When I read this book I was always looking forward to reading what was going to happen next. I didn't enjoy the plot so much about dogs and there bloodlines. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Nice job

Have only recently discovered this author and I think he is marvelous! Loved the dog theme. At last a writer like Dick Francis but with a dog theme instead of horses! Keep up the good work. Can hardly wait for the next book! Recommended for all dog lovers and readers of Dick Francis books.

Scottish kennel owner, John Cunningham, his spouse Beth, and their new neighbor Ben Garnet go hunting together. However, John's enjoyment turns to anger when he realizes that the unprincipled Ben has set up a mating between his canine and John's champion dog. Later, the two men argue in public over the pedigree of the puppies as John refuses to sign the papers acknowledging the valuable bloodlines. However, the world is just starting to turn ugly for John. Ben is found half-dead on a roadside near John's house. Everyone knows John's animosity towards the victim and concludes that he is the culprit. Before the police accuse him of attempted murder and to regain his tarnished reputation, John begins his own investigation even if it means confronting a brutal individual.

BLOODLINES is a great Scottish who-done-it that showcases the immense talent of author Gerald Hammond. Like the other stories in this fabulous series, the story line is brisk and the mystery remains mysterious until the end. The characters are all wonderfully developed, especially the feuding canine owners. BLOODLINES is a top pedigree of a novel that brings Scotland to life.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed this book for the most part. I particularly liked the character of Cat St. Clair. Her relationship with God is genuine, as she learns to trust Him again after a traumatic incident. And her relationship with Dominick is also very intriguing, as they learn to center it around God. The only disappointment to me was the second part of the novel. The revelation of the truth behind the traumatic incident was a big let-down for me. After over 100 pages building up to the revelation, I expected something more interesting. But, overall, I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys Christian romances.

THis is a lovely romance. Traumatized by something that happened earlier in her life, Catherine St. Clair is sure she'll never be happy again. That's before Dominick D'Angelo enters her life. As their relationship progresses, Cat discovers something terrible about the man she's come to love and wonders if she'll ever be happy again. A must read!

There are inherent perils in writing a series of novels based on the same set of characters. Is the author simply rehashing the same theme over and over again? Are the characters becoming too predictable? Will readers new to the series understand what is going on, or will they feel excluded from the author's world for not begining at the first novel? Is there any reason left to warrant delving into the characters' lives yet again?

These are pitfalls common to almost all authors. The 'Burke' stories of Andrew Vachss are now constantly fighting self-parody. Douglas Adams' HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE series arguably had no reason to continue after the third installment. Joseph Heller destroyed his beloved CATCH-22 characters with the near-wretched CLOSING TIME. And Tom Clancy's 'Jack Ryan' stories have become far less about Ryan, and more about Clancy's political views.

John Harvey's 'Charlie Resnick' series of British police procedurals are also fighting these traps. While Harvey has consistently written taut, elegant meditations on the evils that society can fall victim to (see EASY MEAT), there remains the danger that he may alienate new readers who are not intimately familiar with Resnick's ways. STILL WATERS is a finely written story, but newcomers to Resnick's universe may find themselves confused.

STILL WATERS finds Resnick, the resourceful British police officer, in a situation immediately identifiable to all. He is rather anxious over his burgeoning relationship with English teacher Hannah, and also has job security issues over an ignored promotion possibility. But while his overall routine may to similar to many, Harvey manages to inject new life into the familiar with Resnick's personal indentification with the seedier aspects of humanity. But while Resnick may attempt to keep his professional and personal lives seperate, the murder of one of Hannah's friends brings his worlds together.

Harvey's novels have, as their main focus, the view that evil is just around the corner in all our lives. In STILL WATERS, it is spousal abuse that receives the brunt of Harvey's attention. Seemingly happy couples are revealed to exist in relationships of pain and suffering.

Harvey deals with this theme quite effectively, from many viewpoints. He also refuses to serve as judge to his characters, presenting them as flawed examples of humanity, not incarnations of evil. Harvey also never rules out the concept of redemption, however rare that commodity may be.

