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Book reviews for "Cook,_Thomas_H." sorted by average review score:

Best American Crime Writing (Best American Crime Reporting)
Published in Hardcover by Pantheon Books (13 August, 2002)
Authors: Otto Penzler, Thomas H. Cook, and Nicholas Pileggi
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Best american Crime Writing
An excellent collection with great writing. Edgy, evocative, atomshpereic with fully developed character studies that are made even more fascinating by the fact that these are real people and events. The crime reporters explore the conjunction of everyday life and the many faces of pathology. Could not stop reading; can't wait for the next edition.

A Rare Gem In The Genre!
Although I'm a fan of true crime, most of the genre doesn't meet my standards. Too often I find that it focuses on the criminal and the macabre, gruesome, or sensational aspect of whatever story is being told and appeals to a certain prurience which I find distasteful. Often, the victims are forgotten or neglected in favor of the criminal, whose story may be more interesting or titillating. This remarkable collection, however, includes only well-told stories from respectable publications. Most of the 17 stories are riveting and will linger with you long after you've finished the book. These are true human interest stories which never ignore the real tragedies involved. Kudos to the editors for managing to find such quality stories. I can't wait for the next edition!

Excellent Book!!
This book is a wonderful read!! It contains 17 articles written in the past year by excellent journalists from various magazines such as: GQ, SPIN, THE NEW YORKER, ATLANTIC MONTHLY, ESQUIRE, VANITY FAIR and more. The variety makes it nice because you get to read different styles of writing by different authors on different subjects. The subjects too are a variety in range: "The Cheerleaders" focuses on a town in New York hit by tragedy after tragedy; "A Prayer For Tina Marie" is a wonderful article about a woman who murdered her two kids in an unthinkable way (much worse than Andrea Yates); "Flesh and Blood" is about the murder-for-hire by pro football player Rae Carruth... AND MUCH MORE!! With such quality of writing, you don't want to miss this book. I am really hoping that more of these will be published!!


Blood Echoes: The True Story of an Infamous Mass Murder and Its Aftermath
Published in Hardcover by E P Dutton (1992)
Author: Thomas H. Cook
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One of them was family
I thought the book was a wonderful recount of the happenings. One of the family, Aubrey Alday, was my uncle. He was married to my father's sister. The entire family was very friendly. I visited them several times when I was younger. I would go spend the night with my aunt and uncle sometimes. I just wish the men that killed them would get what is coming to them. They need to pay for what they did. They have no remorse.

Who I am and How I feel about this book.
Hello my name is Christina Hope Alday. I am 17 years old and i want to find out some infromation on the killings of these six people. You know like their past History and who they were related to. If anyone can help me please e-mail me at: dopey_31728@yahoo.com. I would really like to fing out this info.


Moon over Manhattan: Mystery and Mayhem
Published in Audio CD by New Millennium Audio (2003)
Authors: Larry King and Thomas H. Cook
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New York, New York...A Helluva Town...
As a born and bred New Yorker who now lives far away...my heart still belongs to my birthplace. Larry King and Tom Cook have truly written a valentine to the city I love so much. Wow! Larry King, Tom Cook and New York...three great ingredients...mix them togther and you get a fantastic read! I loved this book! After all the sturm und drang of these past few years, finally something I could laugh out loud at! It's not just light-hearted...it's really smart and timely too. And it's certainly not just for New Yorkers!

WHAT A SURPRISE!
THIS NOVEL COMBINES THE HUMOR OF "GET SHORTY" WITH THE KIND OF CHARACTERS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE DAMON RUNYON IN HIS HEYDAY.THIS BOOK IS AN INSTANT CLASSIC AND THE GREAT REVIEWS ARE WELL DESERVED.BRAVO,LARRY KING! BRAVO TOM COOKE!


Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues
Published in Paperback by Houghton Mifflin Co (1979)
Authors: Thomas D. Cook, Donald T. Campbell, and Thomas H. Cook
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Field Researchers' Bible
This is a "must-have" book for anyone engaged in field research or a student of field research methods. The approach is to maximize validity of research findings based on a number of considerations in the design of field research. Examines the pit-falls made by most new and inexperienced field researchers and evaluators. Before you conduct your next program evaluation, design an applied research study, or start to collect dissertation data, read this book!

