Missouri Books

Solid book. Great twist. Maintains attention throughout. Disturbing at times. Wasn't expecting much going in but Flynn's debut novel was pretty impressive.

This is a depraved little thriller, in a sick, small town underbelly kind of way. No big surprises, really, but it held my attention throughout and in the end I was interested to see what happened to the tormented characters, and that's always a good thing. Recommended.

Sick to the bone. At times disgusting. Nevertheless,thrilling. Once you 've started it, it is impossible to put down even if you 're sleepy to death. Only after you 've finished it do you realize that the answer was right before your eyes, staring at you throughout the whole book.(Well, for the biggest part of it anyway!) It stays with you for days after you've read it leaving you with an uneasy feeling.

SUMMARY: Evil people create an evil town, and a creatively self-destructive reporter returns to the evil family and town (which led her to become who she is), as well as to investigate some particularly evil murders while she faces her own demons.

Oh, sometimes I wish Amazon had a rating system for different aspects of a book. But for this one, I have to create my own:

- Prose/writing style: 4
It's not the writing that makes this like watching a train wreck about to occur - it's the plot that zings along and you just know the worst is coming. Solid, engaging writing.

- Page-turning, Psychological Thriller/Plot and Pace: 4.5 stars
With psychological suspense which continues to build it's a "I can't put this down" type book. It's been one of the few recently where foregoing sleep to keep going with it was the most enjoyable option.

You'll know who did it half way in. That doesn't stop you being caught in the action - or by having a couple of occassional curve balls occassionally thrown at you. And despite knowing where it was going, I was definitely surprised by how some things played out.

- Characters: 3.o stars
Most of the characters are over-the-top in their assigned flawed role (but perhaps that's what makes it such a page-turner): evil mother, obtuse husband, mean high school bullies, depressed 40 year olds...

The main character, Camille, raises the character bar though. She is a horribly flawed, yet creatively self-destructive woman that truly hates herself - and consistently makes stupid choices to prove it. And still somehow - you root for her.



BOTTOM LINE: 4.0
No matter the rating - this book grips you and won't let you go- and that's hard to say about many paychological thrillers.

The razor blade on the front cover of the book is what one yearns for right after embarking on this read, sharp blade with which to cut every single page, one by one, until they are so neatly shredded that even the memory of what was written on them becomes non existent. And then, one can use the same razor to end one's own life.

I'm still unsure what the author was thinking when she began this book, unless she had some very deep and very disturbing mental issues to work through.

This book is dangerous and not because it excites one with a thrilling and suspenseful story. It is dangerous because once one reads it, one looses any desire to look for another book that may restore one's faith in the existence of good books with an uplifting charge. Not only is this book dangerous, but it is sick. Its underlying sickness is that it's emotionally draining and unless readers are looking to load up on more mental baggage (I can't think of anyone who doesn't have enough), I'd stay away from its pain.

The main character is a female reporter who returns home on an assignment (covering the serial murders of two little girls). As memories of her painful childhood emerge, readers find a lot more about her character, for example her alcoholic addiction and her obsession to carve words into her own flesh. Waves of her unresolved issues wash away further hopes of a challenging literary work as readers are practically dragged into her problems (not loved enough by her mother, not popular enough in school, not motivated enough in her work) and are subjected to the anguish of either feeling sorry for her or wanting to end her existence.

As disturbing details of the two murders resurface, readers are introduced to yet two more characters as equally unpleasant as the first. There is the psychologically unstable (almost emotionally poisonous) personality of her mother and the pathologically sinister and equally disturbed one of the teenage sister. And of course there are the endlessly problematic and mentally crushing details of the small-town's Midwest America (why would one want to read this is beyond my understanding).

This book robs one of smiles, of the beauty of life, and even of the reason for love. It is not only bitter, but leaves one with an unpleasant smell of what I'd like to call rotten feelings. I can't brand the book dull (as it did leave me with unwanted thoughts), but I can promise you that you'll feel dull once you've read it. I don't recommend it, but may compare the feelings I have for it to what Chuck Palahniuk's 'Choke' birthed in me.


by Simon Cleveland

Small Town Girl is easy and feel-good reading capturing many of the general feelings and emotions of the reader.

Perfect for inclusion in your holiday leasure reading.

I also liked "Then Came Heaven", but the "hero" in that was a janitor, which I found to be a turn-off. I don't mean to sound like a snob, it's just the way I feel.

Anyway, though romance novels have never been my thing (I like romance in my books, I just don't care for it to be the sole focus--I only read romances with the frequency that I do now because I want to learn how to write them as they sell five times more than all other genres combined), I loved this one, and since the last time I've read this, I've developed an appreciation for the romance novel, if not a great love for them.

Though I don't care for the new country music, I do like some of the old stuff, and I was excited when Poplar Bluff, Missouri (my birthplace and where I spent many summers as a little girl with my grandparents and other extended family), was mentioned.

But, those aren't the only reasons.

I thought Ms. Spencer did a good job with character development, for though the story wasn't anything new, I grew to love the people (or dislike them).

Though I understand Faith's (Kenny's girlfriend's) dilemma, being a Catholic and not being able to marry a divorced man (so it's better to just shack up with him???), I can't feel that sorry for her when she loses Kenny to Tess, because, as Kenny says, "Don't you realize how ridiculous it sounds that I've been dating you for half my life?" (This is not an exact quote, but something like it.) I was a little annoyed that Kenny and Tess couldn't wait until they got married to have sex--not a very good example to set in front of Casey, even if they were engaged, because engagements can be broken more easily than a marriage can be dissolved.

