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MBR Bookwatch

Volume 4, Number 2 February 2005 Home | MBW Index

Table of Contents

Donovan's Bookshelf Harold's Bookshelf Klausner's Bookshelf
Laurel's Bookshelf Shelley's Bookshelf Shirley's Bookshelf

Donovan's Bookshelf

Tarot ReVisioned
Leigh J. McCloskey
Oleander Press Ltd.
0972950206 $TBA www.leighjmccloskey.com

Tarot should be a tool, not a belief, so choose Leigh J. McCloskey's insightful, weighty guide to use tarot as a tool for undertaking the inner spiritual journey. Chapters discuss symbolism of the archetypes of tarot, provide plenty of psychological and spiritual insights into each tarot expression and form, and include reflections on life and the devine. An intriguing, detailed study emerges.

Building Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHO & MySQL
Kevin Yank
Sitepoint
424 Smith St. Collingwood, VICD Australia 3066
0975240218 $39.95 www.sitepoint.com

First-time PHO programmers who are already familiar with HTML and web design will find this a key to understanding the pathways to building a dynamic website. The user follows along and builds a real-world, practical set of applications with PHP with BUILD YOUR OWN DATABASE DRIVEN WEBSITE, making the most of examples and details which range from an ecommerce shopping cart to securing a database. All that's needed is some basic background and this practical hands-on tutorial.

The Perfect Divorce
Cheri Arterburn
B&C Publishing
4967 Ocean Blvd., San Diego, CA 92109
0975304909 $24.95 Theperfectdivorce@aol.com

Plenty of books have been written on recovering from divorce emotionally: few have been written to outline the healthy, fair alternatives available during the entire divorce process, and how to be sure an amiable divorce leads to a healthy after-life. Cheri Arterburn is herself a divorce survivor: chapters cover everything from handling the kids to respecting an ex-spouse's new private space. The Perfect Divorce: A Survivor's Guide By Someone Who's Been There is strongly recommended reading for anyone contemplating or experiencing divorce.

Greenwood Publishing Group
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
1-800-225-5800 www.greenwood.com

Jacqueline Newman's FOOD CULTURE IN CHINA (0313325812, $49.95) joins others in the Food Culture Around the World' series to explore the cuisine and history of Chinese food, from its early dynasties and migrations to modern times. The inclusion of recipes for a meal based on the specific topic enhances a resource which includes plenty of cultural and social information. Richard Trahair's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COLD WAR ESPIONAGE, SPIES, AND SECRET OPERATIONS (0313319553, $75.00) gathers the latest information on Cold War events, people and operations. An encyclopedia A-Z organization allows quick reference to scandals, spies, assassins' covert operations, victims and agents, using extensive cross-referencing along with bibliographic references to ease the researcher's job. Julie Husband and Jim O'Loughlin's DAILY LIFE IN THE INDUSTRIAL UNITED STATES, 1870-1900 (031332302X, $49.95) uses source material to document a changing period of the Industrial Age, when electric power made the night accessible, cities became packed with immigrants from the countryside looking for work in the new industries, and pollution became an issue. First-hand accounts from workers, children and others make intimate these many changes in all their facets.

Dive
Monty Halls
Firefly Books
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1552979962 $29.95 1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

If scuba diving is your passion, make Monty Halls' Dive: The Ultimate Guide To 60 Of The Worlds Top Dive Locations your passionate reference to the best scuba dive locations in the world. Over 300 scuba dives in 60 popular destinations are rated along with visa requirements, insights on local culture and customs, marine life, geographic information and website references. Packed with color photos, each description includes a difficulty rating, water temperature chart, and sidebars of at-a-glance detail on getting there and local dive centers.

Kitchen Culture
Alex Wilson
Firefly Books Ltd.
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1552979687 $39.95 1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

Want to create a kitchen which is artistic as well as functional? Look no further than Alex Wilson's Kitchen Culture: Reinventing Kitchen Design, which provides a rich photographic selection of ideas which are both practical and exciting. From the latest ideas for storage and appliances to using natural light and creating logical work patterns and surfaces, KITCHEN DESIGN is packed with not only photos and ideas, but tips on materials, suppliers and applications, making it more well-rounded than most.

The Football Game I'll Never Forget
Selected by Chris McDonell
Firefly Books Ltd.
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1552978508 $24.95 1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

In The Football Game I'll Never Forget: 100 NFL Star's Stories, Chris McDonell's selections come from descriptions by the players themselves, as told to the editors of Football Digest, of the most memorable moments in games they played, and will thrill any football game who is heavily involved in the history of the sport. Dozens of famous Super Bowl games, divisional championships, and more are recounted by key players who contributed to historic events. A must' for avid football fans.

Mountain Bike Maintenance
Mel Allwood
Firefly Books
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
155297734X $26.95 1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

If there's only one at-home reference needed for your mountain bike's maintenance, make it Mel Allwood's Mountain Bike Maintenance: The Illustrated Manual, a virtual bible of explicit, user-friendly details on the care of any mountain bike. Allwood's an expert mountain bike mechanic, but explains that these bikes are surprisingly simple in design, and easy to work on. Chapters detail minor adjustments ranging from brakes to transmission', cable-cleaning and chains and speeds, and include plenty of black and white and color photos for clear detail throughout. Highly recommended.

Kayaks You Can Build
Ted Moores & Greg Rossel
Firefly Books Ltd.
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1552978613 $35.00 1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

Kayaking has become the latest popular fad, with many discovering them easier to transport than canoes, and lower-impact than motorboats: for those avid kayakers who would customize their own design, her comes Kayaks You Can Build: An Illustrated Guide To Plywood Construction, an illustrated guide to plywood-constructed kayaks. You don't have to start from scratch: kits are widely available, and KAYAKS YOU CAN BUILD assumes one of these kits is the starting point, providing the authors' expertise as kayak builders and boatbuilding instructors as it follows the process.

Firefly Books Ltd.
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

Two of Firefly Books' "Paddler's Guides" titles will appeal to canoeists venturing into specific regions with paddle in hand, providing maps, first-person experiences and insights, and color photos throughout. Kevin Callan's WEEKEND WILDERNESS ADVENTURES IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO (1550464159 , $19.95) charts twenty quick get-aways in Southern Ontario: one-, two- and three-day paddles which are low on portages and big on lovely natural experiences. The route descriptions are quite detailed and both novice and experienced canoeists will find plenty here to like. Callen also provides ALGONQUIN PARK (1550464175, $19.95), another Ontario paddler's destination and one of the most popular in the region. Callan is a canoe guide and his in-depth familiarity with the park allows for detailed route suggestions and advice on easier routes for less adventurous canoers.

O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy N., Sebastapol, CA 95472
1-800-998-9938 www.oreilly.com

O'Reilly's technical computer books are excellent choices for libraries and individuals seeking hand-on practical explanations and applications and longevity of subjects. Preston Gralla's WINDOWS XP POWER HOUND (0596006195, $24.95) provides an important guide to improving upon the Windows XP operating system; from using live links to turn web pages into PC wallpaper to using virtual desktops, speeding up daily shutdown and startup routines, and using keyboard shortcuts with maximum efficient. This is the reference of choice for any new XP owner and should ideally come bundled with any XP-driven PC. Elliotte Rusty Harold & W. Scott Means' XML IN A NUTSHELL (0596007647, $39.95) appears in its third edition to provide an authoritative, updated developer's guide to XML. From Unicode characters to document structures, importing schemas for namespaces, DOM application examples and more, XML IN A NUTSHELL succeeds in its intention to provide a desktop quick reference to XML 1.1 and Xinclude. The do-it-yourselfer who has a bent for starting from scratch will appreciate Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson's BUILDING THE PERFECT PC (0596006632, $29.95): everything but the hardware is included in a guide which tells how to customize parts and string together high-quality components to get the latest and best results. From a home theater PC with fast video and lots of storage to a PC meant for super-fast networking, the focus on customization for different purposes sets BUILDING THE PERFECT PC apart from competitors. Brian McWilliams' SPAM KINGS (0596007329, $22.95) investigates the shady world of email spammers and those trying to stop them. With a high proportion of email traffic in spam, computer users will be more than interested in a guide which delves into the spammer's underworld, from spam entrepreneurs searching for easy fortunes to notorious spam kings' which have made fortunes with the stuff. An excellent history which explains why'. Simon Carless' GAMING HACKS (0596007140, $24.95) features tip and tools for gamers written by fellow gamers, developers and game journalists. Tips include how to take a game on the road, become a hero or villain online, buying real arcade gamers, and locating imported games without hardware conflicts. Elliotte Rusy Harold's JAVA NETWORK PROGRAMMING, 3RD EDITION 0596007213, $39.95) provides keys to the latest new features of Java's network APIs. Changes between JDK 1.4 and 1.5 (now J2SE5) and more cover everything from DPO sockets and server sockets to multicasting and writing secure networking applications including the code. Erica Sadun's MODDING MAC OS X (0596007094, $24.95) features extreme' makerovers for Mac users; from discovering hidden features in popular applications to changing application and systemwide keyboard shortcuts and creating a pseudo-application. Robert Hoekman Jr.'s FLASH OUT OF THE BOX (0596006918, $29.95) is a highly recommended tutorial Flash book which outlines best practices and creates a logical order of learning progression through hands-on exercises explaining when and how to use each feature. Finally, Marc Loy's DVD STUDIO PRO 3 IN THE STUDIO (0596005881, $44.95) gives all the basics of DVD authoring with Apple's DVD Studio Pro, and uses Loy's years of background DVD authoring to explain efficient routines and tricks.

Halloween Merrymaking
Diane C. Arkins
Pelican Publishing
1000 Burmaster St., Gretna, LA 70053-2246
158980113X $19.95 1-800-843-1724 www.pelicanpub.com

Halloween Merrymaking: An Illustrated Celebration Of Fun, Food, And Frolics From Halloweens Past
by Diane Arkins is a very fine year-round family or community library acquisition illustrating the Halloween celebration of fun, food and holiday partying. This is no repeat history: material from a range of the vintage party guides and magazines that guided hostesses in their party-giving endeavors is presented and showcased in a lively survey of festivities and small color photos.

Savannah Sketchbook
Jffrey Eley
Pelican Publishing
PO Box 3110, Gretna, LA 70054-3110
1589801024 $29.95 1-800-843-1724 www.pelicanpub.com

This set of paintings by artists from the Savannah College of Art and Design will require of readers an enthusiasm for the college or Georgia in general: readers with such an interest will love the views of Savannah as seen through the eyes of over twenty artists who share their sketchbooks of watercolors. Jeffrey Eley is in the perfect position to collect the best of these works in SAVANNAH SKETCHBOOK: he's taught art and architecture at the college and uses the city as a textbook to compliment his courses. The sketches are presented in full color a big plus'.

Tick Tock, Don't Stop
Robert S. Swiatek
Infinity Publishing
519 West Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 19041-1413
0741416212 $13.95 www.buybooksontheweb.com

Author Robert Swiatek has been a computer software consultant for over twenty years, studying computers and teaching math and working numerous jobs through his life. His manual for workaholics' documents his experience as one, revealing stress factors, motivation for overwork, different levels of job achievement in different types of jobs, and more. Packed with personal insights and tips.

War for Muslim Minds
Gilles Kepel
Harvard University Press
79 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
0674015754 $23.95 www.hup.harvard.edu

Gilles Kepel is a professor of Middle East Studies at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, and is the perfect author for WAR FOR MUSLIM MINDS: ISLAM AND THE WEST: his background succeeds in synthesizing the wealth of detail charting the breakdown of Middle East/Western relations. Chapters provide both a history and analysis of the breakdown of communications between East and West, pinpointing changing policies and party lines on both sides and analyzing the effects of terrorism on the peace process. An involving survey and history charts the ongoing war'.

Historical Atlas of Islam
Malise Ruthven & Azim Nanji
Harvard University Press
79 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
0674013859 $35.00 www.hup.harvard.edu

It's a religion holding over 6 billion believers plus it's one of the great civilizations of the world yet Islam remains puzzling to a majority of Westerners, and scholarly histories only increase the mystery. Malise Ruthven and Azim Nanji's HISTORICAL ATLAS OF ISLAM solve this confusion in providing a lovely illustrated historical atlas by a noted scholar of Islam. Maps and eye-catching illustrations accompany clear articles on everything from the early Sufi orders to Islam in the British, Russian and Dutch empires. History blends with social insights and religious coverage in an all-embracing visual display which is highly recommended for high school collections on up.

