|
by Frances Fyfield
ISBN: 0671676644
Hardcover
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. This book is in a very good condition with no writing, no marks.
More Product Infomation
|
Customer Reviews
|
Wow! A stunner of a mystery
Rating  (5)
Date: 1999-12-26
10 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
As a latecomer to the works of Frances Fyfield, I decided to start with her first West/Bailey mystery. What a remarkable author. The character descriptions are formidable, the plot good enough but not really that important. It's the whole pyschology of the book that really makes it impossible to put down. I can't wait to start her next one! (This book can be found in out of print stock).
|
(Larger Image)
|
by Colin Cotterill
ISBN: 156947463X
Hardcover: 288 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. No writing, no highlighting. This is a used copy with reading/ shelf wear.
More Product Infomation
|
Customer Reviews
|
Great
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-11-02
Everyone else has said it nicely. The setting adds a great flavor to a good story. His writing is great and very descriptive and the characters are fresh. Unfortunately, I read this first without knowing there is a sequenced order and 3-4 books before this one. Do your self a favor and start at the beginning.
|
|
Third world detective mysteries
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-09-10
Amazon's algorithms somehow decided for me that I would enjoy this genre, and I have. This author and series are interesting in the insights they lend to post-revolution Laos as well as giving us story lines and characters that we cannot easily intuit, always a plus in detective novels. More character focus than the detective Chen series, even less western in feel. Give the series a shot.
|
|
great late 1970s Laos mystery
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-08-07
9 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
In 1977 Vientiane a truck ran over blind dentist Dr. Buagaew, killing him instantly. Everyone who witnessed the tragedy assumes the late pedestrian obviously owed karmic debt so no tears were shed. As is the case in these types of vehicular deaths, the Laotian National Coroner septuagenarian Dr. Siri Paiboun is directed to perform a cursory review. He and his capable assistant Nurse Dtui assume nothing of their inquiry even when they find an odd anomaly of blank papers on the victim.
Paiboun soon realizes the papers actually contain encoded notes written in invisible ink. He and Dtui with the assistance of his closest comrades Police Officer Phosy and Politburo member Civilai begin to find clues related to the secret writings that to their shock is simply moves in a game of chess that sends the coroner to the city of Pakse where he begins to piece the puzzle together of a plot to overthrow the Communist regime.
Combining humorous eccentric characters like a fortune telling transvestite Auntie Bpoo and the corpse as a practicing blind dentist inside a strong serious investigation, Colin Cotterill continues his great late 1970s Laos mystery series with another excellent entry. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the truck hits the dentist and never slows down until the final confrontation between anarchists and the old dogs like the coroner. Readers will appreciate Colin Cotterill's fine tale with newcomers seeking the backlist (see DISCO FOR THE DEPARTED, THE CORONER'S LUNCH and THIRTY-THREE TEETH).
Harriet Klausner
|
|
Crudest kind of propaganda
Rating  (1)
Date: 2008-07-26
4 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Mr. Cotteril has several of the talents necessary to a mystery writer. He creates likeable and believable characters, a gripping story, and some memorable description. Unfortunately he puts his talents to the service of a propaganda so pure you would have to go back to Jiang Qing's entertainments during the cultural revolution to find an equivalent. First we are led to like and trust a number of smart and funny characters. Then all these characters turn out, despite the lovable foibles which communism is shown to possess, to be devoted enough to the communist regime to devote all their energy to preventing an anti-communist coup. This is essentially a child's story, remember--the whole pleasure of reading it is supposed to consist in rooting for the group of good children in their attempt to overthrow evil--so that in order to derive any pleasure at all from this book the reader is forced to regard the communists as the good guys. It gets worse. We actually meet two people who support their deposed king, and it's not enough that they should be shown to be thoroughly unpleasant people: they turn out to have been the killers of a little boy. Think about that. You populate a novel with good people who all belong to the same political side, and the only people from the other side whom you introduce are child-killers. I feel disgusted for having spent money on this kind of drivel. The obligation of art to portray human complexities--the human obligation to tell both sides of a story--the obligation of anyone writing anything to respect the intelligence of his readers--Mr. Cotteril spits on and tramples on all of these things with such abandon that I feel disgusted for having spent money on and read his book.
