A fascinating story of murder and mystery among strangers.

Parnell Hall has written another well-loved Stanley Hastings mystery. Private detective Stanley Hastings and his wife, Alice, have just taken a vacation to relax when strange things begin to happen. On a hiking trip Stanley meets lots of new people who all turn out to stay in the same inn where he's vacationing. This seems strange to Stanley, but he doesn't mind until someone begins killing the guests one by one, bringing his vacation plans to an end. The officer investigating the murders suspects everyone, even Stanley, until all clues lead to the arrest of one of the other guests. Believing the guest to be innocent, the Hastings try to find the real murderer.

If you are looking for a book that will keep you guessing and that has a twisting plot, this is the book for you. It has interesting characters and a surprise ending that will make you unable to put this book down. So settle in for an evening of mystery.

Each time someone in the book asks, "I beg your pardon?" I tumble into hysterics. This is the result of cleverly built up dialogue that becomes funnier with each fragment of repartee.
Who cares about the plot? This author is a genius who could solve all the problems of the world with his wonderfully optimistic and forgiving attitude, and a humor that is on the par with the very best comedy writers (even exceeding them). I had to stop reading at times to prevent myself from strangling on my own convulsive laughter. Have mercy, Parnell. If you had been any funnier, I'd have gladly died laughing.

The fun starts the moment that Stanley and Alice check into the Blue Frog Inn and doesn't stop until the improbable(or just goofy)conclusion. I've read all of the books in this series and while this is a little different from most it is just zany enough to keep you reading. It involves two murders, a small town sheriff who doesn't have a clue and a little bit of everything for everyone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun light mystery to read.

The two best biographies on Marie Antoinette are 'Queen of France' by Caselot and 'Fatal Friendship' by Loomis. Fatal Friendship focuses mostly on the friendship between the Queen and Count Axel Fersen, the breathtaking escape attempt and their deaths. Loomis leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not the two were actual physical lovers, but with the evidence presented, not only do I believe they were, but that Louis XVI knew, and didn't care.

The highlight of the book is the escape attempt though. As you read on and on at a harrowing pace, you almost believe they'll make it. But the stupid mistakes, lack of judgement, and time wasted sealed the fate of the royal family.

As we all know Marie Antoinette died on the guillotine, but do you know the violent death that Axel Fersen faced? Or the legend of the ring that was given to him by Marie?

An excellent, well written, and easy to follow book that made me fall in love with the Queen and see her not as a monster, but as a woman and a mother who despite trying her best, just couldn't make anything work out.

Once again Stanley Loomis takes us there- to the time of the Great French Revolution, and before, but this time to the side of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. Loomis, by pouring through old documents and by meticulous research, has an uncanny way of recreating the past in all its subtle details. This book shows how Marie Antoinette was vilified by her friends, some family members, and by her host country (France), and more significantly, how her spririt became more courageous and fortified as she endured extreme hardships unto her execution. Loomis retraces all the details of her and the deposed king's attempted escapes, from the flight to Varennes under the plan of Count Ferson, to the foiled plot to sneak the queen and her child out of prison. Loomis exposes the truth behind the queen's sequestered love affair with Count Ferson, and her own Austrian family's betrayal of her. Loomis does a fantastic job in showing us King Louis XVI as well- his kind nature in the face of his adversarys (which up to the end he refused to see as his enemies, but maintained that he "would not cause a drop of blood to spill from my subjects"), and his ultimate martyrdom by those he sought to understand. King Louis XVI should be given the accolades befitting a Saint. Loomis' creative command of vocabulary instills his writing with top-notch character descriptions and sometimes with more philosophical questions and ideas. But this book is not pedantic or just for the bookmarmish French history types, it is exceptionally entertaining and highly recommended. For another excellent book by Loomis, please read "Paris In the Terror"! You will not be disappointed with either of these!

Friends, do yourselves a favor and get this book if you're interested in an unbiased, accurate account of the relationship between the last queen of France and the handsome, (and rather conceited), Swedish count. Recently author Evelyn Farr has taken up the subject, under a title that leads one to believe she has uncovered new and startling information regarding the "star-crossed lovers": "Marie Antoinette and Count Fersen, the Untold Love Story". Spare yourselves the 40 odd bucks that this tissue of fantasy and conjecture will set you back. I have posted a review of Farr's book accordingly, which you may consult for further details. Suffice it to say, Loomis does the job expected of a fine historian...he writes with a passion for his subject without sacrificing accuracy. Loomis has no problems sharing his personal opinions regarding the subject matter, but he has the decency to claim them solely as his own. For an intimate sketch of the Terror and its effects on leading figures of the Revolution, you may also want to check out his "Paris in the Terror". A delight to read...but then, I expect nothing less of Loomis.

