the Witness Protection Plan from where she can testify against her ex husband. As you might guess, Karlynn dumps her protector and heads off for parts unknown. Bugg is desperate to find her since she not only can incriminate him, but she also has stolen his hound AND a half million in cash. In a comical yet hard to believe side storyline, Keane agrees to a request from Bugg, who supposedly has chosen him randomly as a PI, to search for his missing wife.

The threads to this story get murkier as Pepper and Scott pursue Karlynn, FBI agents think Pepper may be assisting Karlynn's escape, Bugg may or may not know of Pepper's duplicity, and a cold case involving the murder of Keane's cousin suddenly emerges from the characters they encounter in their pursuit. Pepper and Scott have interesting encounters with bikers, skinheads, racial supremacists, and survivalists in their pursuit of Karlynn and for knowledge that may lead them to the proof needed to solve his cousin's murder. They prove themselves worthy not only through their military and martial arts backgrounds but also with superior tactics and thinking. The camaraderie and humor among the main characters is a welcome respite from the fast pacing of the plot line.

I agree with those who find a similarity in Cohen's writing to that of Robert Parker. He is masterful at developing his characters as well as his sense of place. He moves the storyline in a brisk, fast paced manner but he doesn't take shortcuts that might offend the reader. The book is very entertaining replete with action, excitement, double crosses, humor, suspense, and a satisfying conclusion. Not to be overlooked are the moral dilemmas that Pepper and Scott work through as they deal with potential killers and the need for information. It is nice to see a leading character agonize a bit over diving into the deep gray between black and white.

This book should be bound with yarn and decorated with macaroni. Ridiculous reviews abound in this space. Everyone gives it 5 stars?! Really? Are you afraid Jesus is going to give you crabs if you only give it 4 stars?

For the casual observer of geologic formations, this book is a masterpiece! I have lived many years in the Colorado Plateau area and this book really helps the average person be able to understand how the Grand Canyon was formed. I recommend this book to many people I meet when they come to visit and want to know more about the area's formation.

Yeah, I thought that title would get your attention (!)
What a remarkable gem of a book. I have to second the 9 rave reviews for this title.
The author is a local boy who studied geology through a MS in AZ and put it to good use in his own backyard. I appreciated the way he covered both the geochronology of GC geologic events and the chronology of geologists who took a stab at unraveling the remarkable geologic history. That timescale appears to end with the participants who wrote Colorado River: Origins and Evolution (2000). Another must read.

Creationists would do well to take a look at the geoscience, and, the unsolved mystery in this book that Noah and a christian god had no part in. Unfortunately Vail's GRAND CANYON: A DIFFERENT VIEW appears to be the rock on which they're willing to stand: superficial and supernatural.

The only negative comment I have is not finding GRAND CANYON GEOLOGY by Beus and Morales in the bibliography. Available at the GC bookstore where this title certainly deserves to be.

Well done with good graphics, pictures and dialog that is not too technical. Visited the Grand Canyon after reading this book and found it to be quite adequate for beginner or one who may want more detailed evidence of the happenings millions of years ago. The writer has lived there, led hikes and has spent much time researching the latest theories.

If geology had a face, it would probably be Grand Canyon. No other landscape on Earth offers such a familiar and powerful image of time, rock formation, and erosion. Grand Canyon has been a magnet not just for tourists but for many of America's most brilliant geologists. It may come as a surprise, then, to learn that geologists are still trying to figure out how the canyon got there. It's like our understanding of the origins of the Moon: Apollo was supposed to solve the mystery, but instead it left geologists more puzzled than ever. At least for awhile. It turns out that it was easier to understand the moon than Grand Canyon, for erosion on Earth has removed much of the evidence geologists need.

"Carving Grand Canyon" is the first book to explore the 150-year-long sluething into the formation of Grand Canyon. It stars the geological dectectives who've pursued this puzzle and lets them speak in their own (often eloquent) words. It shows how new evidence has been discovered, and how theories have emerged and been modified and sometimes eroded away. It brings us right up to date with today's cutting edge theories.

