The dialogue was trite and unrealistic. The characters did not have different voices and were very flat and superficial. In addition, the dialogue got even worse when more "traditional Natives" spoke, illuminating her views on intelligence on the reservations.

Coel's knowledge about Native Americans and reservation life leaves a lot to be desired. Vicky, the "native" lawyer was more American than a Valley Girl. She appeared to completely embrace American ways and completely abondon her tradition without thought. Although other works might explain her context to the reservation and Native life, I kept having to remind myself that she was Native American since she seems more like the misguided non-native attempting to help rather than a member of the society. This story is structured so that all of the negative elements of reservation life occurred in the past rather than the fact they continue to occur. Coel's work reflects the idea that went behind the creation of Reservations in the first place; keep them on the reservation until they are acculturated into modern society. Her work reflects the idea that Native American culture is a thing of the past and should simply remain there.

For a more accurate view of Native American life read Sherman Alexie or even Tony Hillerman. Both write mysteries and both make the distinction between fact and mere fantasy.

Father O'Malley demonstrates his humanity and detective abilities in The Lost Bird. The women in his life add to the challenges of solving murders. His niece arrives unexpectedly after the death of an elderly priest who returned to the Wyoming reservation seemingly to die. There are questions on the Moccasin Trail (Indian gossip-line) about O'Malley's relationships to his red-haired niece and female colleague.

As always, Margaret Coel handles her subject-matter with sensitivity. Her insight into the man behind the cloth is moving, not sensational.

The denouement will satisfy her fans and attract new readers.

If you like the Native American culture you will appreciate this mystery even more. The characters have depth and you can't help but get emotionally involved in their plight. Good from cover to cover.

Well...Tosches has always been upfront about the importance of money and this particular book is a prime example of a man writing solely for money.

Nick Tosches in collaboration with Daryl Hall & John Oates keeps the beat going all the way through this well-written semi-autobiography of Daryl Hall & John Oates from their beginnings to 1984.

The book itself is a good, easy read, featuring lots of color photos and drawings by Daryl that hasn't had too many cartoonists looking over their shoulders.

This item is currently out-of-print, but it would do well for the author to update "Dangerous Dances" since a lot has happened since 1984 and Daryl & John have had a rennaisance of sorts with the success of their "Do It For Love" album which has already scored a number one A/C song and the duo has also had a recent (February, 2003) Billboard Magazine issue done as a tribute to their 30+ years as artists.

This is THE official autobiography of Daryl Hall & John Oates. They take you through their childhoods right up to the most successful time of their careers. There are some great pictures in this book from childhood right on up. If you want to know as much as possible about the most successful pop duo in music history, this is the book you'll want to read!

There is so much boring detail that I could hardly finish this book. Ever since Lathen turned John Thatcher into a minor character in this series, the books have been dull.

The latest John Putnam Thatcher book continues the trend of focusing less on Thatcher and his fellow bank associates, and more on third party participants in the murder and mayhem going on around Thatcher. The European locale adds flavor to the plot; the internal politics of a unified western Europe organization makes for interesting reading. Readers know what to expect from Ms. Lathen, and will not be dissapointed. Hopefully the series will continue despite the death of one of the two co-authors using the Emma Lathen pseudonym.

An environmental disaster has struck Germany^Rs Kiel Canal whena fogcauses numerous collisions and oil spills. Due to the accident and the high degree of shipping through the canal, the German government is thinking of taking out a loan to rebuild and widen the canal. The myriad of insurance claims that follow the aftermath and the potential German project are both being handled through the Baltic Area Development Association (BADA). Wall Street, ever interested in a good deal, dispatches John Putnam Thatcher to Gdansk, Poland to learn whether it pays to invest in the canal renovation deal.

However, the simple business transaction takes a nasty turn when a BADA official claims to have uncovered fraud within the organization. Immediately after the announcement, the official^Rs battered corpse is found and the murder of his lover shortly follows. The Polish police officer Oblonski turns to Thatcher to help him muddle through the world of international finance to uncover the identity of a fiscal murderer.

