the star series where great. i love catherine she writes great series books and the most wonderful characters. i would love for her to come out with more books.

this book is just wonderful.i love it so much i had to read it two times.

¡§ Star series ¡¨ is the best series I¡¦ve ever seen. I like Saint. He was very charming.

This book surprised me at the library because not very often is the gay side of being Irish talked about. The ethnicity of the main character, Ryan O'Hara, is pivotal to his character development, and adds much local color to the story. All we Irish say we are descended from kings, and so we are, and in this story Ryan is an Irish queen in the same way that his idol, Scarlet O'Hara, is. Thank God, this isn't another "coming-out genre" book, because this novel bites into what it is to be a gay man who has to grow up and fight the politically correct who are this book's analogous IRA. Some struggles never end! Actually, more than good, it may be brilliant.

Listening to disco recently, I reread this novel, which captures that 70's scene with style and humanity. Compared to today's puritan society that allows nothing, this book captures what it must have been like to be sexually free, relationship intensive, and part of the party that never stopped. The book nails a particular period without guilt, without judgement, and without regrets, from its opening line of celebraton to its last line of learned wisdom. "Dance" as metaphor is its beating heart and the beat is Gloria Gaynor, the Weather Girls, Donna Summer, and, of course, the Eagles' "Hotel California" which gives the book its name. Wadda read!

Be warned--this novel is big to catch the texture of the times and the kinds of people who existed in the long-ago decade of the 70's before AIDS came in and changed everyone's perception of the 70's. Fritscher seems to write from the inside out of a diary that was hidden under the bed of Armisted Maupin. I usually buy anthologies for their diversity of story and authorship, so this big novel was a challenge, I thought, until I got into it and found that one author can create a widely diverse world of many characters and many points of view, with the politics of the time threaded thru to give a time-line of documentary. I wonder if Dianne Feinstein has read about herself in this San Francisco novel? For anyone who has ever walked thru the Castro, this book that left its heart at 18th & Castro, is a must to curl up with.

Kalani Smith struggles to find release from her cocoon-like
existence. Born in Hawaii, of Chinese, Native American and
English descent, she lived briefly in California, and for the
last 23 years has hibernated in Hiawatha, Kansas. Kalani has
always felt displaced in Hiawatha, and has never felt a
connection with the people or the city.

On a day in June, a perfect setting for a wedding, Kalani is
realizing that on her next birthday she will be 30 years old,
that she is bored with her life, and that she has yet to
experience her first orgasm. As she listens to the minister,
she has a surreal moment, a turning point, and she knows it's
time to spread her wings.

Juxtaposed against her tumultuous past, Kalani is bold and
timid as she leaves her groom at the altar and embarks on a
journey she hopes will exploit her dream of becoming a writer.
Searching for stability and a place that feels like home, she
leaves Kansas with no destination in mind. In Arizona she
encounters a Native American woman who shares a Navajo ritual
with her that promises to clear her mind, light her path, and
show her how to find her own truths in the world. Kalani
arrives in San Francisco and joins an eclectic group of
characters; All searching for themselves and trying to make
sense of the world that surrounds them. The author leads them
on a surrealistic adventure in the Nevada desert, hoping
they will find a new perspective on life.

HALCYON DAZE, the freshman novel by Palmer Owyoung is an
offbeat, witty story, told with vivid imagery as he artfully
lets readers wander through the visions in his character's
minds. This book has the freedom and flair reminiscent of the
flower children in the sixties. It is an interesting read.

Reviewed by aNN Brown
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Halcyon Daze is an engaging account of a young woman's adventure from her fairly naive and sheltered life in Kansas to her more exotic, exciting, and erotic life in San Francisco. Her new friends include a whacky set of characters that join her in exploring sex and sexuality and, along the way, discover new aspects of themselves. She emerges from her experiences still not completely clear on life's exact purpose and her role in it-who ever is?-but undoubtedly more open to and aware of all that it has to offer. It is an interesting book that may make you blush at times and will definitely make you laugh at loud with its wit and sarcasm. It will captivate you with its characters and their exploits and keep you turning the pages out of curiosity and enjoyment.

I found this book to be funny and fun and very interesting. Loved the poems before each chapter. Colorful characters and some very interesting places. Very creative mind. All in all the book is great.

Was Dwayne Davis The Bayside Strangler? He was convicted of 2 of the 5 murders and has recently been executed.

Then Anne Bailey was found murdered. She had worked in the DA's office with Kali O'Brien on the Bayside Strangler case. Kali finds out her friend has been killed and notifies Owen Nelson, DA and candidate for governor, about the slaying because Kali is concerned there are things about Anne's death that are similar to the Bayside Strangler murders. Both Kali and Anne had worked with Owen on that case.