The author, Wayne Ranney, has the advantage of having led geology tours of Grand Canyon for years, and thus he knows how to communicate potentially confusing concepts to the public. This book is also well-endowed with illustrations and charts and maps that make it easier to visualize these concepts. In the end Ranney leaves us with a large sense of mystery, but then maybe this will inspire some young reader to become the geologist who will finally put all the puzzle pieces together.

This author did not hold my interest in the least. I just could not find anything to make me continue past the first fifty pages!

I bought these as a gift for my grandmother who is a huge fan of some author I can never remember the name of...so as I was searching for his stuff these came up and the reviews claimed to be better than what I was looking for originally. She's read all 4 I purchased and is begging me to find more. The best part was that they are signed copies - nothing I was expecting! This was a great buy!

Bryson Coventry, a detective with Denver homicide, is a flawed individual. Not only does he have one blue eye and one green, he lets himself become involved with Tianca Holland, a beautiful bi-sexual who may or may not have killed her female lover, Angela. However, when three other bodies are found in close proximity to Angela's body, it appears less likely that Tianca had anything to do with Angela's murder. Haley Wilde is just out of law school and brand new at a large, prestigious legal firm. On her first day there, September 5, she finds out that a woman who had befriended her when she worked as an intern the year before has been missing since April. When she hears that two bodies have been discovered and the women had been missing since April, Haley is certain that her friend was probably murdered too. She begins to search for clues at the legal firm that might lead to her friend's killer. She contacts Bryson and feeds him information. Jack Degan's business is securing women for men to kill, and then cleaning up after their male killers. Jack makes good money but begins to wonder if his profession is worth everything he has to put up with, when things start to go sour. Degan begins to yearn for his Malibu ocean home, and begins to think of taking Gretchen, a prostitute he met and has grown fond of, with him as soon as his next job is finished. Bryson Coventry and his female sidekick, Shalifa, work diligently, trying to find a solution as bodies keep turning up. Tianca also keeps turning up the heat in her relationship with the handsome detective as he tries to unravel the mysterious killings.

FATAL LAWS is quite the page-turner. Action comes fast and furious and one is left guessing until the very end...but don't read the end first and spoil things. This is a very gritty detective novel and not for the squeamish, but if you have the stomach for it, FATAL LAWS is a "can't put down book". What I liked about the book is that the characters, though very busy, do have time to take potty breaks, eat and get some sleep. One criticism I have is that the author often uses "me and so-and-so" instead of "so-and-so and I". This use of grammar is acceptable for speaking with friends or from someone with little education, but I think most educated, high-power lawyers would use correct grammar when talking to the police. (I could be wrong). Jim Michael Hansen has written a fast-paced mystery with a surprise ending. The characters are well-drawn characters, some with fatal flaws. I think that FATAL LAWS is geared more for the male reader than female; however, I have friends that like gritty, edgy, gory stories, and enjoy reading about the seamy side of life. Go for it, you might find you are one of them.

Jeannine Van Eperen, Reviewer, GottaWriteNetwork
author of Memory and Desire, Willow Spring and others.

Fatal Laws is the third thriller in Law series.

Hansen is an author with a publishing dream. He is determined to write thrillers without the 'necessary' help from agents or New York publishers. Hansen is showing the publishing world that with a sizzling book and a good marketing plan, viable titles can be written and sold--and a fan following can be achieved.

When a body is found in a shallow grave, Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry, 'catches' the case. During the initial investigation, Coventry finds another body buried not far from the first. A new attorney, Haley Wilde, is quietly investigating the disappearance of a friend. On a hunch, she visits the burial scene of Coventry's case where two more bodies are unearthed.

One of the women who died is linked to the wealthy and beautiful Tianca Holland, who becomes a suspect. Coventry is more than a little attracted to Tianca and as usual, he becomes caught up in her life.

Coventry is a womanizer, but you love him anyway as his heart is always with the victims--and solving the crime is foremost in his mind.

