I have read all of the Nate Heller mysteries, and True Crime is the best of them. One of the most interesting touches to the series are the historical photographs showing the characters that Nate interacts with. True Crime is a good straightfoward read which draws you into the criminal world of Dillinger, Floyd, Barker, Karpis and others. The historical research appears to be excellent, (I'm no expert) and Collins fleshes out all of the characters satisfactorily. If you can, read True Detective first as it gives a good background to Nate Heller (and is a very good book as well).

I almost didn't read the whole book. The first story was pretty bad. But I decided to keep at it until I got to Nancy Picard's and Sharon McCrumb's stories. Two of my favorite authors. I'm glad I did, because the stories got progressively better. Not a great collection but fairly entertaining

What I like about the book is that the author researched his subject, the Roswell incident. His writing style is captivating, but the main character, private eye Heller, comes across as a lame duck lacking in the finesse one expects from a detective. The characters in the story are historically authentic, except for fictional Dr. Bernstein, made out as evil as a Nazi must be betrayed; vae victis! With all the snooping going on, Mr. Collins doesn't bring his spy to a conclusion, and the story ends in a frazzle, which I found unsatisfying. The book is mildly entertaining. However, I will give this author another try, since this is my first read on him.

Surprisingly, my first in-depth exposure to what went on in Roswell in 1947 comes with reading this snappy crime novel. Oh, I know enough not to take a novel as gospel on realworld history, even bizarre history; author Collins does help a Roswell newbie like me by enclosing an "afterword" that separates fact from fiction, as well as listing secondary sources.

This was, incidentally, my introduction to PI Nathan Heller, who apparently has a habit of taking any case that relates to oddball historical events of mid 20th Century USA...an interesting angle for a mystery series, and one that no doubt requires endless and diverse research from the author.

Heller does what most PIs do in these "hard-boiled" novels (even recent ones like this): he visits nervous suspect after nervous suspect, he clicks with at least one sexy dame, he gets forced into the back of a car and pressured by at least one person, or group, or organization, that wishes him to Drop The Case, he is helped as much by hunches as by clues, and he spends time either feeling disgust over the low morals of the most ferrety members of society he talks to during a case, or feeling guilty over some of his decisions while solving a case, especially when he discovers that he has unknowingly assisted a criminal in his endeavors ("you played me for a sap, and I let you, but I'm onto you now...", etc.).

All of that is in this book, and I should say that I don't usually enjoy a mystery this much which relies heavily on the age-old formula. But Majic Man has a somewhat off-kilter approach to the routine, which helps it immeasurably. First, the murder is quite late in the book...which relates to Heller's feelings of guilt in the late innings; he's originally hired to protect a supposedly paranoid, disgraced politico, and it's questionable how great a job he ends up doing. And secondly, the whole Roswell connection makes everything just a bit eerie, and thus extra-entertaining. The touches of humour are appreciated too: I love the scene where Heller trips over, uh, the unexpected, while trying to escape from a military base with a sinister secret.

A three-star mystery with some solid four-star content throughout ...

I love the Nathan Heller Series. I find the blend of fiction with actual events to be great reading. The research into the past that Collins does makes the books totally credible. He is an author on my buy in hardcover list.

In this book we are taken to Roswell, and we follow Nate while he investigates the UFO rumors. As usual, we get to meet some real people from the past, and it's great fun.

Nate is a man's man, and a stereotypical PI of the times. And reading it is a real joy. And the beauty of this series is that you can read it out of order.

So don't wait, dive in!!!

Jon

I really don't have any qualms with the execution of this story. The concept of having mystery writer Jacques Futrelle solve a murder aboard the Titanic before he himself met with death before the ship sank is a good one, and I have to also commend Collins for getting the atmosphere of the Titanic down to a T.