A SHARK OUT OF WATER is the twenty-third book in the Thatcher series and surprisingly with all of those novels, the current story is a refreshing tale. Thatcher is a great character and the story line is filled with self deprecating irony as Emma Lathen laughs at the slapstick efforts of governments and international corporations capitalization of the former Soviet Union. The who-done-it is well written, but it is the intricate glimpses into the wacky, weird, almost mystical, world of international finance that turns this into another great Thatcher novel. Harriet Klausner

I *love* amazon.com, and am an avid patron --- and of course I realize that (like Oliver Cromwell, who had to *order* the artist to be truthful and thorough when painting his portrait) this great site *has* more than a few warts, but they are seldom painted, and I keep coming back to the site. Well, wart-wise, this book has got to be one of the *biggest* blemishes amazon.com has...especially for real Romanov buffs! The text is sadly, embarassingly mundane, and quite obviously s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s to make what's written into a dull book of the "commercial quickie" variety; in fact, the book reads as though someone has taken some short (very short) essays turned in by Late Tsarist Russia 101 students, laid them out on a carpet, and figured out how to cobble them together and say "Look, folks! A book!" The early material covered (i.e., birth through Bolshevik Revolution) is very complex, has been done oh! these many times (and much better, by the way) and in this book, reads poorly as a bad sledge trying to cross the frozen Neva, and is just about as dull due to the skimpy, surface writing; the condensation of *years* of tumult into a few brief, brittle chapters. The majority of the book --- dealing with Xenia and her close *and* her extended family's lives post-Revolution --- is a bit more interesting (but unfortunately 90% of that interest comes not from any treatment of Xenia's real *self*, not from her fleshing-out as a woman with thoughts and emotions and social and political interests and efforts of her own, not from the effects *she* may have had on anything or anyone, but from the lives of the men and women who surround *her*.) There is no real Xenia in this book, only her surrounding context, and she moves through these pages like a hollow rag doll. You'll find a few photos --- if you're as unfortunate as I am, and actually buy this book --- but even here, some of the photos are nearly identical to each other, and set a page or two apart, or even on the *same* page. Given the padded, poorly written, poorly researched contents of this book, the price is outrageous...

For me, the upshot is a re-reading of `A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas And Alexandra'. Now even in the 20 years of letters that are mostly by Nicholas and Alexandra to each other, there are numerous letters/excerpts from and to Xenia in `A Lifelong Passion' which give a *much* better idea and feel of "Xenia" than *this* bland lollipop of a book! And meanwhile, I'll just go on waiting for someone to come along and write Xenia's *real* biography...

This book is the first full length biography of Tsar Nicholas II's sister Xenia. Xenia is less well known than her brothers Nicholas and Michael or her younger sister Olga, whose biography/memoir The Last Grand Duchess by Ian Vorres, was published in 1964 and recently republished in paperback. Part of the reason for this is that Xenia was the "good girl" of the Romanov family. She married young to her cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and raised a family that included one daughter and six rambunctious boys. She was not a rebel like Olga or Michael, both of whom had very public marital difficulties and tended to be embarrassments to the Tsar before the Revolution. Nor was she in the spotlight like the Tsar and his family, so that her life was exhaustively chronicled. She and her husband Sandro married for love, later fell out of love and conducted discreet affairs with others, and in general lived quiet lives. During the Revolution they escaped to their palace in the Crimea where they lived until rescued in 1919. From then on Xenia lived quietly, mainly on the charity of her cousin King George V of England, until her death in 1960. She seems primarily to be of interest because she was the Tsar's sister and the mother-in-law of Prince Felix Yussoupov, one of Rasputin's murderers.

This book tends to be a bit dull because there is very little first hand information that come directly from Xenia. We never get the full names of her lover or lovers, for example. Much of what we are told is extrapolated, for instance we are told that Xenia was shocked by Rasputin, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever met him! (Olga's memories of Rasputin are among the most compelling sections of The Last Grand Duchess). Because there seems to be so little real information about Xenia's own personality, the authors spend an inordinate amount of time on unnecessary details, like for example, who her visitors were on her birthdays and what they wrote to her in letters (Few of Xenia's own letters seem to have been located and used.)

So this is a fairly interesting book with some new details about Xenia's life and family, but by reading it you are not going to feel that you knew her or have any real sense of what she was like as a person.

Grand Duchess Xenia is usually a shadowy figure in most books about the Romanovs. She usually gets a mention as Nicholas 2nd'sister and will appear in some of the family portraits, along with a mention that she spent the years after the revolution in a grace and favour flat in London. Past this information is usually scanty.

This is the first full biography of Xenia's life. The first section dealing with her life as a member of the imperial family in Russia is not terribly enlightening. This is probably a reflection of lack of documentation available, and the fact that Xenia was naturally a shy and retiring person.

Where this book comes into it's own and provides masses of new information is in dealing with Xenia (and the Royal families) experience in the Russian revolution and in her life in exile after the revolution. Xenia became the hub of a large family and the focal point of many émigrés in her long exile and this book brings that into focus at last.

