Book Description
Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, is understandably upset. It isn't like her p.i. husband Max to abruptly disappear—and homicide is definitely not his style. But when his car is found abandoned on a remote road with a brutally slain, once-beautiful young woman nearby and the murder weapon stashed in the trunk, Annie's worst fears seem justified.
The police have Max all but tried and convicted—except for Chief Billy Cameron, whose unshakable belief in his friend's innocence prompts his removal from the case. And as a media circus descends on tiny Broward's Rock, Annie will have to place her own life in jeopardy to clear her husband's name. But time is running out—and she has only one slim chance to unmask a killer who just may have committed the perfect crime.
Customer Reviews:
'Dead Days of Summer': Finest of a fine series.......2007-07-29
This is Carolyn Hart's 17th mystery in the Death on Demand series alone. She can't turn them out fast enough for me. I loved it, all the way through.
I had only two problems with the book: (1)I really relate to Max Darling -- what loving husband wouldn't? -- and he is incapacitated and powerless virtually the entire book. (2)For more than a hundred pages I believed I knew the identity of the murderer; I was wrong.
What a fine read. And when is No. 18 coming out?
No Dead Days Here.......2007-06-06
Dead Days of Summer
Carolyn Hart
If you like murder mysteries or the author Sue Grafton, you will love Carolyn Hart's Dead Days of Summer. The book is one is a long series called Death on Demand. I have no idea where this book fits into the whole picture, but I never once felt that I was left out of the loop because I had not read any of the others. The book does not have a strong Christian base, but it does speak of the Lord, church, belief, and faith. There is even a character who quotes scripture. As a Christian you would not feel weird, or wrong reading this book.
The story opens up on the slow side, and introduces you to a lot of characters right off the bat. This is definitely one that you have to pay attention to from page one or you could get lost in the mix of all the mayhem.
Annie Darling is the main character. The story revolves around her and her husband Max. Annie is the owner of a mystery book store called Death on Demand. Max is a private detective, but cannot call himself one because of the laws of the island that they live on. Broward Rock is the name of the island that they live on. It is one of the islands off of South Carolina.
Annie and Max had lunch together and are walking back to their offices, Annie insists that Max go to the office today and maybe someone will come in. Annie goes to her bookstore and immediately picks up where she left off on planning Max's surprise birthday party. Her mother-in-law Laurel is helping with the planning. It is almost close of business time when Max calls and says that he has a client and will be home later and call if it is going to be real late.
The client that hires Max is a beautiful woman who says that she is looking for her brother who disappeared the previous year. She shows Max pictures of him, and a note that states that he is seen most nights at a place called Dooley's Mine, which is a sleazy bar, that not many people would be caught dead at. They plan to meet there later that evening to scope the place out and see if he is there.
Max never calls and Annie freaks out. She goes to Max's place of business and finds and intruder. She then calls the police. Nothing is making sense, and just as a precaution a missing persons is released, just on a hunch because there is not enough evidence to go on. Annie calls all of their friends and they all start looking for Max. The friends that she calls are a mystery writer, and ex-military woman, an ex-editor, an ex-reporter, an actress, a newspaper man, and others.
The next morning they find a woman who has been murdered, and Max's car just outside the cabin that she has been murdered in. They don't find Max though. Annie knows from gut instinct that this is the person who hired Max. When they don't find Max, the search is on even harder. One of the friends Emma, who is the author, hires a great attorney for them, since it now looks like Max is wanted for murder.
Later on the same day that they find the dead woman, they find Max. He wakes up, confused, sick, and covered in blood. When the police find him they take him into custody for the murder of Vanessa Taylor, who is the woman that they found dead in the cabin. Max has never heard of Vanessa Taylor, and cannot remember anything that has happened. The police chief ends up having to put Max under arrest for the murder of the woman. While he is in the cell, Annie enters the jail and they talk. She vows to find who set him up, and get to the bottom of all of this mess.
Annie, her mother-in-law and her friends do just that. The majority of the book is them sleuthing around and getting information. They follow leads and end up unraveling the whole set up. Max is freed and life goes on as usual.
The book on the whole is good. It takes a long time for the story to develop and get into the action. If you are into meat and grit from page one this one will leave you wanting. If you have patience and don't mind a long build up and climax, then this is the book for you. Ms. Hart has wonderful characters and many of them. She also finds a way to keep them all tied to the story, even if it is just a sentence in the middle of the book. That is a definite gift, and I am glad that she does not leave the reader wondering what happened to so and so even if they were a minor character. Not a bad read at all, life as usual...until the next Death on Demand book.
best yet.......2007-04-29
this is by far to me the best of the best Hart always peaks your interest from the very first sentence..but this one tops them all..you have to read it clear though..wow!!!