But as STILL WATERS is one novel of many, Harvey has other issues to deal with as well. There is Lynn Kellogg, a fellow officer who would rather transfer out than deal with her past relationship with Resnick. There is Mark Divine, a police officer who was raped in a previous novel, and has become increasingly violent. There is Carl Vincent, a homosexual officer in a profession not known for tolerance. Harvey manages to touch on all of their lives, but some of it seems unnecessary. A new reader may be confused by characters who seem to be integral elements of the plot, yet never appear again. At times, STILL WATERS resembles a novel between novels, an opportunity to catch up on the lives of the characters, but not an especially interesting story in and of itself.

Possibly because of this, STILL WATERS is not an altogether successful novel. Perhaps Harvey should have centred solely on the murder of Hannah's friend, and its immediate effects on Resnick's life. Harvey gives too much information on other areas to advance this plot. There is also a subplot involving art theft that never adequately fits into the whole, with a resolution that feels rushed and unfinished.

But Harvey is still a fine writer. His individual scenes of Resnick's personal life with Hannah are touching and realistic, and his scenes involving the spousal abuse are chilling. And Resnick is a terrific literary character, a flawed and deeply troubled man who can always be counted on to find the appropriate jazz analogy. STILL WATERS is worth reading, but it is more effective for the already-initiated than the reader who is discovering Harvey for the first time.

Very solid ninth entry effectively mixes Charlie Resnick's ever-deepening relationship with schoolteacher Hannah and the dissapearance of her friend Jane. This is against a backdrop of the formation of a new Serious Crimes Unit headed by an ambitious high-flying female which threatens to take over Charlie's turf. Less effective is the subplot tying together a few formerly seen characters and an art forgery ring.

When the battered corpse of a mid-twenties woman is found floating in a canal, the police conclude that a serial killer is one the loose because of a nebulous link to other canal murders. However, a second body is soon found. This time the victim is Jane Peterson, a close friend of Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick's lover, Hannah. The police think that Jane is the latest victim of the serial killer. Neither case falls under the jurisdiction of Charlie since serial killer investigations are worked on by the Serious Crime Unit.

However, Hannah is convinced that Jane's death was caused by her physically abusive spouse, Alex. Hannah convinces Charlie to look into her girl friend's death. Meanwhile, other things swirl around Charlie. A junior officer, Lynn Kellogg has applied for a transfer and is pushing Charlie to make it happen. Other crime, such as an art theft, requires Charlie's investigative talent. With all this going on, Charlie is going to find it difficult to properly investigate what happened to Jane.

The Charlie Resnick series are some of the best British police procedurals on the market today. The current entry, STILL WATER, is a well written detective novel that showcase John Harvey's tremendous talent. Though the story line is quite good, it is not at the upper echelon of the previous novels because too much is left open (perhaps for the next book). Still, that leaves the tale better than 99.9% of the police procedural in book stores on sale today. Several of the Resnick novels are about to go paperback and are worth buying by fans of the sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner

A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash by Sylvia Nasar. Recommended.

The prologue to Sylvia Nasar's biography of Nobel Laureate John Nash, Jr., summarizes the mathematical marvel's life thus: genius, madness, reawakening.

Nash, who was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize for Economics in a controversy that would ultimately change the nature of the prize, is the child of mostly unremarkable parents. His father, John, Sr., held a middle-manager position with the Appalachian Power Company inspecting power lines, while his mother, Virginia, was a "public-school thinker." Despite his mother's efforts to push him, he remains socially isolated, without any close friends. In the fourth grade, he begins to demonstrate the original approach to problems that will become his hallmark as a genius. Interestingly enough, it will be an extensive network of friends and peers that helps to ensure Nash's place in academic and Nobel history.

Nash may have a "beautiful mind" with a unique way of looking at difficult problems, but Nasar does not portray him as a likeable man in his pre-mental illness heyday. Lacking in social skills and graces but not in ego, he is a class snob. Like many boys and young men, he plays pranks-but many of his have pathological undertones. Some cause serious physical pain and embarrassment. Others have the potential to cause death (one person recounts how a Nash prank might have resulted in electrocution of the victim). As a student and young academic, he delights in one-upmanship and in the humiliation of less-gifted men. In a recurring theme, he will flirt romantically with other bright young men. Much is forgiven Nash by his mentors and peers, however, because of his unquestioned mathematical gifts and because such behavior (at least, to some extent) is expected of great mathematical minds.