Owen is concerned that publicity of this could kill his run for governor. So he asks Kali to come back to his office and discreetly assist the detectives on this case.

When there are more murders, the press makes the connection and it can no longer be kept quiet. Kali assists the 2 detectives and ends up in danger. Uncertain of who the dangerous one is, she starts accusing those closest to her.

I always like this series. This author is one of my favorites. She has another series as well with a suburban housewife as an amateur sleuth that I love.

I was a little hesitant to read this book as I was afraid it would be filled with gruesome details and be a scary read. That is not the case. The information is presented in a way that you know the danger and type of killing, but it is not dwelled upon.

I recommend this book and both of her series.

As this novel of exquisite suspense begins, San Francisco lawyer Kali O'Brien has been stood up for dinner by her friend Anne. And then she gets the shocking news that Anne has been murdered in an apparent copycat killing. Anne's murder is eerily similar to the crimes for which the so-called Bayside Strangler, Dwayne Davis, has recently been executed. Both Anne and Kali helped prosecute Davis 8 years earlier. When a second, and then a third victim, turns up in short order, the heat is on and a team is put together to investigate the new murders and ensure that an innocent man was not executed. The plot is wickedly clever and the tension never lets up as Kali takes a leading role in the investigation and becomes a target for this diabolical killer.

I have only recently discovered Ms. Jacobs's Kali O'Brien series, and I am thoroughly hooked. She now definitely tops my list of favorites.

I don't think I'll summarize the book because the other reviewers have already done a great job of that. But I've got to say this is my favorite Jonnie Jacobs book so far. If I remember correctly Jacobs' last books were first person viewpoint, from Kali O'Brien's point of view. Cold Justice is third person view point and it told things from not only Kali's perspective but from other characters as well. I felt this gave the reader better knowledge on the other characters' motivations. The only thing that I have a problem with is that Jacobs's minor characters (anyone besides Kali) tend to change with each book. I hope she continues some of the new minor characters in Cold Justice into her next book because they could make for some interesting developments.

As an author, I bought this book to use as a reference book while writing a fictional story about a similar type of family. I read this book as a young woman and saw both the stage play and the movie. It is a touching tale of a more simple time and a remarkable woman. Rosalie Kramer, "Dancing in the Dark: Things My Mother Never Told Me."

When I read this book I could go back to many years ago when most of the women in those days were just like Mama.Their concern, love, understanding, wisdom, wit, creative and hard work that they endured have made this country what it is today.If only we could instill some of these values in our people today what a difference it would make. This is a wonderful read and so glad that I could read a down to earth book like Mama's Bank Account'

I first read this novel in 1946 as a freshman in high school. The author's son was a sophomore in the same school. Dick was enormously popular, class president, a natural athlete, gifted amateur actor, public speaker and writer. Certainly a remarkable lad in his own right. (In 1947, having dropped a water bomb on one of the faculty, I knew my days were numbered and changed schools. Never ran into Dick again. So this is not a review written by a friend). That said, it was only de rigueur to read a book written by a classmate's mother.

The story line has been described by other reviewers, and their comments are right on target. One thing I might add is that Kathryn Forbes enjoyed a widespread national celebrity in the late forties, particularly after the Hollywood film was released. The story was also adapted for theater and, later, television. Sadly, celebrity is a perishable commodity.

I picked up this book and read it again last year. As a published novelist, I read it on this occasion with a very critical eye. It is as fresh as it was more than half a century ago. Not a great novel in the Faulknerian sense, but certainly a small classic. It is a charming work of great originality. Anyone interested in becoming a writer would do well to study it. See how beautifully Kathryn Forbes blends the theme and story line. Check out the clever characterization, and the simplicity of her writing style (never pretentious). This book is truly a little gem of its genre.

Summer of Love is an important American literary contribution that may very well have a strong and viable fan base. Where are you? Join us!

This novel is loads of fun to read. The majority of the characters are hippies from the 1960s who meet a stranger from the future who's looking to save his world. This fellow, Chiron, needs to find a troubled adolescent teen named Susan Stein (a.k.a. Starbright) for a very compelling reason. The book has a great deal to offer: swift action, lovable characters, spiritual insight, and well-chosen primary documents such as essays, poems, and news articles which round out the reader's understanding of the worldview of the novel.

I think Summer of Love has excellent potential for a wider audience. I hope it continues to enjoy a healthy amount of sales in the used books market on this site. I wish even more for it to be in wider circulation. Some books talk about the sixties. This novel IS the sixties, thanks to the spirit and scholarship of its author. And, as one reader aptly put it, "the sci-fi stuff is just plain off the hook." Get a copy. Most people who have read it seem to respect it and enjoy it every bit as much as I do.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who's ever dreamed of time travel. It also showes you a first-hand view of the Summer of Love. Mason does an excellent job of describing her characters and how they feel, even when under the influence. Her view of the future seems realistic enough, (Although we'll never know) and the way she twists the plot around Chiron, Starbright, Ruby, and the other characters is quite clever. All in all this is a book that I will read many times.