The body count is rising and Coventry and his partner Shalifa Netherwood's investigation of the murders intersect with attorney Wilde's. The race is on to find the brutal killer and prevent more deaths. No one is really who you think they are--and the appetites and secrets of some of Denver's most visible citizens are more than dangerous--especially when they are aided by people without any moral compass.

Hansen has become one of my favorite thriller authors. His writing is crisp and clean and his plots are scintillating. After reading a Law series novel, I find myself checking the doors and windows to make sure they're locked, and I am always on the lookout for a maniacal killer who might be stalking me.

Hansen leaves us with a big question in this novel, and I'm hoping for the answer in an upcoming book. If not, it will be a big disappointment. I can't wait for the next Law book.

Armchair Interviews says: If you want your thrillers to be exciting, entertaining and gritty, the Law series is what the doctor ordered.

Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry is working what appears to be a serial killer case as corpses appear in shallow graves. However, the problem with this theory is that each person died differently; serial killer typically uses the same MO.

His investigation leads Bryson to the avaricious Degan. This affluent man apparently chooses the victim, whom the predator kills. The case also brings him to Tianca Holland, a woman of interest to him not just because of her ties to the dead. Still none of what he finds makes sense to Bryson as it goes against what is known about serial killers and his desire for Tianca. Yet to have multiple murderers burying their victims in easy to find shallow graves makes less sense than Tianca being a killer, associate, or next victim and where Degan fits is even more complicated as nothing adds up except that Bryson believes somehow this man is being compensated.

The latest Brysan "law" tale is an exciting police procedural in which the sum of the murders add up to be greater than the individual killings. Brysan is at his best trying to determine whether a serial killer or multiple killers are the murderers while also struggling with Tianca whose seductiveness has his blood flow entirely to his lower head. Fans of the the series will enjoy his latest thriller while newcomers will seek previous Coventry investigations (See NIGHT LAWS and SHADOW LAWS).

Harriet Klausner

The book was an entertaining fictional version of a true event, and I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed the story, knowing that much of it was speculation. It should have included a map. I plan to read "Sunk without a Sound" and think I will enjoy it more.

I thought the characters in this book were drawn extremely well, including Glen's father, Reith. I didn't know how it would end and was held by the suspense throughout. Although there were many scenes of the couple going through river rapids, each was different, very well described and held me rapt.

Now for the quibbles: There are three voices in this book, Bessie, Glen and Reith, yet a few times the author slips out of those points of view into the heads of minor characters such as the bookstore owner for whom Bessie works and the man who briefly travels with them on the river. These are both jarring and unnecesary. My other quibble is that the author uses the word "since" when she means "because."

But overall, I recommend this highly, especially to anyone who has spent time out west.

I could not put this book down after I started reading it. When I was not reading it, my mind was on it. It was so strange. I knew how it was going to end, but everything else to that point was a mystery. This is truly a book for today. You'll have to read the book to see what I mean. I will tell you that my thoughts are that it has to do with the state of the world today, which includes the 9-11-01 diaster. I had never heard of this author. Please don't let that influence your decision to read or not to read. She used a very ingenuous way of weaving three stories together. I am absolutely impressed.
Don't miss this one. You will be sorry!

Based on an intriguing premise, Grand Ambition is a novel I wanted to savor. But I couldn't, because once I started, I found myself turning the pages compulsively. This is a story that spawned it's own urban legends for more than 70 years. Newlyweds Glen and Bessie Hyde spend their honeymoon in 1928 shooting the rapids through the Grand Canyon on a scow designed by Glen, who has dreamed of this journey. Although Bessie has no experience, she has great enthusiasm and a willingness to take a bite out of what life has to offer her. They hope to set a record for speed, but if not that, then Bessie will be the first woman to successfully shoot the rapids. After the trip, they plan to lecture and write a book describing the adventure, using Bessie's skills as an artist to illustrate their story.