This book also has a pile of new Romanov illustrations, though sadly missing any of Xenia in all her court finery, we do get to see photos her large extended family at last.

This book is actually a UK publication, and can be bought cheaper at amazon.co.uk

If you are interested in the life of the Romanov survivors after the revolution this a book worth buying.

I found this book to be very well written with a rather unique approach of using a "composite character" with whom the author has first a dialogue on a question and then for whom he provides a more thorough essay answer. The reader is caught up in this give and take between professor and student, and the questions are the hard ones! Why Christian? Why Jesus? Saved from What and for What? Why Church? Is there Hope?

There are many selected biblical quotations with a clear explanation written in such a way as to leave room for the reader to differ. In almost all cases, respect for other faith systems is maintained, reserving the most direct criticism for the author's own beloved Christianity. Professor Hall recognizes many of the atrocities committed in the name of religions, including Christianity, and explains why such actions are inconsistent with the precepts of those religions. He discusses how birthright so often is a reason for starting out in a religion but how today especially, birthright alone is not enough to keep someone in a given faith system.

Appropriately, some of the more fundamental questions are left to the reader to answer. For example, " 'So what precisely (as we may ask with Wendell Berry and others) are human beings for?' If we are not just accidents of nature, what is our place in the scheme of things? What is our purpose and how could we attain it, or reclaim it?" This question is never really answered directly, but is diverted to a related "sense of anxiety" angle.

My belief is that this book will be a bit of a disappointment for those looking to find a dogmatic statement of why Christian today. Instead, one finds a respectful questioning of today's Christianity with a deep routed love of what Christianity can be. This is indeed a wonderful resource "for those on the edge of faith."

As any reader of Douglas John Hall's massive three-volume systematic theology--Thinking the Faith, Confessing the Faith, and Professing the Faith--will know, Hall is a sensitive and thoughtful Christian who is convinced of both the reality of God and the decisiveness of Jesus. He does not seek in this book simply to repeat in detail the content of his earlier work but to explain to contemporary audiences why he believes Christianity still makes sense. Some Christians will regard him as too liberal, others as too conservative; all can, I hope, agree that his heart beats with a passion for making God's love real in our world and for acknowledging the gap between God's goodness and the state of contemporary North American culture. I wish Hall had been somewhat more systematic; I wish he had explicated his own position in a somewhat less impressionistic fashion. But this is certainly among the books I'd place in the hands of someone interested in exploring the Christian gospel.

For a long time, I was really lost with religion. I'd attended church as a youngster, but as I grew up, I grew distant from God, Christ, and everything religious. I sometimes even had to logically convince myself that God could exist.

I joiced religious youth groups that got me longing for a closeness to God, and I even joined a church once I got to college. However, I felt the church was very offtrack and more attached to conservative public views rather than what the Bible says and God demands. Although I felt they were offtrack, I felt as though I was getting somewhere, at least learning something abotu the Bible. But, I overall felt very confused.

Over the summer, determined to figure things out, I began reading the Bible and bought this book. Between reading the two of them together, I realized (to my dismay!) how wrong the church had been... and "Why Christian?" really helpd me open my eyes as to what everything was about. Rather than saying "believe this! I'm right, everyone else is wrong!" Hall guides the reader in his beliefs, general beliefs, and towards the Bible. It helped me in a way that the church and youth groups never could. And, it does not dispute the Bible.

Some readers argue against the view of Christ, but I believe they failed to realize that Hall did not attempt to explain everything... he merely wants to guide a nonChristian, a distant Christian, or a lost person towards some basic beliefs... Hall does not say that Christ's death on the cross was not mean to save us, he says the opposite. I think, if a reader reads Why Christian? with a mind already locked on beliefs, he will find a lot to criticize about it. But, one needs to realize that it's meant as a guidance, not set in stone.

Have enjoyed all of the Harrington Columbo's. Great for plane trips or even motel nights while on a Road Trip. This one pleased as always, but I found the shoddy research bothersome. No one in Southern California heats their home with oil and to find a block of up-scale private homes on West Santa Monica Boulevard (let alone be able to close the street because of a bomb) is really a stretch. Outside of that enjoyed the book and the references to previous Columbo books. Hope the series continues (with tighter research).

This was a pretty good Columbo story. The characters were interesting and the story was well told. The only problems i had with the book was 1) it was too short 2) the killer was way too obvious (even Columbo should have figured it out by page 50!). Still, this book is a great way to spend an afternoon

This was a good, but predictable, Columbo story. I just wish they wouldn't tell who did it and why right up front. Would be more fun to try to figure it out right along with Columbo.

