Anthologies are very popular these days, providing delightly appetizers that amuse and enlighten and tease while introducing readers to new and wonderful authors. An anthology may be considered successful if there are just one or even two terrific stories contained in its pages. This particular one succeeds admirably, as nearly all seventeen of them are wonderful. Two in particular stand out, however. Suppose you were asked who, of all the currently published mystery writers with whom you might be familiar, would be best suited to write a short mystery in the voice of a Tazmanian Devil? If you said Barbara Paul, you'd be absolutely correct. GO TO THE DEVIL is truly hilarious, and well worth the cost of the entire book, even if you didn't read any of the others.

But if you did that, you'd miss out on FINAL VOWS by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, in which more cats than not do have nine lives, and even if you don't particularly like cats, you'll still enjoy this whimsical bit of fantasy, in which all the neighborhood's cats (living and otherwise) catch the culprit.

Other stories (by such mystery luminaries as Anne Perry, Dorothy Cannell, and Nancy Pickard) feature other cats or kittens, a couple of dogs, a hamster, and an owl. It's a very pleasant and enjoyable read, not least of which are the terse introductory comments from the title character himself--Midnight Louie!

Midnight Louie has done it again! Not only is he a sleuth extraordinaire but now an editor and reviewer of short stories with animals (not only cats) as the featured heros. If you love the Midnight Louie series here is a way to get to know him better and enjoy new stories by excellent authors!

Actually, I never heard of Midnight Louie until I read this book. My wife found it in a library search for stories by Lillian Jackson Braun. One of her stories from 1966, "The Dark One," is reprinted in this book, so it showed up in the search. The rest of the tales in this anthology are copyrighted 1998, same year as the book came out, which suggests they are new tales written especially for Midnight Louie's collection.

In each story, one or more animals plays a role in solving a mystery. In some cases, the animal itself is the detective, while in others, the animal provides a vital clue for his or her dumb humans. Not only dogs and cats, but also elephants, raccoons, an opossom, a lovebird, a robin, a half-wolf and a Tasmanian Devil take their turn at sleuthing here.

Some favorites: In "Daisy and the Silver Quaitsch," the neighborhood dogs literally dig up clues to tip off their clueless masters. "Kittens Take Detection 101," introduces us to two young cats (who don't even know how to use capital letters yet!) who find a dead body while sneaking out to explore their neighborhood. In "Final Vows," cats literally do have nine lives (or more!), and the feline detective, Colonel Mustard, returns from the dead to discover who poisoned him and help save the rest of the neighboorhood cats from the same fate. "On the Take" features a soft-hearted cop who finds a unique way to place stray cats in good homes. (If I lean toward the cat and dog stories, maybe it's because I have three dogs and ten cats. But the Tasmanian Devil get his due here, too, when a careless bomber sets off a charge near his cage, and "A Hamster of No Importance" solves a series of high-society Jewel thefts.)

Each story has an introduction by Midnight Louie, the feline detective created by Carole Nelson Douglas (who also happens to be the editor of this book.) Like I said, I had never heard of Louie before but, after enjoying this wonderful anthology, I plan to track him down and read more about his adventures. Carole Douglas, you have a new fan!

Maybe Ellie needs a break from the twins. This book plods rather than waltzes. Cannell's usual sparkle is missing, and Ellie's character is somewhat anemic, showing little of her usual goofy charm. The ending is Victorian mush, which may appeal to some, but seemed overdone to me. Spring tonic? Vacation in Mazatlan? Let's hope that the next Cannell outing shows more spunk. In this one, Roxie rules.

The opening of this entry is as funny as the opening to *The Thin Woman* [first in the series], which I recently reread. The rest of the book is delightful. One of the things that I like about this series is that Ellie is among the handful of female mystery solvers who is permitted to be happily married. I'm so glad that Ms. Cannell hasn't broken up said marriage or bumped off Ben. The end of the book made me wonder if Mrs. Cannell was thinking of Louisa May Alcott when she wrote it. The atmosphere reminded me of *Little Women*, the book that taught me that book friends are never lost. (You just turn the pages back to the beginning and your friend is alive again.) Then again, perhaps I felt that way because Vanessa's daughter, Rose, made me think of Ms. Alcott's Rose in *Eight Cousins* and *Rose in Bloom*. I look forward to my next stay at Merlin's Court. Ann E. Nichols

It is Spring and Ellie Haskell's nesting instincts are in full bloom. She cannot wait to get started, along with the help of her trusted cleaning woman Mrs. Malloy, to whip Merlin's Court into tip top shape. There is only one problem with her plan. Mrs. Malloy is leaving her to become a full time nanny to her newborn grandchild. However, she has arranged for Mrs. Large to replace her as the cleaning woman on the staff.

