Amy Barzach's true story of overcoming the terrible tragedy of the death of her 9 month old son is both heartwrenching and inspiring. Amy's son Johnathan is diagnosed with the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis at a young age. She manages to channel her grief into a project: playgrounds accessible to children of all abilities. Amy copes with her feelings by making a difference in the lives of countless children. This book is truly inspirational and should be on everyone's reading list.

The journey that Amy Barzach took from the diagnosis of her son, Jonathan, to his death at 9 months and thru the grief that followed is touching, beautiful and inspiring.
I give this book to friends who are experiencing a loss as a source of comfort, and a source of courage. Amy's story is told in such a way that all who read it can empathise with, and hopefully emulate, her ability to celebrate life.

I really enjoy reading Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger because of the many aspects of life it looks at. The story takes place in Odessa, Texas; a quiet desert town still segregated in 1988. The author traveled to this west Texas town to observe the people and write about them. Specifically he wanted to concentrate on their high school football team, the Permian Panthers. All the black people live in the poorer part of the town and have to go to a certain school until recently. The whites all live in the "better" part of town and attend a nicer high school. Even though these events happened only 15 years ago, segregation still has a tight hold on Odessa. The only time the town truly comes together was during the football games. Everyone goes to the games; it didn't matter whom you were, everybody who was anybody attended them. Living through the high school players and show immense support for both black and white players. The story takes the reader through personal stories, injuries, wins, losses, and the history of Odessa. No one person takes on the role of main character, the whole team and the townspeople assume it together. The book takes a little while to get started due to the prologue, long recollection of the town's background and long preseason description. Once past this I fell in love with this book because as far as sports go, football is the best and racial issues, intrigue me. Any readers who enjoy sports or the events in an up and down town ruled by the oil business, should read this book.

H.G. Bissinger's great account of one year in the life of the Permian Panthers football team in Odessa, TX. Odessa provided the perfect setting for him to explore a complex set of issues including race, exploitation, community pride, etc., but most of all to examine the centrality of high school sports in the life of a town. Now we were in Texas when oil prices were booming and everyone was rolling in it, but by the time Bissinger, a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist, got there in 1988, the boom had gone bust and west Texas faced a genuine economic crisis, which only added to the social pressures that he addresses in the book.

The book focuses on a couple of key contradictions: (1) the vaulting ambition and unrealistic dreams of the athletes as opposed to the harsh reality that awaits them; (2) the relative innocence of these kids as opposed to the really cynical and exploitative manipulation of them by coaches, parents, boosters, college recruiters, etc.; and (3) the dependence of the athletic programs in such places upon black athletes, despite cultural racism which does not acknowledge their value as full human beings. Bissinger intertwines all these threads with the very real community pride and unity that the program brings to a city that is in dire straits. The end product is a truly great book, not only one of the only great football books ever written, but one that rises far beyond the gridiron to illuminate the problems of school boy athletics in America.

So this review originally ended here, but then I found a couple of delightfully ironic items while looking for links. First, there's the article below, Author Cancels Trip After Threats in Texas, about how Bissinger was getting death threats so he had to skip Odessa on his book tour. Way to show the world that the author's wrong and you don't take football too seriously. Then I found an essay by a University of Minnesota student on the book. The student's name? Bobby Jackson. Yes, the same Bobby Jackson from their great NCAA Final Four basketball team of several years ago. My interest piqued, I read further. The essay was posted by the Minnesota Pioneer Planet, as part of their series on the academic scandals that rocked that basketball program, as an example of the classroom work that Golden Gopher players turned in but which was actually done by a supposed tutor. What can have run through the writer's mind as she wrote about the unhealthy emphasis placed on sports, to the exclusion of all other concerns in the students' lives? Obviously, the concerns that Bissinger addressed in Friday Night Lights remain just as topical and timely ten years later.

GRADE: A+

Friday Night Lights is not just another book for SPORTS LOVERS. This novel written by Bissinger is so much more. Behind the sweat and blood of this high school football team lies the brutal facts of Odessa, Texas. Sure the book gives a play by play look into life on the football field but it also an eyeopener to many other important issues. For example, the economic status of the town, the social values of the people, racism and prejucies of the town, and the real truth about high school education for athletes. This novel revolves around much more than a pigskin and tells no more than the truth about the same issues that have become problems for every "old-fashioned" town in America.