But something goes wrong. After a last sighting, the couple are never seen or heard from again. Glen's father, Hyde Sr., launches a rescue effort to discover the fate of his son and daughter-in-law, hoping to find them still alive. Mr. Hyde contacts everyone who has had contact with the young couple and religiously follows up every clue. When their scow is found floating lose with all necessary supplies still on board, the obvious becomes more and more ominous.

Michaels alternates chapters between the events as they happen to Bessie and Glen and the desperate rescue attempt by Glen's father, with a tension seesawing between hope and despair. The character of Bessie is finely tuned, her youth ultimately allowing fear to overshadow her expectations that Glen can really keep her safe on this increasingly terrifying dance over the whitecaps. Has Bessie put too much faith in Glen's strengths rather than her own? What if Glen, for all his brave posturing, is wrong?

The terrible truth is there from the beginning, but Michaels' characters, particularly Bessie and her father-in-law, are so courageous, so full of spirit, that the final pages come too soon. So little is really known about this couple and their fate that the author gives them voice and dreams, even those that shatter.

The chief strength of this book is that it fictionally recreates the "missing" scenes from the fateful Colorado Rivery journey of Glenn and Bessie Hyde. However, Michaels apparently wrote her book before "Sunk Without a Sound" was published. If she had been able to read it first, numerous mistakes concerning known facts would have not been made.

I just finished the final book to the trilogy and I have to say what a great adventure for the mind and soul ! I am so glad I read them..........it almost felt like my spirit smiled-

If you have any doubts, or are waffling about this purchase - just buy the book and read it. You will not regret it.

Neil Gaiman is a wannabe, this is the real deal.

Forrest does a wonderful job of retelling a tried and true story without just repeating what's been done before or (sometimes worse) adding story elements of her own that spoil the spirit of the original tale. In this version, Tomas is a Norse bard (or skald) travelling to Britain as a reluctant part of a viking raiding party. This begins the delightful blending of mythologies that makes the story so unique. Not only does he travel to Elfland to meet the Faery Queen (and receive her "gift" of only being able to tell the truth), he also travels to the fabled Asgard, world of the gods of the Norse pantheon--most notably Loki, who is portrayed with a malice and madness that are faithful to the archetype of the trickster.

Tomas is a real and believable hero, as well as a real and believable person, and the denizens of Faery are eerie and otherwordly. Altogether, an excellent first novel. I look forward to reading the sequel.

Jodie Forrest's historical fantasy 'The Rhymer and the Ravens' is a story every bit as rich and unpredictable as the real world. Tomas the Rhymer is half-Welsh, half-Norse-a man with no true home or people. When Tomas accepts the gift of prophecy from a mysterious woman, he discovers that his new ability is twined with the curse of honesty. Tomas cannot lie. He soon finds himself trapped in a world of competing gods, none of whom he can adequately serve. To reclaim his fate from those who would manipulate him, Tomas is forced to join the god of deception. As twisted machinations unfold about Tomas, the worlds of gods and humans are irrevocably changed.

I would not have even listed "historical fantasy" as a genre I enjoyed before reading this book. But once I began reading "The Rhymer and the Ravens", it went everywhere with me. Any chance I got, I hoped to get a page or two in, even if it was while waiting for the light to change! This rich story of a hero, Tomas the Rhymer, on a difficult quest while searching for the meaning of life, love, and service to others is full of finely drawn charcters. I found myself truly caring for and "knowing" characters such as the wise old woman Aud, the beautiful Elf queen Moira, the magical Pooka Aubrey, and the story's hero. This book has been loved by each person to whom I have given it as a gift, several of whom had seen the TV special "Merlin" and found themselves wanting more such adventure. Each has had the same reaction: "I can't put it down!" The only reason I could stand to finish it at all was because I knew there was a sequel!

As always, the Charlie Moon books are great reading. Doss does his expected outstanding job of bringing Charlie, Aunt Daisy, and a cast of character to life. His descriptions of the desert and canyons of Ute country are so real you can smell the sage.