At the peak of his career, Nash succumbs to what is diagnosed as schizophrenia, which Nasar implies may have been the result of stress brought about by concerns about being drafted and Nash's insistence on tackling near-impossible problems and the resulting frustrations. Whatever the cause, Nash becomes delusional, thinking aliens are speaking to him through The New York Times and feeling a compelling need to renounce his U.S. citizenship and to become a world citizen. For the next 30 years, Nash-and his genius-will be lost to the world, which, if it thinks of him at all, thinks him dead.

It is only a few years before he is nominated for the Nobel Prize in Economics (for his contributions to game theory) that Nash will slowly emerge from his illness. During this time, much of the mathematics community, including friends and rivals who were uncomfortable with his illness, rally behind him. Through most of his adult life, his wife, Alicia, is there to take care of him-even after marriage, divorce, and remarriage.

To write A Beautiful Mind, Nasar read and interviewed dozens of mathematicians, physicists, economists, and other academics as well as psychiatrists and mental health experts, making the book more than just a biography of John Nash, Jr. It is also an insightful overview of the tightly knit mathematics worlds of Princeton, MIT, and RAND Corporation during the 1940s and 1950s. Nash's treatment at several private and public mental health institutions is revealing and sometimes horrifying, especially when he is treated with insulin shock therapy. The political climate-the draft for the Korean conflict, anti-Semitism, McCarthyism and its chilling effect on American academia, and the arms and space races with the Soviets-are all vivid parts of Nash's story.

It is probably in the nature of biography that the author cannot be entirely subjective toward his or her subject; after all, he or she must have enough passion about that subject to research and write hundreds of pages about it. Nasar is clearly a fan of Nash's; she often excuses or glosses over his youthful bad behaviour, his capacious ego, his poor treatment of those he considers inferior (including his girlfriend Eleanor and their son John David Stier), and his obsessive competitiveness. She describes him repeatedly as "handsome" with an "Olympian body" and "finely modeled" or "chiseled" features. (The photos included show Nash to have an average face and body.)

Nasar speeds through the 1970s and 1980s, no doubt because they were uneventful for the "Phantom of Fine Hall." This leaves the reader to wonder what Nash's official position was at Princeton (he tells a visitor he shouldn't go into the faculty club). At this time, he appears to have had an office and is tolerated by students and staff alike.

I am always interested in genius, especially genius derailed by an enigmatic mental illness such as schizophrenia. A question (not to be answered) might be: Is Nash a genius despite schizophrenia, or is the schizophrenia an inherent part of what makes him a genius? Are the two conditions distinct, or are they inseparable? At any rate, while Nash may not have what I would consider a "beautiful mind," it is certainly a gifted-and cursed-one.

Diane L. Schirf, 25 June 2003.

Those who have seen the movie, A Beautiful Mind, will soon find in reading this book that the movie is not to be found inside. It is not, of course, unusual for Hollywood to take liberties with source material, but in this case one may say that the movie is basically a fictitious version of John Nash's life.

A few major examples: Nash first manifested symptoms of schizophrenia around age 30, not when he was a graduate student at Princeton. The work for which he received the Nobel was completed prior to the onset of the disease. He had no visual hallucinations, which eliminates the imagined espionage that formed the core of the movie. I could go on, but I only wanted to make a point. That point being that the filmmakers created dramatic, action packed scenes that never actually happened and in so doing missed the real story of John Nash, which I believe is a much better one.

This book, with supporting footnotes and bibliography, tells the story of a man who could almost be described as a sociopath long before the illness struck. As I read the book, the vision that came to mind was of a whirlwind that left a trail of (emotional) devastation in its wake. There was the woman who bore him a son out of wedlock; a son he refused to lift a finger or spend a penny to support. She remained loyal to Nash even though she was forced to place her son in foster care on numerous occasions as a result of Nash's callousness. There was his wife who faithfully followed him to Europe where he intended to renounce his American citizenship. It was only through her efforts and the good graces of the French government that he avoided becoming, quite literally, a man without a country. Long after their divorce, she took John in when he came to her with nowhere else to go. There were the associates who he ridiculed and belittled both personally and for their work even though, in some cases, they were trying to help him achieve the recognition he so desperately sought. Even the Nobel committee who made it possible for him to receive the prize literally destroyed itself in the process.

