Taylor Holdman has some unwanted visitors: His wife and daughter who were murdered by a psychopath three years ago, are appearing before him at work and on the street, still bleeding from their wounds and trying to communicate with him. Only Taylor can see them and his sanity is beginning to unravel. "He's killing again, Daddy" his daughter tells him. Marilyn Briggs, a shy medium, is also experiencing these manifestations. Together, the two of them reach out to the otherside and find a legion of victims seeking revenge on the serial killer who took their lives. But the killer knows he's being watched and something dark and evil is protecting him and the body count is rising... This is an outstanding horror thriller from an underappreciated author. Stephen R. George is a fantastic storyteller and knows what horror fans want. Highly recommended, along with three others of his novels: NIGHTSCAPE, BLOODY VALENTINE, and DARK REUNION.

A perusal of current media in print, radio and television reinforces the observation that we are living in a time when the cultures of the Middle East are portrayed as ideologically opposed to the West. At the core of our alleged differences is the role of Islamic fundamentalism with its hegemonic determination to dominate cultures both in the Middle East and abroad. Such views are not new. The "clash of civilizations" theory of Samuel Huntington had already proposed and popularized this understanding in the mid-1990s. At a time when this perspective is gaining momentum, it is helpful to seek a corrective to a myopic understanding of Islam that often accompanies Huntington's theory; namely, that Islam is nothing more than Wahhabism. Moreover, a historical reexamination of Christianity's own understanding of God can be beneficial for "Westerners" who tend to understand their own religious heritage typically through modern Protestant lenses, which often leads to the positing of false dichotomies between Islam and Christianity, seeing them as mutually exclusive with no common ground. By reconsidering the mystical theologies of each religion it can be shown that a fundamental convergence occurs in the mystical thought and experience of each tradition. In particular, this inner commonality can form the basis of a deeper conversation between Christians and Muslims than has been typical in our day, aiding in a clearer mutual understanding of the similarities that exist between the fundamental religious traditions of our cultures. To this end, Paths To The Heart is an excellent beginning.

As Thomas Merton said in his Conjectures:
"Le point vierge is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see the billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely...I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere."

May we seek the gate of heaven everywhere.

Compiled and edited by James S. Cutsinger (Professor of Theology and Religious Thought, University of South Carolina), Paths To The Heart: Sufism And The Christian East is an informed and informative study of the common threads and traits shared between the traditions of the Christian East and Islamic Sufism. A valued and highly recommended anthology of essays by a series of learned and erudite authors contemplating a lasting dialogue and connection between Christianity and Islam, Paths To The Heart compares saints, gateways to the heart, remembrances of God, and much more as seen by religions with so much more in common than is usually acknowledged by their practitioners.

This is a quaint story about a pair of middle aged (50ish) cousins who like to poke their noses where the police should be involved. It is written in an old fashioned, innocent style, suitable for juveniles as well as little old ladies. I have never read a Daheim book before. It kind of reminded me of Jessica Fletcher on "Murder She Wrote." There were plenty of inter-related characters and lots of suspects. The end was pleasantly surprising, but some of the loose ends were never tied well. The book was OK, but I would rather stick with other mystery writers.

Judith Flynn's cousin, Renie, talks her into going on a "murder tour" of their city. Judith is surprised and incensed when she finds out that the first stop is her own bed-and-breakfast where, indeed, there have been previous murders. The next stop is the Alhambra Arms, an old apartment complex which is being converted to condominiums. A 40-year-old corpse, which had been buried behind a wall, had recently been discovered. In order to encourage sales and satisfy those concerned about lingering spirits, an exorcist is brought in....the mystery deepens. Judith is convinced...two murders are related so she launches her own "unofficial" investigation, much to the disgust of husband Joe who is a private detective....Another enjoyable "cozy" from author Daheim.

In this mystery Judith and Renie take a murder mystery tour of their neighborhood. It is no surprise to the reader that Judith's bed and breakfast is featured, but Judith is furious at the lurid description of her home and rushes to confront the tour operator at the next stop. She follows him upstairs to the second floor of an historic apartment complex and finds the featured entertainment, an exorcist, dead of a gunshot wound.

This is a fast moving and entertaining mystery, the characters are very quirky, and there are red herrings aplenty. I find myself looking forward to the next one.