Essential for Evaluation Research
"Quasi-Experimentation" carries on the work begun by Campbell and Stanley in "Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research." Beginning with a discussion of the positivist origins of science and evaluation research, it details a range of quasi-experimental approaches suitable to "real world" research, together with statistical techniques applicable to each. The book includes a realistic assessment of the barriers to randomization in natural settings, including the observation that true randomization is rarely used unless there is a marked power differential between the researcher and the subjects. The book is thoughtful, well-written, and invaluable.


Elena
Published in Hardcover by Houghton Mifflin Co (1986)
Author: Thomas H. Cook
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Elena Franklin--What a life she lived
Elena Franklin was born in Standhope, CT in 1910 and died of congestive heart failure at age 70. She was considered one of great minds of her time. Though her views were unpopular at times, she had the brains and the guts to stick by them and to admit it on those rare occasions when she was wrong. She had two great loves in her life, never had children and never married.

Elena Franklin never existed. She is a fictional character created by Thomas H. Cook. In this amazing book, Mr. Cook follows Elena from her birth to her death through her older brother's eyes. The premise is that Elena's biography has just been published but William, her brother, doesn't think it captures Elena's true essence, so he writes his own biography of Elena. A writer himself, he had long ago accepted the fact that his contribution to the world would merely be as a footnote in Elena's life. Elena wanted only to be true to her intelligence and at whatever cost. She realized that she missed out on passion and companionship, but she lived the life that she felt was necessary. And I think she died having peace of mind.

This is an incredible book. I was lucky enough to buy it when it was first published and this is one book that I will not lend to anyone. I've probably read ten times and I will be reading it again. It's a book to read when you are at a point in your life when you have to reassess your priorities and think about the life that you have lived. While it is not a fun book, it is ultimately uplifting.


Island Boy: An Autobiography
Published in Paperback by Institute of Pacific Studies (01 December, 1992)
Author: Thomas R. A. H. Davis
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Where there is a will there is a way. Great movie potential
This true life fascinating story, about a great man, is an inspiration to others, especially the young. It shows what one can accomplish with tremendous determination, perseverance, a creative mind, timing and an adventurous spirit.

Having known and worked with the author for many years, I can say first hand that this story would be enjoyable for the young, the old, the adventurous and politically minded. It is both educating and quite entertaining.

Read it!


Places in the Dark
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Bantam Books (27 February, 2001)
Author: Thomas H. Cook
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Heartless Places
Thomas H. Cook has proven to be a very accomplished author, giving us many chilling tales of past events haunting his characters in their present lives. "Places in the Dark" is another entry in Cook's psychodramas.

Unfortunately, this one doesn't have any "heart" in it. The story is interesting, but there is such gloom and pessimism throughout, that one knows the happy ending is not going to come. I also found the characters of Cal and Billy, while vastly intriguing, to be stereotypical and predictable.

Dora March is another character who displays so little soul, one has to wonder why either brother falls in love with her.

As we venture with Cal throughout the story to find out if Dora murdered Billy, we meet some interesting characters, but all of them are mainly depressing and heartless, too. Even the boys' parents behave in a rather ridiculous manner, never really dealing with why they got married if they were so different.

The ending is also one of Cook's weakest. It's like he threw it together because he didn't know who else to pin the "murder" on.

I like Cook, but this book is average fare, and certainly not up to Cook's Edgar-winning standards.

Why isn't this book #1 on every best sellers' list?

This is my first Thomas H. Cook novel, but it won't be my last. He has a real gift for getting to the heart of what matters and for telling a story in such a way as to pull the reader right into the middle of his beautiful tales!

In PLACES IN THE DARK, green-eyed Dora March arrives in a small town in Maine in the autumn of 1937, bringing with her a host of secrets and the air of seduction.

She works as a live-in caregiver for the town's richest man, and contrary to gossip, turns down the entire estate after the man dies.

She then begins to work for the town newspaper, entrancing the romantic young editor and confusing his older brother.

