Case studies are an excellent method of preparing one to pass the certification exam. This text does an excellent job in going beyond the classroom training to application of medical science to actual cases. Support of text's recommendations are well referenced.

I used to work in a public library so that's where I first saw this book. I was intrigued because I had once lived in Milwaukee, and yes, the winters there can indeed be "murder"! Beth Hartley, our protagonist, has quit her law firm to start her own business. She takes her secretary with her and they work out of this wonderful historical home that Beth's aunt has left to her. In "Milwaukee Winters" the secretary's brother has apparantely commited suicide but they find that hard to believe. Beth sets out to prove that he did not kill himself, and suceeds, but WHO did kill him? There is a hint of romance in the story as well. The character of Beth is very likeable, independent like "Kinsey Milhone" and the setting of Milwaukee is very real. I enjoyed this book so much that I bought copies for my relatives who also live(d) in Milwaukee. I have also read the other books in the series, and anxiousely await more!

There is a certain sadness in the story of Sister Symphorosa, but
also a certain need to see the character face what she did and
realize not only the full impact of her actions, but also realize
that her choices were not what they should have been. That's not
easy for most of us, and I'm not so sure the character faced
everything either. In some sense, that is also true of the
character of Kathleen. There just seemed to be something missing
as her character works through her problems. And, yet, I enjoyed
most of the story, and I thought the writing was excellent.
Everything still seemed to pull together to tell a good story.

Anne's is a sacred story for our ordinary lives. She invites us to encounter the "truth of the story" for ourselves. "And perhaps you, if you are adept at reading between the lines, at sorting out what really happened, from what might have happened, from what I wish had happened", are words that truly reflect her character as I remember it. Having worked with Anne I can say, with some degree of certainty, that Anne is truly in the book. But whether it is the contemporary Anne or the Anne of a different time, I am not sure. This requires further discernment. If sacrament is opportunity spoken through ordinary events that bring us to a vivid awareness to God's presence then this book is sacramental. There is no feigned ceremony, ritual or "other-worldly" mystery here but ordinary things and relationships that bear sacramental grace. However, this is not a religious novel. There are no miraculous events here, no sudden conversions, nor "coming to the faith". Rather, there is just the reality of an invitation to live one's ordinary life in God's truth. Anne weaves a good tale of mystery amid mundane experience. There are surprises and revelations in this story which, upon reflection, will not be that separated from the reader's own experience. Rich in description, Anne gives us insight into the spiritual life of her characters without becoming intrusive or voyeuristic. In short, her story is a discovery of the sacred within the ordinary at a place called "Morning."

I enjoyed reading the descriptions of Milwaukee flavored by a bit of history. I especially appreciated the dining spots of Milwaukee. It brought back many memories. Since I am an old Nancy Drew fan, I felt Beth was Nancy as a mature detective.

Beth Hartley now thinks that sleuthing is her new hobby. Her homicide detective boyfriend seems to be jealous of her skills. So, when a new murder of a law school buddy seems to just fall in her lap, he gets angry. This murdererseems to be following her wherever she goes and sends threatening letters with the pictures of her going about her investigation and her normal life. Now that the situation is getting personal, she is afraid of what will happen if she doesn't solve the murder.

The mystery angle of this story is pretty good, although I find Beth Hartly annoying. I can understand why the detective is always angry. This is a quick read but there isn't that much to it.

This was the first in this series that I have read. I plan to read the whole series. I enjoyed the main character Beth Harley. Her 3 law partners were enjoyable as well. She is dating a homicide detective and at first he is jealous of her sleuthing, but in the end accepts her help. I hope in future books they might even work together to solve crimes.

An old classmate from law school is murdered and she was writing a brief for him and feels compelled to solve his murder. She is threatened with letters and pictures of her while investigating the murder. She is afraid for some of her friends due to the threats.

This is a fun, fast read and I highly recommend it.

I knew there was a reason I tend to avoid anthologies; this one has reminded me of it with a vengeance. Basically, most anthologies aren't worth the paper they're printed on: you get a selection of authors, some of whom may not be very good, and shorter stories than usual, some of which - if they are at all good - don't benefit from being compressed into under 100 pages.

This book is very definitely a case in point. We have novellas from Jo Beverley (normally excellent), Tanya Anne Crosby, Samantha James and Kathleen Woodiwiss - three authors I'd never come across before and whose work therefore I know nothing about. After reading this anthology, I know to avoid their work in future.

The Beverley novella, The Determined Bride, was interesting, but I kept feeling that I'd come in halfway through the story. Told by her soldier husband that their marriage hadn't been genuine, Kate desperately wants her baby to be legitimate. Unfortunately, her 'husband' has just been killed in battle. His commanding officer offers to marry her to give the baby a name. Afterwards, Kate returns to England with her son - but what of Captain Charles Tennant, the man she's just married? Does she want him? Does he want her? How does he really feel about having a legal son who is not his biological child?