Ellie feels that her new employee will work out until she is found dead, a victim of an accident, in the home of the Miller sisters. When her next helper is also found dead in her own home and a third corpse is found inside her missing car, Ellie finds herself working another murder mystery. She intends to solve the case so she can keep her help a little bit longer.

Dorothy Cannell, author of the classic THE THIN WOMAN is in fine form with another extraordinary Ellie Haskell mystery. The cast of eccentric characters that readers have loved for years are all present in THE SPRING CLEANING MURDERS, which is one of Ms. Cannell's most humorous novels to date. Anyone who needs an uplifting experience should try this series that hopefully will have another entry soon.

Harriet Klausner

A rollicking, slapstick story of four absurdly awful mother-in-laws and four put upon wives. On an evening of low spirits and hard liquor, the ladies conspire to "accidentally on purpose" knock off the old girls. The delightful Ellie Haskell, loving wife to the handsome Ben, mama to the darling twins Tam and Abby, and mistress of Merlin's Court gets the action going when she plans an anniversary celebration for the in-laws -- only to find out that the actual wedding never happened. Set in the charming English seaside town of Chitteron Falls, this story is action packed, completely over-the-top, full of delightfully eccentric characters and wickedly witty dialogue. Accidents begin to befall the mother-in-laws, and when one of them dies exactly as dreamed up by the quartet, the saga goes into high gear. A delightfully far-fetched cozy mystery sure to charm.

Well, darn; bought this book hoping for ideas! Kidding; however they did come up with some goodies with naughty results.
This mystery cozy is set in England and has the funny sign-song style I love.
When four "ticked-off" daughters-in-law, get together, they find they have much in common and chat about ways to get rid of their acquired Mothers-in-law. The end result is funny, but has a scary moment or two. Plus I was guessing up to the end, which is pretty unusual, as I'm really Sherlock Nose in disguise!

Absolutely the funniest book I have read in a long time. If anyone has had to deal with a Mother-in-law then this has to stike a cord. Even if your mother-in-law was one of the best. An excellent book, one you can recommend to anyone.

The Tin Collectors is Cannell's sixth novel. At first blush it seems to be just another basic, good, cop story; but it develops into something more, going beyond the action and plot into relationships. LAPD detective Shane Scully receives a call in the middle of the night from Barbara, his one-time girl friend who is married to his ex-partner, super cop Ray Molar. Ray has gone berserk and she needs help. Shane dashes the five miles to their house and finds Ray about to kill Barbara. When Shane intervenes, Ray tries to shoot him. Shane returns fire in self defense and kills Ray. This is a difficult situation, but Shane knows he is in the right and expects that all will work out. Ha! For reasons Shane cannot figure out, the top administration of the police department quickly elevates the situation to a major affair and turn it over to Internal Affairs. The Internal Affairs Division is informally known as "The Tin Collectors" because of their high rate of convicting cops and collecting their "tin" (badges). Shane's case is assigned to an IAD prosecutor brought back from another assignment. An earlier investigation of Shane in which he was exonerated was one of her few defeats. Several young cops for whom Ray was something of an idol are assigned minor roles in the investigation and make things difficult for Shane. Why are these cops even involved-their normal assignments are far from IAD business? In the end justice prevails, although it takes some skillful writing to resolve the situation without artificial solutions. Along with the standard cop story, Shane is involved with a fifteen year-old problem child. The boy's single mother has asked Shane to let her son, Chooch, stay with him for a month or so in order to have a good male role model. The relationship between the mother, the boy, and Shane is slow to develop, but adds significantly to the overall impact of the book. I thought the book was very slow in the beginning, and almost put it down. I am glad I didn't. It was not until I was nearly through that I realized that Cannell is best known for his screen writing (The Rockford Files, Hunter...). The early pages probably work better on screen than on paper. In retrospect, they visualize very well and do set the stage effectively.