The funky rainbow cover of this book was what caught my eye at first, then the title began to resonate in my hippie soul. Summer of Love is about a runaway girl who calls herself Starbright who goes to the Haight-Asbury district during the summer of 1967, looking for her friend Penny Lane. She meets a time traveler from five hundred years in the future, who is looking for her as the key to resolving a rift which has occured.
The vivid texturing of the historical situation at the time alone makes this book well worth the read. I also recommend the Golden Nineties as a sequel to this great book.

Larson's gripping story of the loss of innocence is a shocking insight into the motivation of a very young girl who puts herself on the precipice of disaster time after time in her thirst for love and affirmation. We are captivated with the incredible events during her escape from a stern mother who beats her and a father whose affection is limited to a grunt when she offers to wash his feet. Although the girl walks through miles of desert, untouched by scorpions and snakes she is victimized by lecherous men, drug addicts and criminals. With the kindness of a musician, and her perseverence, she finds the strength to triumph. Larson paints the desert landscape she lives in with beauty and richness, tainted only by the blood and fluids of human weakness. We want more about how she evolved to become a successful teacher and author.

Odette Larson's autobiography not only tells her story as an abused child, but also makes you feel the emotions of that scared little girl. Her story may be shocking, distrubing, and dynamically graphic for a "normal" reader. Although, her ability to share her truths, allows those of us who were also abused, to feel kindredness with her. To personally know the woman she has become, I am proud to say she is an amazing mentor. Odette will teach you, that no matter what trials life can throw you, be optimistic, and you will prevail!!
We all live in a world where truths may be shameful, life is always difficult, and happiness can shine through in the darkest moments. If a little girl's broken dreams can become a perseverance to find what life is all about. Then share in her tale by reading, "Flying Sparks," and realize that an adventure, whether sad or happy, can be had by connecting personally with ones and things that come into your life!

A truely compelling story of survival and the reality of being a young girl alone and unprotected in an era we thought was a time of "innocence". Ms. Larson has unflinchingly shared her life experiences with honesty and without self-pity. Her courage is an inspiration. Her prose is as pure and honest as the desert. I could not put Flying Sparks down. I eagerly look forward to her next book.

I read a lot of biographies and, while I love the genre, I'm often disappointed with the writing. This book, by the late Randy Shilts, is an exception. Shilts was a great writer, able to take a variety of facts and put them into readable passages (his "And the Band Played On" is another good example of this). Harvey Milk and the San Francisco of the 1970s come to life in this book. The tragedy of Milk's assassination and its aftermath are rendered in gripping detail.

Randy Shilts has taken great pains to present the man honestly, exploring his political and personal lives. The result is an illimunitating portrait of the Gay Rights champion, documenting his triumphs and ideals alongside his personal ambiguities and foibles. Milk's rise to power, as well as the city's rich gay history, are depicted with candor and clarity.

The assassinations are reported in graphic detail, as is the reaction of the people. Intial shock and grief turn to righteous indignation when, on May 21, 1979 White is convicted on two counts of "valuntary manslaughter" with a maximum sentence of seven years, eight months. The city explodes. Justice is thwarted. A martyr is born. Milk's murder galvanizes the Gay Community to stand up and take their rightful place in society. A great book.

In The Mayor of Castro Street, the late Randy Shilts paints a vivid picture, not only of the life of gay politician Harvey Milk, but of the fight for gay rights in 1970's San Francisco and the nation as a whole. After a description of the events immediately following Milk's death, Shilts begins the book with Milk's youth in New York City. He briefly describes Milk's years in New York, and spends the vast majority of the book on Milk's last five years in San Francisco. It was during his San Francisco years that Milk made his critical contributions to gay history, including encouraging the development of the Castro into a gay Mecca, and running for, and finally winning, elected office as an openly gay man in a time when most thought such things simply couldn't happen.

Shilts is a meticulous reporter. In his section on source material he details how he extensively interviewed Milk's former lovers, including Scott Smith and Joe Campbell. Many of the dialogues for the biography come directly from the personal diary of Michael Wong, a longtime Milk supporter. According to Shilts, dialogues with others who knew Milk virtually always corroborated those in Wong's diary. Shilts's history of the Castro area came from over one hundred interviews he conducted with area residents.

One of the best qualities of the biography is its astonishingly objective posture. Achieving something like objectivity is a tremendous challenge for the author of any modern-day history, and nowhere is this more true than in histories of the gay liberation movement. The living participants in that history inevitably portray it in a range of ways and often fight vigorously for placement of credit where they feel credit is due. Shilts allows those participants to speak for themselves, and focuses on telling the details of the story, rather than interpreting that story for the reader. It is this author's unique degree of commitment to researching and conveying all the details that allows him to present such an apparently unbiased account.