Those who know and value the John Hawkes of old (Second Skin, Travesty, Blood Oranges) may be disappointed with Irish Eye. Hawkes, who once said, "The true enemies of the novel are plot, characters, and setting," has forsaken his prior belief with the publishing of Irish Eye. The book itself is a mildy interesting text best representative of a nightmarish fairytale, as it surrounds readers with a unique view of Ireland and tracks the journey to maturity of young Dervla as she strives to find love and her place in the world. Along the way Hawkes treats readers to various interesting characters, of which Teddy seems the only character to represent the Hawkes of old--tortured, confined, and just angry at the world he refuses to give in and comprise. And so Dervla, our wide-eyed and innocent narrator, follows him all the way. Though some may claim Irish Eye to be a nice introduction to John Hawkes, don't let this fool you...these comments are made simply because this book is "easier" to read. Yes, some of Hawkes major themes are present (disorder and obscurity), but the constriction of characters and reactions/truths that arise from this are largely absent. If you're looking for an actual quality introduction to John Hawkes I would suggest Travesty or possibly Second Skin (with Second Skin being the more difficult read of the two). Overall, a major joy of Hawkes is deciphering that which he writes in order to truly understand the human condition and his fragmented, often disorganized novels challenge readers to not only reread numerous passages but ultimately come to their own conclusion of what the text tells them about life. And with this focus in mind, Irish Eye ultimately comes up short. All authors have a glitch in their library of writings and this seems to be Hawkes. An interesting read--yes. Quality Hawkes--no.

This is a moving, sad book full of the feel of Ireland and adolesecnt yearning and the smell of peat moss. Lovely! Not Hawkes' best but lovely never the less a great read

Certainly "artsy," certainly original, and certainly tiring is John Brown's second and most recent novel, The Wrecked, Blessed Body of Shelton Gerard Lafleur. At points in the story, it seems that Brown achieves something great. At other points, I wished I never picked the book up. The novel's complex plot circles around a handful of eye-catchingly interesting issues including racism, life as a seriously handicapped child, mentorship, and others. Suspiciously reminiscent of the Forrest Gump screenplay, Shelton Lafleur (abr.) also contains a nice dose of casual, meaningful, and insightful philosophy in the form of Shelton's occasional reflections on life. The story is told from the retrospect of Shelton Gerard Lafleur, who is narrating the story as a moribund and decrepit old man. He tells the story of his most unusual childhood in New Orleans during the Depression -- the story of his mysterious adoption by an affluent and aged white woman, his life-crippling fall from a backyard oak, and his experiences with the eccentric and impoverished black mentor who adopted him for a second time. Despite the poignant issues involved, Brown fails to create anything close to a moving novel. The Wrecked, Blessed Body of Shelton Gerard Lafleur is instead victim to long spells of rambling and trifling.

I completely disagree with the previous reviewer and with Kirkus. Maybe some of the plot is implausible, but that isn't really important. This author has touched deeply into things about human nature. And I loved the irony of the ending.

Why do most of John Gardner's James Bond novels seem like screenplays? I think that is what was always missing from his writings. Because they were similar to screenplays they read like movie scripts, not novels. It just leaves the reader so uninvolved. Detail and flavor for the settings are always noticeably absent from his Bond novels. This one is no exception. I suppose we all lose!

Like the other reviewers here, I don't much care for John Gardner's James Bond novels. Gardner just doesn't seem to be in touch with Ian Fleming's classic character or the special world Fleming created for him. The only reason I am reading Gardner's Bonds is that I want to read those by Raymond Benson...

However, although it gets off to a slow start, I would have to say that (so far) "Win, Lose or Die" is arguably a highlight of the Gardner books. It is also the only one that I feel could actually work as a Bond film. The characters are a bit more respectable than most of Gardner's creations, especially his usual cookie-cutter villains. The book also carries some of the wonderful, sinister, almost supernatural imagery that Fleming was so fond of, portraying Bond and the other characters as players in a strange spiritual plane that seems to stretch beyond Earthly bonds.

Now, if only Gardner could have learned to do away with all those...one-liners he has Bond spout after he does something. This is supposed to be Fleming's Bond, not Roger Moore's. Furthermore, the book continues to slip with the horrid scenes in which Bond interacts with M and Bill Tanner. In Fleming's books, M was a man of few words, and when he said something, it was to the point and deadly serious. Unfortunately, Gardner again sinks to the level of having Bond and M trade barbs, if you will. Fleming's Bond would NEVER smart off to his boss the way Gardner's does.