Dover Publications
31 East 2nd St., Mineola, NY 11501
1-800-223-3130 www.doverpublications.com

These new Dover classics reprint promising, lasting titles in affordable paperbacks, making them perfect choices for replacing an aging, tattered library holding or returning to the shelf a long out-of-print classic. Some winners in recent publications include John Colley's EXPLORING THE COLORADO RIVER: FIRSTHAND ACOCUNTS BY POWELL AND HIS CREW (0486435253, $9.95), which republishes THE GREAT UNKNOWN: JOURNALS OF THE HISTORIC FIRST EXPEDITION DOWN THE COLORADO RIVER, a 1988 title. Geologist and Civil War vet John Wesley Powell and his explorers first surveyed the Colorado in 1869, and this tells of their three-month excursion into one of the country's last uncharted frontiers. D.C. Beard's SHELTERS, SHACKS AND SHANTIES (0486437477, $9.95) provides a classic and basic guide to building wilderness shelters, republishing a 1914 edition including its over-three hundred black and white drawings. Gordon grant's GREASY LUCK: A WHALING SKETCHBOOK (0486437418, $9.95) reprints the 1932 story of the American whaling industry as it existed for almost two centuries. The author's dramatic full-page black and white line drawings accent this story of whaling. William H. Miller Jr's PICTURE HISTORY OF THE QUEEN MARY AND QUEEN ELIZABETH (0486435091, $16.95) provides a winning original publication as it surveys the Queen Mary, which made over a thousand successful Atlantic crossings since its launch in 1934. Maritime authority Miller describes refinements, ship amenities, and operations during World War II, packing in black and white photos to bring his account to life.

Amazonia
James Marcus
The New Press
38 Greene Street, 4th Fl, New York, NY 10013
1565848705 $24.95 1-800-233-4830 www.thenewpress.com

Amazon.com came to epitomize the rise and fall of the dreams and hopes of the .com world, and AMAZONIA: FIVE YEARS AT THE EPICENTER OF THE DOT.COM JUGGERNAUT probes inside the world's most famous online merchant to examine the history of the bookselling giant. Chapters provide a first-hand account from the perspective of one employee, also include insights on Amazon's unusual caste system, and follow the rise and fall of Amazon's employees in a volatile online world. A fascinating account from an employee insider who was there to watch it all.

Copies in Seconds
David Owen
Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York, NY 10020
0743251172 $24.00 1-800-223-2336 www.simonsays.com

How did the lowly photocopy evolve to become a business-changing commodity? Enter one Chester Carlson, who almost single-handedly pioneered the Xerox machine. David Owen provides an involving history of the Xerox as a whole, describing the long effort to turn xerography into a essential business world commodity, and considering how one shy patent attorney pursued his father's strange business scheme, rising from poverty through hard work and dream up his own copying machine. Copies in Seconds: How a Lone Inventor and an Unknown Company Created the Biggest Communication Breakthrough Since Gutenberg--Chester Carlson and the Birth of the Xerox Machine is a strongly recommended acquisition for academic and community library collections.

Seeing What's Next
Clayton M. Christensen, et.al.
Harvard Business School Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
1591391857 $29.95 1-800-668-6780 www.harvardbusinessonline.org

Theories of innovation and industry change all too often lie in back rooms and in schoolrooms: that's why Clay Christensen, Scott Anthony and Eric Roth's practical model is so important. Decision-makers will find Seeing What's Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change is directly applicable to business forecasting, from understanding the initial signals of industry change to determining the effects of competition and future success. Chapters will teach a range of readers, whether they be mutual fund managers, senior executives, or business owners. The in-depth industry case studies cement theory with fact.

HarperBusiness
10 E. 53rd St., NY, NY 10022-5299
1-800-242-7737 www.harpercollins.com

Three excellent new business guides are strongly recommended picks. Bill Rancic's YOU'RE HIRED: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS AND LIFE (0060765410, $22.95) tells how to succeed in business and life, and it doesn't come from a young inexperienced upstart or a staid corporate manager. Author Rancic was determined to always to things he loved and never to work a 9-5 job but still to be profitable in the process and YOU'RE HIRED reflects his success at this strategy; from creating an online cigar company from scratch to beginning a real estate venture. Truly inspirational. Michael E. Gerber's THE E MYTH REVISITED: WHY MOST SMALL BUSINESSES DON'T WORK AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT (0887307280, $16.00) provides a new, totally revamped updated edition of the bestseller THE E-MYTH. Here new insights on e-commerce myths are exposed, from how ordinary assumptions can create business obstacles to understanding the typical growing pains' of a company and learning the lessons of franchising to apply to any business venture.

Women Police: Portraits of Success
Patricia Lunneborg
iUniverse Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln NE 68512
0595320759 $21.95 www.iuniverse.com

The numbers of women in law enforcement are declining, but remain vital to the force, and Patricia Lunneborg encourages participation through a set of interviews of women who work as police. Over 50 women officers across the country present their views of what drew them into the force, what keeps them on the job, and what are their daily satisfactions and special challenges on the job. From community policing to issues of having a family and fitting in work and family, WOMEN POLICE: PORTRAITS OF SUCCESS is an uplifting set of interviews remarking on just what makes policing a positive for female officers.

Managing Leadership
Jim Stoup
iUniverse Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Rd. #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595315518 $16.95 www.iuniverse.com

There's a leadership crisis brewing in business and modern organizations patterned on them, author Jim Stoup maintains in Managing Leadership: Toward A New And Usable Understanding Of What Leadership Really Is--and How To Manage It, and it revolves around the modern leadership's movement toward developing singular individual leadership characteristics for senior executives. Why is this a crisis? Because such visionaries' often neglect their duties, abuse their status, and suffer from untenable burdens by the same movement which has fostered their temperament. MANAGING LEADERSHIP advocates an alternative, maintaining it's never been correct to assume leadership most be imposed from above, but that it arises from within and is the senior executive's duty to manage.

Measuring Up
Christopher Thomas & Milton Ospina
ESRI Press
380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373-8100
1589480880 $24.95 www.amazon.com

GIS, intelligent digital geographic information systems are turning geography into a business science, and Measuring Up: The Business Case for GISprovides case studies about companies and government agencies which have implemented GIS solutions in their business goals and plans. Chapters show how to save money and time using GIS-based systems, how to use GIS to generate revenue and help budgets, and how to manage the resources and information bases resulting from GIS systems. The inclusion of over seventy articles from over twenty business sectors span the globe in experience and setting, creating a very specific, detailed set of insights on new GIS-driven business processes. Highly recommended.

Serves You Right!
Susan Brooks
Serves You Right!
6105 E. Osborn Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
0975301802 $15.95 www.servesyouright.net

The basics of providing great customer service are all here in a guide for service professionals who would revamp their styles or understand the basics of a satisfied customer. From providing service perceived as personal by the customer to the basics of restroom conditions, SERVES YOU RIGHT covers it all.

The Two-Income Trap
Elizabeth Warren & Amelia Warren Tyagi
Basic Books
387 Park Avenue So., NY, NY 10016
0465090907 $14.00 1-800-242-7737 www.basicbooks.com

This is the book that first defined the concept of middle-class squeeze' a year ago: now The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents are Going Broke is out in paperback to reach new audiences with its claim that despite two incomes, modern middle-class families are actually financially worse off than their one-income counterparts of a year ago. Among the insights offered by the mother/daughter author team of Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi: how the problem developed, and how today's middle-class families can get out from under it.

The New Agreements In the Workplace
David Dibble
Emeritus Group & Dream Team LLC
PO Box 237133, Ansonia Station, New York NY 10023-7133
0972251901 $12.95 www.amazon.com

The New Agreements in the Workplace: Releasing the Human Spirit by David Dibble is based on the personal growth concept of the four agreements' comes a business-oriented guide which advocates using these insights as the beginning of a journey to gain mastery in the workplace, and to see transformative wisdom in work experiences. Concepts of loving, growing and serving people in the workplace advocate helping all produce the best work they can in an environment friendly to personal growth.

The Solution Path
Tasos Sioukas
Jossey-Bass
989 Market Street, San Francisco CA 94103
0787962759 $19.95 1-800-225-5945 www.josseybass.com

Positive thinking, teamwork, relationship-building and creativity are all ideals of the workplace; but just how to problem workplaces become turned around so these ideals can be fostered and encouraged to develop? Turn to Tasos Sioukas' The Solution Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Turning Your Workplace Problems Into Opportunities for insights into just how: chapters provide a step-by-step guide to common workplace problems which may be viewed as opportunities for positive change. A vision statement' is advocated throughout the process.

Elements of Great Speechmaking
Robert V. Smith
University Press of America
4501 Forbes Blvd. #200, Lanham, MD 20706
076182801X $30.00 www.univpress.com

Add drama and intrigue to speeches using the tools of The Elements of Great Speechmaking: Adding Drama & Intrigue, unique in its approach of encouraging readers to innnovatively infuse speeches with drama and intrigue to make them memorable and lively. Philosophy, the elements of crafting content, and examples from teaching courses infuse a title packed with detail on everything from speech content to dress.

Conquering Complexity In Your Business
Michael L. George & Steven A. Wilson
McGraw-Hill
2 Penn Plaza, New York NY 10021
0071435085 $29.95 1-877-833-5524

How are Wal-Mart, Toyota and other big businesses creating even more value in their already-large companies? In Conquering Complexity in Your Business: How Wal-Mart, Toyota, and Other Top Companies Are Breaking Through the Ceiling on Profits and Growth, co-authors Michael L. George and Steven A. Wilson maintain that in every business, there's too much complexity, which erodes profitability, confuses the customer, and adds costs. The solution: identify and eliminate this complexity where it doesn't count and add it in, where it does. Chapters discuss adding value with complexity which attracts with customization' and variety', of identifying places where complexity doesn't belong, and for quantifying the costs of achievement and complexity in both products and services.

The Way of Go
Troy Anderson
The Free Press
1230 Avenue of Americas, NY, NY 10020
0743258142 $23.00 1-800-223-2336 www.simonsays.com

Far older than chess, the Asian game of Go is played by millions of all ages, all around the world, leading to company tournaments, competition for millions in prize money, and interest: so why should CEOs and non-players care? Because many of the strategies of Go translate well into corporate strategies, creating important parallels between the major rules and mindset of Go and real-life business success. From maximizing limited time and resources to increasing focus and flexibility alike, The Way of Go : 8 Ancient Strategy Secrets for Success in Business and Life provides many important foundation lessons for both the game and business.

Scholastic Inc.
557 Broadway, NY, NY 10012-3999
1-800-242-7737 www.scholastic.com

Scholastic's long line of wonderful picturebooks brings many recommendations with its bright drawings and fine authors. ELLA THE ELEGANT ELEPHANT by Carmela & Steven D'Amico (0439627923, $16.95), for example, pairs simple but engaging drawing with the story of a new little elephant in town who must begin at a new school. Belinda Blue the bully doesn't like Ella but some surprises evolve. Deborah Blumenthal's DON'T LET THE PEAS TOUCH! AND OTHER STORIES (043929732X, $15.95) features zany drawings by Timothy Basil Ering, complimenting three short picturebook stories of two sisters who have very different styles. All the stories revolve around fighting and making up due to these differences. Arriving too late for holiday mention but suitable for an extended collection is Jean Little's PIPPIN THE CHRISTMAS PIG (0439650623, $16.95), which requires parental assistance or basic reading skills but tells of a little barn pig who wonders about the mystery of Christmas. Pippen believe she has no holiday gifts worthy of giving, but a struggle proves her wrong. Dan Santat's THE GUILD OF GENIUSES (0439430968, $16.95) tells of a group of genius scientists who excel in fabulous inventions, but can't figure out what's wrong with Mr. Pip the monkey. Kids receive a problem-solving invitation with this story of geniuses challenged by everyday life. James Mayhew's BOY (0439651069, $15.95) tells of a boy who doesn't want to share a bed's warmth with his parents, but seeks a place of his own. His exploration of the world outside his family's cave brings some unexpected sources of warmth in this prehistoric tale. James Mayhew's WHO WANTS A DRAGON? (0439672376, $15.95) receives Lindsey Gardiner's engaging drawings as it tells of a cuddly little dragon seeking someone to love him. Rhyming text brings a sweet simple tale to life for the very young. Carolyn Crimi's GET BUSY, BEAVER! (0439548667, $15.95) tells of Thelonious, a beaver who isn't anywhere as busy as his parents. He's working too just not the same way on a beautificatio project of his own. Ana Juan's THE NIGHT EATER (0439488915, $16.95) tells of a strange little night eater' whose job is to snack on stars and nibble up the nighttime. But what happens when he gets full and refuses to snack on another bite/ Mark Teague's DETECTIVE LARUE: LETTERS FROM THE INVESTIGATION (0439458684, $15.95) is also illustrated by Mark Teague, providing a fun story of a dog who goes to prison for disobedience and who takes matters into his own paws in proving his innocence of charges. Detective Ike can uncover a surprising amount of clues even from behind bars in this fun story of innocence. Karen Hesse's CATS IN KRASINSKI SQUARE (0439435404, $16.95) tells of cats who once belonged to someone just as a young girl whose family has been destroyed by war has also once laid claim to love. A brave young woman and survival in Warsaw comes to life.