A Death On Demand Mystery.......2007-04-20
This book is the best of the series that I have read. Ms. Heart is an excellent cozy mystery writer. I have all of her books in my library and have read them all. My favorite was a Henrie O mystery "Dead Man's Island".
A Nice Entry in the Series.......2006-12-30
I had grown disenchanted with the Darlings and their friends and family on Broward's Rock. Out of habit, however, I read "Dead Days of Summer" and enjoyed it. I felt that Max and Annie were more *human* in this book, with Annie facing the strain of the speculation that Max may have been (a) unfaithful, and (b) responsible for a death, and with Max struggling with limitations that are not surmontable in spite his incredible wealth. Indeed most of the characters seemed more real (well, with the exception of Laurel... but really, Laurel is nothing short of otherworldly!)
Book Description
Warlockry has been rare in Ethshar . . . until The Night of Madness, when a mysterious object falls from the heavens, sending out a wave of magic in the form of a dream. All who have the dream awaken in panic. But some of them also awaken to the power or Warlockry.Throughout the land these newly made warlocks wreak havoc; looting and rioting, petty personal revenge, and uncontrollable madness run rampant. Worse, people are hearing a mysterious, irresistible call from which they never return.Into this chaos steps the power-hungry Lord Faran, who seeks to use his new warlock powers to overthrow the government and take possession of the throne.Who will dare to oppose him?
Customer Reviews:
A bit frustrating.......2006-01-31
This was a great story and well written. Watt-Evans is a favorite of mine. I've enjoyed everything I've read of his so far. This story is about a man named Hanner who, one fateful night along with hundreds of others, were mysteryously given strange and special powers. He gradually finds out about the limitations and consequences of using these powers. The plot is mainly how these "warlocks" (as the select are called) come into realizing what they are, and how they are treated by everyone else.. with fear and hostility until they prove themselves. All-in-all, a good story. But I have a huge problem with this book... and this is spoiler, I'm sorry.. The author never gives a reason as to how this Night of Madness happened, or who was responsible, or what actually happens to the "warlocks" when they are "called" to the north. I generally don't like stories to end without tying up at least MOST of the loose ends. I'm sure he's just leaving room for a second book, but he needs to give you some idea that this is going to happen. I was pretty frustrated, to say the least.
a pleasant story without much excitement.......2004-09-09
Not bad. Well written, and the author doesn't insult your intelligence with unbelievable characters and cliches. But I have to add that the story isn't very gripping, either. I was able to spend a week reading it, about an hour every night -- which indicates that a little more suspense and excitement would have been welcome, and kept me turning the pages.
The night of madness, a tale finally told!.......2002-12-28
Ok, this isn't the best novel in the series, but it also isn't the worst by far. ...
NoM is a tale that anyone who has read any of the other Ethshar novels has been waiting to get their hands on. It is the tale of what happens on the night Warlockery is iontorduced into the world. As such, it is kind of rigid in what it can and cannot do. It COULD show how people reacted when they first became warlocks, how rulers and wizards worried over the new magic, and show how the Council of Warlocks came into being complete with how all their laws and rules came about. It simply could NOT tell us what caused warlockery to occur, since earlier novels (which take place much later after the night of madness)left the whole event shrouded in mystery. LWE couldn't reveal what caused the event or why it happened, but he did reveal some tantalizing clues, which if you gather tidbits from other novels in the series gives you a better (if somewhat lacking) idea of what is going on.
In usual LWE fasion the protagonist makes out by not being greedy or power hungry, so there is no surprises there. Read it, it is still a high quality book.
Magic without the fizz.......2002-03-18
This is one of those play-by-the-rules fantasies, except for a single unexplained night of madness when ordinary citizens of Ethshar woke up from a nightmare and discovered that they could fly, or perform other assorted magicks.
The characters are pretty pedestrian, even granting that some of them can fly. A few gained the ability to lift heavy objects (except for the plot) by thinking about them. The hero, Hanner becomes one of the `lifters.' He is also a self-described palace parasite, a humorless young man, but nevertheless willing to take charge and do something productive during the night of madness. Hanner tries to figure out why some people were turned into warlocks on that night, and why others simply disappeared, but he approaches the mystery with the well-meaning plod of a Watson whose Holmes went over the falls at Reichenbach.
The mystery never is solved, so I'm assuming there is going to be a sequel to this fantasy.
