An interesting, well-written mystery with a much-appreciated twist. This book will be enjoyed by mystery and gardening fans, and also by another group of readers who are rarely, if ever, represented in books of any kind -- folks, especially women, who struggle throughout their lives to lose and maintain the loss of large amounts of weight. Ms. Harrison's protagonist is a woman who has lost 100 pounds, and is maintaining that loss, but fights a daily battle against cravings for high-calorie food. Other characters in the book are in a similar situation, and the danger posed by individuals who prey upon the desperation of those trying to maintain large weight losses is central to the plot of this novel.

"Lilies That Fester" is an extremely absorbing read, that really keeps you guessing as to the identity of the villain until the very end.

Bretta Solomon may be feeling good about herself now that she's shed some weight, but the headache of coordinating the first floral competition at the Branson Florist Convention, has done quite a bit to sour her mood. Dealing with avid competitors who will not stop hounding her to reveal more about the different categories that Bretta has thought up for the competition, plus in-house wrangling amongst the board members has been enough to make her wish that she had never agreed to oversee the competition. The only bright spot in the horizon is that she seems to have picked up an admirer -- good looking, single and an amateur gardener to boot! And then just before the festivities start, Bretta receives an urgent message from a couple, the McDuffys, that her dead husband used to know. Knowing about her ability to solve perplexing mysteries, they leave urgent messages with her, pressing for a meeting. Having had no success with actually meeting Bretta so far, they leave a letter and a cassette, with instructions for Bretta to read the letter if they fail to make the planned meeting for the following morning. However the McDuffys fail to turn up the next day. Reading the letter, Bretta discovers that the couple want Bretta to discover what had happened to their daughter just before she died of a heart attack. Her behaviour had changed drastically the few months before her death, and the McDuffys suspect that someone was at the root of all her unhappiness that caused her death. Bretta is of course saddened by the letter, and is not sure what she can do. And then she discovers that the McDuffys seem to have mysteriously vanished. Although her hands are quite full with trying to mange the competition, as well as deal with her many back-stabbing colleagues, she feels she must track down the McDuffys, if only to talk to them. But where to start? And then someone starts playing a series of dangerous pranks on Bretta, and her would-be beau starts behaving strangely. What exactly is going on? And how are the McDuffys connected to all this? Bretta is determined to find out.

This is by far the best Bretta Solomon mystery novel, and I was quite engrossed. There are so many things I liked about this mystery novel: the mystery was an intriguing and interesting one, and the plot unfolded smoothly and flawlessly till the very end where Janis Harrison pulled everything together brilliantly. Bretta Solomon is a wonderfully clever, warm hearted and feisty amateur sleuth, and "Lilies That Fester" showcases this character superbly. (I absolutely loved the wry tone she used when observing the silly antics that other members of the board indulged in) "Lilies That Fester" is definitely a first rate read.

Probably a 4 plus -- characters are very good - story telling quite good but the story lacks something essential.

Lily Quintano goes to Hades to vacation with her brother, James and her sister Alison, who have left the family residence of Seattle.
The driving force was finding out that her fiance was having an affair. When she arrives in Hades she is carrying a lot of emotional garbage - mostly a bruised ego.

She meets Max Yearling, the sheriff of Hades and of course takes umbrage. Jimmy and Alison rope in Ike LeBlanc to restore Lily's confidence in herself through the cooking pot. She is owner of Lilys' restaurant in Seattle.

Then there is the little eighteen year old who is trying her darndest to corner Max. Max saves Lily from a bear which lead to other conflicts, etc.

Solutions: Get Lily to move to Hades and open a restaurant but she is determined to move back to Seattle. Max does not try to stop her. OH Boy!

Just something I found interesting [grin] Max Yearling is 10 months younger than his sister April, who appears to be about 25 when she marries Jimmy Quintano - the same age as Alison, who married Jean-Luc LeBlanc. Both Jimmy and Alison are younger than Lily who must be about 3 or 4 years older than Max?
Now we need to see if Kevin Quintano, about 35, will move to Hades and hook up with June Yearling, about 20. Of course there is the 18 year old Vanessa who has moved to Seattle.

More complications but not enough strong situations. Easy to read, fun to follow the foibles of the siblings and characters of Hades but ....... recommended but every woman and I use the term loosely has to hop in to bed instead of using her God given talent to woo her man [sorry but I find that in the end it becomes boring to the story] into commitment before surrendering her treasures. Ha!

To be honest I haven't always like the Hades, Alaska books that Ferrarella keeps putting out. This one is better than some of the others though. In general, the characters are good, the story is fun. There are a few overwrought sentences, but beyond that this is worth reading.

I have just finished reading the novel Lost on Earth by Lily Alex.

I found reading this book was a great pleasure. The romantic outline of the novel is very interesting. Mystic episodes are shown in a way that flattens the fringes between those fantastic events and real life.

There are a lot of characters in this novel, but they all unite at one major point as Michael Alter, one of the central heroes, said: "Earth is a tough place to live. But we all have here our own duties."

The author believes and tried to show that every prayer will be answered even if there is no immediate response, so you need to be a believer and have faith in God to read this book, however some points can not be acceptable for people used to fundamental Christian ideas.

For example the major heroine, Mary Jablonskaia-Thorn is a clone of the Virgin Mary. She is an angel, her husband is the Son of the Devil. But they and other non-humans act like normal people, and use their magic abilities only when necessary.

The Thorns, Mary and Damien, go through cruel events, ordeals, and suffering. But their Love only gets stronger, and the ending is so unexpected that it can shock. Well, Love won, and Mary says to her beloved one: "Now we're together again and no one on Earth could separate us!"

