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Book reviews for "Kane,_Leslie" sorted by average review score:

David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross : Text and Performance (Studies in Modern Drama)
Published in Paperback by Garland Publishing (1999)
Author: Leslie Kane
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Good book
I haven't been able to buy this book, but I have read it. It is very good, and doesn't just talk about the play, about half the essays are significantly focused on the movie version of Glengarry Glen Ross, and there are a few that are completely focused on it. I believe one even makes a case that the movie is better than the play (which I agree with). A great book if you are interested in Mamet's work of genius!


The Fax of Life (Molly Masters Mystery)
Published in Paperback by Fawcett Books (1999)
Author: Leslie O'Kane
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Humorous, entertaining cozy

During the summer vacation, Molly Martin has a business opportunity to return to her former home in Boulder, Colorado. All she has to do is agree to teach a seminar on writing greeting cards at a rustic mountain resort. With her spouse Jim away on business, Molly, owner of Friendly FAX, accepts. Her best friend Lauren agrees to watch her two kids as well as her own child.

When they arrive in nearby Evansville, they are stunned by the fact that their rooms are filthy dumps that look unfit for human usage. Molly hosts a greeting cards seminar attended by five angry women, who agree with her assessment. During the first exercise, one of the attendees anonymously slips a threatening note into the bowl that is used to collect creative thoughts by the women. The next morning, Molly's friend Allison is dead and the police believes Molly is the prime suspect. She begins to dig into the background of the participants by questioning each of them and other related individuals.

THE FAX OF LIFE is an entertaining, quite amusing cozy. Like the previous novel, The Cold Hard Fax, this amateur sleuth mystery centers on the humorous Molly. Readers will enjoy the interesting mystery, but what makes this novel and series special is the master humorist ability of Leslie O'Kane, who instills her mysteries with endearing characters.

Harriet Klausner


Play Dead
Published in Paperback by Fawcett Books (1998)
Author: Leslie O'Kane
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Great Dog Mystery
The new Allie Babcock series is a welcome addition to the semi-new genre of doglover's mysteries. The plot is fast moving and exciting, the dog related areas authentic, and it is not preachy as some of these novels tend to be. All in all this is a fun and entertaining mystery that should appeal to all, not just doglovers.

wonderful
i have become a big fan of allie's after reading this book-for any dog lover mystery fan its a must. not only is it entertaining but its informative in learning how to handle the different behavior problems in your dog. i've just started 'ruff way to go' and i hope these are just just the beginning of a long line of books based on this character.

Quirky Boulder, Colorado, Dogs and a great mystery!
An intriguing whodunit that I thoroughly enjoyed. Leslie O'Kane knows Boulder and knows dogs, and I can say I learned plenty about dog behavior while enjoying a good read. Can't get any better than that!


Give the Dog a Bone
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Fawcett Books (26 March, 2002)
Author: Leslie O'Kane
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Horribly overwritten, silly fiction
At the bottom of the second page I grew weary of O'Kane editorializing - IN FICTION, YET! The author has little grasp of showing a story and a monumental grasp of throwing in numerous, excessive, ridiculous adverbs and adjectives (just like the ones in this sentence).

I do not recall reading this kind of puffed up "LITERATURE" since the last time I accidently stumbled on a 19th century young adult novel.

The editor of this great waste of my time should be fired.

Don't bother. There are much better novels out there.

the best one yet
I must say that I liked this book. Her previous ones with this sleuth were a little bit weak, but she has really done well with this story. Now she just needs to give Molly Masters a back bone and a plot to work with.

Move Over, Barbara Woodhouse!
In addition to rock-solid plotting with an always-involving premise, Leslie O'Kane has a rare talent for creating delightfully feisty heroines whose unusual occupations provide additional dimension and interest to her novels. It's always a pleasure to share freelance fax/greeting card designer Molly Masters' world, but when Ms. O'Kane introduced canine therapist Allida 'Allie' Babcock in PLAY DEAD, this dog-lover found herself completely caught-up in the technicalities of behavioral modification that Allie employs during the course of her investigations and loving every minute of the time that we were spending together.