In The Tin Collectors, Stephen Cannell offers the first in a new series that is also very much a police procedural. With 5 successful prior novels, Cannell is still best known for writing/producing such television hits as the Rockford Files, Baretta, The A-Team, Renegade, Silk Stalkings and many others.

Officer Shane Scully gets a frantic call from the wife of his ex-partner Ray 'Steeltooth' Molar. Molar is beating her. Again. ("You don't get the name 'Steeltooth' just because your last name's Molar") In self-defense, Scully is forced to kill the abusive husband. The killing of the popular, virtually legendary cop brings Scully more grief than he ever imagined. Put in charge of Scully's Internal Affairs prosecution is Alexa Hamilton, the department's "number one tin collector." When he is accused directly by the Chief of Police of taking files from Molar's house and threatened with facing a murder charge if the material is not returned, Scully is convinced he's being set up.

Scully begins his own investigation and soon uncovers evidence of corruption in high places. Hamilton is the only one he can turn to who just might believe him.

Some glib prime-time dialog does seep in. (When Scully's house is hit in a drive by shooting he says, "I got enough lead in the walls to go into strip mining.") Cannell keeps the tension and pace at high levels so a bit of cliché doesn't really detract. There is no mistaking Cannell's mastery of story telling. The same sense of character and dialog that have made his television shows hits, guides him here. The Tin Collectors is a sure winner.

Los Angeles Police Sergeant Shane Sculley sleeps peacefully in his bed with no major cares haunting him until the call at 2:16 AM comes. Barbara Mular, the wife of Shane's former partner pleads with him to save her life from her husband Ray who is beating her up. When Shane arrives at the Mular home, the door is open so he enters. He sees Ray knocking Barbara around with his nightstick. Shane tries to diffuse the situation, but is forced to kill Ray when the latter draws out his gun.

Instead of the normal channels, a high up in the department forces Ray to go before a review board. Ray happens to have been the mayor's driver and bodyguard. "His Honor" wants Shane to go down preferably with a murder conviction. Shane learns that things are soon missing form Ray's home and if they discretely reappear all charges would be dropped. Shane knows corruption has been a way of life for LAPD, and he has to uncover it if he wants to clear his name.

Stephen Cannell starts this novel with a fast-action tale that continues to build up momentum until the story line exceeds the speed of light. Readers will empathize with Shane, an endearing hero struggling to regain his idyllic life lost in the corruption maelstrom. THE TIN COLLECTORS is an exciting story that leaves the audience wondering who will police the police when IA is corrupt?

Harriet Klausner

I bought this book with a half-hearted interest. Never one to gamble, I just didn't see a connection to the topic. From the first chapter, I was hooked, I could not put the book down (read it in one afternoon). The lead character, Beano Bates, is so well written you find yourself in the middle of this Con. If you love a fast paced read with lots of twists and turns, this book is for you.

King Con, is my first "non-Rockford" Cannell read. It was better than I ever expected. It follows the adventures of one B.X. Bates, as he cons his way to riches and revenge. Bates is aided in this venture by several members of his colorful, cunning, and con-ing family, as well as a few surprise helpers. He finances his escapades with his wit and his gift of gab. B.X. Bates as "King Con" brings you excitement at every turn of the page. If I were a betting man! I would bet that any reader of this book will "create free time" so they can sit down with it as often as possible. King Con, is the book you will loan to a friend, never to see it again, so be wary.

Mr. Cannell should be treated with our most respect that we should not waste on the other writers. He has already shown us three books with great talents. Every one has been very tastefully plotted and done. "KING CON" is so far the better and the best! If Beano Whites would be played by John Travolta, I wish I could know sooner who would play those two female roles? Please do not ruin this great one with 2nd rated actresses! If this book could be edited by the editors of Mr. Steve Martini's "THE LIST", with shorter and clearer paragraphings instead of long and heavy blocks of paragraphs, less misspellings or sentences misplacings, and more appropriate question marks(?)and exclamation mark(!) where they should to be combined together, and most of all, if lots of the dialogues could be singled our and separated from those thick blocks of narrative paragraphs. The whole book's dialogues might vividly jump out from the pages to grap you. Readers should buy this book, read it, and keep it for your next generation's great reading experience. It's true that "THIS BOOK MADE 'THE STING' LIKE MOSQUITOS BITE!" (I was trying to type out words at 5:00AM with a soft head, I may need a good editor to correct my spellings and grammar, but thanks, not Mr. Cannell's ones.