I really didn't see anything wrong with Tess not wanting to have children. I think it's wonderful that she loves Casey as her own. Not every woman needs a bear a child (nor a man) to feel fulfilled and if she does, then that isn't healthy, because her happiness is dependent upon someone else. Whether childless (not by choice) or childfree (by choice). We can all contribute to the world in a myriad of other ways--not just as a mother, but as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a granddaughter, an aunt, a niece, a good friend, or just a very good person.

Tess is a strong woman (weak women make boring heroines), and Kenny is a good man (though one can understand Faith feeling duped, even if they were just "dating"--they weren't even living together). I really believe Faith's pride was hurt more than her heart was broken, and I think Kenny felt this, too.

I am also glad Ms. Spencer made Tess a size 10 instead of something ridiculous (not to mention unattainable for some), like a size 2.

I just found this book when I was moving stuff out of storage. It's been in storage for at least 3 years and I guess I've owned it since it was first published in 1997. I have no idea why I never read it before this! It was fun, romantic, sincere and just portrayed many very charming people. I am now going to find some more books by LaVyrle Spencer and read them!

This story, I confess, I rented as an audiotape read by Melissa Manchester. In fact, I think the only reason I liked it at first is because Manchester is such a talented narrator. The story itself started out okay, but it was a cliche' romantic comedy--the kind Lifetime will probably make into one of their worse movies down the line. Tess McPhail, country star who comes home for a month to look after a mama with a bad hip for a month in a small town, falling in love with the next door neighbor she tortured in high school and helping his talented daughter to become a success in Nashville? This plot is so unbelievable, thin, and hokey that Britney Spears could use it as a smutty getup for one of her concerts.

Sure, I laughed a few times, but it was like the cliche' romance crap that only jello queens and teenagers unaffected by the cruelty of life can appreciate all the way through. Even Manchester was laughing during her narration where she shouldn't have been, and I wondered how much they paid her to read the book all the way through. I don't think it was enough, or they wouldn't have left her laughter in. I don't even like current country music, so that probably didn't help anything, but I was impressed by Spencer's knowledge of show business and the recording process itself.

That doesn't excuse the fact that the characters are mostly cardboard cutouts of movies and novels you've read or seen over and over, and you can predict the outcome right from chapter uno. If some idiot who picked on me in high school expected me to fawn all over them and got mad because they're some dare-da-dare-yeehaw millionaire, I would laugh at them so hard and torture them back every chance I got. I wouldn't roll around in the grass with them and cheat on someone who's been with me for 8 years!

The last two chapters made me sick when they were fooling around in the hotel, and then the wedding itself? This book was cornier than a farmer's field in July, and the plot was so silly and juvenile that it's incomprehensible to accept the fact that a fully grown woman wrote it. I was humiliated to have it in my possession, but not as embarrassed as Spencer should be for having written it.

I started reading LaVyrle Spencers books by accident. There were some books being given away in the break room at work and I thought the book was 'The Blessing' rather it was 'Family Blessings'. I WAS HOOKED!!! I finished this book ('Small Town Girl') last night and it was WONDERFUL!! I was sucked in and could not stop reading!! I was rooting for Tess and Kenny and wanted Faith to bow out gracefully!! If you like Country Music, Romance, and Family....you'll love this book!!

This is one of the most in depth and well researched biographies that I have ever read. Stiles did extensive investigation into primary sources when performing the research for the book.

There is a great deal of perception of Jesse James as a larger than life myth. Much of what he did was very much grounded in the history of his time and focuses on the Civil War as a driving force behind his actions and behavior.

James's father was a Baptist minister who left the family to go to California during the gold rush in 1849. While there, he contracted an illness and died when Jesse was still a young boy. This left his mother to raise Jesse and his siblings on her own until eventually remarrying.

The James family owned a good sized farm with quite a few slaves and so had a vested interest in maintaining the slavery structure. They were very much a part of the Confederate mindset and supported that side during the Civil War.

Jesse joined his brother as a teenager during the Civil War by banding together with a bunch of "bushwhackers" who were basically guerrillas (or terrorists depending on how you look at it) on the Confederate side. They would walk up to Union sympathizers who were often neighbors and point blank kill them in cold blood simply for being supporters. This instilled fear in the local populace and a general sense of uncertainty and terror.

People from the Union side did similar types of things to Confederates namely Jayhawkers from Kansas. Missouri during the civil war and the days afterwards had a feel like that of Iraq today. People of differing ideological backgrounds resorted to violence and force to push their political agendas and philosophies.

Following the war James stayed with the bushwhackers until they gradually dissipated. At first they targeted banks to rob with Union ties for political reasons. Eventually, however, the targets became less political and more for pure monetary gain.

One of the primary reasons for Jesse James's notoriety and fame was his frequent correspondence with newspapers. He was a voracious reader and constantly maintained his innocence in letters to editors. Newspaper man John Edwards became a champion for James and glorified him and his gang in articles. He cast them as heros and icons for the Confederate political agenda and used them in print to help advance political purposes. In that day, newspapers were very openly partisan and did not try to maintain an appearance of neutrality as news agencies do today.

As James et al gained more and more fame and notoriety, public outcry became much more pronounced against them while encouraging local and state officials to crack down and bring them to justice. After stealing from express companies similar to Wells Fargo who operated primarily via railroad, private business interest arose in tracking them down and preventing future robberies.