This book was so well written that it did not hit me until half way through that a man was writing in first person of a teenage girl. The main character is fun loving and going through so much that you hope that everything turns out for her. A shocking twist that you don't want to tell anyone, but demand that they read for themselves.

this is a wonderfully deep and interesting book, that asks a lot of questions about what really matters in life. Laura's search is more about finding out who she really is than finding out who her real parents are. This self-searching renders the book a different read for everyone, as each individual reader fills in the gaps for themselves, in their own way. This is certainly a book I shall return to, and would encourage anybody with a penchant for soul-searching to make their next book.

The story of an adopted girl seeking her real mother is only the beginning. Stanley Gordon West explores what it means to be adopted, and what families are about, in such vivid, tender, emotionally rich prose that this book simply glows.

This book is a must read for any parent that is worried about the emotional health of our society today. We live in a society of repressed emotions that come out in violent outbursts. This books tells parents how emotions develop in a baby and toddler and what we as parents can do to help our baby develop all of their emotions. It also teaches us how we can help our baby handle and express all emotions so that they don't become bottled up and come out in violent outbursts. Most of the advice in this book goes against conventional parenting advice, but in my view we've been following conventional advice for 50 years and look where it has gotten us. It is time for a new, more sensitive way of parenting that teaches our children that emotions are ok and can be expressed in appropriate ways. I give this book my highest recommendation.

As a single parent of a 2 1/2 year old boy, I have found this book to be the best teacher, guide, and sanity-saver since the day he was born. This book has given me concrete options for understanding and dealing with every perplexing behavior of my son's. He has a flourishing emotional life because of this book, and I have managed to keep sane.

The book is easy to read, gives several solutions to each problem presented, has tables and lists to help explain concepts, and offers a contiguous view of the child and his family's development. If a parent could only read one parenting book, *this* is the one they should read, take to heart, dog-ear and memorize techniques from, through the start of pregnancy through all their children's first years. The family foundations and relationships it helps to establish make the most solid beginnings for family life. Thank you, Greenspans, for this seminal contribution!

This is a wonderful book for new parents or even grandparents who want to understand how they can help their baby grow into a confident person who can have a full emotional range. The book also helps a parent understand his or her own feelings and how those can affect the baby. I give this book as a baby gift now.

Companies laying off enmasse. Personal and business bankruptcies on the rise. These are challenging times and this excellent book offers answer and solutions to these challenges and more.I also recommend Business Buy the Bible for additional scriptures to enhance personal and spiritual growth.

The Glorious Journey by Charles Stanley is an excellent resource for Christians. Divided into sections, the book covers a wide range of topics including Bible doctrine, daily living, personal growth, and spiritual disciplines. Each entry contains a Scripture verse, commentary by Dr. Stanley, quotes, and more. The graphics, information boxes, and index provide for quick and easy access to specific topics. This valuable resource has answered many of my questions regarding the Christian walk, helping me to better understand God's word and apply it to my life. Each of my brothers received a copy of this book as a birthday gift last year. I would recommend it to anyone desiring "insight, encouragement, and guidance" in their own walk with the Lord.

I have used this book as a study quide as well as a devotional book for church group meetings. It is a great way to start conversations about hard to talk about subjects.

BS Johnson is one of those experimental writers, controversial during their lives that subsequently vanishes from print. Johnson was a journalist, a socialist, and a fine novelist. Best known for The Unfortunates (his book in a box where every chapter is separately bound and the reader is invited to read them in any order he or she wishes), Christie Malry's Own Double Entry is perhaps his most accessible novel.

However, this "accessibility" is in the midst of a studiedly experimental text. This is a corruscating satire in which Johnson targets one of the symbols of capitalism, the double entry system. The very basis of accountancy, and the manipulation of finance, Johnson turns this building block on its head as his central character, Christie Malry, a young man with a future, decides that he will live his life accoridng to the principles of double entry.

Johnson's novel has acute observations on a variety of issues in British life that still merit comment. How working class people come to vote conservative, the manner in which people's worth is measured financially; and all of this is in the midst of an angry satire where Malry wreaks vengeance on the system. It is a bitter cycnical novel, with a dark wit.

There is love, sex, and death; and an unusual use for shaving foam. And all of this is presented in a slightly distant way, where Johnson continually turns to the reader and winks, letting you know this is a novel. Characters are aware of their place in fiction, and Johnson deconstructs the novel to let you see how it works.

This description may be off putting, but this is classy fiction. It is funny, and angry. I enjoyed this work, but preferred Johnson's The Unfortunates; which I feel has more depth, and more humanity.

If you enjoyed this you may like Graham Greene's Dr Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party or Michael Dibdin's Dirty Tricks (a Thatcherite satire).

B.S. Johnson is the most important writer you've never heard of. read his books, learn the truth you little cryptorchid.