Diane C. Donovan
West Coast Editor

Harold's Bookshelf

Who Runs the Church?
Paul E. Engle, Steven B. Cowan, editors
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310246075 $16.99 312 pp.

One of the divisive matters in many churches today is the subject of church polity. In particular, what is the appropriate form of church government? In Who Runs the Church?: 4 Views on Church Government the editors compile the views of representatives of the four predominant types of church government. Just about every form of church government is some variation of one of these four. The four views discussed are Episcopalianism, Presbyterianism, Single-Elder Congregationalism, and Plural-Elder Congregationalism. Arguing for Episcopalianism is Dr. Peter Toon, rector of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor, Diocese of Lichfield, in the Church of England. Arguing the position of Presbyterianism is Dr. L. Roy Taylor the clerk/coordinator of administration of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America. Presenting the position of Single-Elder Congregationalism is Dr. Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. And presenting the case for Plural-Elder Congregationalism is Samuel E. Waldron, Ph.D. candidate in systematic theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. A typical chapter starts with one of them presenting their position on their chosen form of church government and why it is the most appropriate one. This presentation is then followed by commentary by each of the people with differing views. Each presents their case with passion and argues it well. If you want to understand why some churches choose one form of government or why others feel that position is wrong you will find excellent explanations in this book. Who Runs the Church? 4 Views on Church Government is highly recommended to anyone interested in this area.

Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing
Andrew M. St. Laurent
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472
ISBN: 0596005814 $24.95 178 pp.

Software licensing can be one of the most confusing issues of software installation and development. Most people assume that there are few if any issues with Open Source and Free Software Licensing but that often is not the case. While it may be free to install you wade into murky waters when you change the code, make a new program that uses some of the coding of the open source program, make a derivative program, or a host of other situations. Part of the confusion is that all Open Source or Free Software licensing is not the same. For example there are the MIT, BSD, Apache, and Academic Free Licenses. Or what about the GNU license? Most people don't realize that there are two different versions of GNU licenses, the GNU General Public License (GPL) and the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)? Then there is the Mozilla Public License, Q Public License, Artistic License, and Creative Commons License. Author Andrew M. St. Laurent does an excellent job explaining all these various licenses, what you can do and can't do, the various benefits and shortcomings of the licenses and pitfalls to watch for. If you are doing development in this arena, have made an improvement to one of the programs, or have written a program for internal use that might have resell value you can't afford to not understand the nuances of the various licensing agreements. Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing is highly recommended and required reading for anyone in this situation.

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code
Bart D. Ehrman, editor
Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016
ISBN: 0195181409 $20.00 197 pp.

With The Da Vinci Code at the center of a controversy over how much of it is based on fact and how much is fiction a strong historian who specializes in this time period would be of tremendous help. Bart D. Ehrman comes forward to fill this role. Professor Ehrman is chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has made several appearances on the History Channel, CNN, A&E, and other programs as a widely recognized expert on the early Church. While he recognizes that The Da Vinci Code is a well written book and "a real page turner" he also takes exception with author Dan Brown's claim that it is based on historical fact. Since this is an area of particular expertise for Mr. Ehrman he took a particular interest in the book and its claims. For example, at several points in The Da Vinci Code the author has the characters refer to the writings of the early Christian church that were not put into the canon and what they contained. Fortunately, this is an area in which Mr. Ehrman has written two books and produced a lecture series on those "lost" scriptures and their contents. So he speaks with authority about what was in those manuscripts as well as what was not. While Mr. Ehrman does not step outside the areas of his expertise and comment on the information about Da Vinci and other art works mentioned in the book, he does provide a lucent and thoroughly well researched commentary on the historical aspects of the book as related to the early Church. Needless to say, the multiple errors and outright fantasies in this area leads the reader to question the credibility of the rest of The Da Vinci Code. Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code is a highly recommended book and should be read by anyone who has read or intends to read The Da Vinci Code.

The Sushi Kit
Setsuko Yoshizuka, Shizuko Mishima
Running Press Book Publishers
125 South Twenty-Second Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-4339
ISBN: 0762413530 $30.00

With an innovative approach to learning about sushi, The Sushi Kit comes complete with recipes and all the tools necessary to prepare those recipes. In addition to the book you get a mold to help make nigiri-zushi, a rolling mat for making maki-zushi, a rice paddle, chopsticks, and dipping bowls. The first part of the book includes a lot of tips to help pick the right ingredients. Needless to say, picking the right fish can make a tremendous difference in the quality of the results. Following this is are short sections on Nigiri-zushi, gunkan, maki-zushi, kappa-maki (cucumber roll), California roll, teriyaki chicken roll, preparation instructions, serving suggestions, and a glossary. These are easy recipes to prepare and although there are few actual recipes it is easy enough to work from the base provided here to create your own favorites. This book is primarily for the novice as it does not contain very many recipes and all the ones included are both common and easy to prepare without mistakes. With easy to follow instructions and delicious results, The Sushi Kit is recommended for the novice or the average person who just wants to prepare their own at home on occasion.

Speed Bump
Dave Coverly
ECW Press
2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4E IE2
1550226584 $16.95 170 pp.

It has been a long time since I've read a cartoon book that is laugh out loud funny. Dave Coverly's quirky sense of humor and drawing skills combine to create a book that is hard to put down until you have read every one of the cartoons. In fact I didn't put it down until I had completed it and had to keep sharing individual cartoons with others as I went along. A joy to read and sure to put a smile on your face, Speed Bump is highly recommended humor.

Snowflakes for All Seasons
Cindy Hingham
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
PO Box 667 Layton, UT 84041
ISBN: 158685528X $9.95 80 pp.

At some point in our childhood almost everyone has probably folded paper and cut snips out of it to form a snowflake pattern. Now this snowflake tradition is no longer just for the winter. Following Cindy Hingham's specific folding pattern you can copy one of the 72 stencils in the book onto the paper, cut them out and end up with a snowflake pattern for any holiday. The patterns include hourglasses for New Years, hearts, arrows, cupids, and lips for Valentines, shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, bunnies, lilies and baby chicks for Easter, Liberty Bells, and stars for the Fourth of July, pumpkins, black cats, owls, and ghosts for Halloween, Christmas bells, and snowmen for Christmas, teddy bears, dogs, cats, butterflies, love birds, and many others. Snowflakes for All Seasons is a very creative and fun craft book for children and adults and is very highly recommended.

Managing Security with Snort and IDS Tools
Kerry Cox & Christopher Greg
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472
ISBN: 0596006616 $39.95 304 pp.

This is basically a book about intrusion detection using all open source tools. It starts with an introductory chapter that explains the problem of defining an intrusion and why it is becoming more and more of a problem. It follows up with a chapter on network traffic analysis including packet sniffing and using tcpdump and ethereal. Then comes the meat of the text installing Snort. Of course to really understand how to use Snort you have to understand how attacks occur and the common methods used. The authors provide a really nice chapter on this subject. After that come five chapters on configuring, deploying, and managing Snort rules, intrusion prevention strategies, and tuning. Once Snort is up and running the authors examine the use of ACID and SnortCenter as Snort IDS management consoles. Either of these products drastically decreases the burden of analyzing what has happened and is happening on the intrusion detection forefront. The book ends with additiona! l tools for Snort IDS management and implementation strategies for high-bandwidth situations. There are other very good books on Snort but one of the things that makes this one particularly valuable is that it also looks at other open source tools and provides a good basic background on intrusion detection theory. Managing Security with Snort and IDS Tools is highly recommended for those in charge of intrusion detection and prevention in a network environment and planning to implement a system their self.

The Real-World Network Troubleshooting Manual
Alan Sugano
Charles River Media, Inc.
10 Downer Avenue Hingham, MA 02043
ISBN: 1584503483 $44.95 383 pp.

This is one of the very few computer troubleshooting books I have read that actually delivers on its promise as a real-world manual. The very first chapter set this book apart from most others by the excellent writing style and clear explanations. This first section covers the basics from how to approach the problem to the steps to take to isolate it and the methodology for approaching a workable solution. These are the specific methods and techniques that so many computer consulting companies use and wish they could find employees who know how to follow it. Although it is a Windows centric book this part on troubleshooting methodology applies to all operating systems and software. After the overview of how to troubleshoot a problem, the book goes into specific scenarios with both examples and cookbooks on how to resolve the problem. Areas that get their own chapter include network printing, workstation troubleshooting, server troubleshooting, SQL Server troubleshooting, Exchange Server troubleshooting, wide area networks and IP Routing, wireless networking, firewall troubleshooting, and virtual private networking troubleshooting. This book provides specific tools, specific techniques, and details on how to interpret the results. When a printer prints garbage, when servers disappear from the network neighborhood, when shared network resources suddenly disappear, you will want to pick this book up first. The Real-World Network Troubleshooting Manual is very highly recommended.

Privacy: What Developers and IT Professionals Should Know
J. C. Cannon
Addison-Wesley
c/o Pearson Education, Inc.
75 Arlington Street, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02116
ISBN: 0321224094 $49.99 299 pp.

When it comes to the privacy issue, this is a lucid look at what the issues are, how they are often overlooked or violated in the normal course of business and things developers should consider when writing programs. The book covers everything from the mundane privacy problems people don't think about to high level privacy issues. For example, he discusses the privacy problems of sending a "private" email to someone else when it is subject to examination at your ISP level, may be on their backup tapes, may be on the log files of several computers between your ISP and the ending ISP, may be subject to examination by anyone of them, etc. He also discusses the privacy considerations of such items as medical patient records accessed over the Internet, encryption issues, and authorization issues. With all this background information in mind he then discusses how to integrate consideration of these privacy issues into your program and way of thinking in general. This is not an expose of particular privacy problems but a theoretical framework for privacy that uses real-world examples to illustrate the issues. One of the really good points the author makes is that there is a difference between privacy and security. There are a lot of good books on security available today but privacy is rarely discussed. The author provides a thoroughly convincing argument as to why security is not enough and privacy issues must be considered at all times and in all environments. Privacy: What Developers and IT Professionals Should Know is highly recommended for everyone even remotely connected to the computer technology environment, no exceptions.

The Perfect Stock
Brad Koteshwar
AuthorHouse
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200 Bloomington, IN 47403
ISBN: 1418486884 $17.50 189 pp.

There are plenty of technical books for the stock investor on the market today. This one takes a totally different approach for teaching the basics of stock investing and how the market moves by following the characters in a fictional novel. By reading the various actions they take, the reasoning behind those actions, and the how they adapt to changes the reader comes to understand the basics of the stock market. If you are not a technically inclined person and don't want to get bogged down in trend analysis, price/earnings ratios, or other more complex methods of explaining the market then this book is a great way to get a handle on what goes on. If you want insight into how Wall Street works for both the insiders who understand it and the outsiders who don't then The Perfect Stock is an easy and illuminating read.

PDF Hacks
Sid Steward
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472
ISBN: 0596006551 $24.95 265 pp.

With PDF files everywhere from web sites to help files, sooner or later you will run into a situation where you need to do something to a PDF file. For me the first time I realized I needed to do something I could not was when I needed to take one and convert it to a Word format so I could quickly outline the high points to study for a certification exam. After several hours I finally got it into a text file thanks to a web site that did the conversion. But even then I lost the tables, illustrations, etc. How to do that is one of the hacks included in this book. I wish it were printed a few years ago because it would have made my life easier. After testing that hack I browsed through the book and kept finding myself asking "You can do that with a PDF file?" There are a lot of good tips in this book from making Acrobat startup faster, to converting PDF files, to automatic timed scrolling for easy reading, to creating a PDF using Word, WordPerfect, OpenOffice, Perl, HTML, PHP, and Java. With page after page of coding, this is a tremendously useful book for anyone who wants to create or edit PDF files or change the way Acrobat works with files. PDF Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools is very highly recommended and will be put on my shelf reserved for books I want to be able to access quickly.