His gang branched out into other states as well such as Iowa, Tennessee, Minnesota, Kentucky, and West Virginia obtaining national attention.

The Pinkertons a private investigative agency were hired to find them but most of their efforts were fruitless considering the James/Younger gang's support from local friends and their knowledge of the backwoods.

On several occasions, Jesse was injured in gun fights some requiring lengthy recovery times. All told though he personally probably killed at least 20 men so came out on plus side from his battles.

The gang eventually met their match while trying to rob a bank in Minnesota where the people fought back and injured or killed many members of the gang. Jesse and his brother barely escaped back to Missouri once word got out and posses were gathered to track them down.

Jesse never could settle down to a life of honest work which resulted in his downfall. He was constantly suspicious of those around him but gathered a new gang to continue his exploits. A couple of brothers in his new gang plotted to kill him and eventually succeeded, collecting a hefty reward in the process.

Stiles book reads like a combination of a pure history and real life historical novel. The first 200 pages are primarily devoted to the historical background of the Civil War and environment James grew up in. The last 200 pages are focused more on Jesse's emergence as a bank/train/stagecoach robber, leader of a gang, and Confederate symbol. As mentioned on the book cover, Stiles debunks the myth that James was a form of Robin Hood and was instead mostly interested in his own fame and fortune.

At times the book moves slowly and is exhaustive in its coverage of the material but if the reader stays with it, he or she will have a very complete picture of Jesse James and the history of Missouri during the Civil War and the decades afterwards.

This book explains how the Civil War gave birth to outlaws like Jesse James. It is very well researched, detailed and interesting. A must for historians.

This is a fascinating work on Jesse James. It is not so much a standard biography as a "political history" of James. And that makes this an interesting read. The question animating this book is (page4): "Why should one set of criminals be so much more memorable than another?" The answer (page 6): " [Jesse James] was a major force in the attempt to create a Confederate identity for Missouri, a political and cultural offensive waged by the defeated rebels to undo the triumph of the Radical Republicans in the Civil War." Hence, his Confederate background resonated strongly with the politics of Missouri.

The book itself follows a chronological organization, beginning with Jesse's father, a preacher. It also describes his mother, a most formidable person, who remained an important part of his life over the years--and a strong advocate for her sons. The Civil War was critical for the family. Frank James rode with some of the Confederate irregulars, such as William Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson. Jesse was too young at the outset of the Civil War to be involved, but he rode with his brother, later on, with the partisans. When the war ended, the rage continued for the James brothers (especially Jesse).

The book contends (and it is a reasonable case as made by the author, although I'm not sure that all readers will be convinced) that James' outlaw exploits after the war were a continuation of that conflict by other means. He was, in the eyes of the author, something of a guerilla; he is also termed a "terrorist," in the sense of using violence to try to advance a political cause (this case may not be convincing to readers; I have my doubts that the case is very strong to adopt this language).

There follows an outline of his many robberies, the violence associated with them, the various members of his gang over time (including the Younger brothers), the ups and downs of their brigandage, and the political context in which their actions occurred. The political discussion appears to be done pretty well, placing the James' gang's depredations in a larger perspective.

Then, they detail nicely the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota raid (disastrous from the James' gang's perspective--not from those who wanted to hunt them down). Frank and Jesse escaped, Jesse (and later Frank) to rob another day. Then, Jesse's demise. The book ends with a quick summary of the fates of key players from this volume, and provides some satisfaction in bringing things to a close.

The political aspect to James, as argued by T. J. Stiles, the author, is very interesting and makes this an intriguing work. I am not sure that all elements of this work successfully (e.g., the use of the term terrorist). But the book provides a nice spin on the life and times of Jesse James.

This book was way too politically bias for me to enjoy, and the author went on at length more or less attacking James for being a southern democrat. He should get over it, most people who are familiar with James know that he was Rebel and fought for the south during the war. The author details the Pinkerton detectives and the politicans who were against James more then he does the central character which is James himself. If it was written by a less politically oppionated person it cooooooooould have been decent, but it still kept diverging from the central theme of James and the James gang often enough and at such length that at times I wanted to hurl it against the wall. I only keep the copy I own because of the sepia photo on the cover.
Read the assisination of Jesse James by the coward Robert ford, it or most any other book on the famed outlaw is surely far better then this account.

I picked this book up, like everyone else, as I was curious about the man behind the legend. Well, I never really learned all that much about Jesse James. I certainly learned about Missouri, Kansas, the civil war, bushwackers and the like, but not a whole lot about James.

It seemed well researched and Stiles writes in a readable style but it was not the book I thought it would be.

This book was very hard to follow and the story line was weak!

I'm not sure what the plot was supposed to be and couldn't keep up with the many characters in this book.

This book was like a soap opera on a college campus. It was hard to follow at some points because it jumped around alot. I ound myself flipping back and forth to keep the story line straight, but Ms. James was very descripitive and provided a great deal of detail in her writing.
I would recommend this book to other people as well as her follow up book "Beyond Our Mother's Footsteps".

I agree with the other reviewers that it would have been better to use real greek letter organizations. As a member of a Sorority, I too found it difficult to follow the different greek-letter organizations. I also didn't care for the jumping back and forth between the Betas and the Kappas activities. Subtitles should have been given. The author also could have done a better job of explaining the controversies that occurred. A lot of assumptions and inferences had to be made regarding the characters.

I think that this book was very hard to follow though it provided a lot of insight to the greek life on college campuses i think that it sometimes focused on the little things that did not matter or things that really did not tie into the story too well. Also the one major thing that drove me absolutely crazy about this book was how it went from one sorority to the next basically telling the same story over again which became really frustrating. Like the previous critic said I was just happy that I got through the whole book.