However, I have to confess I was deeply distressed to discover that the two villains of this piece, John Crafton and Hugh Rood, were not made up names used for the occasion but were in fact the names of very real people who were lost aboard the Titanic, and whose identities were appropriated by Mr. Collins solely because he could find nothing about them. This is something that I find distasteful. The fact that not much is known about Mr. Rood or Mr. Crafton is not a valid reason for turning them into the figures of convenience for Mr. Collins's story, and I think he would not have dampened the authentic feel of the story by simply using made up names for the occasion. I find it incredible that Mr. Collins did not bother to contact anyone connected with the Titanic Historical Society or Titanic International, where the scholars there know practically everything about every passenger who sailed aboard the ship. Indeed, the book "Titanic: The Exhibition" does mention that Mr. Crafton came from Roachdale, IN while Mr. Rood was from Seattle. No doubt, there were people who grieved for them as surely as there were people who grieved for the more famous people like the hero, Jacques Futrelle. Mr. Collins may take comfort that he bothered to not dig deep enough about these two men to find out if he were offending anyone, but I find his claim of respect for Titanic's victims to be very hollow when he's not willing to give them the same respect. And that is why I cannot ultimately endorse the book even though it is a brilliant piece of mystery writing.

Since I first wrote this review some two years ago, I have decided that my disgust over Mr. Collins' inexcusable use of Messers. Crafton and Rood as his villains forces me to now lower my overall rating of the book. Additional information on Crafton and Rood, which Collins says he wasn't able to find over the course of his research, came to me after just one inquiry to a former officer of the Titanic Historical Society.

"John Crafton was 59 years old, was born and reared in Indiana and lived in Roachdale, IN in 1912. He was a 'prominent stone promoter of the Oolitic district' (presumably a promoter of the use of stone in building projects.) He had a wife and son and for many years was connected with the 'Monon road.' Mr. Crafton went to Europe on a pleasure trip in February of 1912 and booked
his return passage on the Titanic.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Rood made their home in Seattle, where Mr. Rood was vice president of the Pacific Creosotin Company. They were in Paris together when Mr. Rood booked a single passage on the Titanic for a business trip to New York. (Mrs. Rood and her maid were to follow on another vessel.) After the disaster, Mrs. Rood tried in vain to find any survivors who recalled seeing
her husband on board the Titanic."

Shame on "The Titanic Murders" for taking the names of these two men and transforming them into rapists and blackmailers just for the sake of a fictional story because the author didn't do the necessary research.

I was immediatley drawn into the premise of this book simply because I have been a Titanic buff for over 15 years, and I was happy to discover it was not a love/class story. The author deftly moves us through richly detailed staterooms, meals, and accurate charcters down to the stewards. The attempt to make one feel as if they are on the ship and in the company of the cream of Edwardian society, while also weaving a tale of mystery and murder, is well achieved. I also love the idea of planting the seed of possible reality into the plot. The only drawback I could find was while I generally enjoyed the authenticity of the primary characters being real people, I was a bit put off by the fact that two most likely innocent men have been villianized in a work of fiction. This however detracts nothing from the book itself. Very convincing, and a great summer read. I am glad to have stumbled upon it.