Allie's third adventure in crime GIVE THE DOG A BONE may well be her most intriguing and complex outing to date. Off to a rather rocky start, her consulting business is finally solidly in the black; her somewhat up-and-downish relationship with her dogaphobic office-mate Russell seems to be working itself out nicely, and her datebook of problem pooches is satisfyingly full. However, when eccentric millionaire Ken Culberson and his charming but utterly undisciplined golden retriever Maggie arrive in her office, she finds herself trying to cope with "six impossible things before breakfast". Ken is absolutely convinced(encouraged by an unscrupulous psychic)that Maggie's misbehaviors are occuring because she is possessed by his dead ex-wife Mary whom he's equally convinced that he's killed, albeit by accident. A threat that Maggie's running wild in his trailer park may lead to her incarceration by the Animal Control League achieves what neither his psychiatrist nor his social worker have been able to accomplish and brings him to Allie, begging for help. Dubious about Ken's sanity but a [turkey] for a dog in obvious trouble, Allie agrees to make a site visit where she discovers that the bones that Maggie's been gleefully draging home recently probably aren't animal bones and calls the police. Before he's taken to the station to discuss the matter, Ken asks Allie to assume temporary charge of Maggie and emends his will (which names Maggie as sole heir to his millions) making Allie her legal guardian. While the police are still investigating the matter, Ken is released and then murdered. Suddenly Allie is confronted with a plethora of equally unsavory claimants to Maggie's paw and fortune...one of whom is probably Ken's killer. Finding out which puts her own life on the line in the chilling denouement to this thoroughly satisfying, delightfully whimsical whodunnit.


Ruff Way to Go
Published in Paperback by Fawcett Books (01 February, 2000)
Author: Leslie O'Kane
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Conant, Benjamin fans will be disappointed
There is lots of good dog talk here (in fact that's the only thing that got me to finish the book) and the plot is intricate enough, but the tone is just dull. I'm sorry, this writer did a really good job of crafting her story, but there is no joy, no sense of fun, very little suspense and most of the characters are just awful. The only likeable characters are the protagonist, her mother and her boyfriend. What dreary lives they lead, since there are no interesting, funny, fun, smart or charming people for them to have as friends. The book is so workmanlike it was a real chore to finish it. It's really not fair to compare this writer to Susan Conant and Carol Lea Benjamin, since her work is unique, but they each also have a series of novels with a single female canine-loving protagonist who solves murders. The difference is that they are fun. Both Conant's and Benjamin's characters are funny, fascinating, delightful people who get themselves into some difficult scrapes. O'Kane's characters are none of those things. Sorry, I wanted very much to like the book, and I love her dog theme and the constant dog talk.

Fast moving and entertaining
What a relief to find a dog-lover's mystery without all the voluminous asides of Susan Conant or the occasionally too cutesy Laurien Berenson. (Not that I haven't read and enjoyed both those author's books). Enjoyable dog training information, and the mystery really moves along, with plenty of characters to keep one guessing, especially as negative information about each suspect keeps turning up. Nice characterizations; both the protagonist and her mother are appealing.

Fun mystery for dog lovers
There's never a dull moment in dog behaviorist Allida Babcock's neighborhood. First she's called on to help Cassandra and Paul with Suds, the Siberian husky they're fostering, and her pups. Then divorcing couple Edith and Trevor want her to mediate in a custody dispute over their silky terrier, Shogun. Allie subsequently finds Cassandra murdered in Edith's back yard, and Shogun is nowhere to be found. "Ruff Way to Go," like "Play Dead," its predecessor, is an entertaining cozy whodunit that dog lovers will enjoy. The series should appeal especially to those who like Susan Conant's mysteries: Allie's world-view is as dog-centered as Holly Winter's; humor, though more low-key, is much in evidence; and there's an abundance of canine lore, including lots of useful care and training tips.


When the Fax Lady Sings (Thorndike Large Print Mystery Series)
Published in Hardcover by Thorndike Pr (Largeprint) (2001)
Author: Leslie O'Kane
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So-So Series
Now that I've finished the series, I'm disappointed it wasn't as promising as the first book, but not nearly as bad as the second.