Right at first, I admit, I was a little disappointed with this book. When I first read the lead-ins on the back cover I thought, well, this lady is nutso! I wonder what caused her to be such a cold-blooded murderer? I mean, the only thing worse than a person who would cut open an innocent pregnant woman and steal her baby is someone who would kill babies. I really never found out what made her tick, short of a few vague allusions to her being abused as a child, and that kinda bothers me more than anything else.

I read a more recent version of the paperback, which included a "Special Update", which didn't include a verdict or more juicy research, as I'd hoped. Instead, the "update" consisted of a diatribe in which the author defended himself against bad reader reviews, most notably one by some girl from the area of Kansas where the murder took place, whom he honestly shouldn't have let bother him quite as much as he did. But I kind of did agree with some of the things she supposedly said about the book, as per him not knowing anything about life in rural Kansas. Now, I'm notoriously bad with Kansas geography even though I've lived here since I was fairly small, and admit I have no idea where Melvern is, but I did grow up for most of my childhood in a similar small Kansas town. I do have to agree that I've never seen women in aprons beating rugs. Small town Kansans tend to favor Roper jeans, mullets and snap caps that say "CAT" or "John Deere". They don't really worry about beating rugs, they mostly are either the goody-goody churchy type who take fried chicken to invalids or general skanks who have a couch on their front porch and watch a lot of wrestling and Nascar. Think "Joe Dirt", not "The Andy Griffith Show".

Also, I have driven through Manhattan KS, which is pretty progressive as far as Kansas towns, being the home of Kansas State University, which turns out doctors, scientists, and veterinarians by the score. Not exactly hicksville, and most definitely NOT flat farming terrain like described in the book. The area surrounding Manhattan and Topeka is some of the hilliest terrain in the state. The flat stuff, where you can easily see (and smell) for miles, is in western Kansas, (where I grew up) which, in the words of a comedian I saw on TV, "will suck the soul right outta you".

That said, I do think that Mr. Phelps, while transparent in his insufferable Republican conservative leanings, really is a pretty good writer. Writing nonfiction, especially while dealing with subject matter this fragile and still tender in the minds and hearts of those affected by the tragedy, has got to be the most catch-as-catch-can business there is. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see the bitch hang, but then again, was satisfied to see that her family wasn't giving her much support in the end. Why should they? She didn't support them much while she was walking around, more than a few fries short of a happy meal, making everyone, including her own children, miserable.

In the end I had to adjust my thinking a little and concede that Mr. Phelps did the best he could do with what he had, and, in order to strike while the iron was hot, he put the book out when he did, and that was probably a smart thing to do. Just the same, maybe he ought to add yet another addendum to future printings of the book, after the verdict is reached, just to make everyone who is mewling over the premature birth of this book happy.

What say, Mr. Phelps?

Skidmore, Missouri is a quiet midwestern town but it has more than their fair share of horror stories and crime like the vigilante murder of Ken McElroy in 1981 and of course, the brutal murder of very pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett in 2004. She was 8 months pregnant when her murderer, Lisa Montgomery posed as Darlene Fischer arrived to discuss puppies. All Lisa wanted was the baby girl that Bobbie Jo was expecting after Christmas in 2004. She strangled her enough to get her unconconsious and performed a c-section on Bobbie Jo who fought to get her baby from her murderer. Lisa kidnapped the baby girl and tried to convince everybody that she just had given birth to a newborn girl despite the fact that she was never pregnant at all but she tried to convince others that she would. Lisa Montgomery was just convicted and sentenced to death for this brutal crime yesterday. The book is well-written but prematurely published while my copy has no pictures. Regardless, the author does do extensive research on Skidmore, Missouri.

I was in a bookstore looking for some books to read in the true crime section. I was only going to pick a few but the hardcover of this book just kept calling to me so I decided to get it too.

I wasn't disappointed whatsoever! Who could imagine a woman cutting another woman open while she was alive and stealing the baby to pass off as her own? My lord!

I am glad Mr. Phelps decided to write this before the hearings have concluded on this case because there was enough prior to the hearings to make a book. Thank GOD Victoria Jo is back with her real father but it is sad she will never have her mother.

It is so strange what this world is coming to. This book really does the story justice and I couldn't put it down.

Very well written. Such a sad story! proof again that there are very evil people on this earth.

While the writing was much improved over the other Phelps book I read, Murder In The Heartland seemed like a disorganized rough draft that was rushed to the printer.

The book was less about the crime, the victim, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, and the offender, Lisa Montgomery, than it was about Lisa Montgomery's relatives and their opinions.

M. William Phelps, who calls himself "Matt," claims to have researched the case for over a year. It is certainly not reflected in his book.

I noticed several inaccuracies in the book and was quite disappointed in it.

This book was written by an investigative reporter, who gained access to the files and participants of the real-life 1947 exorcism on which the novel "The Exorcist" was based. Very well-written and researched. He discusses in the end the possibility of a mental illness, but allows the reader to draw his own conclusion. My conclusion - it was a genuine case of possession.

