Pay particular attention to "Releve", the story contributed by Patricia Wallace and her daughter. This story introduces us to Sydney Bryant, the private eye that Pat Wallace has featured in a terrific series for adults. The titles in the series include "Deadly Devotion" and "Blood Lies".

Other outstanding stories include those by Wendy Hornsby, Scott Turow, Stuart Kaminsky, and Sharyn McCrumb (and their collaborators). This is a book that parents can read and enjoy with their children. It might inspire them to collaborate on some mystery stories of their own!

I look forward to reading the companion volume, "Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories". I

"When you think of a mystery, what comes to mind? A dark secret? An unsolved crime? A curious detective hunting for clues?"

The only mystery, the only secret, the only crime is how this anthology could be so easily overlooked. "Great Writers and Kids Write Mystery Stories" (1996) is a collection of stories written by some of today's greatest mystery authors in collaboration with their children and grandchildren. Jonathan Kellerman, Sharyn McCrumb, and Scott Turow are three of the thirteen award-winning writers that create wonderous whodunits with their offspring, ages 6 to adult.

While written at about the junior high/ middle school level, this complilation is enjoyable to all. The stories are five to several pages. Some are written with the child as the amateur detective, some are written as a type of psychological thriller.

The introduction serves as a "mini-lesson" on mystery writing. And, each story features a short personal introduction by the adult and child writing team on what it was like to collaborate on their included story. Other contributors include Barbara D'Amato, Ed Gorman, Stuart Kaminsky, Elizabeth Engstrom, and many others.

This book has the unique ability to be educational as well as entertaining. Those that enjoy this book may also enjoy the first volume as well: "Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories" (1995).

As a new teacher, I have found this series invaluable in preparing my lessons. I think you'll like this one.

Like learning howto pilot an aircraft, Fallek has written this planning guide in a logically-ordered step-by-step format. The writing, using many visual aids, is clear, with simple terms that develop into action steps to make real the business principles and practices of getting into, operating, and succeeding in a small business enterprise.

I am reading this book slowly since I don't want to ever finish it. It is such a joy to read.

P.S. I find it most interesting that "I Love Gootie" is out of print. But, as is often the case, some of the best works of literature are not always popular. In closing, I would like to say, I chanced upon this find while browsing through, of all places, a [LOCAL STORE]. Yes indeed, on one of the shelves I saw around a dozen copies of same and was immediately attracted by the title (and the picture on the cover). I took out my one dollar, and smiled all the way home, since I knew this was going to be one great read. Shortly I am returning to that store in hopes that there are still some copies left. There are a few colleagues of mine that would most appreciate having this gem in their library.

He is a prisoner in Switzerland (a country "so clean one can hardly breathe for hygiene") and the Swiss officers who arrest him are convinced he is a certain Anatol Stiller, who disappeared six years ago, leaving behind a wife, a mistress, a moderately successful career and a few minor political scandals. But he insists he is Jim White, an American with a past that includes Mexican peasants, Texas cowboys, the docks and back alleys of Northern California, and three murders, as yet untraced.

Murders are committed, as it turns out, but as Stiller is brought face to face with the woman who says she is his wife and with the prosecutor who says Stiller has had an affair with his wife, it becomes clear that the murders in question are emotional, metaphorical and discreetly bourgeois. What binds Stiller and his strong-willed but long-suffering wife, Julika? A vacuum: the fact that they have never felt happy together or complete apart. What sets his dream of being another man in motion? A failure of nerve while fighting the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War. And his homeland, economically secure, politically neutral Switzerland is "incapable of suffering in any way over a spiritual compromise," he says.

Mr. Frisch is not really a novelist of ideas; he's a dramatist of ideas. We live out our ideas through our daily lives, after all, and he grasps every nuance of those daily habits and compulsions. It is the tension between these details and the larger ambitions -- so grandly imagined, so absurdly lived out -- that makes the novel work.

There are other existential questions the story deals with: trust, for example, or self-expectation, or the question of guilt in human relations. For those of you who are more interested in psychological highlights than in philosophical issues: the book contains superb descriptions of the Swiss mentality and the American style of life, of men and women and their differences, of architects and prison warders and so on. Max Frisch is a very clear-sighted, accurate observer, and even when he is describing in every detail the scenery of a deserted building site on Sunday, it's not boring for a second! The only thing I wonder is if the book is perhaps too European for a Non-European reader. But find out by yourself!

"She'd learned to live in the shadows...until love brought her heart out of hiding.

There was a time when bubbly Olivia Halloran was the ultimate carefree California girl--happily married to a charming, wealthy businessman. But that was before her husband's violent treachery forced Olivia to take her young son and flee in the middle of the night. Now, living under an assumed name in a small town far from the bright lights of L.A., the last thing Olivia needs is to call attention to herself--or to get involved with anyone again. So when she rescues two young children from drowning, she suddenly finds herself in the media spotlight. For the spirited twins turn out to belong to the mysterious Max Rothwell, a brooding, reclusive man Olivia finds herself irresistibly attracted to.

Haunted by his own secrets and the tragic death of his wife, Max wants nothing to do with romance. Though he's drawn to Olivia's quiet strength and compassionate nature, something tells him she's not who she appears to be. What begins as a reluctant truce soon grows into a sensual longing, bringing two wounded souls together in a tender passion that may heal them both if they can learn to trust in their hearts..."

This is my first book by Wendy Morgan and with a 5 star rating will not be the last. I thought the characters and storyline were freshly written, although the storyline has been used many times. This is not a rehash of last decade's run of the mill story. The 'twists' to the story were realistic! Wow, finally a writer that writes about things going wrong and knowing we the reader will still get our 'retreat from reality fix'. I applaude Ms. Morgan on her courage, even though we know it will turn out alright. Hey, this is still category romance. :) Ms. Morgan also writes under another name. That information can be found when you purchase this book.

The characters are well-developed and believable---so real that you will feel as if you know them. Combine the interesting characters with a fast-paced plot and you have a true page turner!

Ms.Morgan tells her story from both Olivia's and Max's perspectives, which heightened my interest. And the three children are adorable, the way real children are. These are not "TV sitcom" kids.

I look forward to reading more books from Wendy Morgan. Be sure to read Wendy Corsi Staub's many books, which include her latest suspense thrillers, FADE TO BLACK and ALL THE WAY HOME.