An intriguing premise, written with something close to Beverley's usual style; but too rushed. Perhaps three stars.

Next, there is Tanya Anne Crosby's A Kiss After Midnight. Two children brought up together are separated when Victoria's father, a duke, becomes concerned about her friendship with the gardener's son. Can their love survive? What happens when Victoria needs to marry to save her estates? To begin with, I thought her hero, Thomas, was American; his internal narrative in the first few pages is entirely American in dialect and vocabulary. Too many things didn't ring true in this story for me to take it seriously. For instance, apparently Thomas and Victoria drove to Gretna Green in under five hours. So where were they? North of the Lake District and in the middle of nowhere fifty miles south of the border? Unlikely. And did Victoria really not recognise Thomas??

Oh, and *what* is "a'tall" supposed to mean? That simply isn't a word. It's not an expression used anywhere in the UK (or in Ireland, in case Crosby thinks it is). If she means 'at all', then she should say so. Terrible. One star.

The next story is Samantha James' Scandal's Bride. It was readable, more or less, though Victoria seemed to me to behave like a spoilt brat. I can't understand what Miles saw in her; he should have refused to marry her and insisted that her father sent her back to the country until she grew up. Two stars, maybe.

And finally, Kathleen Woodiwiss's Beyond The Kiss. This, I gather, is the sequel to another book by Woodiwiss. She spends the first dozen pages summarising Raelynn and Jeff's story to date (tedious exposition of an overly melodramatic tale) before launching into this story. The language is extremely overblown -talk about purple prose! The dialogue is stilted: I couldn't believe some of Jeff's speeches. Take this:

"In my lengthy quest for the woman of my dreams, I cannot deny that I've tested my heart with others, but they never assuaged that unsettled feeling gnawing at my vitals. I tell you no lie, madam, when I say that of those maidens I've courted, I favoured none with a plea to be my wife. Whatever enticements inspired me to seek their company were ephemeral, as fleeting as the morning dew." Ewwwww!!!!! I couldn't take this guy seriously at all.

In fact, I couldn't even finish this story. After 30 pages of it I'd had enough, and it's definitely put me off reading any more by Woodiwiss. I can't believe she's considered to be a top historical fiction writer! Zero stars.

Don't waste your money on this one.

It's not easy to rate four stories with one mark, so I do it one by one:

„The determined bride" - I give it 3 stars. It's not a bad story, but I found something missing there.

„A kiss after midnight" - nice, but just a little bit unbelievable. How Victoria couldn't recognize her best friend? I don't believe a man can change so much! And that marriage ceremony ... oh, it was sooo long, I became unpatient! 3 stars.

„Scandal's bride" - a bit cliche. I read so many books about London high society of 19th century I became tired of them. Why always London and 19th century? Why not France during 100 years war for example? 3 stars.

„Beyond the kiss" - out of question the best of „Married at midnight". I just love Woodiwiss and Birminghams. 5 stars.

And at the end - romance authors, keep writting. We need your stories to warm our hearts and make our lives easier.

i chanced to stumble upon this in a library, and sat down to read it. it was much more than i had been expecting of a jumble of romance stories strung together. The stories had nothing to do with each other. One of the stories was about a soldier who married a woman in labor to give her child a name. One was of an heiress who had to be married by midnight of a certain day in order to keep her inheritance. unfortunately, I didn't read to the other story. The first two were very intersting. The one about the heiress was done mainly from the prospective of the hero, a different approach, andn had childhood sweethearts reunite. it was touching and heart-warming to read of their childish delights and the bond which held them together. The first one was an interesting tale, which could probably be turned into a novel if the circumstances were stretched somewhat and the problems more dramatized. The ending was happy, though. This was a refreshing collection of stories 9three in all, i think). Read and find out for yourself.

This was a hard book to stay with. The author bogs the slender story down with detailed descriptions of who wore what and who ate what along with her tea. There's a potentially interesting plot hidden there somewhere, but it's so overladen with unessential verbiage that some may give up before finding it. I'll probably pass on searching for others by this author.

About halfway through this book I just skipped to the last couple of pages. I couldn't keep any of the characters straight and didn't really care about any of them. There were needlessly detailed descriptions of things that had nothing at all to do with the plot. I will pass on this author in the future.

Beth is very busy in her legal research business. Her neighbor Phillip Barry is murdered in his office. His son, Peter, who shovels snow for Beth in the winter, asks Beth to help solve the crime. Of course, Beth can't say no.

This is an entertaining mystery. There is nothing special about it, but the characters and the mystery were interesting and it was a quick read.

This may be adequate for the ESL reader, but I think instructors could easily find better stories. The book is primarily dialogue, with very little description to flesh the plot. The author never gives enough details to make you identify with the characters. You never understand why the main character, Annie Johnson, had dated the older man that is found dead in her basment. And frankly, you find that you don't care and wish you hadn't wasted your time and money.