On the level of simple facts, Laos had what by many accounts was a decent and honorable royal family whom the communists starved to death after taking power. Here they are vilified. Why? For being "running dogs of the French". Let's see. The French left in 1954--22 years is a little long to be serving people who'd left the scene. But there is no logic, no integrity, no honesty in this book. I called it crude propaganda because in many respects it is, but there is one respect in which it is quite crafty. Even the author of a book like this knows that if he portrayed his side as all good nobody would believe him. And so he allows his good communists to grumble about the shortcomings of the new regime. Expose some of the weaknesses as well as all of the strengths of your side, and allow the other side to be devils incarnate--that is the trick and Mr. Cotterill knows it well.
Turning for a moment to technique, while it is as I have said a gripping enough tale, there is very little in it that will be new to or surprise anyone who read Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys or any other of a plethora of juvenile fiction. Nobody could seriously compare this work to genuinely delightful detective fiction such as that of Agatha Christie or Conan Doyle.
|
|
`I'm a coroner, not a fortune-teller.'
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-06-06
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is the fourth book in the Doctor Siri series. I have still to read the second and third in the series and I know that the fifth has just been finished. Ideally, of course, one should read these books in order. But linear patience is not amongst my virtues and having so recently discovered these wonderful novels, I find I must read them as quickly as I can obtain them.
In this novel, Dr Siri Paiboun, the reluctant national coroner of Laos, is initially asked to discover the identity of a corpse delivered to the morgue in Vientiane. This is simply the beginning of a series of events involving the problem solving skills of our hero Dr Siri, his friend Civilai (currently a senior member of the Laos politburo), Nurse Dtui, Phosy (the police officer), and Auntie Bpoo, a transvestite fortune teller. Set in the Laos of the 1970s, filled with action, unpredictable events, fascinating characters with wry observations on life, death and politics - this is truly a delightful series.
The writing is superb, and frequently had me laughing out loud. Who can resist:`It is hard to hold a serious debriefing with a man who's ripping off his pants in the middle of a town's main street.' Naturally, by this stage there were other crimes to be solved. After all: `A good socialist is not a dustbin, with a closed lid. He is a letter box, always open to receive news.' Fortunately for Dr Siri, in relation to one of the crimes: `.. the god of unnecessary paperwork intervened. Even before they had the powder, the crime solved itself.'
I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of books two and three, and keenly anticipating the publication of the fifth book. After all, Dr Siri isn't getting any younger.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
|
(Larger Image)
|
by Parnell Hall
ISBN: 0786278900
Hardcover: 445 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. LARGE PRINT. Light reading wear, light shelf wear. EX LIBRARY copy in a very good condition. Usual library marks present.
More Product Infomation
|
Customer Reviews
|
Not your typical little old lady gumshoe
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-12-23
Let's see here. We have a chain smoking, bridge playing, gun toting little old lady who's life is a fraud and isn't above a drink or two. Not the stereotypical heroine. With an ongoing cast of sidekicks and antagonists the journey in these Cora Felton mysteries is the thing. Solving the crime, often done with assumptions rather than evidence, is secondary to the journey itself. They are enjoyable and I've read them all, but they are not for those seeking something more Sherlockian.
James Buffington, author
Politically Incorrect female Chauvinist Jokes About Men: A Funny Joke Book For Women Featuring Humor Both Clean And Adult About Men.
|
|
A Birthday Celebration Not to be Missed
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-01-26
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Cora Felton's birthday is coming, and the citizens of Bakerhaven are going to give their most famous citizen a party whether she wants it or not. Bur Cora's focus isn't on avoiding her birthday (she doesn't celebrate any more). Instead, it's on the old case she's be hired to investigate.
Lawyer Becky Baldwin has asked Cora to look into a 20 year old murder case. Darryl Daigue was convicted of the crime but still says he's innocent. Darryl's sister has hired the lawyer to see if there is reasonable doubt about his guilt.
Cora has barely started investigating before she is told to drop the case. Considering she didn't think there was any evidence worth pursuing, that intrigues her. A little more poking around produces a suspicious accident. Then, someone starts following her. Why all this interest in a case that is so old?
Fans of this series know what to expect, and this book is more of the same. The witty banter between the character had me laughing the entire way through. Cora has given up drinking, but her smoking seemed more obnoxious, at least at the beginning. The supporting cast isn't given as much to do in this book, but I found Cora plenty entertaining on her own. There are cross word puzzles included, but they are related to a sub-plot and not a part of the mystery.