Mystery Street contains 14 stories from members of the Private Eye Writers of America, with both male and female Private Eyes working cases all across the U.S. Personal favorites include Jack Bludis' "New Guy on the Block" and Percy Spurlark Parker's "Murder Boulevard." The single best story in the collection, a dark and emotional tale about a father's search for his missing son, is Tom Sweeney's"Last Kiss."

Good stories here. From the first to the last, and all of those in between.

It's good that we can still find private-eye and noir fiction someplace.

Elvis Cole, private investigator, was tasked by a famous director, Peter, to find his ex-wife and son. A seemingly simple assignment soon turned out to be mission impossible. After locating Karen and Toby, Elvis soon uncovered that the former was owned by the mafia, who would not be at all happy with the interference of Elvis and his partner, Joe Pike. Being his usual righteous self, Elvis could not sit back and see Karen's life destroyed by the mob. However, could he and Joe take on the mafia, save Karen from its clutches, and escape unscathed?

Like all other Robert Crais' books, it had the compelling power which made it impossible for me to put the book down. I have always believed that for a book to be likeable, we must like the characters in the book and really feel for them. This is precisely the reason which I enjoy this book so much. I was rooting for Elvis and Joe all the way as I followed the story which simply took my breath away.

Elvis Cole, "the world's greatest detective", is hired by Hollywood director Peter Alan Nelson to find his ex-wife, Karen, and son, Toby. His search takes him to small-town Connecticut where, once he finds Karen and her son, finds himself in the middle of problems involving the Mafia.

Pithy comment follows dry-witted humour in another very enjoyable detective story with the irrepressible Elvis Cole in control. For the first two chapters I found that I was chuckling to myself at least once per page as Elvis met the self-centered, big-shot director client, Peter Alan Nelsen. Although the humour doesn't continue at this pace, a light-hearted feel is maintained throughout the whole book. If you like your detective stories slightly on the humorous side with just a little bit of danger thrown in for spice, then this book (and all the Elvis Cole books) are just perfect.

Although this book is part of an ongoing series, it isn't really necessary to read it in the order that it was written. While the main characters are the same (Elvis and Joe Pike), previous plots aren't divulged.

This is the third book I have read by Robert Crais in the Elvis Cole series. Trying to read them in order. I think this is the best one so far. Elvis and Joe Pike are great together. Still wonder if Spencer and Hawk could take them but think it would be a pretty close match. Elvis is hired to find the son of Peter Alan Nelsen. He had left him and his wife years ago. Elvis finds them but they now have mob connections and the mob does not want to give the wife up. Elvis and Joe then take on the mob. Coles fast mind and quick wit get him into and out of trouble. Pike is always around someehere. You may not see him but he is there. A very good mystery and Crais holds you attention. I found myself nearly skipping pages to find out what happened next. IF you like a good fast paced book you will like this one.

After sending Elvis Cole to the East Coast in third installment of the series, Robert Crais keeps it in L.A. for the fourth installment, Free Fall. Elvis and his partner Joe Pike try to weed out corruption in the L.A. Police Department. They are approached by a young woman who thinks her police officer finance is involved is less than scrupulous activities. We know that Pike was a one-time L.A. cop and we learn a little bit more about his time on the force. What we discover is that he didn't leave on the best of terms and the mention of his name still rankles some of the men in blue. Free Fall loses some momentum in terms of the plot, but Mr. Crais is more interested in peeling back some of Joe Pike's layers and exposing more of his skin (an area that will be further explored in future releases). As usual, Mr. Crais spikes his plots with liberal doses of humor and comes up with yet another winner