Peoples and Cultures of the World
Edward Fischer
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100 Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
Format: Audio CD, DVD, Audio Cassette
Lectures: 24

When it comes to culture, practices, beliefs, ideas of right and wrong, political organization, economic perspectives, family roles and a whole host of other anthropological factors there are many similarities and many differences between groups of people. How do these societal norms come about? How do they affect how the culture develops? These and many other questions are examined in one of the most interesting introductions to anthropology I have ever heard. Professor Edward Fischer, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University, starts by examining the individual and how their language and thought affects their beliefs and culture (and vice versa). Then he examines how that individual fits into a larger society, affects the society, and the society affects them. And finally he examines how the current trend toward globalization has affected the various societies. One of the best parts of this lecture series is the great use of examples from specific cultures used to illustrate various points. When discussing magic and religion he discusses the Fulbe of northern Cameroon with their strong belief and tradition of magic with cannibal witches, protective amulets and other things. He discusses the rites of passage among the Fulbe and the Sambia of New Guinea, cultures with multiple spouses like the Trobriand Islands and matrilineality. He even discusses marital preferences and taboos like marriage between cousins, siblings, and other groups. Two groups that were particularly interesting to me were the Dobe Ju/'hoansi of southern Africa (hunter/gatherers that use a click language) and the Yanomamo in South America. He spends considerable time with these two as examples of particular types of societies. Another interesting group that illustrates the adaptability of some societies and how they are changing as a result of globalization is the Kayapo. They have learned what newspaper and television programs want and how to put on a good show for them. As a result they have attracted international attention to their plight. Professor Edward Fischer is an excellent lecturer who does a great job of selecting his topics and social groups for illustration purposes. Peoples and Cultures of the World is highly recommended and one of the best of the already great courses offered by The Teaching Company.

PayPal Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools
Shannon Sofield, Dave Nielsen, Dave Burchell
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472
ISBN: 0596007515 $24.95 325 pp.

This is basically a book on how to get the most out of PayPal. Whether you are trying to make a purchase, sell and item, or setup a complete e-Commerce solution based on PayPal you will find the information on how to do it here. Some of the information in the book includes how to create an account, what to do when you forget your password, how to get things fixed if your account has been limited, how to pay from a cell phone, dispute a payment, receive money, upgrade your account, lower seller fees, hack-proof your payment buttons, and even encryption. It even has information on the PayPal webservices API and putting a PayPal payment button in an email. This is an excellent and detailed course on how to use the intricacies of PayPal. PayPal Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools is highly recommended to everyone who shops or sells on the Internet as well as anyone who programs sites to use PayPal.

The Mezonic Agenda: Hacking the Presidency
Dr. Herbert H. Thompson, Spyros Nomikos
Syngress Publishing, Inc.
800 Hingham Street Rockland, MA 02370
ISBN: 1931836833 $34.95 408 pp.

The U.S. moved to electronic voting for the presidential election in 2004. At the same time hackers continue to prove again and again that there are always ways to get into a system and change data. The question now becomes one of whether a really determined hacker can alter the results of such a presidential election. This is the premise of The Mezonic Agenda. It is a fictional story of Chad Davis who spearheads an effort to penetrate the defenses of e-vote hardware from Advice Software, Inc. It is a good read but is also an educational story that allows you to learn many of the fundamentals of software deconstruction, how it is used to hide information, and other ways a hacker might penetrate a system. In addition to the book there is a CD that includes a game competition to begin in 2005. Hidden within the book and the files on the CD is information that if correctly decrypted allows you to elect yourself president! This is a unique twist that has you directly applying the methods you learn in the book. The Mezonic Agenda is a recommended read as good fiction, an educational book, and just plain fun. Pick up a copy and enjoy.

MCDST Exams
Timothy L. Warner
Charles River Media
10 Downer Ave Hingham, MA 02043
ISBN: 1584503556 $35.95 408 pp.

One of the many Microsoft certification exams the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) certifies a technician to support the workstation or home user's system. The certification consists of one exam on Operating Systems and one on Applications. The purpose of this book is to prepare the test taker to pass the exams. As such, the book covers the exam objectives, installation, configuration, troubleshooting operating systems and applications, hardware devices and drivers, user environments, customization, and application security. It even comes with a CD-ROM with practice tests. The book does a good job of covering the various ways to install a Windows operating system as well as how to update a Windows system. Throughout the book are questions and answers to help the reader test their knowledge of the subject. Unfortunately, while it does provide the answers it does not provide an explanation of why it is the correct one. Presumably you would have to look it up in the text to understand why it is the correct one and the other answers incorrect. While the subject can be very technical it is written in an easy to follow narrative style. One of the problems of most certification exams is that real life often varies considerably from a pristine laboratory environment assumed in most exam situations. This may be an excellent book to prepare for the exam if that is your goal but it may not the best to learn actual installation and troubleshooting. For example, the problems that arise when upgrading an operating system can be quite difficult to troubleshoot and the book does not deal with this real life situation to any significant extent. For the purpose of passing the certification exam MCDST Exams is a recommended purchase and since acquiring the certification is the purpose of the book, it scores a direct hit.

Making It On Broadway
David Wienir, Jodie Langel
Allworth Press
10 East 23rd Street New York, NY 10010
ISBN: 1581153465 $19.95 245 pp.

A collection of commentary from Tony Award winners and other successful actors, Making It On Broadway gives a real-life view into the career of an actor. From the beginnings of their career when they first took an interest in acting to moving and settling in to a new home, survival jobs, live theater, Broadway life, the changing scene of Broadway, the personal life of an actor and problems that acting creates, romance, road trips, and finally when dreams come true, the whole life cycle of an actor is uncovered in detail. This is a very good book that shows the difference between the glamorized version of being a Broadway actor and what it really takes in terms of commitment, experiences, and the toll on your personal life. But it does not concentrate entirely on the difficulties of becoming an actor; the authors also discuss the thrill when you actually make it. When so many people have false ideas of what it would be like, and colleges and training facilities have a fin! ancial interest in encouraging students to remain it is a breath of fresh air to hear the viewpoint of all of these actors who have actually made it. Just like any other occupation, acting has its good and bad points and this book points them out from the perspective of people who did make it. Making It On Broadway is a recommended read for anyone who wants to pursue acting as a career.

An Introduction to Judaism
Shai Cherry
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100 Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
Format: Audio CD, DVD, Audio Cassette
Lectures: 24

Judaism has a long history and rich heritage as a religion and a culture. Despite exile, conquest, and dispersion around the world it has survived to maintain a common sense of community among its people. What is this common bond that defines what it is to be Jewish? How do different groups within Judaism define their history and beliefs so that they maintain this common bond while proclaiming their differences? These are some of the questions answered by Professor Shai Cherry in this excellent series of lectures. Professor Cherry introduces the listener to the most important writings and oral traditions of Judaism including the Torah, Mishnah, Gemara, Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara combined), Midrash, Nevi?m, Ketuvim, and Tanakh (Torah, Nevi?m, and Ketuvim combined). I really appreciated the fact that he takes the time to carefully define terms that may mean different things depending on their context. For example, one of the more confusing terms when reading or listening to Jewish teachings is the use of the word Torah. Depending on the context it can mean the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the entire Hebrew Bible, or all the teachings including the Tanakh, Talmud, and Midrash. He also explains the Jewish holidays, various movements within Judaism (Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and Reconstructionist, Zionist, and others), and how various events have affected Jewish thought and shaped their traditions. This is a scholarly treatment of Judaism and provides a firm foundation for understanding Judaism. An Introduction to Judaism is highly recommended and an exceptional source of information for anyone who wants to gain a basic understanding of the Jewish religion.

The Linux Cookbook, 2nd Edition
Michael Stutz
No Starch Press, Inc.
555 De Haro Street, Suite 250 San Francisco, CA 94107
ISBN: 1593270313 $39.95 695 pp.

A review of this book should start with a description of what this book is and is not. There is nothing here on how to install, troubleshoot, or administer Linux and a cookbook is not supposed to contain that type information. This is a cookbook and is designed to be a resource when you have a specific goal in mind and want to know how to get there. The first several chapters focus on the very basic Linux information that everyone working with the operating system should know. This includes such common items as how to determine what processes are running and how to determine who you are logged in as. Of course anyone with even a minimum of Linux experience knows this stuff. For the more experienced Linux users the later chapters are where the real treasure is located. These include things like viewing and editing images, PostScript, working with sound, and cross-platform conversions. The recipe style layout really works well for this type of book. Like a list of ing! redients the author lists the program to be run, package manager name for the installation package, and the home page where the package can be found. This is one of the really nice features of the book. If you are looking for how to accomplish a specific task you can look it up, see if there is a program to accomplish it, locate and install the program if necessary, and follow through the specific directions to achieve your desired result. The Linux Cookbook, 2nd Edition is very highly recommended for the new Linux user, and recommended as a desk reference to keep available for the more experienced user who may just need to know how to convert that mp3 file to another format and burn the result to a CD.

How People Grow
Dr. Henry Cloud, Dr. John Townsend
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310257379 $12.99 362 pp.

This book can be summarized as a Biblical based approach to understanding personal growth and how that relates to spiritual growth. Two psychologists, Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend examine the personal growth process and point out how that process is found within the pages of the Bible. With that personal growth process as the starting point they then show how personal growth is in fact spiritual growth. This is one of the best books on personal growth that I have read. How People Grow is highly recommended to anyone seeking to change their life, get out of the rut of stagnation, or move to a happier place in their life. It is also recommended to Christian counselors, Pastoral counselors, and others involved with helping people.

Guide to Low-Cost Canadian and US Pharmacies
Tod Cooperman, MD, Gabriel Levitt, MA, editors
ConsumerLab.com, LLC
333 Mamaroneck Avenue White Plains, NY 10605
ISBN: 0972969713 $17.95 142 pp.

Ordering from Canadian and U.S. discount pharmacies can save significantly over regular retail establishments. The problem is how do you know which ones are reputable and which ones are not, which have quality medicines, which add shipping costs, which require a Canadian doctor's prescription, which ones can be trusted, which ones are licensed and which offer the best prices. This book includes the top rated pharmacies with the best prices according to PharmacyChecker.com. Whether you are considering a Canadian pharmacy, mail-order pharmacy, or an online pharmacy this will help you through the maze of potential suppliers and help you find the ones that will best serve your needs. One of the really nice features of the book is the information on hidden costs like dispensing fees, medical review fees, and shipping fees. It also includes all the information you might need including available payment methods, how a prescription can be submitted, contact information, and the like. If you are looking for an alternative to the high costs of filling monthly prescriptions locally and need advice on how to go about using mail-order or online pharmacies as well as which ones can be trusted you will find the Guide to Low-Cost Canadian and US Pharmacies indispensable.

From Bash to Z-Shell: Conquering the Command Line
Kiddle, Peek, Stephenson
Apress
2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219 Berkeley, CA 94710
ISBN: 1590593766 $34.99 408 pp.

When it comes to dealing with the various Linux shells most Linux books devote a single chapter or so to the subject. While this book does cover most of the command line information you need to use a Linux system, its best feature is the extensive coverage of shell scripting and other subjects that generally receive minimal treatment in most Linux books. The authors list internal shell commands and how they are used as well as working with the shell history file. It ends with a section on extending the functionality of the shell based on the items learned in the first two sections. Shell coverage is excellent for the bash and the z-shell and pretty much non-existent for others like the c-shell, t-shell and Korn shell. From Bash to Z-Shell: Conquering the Command Line is one of the best books I've read on the bash and z-shell and is highly recommended to anyone learning to work with either of these two of the most popular of all Linux shells.

Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop
Tom Adelstein, Sam Hiser
O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472
ISBN: 0596007523 $34.95 322 pp.

Putting Linux on the desktop has been the clarion call of many Linux users as well as people who want a system that does not crash almost daily or have multiple security and other problems. The problem is that a graphical interface that is similar enough to the Windows or MacIntosh systems that there would be minimal training and yet is easy to install without problems has been long in coming. While there are several contenders today, the Java Desktop System (JDS) Linux Desktop is one of the fastest, and easiest to install. In Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop the authors take the reader through the installation process and all the basic information for using the JDS Linux Desktop. Not only do they go over the infrastructure items like networking and printing but also the most common applications that come with JDS Linux Desktop. These applications include email, calendaring, instant messenger, the web browser, StarWriter (word processing), and StarCalc (spreadsheet). They even go over various options for running Windows programs in JDS Linux including some options that often run Windows programs faster than Windows!

The book comes with a Live CD, which is a version of JDS Linux Desktop that runs from the CD. Simply put it into your CD-Rom drive and boot your computer and you are running Linux with a graphical interface. I tried it on a couple of computers on which I had trouble getting a much more popular version of Linux to recognize the on-board video interface but JDS Linux Desktop got it right the first time and worked as expected without any special manual configuration. While many of the items covered in the book are not on the CD, enough of them are there to give the user a good feel for how the operating system works. The book warns that the Live CD allows you to create documents but you cannot save them. However, that is not entirely true. If you are knowledgeable in Linux it is simple enough to open a terminal and mount the hard drive including a Windows formatted drive and save any files there. Although I have done a lot with the Linux operating system this is the first time I have used the Sun Java Desktop System (JDS). The interface is very professional and definitely on par with Windows. Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop is a highly recommended read for anyone who wants to learn the basics of navigating and using this system.