MAX ALLAN COLLINS HAS WRITTEN ONE OF THE MOST CREATIVE MURDER MYSTERIES. OUR HERO, REAL LIFE PASSENGER JACQUES FUTRELLE MUST SOLVE HIS FINAL MYSTERY ABOARD SHIP. WHAT COLLINS DOES, AND HE SUCCEEDS, WHERE OTHER WRITERS FAIL, IS THAT HE INTEGRATES THE REAL PASSENGERS INTO THE MYSTERY. THERE ARE NO MADE UP CHARACTERS, THESE PEOPLE REALLY SAILED ON THE SHIP. SOMETIMES, BECAUSE THE AUTHOR BLENDS FACT WITH FICTION SO WELL, THE READER WILL BE LEFT WONDERING IF THIS INDEED HAPPENED. A MUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Deadlock" offers an intriguing premise but fails because of Mapherson's weak storywriting and ignorant and offensive social assumptions about the Chinese community, both of which become irritating to a decent plot. A jury member is suspected to be the real killer. This is an engaging idea, but unfortunately Macpherson twists it between incredulous character relationships. San Francisco's Cardinal happens to be childhood friends with the richest and most famous senator and a supreme court judge -- all of whom are involved in unraveling the murder case. This would not be so annoying to read except for Macpherson's style of writing. To say the least, I expected some of the sentences and dialogues to have been penned by high school mystery writer, incorporating boyhood perceptions and fantasies about what the elite lifestyle might be like. Women are depicted in secondary roles throughout. By far, the most offensive trademark of "Deadlock" is Macpherson's grossly ignorant vision of the Chinese community in San Francisco. I have not read anything more offensive to the heart of anyone human -- something Macpherson seems to fear the Chinese actually are. His writing carries a fixation on the Chinese in the worst stereotypes. Macpherson denies the existence of any socially acceptable Chinese American in San Francisco. All Chinese characters are either hideously dissimilar, impossibly evil, purely corrupted, or demeaning to American society. I cannot fathom that anyone as ignorant about a segment of the population would dare to write about them, because to do so would be an incomplete and generally bad venture. But Macpherson achieves a most offensive piece of writing by doing this. Even in this story's most plot-intriguing moment, Macpherson writes in a staunch ignorance obvious to any reader aware of the Chinese as human as anyone else.

The synopsis sounded exciting enough but I was disappointed when I started reading it.Characters did not have much depth.The plot was fairly predictable after a while and all I wanted to do was to skim through the book to confirm my conclusion.I was also disappointed with the portrayal of the Chinese community in the book as its perception is that they are made up of gangs and thugs and Chinatown is a dangerous place to be in especially for a white person.As a Chinese,I was certainly unhappy with the unflattering image given to the Chinese characters in the book.

If you ever get a copy of this book, I believe that it is a must read. For ones who are narrow in your thinking, it will make you broader. For those who are prideful, it causes a humbling effect. It makes you take a different look at race relations and regional stereotypes.

The ending paralyzed me in my chair.

I like to collect classic pinup artwork and good reviews prompted me to to pick up this item, despite its fairly stiff pricetag. "You win some, you lose some." This is a very cheap piece of work, basically a scrapbook of old pinup and bomber nose art, thrown together in a shabby fashion, and with low-quality prints of the artwork. It might be worth a third of its price at best. Save your money or spend it on Martignette & Meisel's THE GREAT AMERICAN PIN-UP, which has most of the artwork in much better prints, costs about the same, and is worth even more.

The introduction to this book is an informative piece about various pin-up artists of the WWII era; however, most of the book was a scrapbook style work that left much to be desired. The main fault with the display of images was that there was no way to tell which artists created which images. Another drawback was how "racy" some of the images were. This significantly limits the appropraite audience for this book.

For The Boys blends an art history book with a focus on film and military images, considering the story and influence of the pin-up girl during World War II. For The Boys profiles calendars, postcards, mathbooks and other memorabilia featuring the girls and uses many original source images by Vargas, Elvgren and others to accompany photo-packed pages and information. A colorful, revealing collection.

Flying Blind troubled me in ways that none of the other Nate Heller books have troubled me. (I've read a total of nine.) The most important source of my reservations is Max Allan Collins' portrayal of Amelia Earhart's sex life, which seemed speculative to the point of presumption. While historians and biographers have long wondered if she was bisexual or lesbian, that speculation is a long way from having Heller, in one scene, discover Ms. Earhart in bed with another woman. The mistake is aggravated by the fact that Collins doesn't use his interpretation of Ms. Earhart's sexuality to illuminate her character--the same night she's been with the woman she goes to bed with Heller, just like any of Heller's numerous other girlfriends. The two carry on an intermittent affair throughout the rest of the novel, even talk about marriage--but the subject of Ms. Earhart's feelings for women never comes up again, leaving the impression that Collins employs it solely as a sensationalistic plot twist. (Toward the end, in a passage that is less important but even more outrageous, Heller asserts that Ms. Earhart's favorite heterosexual position was woman-on-top. Exactly where in his research did Collins find that "fact"?)