The magic in "Night of Madness" is interesting, but it lacks the inspired fizz produced by, say a Neil Gaiman, a John Bellairs, or a Patricia McKillip. In one of wittiest scenes, a flying telephone lands in the sorceress Ithinia's backyard, and her gargoyles try to frighten it away:
"Old Rocky and Glitter were the two creatures still guarding it [the phone]. Ithinia glanced at Old Rocky's niche, on the south-west corner of the house.
"'Did you see where it came from?'
"'No, mistress. It came down out of the sun while we were meditating.'
"'You were sleeping, not meditating,' Ithinia said. `I've told you not to try to fool me. Stone should sleep---it's nothing to hide."
"'Yes, Mistress," the gargoyle said, abashed.'
"'It called my name? Did it say anything else?'
"'It said it needed to speak with you.'"
Ha ha ha. Clunk.
Most of the dialogue comes in the form of big, chunky explanatory text, in order to elucidate the rules of Ethsharian magic, what a sorcerer may or may not do, what a witch may or may not do, etc. etc. By their very nature, sequels suffer from a degree of explanatory text, but this rules-bound fantasy takes it to an extreme. If you've already read one of the prequels to "Night of Madness" you'll be able to skip through whole pages of this book.
In fact, you might want to give the entire book a pass.
Well written, fun, with charming characters.......2001-03-12
Lord Hanner is a minor functionary until the night of madness. Suddenly, a new branch of magic attaches itself to thousands of citizens--including Hanner and his powerful uncle. Caught up in the joy and power of their new magic, many warlocks loot stores, create havoc, or use their power to exact revenge for past wrongs. The ordinary people, lords, and existing orders of magic are all threatened--and in turn threaten the warlocks.
Hanner gathers a small group of warlocks and tries to find a way out of the mess. He certainly doesn't want to accept exile or execution, but neither does he believe that the warlocks can or should use their power to control the government. The old rules of separation are still valid, but will the older magicians accept the new warlocks or will magic battle magic.
Watt-Evans has written a fascinating novel. Hanner, in particular, is an intriguing and likable character. His tendency toward pudgyness and his problems with the opposite sex make him more sympathetic and Watt-Evans builds on this nicely.
About the only flaw I could find in this book was in its characters' strange reluctance to pursue the question of what caused the outbreak of the warlock magic visitation and what caused so many warlocks to fly away from everything they knew into the mysterious north. I can't imagine characters such as Watt-Evans described not wanting to find the answers to these questions, yet they didn't--or at least they didn't try very hard.
With this one quibble aside, NIGHT OF MADNESS was an enjoyable romp of a novel--funny, but with enough social heft to give the reader something to think about.
Book Description
On February 22, 1916, Ralph Albert Blakelock's haunting landscape Brook by Moonlight was sold at auction for $20,000, a record price for a painting by a living American artist. The sale made him famous, newspapers called him America's greatest artist, and thousands flocked to exhibits of his work. Yet at the time of his triumph Blakelock had spent fifteen years confined in a psychiatric hospital in upstate New York while his wife and children lived in poverty. Released from the asylum under the aegis of a young philanthropist, Blakelock was about to become the victim of one of the most heartless con games of the century. This remarkable biography chronicles the life, times, and madness of one of America's most celebrated and exploited painters whose brooding, hallucinogenic landscapes anticipated Abstract Expressionism by more than half a century. Like the best biographies, The Unknown Night brings to life a vanished world, the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century New York — a city of artists' studios and spiritualists' salons, shantytowns, and millionaires' mansions. Color and black-and-white illustrations are included.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating Account of a Brilliant Yet Fragile Artist..........2004-11-10
Blakelock's life is beautifully portrayed in all its glory, madness, and sadness. There is something so haunting about this biography, it leaves one feeling very sorry for this poor man. I had never heard of Blakelock but now have a deeper respect for his work, and more importantly his shattered life.
Art and history on a collision course with madness.......2004-07-26
Blakelock's paintings of moonlight have the weird, dissociated values of gesture that we associate with a much later generation of American painters (e.g. Pollock or De Kooning), at least according to controversialist Glyn Vincent, who notes that Blakelock, after a traditional and demure career as a minor artist of the Hudson River Valley school, made a great breakthrough as the 1870s turned into the 1880s. Unfortunately, insanity came along for the ride, and before long Blakelock was clapped into a mental home even as the prices of his completed paintings soared in a seller's market in the ateliers of the corrupt NY art world.