The Encyclopedia of Origami
Nick Robinson
Running Press Book Publishers
125 South Twenty-second Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-4399
ISBN: 0762418958 $27.95 157 pp.

One of the better origami books, The Encyclopedia of Origami does one of the best jobs of describing and illustrating how to make the folds that I have seen. That is usually the biggest problem with origami books, how do you describe and illustrate an unusual fold? This is a three-dimensional activity illustrated in a two-dimensional medium and is difficult to describe well. Author Nick Robinson does a great job and all the folds on the projects I did were easy to figure out. The book is divided into five sections that work from basic techniques to beginner projects to intermediate projects to challenging projects and ends with a photographic piece on origami from around the world. This last section showcases masterful pieces of origami work and while it does not include instructions for these pieces it does provide a glimpse of what can be done by a professional. Some of the included subjects include geometric shapes, animals, and flowers. With projects for all ages, The Encyclopedia of Origami is a wonderfully fun book anyone can use to successfully fold origami pieces and a highly recommended book.

The Early Middle Ages
Professor: Philip Daileader
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100 Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
Format: Audio CD, DVD, Audio Cassette
Lectures: 24

Professor Philip Daileader, Associate Professor of History at The College of William and Mary provides this series of lectures covering the Roman and Carolingian empires from approximately 300 CE to 1000 CE. Starting with the Roman Empire he examines the politics and other aspects of life as well as their nearly continuous problems with barbarians on the edge of the empire. One of the most important rulers during this period was Constantine the Great. When Constantine converted from paganism to Christianity it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. By 324 he had reunited the two divisions into a single empire creating both advantages and its own set of problems. One of the more interesting problems was how someone who desired to become a Christian martyr could go about doing it. Becoming a martyr was the ultimate sacrifice and proof of your dedication to Christ. When it became difficult to become a martyr because the empire had embraced Christianity they so! ught other ways to suffer and prove their commitment. Some went so far as to move out to the wilderness and live an ascetic life style. From this movement came the monk lifestyle along with a multitude of ascetic variations. For example, Professor Daileader discusses the practices of the stylites who lived on the top of long poles for many years so they would both suffer and be close to God. While that is one of the extremes in the ascetic lifestyle Professor Daileader also discusses the more common manifestations of monks and how it affected the history of the time period including the Irish and Anglo-Saxon monks and their effect on the history of the British Isles. Another interesting area discussed is the trial by ordeal where your proof of innocence was based on a miracle. For example, you might have to put your hand in scalding water and if it was not seriously burned then you were innocent. Or you might be bound hand and foot and thrown in a river to see if you would float. If you sank then you were innocent and possibly dead. Of course any discussion of this time period would not be complete without a thorough treatment of the military conquests of Islam, the rise of the Carolingian empire, and Charlemagne. Dr. Daileader does an excellent job of pointing out the contributions that Charlemagne made to standardize texts and how these changes still affect us today. He finishes off the series of lectures by discussing the Viking raids, decline of the Carolingian empire, King Alfred in England, and how the family system changed during this period. The section on the Viking raids was particularly interesting and included a lot of information that I had not heard elsewhere. Dr. Daileader has an excellent ability to provide a solid educational lecture in a manner that is both fun and interesting at all times. "The Early Middle Ages" is very highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the history of this time period.

Crazy About Crockery
Penny E. Stone
Champion Press, Ltd.
500 West Bradley Road, A129 Fox Point, WI 53217
ISBN: 1891400363 $24.95 299 pp.

This is actually a combination of three other crockery cookbooks Crazy About Crockery: 101 Easy and Inexpensive Recipes for Less than 75 cents a serving, Crazy About Crockery: 101 Soups & Stews for Less than 75 cents a serving, and Crazy About Crockery: 101 Recipes for Entertaining at Less than 75 cents a serving. This compilation book keeps each of the three included books separated by a tab so it ends up being organized by Inexpensive Recipes, Soups and Stews, and Entertaining Recipes by default. While there are no photos of any of the end products, the instructions are clear and easy to follow so you really can't make a mistake. I like the wide variety of recipes in each section. These include ones you would expect, like various casseroles, and recipes you would not expect to cook with a crock-pot like Cornish Game Hens and Brazilian Coffee. The estimated time to prepare and the number of servings is listed at the top of the recipe right under the name so you don't have to scan through the recipe each time you are looking for something that can be prepared in fifteen minutes. Unfortunately it does not have the cooking time listed there also, so while it might take fifteen minutes to prepare it may take three hours to cook. If you are looking for a meal that can be prepared in fifteen minutes and cook for two hours while you attend your child's school recital you have to search through the recipes. Very well organized with a tremendous variety of recipes for all occasions, Crazy About Crockery is a recommended cookbook.

The Age of Pericles
Jeremy McInerney
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100 Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
Format: Audio CD, DVD, Audio Cassette
Lectures: 24

Before the 5th century BC Athens was still predominantly just another city on the Mediterranean. But that was soon to change, as Athens would become an important cultural power and a strong influence on Western culture. Professor Jeremy McInerney, an Associate Professor in the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, takes the listener back to this period in an extraordinary series of lectures. We are introduced to the Greek culture shortly after the conclusion of the Persian wars. These years have Athens uniting all the smaller Greek states into a cohesive empire. This uniting of the states resulted in their becoming a military power with no equal in the Aegean. But the military was not the only thing changing; the political and cultural environments were also evolving quickly. But the military and political environments are not the only ones Professor McInerney examines during these lectures. He also takes us on a tour of the Agora and its importance in the life of the Athenian citizens and a discussion of Pericles as well as his mistress Aspasia. McInerney examines the architecture of the time including the Parthenon and the Acropolis and the building program of Pericles. He discusses the symbology used in the various columns, layout, and other details of construction. Professor McInerney also turns his attention to everyday matters of the period including the social functions of festivals, the educational system, marriage, property, business, and even death as well as the writings of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and the Athenian court system. Of course the rise of the Greek culture did not end with Pericles and the title of the lecture series not withstanding, Professor McInerney also discusses several of the most important influences after Pericles including Socrates, the Sophists, and Plato. This is an excellent lecture series with a speaker who keeps it entertaining and interesting. The Age of Pericles is a highly recommended lecture series for anyone interested in the rise of the Greek nation to become the center of culture, military, and political power of the area.

Making Right Turns in Your Relationship
Myron D. Lewis, M.S.W.
Hansyd Publishing
PO Box 557 Harbor Springs, MI 49740
ISBN: 0975489615 $16.95 208 pp.

In any relationship both partners will have to make choices and be responsible for their actions. Sometimes they will be the right choice and sometimes they will not. When you make a bad choice, or wrong turn, you cause the relationship to experience tension, frustration, and disappointment that you should not have to endure. Making the right turn allows you to avoid these problems and experience more satisfaction in the relationship. While nobody is perfect and so there will always be times when we make a wrong turn, it is possible to learn to identify them early and make the right choices more and more often. This is the goal of this book, to teach the reader how to identify and make those right turns. The author starts by examining the characteristics of both a healthy and unhealthy relationship. From there he moves to understanding and respecting your relationship, creating a vision for where you want your relationship to be, and making it a priority in your life to move in that direction. By the time he gets the reader to this point the author starts asking the reader to consider their answers to various questions to help gain direction for their relationship. For example he asks, "What behaviors do you want to stop doing on a daily basis?", "What behaviors would you like to start implementing daily?", "Identify several positive characteristics or behaviors of your partner."

Other areas the author looks at include the rules and boundaries we live by, how to communicate better, better problem solving skills, creating change, and creating an action plan. If you want to take an active role in improving your relationship this book will help you understand how. There are other books on rescuing or improving a relationship but very few of them go as far as Myron Lewis has done in preparing insightful questions to help the reader decide what is important, what needs to change, and how to achieve that change. Making Right Turns in Your Relationship is highly recommended for anyone who truly wants to work through a plan with their partner to actively create change in their relationship and manage that change to create the best possible relationship.

The Play of Your Life
Colleen A. Sabatino
Rodale Press
33 East Minor St. Emmaus, PA 18098-0099
ISBN: 1579549640 $16.95 250 pp.

Using a unique format to help you find the career that will make you happy, author Colleen Sabatino approaches a career search like it is a play. The first act is career exploration. The base on which the rest of the "play" will rest is finding the right career for you. Act two is implementing a successful career search so you can actually get the job you want. For many people the hardest part of finding the right career is deciding what that career should be. Colleen A. Sabatino addresses that problem in the first part of her book by providing several questionnaires for the reader to fill in. From the results of the questionnaires you determine many of the most critical factors to finding the career you want. Some of the factors examined are your values, personality type, talents, interests, and fascinations. The next part (beginning of Act Two) is to develop a great resume and tailor it for the audience to whom you will be presenting it. Of course the final part of the play is the actual production. In this section she covers networking, the open job market vs. the hidden job market, and the interview process. For those who are seeking their first job or seeking to make a career change to a career where they can feel more satisfied this is a book they will want to look at. The Play of Your Life is highly recommended to any career or job seekers.

Harold McFarland
Senior Reviewer

Klausner's Bookshelf

Phi Beta Bimbo
Trish Jensen
Love Spell
ISBN: 0505525852 $6.99

Sociology graduate student Leah Smith decides to conduct a comparative analysis research study for her doctorate; her subject is to compare a bimbo to a nerd in the work place. To obtain data, Leah accepts two interviews under different names for employment at Just Peachy, her brother's cosmetics firm. For one appointment she arrives dressed and acting like a "classic" bimbo; for the other she behaves as a nerd. Her sibling Steve hired security specialist Mark Colson to determine who in his successful company is selling secrets to competitors. Mark notices that the bimbo and the nerd are the same person. Leah is his prime suspect for why else would she pretend to be two other people besides herself. The anecdotal approach seems lacking in terms of statistics, but not in terms of a wacky wonderful contemporary romance. The story line is fun as Leah as the student, the bimbo, and the nerd drives Mark to distraction. Though he suspects she is the culprit, he also finds he loves her in her two distinctive poses, but mostly for her energetic self. Adding to the insanity is that Steve to succeed in a female world comes up with Stephanie as his alter ego. PHI BETA BIMBO is a cross dressing laugh out loud romp.

Sex, Lies, and Vampires
Katie MacAlister
Love Spell
ISBN: 0505525550 $6.99, 352 pp.

Melissande Banacek flies Seattle based medieval history professor Dr. Nell Harris to Prague to discuss removal of imps and Nell being an untrained Charmer. Nell says she has no skill with charms reflecting back to the devastating deadly incident of ten years ago when she dabbled. Melissande ignores her saying she needs her help to find her missing brother Damien and his son Saar, Moravian Dark Ones who recently vanished. Damien believes that the Demon Lord Asmodeus captured Saar. Nell reluctantly agrees. Almost immediately, Nell runs in trouble with Dark One Adrian "The Betrayer" Tomas, who threatens her with fangs and kisses if she does not back off. Instead she offers him kisses back as both are attracted to one another. Adrian is stunned because he insists he's not in love yet the teacher feels like his soulmate. Ironically he realizes that he will not be around to enjoy love as his current quest is certain death though he would like to leave fearless Nell safe even if she seems to interfere, intercede and interject into everything. No one combines humor and vampires better than Katie MacAlister does. Her latest tale is the usual jocular suspense thriller starring a hunk with a sweet tooth for the Washingtonian and a heroine who dares go where no mortal risks their neck. Vampires, demons, charmers, and more provide a surreal tale in which the story line is fun, amusing and biting, typical of Ms. MacAlister, who always entertains her.

Divine Fire
Melanie Jackson
Love Spell
ISBN: 0505526107 $6.99

Book critic Damien Ruthven is shocked with how accurate the eighteen hundred page manuscript written by author Brice Ashton is. However, he also feels that two points in the biography needs correcting as she is slightly in error on his affair with Lady Caroline Lamb and on a poem he wrote to her. Out of character and shocking his assistant Karen Anderson, he invites author Brice Ashton to America to discuss her first of three overpriced tomes on the life of Lord Byron. Excited, Brice accepts the invitation believing that her host has access to documents she has not seen. The bad news is that Damien has no documents. The good news is that he knew Byron intimately because in 1816, Dr. Johann Dippel "cured" the aristocratic poet of epilepsy; Damien was Byron back in the early nineteenth century. As the critic and the writer feel a growing attraction to one another, his invitation inadvertently also brings danger to his guest as killers want Byron dead with collateral damage acceptable. DIVINE FIRE is a fantastic suspenseful romantic fantasy starring two wonderful protagonists even if a book reviewer and an author make strange bedfellows. Especially interesting is Damien's look back to his past that comes alive in such a manner that the audience will believe that Dr. Dippel cured his patient. This in turn leads readers to expect Melanie Jackson to provide sequels starring other patients of Dr. Dippel.