While the mystery of Dora and her past is central to the story, the book is actually about the two brothers and their different destinies. The story is reminiscent of 'A River Runs Through It' because, try as he might, the older brother cannot save his beloved sibling from his destiny.

I read this book in one sitting, and was completely blown away by the ending. It's that good.

What puzzles me is why the title isn't on every best seller list in the country.

Enjoy!

Places in the heart
Thomas Cook provides us with a story of two brothers in Places in the Dark. Cal and Billie love each other dearly but are vying for their mothers love .. It is the story of a dysfunctional family and mother who bestows love on one son but leaves the other son alone to be loved by her husband. Thomas Cook is a gifted writer who quickly hooks the reader into the story. We watch Cal and Billie grow up and find them competing for the love of a mysterious young woman, Dora March who drifts into the town of Port Alma, Maine in 1937.

As Cal searches for Dora who he believes has murdered his brother the reader is given the story little by little. Billie is presented as a reckless soul who follows his heart but is always flirting with disaster. Cal sees himself as his brother's protector. Cal is an aloof man who has learned to face life without the need for love.

It is a moving story of love and betrayal. As the tale unfolds we begin to learn more about Dora, but she always remains a shadow figure.

This is a recommended book for readers of mysteries and modern fiction


City When It Rains
Published in Audio Cassette by G K Hall Audio Books (1996)
Authors: Cooh, Thomas H. Cook, and Peter Whitman
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Not his best
This is my 11th book by Cook and it is very readable, but it is not his best book. It is very sad, considering that the main female died in the beginning and Corman spends the rest of the time trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. Add his personal situation plus the other people in his world and it is worthy of tears. I learned a lot about the underbelly of New York nightlife. But the more recent TC books are much more interesting and mysterious. PS I wish he would get another picture on his book jackets. He looks like a street person. But maybe that's what he wants to look like.

Cook's best book
Thomas Cook is most known for his small town mysteries-- except for a couple of books starring Atlanta cop Frank Clemons.

But this atmosphere drenched, big city noir is a perfect example of the genre. A free lance photographer is determined to solve the mystery of a beautiful woman who jumped from a high rise to her death. As he becomes obsessed with the case, he is determined to prove that she did not commit suicide.

The City When it Rains is to noir novels what "Laura" and "Vertigo" are to the movies. This is a masterful book about the risk of chasing a dream. About the balance of risking too much through negligence and of risking too little in the name of love.

Thomas Cook's popularity has risen with his terrific books like "Breakheart Hill" and "The Chatham School Affair." Someone should take that opportunity to reprint this, his finest work.


Flesh and Blood
Published in Hardcover by Putnam Pub Group (1989)
Author: Thomas H. Cook
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The victim is the story in this fine novel
"We are like the body, which needs all its parts to work. We are like the fingers of the hand." These were the early, impassioned words of the apparently soulless doyenne of the garment trade who is found murdered--and mutilated by the severing of her hand--in her sophisticated apartment. The case comes to Frank Clemons, as he anticipates: "He didn't know what he'd been waiting for but only that when it came, it would be wrapped in something else, that he wouldn't recognize it until, like a hand in the dark, it suddenly gripped him from behind." The wrapping turns out to be the garment trade itself, and the grip is the long, hidden past of a woman who appeared to have no past. Clemons' investigations lead him back into the lives of garment workers in the 30s, the world of women and men who "worked their fingers to the bone" and ultimately, to the continuing injustices done against workers in our own day. As always, Cook shows himself to be an extraordinarily fine writer, casually shedding incandescent images the way a welder's torch sheds sparks. His main character, Frank Clemons, is a man suffering from the deepest alienation. Grey is his color, night his time, dullness his tone of voice. He represents the determination to mourn truthfully for his own daughter, a suicide victim, and also for the victims of crimes he has solved in the past. There is integrity in his stance, as against his lover's determination to fuzz the edges of her own grief with material comforts and pastel colors. But one has to be grateful that Clemons picks up an exotic and witty sidekick in Farouk, whose fatalism is lifted by a certain joy in companionship and the human condition. If the novel has a flaw, it's that a host of characters cross the stage, do one stunningly informative turn, and then disappear, never to be seen again. To Cook's credit, he endows each with individuality, and the story strung together on this series of encounters is fascinating--even a little fantastic toward the end--but never outright unbelieveable. What remains most moving is the image of the victim as a young woman, speaking out in the cold, a defiant fist raised for justice. Cook's antihero does justice to her--brings all her life together, like the fingers of the hand.

