This is the first of John Shannon's Jack Liffey mysteries I've read, though I see it's the fourth book in the series. It gave me a fascinating glimpse into the Vietnamese community of Orange County, LA, as well as introducing me to a central character I immediately want to more about. Jack Liffey is no super-hero, but a decent sort of guy trying to do his best in a crazy world (and some aspects of Liffey's LA are definitely crazy!). John Shannon is a great writer who keeps the reader interested throughout, and I can't understand why he isn't much better known. 'The Orange Curtain' is highly recommended.

The Orange Curtain was my introduction to John Shannon. I am now going to read the previous titles. Here is a writer with remarkable skills, both in narrative and in characterization. As well, his hero Jack Liffey is a man of such thoughtful intelligence that he stands well above the usual macho-jock types who play leading roles in so many series. The creation of Billy Gudger is something rare: a fully rounded view of loneliness personified and of how cruelty and isolation can shape a killer. Unlike the two-dimensional bad guys with incoherent rationales who kill people from some warped sense of personal satisfaction, Shannon has, in Gudger, drawn a portrait of a sad, even forgivable, young man with no social skills, and a deep and terrible thirst for knowledge and for friendship. It is to the author's credit that the exchanges between Liffey and Gudger are sadly revealing of the souls of both men; and the final section of the book is a fine example of how tension can be tightened, then tightened some more, then more, before something finally snaps.

Here is an author to watch; he is an extraordinary writer, with insight, wisdom, and great feeling for his characters.

Jack Liffey finds missing children and, in THE ORANGE CURTAIN, he must look into the strange (to him at least) culture of Orange County (formerly a bedroom community to Los Angeles but now a major center in its own right). The Orange County culture he investigates includes the ultra-rich, Vietnamese merchants and gangs, and an insane young man who flirts with genius.

It is the characters that make THE ORANGE CURTAIN stand out although certainly author John Shannon handles adventure well enough (with both physical and psychological challenges to Liffey). Both Liffey and insane Billy Gudger have their own challenges in dealing with others, rendering Liffey the one man who may be able to communicate effectively with Billy.

Shannon's touch for characters also applies to minor characters. Liffey's daughter Maeve, for example, is a delightful 13 going on 30.

THE ORANGE CURTAIN is less a mystery to be solved than it is a set of observations into human nature, the intermingled but distinct societies of Southern California, and the challenges a man must face to stand himself in the morning. Does that sound heavy? In this case, it isn't. The novel is a fast read with several great a-ha moments.

Highly Recommended.

The Iron Curtain over America by John Beaty. Originally published in 1951, scholar and WWII intelligence officer Beaty's classic diagnoses America's condition in mid-century and finds our land threatened by the cancerous growth of Communist and Zionist subversion and control. The extraordinarily well-informed and courageous Beaty was one of the first Americans to breach the Iron Curtain of silence guarding the Holocaust hoax and the Middle East mess, and to call (in vain) for Americans to clean out the Augean stables of New York, Washington, and Hollywood. A revisionist classic.

Boy, I love these types of books. Printed in the height of the Cold War, Beaty sees just about every Democratic leader as a stooge for Communism, and every Republican leader as the last line of defense against the gathering Red hordes. Hilarious! In its defense, there is some good information on the frustration that President Truman had as the Chinese revolution was taking form.

That said, this book was most certainly a John Birch Society pick of the week, right along with the dangers of fluoridation, integration, and secret radio waves emitting from televisions which transmit signals from Joseph Stalin.

Read this to understand the thinking of the early extreme Right Wing, which today feels at home with the likes of Pat Buchanan, etc.

The Iron Curtain Over America" is a most pertinent and excellently presented treatise on the cancer on our national set-up. "I hope this book has had, and will have, the widest possible dissemination, particularly to our leaders-in Washington, and in industry and the press, -- and that our leaders who are "uncontaminated" will have their serious attention engaged by it.

At a country house gathering, five guests are chosen by a brilliant scientist to take part in a shocking experiment which will let them glimpse one year into the future. However, when the experiment takes place, two of the guests see their own obituaries in The Times newspaper, one year hence. Will they be able to change their destinies? Read this book and find out!

Curtain: Poirot's last case

Poirot's last case was written by Agatha Christie (1891-1976) in the 1940's. She's one of the worlds most read criminal authors, known as the queen of crime. She's written lots of detective stories and she's also used another name Mary Westmacott, under which she wrote six romantic novels.

Poirot's last case takeS place at a small hotel called Styles, out In the countryside of England not too far away from London among people from the upper middle-class. Captain Hastings receives a letter from an old friend Hercules Poirot, a detective who has worked together with Hastings many times earlier. In the letter he urges Hasting to come to the hotel where they once met for the first time the Styles, because there is to be a murder. Lot's of things happen during the time when they try to solve the murder.

All the people living at the hotel for the moment are somewhat involved in the matter of the murder. Hercules Poirot is a person that you never really get hold of during the story. He's described as a crippled old man and, even though he's old and can not walk, he still has his brain working. He's much more on the ball then you first think.

Captain Hasting is a man that really appreciates seeing his old friend again but gets really confused sometimes and also he does believe in what every person says. I never get the feeling that he dislikes people, only one because he dislikes that mans manors. He seems to be quite naive and very trusting as his friend describes him.

Other people are The Franklins, The Luttrells who are the owners of the hotel, Mr. Norton, Judith the captain's daughter, Boyd Carrington and Miss Cole. All are living at the hotel for one or another reason.

The story is well written. You quickly get in to it but it's not that you can say what's going to happen. After half the book you will go on reading until the end because you want to know who the murderer is. That's where Agatha Christie shows what a good writer she is. She leaves you clues but it's only that we think we know who has done it, which in the end turns out to be completely wrong.

The language she uses is fairly easy to understand. There are some words I did not know such as scientific words and some descriptive words. But the book is easy to read. The chapters are divided up well and you don't lose the line through out the story.

I liked this book, it caught my interest quickly which for me is important. And it's an exciting story that holds your interest until the end. This was the first novel I read by Agatha Christie but I'll indeed read more of her. I would recommend her.

I have been reading Agatha Christie and especially Poirot for last 10 years. After reading nearly 30 novels, Poirot had been a part of life. And the feeling of not seeing or hearing Poirot any more felt as if I have lost a close friend. I never knew Agatha Christie could bring so much of emotion.

I'll rate this novel the third best I have read only after Murder of Roger Ackryod and Murder on Orient Express. I finished the novel last night and found it hard to sleep after that. Its too good.

Finally we saw the perfect murderer, who did not do anything to be found guilty of murder. The flow was smooth and being the last case of Poirot, you are tempted to suspect everybody in it. In fact this novel should be read after you have read a substantial number of Agatha Christies. Hastings keeps on giving references to past cases.

In one sentence I can sum it up as it was a wonderful and nostalgic experience going through the pages. A MUST READ.

If you don't already know it, this is Poirot's last case.

I came across this book after I had read MANY other Poirot's cases and I was familiar with the surroundings. Lady Agatha takes us back to Styles Court, where we first met the little Belgian man with the egg shaped head. And so, the circle is closed.

This is, in my opinion, the most mature of Christie's stories. Poirot faces the ultimate assassin: an individual capable of the perfect crime. He understands his methods, but also finds it impossible to intervene. And so he takes the matter on to his own hands, although knowing that no crime can go unpunished.

Maybe the essence of the book is in the last few lines, hidden by a mark on a man's forehead. Don't miss it.