When Crystal Bird begins publishing a newspaper called Crystal Clear and launches personal attacks on Emma Lord, Emma is understandably upset. The Alpine Advocate editor goes to talk to Crystal, but doesn't seem to make much of an impact. After she leaves, Crystal is found dead in her hot tub. Early speculation is that it is suicide but Sheriff Milo Dodge discovers that homocide is more likely. Suspicion falls on Emma, and she begins to investigate the murder in self-defense. This "cozy" contains the usual high jinks by Emma's newspaper staff and the interrelationships of Alpine which are only discernible by Emma's sidekick, Vida. This is another good Emma Lord Mystery.

I love this series by Mary Daheim. Whenever a new Alpine book comes out, I make sure I clear my schedule and set aside time for just reading, as if setting aside time for a visit from old and dear friends. I'm not in agreement with who Emma chooses as her "man", but it's something I just have to accept and hope she'll get smart and forget about him. I look forward for future books with Milo, Vida, Leo, Emma and the wonderful town of Alpine. I would highly recommend this book.

I just love the setting of these books, the characters come alive on each page. The mystery is pretty easy to figure out, but that does not detract from the overall warmth and coziness of the book.

This is the First book i have read by Mary Daheim. She is a Good author who makes very good charecter development but she should focus more on the plot and the mystery. I am not a person to give awayt the story or to tell you parts i like and dislikes because that will be something that you will have to decide for yourself. I will continue to read more of her books but i hope her others are a lot more exciting and with alot more twist and turns!!

This is one of the earlier books in the series. Judith is getting ready for Easter on the Hill. The annual SOTS Easter Egg Hunt is Easter Saturday, so Judith brings some of Gertrude's famous potato salad to the event. Neighbor Wilbur Paine is the Easter Bunny. Judith thought that all had gone pretty well, until she is informed that one of her neighbors, who had just received a big inheritance, was stabbed to death in the nursery. Joe asks for her help and she of course can't say no.

This is one of the best books in the series. Judith and Renie's attempts to investigate are hilarious, as are their neighbors and family. Every time I pick up one of Daheim's books I hope for one like this but unfortunately, the later ones are less and less funny and more silly. I hope to find more like this one.

Judith McMonigle does the catering for a church brunch and Easter egg hunt. During the course of the morning she spots someone in a rabbit suit exiting the church in a hurry. Later, it is discovered that a murder has taken place and the rabbit suit is covered with the victim's blood. Judith knows who was orginally in the suit, but does not know if someone else stole the suit before commiting the murder. The murder victim is discovered to have a surprising secret and this leads Judith to try to solve the mystery, despite crossing paths with her ex-fiance, Joe Flynn. This is an entertaining "cozy" and it takes many twists and turns before the murderer is revealed.

In this book, part of the Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery series, Judith and her cousin Renie take a break to go to their old family cottage. While there they visit their neighbor Riley, who is a renowned artist. Shortly after their visit, he is killed and is found lying in tempera paint. There are a lot of neighbors who are possible suspects along with girlfriends, a crooked agent, and clients who have purchased Riley's paintings. One of the most delightful characters is Abbot N. Costello, a neighborhood police investigator who couldn't solve a crime if the perpretrator gave himself up. As usual, Judith comes up with the answer to the crime and she comes close to being killed herself before the murderer is brought to justice. Is it just me or does Judith spend more time with her cousin than with her new husband? It's hard to believe that she's as crazy about him as she claims and yet spends so much time away from him.

Renie and Judith plan on spending a weekend at the Grover family's rustic cabin. Alot of maintenance is needed, and the girls are looking forward to spending time at a place where there are many fond childhood memories. While going for water, they visit with a neighbor, the famous artist, Riley Tobias. Soon after they leave, Tobias is found strangled. Renie and Judith now have to add another task to their weekend, finding a murderer. The characters in this mystery are very well drawn and colorful. The mystery was easy to solve, but I had such a good time reading it, I didn't care.

Once again Renie and Judith have hit the road, this time to a familiar family cabin (mentioned in earlier episodes.) As usual, the women get more than they counted on, with a parade of personalities as subtly blending in to the rural locale as the blue-greens of a fine Monet.Following this mystery was enjoyable, a journey I look forward to taking with Ms Daheim again.