However, once you get past the tepid first third of the novel, the narrative really picks up. This book actually has enough high points to outweigh the low points. The section where Bond is used as bait at the Italian villa is almost up to Fleming's speed. And the climax aboard the hijacked carrier is absolutely spellbinding.

"Win, Lose or Die" is one of the few Gardner Bonds that those of us "Fleming purists" can get through without rolling our eyes darn near every page.

This novel has screenplay written on it. It is fairly simple and would translate to the screen well. Good as a started Bond book for the casual suspense reader.

I really had to force myself to finish this book. It is only the second in the Prey series that I have read, but after reading Certain Prey, it is a disappointment. I listened to it on audiobook and had a terrible time trying to keep up with the characters. I wasn't able to go back and look up the names again, so struggled a bit that way. Sandford didn't really take the time to develop the characters, which made it hard to feel much empathy towards them. Plus the fact that all he could seem to think about was which woman would he sleep with. He had the friend ( a fellow policewoman who was shot), the model (who he did sleep with), the Dr. (who he thought he might marry if she asked him) and his old girlfriend from his college days. I, like other reviewers, just really didn't care much about the people in the story and the action just didn't interest me. It sounds like the previous Prey books are more worth my time and I'll have to go back and try them.

Lucas Davenport is called in to head the investigation into the strangulation death of supermodel Aliiee'e Maison at a society party following a photoshoot; the investigation soon uncovers the body of Sandy Lansing stuffed in a closet and the complications begin. As the story unfolds, these deaths are followed by evidence of drug use, lesbian sex, incest, and further murders interspersed with the complicated family and personal relationships of the people involved. Given all the interrelated aspects of the plot, the narrative jumped around a great deal and was further complicated by the influence of Lucas' personal relationships on the plot.

Readers of this series know that Lucas has been estranged from his former fiancee Weather Karkinnen since the horrific hospital shootout in SUDDEN PREY; this is the story that allows Lucas and Weather to have a chance to begin to reconnect. Meanwhile, his former girlfriend and fellow cop Marcy Sherrill plays a crucial role in the story, and Lucas is fascinated by and attracted to Alie'e girlfriend, the former model (who has taken up pottery) Joel Corbeau. And just to add a further complication he is distracted by a chance meeting with a college girlfriend who rekindles old memories (and perhaps more). Another female integral to the plot is Rose Marie Roux, who is still the chief of police and very worried about the political complications and widespread media attention. Finally Lucas needs to call on his old friend Ellie Kruger (Sister Mary Joseph) for advice once again.With the added backdrop of Lucas' personal relationships, at times Lucas and old friend Del Capslock seem even more confused than the reader and not at the top of their game.

I enjoyed the book, and found it a very fast and engaging read. But I read it as a Lucas Davenport fan rather than a devotee of the PREY series; I have just recently started the series and have been reading the books out of sequence and thus did not have the disappointment of some of the long time readers that this represented a break in style from the earlier works. This is about Lucas and how this case causes him to reevaluate his life and his relationships, the murders are clearly a means to that end for the author. Thus, the case was confusing, and some of the elements seem quite contrived relative to most of Sandford's books. Finally, the solution to the last of the unsolved murders and the ending of the book were not as at all foreshadowed as they are in most police procedurals and classic detective stories.

Thus, if your goal is to get to know Lucas, this book does a good job of character development and is four stars on that basis; it includes the usual supporting cast and the expected clever exchanges between Del and Lucas. You will be disappointed if you are expecting a book that follows the model of the previous books in the PREY series, as the many one and two star reviews indicate. While I definitely felt it was a wothwhile read and recommend EASY PREY, be prepared for what it is - a book which transitions the series from straight police procedurals to stories involving more character development and more complex storylines with interrelated subplots.

This was a great Lucas Davenport book.fast and somewhat confusing....It took a long time to sort out all the characters that Sandford gave us. And I even liked when he started to recall past events from the other Prey books, but it took a lot to keep up with this one. I was not prepared for the "villian" at the end. I kept thinking I had it figured out and then ...Wham! ...my suspect is murdered too. I couldn't make the connections and the ending was not as well prepared as some of the other books he's written. But that doesn't mean I won't be waiting for the next one out..I WILL. The ending here is a cliff hanger for sure, and I will refrain from giving my opinion on that...don't want to give away everything. Others have mentioned poor editing and I did see evidence of that too. I can't give an exact example right now, but I know there were instances that were repeated within one or two pages of each other. That happens to all writers I'm sure. All in all, this is a recommendation for anyone that like police procedural/mystery/suspense type books...get it now.