Here we can find the eternal combat between Love and Evil, and this makes the reader think about his own life.

This book is well written and I liked it.

I've read Lost On Earth or Fateful Love by Lily Alex. I liked it and found reading the book a pleasure.

The story revolves around a clone of the Virgin Mary and the Son of the Devil and the troubles and situations they have to go thru in the name of Love. They are also surrounded by other events which affect them in their daily lives. Also included is the fight between Love and Evil which relates, in a way, to everyday life on earth for all people.

There are mystical powers, romance, suffering, self sacrifice, religious beliefs, Faith in God and normal everyday human events all intertwined to create a story which is well written and easily read.

The story may not be something traditional religious people may like to read but they should read this book and then give their opinion.

For all those interested in growing a beautiful water garden, or scientifically studying water flowers and other plants, this is the book for you. You don't need to look any further. A series of lovely pictures are also included, but the cover has the most beauteous photograph.

A very good book for those interested in water gardening. Has an excellent supply of pictures, names, and information of hundreds of water gardening plants. The Book has 2 sections of color photos and all are very nice. The book did a great job informing me about plants I never new existed. The book also includes information on filters, ponds (design and placement), diseases (pond, plants, and fish), and numerous other issues. A very good book and I would recommend it to any water gardener, novice, pro, advanced, or expert.

The book I read was Angel By My Side: Lily's Story, written by Erin Flanagan. It is about a thirteen-year old girl named Amelia, whose best friend Shura had just died in a plane crash. Amelia has a younger sister named Kate, who is nine. Amelia's parents divorced a couple years ago, so Amelia's mom is dating a guy named Neil. When Amelia went to the zoo with her sister and Mom, she saw a woman who looked familiar at the swan pond. While she looked at the swans, her mom turned to look at the woman, she was gone. After Shura's funeral, Amelia cried in the graveyard and the familiar lady appeared. She told Amelia her name was Lily, and she was her guardian angel. Then the grave digger came and asked her to leave because another funeral was about to start. That's when she noticed she was alone. Junior High started and Amelia had to make more new friends, because she used to just hang out with Shura. Her guardian angel followed her and helped her with things that happened. Amelia wanted to write a book called Swan Songs, because right before the swans die they sing. She wrote the book so her book could help teen girls with death. Her Mom married Neil, and after the wedding they moved into a new house with the four of them. Amelia spent a lot of time working on her book. She had a fun time interviewing kids and teens about their problems. It also helped Amelia to go on with her life with Shura in her memory. Whle Amelia and her new family were unpacking, something came in the mail. It was her book that she wrote. The publisher published it. Amelia was thrilled!

This is an exceptional collection of serious erotica. The selected pieces gathered for this compilation offer something for every adult. I particularly liked "House Spirits" by Stephen Minot, a tempting look at a 3-some living on an abandoned farm. The story sneaks up on you. The art photos were enjoyable. I liked the cover photo so much I used it as a theme for a series of oil paintings I'm still working on. Anyone interested in adult erotica will enjoy this book.

I liked the tape very much. My son who is 8 months old likes to listen to the different voices. I like that it has the voices I grew up with, Ed Asner, Bea Arthur, Lily and Mary. My favorite part is the song "Just the Same" by Margaret Bailey. I would love to find more songs by her. My only regret is that it is so short (18 minutes).

Subtitled "Inspiring Comfort in Every Room", this book is both comfortable and exciting to read. Each idea is presented simply. There is no talking down to the reader. I found ideas and concepts that I had never thought of; ideas that I had forgotten; and some old favorites. Sure, home decorating inspirations can be found everywhere from imposing fashionable magazines to weekly tabloids these days. I want a copy of this book because I am sure that I will forget some really great idea contained in it. And this book is STUFFED with great ideas.

This book is an amazing intermix of Italian cooking secrets, home-style recipes, and a woman's search for her understanding and place in the world and in love. La Cucina means kitchen in Italian and this book equates the unique concept of the erotic enticing, patience-centered, and complex components of cooking in the kitchen with the complicated, time and ego consuming, erotic and illusive search and maintenance of familial and partner love in life. Highly detailed imagery drips of mouthwatering inspirations in a female centered mix of how love and life can be considered with the common actions within the hearth and heart of the home. Life is what you make of it; different choices create different outcomes just as different spices and preparations affect food and recipe taste. The book explores one average woman's attempt at spreading her wings and exploring life and love from family and men in a small Italian village to life in the big city. The time-spanning story a mix of love, imagery, and relationships with healthy doses of imagination and fantasy in both the kitchen, bedroom, and playing field of life. The end result is a striking story that keeps you turning pages while it conjures up beautiful and sense inspiring images in the readers mind of Italian country side painstakingly prepared with love meals, erotic and fulfilling physical and emotional sex, and the ongoing struggles of family and partner relationships and sex. The analogy of cooking to life is not unique, but the preparation and presentation of this story is uniquely emotionally and physically appetite inspiring. It's worth a weekend read at the beach or on a rainy day for sure! Without a doubt, if your life, sex, and love fantasies don't become inspired, you're cooking skills will!

This is a charming tale of how a Chinese empress supposedly discovered silk thread in a cocoon, which led to the making of silk cloth for imperial dress. It also tells why the Chinese kept the process a secret for 3,000 years. The book includes background information for the legend. It's a wonderful introduction to the process of silk making, and as a sixth grade teacher, I plan to use it in my teaching about China, silk making, and silk trade. Elementary and middle school children studying about China will enjoy and appreciate this book; so might adults who like wearing silk.