Out of the 4 books I have read so far from Mary Daheim, this one is the best. It has a little bit of everything: humor, suspense, romance, family secrets galore and a good mystery to boot. The two main characters in the story (and in this series) are cousins Judith and Renie, whose witty banter back and forth keep the story flowing well. Just a warning, though - Mary Daheim is a good mystery writer who likes to have a lot of murder suspects in each book, so pay attention as new characters are introduced into the story!

My one beef with this book is an unrelated scene where Renie flips off an evangelical Christian woman after a brief exchange back at the B-and-B. How in the world this adds to the story is beyond me. It left a bad taste in my mouth for an otherwise very enjoyable and funny book.

For other good mysteries with zany characters, I also recommend Charlotte Macleod's "Peter Shandy" series and Dolores Johnson's "Mandy Dyer" series.

Judith Flynn and her cousin Renie are asked to watch over a wealthy, elderly woman who suspects that someone wants to murder her. She lives in a mansion called Creepers where she is surrounded by a dysfunctional family who seem to have some very good motives for murder. A terrible family secret is carefully guarded but Judith and her intrepid cousin finally figure out the culprit--and the secret. Another entertaining "cozy" from reliable author Mary Daheim.

This is a cute story in the classic cozy tradition. A wealthy old lady believes one of her relatives is trying to kill her. Enter onto the scene Judith and her cousin who stay at the woman's estate to unravel the plot. Just about everyone has a motive, but what is more shocking is the dark family secret that Judith uncovers. A delightful read.

This book is craip! a waste of money.

Don't get this as a beginner's book - you'll be lost in the first example! Instead, think of this as fodder for your next work of art AFTER you have a handle on the basics. I got several great tips that created ideas that I was able to implement on my own. Great complement to the Trish & Chris Meyers AE books.

I have been using After Effects since before Adobe bought it. I thought I knew alot, until I read this book. New ideas and concepts on animation itself and even the new stuff with expressions and 3D. Great book if you are new or old to the program. Some parts are hard to read and I saw a few typing errors in the expressions chapters, but all in all, well worth the money. I highly recommend this book.

I wouldn't guess that Mailer was one of America's Greatest Writers Ever by this book. It seemed too contrived. The ending was a bit too Matlock for me (we learn the conspiracy through much monologue). But, then again, Mailer gets away with this, since it's done fairly well. Definitely a good book, hence the Star Rating I give. If you do enjoy this book, read Denis Johnson's ALREADY DEAD, for it's extremely similar ; I do believe Johnson did it on purpose.

"Tough Guys Don't Dance" is a good old fashioned thriller set in a decaying seaside New England town inhabited by a motley assortment of wealthy elitists, drug dealers, fishermen, psychopaths, and brooding alcoholic tough guys like the hero Tim Madden. Someone has it in for Tim--a struggling novelist and former criminal. After a night of heavy drinking and quazi-amnesia, severed heads are turning up on his property and the passenger seat of his car is drenched in blood. Can he find the killer (s) before he gets blamed for the killings? Mailer builds up the suspense like a true master of mystery (even though mystery is not his primary field). There is also some fine writing in this book. It should be read aloud like poetry. More than a decade before "Pulp Fiction" Mailer knew how to mix a thrilling crime drama with interesting conversations and musings about life, love, and amature philosophy. As Tim tries to solve the mystery, he broods about ethnic and cultural differences {he is a mixture of Irish and Jewish and the town is mostly Portugese}, history {he is obsessed with the Pilgrims and other aspects of local history like "hell town" a 19th century vice district}, wives, parents and family life, cops, prison, alcohol, drugs, war and on and on. In the hands of a bad {or even average} writer, this would just get anaoying, but Mailer carries it off well.

Although Norman Mailer himself directed the feature length film of this movie (starring his sometime sparring partner Ryan O'Neal) it would be a shame if potential readers of this powerful novel refused to give it chance because they already rented the cinematic result. I dug parts of the film, too (the casting of Lawrence Tierney as Tim Madden's father was an inspired choice) but the honest magic of the book rests, as it often does with Mailer, in the prose -- a skillfully rendered, poetic narrative with sustaining magic and spellbinding storytelling. I bought this book when I was going through my first divorce. I can attest to the self-loathing and egocentricity that such an event inspires. Now, when I present a page or two of it to my freshman English classes, I'm transported instantaneously to that difficult time, and I find myself pulling for the protagonist, even if he may be an alcoholic mass murderer. It's a more important, universally appealing book than a look at the film would lead you to believe