The book does have one flaw, the ending. The story is so convoluted that it is hard to keep track of everyone's motives. And the ending is especially weak. It does make sense, although I had to read the last few chapters twice to make sure I understood. It's almost like the author had so much fun constructing the mystery that he forgot he had to end it somehow.
To be honest, I had so much fun with this book I really didn't care. There were so many great moments, it's hard to complain too much about the ending. So if you are a fan of this series, plan to read this book.
|
|
not as good as the rest.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-02-02
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I've read all of the puzzle lady novels and have enjoyed them all, but this one is not up to par. First, the cursing has escalated both in frequency and severity. Before, it was an occasional "he-- or sh--", but now it's gone to more unexceptable ones & pops up much more often. This one is also too much about Cora. There is very little interaction w/the people who make the stories good. Her antics are way over the top & the solution is one that the reader couldn't possibly see coming. That's not all bad, I suppose, but it needs to have some line to follow & this is way out there. I'm about to start the next one, but if this style keeps up, it will be the last.
|
|
Inelegant but still fun
Rating (3)
Date: 2005-01-04
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Enlisted to investigate whether reasonable doubt exists that repugnant Darryl Daigue actually committed the murder he was convicted of 20 years ago, Cora "The Puzzle Lady" Felton stirs up one hornets nest after another in "And a Puzzle to Die On." It's the sixth in Parnell Hall's series featuring Felton and the regular gang in Bakershaven, Connecticut, and if you've enjoyed any of Hall's previous novels you'll no doubt like this one.
This is a cozy with a slight edge: The violence is muted; the dialogue is pretty tame by crime novel standards; but Cora is a chain-smoking, foul-mouthed (compared to most cozy characters) old broad with an attitude. The fun is following along from one riotous chapter to the next, listening to the banter among the characters, getting lost in a comic misadventure that's light as air. If you enjoy that kind of thing -- and Hall is quite adept at carrying readers along on a wild ride with few hard bumps or crash landings -- this book is for you. You'll be able to ignore the implausible, hopelessly convoluted plot that exists solely to puzzle the reader. After finishing the book, I still wasn't sure what had happened -- but I didn't care all that much. Hall had entertained me for a few hours.
I had read the first in this series, "A Clue For the Puzzle Lady," and after reading this most recent entry, I'll go ahead and read the others. As a rule, I don't enjoy cozies. But Hall has a nice touch and a good sense of pacing, and this series provides a welcome change of pace for a reader who usually prefers a crime novel with a harder edge and bleaker vision.
One side note: A glaring error in the dust jacket copy has me wondering if the folks at Bantam even read the book. The copy twice refers to Bakersfield instead of Bakershaven.
|
|
deliciously convoluted amateur sleuth mystery
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-10-27
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
She is known as the puzzle lady but it is really her publicity shy niece who is the puzzle constructor. Cora's favorite pastime is solving real life murder mysteries, which is why she agrees to lawyer Becky Baldwin's proposition. Becky wants Cora to find out if convicted murderer Daryl Daigue really killed seventeen year old Anita Dryer two decades ago. Depending on what Cora digs up, Becky will decide whether she wants to take the case.
Sara visits Darryl in prison; he acts like a criminal but insists that he was working at the time Anita was killed and he was covering for Ricky Gleason, the actual killer. Before leaving the prison, Warden Profack subtly warns Cora not to work on Darryl's case. Sara find that admonition suspicious and keeps digging which leads to her being followed by a private detective who is murdered at Cora's birthday party. Later, someone throws a rock through her window and she is arrested for absconding with a toy poodle that belongs to a woman who was also murdered because she had something that the killer wanted. The truth about who hired Becky and the two murders comes out when Cora has her day in court.
AND A PUZZLE TO DIE ON is a deliciously convoluted amateur sleuth mystery in which everyone connected to the case has a hidden agenda. The protagonist is in fine form as she breaks into offices and homes, steals what turn out to be significant, winds up spending a night in jail, and refuses to conform to court etiquette. Parnell Hall has written a complex who-done-it that has the requisite number of red herrings and misleading clues.
Harriet Klausner
|
(Larger Image)
|
by Susan Goodwill
ISBN: 0738710377
Paperback: 264 pages
Condition: New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. No publisher marks, no shelf wear.
More Product Infomation
|
Customer Reviews
|
I laughed out loud
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-06-24
I was looking for a new read, and Brigadoom looked perfect. I finished it in one day. I was laughing out loud as I took it with me to doctors' offices and waiting for my friends to show up for lunch. People gave me funny looks, but I didn't care.