Amelia Earhart is a genuine American heroine. She deserves better treatment than this.

In Collins' favor, the book resembles the others in the series in that he has done a great deal of research, most of it accurate, and often manages to render the atmosphere of Depression-era America convincingly. Occasionally, however, inaccurate or anachronistic details jar--another reviewer has mentioned a Packard's automatic transmission and Heller's 9 mm sidearm. My personal favorite occurs when Collins has James Forrestal, assistant secretary of the Navy, tell Heller that the Japanese are developing a carrier aircraft called by two names--"Claude" and "Zero." Historically, Claude and Zero (aka "Zeke") were two different fighters, a fact still widely known and easy to find out. That Collins gets it wrong undermines a reader's faith in his other research.

The Heller series started off as a chronicle of the detective's adventures in the politically-corrupt and mob-run city of Chicago, fertile ground for Collins' brand of historical fiction. Recent installments, however, have found the character evolving into a 1930s version of James Bond who takes his investigations to exotic locations like Hawaii, New Orleans, and the Caribbean. Heller's abortive rescue of Earhart on the Pacific island of Saipan is blatantly unbelievable, leaving me wondering when he's going to get back home. Surely Heller must have been connected somehow to Mayor Daley's Democratic machine and the electoral hanky-panky that won Illinois for John Kennedy in 1960. Surely Heller must have investigated the 1968 Democratic convention riots and the trial of the Chicago 7. How about future Heller books on those? They'd get him back where he belongs.

It's been a while since I've read a Nathan Heller novel. I loved "Stealing Away" and enjoyed the others I've read, but I figured that the more we saw, the harder it would be to swallow just how many famous mysteries Heller was involved in. And that's what happened here, especially since Heller is far more involved with Amelia Earhart than he's ever been with a client or a victim.

That involvement colored the rest of the book in a way that was a bit more cynical than usual and that made Heller a lot harder to take. I appreciate that the speculation about history's truth is just that, and that we can disregard the whole thing, but Heller's love for "Amy" makes almost every other character in a position of authority seem sordid if not evil. The result is a rather simplistic narrative. That Collins would treat Huey Long with more sympathy than any effort to spy on Japan in preparation for the inevitable war is perpelxing.

This is still a fun read, but it's just not the same as the earlier works. And after you've had your hero sleep with Amelia Earhart, what's next? Eleanor Roosevelt?

Having read all of Collins' Nate Heller casebooks, I would rank this one as fitting into the top 5 or so. Not as snappy as the early Chicago-based ones and certainly nowhere close to the pinacle of the series Stolen Away (about the Lindbergh kidnapping), this book still has all of the best features of these books: Great background, terrific characters, funny dialogue, ample sex (using charmingly veiled language without lapsing into cute-ness), and a plausible plot that finds our man in the midst of one of the 20th Centuries best mysteries. If you haven't read a Heller book, seek out True Crime and True Detective, then jump to Stolen Away and then come here. You'll be glad you did.

Mommy 2 very different from Mommy 1 in which Mommy is now the good guy or should I say gal. Patty gives a new dimension to her "Bad Seed" role - a real good actress - funny she never made it big time.Some good bloody scenes such as the ice skating rink. But my favorite being the electrocutionshower bit with chunks of hair going down the drain - nice touch! Some funny dialog - But i"m innocent. Yeah, so was OJ. Hey Max when's Mommy 3 coming out. Good DVD quality.