The real story, in my opinion, is of the many people who took the brunt of his mean-spirited selfishness and then, when Nash needed it, put their time, their reputations, and even their careers on the line to help him. It is a remarkable tribute to the innate kindness of so many people who were willing to forgive so much for this broken genius of a man.

For 388 pages Sylvia Nasar leads the reader through John Nash's fascinating life from his birth to the present. But, when all was said and done, I felt as though I had read the first 378 pages so that I could understand the heart-wrenching final ten.

It's no wonder the life of John Nash has captured the imagination of American readers and moviegoers. Here is a man who spent his life in two worlds most of us never experience. For ten years, Nash devoted himself to the estranged, eccentric, "ivory tower" world of abstract mathematical research, where his unbelievable feats of intellect were matched only by his extreme social and sexual immaturity. His peers recognized him as being a true genius, but his often mean-spirited behavior and utter selfishness turned people off and resulted in his being passed over for important awards and university positions. Then, he suffered a schizophrenic break, and spent the next thirty years in and out of mental hospitals, undergoing electroshock and insulin coma therapy, haunted by complex, fanciful delusions that he was at the center of vast government and alien conspiracies. Supported only by his wife and a few friends, he eventually recovered and was awarded a Nobel Prize for his contributions to the field of economics and his research into game theory.

Unlike the recent movie, which omitted the seedier side of Nash's life in order to make him more sympathetic, Sylvia Nasar does not pull her punches. Her book explores the entire man - his intellectual brilliance, his emotional aloofness, his insecurity, and his willingness to prey sexually on men and women desperate for affection. It neither lionizes him for his accomplishments nor demonizes him for his faults. With detached objectivity, she describes both his "discovery" of a new equilibrium in cooperative games and his abandonment of a mistress and illegitimate son. As a reader, I was both awed and repelled at the same time. But it was the story of a life worth reading.

My one criticism of the book is that Nasar writes like a journalist, never presenting a fact without documentation. The result is that every paragraph is littered with quotes from sources - friends, acquaintances, newspapers, journals, government documents, etc. The book reads like an extended newspaper article. It takes longer to digest, and it gets bogged down in details (such as long chapters on the history of MIT and Princeton University). I prefer biographies that are more narrative in style, that get to the point quicker, and that are more emotionally engaging.

I've been on a PREY marathon for the past week, devouring every book I could get my paws on. CERTAIN PREY is my favorite. Lucas Davenport is a great protagonist, and his character continues to develop throughout the series (so it is worth it to the reader to start at the beginning, although not necessary).

HOWEVER, Sandford focuses on the antagonists this time around: beautiful attorney Carmel Loan, and spunky hitwoman Clara Rinker. While Carmel falls into the usual "crazy" category, Rinker inhabits a realm of her own. She's efficient, practical-minded, and for once, a killer who isn't guided by voices, dark desires, or impulses. Her interactions with Davenport are the most thrilling in the book. I rooted for Rinker from front cover to back. And I want to see her again. Sandford has shown that sequels are possible in the PREY-world (EYES OF PREY and SILENT PREY). Let's hope he gifts us with another look at Clara Rinker.

The Prey series has just built a life of it's own. Unlike some of the tired and tried crime series out there, author John Sandford (Camp) has made each entry in his series quite unique. Some of the books have given us a serial killer (Rules of Prey, Eyes of Prey), others handle action (Sudden Prey, Shadow Prey), others allow a cat-and-mouse storyline (Mind Prey, Silent Prey), and still others move right into a straight mystery (Winter Prey, Secret Prey). Sandford keeps things fresh while constantly making each novel stand on it's own strengths.