I like the first person narrator and I like her dry wit and funny asides. I wanted to go to her town and visit the characters there. I felt as comfortable with this book as I do reading Janet Evanovich and Laura Levine, also authors who make me laugh out loud.
I was relieved that I had bought the second book at the same time as the first, so that I can begin it right away.
When does #3 come out?
|
|
funny, twisty, and a little romantic
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-06-08
Kate London's life just got very complicated. Her eccentric aunt announces they'll be reopening the old Egyptian theater with a production of Brigadoon in one month, not the three months she'd anticipated. And the Egyptian needs a lot of work--more, now that vandals have targeted it.
Then she discovers her fiance, Mayor Ronnie Balfours, cheating on her, and reacts in a perfectly rational way... or rather, she reacts the way we'd all like to react: she attacks him with a golf cart.
Adding anger management classes to her already busy schedule seemed like a lot... until the dead bodies started showing up, including Mayor Ronnie's in the trunk of her car. And being busy suddenly doesn't seem so bad, now that she's a murder suspect.
It doesn't help that the sheriff is an ex-lover, or that they still strike sparks off each other.
And did I mention the Naked Bandit?
Brigadoom is a fast-paced, fun story full of humor, twists and turns, unusual characters, emotion, and a touch of romance. I'm looking forward to the next Kate London mystery.
|
|
I really tried.....
Rating (3)
Date: 2008-05-22
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
to like this book---a lot....but it was too much of a Janet Evanovich wanna-be for me. Yes, the pages flew. Yes, there was a mystery. Yes, there were chuckles. However, I felt it was all mimicry, down to the pet doggie, the romance from childhood, the oldster aunt, her friend Verna and their antics (read Grandma Mazur)etc...I could go on in this vein but I know you all get the drift of this.
Another however. I did like the writing, and so I will try the second in this series, hoping some originality will be forthcoming but only if I find it in the library.
|
|
Fun and Playful
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-02-13
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is a keeper. I loved the loony characters and Kate London is a woman after my own heart. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
|
|
Disappointed but hoping the next will be better
Rating (3)
Date: 2007-12-04
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I bought this book from Amazon a few weeks ago, because I had another book in my cart and wanted free shipping so I searched for another light and fun mystery. I'm a fan of Janet Evanovich and am always looking for similar works. I thought I had found it with "Brigadoom" since the reviews were fabulous!
On the plus side, Ms. Goodwill is dang funny. Loved the golf cart scene, and "Al" from anger management. Aunt Kitty was pretty funny, too.
However, it took me 2 weeks to finish this book, which is unheard of for me! If I'd borrowed it from the library, I would have abandoned it. The short chapters didn't bother me, I actually like that, but I wasn't getting into the plot. I never really got why the killer did it, since I put the book down so often I had trouble remembering who was who and, gee, I can't even remember enough now to even give an example. The plot just never clicked with me, I guess.
I am writing this because it reminds me of a few years ago when I took a novel-writing class because I had Janet Evanovich stars in my eyes. Well, it's certainly easier to read than write! If I do say so myself, and I am, I had some funny ideas, and could write them effectively. But when it came to plotting the mystery, I couldn't get it all together. Maybe some day I'll try again.
I see that the next Kate London comes out in March. When I see it at the library 6 months later, I'll try her again. I do think Ms. Goodwill has talent, and if the plot can hold my attention, I think she can crank out a book that I'd rate 5 stars.
|
|
|
by Betty Rowlands
ISBN: 0708943136
Hardcover: 352 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Light reading wear, light shelf wear. EX LIBRARY copy in a very good condition. Usual library marks present.
More Product Infomation
|
(Larger Image)
|
by Ron Ellis
ISBN: 0750523476
Hardcover: 442 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Light reading wear, light shelf wear. EX LIBRARY copy in a very good condition. Usual library marks present.
More Product Infomation
|
(Larger Image)
|
by Jane Haddam
ISBN: 0786288779
Hardcover: 677 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Light reading wear, light shelf wear. EX LIBRARY copy in a very good condition. Usual library marks present.