I've read all of Doss's Charlie Moon mysteries but I thought this one was trying to be too clever for it's own good. At times the characters seemed to be babbling. The plot was devised in such a way that the reader could not figure out the story until the very last twist, and even that left quite a few questions unanswered...(which I can't list in order not to spoil the read for prospective readers.)The book left me frustrated and ready to write to the author to get him to fill in the holes. Not one of Doss's best by a long shot.

From beginning to end this held my interest. His previous book was good, but it does not hold a candle to the Stone Butterfly.

Ten Charlies Moon stories and John Doss still keeps the high pitch that made us fans from his first book. During my librarian days I always put John's books in the Kentucky collection, he is one of our finest writers no matter where he lives.
Charlie Moon has moved to full-time ranching, but Aunt Daisy has other plans for his time after she has a nightmare. Charlie has to cross state lines to follow her bidding when Sarah Frank, an Ute-Papago orphan disappears with a valuable heirloom and is suspected of murder. Aunt Daisy has other plans for the child. Both Charlie and Aunt Daisy are vivid characters crafted by a master.
New to the series, get to reading and discover why the old-timers and Publisher's Weekly put James D. Doss as one of the best.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS and TRAVELERS.

Stone Butterfly tells a story of greed, murder and betrayal. Charlie Moon and his aunt become involved and things start to heat up. I kept wondering how it was going to end and I was in for a surprise when it did. I never caught the ever so subtle clues. I can't wait to read the next one!
I'm a fan of James Doss and love all the books he's written. Charlie Moon and his aunt Daisy are two of my all-time favorite characters. They are old friends I get to visit with every time Doss brings out a new novel in the Charlie Moon Series. The stories are full of humor as well as mystery and have yet to disappoint me.

I bought this book based on the second part of its title: "Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest and the Scientists Who Are Trying to Solve Them". I thought that it was going to cover Central and South America. It does not. The author only covers a small island in Panama: Barro Colorado. But, don't let that stop you from buying this book. It is very interesting and well-written. If you are interested in learning about the plants and animals of the tropical rain forests, and how scientists attempt to unravel what's going on, then you will enjoy reading this book. I also plan on looking for a couple of the books the author read and gave as references.

_The Tapir's Morning Bath_ by Elizabeth Royte is an interesting look at the world of field biologists working in the American tropics. The author spent about a year living and working with scientists at a scientific station that was located on Barro Colorado Island (often abbreviated as BCI), an isle that rises steeply from near the middle of Gatun Lake, the enormous midsection of the Panama Canal. Isolated by the waters of the Chagres River (dammed in 1910 to form the canal), BCI was once the highest peak of the now submerged Loma de Palenquilla range. Its summit rises 119 meters above the lake's surface and covers some 1,564 hectares or about 6 square miles.

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) runs a lab on the island's northeastern shore, a facility that has operated continuously since 1923, its backyard the most-studied tropical rain forest in the world. The preservation of the island and the lab was the brainchild of James Zetek, a U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologist who had been working on mosquito control in the Canal Zone during its construction.

The island is a nearly ideal laboratory for researchers. It is home to 65 terrestrial mammal species (including agoutis, peccaries, deer, sloths, howler monkeys, anteaters, tayras, and tapirs), 70 bat species, 381 bird species, 58 species of reptiles (including crocodiles), 32 amphibian species, and 1,369 species of vascular plants, including 300 tree species. The animals are reached by a series of maintained trails and some are so well studied that good population figures are had for a number of species (there are about 2,500 agoutis on the island for instance).

In order to ease her way into the island residents' culture and also to get a handle on both what life is like as a field biologist and what it was they were studying, Royte volunteered to be a free field assistant to anyone who wanted her. At first the scientists were reluctant but soon she was eagerly sought by a variety of researchers. The heart of the book is really her work in the field with these biologists, describing both what they were studying and the field biologists themselves, what motivated them, what they hoped to achieve, and their views on both their research subjects and larger issues in science.