This pioneering book and the story that it is based upon helped William Peter Blatty write The Exorcist.We all know what that did for cinematic history,don't we.Here, the subject of possesion is a boy in 1940's middle America who via an aunt and a Ouija board embark on the downward spiral toward increasingly volatile,abberant behaviors.One would think possibly schizoaffective or perhaps schizophrenic behaviors with psychotic aggression but perhaps not.Untreatable by local medicine and repelling local clergy he is referred to a different priest who with the help of other accolytes and assistant priests of a Jesuit variety embark on the long journey that is the ancient rite of exorcism.The story is clearly defined with just a sense of some holding back with regard to the true nature of the reality of the situation.The normal waxing and waning inherent in the ritual,the problems that can crop up that only insiders could know, as well as the continued path toward final expulsion are readily apparent and one gets the maximum treatment with full Roman Ritual furor.It is a story that perplexes the imagination but holds one fast as if the book were glued to your fingers.There are periods of fearful wonder and tactile and olfactory components along with the violence which are clearly felt.All does work out in the end,a rarity in these cases, but the story remains and leaves perplexing questions and doubts.There is the recorded event closely guarded by the church.The priests involved maintained silence until late in the case history.Both Blatty and Friedkin's'hollywoodization' if you will, does make more of the scene than is reported.Nonetheless,this exists as it is.Take it for what it's worth.Skip the movie of the same name,it stinks.Read the book,make your own judgements. If this is your stuff your money won't be wasted.The final opinion lies with you.Otherwise, enjoy some intense stuff.

Whether or not Allen misses and distorts some of the historical information contained within his narrative, this work is still ultimately entertaining. It provides an extensive look at traditional demoniac psychology/experience, which is invaluable regardless of whether or not we believe in possession.

It also provides an interesting look at Christianity's handling of demons and exorcism over the centuries, and even if there are historical inaccuracies, this aspect of the book is undeniably valuable.

I am also impressed with Allen's style; he makes no attempt at sensational, horrific, "scary" language. It seems to me that Allen's goal is to provide an honest, impartial account. He leaves the reasoning to us.

Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, this book has something to offer.

For background, I'm a Catholic, 55 yrs old, and an attorney who has seen about everything one can see after 27 years of practice. I'm no one to believe what people tell me without some skepticism and research into whatever is brought before me. But I've also been exposed to some things I can't explain readily without admitting the possibility of the unseen world being present, good or evil. For example, I once spent an hour in a County Jail Interview Cell, interviewing a self-admitted murderer, accused of stabbing a person 47 times with an icepick. We'd had murder and other serious felony cases before. We were to see if we wanted to take his case. (We didn't.) When my partner and I went into this cell, I felt an unspoken, non-vocal, non-"voice in my head" warning inside me that I should get away from the prisoner. Now, mind you, that guy was just sitting in a chair, in lockup, shackled, was physically smaller and older than I, and indicated that he wanted me to represent him. Sheriff's Deputies were available, had I needed them. So, I felt no fear that he would or could hurt me, but by just coming into the cell, I felt a bit unnerved. During the interview, the prisoner proudly told me that after the stabbing, he stood over his victim, and said "that's number 23". That unspoken warning, and a perceptible chill inside that cell, (it was in July, and the temperature on the thermostat a few feet away from the cell read 72 fahrenheit), was the first time I felt I was exposed to something I could not explain by my senses. Before, I had simply believed that what my Church instructed me about the Occult was true; but after, I had evidence as to the practical possibility that the existence of demons and things we cannot perceive in the sensory world is true, after all. So, call me a believer, but don't call me a patsy either. I give all books I read the "smell test". This one passed the test, for reasons I give below.
I first picked this book up two years ago, after having read Malachi Martin's book Hostage to the Devil, and having seen many of Hollywood's movies, which never come close to the truth, except for the movie version of this book, and a recent movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose. This book was possible only because the author was able to obtain a transcript of the actual rite of exorcism performed by the priests upon a child in St. Louis. The Catholic Church, for understandable reasons, does not enter into this sacrament easily, and does its best to keep the proceedings secret, not for arcane purposes, but to protect the privacy of the possessed person. The book follows the steps of investigation which followed before the rite was approved. It then examines the three stages of diabolic possession of a person, and follows the attempts and finally the successful ritual which followed.
I found the author's writing and presentation not sensational(he has a sensational subject matter anyway) and well suited to the general public. I also feel that the subject matter is very appropriate in this day where the human race reaches technical innovation one after another, which gives some the impression that people "invented" God and the Devil to explain things they could not in their primitive state of life otherwise explain. The book also mentions that before any rite is performed, the victim is given psychiatric and medical tests to detect any underlying disease or mental problem, which may be the real cause of the person's behavior or at least a contributing factor to it. Today, more testing is performed than when the case in this book occurred, but at all times there are signs of demonic possession which are hard to explain if present, unless something or someone from the unseen world has become present. The tests the Church performs to determine whether such signs are present was treated in the book well. To those and to the general public, it makes a very timely read and, given its' adherence to an actual Catholic rite of exorcism, helps to de-mystify the sacrament, how the Church actually handles cases brought before it, and then gives reasons for what is done and why it is done.
Given the plethora of books about this topic, and the scarcity of access to Church records(there is always a tape recording, and perhaps a video one, too) of exorcisms, I think it is valuable to read an account of an actual exorcism rite, successfully performed, to compare with the ones done by non-Catholic exorcists(and I don't make judgment upon the sincerity or truth of the more public accounts of those doing it outside of the Church, or by defrocked Catholic bishops or priests) and the "Hollywood" versions we are bombarded with before Halloween. Just say a pray, if you believe in God, before reading this, as you will find yourself tested or intrigued by the subject matter, which can be dangerous when one considers that demons are described by most Christian churches as spiritual beings having great preternatural skills and which can sift a human mind like wheat, unless we invoke God's protection against them.