More Product Infomation
|
Customer Reviews
|
Thoughtful and challenging
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-05-31
Haddam's Hardscrabble Road is proof that an author can continue to expand the horizons and improve the narrative using the same characters as the basis for a series. This is a thought-provoking work that challenges the reader to start thinking about the present-day dominance of radicals on boths sides and to consider how necessary it is to become more reasonable. But it's not a preachy volume and the author manages to entertain and keep the reader's attention about "who dunnit" at the same time. I am always glad to read a Haddam book and especially the Demarkian series, so human and at the same time so super!
|
|
Mysterylover
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-11-13
I've read the reviews so far and, frankly, am dissapointed in what most say. first, it is true that there is a lot that is irritating in this book (personally I am sick and tired of Bennis and of Gregor's endless "puzzlements" that range from her vagaries to the state of being in the comtemporary world. But second (and. to me far more important) are the themes that pulse below and through the plot. the status of the homeless in America's big cities; the juxtaposition of fear and religion; contemporary academic life...there are so many. Primary for me are Haddam's comments on the state of polical life in America. she does this so well through her characters (why do we desipise Neil Savage? Jiggs Tyler?) and through Tibor (who I find almost always speaks for the author). In fact, I've assigned my freshman writing class a research paper into which they must incorporate refereences to Hardscrabble Road, Bill O'Reilly's Culture Warrior and Al Frankin's Lies and the Lying Liars... so far about 1/2 my students 'get it' in terms of what Haddam is saying. I wish people would treat Haddam's books as something more than 'just' a murder mystery'
|
|
the crowds, the noise, the PEOPLE . . .
Rating (1)
Date: 2007-01-15
6 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
OK, I'm a bit embarrassed to say this, but I gave up on this book. I'd read Haddam about 10 years ago and retained enough of a good taste in my mind to pick up this new novel, but here I am on page 47, and Gregor Demarkian has yet to appear; plus, I've been asked to absorb not one or two, but six or seven sets of disparate characters, none of whom has as yet had any interaction with the others or with Demarkian. All of these mostly unpleasant folk are, presumably, involved in the shock jock/faux Rush land deal and attendant court cases, but - after reading page after page of tersely brief dialogue, picking up slivers of the plot here and there, trying to remember who's on first - I failed to begin to care. Well, to be entirely fair, I DID care about the Nobel Prize, as in There Is No Nobel Prize for Mathematics. Surely everyone knows that? That's why there's a Fields Medal. Read the New Yorker or the footnotes to Tom Stoppard's Arcadia.
So the non-Nobel and the cast of thousands was giving me a headache and I stopped reading. I read mysteries for pleasure. If I want a headache, I can read the catalogue of the ships in book 2 of The Iliad. It's only marginally more boring than this novel's opening decades.
The good reviews sound convincing, but for the casual turner of pages, nearly 50 pages spent waiting for the plot to emerge is a big yawn. So that makes me just like the double-digit IQ's Haddam spends paragraphs savaging, doesn't it? Fair enough.
If, on the other hand, you are fond of waiting, give Samuel Beckett a try, too.
|
|
The series is has changed somewhat since it began, but haven't we all?
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-09-17
8 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
There have been changes over the years in the Gregor Demarkian series, and not all of them have been improvements, but it's still a darn good series, with intricate characters and plots that deftly mingle the real world and the fictional. I am the same person I was twenty years ago, even though I'm a bit slower and fatter - but a much better saxophone player! - and my friends still like me; I believe book series and their authors deserve at least as much opportunity to change.
So what are some of the changes? One of the good ones: Bennis' flakiness and moodiness are not entertaining any more, and Gregor is beginning to realize that he may even deserve someone who is not a smoking nervous wreck; Bennis's schtick was beginning to wear on me. One of the bad ones: Father Tibor has lost most of his personality, becoming little more than a cardboard foil for Gregor. But overall, most of the characters in the series are aging well, and growing up in one way or another.
If you were to read this book without having read the rest of the series, those changes in ongoing personalities wouldn't matter to you; you'd be concerned with the plot and the ideas. So let me give you the overarching idea of this volume:
Noblesse oblige, both from those who have wealth and those who have brilliant minds, is both required and a mistake at the same time. Anyone who has gifts is obliged to try to help others, and everyone who does so attempt will be mistaken in their attempts to discern the difference between needs and wants, and in their guesses as to what the recipients of their help really think about it. The metaphor of no man being an island is used in the book, and if I may drag that metaphor out a bit, while it's true, sometimes the bridges that connect us are shaky, and many times we should have used an alternate route to get to another person, and we don't find it out until there's an smoking 18-car pileup on the road between us.