One scientist she spent a lot of time in the field with was Chrissy Campbell, who was doing a study of spider-monkeys. Her study a difficult one, requiring her to follow the island's one spider-monkey troop all day until it bedded down at 6pm and then be back in the field at 6am to follow it again (if she was late she had to spend all day locating it and was often not successful). She sought to collect fecal samples from the troop's five adult females and record their behavior, hoping that analysis of the samples in the lab and correlation with the behaviors she recorded would reveal information on female hormones, adult behavior, and the relationship between the two.

Another scientist she worked with was Bret Weinstein, who was doing a study of tent making in bats. This behavior (which consisted of a bat biting and bending leaves into shapes to conceal and protect them as they slept) was noted to have evolved three separate times among bats and was found only among small, canopy fruit eating bats of the American tropics. Weinstein hoped to discover the reasons behind the tent-making, a job that kept him up all hours of the night, running through the jungle at night chasing faint signals on radio transmitters he attached to some of his study subjects.

She was field assistant to Paul Trebe, himself a field assistant to a scientist who was back at his university in the U.S. His laborious daily job was to visit scores of traps every morning on BCI and on several small adjacent islands (one island had 99 traps) for the nocturnal spiny rat, collecting information on that species population size, age structure, sex ratio, and reproductive output, which along with manipulating conditions on some of the small islands enabled the scientist back home to do complicated studies that impacted on such issues as the animal's role in seed dispersal and as a reservoir for infectious agents.

Other researchers Royte worked with included a geologist studying the forest's effects on runoff and the canal watershed, two scientists doing a diversity study of lianas, and a researcher studying the effects of leaf-cutter ants on tree growth.

While in the field and talking to the island's residents, Royte noted that there was a rivalry between field biologists and those who worked in laboratories. Field scientists often had a "working-class pride," and "cultivated a spunky disdain for lab jocks." She said that pure animal-behavior studies were "decidedly out of fashion in these molecular times" and was perceived by many as a "soft" science. Many on the island griped that molecular biologists got the lion's share of money and prestige, though some did acknowledge they provided useful insights (particularly in the area of taxonomy).

Royte pondered the often incredibly narrow focus of researchers there, joking once that she "damned tropical biology as a black-art discipline and scientists as high priests of esoterica." Sometimes researchers labored on projects that seemed to have little application and gained deep knowledge about very narrow aspects of an organism but were often "ignorant of the whole." Royte wrote that the increasing number of scientists and decreasing amounts of funding available (consumed partially by huge university bureaucracies) forced scientists to specialize early, to carve out a niche that no else had in order to "avoid competition and make names for themselves." She also noted that sometimes seemingly very arcane research results can yield surprising answers to larger puzzles.

A very good book, I enjoyed her descriptions, the obvious research she did, and a subject she came back to repeatedly in the book, why tropical rain forests are so diverse.

This is a really good book! I'm a biologist and I'm currently in Panama and I've spent the last couple of years in Central America. I can assure you that this is an excellent work about biologists, research, and life in Central America.

The writing is straight ahead, no flourishes of flounces to get in the way. The story is simple but clear and funny and heartwarming. I don't know what more you can ask for in a book.

The BCI Research Station is one of the last great centers for basic research into topical ecology. While it is being taken over, gradually, by biologists who know everything about what's going on inside the cell wall but cannot tell a Red Deer from a Bulldog, there are still enough who are trying to understand what animals and plants are doing and what is the relationship between them.

Whether you intend to travel to the rain forest or not, this is a good read and you will enjoy it. I did and I highly recommend it.

Imagine riding a rickety train through the forest to a boat launch, boarding a tiny boat to an obscure island where six foot long iguanas drape nonchalantly over the paths. Imagine an evening in a screened in porch, much of that screen covered with 6" beige flying cockroaches. Imagine a creature not unlike a raccoon, called a coatimundi, traipsing over from the trash bins the following morning to sniff and greet you. Imagine a tapir standing mysteriously in the brush nearby as howler monkeys howl and cackle overhead, throwing debris from the upper story of the forest.