I was turned onto Robert Crais by my Doctor who knew I was a big fan of mystery writer Michael Connelly. Like Connelly's character Harry Bosch, Crais has created a tough wise cracking LA detective named Elvis Cole. Woman want him. Men want to be him. My suggestion if you've never read him, is to start at the beginning with "The Monkey's Raincoat" and work your way through all of them. One of the greatest things about Crais' novels is Elvis' partner Joe Pike. An aviator glasses wearing silent but deadly killing machine. Think Dirty Harry with a drier sense of humor. In reference to "Free Fall", I always feel like knowing less is more when telling the plot of a mystery. The basic gist is an attractive woman shows up at Cole's office to ask him to investigate what's going on with her boyfriend who's an L.A.P.D. Officer who's been hiding something from her. He claims it's an affair. She thinks it's something deeper. Crap hits the fan, and you'll be off turning pages faster than you thought possible. Great characters, great plot twists, great writing. Long live Elvis & Robert Crais!

Robert Crais has proven again and again that he can keep us on the edge of our seats, and yet at the same time laughing our butts off, to be polite. "Free Fall" is a perfect example of that. It is an installment in the "Elvis Cole Series", but you do not have to have read any of the previous novels to read this one: I didn't. I've read other Cole novels, but they've been written after this one.
Anyway, this novel takes place in Los Angeles. It finds Elvis Cole sitting in his office, just another normal day. In walks an innocent looking young woman named Jenifer Sheridan. She tells Cole that she has a problem: She thinks her fiancee, Mark Thurman, is involved in something illegal. Willingly, unwillingly? It is Cole's task to find out the answer, and just what exactly Thurman is up to. Could it be another woman? Or is it something much worse, something much deadlier?
Cole and his partner, Joe Pike, find themselves up against rogue cops, South-side gangsters, and a haunting mystery. Oh, yeah: They're also wanted by the cops for murder.
Only Crais could weave a novel this complicated and powerful. You'll be loving every minute of "Free Fall", I promise you. I would know: I've been there.

The return of Elvis Cole is well worth the wait. Robert Crais moves Elvis right into action during the first chapter. He is caring for his girlfriend's son and in just one moment the boy disappears. The ensuing search for the boy centers upon's Elvis's Vietnam memories, and a box hidden in his closet that contains medals and pictures. This is not a mystery solved easily- lots of turns and tangles. Old nemesis and the return of Carol Stanger from a previous novel keep this storyline fresh and right on the edge of your seat. Action and deep thought are all a part of the story. Elvis digs deep to keep his relationship with the boy's mom on an even keel, but this may be
the last chance that won't work out. The return of Det. Stanger
gives us renewed hope that she will be part of Elvis Cole's next
case and maybe a new romance...

Private investigator Elvis Cole and his longtime girlfriend Lucy Chenier are having a tough time making their relationship work. Lucy left her life in Louisiana to be with Elvis in Los Angeles even though she knew the transition would be a hard one, especially for her ten year-old son Ben, but she never dreamed the violence of the city would touch her.

While Lucy is away on business, Elvis is left in charge of Ben, and after a week of quality bonding time, Ben disappears without a trace. Confused as to what has happened, Elvis believes the boy ran away, until a mysterious phone call explains a much more sinister scenario...

The caller states that he has the boy and it's payback for what Elvis has done.

Now with the help of his partner Joe Pike and LAPD Detective Carol Starkey, Elvis must race the clock to save Ben and the key to doing this is a long buried secret from his past.

The highly anticipated 'The Last Detective' is easily the best novel yet from Robert Crais, and that's saying a lot! From page one I was held captive by the gripping plot, well drawn characters and shocking twists. Readers of the previous Cole novels will see this as his best outing, and fans of 'Demolition Angel' will welcome the appearance of Carol Starkey.

Robert Crais is one of our finest writers of suspense fiction, and with each new novel he gets better and better. With a writing style that is sharp and smooth, pacing that is pitch perfect and plots so tight and suspenseful, Crais creates novels that are intense reading experiences.

Expect to see 'The Last Detective' on all the bestseller lists. This truly is a MUST read page-turner, one that I finished in one sitting.

Nick Gonnella

It was worth the four-year wait for Elvis Cole to return in "The Last Detective" by Robert Crais. I read it in less than 24 hours.