As other reviewers have noted, conservative radio blowhards come in for a great deal of bashing in this book. But so do leftist academics, and just about everyone in between. Partly, the author seems to be asking, through her characters, will you please all stop and THINK harder instead of automatically taking any party line or any opinion you are handed as doctrine, whether it be from a political party or from a religion? At the same time, though, she has a character who is brilliant and thinks everything through faster than most people could start - and he still makes mistakes; thinking everything through is not enough if you don't ever do a reality check by *participating* in a reality-based community of some sort, with other people who are not identical to yourself. And that, in turn, means not automatically identifying yourself with one group or another all the time.
Haddam reinforces this point through some of her secondary characters - Ed the lawyer, for example, who is gay, but has had to reinvent what kind of gay persona he is, because he doesn't fit into one of the gay stereotypes that even the gay community tends to categorize itself into. And of course, Sister Maria Beata, who has changed from a shark corporate lawyer to an uncommon extern sister of a contemplative and cloistered order of nuns, leaping from one community with a very rigid set of expected behaviors and thoughts to another with an even stranger set; her thoughts about what she expected, and what she got, out of this self-imposed complete change of view, are fascinating.
This isn't the first time that Haddam has made use of nuns/former nuns, and it isn't the first time that she has made them sympathetic and interesting characters, either, even though overall Haddam's attitude toward religion in general and organized Christianity and the Catholic Church in particular has been negative. Haddam has, in the past, portrayed atheists far more sympathetically and far more seriously than most contemporary fiction writers, including mentioning the Freedom From Religion Foundation in a past book; in this book, she mentions CSICOP, an organization that, while not specifically anti-religion, finds itself often taking on religion in its efforts to keep harmful superstitions and scams based on superstition and religion from gaining headway.
All that about details, and I've said nothing about the plot! Well, other reviews have pretty well covered that; my take on it is that the play-fair rules of the genre, which include "follow the money," are played fair here. We have a decent plot, with a credible resolution, and not one that winds up depending on freakish motivations or the twisted serial killers that some authors rely on. I am really tired of some contemporary authors' dependence on incredible recurring super-villains or ghastly mutants, or evil plots that in the real world couldn't be kept secret like that for more than 10 seconds. I like the realism of the mistakes that both good and bad characters make in Haddam's books, and I like that most of her characters have both good and bad traits.
In short: the plot's not the most important thing here, but it's OK; the political and philosophical ideas will annoy everyone at some point, but are worth it. The only people who won't like this volume in the series, assuming you already like the series, are those who are so rigidly committed to their own limited viewpoints that they get upset at hearing them analyzed in any fashion.
|
|
really bad
Rating  (2)
Date: 2006-08-13
6 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
i must have read a different book. the plot was the same as the other reviews. but, i can't remember a book more filled with contempt for everyone in the world. this author pretty much calls everyone in the world stupid (except herself). the conservatives are dumber than the liberals. republicans dumber than democrats. midwesterners dumber than easterners.westerners are as dumb as midwesterners but have better accents. and southerners are dumber than all the rest. ivy-league colleges are too conservative. but just as i was about to throw this book away, the liberals took their bashing. they, it seems, aren't as dumb but are corrupt.
i guess, according to the back jacket of the book, this type of writing is sophisticated. i don't see it.
but as the author seems to think that all are stupid except her, i feel it necessary to point out that there is no nobel prize in mathematics, as a little research would have shown.
this book did improve at about page 170. the last half being a mediocre detective novel. figure the first half a 1-star and the last half a 3-star. but it just isn't worth it.
|
(Larger Image)
|
by Beverle Graves Myers
ISBN: 1590582241
Paperback: 296 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Book in good condition with minimal reading wear. EX LIBRARY BOOK CLUB copy. There is a number and library stamp on the top, but no further markings or imperfections.
More Product Infomation
|
Customer Reviews
|
A Beautiful Historical Mystery
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-06-03
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
The world of opera in past centuries sometimes seems odd in this age, but think pop star, think crowds of adoring fans, think Michael Jackson. Well, maybe not.
Tito is a castrato, a young man surgically altered to create a voice that entertains the crowds of opera fans of the Baroque era. He finds himself embroiled in mystery when a singer at the opera is murdered and his best friend is accused of the crime.
The history is excellent. I was immediately pulled into Tito's world, recalling my teen years when Mary Stewart, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Norah Lofts did the same for me, to the point that my parents sometimes lost patience when I too often had my "nose stuck in a book."