Perhaps the most important thing to know about this account of the "true" story that inspired The Exorcist is that the real boy in question did not live in Mt. Ranier. So all the facts presented here about that house, about those neighbors, or relating to that location - it's at best derived from erroneous sources, such as the early 1980's reports that first mentioned the abandoned Mt. Ranier lot, and at worst it's all fabricated. The real story can be easily found via Google searches. Knowing this, the rest of this account then falls into serious question, rendering the book virtually meaningless to anyone seeking the truth behind the Exorcist inspiration. It may make a good read, but it doesn't do much to present the true story. Try Google, and happy searching.

Unfortunately, this book's Title is a misnomer as it promises so much and goes backwards from there. It is as if the author were unsure - did he want to write about an historical period in time (1800 to say 1815), or about some very important events (the first steamboat down the Mississippi which just happened to coincide with one of the New Madrid Quakes), or about the not as important but certainly tawdry tale of a failed branch of the Jefferson family. It seems he chose to weave the tales together and, by doing so, did justice to none. He does explore some interesting historical events that coincided in time with the quakes, but fails to make any of the events real or meaningful, leaving the reader wondering why he bothered to write this ultimately superficial book.

I would have liked to have given this book more than a two star rating. However, for those who wish to discover more about the New Madrid earthquake, you probably won't find it here. Somewhere between steamboats on the Mississippi, relations with local Indian tribes, and the War of 1812 the story of the quake is minimally told.

A glaring error is found on page 227 where the author states that at the Battle of New Orleans the British troops fought with Wellington at Waterloo--a battle that occured six months later. This type of mistake is untenable in that it draws a conclusion within its assertion and suggests the possibility of other errors throughout the text.

Readers of history would be better served by David McCullough or Joseph E. Ellis.

Well, speaking of earthquakes...this is one book that I've meant to review for quite a while and now, with a typhoon set to arrive at any moment, we'll begin.

Jay Feldman has written a fascinating study of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811--1812 which takes us through the politics of Native-American removal, the advance of the industrial revolution, internationsl politics, the horrors of slavery, the science of geology, the physics behind it, and all points in between. Not only does he give us a look at first-hand accounts of the tragedy itself--in which a series of quakes (some of which would have measured a mind-boggling 8 or higher on the Richter scale!) refashioned several hundred miles of the American frontier, and explains in a cogent fashion the arcana of seismology so that a layman can understand exactly what happened; but he gives us four focci through which we see how the quakes impinged on society, impelling savants, scoundrels and even seers to their peculiar destinies. He deftly interweaves the stories of Tecumsah, the gifted orator who attempted to set up a pan-tribal league to oust white domination of North America; the first riverboat, built and piloted by Theordore Roosevelt's great uncle; the grisly death of a slave at the hands of Thomas Jefferson's nephews and the consequent frontier justice; and the career of a scoundrel who plotted against American shipping interests, yet still managed to attain high distinction in the military, and was not found out until after his death. Each of these turbulent stories happened at the same time and reached their crises and denouements as Nature turned herself upside down and islands disappeared, new lakes fashioned themselves in front of disbelieving eyes, columns of water and sand blew into the air and wild birds were so frightened that they alighted on the arms of astonished on-lookers.

Feldman is in complete command of his sources, and recounts the various stories in a gripping manner. It's rare for a book of history to be a page-turner, but this one certainly is.

I guess the saga of Nicholas Roosevelt and his wife Lydia gripped my imagination the most. Nicholas designed and built the New Orleans, the first steam-boat to navigate the Mississippi. As fate would have it, Nicholas unwittingly chose the year of the quakes to test the New Orleans against the potentially murderous waters of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. As anyone who's ever read Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi knows, the river was filled with perils for those who were fortunate enough to captain river boats in more cultivated times; but can you imagine navigating the "American Nile" for the first time ever? In addition, Roosevelt's wife insisted on coming along, even though she was due to give birth during the trip. Roosevelt's little girl was also with them as well as the family dog. Moreover, the Mississippi was the haunt of river pirates, the war-gound of Native-Americans, and the catch-all for all manner of rough and tumble individuals who lived comfortably outside the reach of the law. But the crowning danger was the night that the Mississippi did indeed flow backwards! Did the Roosevelts and their ship survive?

Read the book.

This is an interesting book but somewhat disorganized. The best part was when the author was describing the earthquakes and all that occurred. The historical facts were well researched. This book would make a good source of material for any researcher.

I don't know what to say except that the book is good. It is well written and enjoyable.

Solid writing style, really great characters who you empathize with, well drawn plot. C.J. Box has a unique series going here and I hope he can maintain the quality over time.

"But this is how they do it. They go after the weakest first. When the mother stays back, the wolves open a hole in her belly and pull out the entrails. Then they wait until she doesn't have the strength to protect herself, then they'll move in and tear her throat out."

C.J. Box does not mince words. Nature can be brutal as well as stunningly beautiful.

Two years have passed since we last met up with Saddlestring, Wyoming Game Warden (and Wildlife Biologist), Joe Pickett and his family. In "Savage Run", famous environmental "terrorist" Stewie Woods and his wife are blown up by a cow. Joe is called to investigate and from that auspicious start "Savage Run" builds the brutality, tension, and mystery in a thoroughly enjoyable book filled with wilderness reality.