This was a good read, fast-paced with a lot of mystery and intrigue. I also enjoyed the romance that developed between Tanisha and Wheeler. Both of the characters were well developed and both expressed real hesitations about entering into an interracial relationship. The only thing that annoyed me to no end was Cannell's use of black slang. It would have been a great addition to the reality of the scenes if he had known what he was talking about. As a young black college student who often comes in contact with "street slang" I wonder how well Cannell researched this aspect of his novel. Certain street terms were defined incorrectly and therefore used improperly throughout the novel, while others just would never be used in the situations Cannell put them in. But, except for this major distraction, the novel was excellent, especially his examination and portrayal of Tanisha as a strong and resilient black woman...except for when she started "talking street".

Extremely fast paced, with lots of adventure and excitement, this book will keep you on your toes, always wondering what will happen next. Our main character, Wheeler Cassidy, is well developed, and stronger than his initial description leads us to believe. He is the brother of Prescott Cassidy, who is murdered in his office. Wheeler must find the strength and the courage to avenge his brother's murder, but he has no idea what he is getting himself into. Teaming up with a tough lady cop from Asian Crimes Division, Wheeler sets out on a journey that will have international repercussions. Wheeler's mother is a strong character that will stay with you. The story takes you up many roads, bumpy and directionless, blindfolded. You will enjoy excitement and adventure while getting your money's worth. The only problem I had with this book was keeping all of the characters straight. Once the author gets into China and Hong Kong, you'd need a listing in front of you to understand who everyone is. Still, the plot is great, the story well written, and it's a very good read.

Stephen J. Cannell has created a stunning book that combines ingenious plotting with insightful characterization. RIDING THE SNAKE slithers through the deadly and byzantine world of Chinese Triads, a deadly variant of organized crime that makes La Cosa Nostra look like the Girl Scouts.

The unlikely hero of Cannell's latest work is Wheeler Cassidy. Wheeler is an American classic, a pathetic, spoiled country club drunk who is resurrected by the perils of Cannell's gripping plot.

The unlikely alliance between Wheeler and a cynical, black cop, Tanisha Williams, is enriched by Cannell's extraordinary gift for idiom and detail. Throughout the book one is struck by the honesty and richness of dialogue. And no matter how treacherous the jeoprady, Cannell manages to enliven the proceedings with unexpected, and completely welcome, humor.

RIDING THE SNAKE is not just a sensational thriller, it is a revelatory expose of the threat posed by Chinese organized crime. Cannell has done his homework. The book is an eye openner.

Cannell plots better than Grisham or Clancy and renders characters with greater resonance than Dilillo or Russo. RIDING THE SNAKE is an unforgetable read and, inevitably, will be a wildly popular movie.

Stephen Cannell's latest Shane Scully novel returns the reader to Los Angeles one year after Shane and his beautiful wife/partner/boss Alexa barely survived The Viking Funeral (St. Martin's, January 2002 and December 2002 softcover). Shane is completing medical leave recuperation from injuries received in that story. He and Alexa, happily married, and Shane's son "Chooch" seemingly have adjusted well to all of their traumas, and Shane is wondering what kind of new duty he will draw, and if he will be working under his wife, who has progressed rapidly up the LAPD promotion ladder. Things cannot stay serene for long, however.
Shane and Alexa attend an engagement party for Alexa's best friend, who has been star-crossed for lovers. At the party, Shane meets Nicky Marcella, one of his former clients/snitch, a con man who has become a movie producer. He asks Shane to help him locate an old friend whom he wants to cast in his new movie, but he can't locate her. Also, Shane overhears the groom to be making an arch comment about never needing a divorce - his previous wives died after he tired of the! Shane is suspicious and over Alexa's objections starts to investigate. He also finds the missing actress, who is now a doped-up prostitute. He reports back to Nicky, and then forgets about it - until he is called out to a crime scene to identify her tortured body and explain why she had his business card. Now Shane is angry and pushes on to discover an East Cost mafia family trying to wedge into the Hollywood unions, a merging of street gangs to take over narcotics trafficking in LA, and ends up fronting a sting that before he knows it is really producing a megamillion dollar movie. And then the gang involvement reaches in and entangles his son.
It all works out in the end, and Shane doesn't really get to be a movie magnet. It is a suspense-filled story with lots of action. Cannell can be counted on for a good story, whether in one of his novels or one of his movies. This one is true to form.