The setting is lush and well-rounded, the characters become real to the reader despite being long-dead, and the mystery is both compelling in its progression and satisfying at the end. I found that for the first time in many months, I was willing to put aside other concerns in my desire to find out how it ended. And isn't the goal of all mystery writers to create that feeling in the reader?
|
|
Fascinating!
Rating (4)
Date: 2005-04-10
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Filled with lush description of Venice during Carnivale, its political and social structure, the inner workings of the opera company and Tito's relationships with his family, friends, colleagues and himself, this is a rich, wonderful book. I also found it a good mystery with a couple of twists and some good suspense. This is a series I shall definitely follow.
|
|
A Fascinating Read
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-01-25
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Interrupted Aria concerns a Venetian castrato struggling to solve a murder mystery while uncovering secrets about his own past. The story begins with Tito Amato returning to Venice after many years of training at a music conservatory. Felice, his friend who is agonizing over the loss of his voice, tags along. Before the close of Tito's opera debut, a prima donna is murdered and Felice is arrested. There are several red herrings in this densely plotted mystery, and it won't give anything away to say that, in the detecting phase of the story, all Tito's sinister family secrets come tumbling out of the closet. This book is based on a piece of history that is seldom mentioned, but the characters, especially Tito are so intriguing that it all comes beautifully alive. I look forward to a sequel.
|
|
Rather Amusing Fluff
Rating (2)
Date: 2005-01-24
2 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
A quite respectable trash book.
Forgot the title after two days, but, due to the author's heavy use of clichéd ideas, did not forget the plot. Set in Venice (what isn't?), it includes the usual moth-eaten, self-conscious references to "social questions" regarding musici; as well as the several painfully obvious "secrets" that the poor witless characters finally manage to unravel after several decades of emoting. That to "flavor" the tired old brew of murder, wrongful imprisonment, and chase scenes. Finished, of course, by a cute little ending.
Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately, if you're looking for a laugh), the characters are too wooden to allow for excessive melodrama. And there are a few vaguely intriguing points: Tito's sister has an interesting medical condition, and his pal ends up mysteriously trotting away with a priest in the last paragraph (is he off to enter the order or just looking for a free meal?).
Beyond that, the book is like whipping cream without the pie. A perfect, lightweight pick-me-up after a Sam Shepherd marathon, or a nasty week at work, or eight hours of final exams, etc, etc.
Let's hope she writes more of the same.
|
|
Keeps you guessing until the end!
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-05-28
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Interrupted Aria by Beverle Graves Myers is a page turner. Mystery buffs who like exotic settings will find themselves immersed in the seedy decadence and grand opulence of 18th century Venice. Myers does an excellent job of "setting the stage" with well defined characters and vivid literary descriptions of the early lore of opera without the history lessons. I love anything opera related, so when I saw this book, I thought it would be worth reading. Little did I know, that once started, I could not put this book down.
It all begins with Tito Amato, a castrato soprano, who has returned to his city of Venice to sing at the San Stefano Opera House. Shortly after he arrives, one friend is murdered while another stands accused. Time quickly ticks away as Tito searches for the identity of the true killer before his friend is put to death. Meanwhile, with each passing hour, the pressure intensifies as Tito tries to avoid encounters with the murky associates of those who would like to see him fail for their own nefarious purposes.
In addition to a well written mystery, I was pleasantly surprised to find there were so many other levels to this book. Myers is quite empathetic in describing Tito, who as a castrato is revered for his voice while at the same time reviled because he is not seen as a whole man.
Whether you are a mystery fan, opera fan, or both, this book is a must read. It is well developed throughout with enough plots and twists to keep you guessing until the end. I hope to read more by Myers in the near future.
|
(Larger Image)
|
by Beverle Graves Myers
ISBN: 1590582241
Paperback: 296 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Book in good condition with minimal reading wear. EX LIBRARY copy. Library markings present but no further markings or imperfections.
More Product Infomation
|
Customer Reviews
|
A Beautiful Historical Mystery
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-06-03
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
The world of opera in past centuries sometimes seems odd in this age, but think pop star, think crowds of adoring fans, think Michael Jackson. Well, maybe not.
Tito is a castrato, a young man surgically altered to create a voice that entertains the crowds of opera fans of the Baroque era. He finds himself embroiled in mystery when a singer at the opera is murdered and his best friend is accused of the crime.
