"Men Seeking Women" is a genuinely entertaining collection of stories that all, in one way or another, center around sexual relations on the internet (with the curious exception of the last story by Po Bronson which, while good, doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the collection). This is a really strong group of stories that explores the impact of the internet on the interactions between the sexes in a variety of different ways and from a variety of different angles. Some of the stories were better than others, of course, but I particularly liked "Payback Time" by Gary Krist, which takes as its theme the way men develop powerful crushes on enigmatic women they encounter on-line but of whom they know nothing; "Minesweeper" by David Liss, which is about a serial internet liar and how he justifies his awful behavior to himself; "The Face in the Glass" by Paul Hond, which is basically just effective and creepy; and "Prisoners of the Heart" which is, perhaps, not particularly realistic, but a whole lot of fun.

Saw this book at the bookstore, and once I read the inside of the jacket, I knew I had to buy it!! Here I am, a mere 5 hours after starting the book, completely finished. I had to know how it ended. At times, you almost forgot that it was anything other than an engaging murder mystery. The twists and turns of the plot are wonderful to behold, and the character development was phenomenal. If I have any complaints, it's that the concept of famous humans actually being something other than human is so, well, Men in Black. However, Garcia does not dwell on these revelations, so they are no more than a distraction. I am buying the follow up novel ASAP! If you are in the market for a fun read, and just happen to love the Discovery Channels build a dinosaur section, then this is the book for you!!

Vincent Rubio is a down on his luck Los Angeles detetctive. Creditors are knocking on his door, he's mourning the death of his beloved partner and fighting an addiction to basil...Vincent Rubio is a velociraptor disguised as a human. I have to admit when I saw this book in my local bookstore I was both intrigued and skeptical. A secret society of dinosaurs living among humans?!? C'mon. But Eric Garcia pulls this unique concept off convincingly with wit, charm and sly humor, at the same time giving us a highly original, geniune detective story that you won't be able to put down!!

I'm not really into mysteries and I'm not usually into science fiction either, but I am into laughing my tail off and that's what happened with Anonymous Rex. I can't believe there's someone out there who didn't love this book. But then again, I run into these people all the time. Humorless drones. Don't know how to have fun. This book rocked, and I'll read whatever else this weird guy writes.

All I wanted from this book was 30 minutes of mildly entertaining reading before falling asleep at night. I wasn't looking for "Wurthering Heights". And, brother, it's no "Wurthering Heights". Check out this prose (p.27 of the paperback):

"For Louise" should be Ernie's motto, etched into his forehead like pair of monogrammed Mickey Mouse ears, and though I cannot fully empathize with my partner, I can understand the power of those words, if only because I've never had a Louise to do anything for."

Say what?

I could write a book like this in a week.

In this prequel to Eric Garcia's ANONYMOUS REX, private investigator (and velociraptor) Vincent Rubio gets duped into helping his partner locate his ex-wife's brother who is part of a cult known as the Progressives.
Allow yourself to suspend your belief in the premise of a society of dinosaurs roaming the streets of L.A. disguised as humans, and you'll have a blast reading Eric Garcia's highly imaginative dino-noir classics.
CASUAL REX, like its predecessor, is witty, charming and lots of fun.

Vincent Rubio is a velociraptor and private investigator working in Los Angeles. If that sentence doesn't sound a bit off to you, then you should read Casual Rex by Eric Garcia. Casual Rex is the second book about Vincent Rubio, P.I., but takes place before the story told in the first book, Anonymous Rex. Vincent and his partner Ernie take on the Progressives, a church/cult that sounds a lot like a religion based in Hollywood, California that attracts some very famous people crossed with the Church Universal and Triumphant. Figuring out this alternative world where dinosaurs didn't go extinct and disguise themselves as humans isn't difficult. Even though Casual Rex and Anonymous Rex have been marketed mainly as mysteries, I think SF fans and dino fans will find a lot to like Mr. Garcia's weird world. I enjoyed Casual Rex even more than Anonymous Rex and look forward to Hot And Sweaty Rex when it comes out. I read paperback copies of both books so that I could preserve my first printing hardbacks in mint condition. I'm betting that Mr. Garcia's early books in the Rex series will be highly collectible, not that my opinion is worth all that much. About my book collecting habit...don't ask, don't ask.