The plot catapults at a relentless pace. Down-to-earth, practical detective work is what solves the crime in this ticking clock child kidnapping. Since the child is the son of Elvis Cole's girl friend, the hunt is both personal and professional'and therefore all the more chilling,

The point of view switches between the characters (Elvis is in the first person) and is smooth as silk and most engaging.

The reader learns the clues as they unfold for Elvis, going thru the stages of frustration to hope to possibility to solution with Elvis and his archangel Joe Pike.

The supporting cast, especially Carol Starkey (from "Demolition Angel") is outstanding.

We learn a lot of Elvis' past via flashbacks that propel the plot. The scene from his Vietnam days is as intense as any I have read.

It is a compelling novel that truly showcases depth of Robert Crais as a writer.

Highly recommended.

No wasted words in this one. Crais grabs you by the throat in the first chapter, setting the stage with a hostage incident that went awry years earlier, and leading to Jeff Talley's voluntary retirement from the LAPD SWAT team to Chief of Police in a quiet southern California town. When a convenience store robbery in Talley's town goes bad, a new hostage situation develops, and a reluctant Talley is drawn back in to the fray.

While Crais' strength is tight plot development and rapid-fire action that keeps the pages turning, "Hostage" is also rich in character development. Talley, haunted by the bad decision that forced him from LA, is vulnerable but likeable, and believable in his flaws and foibles. Mars, one of the young punks central to the hostage situation, while perhaps predictable, is ominous and threatening in his sullen silence: a younger version of the big blond psycho thug in "Fargo" comes to mind. A family held hostage, the FBI, organized crime, small town cops: it all comes together and works much more successfully than any of the more popular suspense novels on the shelves today.

I found "Hostage" nearly impossible to put down. The central plot was expertly woven with a number of parallel sub-plots; the dialogue tight and realistic. Crais succeeds again in demonstrating why he is one of today's premier writers of the genre. Don't miss it!

Do yourself a tremendous favor. If you already read the editorial reviews, sit the book aside, read something else and let the comments fade in your memory. Skip the dust jacket synopsis, it tells you more than, ultimately, you would have preferred to know. If you are a fan of Robert Crais' books, trust your instincts that he normally crafts a pretty good thriller and just pick the book. If this author is new to you, take a chance. It reads so quickly you have little time at risk. Generally speaking, an author does not reach mass market best seller status in this crowded genre without a significant amount of writing skill.

As with DEMOLITION ANGEL's Carol Starkey, the protagonist is a troubled soul seeking an escape route from job related stresses. Starkey wallowed in self-pity predicated on personal loss. Jeff Talley, the lead character in this book has a despondency based on prior failures to protect the security of others, although the standards he established may have been impossible to achieve. A confluence of circumstances forces him to back into the quagmire, under conditions in the worst of his nightmares, he could not have imagined.

The book is captivating, I couldn't put it down. Crais methodically reveals layer after layer of contingencies, pulling you deeper into the story, your concerns for the characters escalating page after page. Some of the characterizations could have been stronger, however, in this web of intrigue there are even antagonists who evoke sympathetic response.

Only will you be disappointed if you knew too much, much too soon.

This book doesn't even take time to warm up...it is white hot from page one. I started on a Saturday and finished the next evening.

"Hostage" ensnares you as a reader...and you cannot stop reading. Neither can you stop guessing who is part of the double and triple crosses that stalk the protagonist( Jeff Talley).

It's one crisis after another...each brought to conclusion in a believable fashion. Quick time decision making, who to trust, who to doubt, when to go against the book, when to take the daring chance...carry the experienced former LA SWAT leader thru an intense twenty-four hours.

The villains are particularly unlikable...and you know that there are a lot like them out there. These miscreants are very real. Mr. Crais fully develops them, and they are to be feared.

Talley gets help from a least likely ally...one of the hostages, a ten year old boy (Thomas) who rises to the occasion. Thomas shows the boundaries one can push in a life and death situation.