Molly is just plain unlikable. She's nosy and annoying, and it's a wonder Tommy hasn't just thrown her in jail already. There's no reason whatsoever for her to be sticking her nose into these murders and putting herself into dangerous situations, and the author's done a terrible job at showing us her motivation for doing so. Instead she's just made her come off as simply meddlesome and stupid.

Also, for a series, it's disappointing that the secondary characters haven't been more developed. In the six years the series has spanned, we barely know her best friend Lauren. Jim is just kind of there. And with all they've been through, you'd think by now Stephanie could've been softened just a bit and made a bit more human, instead of continuing to be such an overblown adversary.

Ms. O'Kane has good potential for a well-written series, but she really needs to work on character development. Oh, and she needs to cut her use of the word "trot" -- no one "trots" around as much as Molly and her friends and family do.

A humeous amateur sleuth mystery
At Carlton Central School parents like Molly Masters participate in a fund-raiser. Molly and six other people are going to dress as clowns, disrupting a beautiful woman singing a torch song as one of the festivities to raise money. At the dress rehearsal, the clowns wait in the wings for a magician to finish his act when one of them shoots and kills Corrine, a high schoolteacher.

Molly, an eyewitness to the event, is the only clown not under suspicion because someone can state where she was during the shooting. Molly learns that several of the suspects have motives to want the teacher dead including a former lover and the mother of the student she was having an affair with despite the rules. Having solved homicides in the past, Molly decides to do her own brand of investigating that places her in jeopardy from an individual who wants the killer's identity to remain anonymously hidden behind greasepaint.

In Leslie O'Kane's fictionalized school, the parents and the administration seem more dangerous than the students are as violence permeates the system. While not realistic, it allows for escapism from the real world. WHEN THE FAX LADY SINGS is an intriguing novel that is characterized by Ms. O'Kane's distinct style of humor.

Harriet Klausner


Weasels and Wisemen: Ethics and Ethnicity in the Work of David Mamet
Published in Paperback by Palgrave Macmillan (2001)
Author: Leslie Kane
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Excellent insights into Mamet's oeuvre
Kane has really tapped the pulse of Mamet's works, making this a must for anyone who has read or seen his plays/films. She manages to uncover much of the subtle influences and the not-so-subtle manifestations of ethical codes in our society that have informed Mamet's writing, and she does so in scholarly but accessible language. She also does not stray too far from the texts but supports her theories and arguments with a lot of direct citing, making sure that we don't get lost in a sea of theoretical lingo. A great aid to anyone hoping to get more out of this area of drama.


The School Board Murders: A Molly Masters Mystery (Molly Masters Series)
Published in Paperback by Fawcett Books (06 June, 2000)
Author: Leslie O'Kane
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School Boring Murders
Yawn. I have read all of Leslie O'Kane's books and liked this the least. The characters were cardboard stereotypes, not at all believeable. Molly spends her time investigating the murder of a very unlikeable woman in order to clear her father's name. I wanted to scream when her clueless Dad insisted on taking the blame for crimes he didn't commit. I just couldn't get interested in the whole thing.

Molly masters it again
In The School Board Murders, Molly Master, the witty, fax greeting card mistress, finds her greeting card humor and sleuthing skills tested yet again.

The local school board is having a meeting about funding and where it should go -- to the arts or to sports. As we all know, the school disagreement of sports VS art has been handed down from generation to generation all over America, but Leslie O'Kane's mystery adds an unusual twist to the subject. School politics rears its ugly head once again, and the typical group of common folk who have become indifferent, sanctimonious, and offensive (with the exception of Molly's dad), due to the power they think their seats possess, are endanger of being toppled from their self-glorified thrones by their leader. Molly, along with her parents, goes to a meeting knowing that the board president has threatened to expose a secret in her father's past if he doesn't agree to vote for sports. After returning from a private meeting, Sylvia Greene, the president, falls to poison in front of a crowd of parents and live on the town's local TV channel. Molly's father is being blamed. Molly learns her father's secret and decides to put her self in the way of danger, literally, to clear his name and find the real killer.