Enter the real villain of the story, a seductive and beautiful "philanthropist" who, under cover of helping Blakelock's worthy, long suffering and penurious family, worked to rescue him from the asylum but secretly to transfer the title of all his work to her name. You won't believe that one woman was capable of so much skullduggery, but such is the gift of Glyn Vincent's writing that you ALMOST do. Vincent is wonderfully accomplished and always looks to contextualize the individual incidents and privations of his characters inside a wider social sphere, which is much appreciated. Once you start reading THE UNKNOWN NIGHT, its story will never leave your soul.
Average customer rating:
- A real treasure
- Jill Barnett's entry makes this book worthwhile.
|
Midsummer Night's Madness
Jill Barnett ,
Elaine Coffman ,
Alexis Harrington , and
Sonia Simone
Manufacturer: St Martins Mass Market Paper
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 United States | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Anthologies | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
Barnett, Jill | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
Coffman, Elaine | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
-
Wicked
-
Surrender a Dream
-
Dreaming
-
Just a Kiss Away
-
Carried Away
ASIN: 0312955073 |
Customer Reviews:
A real treasure.......2000-07-07
Elaine Coffman's "A Ribbon of Moonlight" stands alone. I don't know when I've laughed so much, or when i've been so charmed by such a delightful story. I was lucky enough to find this book at a used bookstore, and I've never stopped loving Elaine Coffman's books. My only disappointment was that this story wasn't longer. Wish she would rewrite it into a longer book. I'd buy it again!
Jill Barnett's entry makes this book worthwhile........1998-12-26
Jill Barnett has another winner on her hands. Her work is always top notch, and I am looking forward to her next book before I finish her lasts. The other storys were lackluster at best. The plots were murky and hard to follow. tate@nwgainternet.com
Book Description
Demons of the Night is a trove of haunting fiction—a gathering, for the first time in English, of the best nineteenth-century French fantastic tales. Featuring such authors as Balzac, Mérimée, Dumas, Verne, and Maupassant, this book offers readers familiar with the works of Edgar Allan Poe and E. T. A. Hoffman some of the most memorable stories in the genre. With its aura of the uncanny and the supernatural, the fantastic tale is a vehicle for exploring forbidden themes and the dark, irrational side of the human psyche.
The anthology opens with "Smarra, or the Demons of the Night," Nodier's 1821 tale of nightmare, vampirism, and compulsion, acclaimed as the first work in French literature to explore in depth the realm of dream and the unconscious. Other stories include Balzac's "The Red Inn," in which a crime is committed by one person in thought and another in deed, and Mérimée's superbly crafted mystery, "The Venus of Ille," which dramatizes the demonic power of a vengeful goddess of love emerging out of the pagan past. Gautier's protagonist in "The Dead in Love" develops an obsessive passion for a woman who has returned from beyond the grave, while the narrator of Maupassant's "The Horla" imagines himself a victim of psychic vampirism.
Joan Kessler has prepared new translations of nine of the thirteen tales in the volume, including Gérard de Nerval's odyssey of madness, "Aurélia," as well as two tales that have never before appeared in English. Kessler's introduction sets the background of these tales—the impact of the French Revolution and the Terror, the Romantics' fascination with the subconscious, and the influence of contemporary psychological and spiritual currents. Her essay illuminates how each of the authors in this collection used the fantastic to articulate his own haunting obsessions as well as his broader vision of human experience.
Customer Reviews:
Great translations of spooky tales.......2003-04-17
Kessler's translations of these French stories are an invaluable treasure to the English speaking community. Many of these stories have never been translated or were out of print for many, many years. Kessler gives them new life in this collection that will appease both francophiles and lovers of spooky stories.
Great thanks to Kessler.......2002-04-09
I was lucky enough to read this book in a class on 19th Century French Lit. taught by Joan Kessler herself. I have never forgotten these stories or the depth of psychological exploration each presents. This amazing book brings the genre of 19th French Macabre to non-French readers for the first time. Each story is truly classic, all at once an original and the obvious predecessor of horror and psychological thrillers as we know them today. Fans of Poe will love this book, and fans of King will be delighted by these twisted tales, though they may need to keep a dictionary handy.
Ms. Kessler's notes are the perfect guide through each work. She places each story in it's own history, giving ample insight into the mindset of the authors and their audiences.
From beginning to end this book will keep your heart pumping. It is the perfect read for those who have a hard time finding great work. It will keep you up at night, if not out of interest, then out of terror.