This is the third Shane Scully book and he seems to at least be trying to settle down to domestic bliss. Or at least he would, if only his job wouldn't keep intruding on his family.

Scully seeks revenge on the killer of a hooker, murdered after he had tracked her down for one of his information sources. He is driven by a sense of guilt and responsibility. His most likely is an East Coast mobster who is trying to move in on the Hollywood scene by controlling the movie industry's unions. His method of attack is to go undercover as, of all things, a movie producer. His eyes are well and truly opened and a lot of fun is poked at the Hollywood movie industry when production begins on his movie (which is never meant to get made) and expenses begin to rocket out of control.

A parallel story involves an escalating gang-war that his wife (and boss) Alexa, who is head of the Detective Services Group is trying to calm. It soon becomes apparent that the two stories are going to overlap, but how and to what effect remains the mystery.

This is another compelling mystery that takes you from the extravagance of the Hollywood movie scene, right down to the mean streets of LA and the gangs who inhabit them. Plenty of action and a grandstand finish helps to make it a very enjoyable read. It has also left plenty of scope for a future Shane Scully book.

Stephen J. Cannell's third Shane Scully novel, "Hollywood Tough" is as implausible as was his "A Team" with protagonists more resilient than his Jim Rockford. Be that as it may, if you suspend disbelief, it is big fun.

The cop lingo, street jargon and snappy dialogue alone are worth the price of admission.

Noteworthy scene setting and character descriptions ("'Champagne' Tony Valentine was managing to stay just inside the boundaries of fashion comedy.") abound.

Mr. Cannell knows Hollywood and uses his insider knowledge to paint amusing and self-effacing portraits of the movie biz and its oh-so-Hollywood-execs.

Either of the two major plots could carry a novel on its own. That makes for some clumsiness, confusion and too many handily convenient coincidences to move the plot forward...at times convoluted, but always entertaining.

Titling each chapter in a wry, tongue-in-cheek fashion is a nifty touch.

I think what went wrong is that I had a lot of expectations to this novel and I thought I was about to read an "Ellie Haskall-like" storyline complete with that wonderful british wit and humor that this author so wonderfully puts to paper.

However, I could not get very involved with the storyline and I ended up "Plowing" through the book just to get it done. My only interest turned out to be the Silver Spoon that was missing for 200 years and I was looking forward to its recovery and reasons for disapearance than any of the murders. I didn't even notice that anyone had died. I appears that Ms. Cannell either wrote this as a first novel or she must have been in a horrible state of some kind when she did write it. I'm happy to see an addition to the Haskell series in "The Spring Cleaning Murders" and can't wait to read it. God Save Dorothy Cannell!!

This was not a pleasant read and it would have been better in the Cannel sytle of First Person writing.

I liked Flora and Vivian even though they were rather colorless and drab compared to Ellie Haskell's world. But I was just so shocked by the story's mostly negative difference, that I don't think much of this book. I KNOW the author can do better than this. Don't I have the Ellie Haskell mysteries as proof? But this wasn't too bad and being shorter it was easier and quicker to get through than that other, Down The Garden Path. However the mystery was an utter flop. I'd guessed who the murderer was almost as soon as we learned of the butler's death, and though I did falter briefly in my conviction due to suspicious behaviour on an innocent's part, I knew it all. Which is downright spooky and says little for the story's merit, since I'm the kind of person that doesn't think and reason when she reads a mystery but shuts her brain up and lets the main character do all the figuring out! But no, it wasn't terrible...not really, though still very disappointing...and nothing like Ms. Cannells' other books.