I am a professional book reviewer in the mystery and horror fields but always before in books. I've published in The LA Times and over 20 other publications. I've never reviewed a movie before. I came to Mommy 2 by reading the book first by Max Allan Collins. It was great and I was surprised to realize after I read it that it was a novelization. Novelizations of films usually don't interest me, even, when in this case they are adapated by the screen-writer. But Mommy 2 was a sensational read, so I thought I'd rent the movie. Was I happy I did. A Great cast headed by a truly brilliant performance by Patty McCormack made the film an even more pleasureably scary and suspenseful experience than reading the book. Seeing the legendary Mickey Spillane on screen was a special treat. Now I've got to read and see Mommy, the first film. My only regret was I kind of did it backwards, but backwards or forwards, book or movie, this is one of those unexpected surprise finds and all readers and/or cinema fans will know exactly what I mean. It's like finding a $50.00 bill you didn't know you had in the little pocket of your jeans. What a treat!

After seeing Mommy I couldn't wait to see Mommy 2: Mommy's Day. Right where Mommy left off Mommy 2 picks up. (It's not that easy to kill a Bad Seed!) The movie was suspenseful and kept me guessing. I think Collins pulls together a great script with a very good cast and give us a movie that could become a cult classic!

If I am not mistaken the high school students helped in making this movie in Muscatine. I thought it could of been better. I also saw Mommy 2 and wasn't thrilled with it either. But it was a low budget movie so what can you excpect? I do like Patty McCormick though. I enjoyed her in the Bad Seed and often wondered why we haven't seen more of her.

Hearing about this movie, I looked for it first in the horror section of blockbuster. At first I was confused as to why it would be in drama, but i picked it up anyway. The tape was old, and well warn, but I looked past the fuzzy lines to the movie itself. Enjoyable and amusing, it was an overall good movie. Where lack of funds might have left the movie a bit shaky, the acting made up quite well. The cop and daughter were the most admirable of the cast. You have my permission to view this movie. It's a good rent/bye. Have fun, and take a drink for every time they say "mommy" during the movie.

The straight-forward, no-nonsense approach that serves Mr. Collins so well in his novels works just as effectively for his movie work, at least as demonstrated in "Mommy". This modest thriller doesn't try to wow you with flashy cutting, a pulse-pounding soundtrack, and other gimmicks, but rather draws you in with extremely solid acting, photography, and direction, as well as a decent story. Much care was also lavished on the DVD release, as it is clear Mr. Collins wanted to take advantage of the capabilities of this soon-to-be-dominant home-viewing medium. I especially liked the running commentary, where writer/director Collins seemed to re-assemble everyone except the on-site caterer to share anecdotes about the fun and challenges of putting together a movie in a rural Iowa setting not used to hosting many such productions. I also enjoyed the fact that the folks featured in the commentary were clearly all capable professionals, yet at the same time had almost a childlike giddiness about how they pulled off a particular shot, how an actor got an expression just right, where they got the new Cadillac to use as "Mommy's" car, and endless other little details. So, in short, this a both a fun movie and a fun DVD. I'm looking forward to checking out the sequel, which I understand is more of a straight mystery story than the thriller/character study/black comedy that is this first entertaining installment.

I enjoyed Jeff Gelb's "Hot Blood" series. I have been looking eagerly for more in the series. When I saw this title put together by Mr. Gelb I just knew it would be great. Big mistake! Something went really wrong here. The stories are poorly written and read like a bad violent movie with the laughable love scenes. Silly nad disappointing.

I would have appropriately titled this book "Flesh and Blood: Tales of Crime" because that would have garnered 5 stars. I found little evidence of eroticism and passion in most of the stories, and when any hint of them would arise, it was short-lived. I enjoyed the tales overall, but was mislead. I then became frustrated reading tale after tale in search of what Max Collins had promised in the introduction. The anticipation of what to expect from the introduction, was in fact, the most exciting portion of the book.

This anthology centers on sex and violence. Most of the contributions are new stories that heat up the pages with torrid sex scenes. Although the authors are excellent writers, the basic flaw in this collection is that the short format does not lend itself to scorching bedroom scenes and a powerful mystery plot. FLESH AND BLOOD: EROTIC TALES OF CRIME AND PASSION contains well-written tales, but leans too heavily on the erotica at the expense of the mystery, leaving the audience to wonder who done it?

Harriet Klausner