Product Description
11 massmarket paperback Titles By Jordan - Valentine's Night - Rival Attractions - Forgotten Passion - A Forbidden Loving - Daugher of Hassan - Dangerous Interloper - Injured Innocent - Woman to Wed - Kind of Madness - Too Short a Blessing - Savage Adoration
Book Description
A blistering sequel to the acclaimed Bodyguard of Lightning takes you into a world full of wonder, magic, and encroaching dark. In the land of Maras Dantias, peace once reigned. Then the humans came, wreaking destruction, killing the enchantment, and bringing war. Even the climate changed, with once-warm summers now autumnal. Of all the races in Maras Dantias, the Orcs, led by Stryke, were the most ferocious. Now, he and his troops have become renegades, chased by his own people as well as the humans. Only a long-lost relic can save them now--and the rest of Maras Dantias, too. But, time is running out and a new foe endangers them all.
"Excellent fantasy with a twist.an all action adventurer."--SFX
"Nicholls tells his tale briskly and entertainingly."--Starburst
".brilliantly re-invents the Orcs, underdogs of fantasy fiction."--Starlog
"Demonstrates a truly coruscating imagination in its outrageous narrative."--Publishing News, Books of the Year
Customer Reviews:
wow.......2001-05-28
This book is wicked! There are so many cool characters and it keeps you on the edge of your seat every time that you read it, whether it be first of fourth.
Average customer rating:
- GREAT PARTY GAME
- Tasty
- Best Gift book ever
- Chocolate lovers will LOVE this book!
- Fantastic, Fun and suprisingly Accurate!
|
Chocolate Therapy: Dare to Discover Your Inner Center!
Murray Langham
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Chocolate
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Diets & Weight Loss
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
| Authors
| Diets
| Food Counters
| Heart Disease
| Hypnosis for Diets
| Special Conditions
General
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Chocolate
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Reference
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Chocolate Unwrapped: The Surprising Health Benefits of America's Favorite Passion
-
The Chocolate Therapist
-
The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes
-
Chocolate Therapy: Indulgent Recipes to Lift Your Spirits
-
The Chocolate Connoisseur
ASIN: 1580081088 |
Customer Reviews:
GREAT PARTY GAME.......2007-07-11
THIS BOOK IS A HOOT. I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO A COUPLE OF PARTIES AND IT HAS BEEN A HIT EACH TIME. IT'S INSIGHTFUL AND FUNNY.
Tasty.......2000-09-17
Don't be fooled by the tasty photos! This book is great for having around when drinking coffee, tea or wine while having a box of chocolates open wide on the table with a couple of friends around! To find out that your favourite chocolate has a meaning about you and it's mostly true is soooooo great! THIS IS A MUST BUY BOOK YOU'LL LOVE IT! -Amelia Langham.
Best Gift book ever.......1999-12-08
This is a great book to bring someone as a gift when invited over for dinner or just as a gift in general. I use this book whenever I have friends over. Its amazingly accurate. A must have. Great stocking stuffer for the holiday season.
Chocolate lovers will LOVE this book!.......1999-10-21
Aaaaahhhh the deep mysteries of the human psyche are explained now through Chocolate Therapy. The chocolate photography is enough on its own for this book to be a *must have* for any true chocolate afficionado. However, the divinatory comments are wonderfully insightful. Do not make the mistake of taking this book too lightly! This book makes an excellent birthday/festive season gift.
Fantastic, Fun and suprisingly Accurate!.......1999-09-16
What a wonderful book! What you can tell about someone just by what chocolate they choose (and what they do with the wrapper afterwards...) Everyone I've shared the book with has loved their personality type descriptions and most agree that they fit! Gorgeous photos too. Makes me hungry for more chocolate...
Books:
- Dead Even
- Death at La Fenice: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
- Death du Jour
- Death in a Strange Country
- Death in the Long Grass
- Death of a Cad (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries)
- Diagnosis Murder #6: The Dead Letter (Diagnosis Murder)
- Drop Shot (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
- Every Dead Thing
- Everywhere That Mary Went
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Silver Spoon
- The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House
- One Thousand New York Buildings
- Microbiology and Biochemistry of Cheese and Fermented Milk
- Psychology and Alchemy
- Strategic Supply Chain Management
- Recalled to Life
- Designed by Peter Saville
- Natural Swimming Pools: Inspiration For Harmony With Nature
- Detective from Barrett Island
Dark Tort (Goldy Culinary Mysteries, Book 13)
Death of the Party (Death on Demand Mysteries)
Bleeding Hearts (China Bayles Mystery)
Blood Orange Brewing (Tea Shop Mystery)
The Alpine Recluse: An Emma Lord Mystery (Emma Lord Mysteries)