Author Eric Garcia has written two previous books in which hard-boiled private eye Vincent Rubio is actually a dinosaur in disguise. No dinosaurs in his latest masterpiece but two sleazy con artists who are very good at taking money from others by all kinds of clever scams. Roy and Frankie are very good at what they do, in spite of Roy's obsessive compulsive disorder and hypochondriasis. The book becomes really interesting when Roy's long lost daughter from a failed marriage turns up and begins to change his life.

What will happen next? The plot takes a number of surprising twists and turns and carries you along, unable to put the book down, until the surprise ending that blew me away. While some of the reviewers found the ending obvious, I must be a good "mark" because I fell for it completely.

This book is not for everyone. It is not uplifting or redeeming. It is about some very bad people doing very bad things, but it is extremely well-written, fast-moving, entertaining and engaging. It has a lot of interesting information about scams and flimflams. Sometimes it is funny. But nothing like dinosaurs. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

This is such a clever, fun novel to read. It is relatively short, a breeze to read, but still stays with you after it is done. Eric Garcia, who is known for his quirky "underground" novels, weaves a very tight storyline with some well-drawn characters.

The story centers around Frankie and Roy, two con men who day in day out rob people of their money using complex or simple tricks. I found some of the con games very interesting, as some are so simple I thought of trying them out myself (only for a few seconds). My favorite was the "twenties" game, which you'll be reading about while shaking your head at the simplicity of it. The con team is two very different men. Roy is a steady, veteran con artist who lives a relatively simple life and saves all his money. His only weakness is his obsessive compulsive disorder, which goes away if properly medicated Frankie is a horrible person with his money, blowing it all on luxury items and increasingly going into debt. He is much more a risk taker than his partner, wants to explore new avenues of crime with strange people. Roy is risk averse, worried that his stable criminal life will be disturbed if he goes outside his comfort zone. Everything changes when Roy's psychologist introduces his long lost daughter, a spunky 15 year old who Roy just falls in love with, as a father. She is energetic, and wants to learn the cons just like her father. As Roy learns to care for her more and more, he considers leaving his business behind. Contrary to some other reviews, I thought the character of Roy was very interesting. Although his whole history is not detailed for us, I formed a pretty good image of him and what makes him tick. Frankie could have used a little more fleshing out, but Roy is the focal point of the story anyway.

All of this culminates in a really great ending. It is the kind of ending that makes you really say "Ohhhh..I should have saw that coming!" One of the best parts of the book is to go back and look at all the seemingly obvious clues that you, an intelligent reader, should have picked up on. I guess you could say that it is the greatest triumph of a novel about con men is too pull a big mind con on the reader. Garcia certainly pulled that off with this reader. Great story all around, cannot wait for the movie.

Roy and Frankie are partners in con, ripping off everyone who crosses their paths from college kids to home making women to greedy men. But Roy is also suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Frankie hooks him up with psychiatrist Dr. Klein so he can get the pills he needs. Dr. Klein in turn hooks Roy up with a daughter he never knew he had. Angela, fourteen, is eager to have a dad and wants to learn all about his job. Pretty soon she's helping. Pretty soon Roy wants to give up all his tricks in order to gain custody of her, but Frankie convinces him they should play the con game one more time ... just one more time.

MATCHSTICK MEN is one of the best books I have read this spring. It is fast, full of twists and cons, cleanly and cleverly plotted, and peopled with characters who, while not brilliant, are sturdy enough to hold up their ends of the book. Angela especially will keep you reading. For me, the ending was a complete surprise and it left me thinking the whole book through again from a different angle. I found it a resounding and fitting wrapup for a book of cons, hinted at but unexpected.

If you like fast, absorbing, perfectly plotted little books of petty crime with a twist, MATCHSTICK MEN is a treasure I couldn't recommend more highly.