The constant of the series is of course central character Lucas Davenport. Millionaire cop? Sure. But once you get past this, show me one man out there who wouldn't want to be Lucas. Smart. Sexy. Rich. Adventurous. I know I'd like to be him.

All this of course leads to this entry in the Prey series - CERTAIN PREY. Much like Eyes of Prey, this story gives Lucas two antagonists to deal with. One is a smart, rich, borderline psychopath. The other is a strong, skilled, borderline sociopath. Killings happen. Clues are left. And the characters match wits...and keep the reader turning the pages.

I recommend this book. It is definately one of the stronger entries in the series.

I always anxiously await for another Lucas Davenport book to arrive - only disappointment I have is when I read it so quickly! Sanford still shows suspense in his stories! I enjoy following the "life" of Davenport and hope Lucas continues in the next books and that he doesn't approach retirement too soon! I did find the character, Carmel Loan, a little awkward - a smart prosecutor getting so deeply sucked into the life of crime didn't seem right. Suddenly having no regard for human life didn't seem to follow. Enjoyed Clara Rinker, but wouldn't expect her to return to Minneapolis any time too soon. Great book! Wish Sandford could write & publish as quick as I can read them! Great summer reading!

Oh boy...Case really goes all out in his books to make you think, "Omigosh...what IF this really happened?" In "The Genesis Code," it's a real spellbinder in that it proposes just how far do we go with genetic engineering, or cloning? It opens in a small village in Italy where a priest practically has a stroke in hearing an old doctor's confession. What possibly could it have been? Then the priest is off to Rome to secure a meeting with a cardinal to relate this horrifying unimaginable sin.
Enter Joe Lassiter, a well to do private investigating enterpreneur, who gets involved with all this when his sister and her young son are savagely murdered and then burned to a crisp in their home. Lassiter's trail leads him all over the globe, ultimately to a fertility clinic (or is it?) in Italy. The book, like other Case novels, opens with this jarring prologue and then meticulously details lots of technical information, mysterious men, secrets, secrets and more secrets, and a look at a very unusual religious sect, determined to bring the Catholic church back to its days of Latin masses, and to completely ignore the Vatican II council.
It moves well, though, and I agree that Lassister takes a long time to figure out what's going on. However, by the end, it all makes sense and resolves with a disturbing scene with a young boy and a fish bowl. As in all of Case's works, however, the main flaw is that his climaxes seem to zoom in and then poof, it's over...but even so, my friends, it's a great read.
RECOMMENDED.

John Case provides an excellent mixture of suspense and intrigue in this biomedical thriller. Spining an intricate web that connects science, medicine, religion, and murder, he guides the reader through a thrilling maze of characters, questions and secret agendas that lead to a surprising conclusion.

The first few chapters set the stage as an old village doctor's confession to the parish priest sets in motion a deadly chain of events. Case leaves the reader to wonder what was so disturbing about the doctor's confession, dropping clues along the way to tease the readers curiosity. Each clue, like a piece of a puzzle allows the reader to get a clearer picture of the answer....as long as the reader can put the pieces together! Yet, it is not until the final chapter that the pieces finally come together to provide the staggering answer to the puzzle.

Case's knowledge of investigation provides a vibrant touch of reality to the novel, which is supplemented with thorough knowledge of religion and science. The book is also packed with action, intrigue and suspense. As a result, the book is able to raise interesting questions about science, religion, and ethics while giving the reader an adventure of a thrill ride. It is almost like a mixture of Jurassic Park, James Bond, and religion.

As a theologian, I am considering using it as a case text whenever I teach a class in science and religion. Definetely a must read.

I read Case's second novel first, and was fairly impressed by it. It was a bit amaturish when compared to the likes of Clancy, Chricton, or DeMille, but was still a good entertainment read. Case's first book, The Genesis Code, is not only a page-turner of the first degree, but is also extremely thought provoking and a bit controversial.

After dealing with the murder of his sister and nephew, Joe Lassiter, the story's main character (head of his own investigative firm), decides to jog around the country and world in search for answers. Who REALLY killed them? And more importantly, why? It is not until clues start leading him to Italy and in the direction of a break-away Catholic group that the reader starts making connections to the story's fast-paced, "edge of your chair" first chapter. In this chapter, a priest in a middle-of-nowhere town in Italy takes confession from a local doctor... what he hears shocks him, almost to the point of death. It sends him on a journey to the Vatican with knowledge that could change the world forever.. Case leaves you hanging after the highest members of the church, including the Pope, debate the priest's disturbing news.