I cannot say if this is Mr. Crais' finest effort or not. His writing is that good. I have gotten so much pleasure from his body of work, and was thrilled to have a new one by him. I do think it is as good as anything I have read this year. I rank "Hostage" up there with Michael Connelly's "A Darkness More Than Night", Harlan Coben's "Tell No One" and Dennis Lehane's "Mystic River" from this year's releases thus far.

This could be a great movie, but don't know if I see Bruce Willis as Jeff Talley. It could just as easily be a case where the book is far better than the movie.

In either case I am glad I read the book. I will read it again.

Demolition Angel is very well written and will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout most of this dark thriller. As to the plot, Crais demonstrates his ability to introduce bombshell after bombshell that, at least figuratively, will "blow you away." Crais also creates very strong, credible and interesting characters. Carol Starkey, the main character, while not always very likable, is one of the more powerful and multi-dimensional female protagonists I've come across in quite some time. In many ways she reminds me of Clarice Starling. Further, I guarantee you won't be able to forget "Mr. Red." While I rated Demolition Angel 4 stars, I would have liked to be able to give it 4 1/2 stars. It just falls short of a 5-star rating, due to its dragging very slightly in some sections. Demolition Angel is one of the better thrillers I've read in at least the past six months, and is one I'd definitely recommend that you include near the top of your reading list. Enjoy!

Anyone who has ever watched technicians disarming a bomb on television has probably felt gripping tension and possibly even fear. Few do not empathize with those brave people who approach bombs to make life safer for all of us. Demolition Angel is an intense exploration of the emotions and perspectives of those on the bomb squads and the warped people who make and plant these bombs. Robert Crais has succeeded in taking the reader inside the heads of those who live in a world that we would not otherwise enter and understand. Unfortunately, the book wallows in a crudity that will make you feel dirty by the time you finish reading it. I'm not sure that all of this crudity and ugliness was necessary to tell the story, and have graded the book down accordingly.

The book centers around Carol Starkey who is now a Detective-2 with the L.A.P.D.'s Criminal Conspiracy Section, who investigates bombings. Three years earlier she had been on the bomb squad. While defusing a bomb, she was severely injured and lost the man she loved. She has been trying to keep her life together since then, but has just been keeping her head above water. She smokes like a chimney, is drunk most of the time, and lives in a filthy house with no groceries. Her main connection to other people is through her shrink.

At this moment, a new explosion takes another bomb technician's life, and Starkey is in charge of the investigation. Soon, she is jockeying to keep the ATF from taking the case away from her. All the clues point to the bomber being a maniac who calls himself, Mr. Red.

The story is told from Carol Starkey's perspective and from that of the bombers you will meet in the story. The interactions are especially revealing.

The book contains a good mystery, and you will enjoy it. The character development is the thing. I was impressed that Mr. Crais could handle those who are permanently damaged by the evil and the misfortune they encounter so well. In L.A. Requiem, the evil was sublimated into incredible goodness in Joe Pike. This book is more realistic, I think.

After you finish enjoying the suspense, I suggest that you think about others who do dangerous jobs. What might their motives be? What benefits do they gain from doing their work? Why do they see the danger as worthwhile?

Challenge yourself to accomplish more than you think you can . . . and in ways that develop your character and your connection to others!

Unplug the phone. Call in sick for work or school. Once you start this awesome new novel, you won't be able to put it down!

Robert Crais is a master at creating believable characters and delivering a white-knuckle ride of suspense. Readers of his Elvis Cole novels already know this. Demolition Angel is his first stand alone book and it's an amazing novel.

Carol Starkey was horribly scarred and her lover was killed in a bombing. A few years later, Carol is tough as nails and determined to overcome her troubles. Pulled into an investigation of another bomb tech who was blown away, she has to face down all her old fears to stop a serial bomber who takes pride in killing bomb-techs. With fully realized characters and blistering conflict, Demolition Angel takes you inside the world of the bomb squad. Wait until you meet Mr. Red, the bomber who wants to be on the FBI's Most Wanted list.

This is a brilliant novel. Even while Crais gets your heart racing, he manages to explore a great many emotional truths along the way. The depth of emotion heightens the suspense. I read this book in one sitting. Robert Crais has outdone himself with this one.

Don't miss it!