Some twenty two years ago, I had the great privilege of experiencing exactly this as a young girl, spending a year with the many American biologists steadily working in the jungles and facilities of Panama, including several stays on Barro Colorado Island (BCI).

While I freely confess that I have not yet read this book, I was utterly delighted to find that someone, at last, has documented the important yet seemingly obscure research being conducted in this tropical stronghold. I plan to purchase this book for as many friends as possible, knowing that our awareness of biodiversity will ultimately hold the key to funding needed research into the mysteries and wonders of this wild and vital terrestrial treasure chest.

Ms. Royte has written the book that I've always wanted to write. I've done my share of hanging out with biologists and archeologists at field sites in Central America watching them undertake tedious and lengthy data collections under uncomfortable situations. She captures how caught up these people can be in the work they do and how hard it can be for them to relate and function in social situations. Toward the end of the book she describes the migration of the Urania butterflies. I live in Panama City and there is a migration going on outside my window right now. Only it is much more enjoyable after reading Ms. Royte's explanation of what is going on.

Although not as good as 'Creme de Colorado' and 'Colorado Cache', my favorites, I wouldn't miss any of the Colorado Junior League Cookbooks!I'm always looking to see if I have missed any!

With their fourth cookbook, the Denver Junior League has gone off the deep end. I own and use regularly their first three books, so it was natural for me to buy this one as soon as it came out. Alas! They've lost touch with their audience. There are too many recipes with ingredients difficult to find outside of large urban areas. And why so much focus on seafood from a group in the Rockies? Seems as if the good ladies are trying too hard to identify with the San Francisco "nouvelle" cooking crowd. This book is going into my rummage sale box.

COLORADO COLORE:
A Palate of Tastes

An inspiring collection from
The Junior League of
Denver

This colorful cookbook is an inspired collection of recipes, menus and entertaining tips from The Junior League of Denver. The entire League has a long history of showcasing local foods in recipes they test vigorously.

Compiled to compliment the "dazzling magnificence of our colorful state," Colorado Calore delivers a savory enhancement to the state's fiery Colorado sunsets -- to its magnificent Rocky Mountains. Over 2,500 recipes were considered before focusing on the book's 300 surviving recipes. From chile peppers to sugar beets, wheat to beef, these recipes represent the vast agricultural abundance that is Colorado. Below is a short description of only a few recipes in the book:

§ Figs with Prosciutto blend with crème fraiche and mint to become a tasty appetizer.

§ Papaya Salsa with peppers, onion, lime, cilantro pineapple juice and tequila make Won Ton Chips sizzle.

§ Mediterranean Salsa with artichoke hearts, tomatoes, black olives, onion, garlic and savory seasonings

§ Indian Waldorf Salad of Granny Smiths, celery, onion, lime juice, almonds, and curry powder.

§ Baked Goat Cheese rolled in flour, dipped in beaten egg and dredged in bread crumbs.

§ Spinach and Berries Salad with dill, plus almonds, butterhead lettuce, green onions strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.

§ Parmesan Sesame Biscuits made with buttermilk and cayenne pepper

§ Strawberry Patch Soup made with sour cream, whipping cream, burgundy, seltzer water and mint leaves

§ Sweet Potato Hash Browns with sweet onion and fresh parsley

§ Roasted Asparagus and Portobello Mushrooms, cooked with the magic of walnut oil, balsamic vinegar and herbes de Provence

§ Tuscan Green Beans, made savory with rosemary and garlic

§ Roasted Red Potatoes with Artichokes, onion, thyme and crumbled feta cheese.

§ Couscous made with parsley, green onions, almonds, currants and green peas.

§ Green (Spanish) Olive Enchiladas complete with onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, semisweet chocolate and Monterey Jack cheese

§ Roasted Turkey Breast with Sage Corn Bread Crust of crumbled sweet cornbread, fresh sage and Dijon mustard

§ Cranberry Salsa Sorbet made from whole cranberry sauce, a jalapeno chili pepper, celantro and fresh lime

§ Pork with Dried Plums includes sherry cooking wine vinegar, garlic, rosemary, crushed red pepper and escarole.