The Windhealer
Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Amber Quill
ISBN: 1592799523 $20.00

Everyone who cared and loved Prince Conar McGregor thinks he died several years ago although his body was never found. Instead his childhood mentor and tormentor Sorcerer Kaileel Tohre, leader of the Dominion and the kingdom of Serenia, condemned Conar to live what remains of his tortured life inside the Labyrinth Prison for a crime he never committed; the island prison contains many of his enemies who loathe him and enjoy torturing him especially with his childhood nightmares. Though some might question his sanity, he survives because of the memory of his love for his Princess wife and the pain from the beatings. However, Conar for all purposes is dead, but has metamorphosed into the Raven. He escapes his debilitating captivity to begin his plans to stop the evil that engulfs his people. Raven forges a force of twenty-two loyal strong and courageous soldiers the Wind Force. He and his troops believe the enemy is Tohre and his Dominion supporters, but they will soon learn that an evil entnity , perhaps worse than the wicked sorcerer, has started to also rise. To better understand the motives of the key two antagonists and several supporting cast members, fantasy fan should read the three earlier novels first although THE WINDHEALER easily can stand alone. Conar is a terrific hero who has met tortures that Job would struggle with yet somehow keeps on going. Tohre is one of the best villains in the genre as this evil seeks vengeance on his former student for rejecting him. In her fourth WindLegends tale, Charlotte Boyett-Compo once again provides an excellent novel that genre fans will find immensely satisfying and seek the rest of the saga.

Before the Frost
Henning Mankell
New Press
38 Greene Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10013
ISBN: 1565848357 $24.95

No one is more proud of Linda Wallender graduating from the Swedish Police Academy than her dad Chief Inspector Kurt Wallender. Linda looks forward to begin work at the Ystad Police Department and ultimately to find a flat of her own having lived with dear old dad until now. Dad is eager to mentor his daughter and she is eager to learn from him how to run an investigation though her patience runs thin when he becomes protectively fatherly. Still while Kurt struggles to stop a religious extremist seemingly setting up a mass murder, Linda investigates on her own. Dad frets over her safety because of the disappearance of her friend Anna Westin, who vanished shortly after her father reentered her life after he went away and did not returning for over two decades. As Wallander the younger seeks clues from a variety of sources including Anna's journal, another young woman named in the journal, vanishes. The case has the Wallenders arguing and putting up a FIREWALL between them as the teacher-pupil relationship falls into a more adversarial situation with each feeling ONE STEP BEHIND the other in pursuit of FACELESS KILLERS. They must cooperate if they are to uncover the dark goings on as their two cases have merged. The Kurt Wallender Swedish police procedurals has been some of the best the sub-genre has had to offer over the last few years to include novels translated like these or originally in English. The latest story BEFORE THE FROST takes an intriguing spin as Kurt shares top billing with a chip off the old block his own daughter Linda. The two subplots merge effortlessly so that the audience receives another winning cop tale from talented Henning Mankell.

Cross Your Heart and Hope To Die
Nancy Martin
NAL
ISBN 0451213955 $19.95, 272 pp.

Used to wealth and privilege the Blackbird sisters have to find gainful employment after their parents wasted their trust funds and fled the country to a place that doesn't have an extradition treaty. Nora Blackbird works as an assistant to society editor Kitty Keogh, a relationship filled with antipathy, anger, and jealously on the employer's part because her worker has entry into the high society that closes its doors to her. Kitty wakes Nora up to have her cover a fashion show featuring the broken bra designed by Brinker Hill, a high society sadist who almost raped Nora's younger sister Emma when they were in school together. Later that night the murdered body of Kitty is delivered to Nora's front door and the police want to pin the crime on Nora's lover Michael, whose family is mafia connected. To clear his name, Nora takes many chances including breaking and entering into Brinker's office where she thinks evidence exists that could clear Michael. Michael and Nora come from two different worlds but together they make their own filled with love respect and tenderness. When the outside world intrudes, Nora is like a tiger protecting her mate and she is particularly suspicious of Brinker who couldn't invent a paper plane and is suspected of the arson of his comedy club. There are many people who hated the victim but Nora focuses on Brinker and socialite Hemmings Lamb, a submissive with a criminal bent. Both men had their names on Kitty's calendar on the date she was murdered. Nancy Martin has written a sublime who-done-it filled with laughter, heroes and plenty of action.

The Language of Sycamores
Lisa Wingate
NAL
ISBN: 0451213920 $12.95, 283 pp.

Karen Sommerfield feels she must be in hell not Boston. First Dr. Connor tells her she might have cancer again, previously diagnosed when she miscarried; Later that morning Lansing Technology downsized her mid management high tech job after fifteen loyal years in which she realizes as the anger flows through her that the firm was her first love, not herself or her spouse James. The two hits slam home to Karen. When her somewhat estranged sister Kate calls from Hindsville, Missouri, Karen decides it is time to mend fences and visit her family while she still can. In the Ozarks on Grandma Rose's farm, Karen begins to listen to the Sycamore trees while her family including Kate's children engulfs her with love just as she reaches out to a mistreated young neighbor with music ability. The talent of Lisa Wingate comes out very strongly with this powerful first person account of a person seeking what matters in life. The story line avoids the extreme so that the audience receives a deep character study that emphasizes loved ones as critical to well being while not condemning the urban rat race. The cast provides depth to the understanding of what motivates Karen so that she is a complete person struggling with establishing new goals. Genre fans will hear the entertaining message of THE LANGUAGE OF SYCAMORES.

The Case of the Virtuous Vampire
Monette Michaels
Ltd Books
customerservice@ltdbooks.com
ISBN 1553161335 $5.00 (amazon download) 264 pp.

The only preternatural lawyer in Austin, Texas is Abigail Merriweather Gooden and she has been taking mere-mortal cases since a witch beat her up and tried to rape her. Although her magic was stronger than his being the daughter of a wizard father and a powerful witch of a mother, the incident left scars so she is very leery when the vampire Jurnik Galub and the shape-shifter wizard Lucan Knight enter her office. They want to hire her because a stripper was killed in Jurnik's club Exotica and her parents are suing him for having her work in an unsafe environment. Lucan is a private investigator who intends to find the killer. Complicating matters are Jurnik's tie was the murder weapon and he once had a heated affair with the victim. Abbie takes the case and horns in on Lucan's investigation because her mother is involved with Jurnik. When somebody breaks into Abbie's apartment and tries to burn the place down the case becomes more personal and with Lucan as her partner, in and out of bed, she intends to solve it or die trying. Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison and Tonya Huff will love this urban romantic fantasy in which a wary witch finds her soulmate in a shape-shifting wizard. Lucan and Abbie are both extremely likeable characters and will grab and maintain reader interest. The suspense is so tight it feels like a rubber band about to snap and the tension is resolved by the quirky dialogue between the protagonists and their allies. The audience will be happy to know that there will be further adventures starring Abbie and Lucan.

Murder in Clichy
Cara Black
Soho
ISBN: 1569473838 $24.00, 304 pp.

In 1994 Paris, Aimee Leduc has sight for the most part and the blurriness is going away, but she still struggles with her injuries especially to the optic nerve from last month's assault. Her computer security firm partner Rene encourages her to continue to seek a healthier lifestyle. Vietnamese Sister Linh asks Aimee to deliver an envelope to Thadee Baret because the nun insists she cannot do it as she is watched, even in Paris, as she is the daughter of a blackballed judge in her native country and the sister of a jailed dissident. Reluctantly, Aimee agrees. The drop off seems to go smooth as Aimee provides the envelope to Thadee who hands over to her a jade piece to give to Linh. Not long afterward someone kills Thadee. Aimee wonders what is going on as she was just a delivery intermediary, but government agents tell her to back off from making inquiries and someone abducts her partner, making the scenario even more baffling. The fifth Aimee Leduc investigative tale is a fantastic story in which the readers remain in the dark along with the heroine wondering what is going on yet unable to stop reading to learn the truth. Aimee is a fabulous protagonist who learns a life lesson about Good Samaritans as she investigates the murder, the nun, and the abduction while pressure for her to back off increases. Cara Black provides her usual terrific Parisian joy ride that has helped make the Leduc tales consistently some of the best professional sleuth novels in recent years.

The Villa of Mysteries
David Hewson
Delacorte
ISBN: 0385337728, $22.00 352 pp.

Though six months of leave to recover physically from his wounds and mentally from the death of his partner seems a long time to Roman Detective Nic Costa, he has doubts about returning to work which include the skills of his new partner Gianni Peroni. Still he returns so his superior assigns him the case of visiting Americans Bobby and Lianne Dexter who found a corpse of a teenage girl near the Ostia Antica coastal harbor. The cops quickly realize that the girl was murdered in recent times and not during the Roman Empire era though the preserved garb would speak otherwise. Though police pathologist Teresa Lupo initially blows the murder date by two millennium give or take a century, she, Nic and Gianni soon learn that the victim is the 16-year-old stepdaughter of mobster Virgil Wallis and that another teen is missing. Worse the anti-Mafia task force is interfering as the two cops investigate, but get nowhere losing hope to save the second abducted teen from a sacrificial ritual murderer(s). Nic is a fine detective whose skills are ordinary, but he never quits even though he faces emotional trauma every time he works the field. Gianni is more amiable but also has plenty of woes to overcome. Teresa and anti-Mafia Agent Rachale D'Amato provide the impetus to keep digging. Though the case resolves abruptly in spite of the lead cops misinterpreting clues, fans will enjoy the return of Nic Costa though his second appearance is not quite as stellar as his superb pulled in two directions efforts in A SEASON FOR THE DEAD.

Picture Perfect
Fern Michaels
Zebra
ISBN: 082177588X $7.99, 384 pp.

The FBI provides protection to murder witness Montclair College Professor Andrew Ryan from a drug cartel that killed a student Jason Forbes. While Andrew and his spouse Sara head to Florida, her sister Lorrie takes their seven years old son Davey camping. Davy looks forward to the trip because his aunt allows his freedom to be himself while his mother disapproves of him perhaps because of his hemophiliac condition. Cudge Balog kills his best friend Lenny Lombardi when the man tries to collect a debt. Cudge and his girlfriend Elva St. John start to bury the body at the Wild Adventure Campground, but Davey sees them. Cudge goes after the child who flees. Lorrie, worried that her nephew is missing calls the police. FBI Agent Stuart Sanders, who has been assigned to the Ryan family, arrives at the campgrounds. He and Lorrie already attracted to one another, work together to rescue a child in need of daily medicine for his condition. The suspense is very high as the clock ticks away not just because of the Cudge factor but also because of the needed dose of medication. Fern Michaels' fans will appreciate the lead duet though they are cut out of the hero handbook pro-am teaming and the little boy starving for affection, but hiss at the interesting tundra-like mother (who is conveniently eliminated) and the father who acquiesces to all her demands at the cost of their child's welfare. Cudge is a dumb thug while Elva, whose name she took in homage to Elvis, is frightened of him. Quite different from the Texas-Kentucky-Vegas triangle, Ms. Michaels' readers will enjoy this thriller.

At Risk
Stella Rimington
Knopf
ISBN: 1400043700 $24.00

At Thames House, the Joint Counter-Terrorist Group employees learn that the al-Safa organization of the Islamic Terror Syndicate is planting an "Invisible". Pakistan cooperates and the Immigration Office combs the lists for possible suspects. However, the M-15 and M-16 attendees know how difficult to uncover an Invisible is as these terrorists are a special breed being a native of the host nation. An agent just in from Islamabad corroborates that al-Safa is a rare Islamic terrorist organization because it welcomes full blood Caucasians. M-15 agent-runner Liz Carlyle sees her work as a means to avoid her matchmaking mother and a place to hide from her married lover, Mark Callendar, who is no longer convenient. The need to track down the Invisible becomes imminent as the evidence mounts that something big is about to occur. Liz starts to put a human face that seems increasingly female to the trigger, but who she is and who is her handler remains just out of visible scope especially since agents allegedly on her side decide not to share information with anyone. This exciting counter-terrorist espionage thriller travels on two story lines that connect via the heroine. Readers receive an exciting race against the clock to prevent a catastrophe while also seeing the inner office shenanigans of hiding critical information behind a need not to know fa‡ade and sexual harassment towards the token estrogen in a testosterone world. The prime plot is typical of the sub-genre with its adrenaline rush to climax, but is slowed down somewhat by the office side, which is more interestingly unique (and perhaps autobiographical) though not as exhilarating. Spy fans are not AT RISK reading this fine tale.

Beneath a Marble Sky
John Shors
McPherson
Post Office Box 1126, Kingston, NY 12402
ISBN: 0929701712 $24.95, 324 pp.