Joe Pickett is not perfect. He has a tendency to trust people more than he should, and to go places alone where backup help would be needed. He is honest to the point of detriment to his own career (hmmm, this is a good thing really). During the investigation, Joe meets with the owner of the cow (actually 10 cows were killed in the explosion) at this person's home. Oddly, the owner, Jim Finotta does not seem surprised nor does he ask the questions one would expect from someone who is concerned about the death of other human beings or animals. In addition, Jim, a lawyer, puts Joe on the defensive. Not a good thing to do, especially if you have the head of a large male elk mounted on your wall, that the Game Warden recognizes, and knows was killed off-season.

A mini-battle begins between dirt poor Joe and the all powerful Finotta.

Killers Charles Tibbs (the best tracker in Wyoming) and the" Old Man" leave Wyoming after ensuring that the exploding cow did what they intended (i.e. make for an embarrassing death for Stewie) for Washington State. There they murder famous environmental writer, Hayden Powell. These two are then responsible for a string of brutal environmentalist murders that follow. This has the makings of an old-fashioned range war. And the reader finds out that it is and that a group called the "Stockman's Trust" hired the old west throwback stock detective (Charles) to take care of business.

Circumstances bring the killers, Joe Pickett, and several others together as the book climaxes with a chase through the deepest wilderness to the impassable (except by, according to legend, Cheyenne's fleeing for their lives over 100 years ago) canyon known as Savage Run.

"Savage Run" is sometimes brutal, sometimes beautiful, sometimes controversial as it straddles the worlds of game wardens, ranchers, landowners, and environmentalists. C.J. Box is fast becoming one of my favorite authors and I am looking forward to the next Joe Pickett adventure. In the meantime, pick up "Savage Run" if for nothing else, to read the explosive ending.

by TracyReaderDad

I just finished reading Savage Run and was, on the whole, quite disappointed. First, it was even more violent than Open Season, a book that I DID like for the most part. Second, it had only one sympathetic character other than Joe Pickett. I really hated the ending and found it totally unnecessary after all the trials and tribulations the characters had gone through to get to that point.

I also felt the character of Pickett was overly thorny and obtuse. His aw shucks boyish charm didn't make up for it.

All in all, it had some good parts, but it wasn't worth the time.

If you like the outdoors and the West you'll love this one. A real page turner! Hated for it to end!

I *loved* Open Season, and I certainly like the way C.J.Box writes, and I also loved the first half of Savage Run. But, I'm sorry, the plot contained too many wildly unbelievable coincidences and dei ex machina for me. Amazon guidelines and common decency prevent me from listing them, but they caused my suspension of disbelief to disintegrate completely, and I was so disgusted that I could only skim the last bit of the book.
Having said all that, I'll still read his next book, because C.J. certainly has talent. But with this book I felt much the same frustration I feel after seeing a thriller movie that has so much promise and then tanks at the end: don't authors or screenwriters let someone read the book (or see the movie) before publication, so they can find out if the story seems to fall apart and become a comic book at some point? If you want us to suspend disbelief and be completely into the story, then the story must be believable on some level.
Box still gets three stars from me because I like his writing, but *please* work out the plots a little better!

This is by far the best biography on Laura Ingalls Wilder available. This is a scholarly, indepth look that goes beyond her books and looks into what made her a writer. Written for adults.

This is the real-life Laura and family. Biographer John Miller provides tremendous detail in a smooth, quick and fascinating read. Gives a lot of historic context from the time of Charles and Caroline's childhood through the 1950's, and many new tidbits about Laura's actual childhood. The most thought-provoking and disturbing section of the book is toward the end, covering the period between 1925 and Laura's death in 1957.

Rose, having worked and travelled all over the world as a successful author, came home to Rocky Ridge for some 9 years in the late 20's and early 30's. While there, she suffered frequent depression, writer's block, financial trouble, and a frustrating relationship with her mother, Laura. Yet it was at this time that she helped Laura begin the Little House books, the first of which was published in 1932. The collaboration between the two on the series has been a topic of contention among scholars, critics, and fans from the beginning. Here we learn the truth, book-by-book, on who wrote what, and how each felt about her role in the partnership.

This truth is enlightening and yet Rose's sad mental state and resentment toward Laura is a bit heartbreaking for fans who still believe in Pa's beloved, spunky, hard-working, Plum Creek-swimming, Nellie Oleson-hating, hay-making, bible verse-reciting, school-teaching, buggy-riding, half-pint who wanted nothing more than to send her blind sister to college.

This would be a very interesting book if I had not already read all the little house series plus the book where she went to Mansfield from DeSmet and the one where she went to visit Rose in San Francisco.

This is best read before reading the other books. The books by Laura Ingalls Wilder give more detail than any of the birographys by any other author.

I found this to be a good book, although I wish the author would have personalized Laura a little more. The ongoing battle between mother and daughter might have been overemphasized, but one comes to learn that this probably worked for both of them. I found a lot of good information, but the statistics were a little much. I found myself reading between the lines and wanted to get back to the meat of the story...Laura.

I recommend this book to any Wilder fan, for it does give us a glimpse into the woman she really was. Like anyone else, Laura was only human, faults and all.