You gotta love the sense of humor Leslie O'Kane gives Mollie; it's laugh out loud funny. The subject of sports VS art may be an old one, but the mystery plot is fresh. The false leads kept me going, and the sub-characters are true enough that they will most likely remind you of someone you know, too.

Funny witty delightful mystery
After living in Colorado for numerous years, the Masters familyreturn home to Carlton, New York. The matriarch Molly decides to stayat home to raise her two school aged children while running a business that sends any occasion cards via a fax. Though her business is not doing quite well, Molly is more concerned with school issues, especially since her father Charlie joined the school board.

The school budget is under siege as there is only enough funds to support either the arts curriculum or the sports program. Board president Sylvia Greene runs a vicious campaign using blackmail to force her peers to commit the money to the sports program. For instance, she threatens to reveal a nasty secret from Charlie's past if he fails to vote for her side. During the vote itself, someone poisons Sylvia with the main suspicion falling on Charlie. Unable to believe her father would kill someone, Molly places herself at risk to flush out a murderer.

Just like a FAX OF LIFE, most fans of the Molly Masters mysteries know that the novels are some of the best remedies for lifting weary individuals out of their slump. Leslie O'Kane has a wicked sense of humor that especially surfaces when Molly designs a greeting card. THE SCHOOL BOARD MURDERS is a good juicy mystery filled with red herrings that turns the unexpected story line into an excellent hard to figure out puzzler. JUST THE FAX, this tale is a fun book that enhances an entertaining series that leaves readers contented, but wanting more works from Ms. O'Kane.

Harriet Klausner END


The Cold Hard Fax
Published in Paperback by Fawcett Books (1998)
Author: Leslie O'Kane
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Keep the Fax
I love mysteries and have read thousands of them in my lifetime. This one is badly written, the dialogue is artificial and stilted and the storyline is ridiculous. I had to force myself to finish it, and the ending made no sense based on the story. This is the type of book that makes me say, "Well, if they're printing [stuff] like this, I definitely should write a book." Don't waste your money.

Not even on a rainy day!
Insomnia has forced me to read a lot of really bad books in the wee hours of the morning lately but this book is by far the worst I've had to endure. Molly is an extremely unappealing, one dimensional character with little personality and it's no surprise to me that her neighbors aren't interested in getting to know her. I wish I could say this book was so bad it put me to sleep, but it was too bad to even do that. Must've been a slow day at the publishing house when they accepted this one.

An OK Read
This one was better than the previous installment of the series, but by no means up to the first one.

I found the whole story confusing. It was very hard to keep track of who was who, and some things that were thrown in as "red herrings" made absolutely no sense at all in the end. I hope the author can get back on track, because I really enjoyed the first book of this series, but I've been let down since.


Death of a Pta Goddess
Published in Hardcover by Thorndike Pr (Largeprint) (2003)
Author: Leslie O'Kane
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Getting Silly
This once charming series is starting to lose its steam.

Molly has turned into nothing more than a nosy, annoying pain in the .... She sticks her nose into situations that have nothing to do with her, and doesn't seem to think the police can manage to do their jobs withour her "tactful nudging" in the right direction. The fact that Tommy allows her to keep intruding into his investigations is just getting silly already -- almost as silly as her constantly teaming up with Stephanie and taking her orders, when she can't stand this woman.

It's time to put this series to bed before it turns to plain God-awful.

Sounds like my family
The latest installment in the Molly Masters series is charming and full of family moments that ring true to life. The mystery itself, which centers around the death of the seemingly perfect PTA president, is typical of the genre. Although entertaining enough, it certainly didn't overwhelm my imagination. Molly's encounters with her family, however, were brilliant. Her exchanges with her 16-year old daughter Karen, who is learning to drive and beginning to date, were a wonderful mixture of humor and angst. Even more touching was her discussion with her son, Nathan, who is being harassed by bullies at school. Overall, I definitely recommend this book to readers of the series!


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