Looking back to her salad days at Red Fort, Jahanara begins to tell the truth of her lineage to her disbelieving grandchildren. Back in 1632, her father the Emperor of Hindustan Shah Jahan mourned the loss of his beloved soulmate his wife Mumtaz Mahal, one of many spouse in his harem, but to him she was The Wife. He depended on her wisdom in all matters including war and politics. Foreseeing the future, Taj as the Emperor affectionately called her, mentored her wisest daughter Jahanara to replace her as the regal advisor if misfortune should strike her down, which occurs during childbirth. Jahanara became the grieving Jahan's right hand "man" instead of her brothers. She encourages her father to have the monument to his wife built and becomes the liaison with the architect Isa. As she and Isa fall into a forbidden love, her time at the royal court ends when a brother Aurangzeb violently takes the throne forcing her into exile after a harsh incarnation with her being raped; now years later she tells her story to her descendents. BENEATH THE MARBLE SKY is a fantastic historical tale that may be the best the genre offered in 2004. In some ways the plot comes across as an autobiographical account because of the technique that John Shors employs, that of Jahanara telling about the events of several decades ago. The story line vividly describes the Indian subcontinent in the seventeenth century where love, intrigue, and betrayal are key elements. Mr. Shors has transported readers to a different time and place as he paints quite a picture to illuminate the events surrounding the construction of the Taj Mahal.

Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil
James Luceno
Del Rey
ISBN 0345475720 $25.95, 339 pp.

In the far distant future, peace is broken by the Separatists who want to leave the Federation and join the Confederacy. The Jedi Knights fight for the Federation but nobody in the senate is prepared to believe that the enemy has infiltrated that august body but many of its prominent members are allied with the Sith Darth Sidious. His allies, former Jedi Knight Count Dooku and cyborg killing machine General Grievous are being pushed back to the outer rim by the federation forces. This doesn't phase Sidious and his supporters at all because it is part of their master plan that will see the Sith as ruler of the galaxy. Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, regarded by the Jedi Knights as "The chosen one" who will defeat the darkside of the force, are following the villain's trails in the hopes of capturing them and putting an end to this war. Anakin doesn't know that he is beingwatched by Sidious to see if in the future he can be seduced to the darkside of the force. In the meantime Anakin and his mentor seem to be always one step behind their enemies. This is the direct prequel to the Star Wars episode opening in theaters in May 2005. The author sets up the finale nicely so that the book and the movie should tie seamlessly together. This space opera is at its best when Anakin and Obi-Wan-Kenobi travel from planet to planet in search of their enemies hoping that they can bring the galactic war to a close without farther bloodshed. James Luceno captures the spirit and the essence of George Lucas's classic saga.

Market Forces
Richard Morgan
Del Rey
ISBN: 0345457749 $14.95, 464 pp.

In the middle of the twenty-first century, the market place controls all aspects of life with no governmental redistribution of wealth to interfere. In this global economy the big money makers are those who peddle Conflict Investments; there is a large and continuous market for the selling of all types of arms to small insurgent bands at a phenomenal price while encouraging the guerilla bands to make war not love. Recently safety has become an issue for the affluent. Chris Faulkner of Shorn Associates has become a successful salesman peddling arms and related equipment. The Brit enjoys his literally cut throat job especially the executive perks such as driving a car and killing other road hogs. However, he has recently made a mistake by allowing mercy to someone he defeated during a road rage skirmish. He vows to never again allow his conscience to get in the way of his lifestyle. His chance surfaces when the eternal South American coup d'etat may be out of control. Though wary and thinking back excessively to his ghetto roots, Chris plans to rectify this problem. This gloom and doom future will not be one to worry about social security as no social or security seems to be the norm in Richard K. Morgan's dark satirical spin of MARKET FORCES out of control. The story line paints a grim future in which to paraphrase Jessie Ventura as the wrestler not the governor that it is not whether you win or lose, but how well you cheat. Though Chris' growing disaffection is not adequately explained, the Enron and Bush-Blair economics are taken to the extreme in this powerful condemnation of a systematic handout to the rich while everyone else pays the price.

The Meq
Steve Cash
Del Rey
ISBN: 0345470923 $13.95, 416 pp.

In 1881, Zianno Zezen celebrates his twelfth birthday "for the first time" on a train with Momma and Papa heading from St. Louis to Central City just above Denver. Momma tells Zianno that the three of them are different then anyone else on the crowed train filled with ordinary Giza humans. Before she can explain further about being a Meq, the train derails killing everyone on board except Zianno. Jewish trader Solomon Birnbaum nurtures the injured Z, but is stunned by how fast the preteen heals. Solomon believes that Z might be a member of a legendary ancient race that he thought was mythical. He returns Z to St. Louis where the lad meets other Meqs and learns how his people stop aging at twelve until they find their Ameq soulmate. A Meq can choose to age and die like Giza. Z befriends Gizas and soon wonders if he is the last born as he has met no one "younger" than him. Could this mean the Meq Remembering has begun; some believe so and try to halt it. This engaging fantasy grips the audience due to the Meq, who interestingly repeat their twelfth birthday yet remain child-like in spite of experiences; this makes individual Meqs hard to delineate one from another. The story line is told from the first person account of Z, which adds a feel of detachment rather than emotion to the plot; yet also serves as a mechanism to display the blase attitude towards immortality and the acceptance of those who chose mortality. Much of the action will happen in the sequels, but fans will enjoy this introduction to the near immortal race that walks amongst us.

Midnight Cab
James W. Nichol
Canongate
14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE, Scotland UK
ISBN: 1841956244 $23.00

Nineteen years old Walker Devereaux leaves his adopted home in Big River for Toronto, but not with the youthful vigor of living in the big city; Walker is obsessed to learn about his past starting with why his mom Lennie abandoned him on an isolated road when he was three. He has a clue from someone who apparently knew his mom; a letter that was written to Lennie from her school friend Kim that includes a picture of two girls that Walker assumes one is his mom. In Toronto Walker obtains work driving a cab on a graveyard shift and a friend he deeply likes is wheelchair-bound dispatcher Krista Papadopoulos. Her brilliance enables Walker to follow clues that take him initially to the exclusive upper crust Forest Hill neighborhood and eventually to Jamaica. However, someone wants Walker and Krista to stop or else; perhaps that unknown culprit is the seemingly deranged Bobby Nuremborski who Walker must confront if he is to close in on the truth about what happened to his mother. MIDNIGHT CAB is a solid suspense thriller starring two delightful lead protagonists whose banter lightens a dark tale. The prime story line is Walker's quest, but a subplot involving how crazy Bobby is will chill the audience who know that the two men will collide, but doubt whether the hero will survive. Interestingly in spite of wonderfully placed false leads and red herring missteps, fans know the altercation is coming so the suspense is somewhat muted when it does. Still James W. Nichols writes an intriguing entertaining thriller that will keep readers attention throughout.

Dating Can Be Deadly
Wendy Roberts
Red Dress (Harlequin)
ISBN: 0373895127 $12.95, 304 pp.

In Seattle, legal receptionist Tabitha Emery is with her friend Jenny Alton when someone snatches her purse. They give chase, but fail to catch the thief. Tabitha begins blinking and soon she has a vision that leads the twosome to a mutilated cat inside a pentagram. Not long afterward, another "vision" takes Tabitha and Jenny to a dumpster filled with blood. Jenny calls the police and cynical Detective Jackson handles the case once the blood is identified as human. Through friends Tabitha meets Lucien Roskell, owner of the Scrying Room and very understanding of her gift-curse. Lucien wants Tabitha, but she craves friendly attorney Clay Sanderson even though two years without a pass and his fiancee is beautiful and pregnant. As the clairvoyance continues to follow a cult death march, the killer begins to target the only person who might eventually identify him or her, Tabitha, who Jackson suspects is more intimately involved in the ritual serial killings than she tells the cops. DATING CAN BE DEADLY is a divine paranormal chick lit who-done-it that grips the audience from the first blood to the last blood and a "pity" F coda. The story line is action-packed but driven clearly by the delightful in denial Tabitha who insists she has no talent although her blinking says otherwise. The support cast fuels the tale with excitement as each key ensemble member adds depth to the heroine or the mystery. Fans will demand Wendy Roberts bring back Tabitha, her friends and lover for another clairvoyant amateur sleuth mystery.

Hating Valentine's Day
Allison Rushby
Red Dress
ISBN: 0373895119 $12.95 354 pp.

Wedding photographer Liv Hetherington detests the rituals of Valentine's Day and for that matter dating in general. She vows this year to elude her matchmaking father, the nonsense of her boss, and the machinations of her best friend. She growls at those who think that Valentine's Day is a smashing success for the romantic. Declaring V for victory, this year Liv is making it bah humbug clear to those who throw Valentine's Day and dating in general at her. However her negative ions are abruptly battered when the sixties great in crowd wedding photographer Mrs. Batty Smith comes from beyond to blithely inform Liv that she must change her attitude or be eternally wedded to the darkside. As Liv wonders what was in her food or water Batty-Smith avows that the spirits of Valentine Past, Present, and Future will come calling her. Each comes with a "video of her life with Past having been filmed, Present being filmed and Future filmed based on a trend analysis of her feelings. Allison Rushby provides a delightful rendition of the Dickens' classic switching holidays so that the audience obtains a fresh fabulous fable. Liv is a delightful scrooge and the human support cast brings out the bah humbug to relationships attitude. The ghosts are wonderful as each is quite different so the audience will feel as if there are three shorts running through this fabulous tale.

Bundle of Joy?
Ariella Papa
Red Dress
ISBN: 0373895100 $12.95, 304 pp.

When her best friend nee Jamie Jacobs married and became Jamie Jacobs-Sarakanti, she and Voula Pavlopolous remained best friends. However, now Jamie seems always busy when Voula needs her, but though the spouse is intimately involved he is not the cause. The married couple is attempting to become pregnant and that has caused the pause in their friendship. Voula is stunned but will do anything for Jamie because her best bud has always been their for her especially when she procrastinates as she always does whether it is paying bills, finding a new roommate or a new Manhattan pad, or writing the magazine article that is past due. When Jamie tells her that she is a Lamaze student, Voula is happy and depressed, but the joy of her pal makes her wake up that it is time to live life starting with dumping mom and finding a man who would appreciate Voula, neurosis's and all. BUNDLE OF JOY? Is an enjoyable insightful look at friendship through the eyes of the one left behind while the other moves on with marriage and children. The story line drifts a bit with all that Voula must confront, but puts off as is her nature; however though that makes it more difficult to follow her chick lit revelations, the wandering adds depth to the lead protagonist as she struggles to modify her behavior ever since her best friend announced the "pregnant pause".

The Shaughnessey Accord
Alison Kent
Kensington Brava
ISBN: 0758206704 $7.99

In Manhattan Tripp Shaughnessey of the Smithson Group is bored and a bit envious that his friend and fellow member of the elite five, Christian Bane, has had success with covert operations against Spectra (see THE BANE AFFAIR I will). Perhaps the only thing he is enjoying at the moment is flirting with Glory Brighton, owner of a sandwich shop. While Tripp obtains a delicious kiss from the restaurateur, Danh Vuong leads other thugs on a raid of the sandwich shop. His boss believes that Glory has something he needs in his war with Spectra. The police arrive before Danh and associates finish their assault. They take hostages, but had not reckoned that Tripp, an alleged engineer, turns into a super operative, which is what he is for the mysterious Smithson Group. Tripp vows no one will harm Glory, the woman he loves. THE SHAUNESSEY ACCORD is a humorous erotic romantic suspense novel that grips readers whether the lead couple are going at it or battling bad guys. Somewhat tongue in cheek (literally and figuratively), Tripp is a delightfully dangerous man including to his enemies and to his beloved; his kisses stir the all-American wisecracking heroine. Fans of the Die Hard movies will shout Brava to Alison Kent for a fabulous Smithson tale and look forward to the next novel in the series.

Wiped Out
Barbara Colley
Kensington
ISBN: 075820762X $22.00, 272 pp.

In New Orleans, Charlotte LaRue owns Maid for a Day but also works as a maid for certain clients in order to support herself and keep busy. However, when Mimi Adams hires her Charlotte has no idea what she has let herself in for. Mimi explains that she is getting even with her neighbor Sally for hosting noisy pool parties and poisoning her trees. When the Horticultural Heritage Society meets at Mimi's home, Charlotte learns that many of the attendees detest their hostess. Rita believes that Mimi had an affair with her husband; to get back at her, she runs for HHS president. When the secret ballot is tallied, Mimi wins, but Charlotte saw that her client's nosy friend June rigged the vote. Two other members want to start their own club. When Mimi suddenly dies, the coroner determines she was poisoned. Charlotte believes she knows who killed the odious Mimi, but lacks proof. WIPED OUT is a down home charming and entertaining southern cozy. Charlotte is a realistic amateur sleuth because she does not go searching for evidence, but does listen to conversations and observes behavior and events that lead to her on the verge of unmasking the culprit. Barbara Colley provides a pragmatic common sense heroine whose actions makes her seem real and her tales fun to read as fans can picture their neighbors in the role.