Wonderful detective novel - Frank Clemens does it again!
Thomas H. Cook is an above the average mystery/detective author. His descriptions of environment, human emotions, and situations outdo most modern writers. This is one of his best novels centered around the main character who has appeared in his other novels: Frank Clemens, a former policeman from Georgia who is now in New York City functioning as a private detective. Frank Clemens, himself, is a unique star in that his personality is a dark, brooding one, with dominant and admirable traits of honesty, loyalty, and commitment. He demonstrates a deep desire and need to undestand and unfold the lives of the people he investigates, digging into the depths of their souls, and bringing to light their passions, weaknesses and strengths. In this novel, Clemens teams up with Farouk, who along with Frank investigate the murder of a garment industry worker who rose from sewing machine operator in the 30's to a major consultant in a firm upon her murder. Her murder is a little different in that her right hand has been severed at the wrist and is missing. Frank is hired by the head of the design company to find a next-of-kin for this woman, Hannah Karlsberg, who seems to have no past. What Frank and Farouk unravel is a long trail of murder, suicide, rape, corruption, revenge and forbidden love. An exciting book, I read it in 2 days, not being able to put it down. The ending is a "sure to grab you" twist you'd never figure out until the last few pages. Exceptional!!!


Early Graves: The Shocking True-Crime Story of the Youngest Woman Ever Sentenced to Death Row
Published in Paperback by Onyx Books (1992)
Author: Thomas H. Cook
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Things sure have changed since this book was published
I read this book because I saw a movie "Evidence of Blood" based on the Thomas H. Cook novel. I liked his writing style, so I read a few more of his books. Since Early Graves was published in 1990, Judith Neelly's death sentence was commuted after she was pardoned by the Alabama governor in the late 90s. I hope that means life in prison and not pardoned and released. These were two heinous crimes. This book is written very well, too bad I didn't read it sooner.

EARLY GRAVES
GOOD JOB ON COLLECTING FACTS & REVEALING EVIDENCE. THE AURTHUR DONE A GOOD JOB OF TELLING BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY. HE DID NOT SUGAR COAT THE HORRIFIC ACTS THAT WERE COMMITED. HE STATED THE TRUE IDENTITIES OF THE MURDERERS' GREAT JOB ON TRACKING FROM CITY TO CITY & STATE TO STATE & GIVING THE TRUE REGIONS THEY WERE IN.

i think it is unfair it's not only pike
I know chriats personally,i met her after she commited her crime.I have to honestly say the book does not include shadolla and tadaryl as it should.I don't condone what christa done but as a tax paying citizen I am paying for Tadaryl to live in prison and shadolla is free and it couls happen again with the knowledge that she has and has gotten away with it.thats what scares me the most.Christa is really a loving person..she made a terrible choice on jan 12,1995......but as you read the book tadaryl kept throwing colleen back and shadolla even states "you cant leave her like this" and christa says"shut-up i need to think i didnt mean for it to go this far".ive seen christa shave her head so cancer children would have a wig,now is that a monster?I think not.christa was too small to use the asphault as the court says.tadaryl had to do that part,,,,,and that part is what killed colleen.im very sorry for colleens death but now im sorry christa is dying.Ive heard her say a million times "all i ever wanted is love"now she's dying.the book itself is not as bad against her as intended if you read it with an open mind.it tells a lot but not all.the audio tape the book refers to could not be used in court because the audio worked not the video so she wasnt making fun of or reinacting the part she was being honest and told the police what happened where.she has a good heart and she's dying soon.Public please see her as a person and not a monster.she's the most caring person ive ever met in my life.thank you.please let her go out with dignity


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