I read Christie Malry's Own Double Entry when I was about 15 - I got it from the local library as it is generally out of print in the UK, a tribute to British library services in the 1970s and no tribute to British publishing at any time - and I had never, and still haven't ever, read anything like it. Its "experimental" qualities - distancing, irony, the extraordinary ending - descend from Laurence Sterne and all that but Johnson's tone - political, cynical and above all very funny - was all his own. Christie Malry should have been the first in a line of great novels instead of the last. With luck, Johnson fan and influencee Jonathan Coe's forthcoming biog and the reprint of The Unfortunates should see a mass reprint of Johnson's work that will overwhelm the cack-faced sludge of manky novels about people with trust funds pretending to be interesting in West London.

David Quantick, London March 6 1999

It's a great book. The authors explain step by step from tutorials to simulations.

This book is excellent. There are many sections, in fact, which I will refer back to later as job aids. This book reinforces and elaborates on many concepts and methods that I, as an instructional designer, have been using intuitively when developing courses. It provides a structure to the process of organizing content and developing computer-based training. The only drawback to this book is that it is slightly out of date from a technology standpoint. However, it is so strong in every other area, including instructional design, interface design, interactivity design, and project management, that its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who designs or develops CBT and WBT, I think it will prove to be a valuable resource.

This book should be on the shelf of very instructional designer and course developer responsible for creating computer-based training or web-based training. The book stands out for three important reasons: (1) if offers concrete directions regarding how to develop instruction at the lesson level; (2) the recommendations are based on research findings and when research findings are contradictory the authors acknowledge the divergence; and (3) the book is well written, it is accessible to the average reader. The first chapter **alone** makes the book worth the price - it will help you answer the question "What is the difference between information and instruction?"

My boss recommended this book several years ago, and I finally picked up a copy last month. Very insightful ... gets into the mind of the corporate world. Helpful.

A friend bought this book for me as a birthday gift. She said it would inspire me to pursue a career with vigor. She was right. I've never been so inspired by an author. Kept my interest from cover to cover.

Conquering the Corporate Career offers today's reader with consise insights into the dynamics of business organizations. By challenging the reader to reach beyond the obvious in their understanding, it initializes a thought process that facilitates the teamwork and knowledge management that so many executives seek today from their organizations. Written for the busy executive, it also has insights for the recent graduate that eagerly seeks a corporate career. I highly recommend this book!

Stanley has done it again in this inspiring devotional book for every day living. A great companion to this book for me was another meditation book, SOUL SATISFACTION, by Elizabeth Rankin Geitz. The two books together gave me both a male and female perspective on passages of scripture, enriching my understanding immeasurably. A great help in my every day life.

This book has wonderful devotions that say so much without a lot of words. They can be used in many different ways. There is a devotion for each day of the year with each month focusing on a particular theme. You can, of course, read the devotion that matches the particular date, or if you are dealing with issues, you can read a devotion pertaining to your particular issue. The key verse is included with most of them coming from the New King James Version. There is a scripture passage given that can be read from the Bible, but if you're short on time, you can just read the key verse and devotion. You can spend as little as 5-10 minutes and still receive a powerful message. It has helped me tremendously in my daily walk. I highly recommend it.

I highly recommend Enter His Gates, especially if you are seeking a better understanding of God and a closer walk with him. The book also helps to give insight into ourselves. The aspects of the book I enjoy most are: It's so clearly inspired and easy to understand. The messages are simple but powerful. There's a brief message and scripture for each day and also a perfectly devine short prayer to start each day with. It has enriched my life beyond my expectations!

Foo, A Japanese-American Prisoner Of The Rising Sun is the true and riveting account of Frank "Foo" Fujita's experiences of being a Japanese American combat soldier who was captured by the Japanese during the Pacific campaign of World War II during the defense of Java in early 1942. Based on his secret prison diary, we are provided a "window in time" regarding the daily life and experiences of a prisoner of war which vividly recounts the privations of the POWs and the living conditions in Japan. The text is illustrated with drawings, maps and photographs. What is surprising is the humor that was to be found -- even in the midst of the most severe circumstances. Foo, A Japanese-American Prisoner Of The Rising Sun is a unique contribution to the annals of World War II literature and highly recommended for academic, community, and personal library collections.

I met Foo in a restaurant in Abilene, TX, sitting in a booth next to him and two other gentlemen. His book was to be released the next day. My wife, after evedropping on their conversation, introduced her and myself. Foo sold us a copy of the book....and autographed it for us. This was several years ago. We have learned he has since died. He was very warm and personable with us. His story is facinating. (His reason for being in Abilene was that there was to be some sort of POW reunion the next day.)

Having known Foo since High School days and later being a sister-in-law, I read the original dairy and saw the pictures he drew of the atrocities experienced there in prison. This book is an excellent account of the way it was. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a factual story of what it was like to be in a POW Camp in Japan during World War II.