The Samms Agenda
Alison Kent
Kensington Brava
ISBN: 0758206720 $7.99

The Smithson Group SG-5 Agent Julian Samms is assigned to protect Cosmopolitan Arm candy syndicated columnist Katrina Flurry from a sadistic hitman, Benny Rivers. Spectra wants to insure that the girlfriend of one of their proper businessman fronts Peter Decon has nothing that could hurt their operations. Bullets are fired at Katrina, but Julian manages to get her out of the situation safely. As they flee together, she realizes that this by the book hunk is her soulmate that she has waited twenty-eight for him to arrive. However, though extremely distracted by his charge, Julian assumes she is guilty of association and wants nothing to do with her. Still Spectra is coming with Benny leading the charge and he never fails to get his woman dead. The third SG-5 novel is a fabulous romantic suspense thriller starring two strong-willed individuals, both desire one another, but she must overcome his belief that she sleeps with the enemy. The story line never slows down as Benny (as deadly a sexual predator professional killer to grace a novel in a long time) never fails at his assignment. Each of the first three tales (see THE BANE AFFAIR and THE SHAUNESSEY ACCORD) can stand alone yet once a reader will learn they can't taste just one of Alison Kent's quintet.

Bad Boys with Expensive Toys
Nancy Warren, MaryJanice Davidson, Karen Kelley
Kensington Brava
ISBN: 0758205864 $14.00

The Fourteen Million Dollar Poodle by Nancy Warren. Labor negotiator Vince Grange is known for playing hardball; thus he is the last male anyone would expect to own a toy poodle. However, he inherits wealthy Mimi, who only responds to French-speaking commands. Vince hires Sophie Veneau to watch Mimi, but he can't keep his eyes off of his new employee. This amusing contemporary stars three delightful protagonists with the human pair in constant heat. The World Is Too Darned Big by MaryJanice Davidson. Dr. Ben Dyson invents espionage paraphernalia that helps agents make the world safer. His fondest desire is to use one of his gizmos in a field scenario. When agent Tara Marx struggles to recover stolen intelligence information, she never expected to have a civilian as her partner. This spy who stayed hot in the cold tale is humorous and hot due two strong gender bending lead characters. Anything You Can Do by Karen Kelley. Playboy Alex Cannedy promised his sister that he would not make a play to get Kagen Yates in his bed for the week that the beautiful woman is staying with him. Alex regrets his vow as he wants her and she seems as willing, but he plans to do the honorable thing by adhering to his pledge. However, Kagen bets him that she will have him in bed within two days as their desires for one another will overwhelm his misplaced ethics. The torrid lead couple provides readers with a terrific war of the sex's tale. All three novellas are hot, jocular and fun as the hunks exchange their toys for more interesting play things.

Tell It to the Marines
Amy J. Fetzer
Kensington Brava
ISBN: 0758208081 $14.00, 281 pp.

Hot Conflict. In Panama Mary Grace Heyward is hosting the marriage renewal vows of her sister and brother-in-law, the American ambassador to the South American country. However, she is kidnapped leaving it up to US Marine Gunnery Sergeant DJ McAllister to rescue her. DJ once pushed Mary away because he chose their friendship over a potential romance, but this time he has a different planned outcome if they survive. Hot Loading Zone. In Natuna Bear Island in the East China Sea, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Jake Mackenzie leads a team trying to rescue scientist Dr. Katherine Collier from the terrorist Kali who wants her to give him a deadly formula. The rescue is a success until Katherine hesitates to take her notes so that the terrorists cannot use them. Her action separates Jake and Katherine from the rest of the marines. As he fights to keep her safe, they fall in love, but survival remains the prime priority. Hot Target. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Rick Cahill is sent into a remote Amazon village to bring home Peace Corps volunteer Sam Pervon only to find he is Samantha. Worried that he must escort a female civilian across the dangerous rainforest with the drug cartel on their tail, Rick and Sam begin to fall in love, but first they must survive. These three military romantic suspense star alpha marine centerfolds with feisty intelligent and courageous females, capable of normally taking care of themselves. Each tale is exhilarating due to strong lead characters involved in the heated love and the torrid scrambles that salute the troops.

Mouth to Mouth
Erin McCarthy
Kensington Brava
ISBN: 075820843X $14.00, 280 pp.

Special Operations Police Detectives Russ Evans and Jerry Anders freeze their butts off waiting for con artist Trevor Dean to appear though both are surprised by his current choice of a victim. Trevor selects lonely plain looking females as his marks, but the woman working at Starbucks is beautiful. When Trevor fails to show up, the two cops wonder if Laurel Wilkins is Trevor's girlfriend. Russ enters the coffee shop, but is stunned when Laurel hugs him like they have known each other forever. They soon realize that probably Trevor was impersonating him over a chat line and that Laurel is most likely his next victim. Russ thinks Laurel is a "cute fuzzy bunny", but he does not go out with sweet women as all he wants is casual sex. However, she shocks him when she mentions casual sex as that seems so out of character for her. He wonders if she is diverting him from capturing Trevor. Still he cannot get enough of Laurel although that breaks the rules of his personal and professional lives even as he detests that he must use the woman he loves as a pawn in the cat and mouse game with Trevor. This erotic police procedural romance grips the audience from the moment a bewildered Russ pays for coffee at a quarter a sip until the final altercation with Trevor threatening his beloved Laurel. The lead couple is an endearing pair with Laurel's deafness deftly intertwined into the strong plot as her impairment is overcome with little courtesies like lip reading. Though Trevor is an odious predator taking advantage of the lonely, fans will appreciate Erin McCarthy's strong tale.

The Beach Alibi
Alison Kent
Kensington Brava
ISBN: 0758206747 $7.99, 116 pp.

Engineering Project Consultant to the Smithson Group, Kelly John Beach realizes he botched the assignment when he failed to notice the camera inside the wall clock that taped his illegal break and entry into Marian Diamonds. He sought proof that the firm was fronting a Spectra operation involving stolen diamonds from Sierra Leone. His espionage associate Tripp Shaunessey suggests he needs an alibi to prove he was elsewhere; the best alibi is a woman. Risking a sexual harassment case, head of the group Hank Smithson reluctantly asks his assistant Emma Webster to help. She readily agrees and soon learns what she needs to know about these mysterious consultants. Her task is an easy one for her; pretend to be Kelly's lover, a fantasy that she has had since they first met. Kelly shares her deep desire as Emma has been the star of many erotic dreams. As they work on THE BEACH ALIBI, they fall in love. However, "Professor" Oliver Shore of Spectra IT sees Beach's alibi as another pawn in the war with the Smithson Group. The fourth Smithson Group erotic espionage escapade is a terrific tale that starts with self-effacing profanity, turns into a heated romance, and twists finally into an espionage encounter with an abducted Emma as the trade in. Though the tongue in cheek (literally) story line can be read as a stand alone, THE BEACH ALIBI is more enjoyable to follow after the preceding three stories as previous leads make clever continuous appearances as secondary players. The lead duo and their opponents provide a fine time for fans of I Spy torrid tales with McKenzie up to the plate next.

Wicked Women 101
Susanna Carr
Kensington Brava
ISBN: 0758208286 $14.00, 225 pp.

"Six Weeks to Sensuality". Dr. Marc Javier feels the time is right for him to persuade librarian Amy Bryce that he is her forever beloved after waiting for five years for her to break off with that idiot Kevin. However, his latest effort fails leaving him depressed until she volunteers to participate in his Reclaim Your Sensuality project. He realizes fate has given him one last chance, but wonders if Kevin returns into Amy's life would she choose him or not. "Code Pink". Amy's sorority sister Jennifer Clark is happy for her friend, but must move on in her own life as the one Bryan Matthews broke her heart when he chose the agency's fast track over her. She puts out a coded message promising quite a 69 dessert to her rebound choice Robert, but instead Bryan arrives at the restaurant. He claims the prize, but actually wants more as he loves his encryption rival with all his heart though she thinks otherwise. "Fantasies Are Forever". Aromatherapist Caroline Mitchell has erotic dreams over co-worker Joe Hatcher, but is unaware he shares her deepest fantasies as he makes her feel like the klutzy nerd she was in college. Caroline decides the only way to delete the icon Joe that dominates her brain is indulging in real sex with the hunk of her dreams. Though he knows she sees him as a disposable tool, Joe has forever plans of sharing desirable pleasure with his beloved. These three erotic contemporary romances are fun starring delightful lead couples struggling with desire, need and love.

Blood Memory
Greg Iles
Scribner
ISBN 0743234707 $25.95, 496 pp.

Forensic odontologist Dr. Catherine Perry specializes in bite marks on victim's bodies. She is on the task force with her lover, married New Orleans Police Detective Sean Regan working the case of a serial killer who leaves older men naked with deep bite marks all over their body accompanied by a nearby message "My work is never done". When Cat has a panic attack at the fourth crime scene, she is removed from the case and returns home to Malmaison, a mansion located in Natchez, Mississippi. When a child spills some luminal in her room, she sees a child's bare footprint and an adult's booted footprint. She wants to call in a forensic team to obtain DNA evidence, but her grandfather tells her that her father was killed in her room, protecting her from an intruder. Strange dreams and returned memories make her doubt his story; he confesses that her father was molesting her so he killed him. While the police think the serial killer is psychiatrist Dr. Malik who specializes in sexual child abuse cases and repressed memories and is treating her aunt, Cat needs to know the whole truth that destroyed her peace of mind all those years ago though she has to live long enough to accomplish her quest. This fantastic thriller contains a dark and foreboding atmosphere that makes Malmaison feel like a mansion straight out of a gothic novel. Readers will empathize with Cat who suffers terrible emotional trauma without knowing why. Yet despite depression and a bi-polar condition, she refuses to give into to her suicidal urges and is determined to have her baby regardless of whether Sean leaves his wife or not. She also links the her abuse to the serial killer and helps Sean in his quest to find the killer. This is a riveting tale that addresses one of society's most evil ills: sexual abuse of children.

Revolution No. 9
Neil McMahon
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0060529180 $15.95

In Northern California, Marguerite comes to the home of Dr. Carroll Monks asking for help with a flat tire. He goes to look, but inside the vehicle he recognizes a face he has not seen in five years, his estrange son Glenn. Before he can recover from his shock, Monks is tied up and placed on the floor of the SUV. A few hours later even deeper into the mountains, Monks meets "Freeboot," leader of an outlaw band who demands he cure his three-year ailing old son. Monks realizes that the infant needs intensive medical help and suggests hospitalizing the child. When Freeboot declines and threatens Monks if he fails to heal his son, the doctor decides flees with the child strapped to his back, but he is unaware of who his pursuer is. Freeboot knows he is the Revolution that will change the world forever and has killed VIPs across the nation leaving clues with the homeless. No one lives if they betray Freeboot and Monks and his loved ones are now his public enemy number one. In his fourth thriller, Monks is at his best as knows he lost his son, but will die to keep his opponent's boy alive. Thus the story line plays out on two levels: that of a national homicidal group reminiscent of the Manson crowd yet much more deviously Machiavellian and a local good vs. evil one on one match-up. The key that keeps this tale sharp is the villain, who is a believable lunatic. Freeboot and his lieutenant Taxman are TO THE BONE quite a BLOOD DOUBLE killing without remorse as the leader has a cause.

With No One as Witness
Elizabeth George
Harper Collins
ISBN 0060545607 $26.95, 624 pp.

Three teens are killed in various locations around London, England. Nobody realizes that the murders are connected until a fourth homicide occurs; the latest victim being a young white teens as opposed to the black or mixed races of the first three homicides that the polices generally ignore. To prevent the press from spewing venom at Scotland Yard, Assistant Commissioner Hillier promotes black Officer Nkate to Detective Sergeant so that nobody could accuse the Yard of racism. Acting superintendent Thomas Lynley is ordered by Hillier to cooperate with a profiler and a reporter to show the public they are doing everything in their power to catch the killer. As the investigation moves into high gear, two more teens die with each one connected to Colossus, a youth outreach program. All the murders have the same modus operandi including the cutting open the victim's chest, putting a mark on their foreheads and cutting out their navels. Lynley, Police Constable Barbara Havers and the rest of the task force follow one false lead after another. Just when it looks like they are about to break the case wide open, one of the officers is taken by the killer who intends