Case ties together his plot nicely. He brings information from the book's opening chapter back during the middle of the action, at which point the reader can start guessing the doctor's sin. The sin, having to do with biblical figures, DNA, and a mother's love, is truly amazing. It leaves you wondering, "What if?"

This book is extremely well written, combining techniques similar to Tom Clancy and Micheal Chricton, with a little of Nelson DeMille's talent and humor tossed in. It is a wonderful pick for a thriller lover.. you'll be sad when you finish, constantly wishing that you could pick it up and continue reading, only to find out that you are done. I highly recommend this "good to the last sentence" book! I loved it, and so will you!

... It gives me a great feeling inside knowing there are still people enthusiastic about reading in this age of immediate gratification.

But for this?

It ain't horrible, don't get me wrong. The plot is at least intriguing, tho the characters never seem likeable or even interesting. ... The first few chapter drag unmercifully, and Katzenbach repeats incessantly the mortal sin of writing: don't tell us, SHOW us. By the time I was halfway through I was sick to death of hearing his cliched descriptions of the protagnist's state of mind.

Luckily, the second half of the book speeded up, and the cliches lessened a bit, but the plot developed a couple of major holes. Like, how is it so easy for the protagonist to develop 2 entirely new identities with a menial job and no computer skills? And how does he manage to gallivant around in rented cars with no money, and without the all-knowing villian tracking him?

This book is a fine bit of summer reading--mildly interesting and a fast read. It's in the details that Katzenbach fails us.

...

I remember when I first read the "Rumplestiltskin" fairy tale as a young lad, I was frightened by the nasty little demon who was going to take the lovely woman's baby if she didn't guess his name. His stomping through the floor was a fitting demise for this evil little gnome.
In John Katzenbach's ingenious thriller, "The Analyst" we have another Rumpelstiltskin who is as every bit horrendous as his namesake..even more so.
Without rehashing the plot synopses, suffice to say that Katzenbach creates a rather unusual leading character in Richard Starks/Richard Lively/Frederick Lazarus...he's not all that likeable, but his growth and resolve to find his nemesis is powerful, and even though it's at time a little hard to swallow, we find ourselves searching along with Ricky for the man who has so destroyed his life.
The real identity of Rumpelstiltskin is not too hard to decipher, however; there aren't that many characters in the book to suspect, so his revelation is fairly predictable. However, some of the other surprises are nifty and add to the suspense.
The ending is a little disappointing in that we never really know what happens to Rumpelstiltskin.
All in all, though, a good read.
RECOMMENDED

This book is a must read -- anyone I've recommended this book to has thoroughly enjoyed it. The tale is laden with an eerie, suspensful aura that draws you in immediately. Many questions ring in your mind as the story unfolds. Katzenbach also writes extremely memorable (and unique) characters from the enigmatic Dr. Starks to the [beautiful] chameleon Virgil. These characters have depth that is ever so gradually exposed as we witness Dr. Starks face a life changing 15 days of life. (Is this all that remains for him?) As he discovers more about his mysterious and well-to-do tormentors, he is also forced to learn more about himself. How many satisfying thrillers satiate not only the mystery/suspense receptors in your brain, but also trigger philosophical meaning-of-life questions? This is the kind of book that will stay with you long after you have finished it. Delightful characterizations, and interesting (but not excessive) descriptive details of the background. If you enjoy a good cat-and-mouse game, this is for you!

Don't get me wrong: I'm a BIG Lawrence Block fan. I've read every book he's published since Matt Scudder's drinking days. But he's gotten soft and complacent in recent books. Yes, all his characters talk exactly the same: they all go into these silly off-topic tangents and have a wry humor that is just fine for Bernie, but is way off the mark for Matt or Keller. Block has drifted far away from his noir roots. Keller is not a cold blooded hit man, he's a transparent piece of cardboard. A real killer would have speculated about killing the kids playing basketball in the driveway, if that's what it took to carry out his contract. This is the first Block book in twenty years that I have put aside unfinished. A major disappointment.