To tell the truth, I was disappointed in this book. I thought the story line was great, but the developement of the story wasn't as good as it could have been. I look forward to reading Dorothy's books! But this one didn't meet my expectations.

This is the first book I have read of Cannell's and I like it very much, but not without some reservations. Her writing is tight and often very funny. Yet there is something just not quite right about the character portrayal.

I think somehow that Cannell is too reserved in her portraits, especially the main characters of Mrs. Malloy and Ellie. In the right situation I think Cannell should let Ellie go "over the top" so to speak. Everything is so muted even when the situation is totally absurd. When she does allow the characters to exhibit a little more life, as in the scene where the sleuthing duo meet the hilarious Merryweathers, the pages seem to come to life.

Elsewhere, Ellie's observations as the narrative voice just seem lifeless. I think one example that stands out is the bird attack (shades of Hitchcock) on Ellie -- she is in danger and narrates it so matter of fact that it is hard to buy it. Was she in serious danger? Was she truly frightened? Did she feel like Tippi Hedren? It is a dramatic/comedic opportunity lost.

Still, Cannell writes well in general and the story is clever indeed. I will probably try one more of her Ellie Haskell series to see if this one (her 12th I believe) was just created at a point in time where Cannell ran out of steam even as the publishing deadline loomed. The potential is just too great not to give her another shot.

Ellie Haskell is in deep trouble. She has just finished redoing her husband Ben's office. She sent all of his beloved and crummy furnishings to charity and now he hates the new ones. Just in the nick of time Roxie her erstwhile charwoman calls for her help at her new place of employment, a private detective's office. The detective has left for a holiday and an aristocratic client shows up three hours after her scheduled appointment. She wants them to find the daughter of a disgraced and dismissed parlour maid named Flossie Jones. Flossie had apparently been accused of stealing a brooch and fooling around with the gardener and was fired. She died not long after giving birth and terrible things have been happening to the family since then. Lady Krumbly wants to make up for accusing Flossie(the brooch has turned up recently) and to end the curse on the family.

This isn't the best of the series, but it is still alot of fun, Ellie and Roxie really could have used the services of the Flowers Detective Agency, but went on their own with adequate results. Hopefully, some of the older characters will make a reappearance soon, but in the meantime I really enjoyed this one.

Ellie Haskell and her housekeeper, Mrs. Malloy are visiting in the detective's office Malloy cleans when a late client drops in. An elderly aristocrat claims that her family is suffering from a curse left behind by a falsely accused maid. The woman, believing that Ellie and Malloy are detectives, asks them to investigate. A gunman attempts to persuade them to drop the case, but only makes them more anxious to find the truth.

Egged on by her friend, Ellie agrees and the two women set off on a proper English play of manners. There are no end of suspects: a nephew who may have killed his parents with an exploding train set; the nephew's wife who is interested in blackmail; actresses turned maid; the elderly lady herself; and the mysteriously missing Ernestine. It takes continued efforts for Ellie and Malloy to get to the truth--and still make it home in time for Ellie to take care of her family.

Author Dorothy Cannell writes a funny, fast-paced novel. The character dialogue kept me chuckling, as did the rather mad-cap action. The mystery itself won't pose much of a challenge for hard-core cozy readers, but in the case of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNESTINE, getting there is where the fun is. And there is plenty of fun in this charming novel.

This novel reads very much like a Hollywood movie. Not that that is a totally bad thing, sometimes all people want is a mindless book to read. The characters are interesting and there are enough plot twists to keep me reading. I'm currently pecking my way through Final Victim. 3.5 stars.

The fact that what took place in this novel could happen in real life is mind-boggling. I enjoyed this action-packed thriller because it came so close to the truth as we know it. It causes one to stop and think about previous elections of officials and how the media paints them depending on how much clout and money they possess. The characters can almost be matched with some of those well-known to us that hold high office today. This book kept be awake because it was one that you could not put down in the middle of a chapter. I will be looking for Stephen Cannell's books when I am bored with the usual shootem-ups.

I loved this book and have been turned on to other Cannell books. The characters were fascinating, unique and well thought out. I keep waiting for the movie. The plot extends a broad range will a masterfully told and frightening reality.