§ Roasted Red Pepper Sauce made from bell peppers, roasted red peppers, slivered almonds, red wine vinegar and tomato paste.

§ Mint and Scallion Soba Noodles, a simple dish with rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and mint.

§ Chocolate Valencia Pie made from semisweet chocolate chips, cream cheese, orange zest and whipping cream.

§ Colorado Ranch Cookies are made with brown sugar, rolled oats, dried cranberries, shredded coconut and sliced almonds.

Review written by Marty Martindale

I own two other Junior League Colorado cookbooks and the recipes are all winners. This book stands out with its bright cover and beautiful illustrations. A joy to use!

This cookbook is not filled with ingredients that you've never heard of or know you'll never be able to find at your local grocery store. You can not go wrong with cooking any of the meals in Colorado Colore. It is filled with simple recipes that are full of flavor without adding to the ingredients. I highly recommend this cookbook to those intimidated by cooking and to those who love it.

Abby moves and takes a job after she looses her son. She is a housekeeper and a teacher for a difficult rancher, Conor MacKay and his daughter, Beth. These three characters and their strong wills make an interesting story. It is a good plot however the latter part of the books moves a little slow. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelTravelersThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early SettlersNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil War

I found this book to have potential. I wanted to find out what happened to the characters, which is why I finished reading it.

Unfortunately, I found the dialogue stilted and the editing atrocious. (The editing may have been corrected in the 2007 re-release; I don't know.) No one, in any historical period, spoke as stiffly as Morgan's characters. On the very first page, Abby says, "It's time to set aside my selfish needs and unreasoning fears. Time to venture back into the world, into life, if only with this first, most tentative of steps." Oh, please. I almost stopped reading right there. Perhaps I should have.

I found two or three other problems with the book that are common to the romance genre. First, neither Conor nor Sean is a Scottish name; I find many romance novels (Christian or not) to feature characters with names untrue to their characters' origins and/or era. Second, Abby makes biscuits by ladling batter into a tin. I can believe that a modern woman (the author) has never made biscuits, but if she didn't know how they were made, she should have left them out of the book; they were hardly essential to the plot. Finally, Abby's first marriage was lacking in love and passion. Has any romance author ever written a novel in which a woman's first marriage was good? Because here in the real world, a person who is widowed after a good marriage is more likely to remarry, sooner, and happily, than one whose marriage was lacking.

I'm torn about continuing with this series. I found Hannah an intriguing character and would like to read more about her, but not if Morgan's writing isn't better in the second book.

Daughter of Joy was a joy to read. Meaty and substantial, the story is powerful and driven by strong characters. It makes you realize how flat and monotone the characters in some other christian books are. It is so refreshing to read about believable characters whose struggles, emotions and reactions seem natural instead of forced. The last quarter of the book drags a bit and for me there was not enough of an emotional payoff after the considerable build up between the two main characters, but Abby remains one of my favorite fictional characters. Very well written and enjoyable.

This is book is excellent. The characters are complex and believable. The basic storyline may have been spun hundreds of times but this by far outshines all the ones I've read, and I've read a lot. When you get to a book like this you realize this is "Fine dining"! Ms Morgan obviously incorporated and instilled her own suffering into a beautiful book.

I truly enjoyed this book. Ms. Morgan brought out all aspects of a relationship in this book. Sometimes, the Christian/Inspirational fiction books are stiff and lack a depth to the characters. I was happy to see that this book didn't.

Abby comes to Culdee Creek to be a housekeeper to Conor MacKay and to give lessons to his daughter Beth. This experiences teaches both of them the value of friendship, a kind word, trust and love. There were times the writing brought tears to my eyes because of the vividness of the descriptions.

A wonderful book, and I will be sure to find book 2.