Keller rules. I know that sounds like a 6th grade endorsement of this zippy novel (or short story collection?), but I'm just wild about Block's book. It was fun (and quick) read that is perfect for summer. Keller is killer as he well knows. The stories are funny and sometimes surprising. Even more, Keller gets to us. He is a decent and moral man in his own way. Block and Keller have a new fan. I'll be reading "Hit List" soon...

The book the Hit Man by Lawrence Block is a book that is full of enthusiastic drama that makes you want more. This story's main character, J.P. Keller, is a contract hit man. In this book, Keller deals with many problems about his life and has many adventures in doing what he does, which is killing people. This is a great book of short stories about a hit man's personal and impersonal life. Keller is confused and doesn't know whether he should keep his job, that has him killing people, or leave it and live a normal man's life. As a hit man, he sometimes has to kill people that he likes. How does Keller deal with it? What would you do if that were you? Well to find out and to know more about what goes on in a hit man's mind read this book. I give Hit Man a 5 and recommend this book to any body that likes to read exiting short stories.

The highlights of this book are the recaps of mysteries with which I was unfamiliar, including Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, and especially the Lindburgh Baby Kidnapping. The kidnapping piece was particularly interesting and Douglas' points regarding the involvement of Bruno Hauptmann are believable.

I don't think it is any coincidence that Douglas builds up his book with sensational mysteries from the past, and then leads into his piece about the JonBenet Ramsey investigation. In stark contrast with the earlier pieces, however, The feel of this read is far more biased. Douglas' writing during this last chapter has a defensive air vs. the exploratory air of the previous chapters. I'm surprised Olshaker let Douglas get away with that type of writing. As far as Douglas' points, I found his claim unconvincing that in no way could Jon-Benet Ramsey's parents have killed her because parents don't kill their kids that way. Douglas also talks about his "small fee" for taking on the Ramsey case, and I think that it would have been more ethical to fully disclose that fee in the book. One man's small fee is another man's fortune. Also, where were the personality profiles of the parents? How can Douglas not mention the possibility of narcissism with a parent who names his daughter after himself?

Overall, I'm disappointed in the lack of full exploration of all of the key suspects in the Ramsey piece of the book -- where was mention of the brother? However, I think the book is worth purchasing in paperbook for the fascinating overviews of old cases.

I've read most of John Douglas' books, and most of the other books inspired by the work done in the FBI's Behavioral Sciences unit. I have a deep respect for Douglas and his many colleagues around the country who continue to work in law enforcement and are students of the criminal mind.

"The Cases that Haunt Us" is, for the most part, a work that deserves as much accolade as Douglas and Olshaker's previous books. The historical perspective and fresh evaluative light shed on such classic cases as Jack the Ripper and the Lindbergh kidnapping is fascinating and invaluable. However, upon reading the final chapter, I was left with the nagging feeling that every chapter in the book was a carefully calculated setup to prepare the reader for the final chapter, where Douglas presents his findings and opinions on the JonBenet Ramsey murder case.

I don't fault him for being unobjective. He admits that he was hired by the Ramseys' lawyers to provide his opinions on their possible guilt or innocence. He was not, as is often assumed by the public, hired to provide a profile of the killer (he was never given access to the autopsy reports, crime scene photos, physical evidence, etc., that would be necessary for a true profile). As with his style in the previous chapters, he presents the facts of the case. But his chapter on JonBenet is hopelessly contaminated by his own involvement with the family (none of the other high profile cases in the book involved him personally). The result is a missive that reads like a cross between a rationalization and an apology. Don't get me wrong, Douglas presents his findings in a clear and very logical manner, and I don't disagree with his findings. I just wish for the sake of this book, that he had left the Ramsey case alone and had added some additional historical cases (JFK or MLK Jr assassinations, for instance, or the OJ case) in which he was not personally involved.

Much has been written about the JonBenet Ramsey murder, and I was curious to see Douglas' own conclusions on this case. But by including it in this book, he busted what was easily a 5-star work down to 3 stars.