The history is excellent. I was immediately pulled into Tito's world, recalling my teen years when Mary Stewart, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Norah Lofts did the same for me, to the point that my parents sometimes lost patience when I too often had my "nose stuck in a book."
The setting is lush and well-rounded, the characters become real to the reader despite being long-dead, and the mystery is both compelling in its progression and satisfying at the end. I found that for the first time in many months, I was willing to put aside other concerns in my desire to find out how it ended. And isn't the goal of all mystery writers to create that feeling in the reader?
|
|
Fascinating!
Rating (4)
Date: 2005-04-10
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Filled with lush description of Venice during Carnivale, its political and social structure, the inner workings of the opera company and Tito's relationships with his family, friends, colleagues and himself, this is a rich, wonderful book. I also found it a good mystery with a couple of twists and some good suspense. This is a series I shall definitely follow.
|
|
A Fascinating Read
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-01-25
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Interrupted Aria concerns a Venetian castrato struggling to solve a murder mystery while uncovering secrets about his own past. The story begins with Tito Amato returning to Venice after many years of training at a music conservatory. Felice, his friend who is agonizing over the loss of his voice, tags along. Before the close of Tito's opera debut, a prima donna is murdered and Felice is arrested. There are several red herrings in this densely plotted mystery, and it won't give anything away to say that, in the detecting phase of the story, all Tito's sinister family secrets come tumbling out of the closet. This book is based on a piece of history that is seldom mentioned, but the characters, especially Tito are so intriguing that it all comes beautifully alive. I look forward to a sequel.
|
|
Rather Amusing Fluff
Rating (2)
Date: 2005-01-24
2 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
A quite respectable trash book.
Forgot the title after two days, but, due to the author's heavy use of clichéd ideas, did not forget the plot. Set in Venice (what isn't?), it includes the usual moth-eaten, self-conscious references to "social questions" regarding musici; as well as the several painfully obvious "secrets" that the poor witless characters finally manage to unravel after several decades of emoting. That to "flavor" the tired old brew of murder, wrongful imprisonment, and chase scenes. Finished, of course, by a cute little ending.
Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately, if you're looking for a laugh), the characters are too wooden to allow for excessive melodrama. And there are a few vaguely intriguing points: Tito's sister has an interesting medical condition, and his pal ends up mysteriously trotting away with a priest in the last paragraph (is he off to enter the order or just looking for a free meal?).
Beyond that, the book is like whipping cream without the pie. A perfect, lightweight pick-me-up after a Sam Shepherd marathon, or a nasty week at work, or eight hours of final exams, etc, etc.
Let's hope she writes more of the same.
|
|
Keeps you guessing until the end!
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-05-28
7 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Interrupted Aria by Beverle Graves Myers is a page turner. Mystery buffs who like exotic settings will find themselves immersed in the seedy decadence and grand opulence of 18th century Venice. Myers does an excellent job of "setting the stage" with well defined characters and vivid literary descriptions of the early lore of opera without the history lessons. I love anything opera related, so when I saw this book, I thought it would be worth reading. Little did I know, that once started, I could not put this book down.
It all begins with Tito Amato, a castrato soprano, who has returned to his city of Venice to sing at the San Stefano Opera House. Shortly after he arrives, one friend is murdered while another stands accused. Time quickly ticks away as Tito searches for the identity of the true killer before his friend is put to death. Meanwhile, with each passing hour, the pressure intensifies as Tito tries to avoid encounters with the murky associates of those who would like to see him fail for their own nefarious purposes.
In addition to a well written mystery, I was pleasantly surprised to find there were so many other levels to this book. Myers is quite empathetic in describing Tito, who as a castrato is revered for his voice while at the same time reviled because he is not seen as a whole man.
Whether you are a mystery fan, opera fan, or both, this book is a must read. It is well developed throughout with enough plots and twists to keep you guessing until the end. I hope to read more by Myers in the near future.
|
|
Number found:33 Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 Next |
|
What customers are saying…
Amazon.com Feedback Rating:
4.9 stars over the past 12 months (954 ratings)
|
Recent Feedback
|
5 out of 5: 2009-01-07
Excellent condition-thanks!
|
4 out of 5: 2009-01-07
.
|
5 out of 5: 2009-01-07
Pleased
|
5 out of 5: 2009-01-07
On time and as described! Thanks!
|
5 out of 5: 2009-01-06
everything as promised
|
|