Meloni Cassidy
Author of Everlasting Journey

I purchased this book to read about how Laura Ingalls Wilder became the celebrated author of the Little House series of books. I was very disappointed, therefore, that this uninsightful, dry, fragmented, and repetitious tome read more like a bad history book with too many statistics, facts and figures, rather than character analysis, leaving me with no more knowledge of Laura's character than before I read it. For example, after describing ad nauseum all the organizations and activities one could possibly participate in their town, the author states that we do not know if Laura and her family enjoyed any of them. It was frustrating to constantly read the words "probably, maybe, if, we can presume ....." The author makes too many assumptions and repeatedly expresses his inability to accurately understand and relay Laura's personal feelings due to the unfortunate lack of diaries, letters, and journals left behind by Mrs. Wilder. Relying too much on her daughter, Rose's writings, he portrays Laura as an overprotective, condescending, controlling mother and a domineering wife who refused to vow to obey her husband during their wedding. Miller is not quite sure he even believes Rose's unflattering portrayal of her mother, because she was mentally ill and emotionally unstable herself. This book contains so much one-sided information about Laura's daughter that it should instead be titled Becoming Rose Wilder Lane.

I was really disappointed by "Forgiving Solomon Long" by Chris Well. I found it to be far too violent. Shooting a priest in the confessional, stabbing a pastor in an alley, garroting a homeless man for his clothes, murdering a store keeper and impaling a note on his body with his own store's longest screwdriver, ect.... It was just too much gore. In places I found it disgusting.

I also did not like the writing style. There was flopping back and forth between present tense and past tense which made the reading clumsy. The dialogue was contrived, and inconsistent to the characters.

To me there seemed to be no main character. The scenes flip back and forth erratically. It found that confusing. There also were far too many character and none were very well developed. The assassin "Solo" had a horrific childhood which seemed to be revealed as the book progressed, but Solo's mother quoted Scripture and murdered his dad (said the dad was taken away like Enoch) yet she had buried him in the basement. She also abused her child severely, which the author seemed to relish dribbling out the details.

None of the characters were consist, nor believable. The crime boss's family was a stereotypical "Italian mob" family, but I found the descriptions bogus and superficial.

I am sure somewhere in the book is some message, but I found the book so poor that I could not finish it. After wading through the first 200 pages and finding nothing rewarding or even entertaining I gave up. It was all just too much of a jumble and way too dark for my tastes.

If you've read "Deliver Us From Evelyn" or "Tribulation House" from Chris Well and are expecting a book on the same par in "Forgiving Solomon Long", you will definitely be disappointed. Although Well's engaging style and humor do come through in this novel and at least keep one entertained through about half of the book, the high level of violence (nearly everyone gets killed or at least shot) and constant jumping from sub-plot to sub-plot make for a dissatisfying - if not disturbing - read. In some chapters, Well becomes almost incomprehensible. There is a dark, morbid atmosphere to this book that does not exist in Well's later fiction. I do highly recommend the sequel, "Deliver Us From Evelyn", as well as the most recent book in the series, "Tribulation House". But don't waste your money and your time on this particular volume.

"We distrust fiction that has a palpable design on us," as someone wrote. In my view, all fiction has a palpable design. That said, there are designs and there are designs. The designation "Christian Fiction" cannot help but suggest a design, but this isn't the place to wrangle over the merits of such a heading. I'm quite aware that some readers read just for such a design, although I read a work, if I do, apart from or in spite of it. A blurb on one of Well's later works reads "Even though it's an amusing romp, it's not light on spiritual truths." I would far rather reverse that and say, "Even though it's not light on spiritual truths, it's an amusing romp." Spiritual truths you can get anywhere, but only in fiction an amusing romp.

That said, this book appears to be, no matter how lightly handled, crime fiction, which is certainly not my cup of tea. I am perhaps the only one in America who would rather see Little Steven in the E Street Band than The Sopranos, but there it is. So I probably did read it for the amusing romp in spite and not because of its gangster setting. I also hasten to add that while Well has been criticized because his toughs don't cuss, I wouldn't read the book if they did. A great many believers have written without being saddled with the rubric of "Christian fiction", including Flannery O'Connor, Madeline L'Engle and C.S. Lewis. I venture to suggest that Well need not wear it either.

This book reads fast, and is laid out like a play, with three acts. I like short chapters and this 280 page novel has, believe it or not, 124 of them. It's a clever way to write. While there is an omniscient narrator, as it were, each chapter shifts characters and points of view, with new members of the dramatis personae being introduced in the early chapters, as in a play. It's a very visual book, almost written as a screenplay, with, curiously, the most visual part left out: descriptions of the characters. Because of this, it's slightly difficult to follow the story and keep track of all the players. If it were a screenplay, however, which is to say a movie or TV show, that wouldn't be a problem, since the viewer would see the actual characters.

Arguably, some of the gangsters are cardboard cut-outs, but others are quite astute. Well obviously enjoys dusting the crops with pop culture references, including a few covert ones as when someone echoes a Carole King song or a preacher is named for the rock band, Daniel Amos. This is a first novel, so far as I know, and if other reviewers are to be believed, they get better. But even here Well has tackled the all- important element of the novel, which is finding a consistent tone and voice, and solved the problem of how to sustain that voice for the length of the book. Needless to say, I can't wait to read the next Well- written novels.

I came across Forgiving Solomon Long while searching for interesting and edgy books that didn't leave me feeling like I needed a bath. I appreciate how Chris Well does not shy away from the darker sides of life yet does not dive into them himself. As a Christian artist I am often faced with the difficulty of remaining true to life without losing my principles. Chris Well's approach is a great study in how to accomplish that. I also liked all the theater and Shakespearean references.

This debut novel for Mr. Well I found was fresh and a very entertaining read. I thought the story moved along at the right pace and there was just enough action to make be turn page after page, but not too much that the action scenes were down right boring. The character were believable, which I always enjoy and in summary I hope that the author will release another sequel as soon as possible.