This is a fascinating read.

The idea behind this book is that John Douglas and Mark Olshanker look at some of the unsolved cases through out history that have continued to be of interest to the public. Through the evidence and accounts of each crime, they try to apply the FBI behavioral science that has been developed since these crimes as a way to 'solve' each crime.

Beginning with Jack the Ripper and ending with the Jon Benet-Ramsey murder with a wide variety of unsolved, famous crimes in between this book is just plain fascinating. They begin with a description of the crime, the crime scene and the people involved. Then they begin to explain and catagorize what they can learn from the known facts on hand. They explore possible solutions that have been provided by other authors and try to decide if these solutions fit the crime through a behavioral science point of view. They then provide what they think might be the appropriate solution.

One thing I appreciated about this book was that these authors constantly stress that they can not prove their solution is correct, only that it fits what they know to be facts and the behavior science views. They do not belittle other authors or police, in fact, they are constantly praising the good job the police have done in each case. The stress that this is an exact science at best due to it being a behavioral science and a people science.

Another thing I appreciated about this book was that it was peppered with a variety of cases that the author had personally worked on and stories of criminal the author had personally interviewed. Rather than being distracting, these short stories only support his theories and go a long ways to explaining exactly what the authors are talking about.

I rated this a four mainly for one reason: I find that many of the sentences are long and convoluted. I find that I have to go back to reread a sentence at times to be sure I understand what the sentence was saying. Maybe others won't find this to be an issue, but it occurs just often enough that it disturbs me.

Overall, this is a very fascinating read.

This book is vintage Saul; take too many under-developed characters, place them in a suspenseful plot full of twist and turns which eventually result in a big, suspenseful, over-the-top finale. The Manhattan Hunt Club is a very good summer read; it's the kind of book that reads itself quickly and which you can't help but find entertaining.

The plot is simple in itself; a society of rich, high-class socialites have developed the ulitmate game. They send prisoners down the subway tunnel systems where they hunt them to death. Our main hero, Jeff, becomes a huntee but, of course, he isn't guilty of the crimes he is accused of. He needs to run away from the hunters and survive their attacks. Mix to this about half a dozen more characters, including a female politician, Jeff's father and mother, Jeff's girlfriend and Jinx, a young girl who lives in the tunnels and you get a book that is very full. Maybe even a little too full.

Sure, the tale moves along quickly and it is very suspenseful, but stopping at just a little over 300 pages, the book never gives you the satisfaction of truly knowing any of the characters. Saul spends too much time on suspense and not enough time developing the characters. Hence, you end up not really caring for any of them.

Still, the book offers some great moment and the 75-pages finale is pretty great. This is a good summer read. It's classic Saul, but it's not Saul at his best.

In "The Manhattan Hunt Club," John Saul has gone into new territory both with the geographic setting of the novel and his literary reach. MHC will attract and inspire new fans because of its well told mystery appeal and it's almost cinema-like action and characters.

This compelling book explores the life under New York City in the tunnels, air ducts, subways and crevices that are the residences of thousands of homeless in New York City.

MHC brings home a strong social message that the much heralded triumph over homeless people has literally been pushed underground. Mayor Rudy "Combover" Guliani cannot be pleased at the flurry of media attention MHC is likely to inspire underneath his backyard.

Any Saul fan will cherish this tale, yet this is a perfect place to start for those who have never been taken on one of Saul's amazing rides.

Wow! If you have claustraphobiadon't read this book without having access to the outside for a breaher. Picture yourself in a series of dark tunnels running under the streets of NYC. Some of the tunnels are for trains, subways, utility cables and some nolonger used except by the "houseless" who live there.Jeff Converse is led down there bya man who rescued him from a burning police van. He doesn'tknow where he is or how to escape.Most people think he was killed in the explosion. But his girlfriendand his father believe he is still alive. Suddenly he finds himselfthe target of the Hunt Club. So as not to give away the secrets of this great thriller, I am just going to say by all means read it! John Saul is a great mystery-thriller writer and this is one of his best. I was glad to finish itjust to get out of the tunnels!It is a 5 star plus adventure.