Cooper is too good to be true! I love reading his books because he creates such beautiful pictures while he binds you to an imaginative story line. His stories bring you to the battlefront and into the very mind of the hero.

This book has a beautiful format. It is very useful. I do recommend hardback editions thus allowing you to pass on your treasures to further generations. James Fenimore Cooper demands immense reverance from attentive readers. No library should be without this book.

For months police chief Mario Balzic of Rocksburg, in western Pennsylvania coal-mining country, has been doding Albert Castellucci. Balzic has run out of things to say to the old man whose only son has been shot to death. But Castellucci is persistent. He does not care that the death occurred in Westfield Township, outside of Balzic's jurisdiction, or that his son, known as Joey Case, had the murderous end everybody in town saw as his inevitable destiny. All the old man wnats is for Balzic to look into the case, insisting that the investigator handling the case was a "capo tost" (a hard head), who had botched things from start to finish. Of course, K. C. Constantine would not beginning with this most recent encounter between the bitter old man and the increasingly enraged police chief if Balzic was not about to agree to look into matters.

"Joey's Case," the eighth mystery in this series, is the most unique for two reasons. First, Balzic is on the outside of this case looking in and nothing is going to change that over the course of this investigation. He might have the indulgence of the state police, but he knows full well going into this one that nothing is going to change, no matter who he engages in his inquisitive conversations. Second, Balzic has, for lack of a better word, "mellowed" a bit. The chief has been wound exceedingly tight in the most recent novels and I have been expecting him to snap in some way. While I expected something to shake the chief's foundation to get him turned in the right direction, I did not expect it to be a question of sexual dysfunction. Yet this hits the mark for Balzic has suddenly stopped drinking and there is even a chance, miracle of miracles, that he will listen to what his wife Ruth is trying to tell him (Hey, it could happen).

This novel offers an additional difference because this time around I definitely got the feeling that I was actually picking up on some of the clues. I might not have figured out how all the pieces were going to fit together, but Balzic was not doing that much better. The chief charm of these books remains the art of conversation as Balzic circles around the truth of this matter. I also liked the fact that the chief actually engaged in a pit more of cat and mouse in some of his unofficial interviews, which may be why one of the book's last conversations, where Ruth turns the tables on her husband, impressed me so much. Still, my chief contentment is that Constantine has started to reign his creation in a bit, because Balzic has been threatening to go off the deep end for quite some time and I have become rather concerned about the old boy. Then again, I was rather surprised to see from the cover art for "Joey's Case" that our hero has a head of hair.

John Brady has captured the real Dublin in all his, unfortunately too few, books. Warts and all, the place and the people come alive in a way that few authors can match. Inspector Matt Minogue is one of the most interesting, complex and real characters ever to inhabit any book. John Brady is a national treasure and should be revered as such.

Smoke Jensen finds himself in the middle of a tough-mean low down range war and not knowing why. Now he must choose sides or risk being killed, the one thing Smoke does not want to do. Smoke never in his life liked bullies nor anyone trying to push him. So when Jud Vale and his hired idiots tried to push, Smoke gave back in kind.

if you've read books by michael raliegh or michael connelly...Check out the PI Series by Mark Renzler, hes the best!

This book is typical of John Riggs. It seems like you know who did it but the twists and turns make it uncertain as who is really the guilty party. And there's always a surprise at the end. His novels aren't long but easily merit a "hard to put it down" status. Give him a try but be prepared to want every book in this series of mysteries. Thank you.

Like many a budding actress, Vic Bowering finds work as a bartender in order to take care of a minor inconvenience: eating. However, her first day on the job is marred when the previous incumbent is found dead. Still, the unflappable Vic begins to tend bar as if nothing has happened.

However, the McAleer's Pub is a weird place where strange things seem to happen, especially to Vic. Soon, she finds her Manhattan apartment has been bugged by some unknown assailant and her police officer boy friend seems unperturbed by her concerns even as he warns her to stop tending bar. Vic is now convinced that she is someone's favorite target and it is up to her to stop the individual from succeeding in whatever he/she plans to do to her.

LIBATION BY DEATH, the fourth Vic Bowering mystery, like the previous three, is a reader's delight. Vic steals the show as she boomerangs from one clue to another without knowing what she is doing. This self-deprecating, wise cracking lady is a true amateur sleuth, which, in turn, makes the entire series one of the best entries in the sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner

Little Badger knows something that none of his forest friends do. Old Badger told him. He "wobble-waddles" around the forest, encountering various friends who tell him he ~can't~ be a pirate for one reason or another: he doesn't have the right hat, or eye patch, or bird, or whatever. Still, Little Badger knows.

This book strikes a refreshing note in a world where everyone has to have the right "stuff". Little Badger knows that all he needs is his imagination (and to be home in time for supper!). Our clever little friend has listened to his elder, and has a wonderful time being "The Terror of the Seven Seas" because of it.

This book opens the door for helping the child learn: Assertiveness, communication, enivronment, positive attitude, expressing feelings, understanding needs, responsibility, body awareness, how to succeed, exploring, and thinking skills.
Our greatest job as caretakers of children is to teach him how to make good choices; to say no to drugs, inappropriate and unsafe encounters, manipulative friends, or other difficult choices. It's about helping him learn a new and positive attitude about himself and to learn responsibility.

My two favorites in this collection are The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon. I love these hard-boiled detective novels doubly for their sheer entertainment and their place in history. If you want a fascinating read to go allong with this collection, get The Perfect Murder: A Study In Detection by David Lehman. It will clue you into these novels and life. These classic American Novels by Hammett are about to explode in historical research as these novels create an important link in America from WWII to our morality.