It is also Shilts's attention to detail that makes the book so tough to put down. It reads more like a novel than a history, and each segment leads into the next with a sense of a tremendous plot unfolding. In a style that would come to characterize his later books, such as And The Band Played On, as well as Conduct Unbecoming, Shilts manages to draw the reader into multiple stories of individuals that end in cliffhangers, only to be picked up again in a later chapter. It is these stories that make up the fabric of gay history in San Francisco and a portion of that larger tapestry called gay liberation.

This book explores the world of gypsies, scamps and thieves and the offbeat group of Private Investigators who pursue them.

Always planning the next con, theft or bunko, a band of gypsies in San Francisco pull off a perfect crime. Using four branches of the same bank, slick tactics and phone banks, a group of gypsies manages to steal 32 cadillacs, all in the same day.
Facing a million dollar loss, the bank hires DKA, a local PI firm, to recover the stolen cars. Tipped off that a gang of gypsies was responsible, the DKA operatives, or repomen, start a chase that follows the cars across the US. Using very unconventional methods this quirky band of PIs, who are rejects and misfits, must use their wiles to "outcon the cons."

What makes this story really outstanding is the background tale of the gypsy life, description of how the cons are done and the plotting of the PIs to get the cars back. There is lots of action too including breakneck chases and escapes, including one where a DKA agent must leap into a car while his rear is filled with buckshot.

My favorite character is Ken Warren, a repoman with such a severe speech impediment that he barely communicates. But with extraordinary skills in hunting down and absconding with cars that no one else can get, he earns the respect of his fellow DKA agents.

A fun ride which I highly recommend.

Why Joe Gores isn't a better known author is a complete mystery to me. Ok, Ok, he's won 3 Edgar Awards and all, but still you don't hear his name mentioned too often when asking for recommendations. His DKA Files series are full of action, humour, cons and scams and in short are pure entertainment. Well, no matter, I've discovered him now and I'm here to tell you that the series, and 32 Cadillacs in particular, is one that's not to be missed.

For the first time, the DKA Agency is pitted in a head-to-head battle with San Francisco's Gypsy community following a Gypsy scam that had netted a grand total of 31 Cadillacs. This is a once-in-a-lifetime job, recover the 31 Caddys for a nicely negotiated fat fee. But the Gypsies are crafty specialists of the long con and are exceedingly difficult to track down, so the recovery process will require the DKA team to use every resource available as well as every underhanded trick in the book.

To give you a head start, I'll introduce you to the central DKA characters. They are, Dan Kearny, Giselle Marc, Patrick O'Bannon, Larry Ballard and Bart Heslip. And two new characters are added to the staff, Trin Morales, a sleazy Latino who failed on his own as a PI, and Ken Warren, the genius carhawk with a killer speech impediment. Both bring tremendous dimension and entertainment to the DKA team.

But the real stars of the book are the Gypsies, colourful in character as well as in their various ingenious scams. Although they're such big thieves that they'd make a kleptomaniac look like a saint, you can't help but like them and hope that every now and then they'll catch a break.

Joe Gores is an author who has walked the walk, having been an agent in the real life DKA Agency. His first-hand knowledge and experience is apparent as his agents work through their cases. Rumour has it that the Larry Ballard could very well be modelled on Gores himself.

As a final word, if there are any Donald Westlake fans out there who have read and enjoyed his Dortmunder book Drowned Hopes, I would urge you to read this one too with a brilliant crossover of storylines. This book was an absolute pleasure to read and, I know it's a much-overused catch phrase but I would term it a "must read book".

This book is full of heroes on all sides as DKA agents and gypsies strive to outwit each other throughout a very funny story. 32 CADILLACS is the best entry in the entertaining DKA series.

Tulchinsky's account of a lesbian at large is an enjoyable, easy-to-read page-turner, but it too often becomes exaggerated and/or predictable, and the theories regarding the origins of AIDS come too late in the book. The similarities to the stories of Leslea Newman are uncanny; one wonders whether they are intentional. All in all, though, a good read.

I bought this book on a whim, and was half expecting another boring lesbian novel. Was I ever wrong. This book had everything, stories of love, stories of deception, stories of conspiracy, and all in all was a page turner. I highly recommend this book for anyone out there who has suffered from a breakup and needs a little material to read to cheer them up, or to anyone who just wants something to read that they will never wonder when the story is going to end. BUY THIS BOOK! ENJOY :)

This was a fabulous read! It was a very realistic page turner that people like us can relate to! Encore Tulchinsky!