Obsession (Alex Delaware Novels)

Book Description

With scores of millions of books in print, translation into two dozen languages, and one of the most popular heroes in contemporary fiction to his name, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman is the unequivocal “master of the psychological thriller” (People). In his newest novel Kellerman delivers a tour de force–poignant, dark, and chilling–that illuminates a shadowy world where impulse rules.

Tanya Bigelow was a solemn little girl when Dr. Alex Delaware successfully treated her obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Now, at nineteen, she still seems older than her years–but her problems go beyond hyper-maturity. Patty Bigelow, Tanya’s aunt and adoptive mother, has made a deathbed confession of murder and urged the young woman to seek Delaware’s help. The doctor recalls Patty as a selfless E.R. nurse struggling to raise a child on her own–a woman seemingly incapable of the “terrible thing” she has admitted. But for Tanya’s peace of mind, Delaware agrees to investigate, and he enlists LAPD detective Milo Sturgis in the search for the phantom victim of a crime that may never have occurred.

Armed with only the vaguest details, psychologist and cop follow a trail twisting from L.A.’s sleaziest low-rent districts to its overblown mansions, retracing Patty and Tanya’s nomadic and increasingly puzzling life to the doorsteps of a sullen heroin addict; a randy real-estate broker; and a brilliant, enigmatic physics student. Suddenly a very real murder tears open a terrifying tunnel into the past, where secrets–and bodies–are buried. As the tension mounts, Delaware and Sturgis uncover a tangled history of desperation, vengeance, and death–a legacy of evil that refuses to die.

Dramatic, action-packed, and filled with the psychological detail that only Jonathan Kellerman can provide, Obsession is a whodunit, a whydunit–and something unique: a did-it-even-happen? This is Kellerman at his heart-racing best.

Customer Reviews:

A real ho-hummer, unfortunately.......2007-09-12

About half-way through this book, I realized I didn't really care who did it. Or why. Or about any of the characters in the plot-line other than our regulars -- Alex, Milo, and Robin. I think the initial plot device, a vague deathbed confession from an unlikely murderer, was a good idea. The rest of the plot was a hot mess, involving characters discussed, but never really "present" in the book. I have loved many of Jonathan Kellerman's books, but this one didn't deliver.

Absolute rubbish.......2007-08-30

That's it. Jonathanan Kellerman I gave you one last try, and you failed. This has to be the worst book I have read by anyone in years. A convoluted nonsensical plot with so much padding the author should be in the upholstery business. At least half the book is taken up by poorly developed characters arguing about whether this or that happened, or perhaps it was that or this, or perhaps none of the above. And at the end I simply did not care who had done what to whom and why. In fact I wonder if the author felt the same way.

Thomas H Cook and Dennis Lehane, you have nothing to fear from this author. You guys rule.

Is It Me?.......2007-08-29

I always love the Alex Delaware novels, and I would never tell anybody not to read this latest entry in the series. And that is despite my ongoing complaint about Kellerman's ridiculous attention to every street in Los Angeles by name (what does this mean to a reader in Poughkeepsie?).

My problem with Obsession is that I simply could not keep the characters straight. I don't know whether this is a fault of my own as a reader, or whether, as it seemed to me, they are endless stock characters of such variety and of such little interest that I kept confusing them in my mind. It got so I had to keep turning back to make sure the gentle giant erstwhile bodyguard was who I thought he was; the sicko serial killer/would-be music impresario, who had TWO names, was indeed himself; the FBI informant, what was his name? who weaves in and out of the book in a confusing manner, and all sorts of other peripheral and confusing characters.

The main plot is easy enough, but as other reviewers have said, Why would the LAPD care? A dying nurse of stellar reputation confesses, or seems to confess, on her deathbed that she killed somebody. Her daughter, Tanya, an uptight, hard-to-like highly implausible character, wants her name cleared. Alex once treated Tanya; he wants to help. Milo, although on a much-needed and rare vacation, agrees to give up all his personal time to follow a trillion fruitless leads. Petra is always a wonderful addition to the series; she is very real. Robin doesn't bother me as much as she bothers other reviewers. I just find her annoying. And the puppy? Well I'm a dog lover, so I enjoyed her antics, figuring that in real life, the Kellermans have gotten themselves a bulldog puppy!

As stated above, I wouldn't tell anybody not to read this book, but I found it extremely confusing and the ending very lame. I like the series so much, and even with all the confusion, Kellerman is fun to read, so hence the lukewarm recommendation.

A pedestrian effort.......2007-08-29

I felt Kellerman delivered a boilerplate thriller with Obsession. The murder mystery centered around a "possible" crime uttered by a dying woman, which seems pretty flimsy but in true Alex/Milo form they kept digging and made something of it. The psychological aspect was also rather weak, as Kellerman focused this time on OCD, which didn't seem relevant to the murder mystery aspect. If it did, then I missed it, but it certainly wasn't obvious. Kellerman has always been so good at intertwining the psychological aspects with the murder mystery, but he just falls short here.

I also found most of the new characters uninteresting, and the existing ones stale.

Petra seemed tired and bored at times.

The entire Bedard family was annoying. I didn't find myself rooting for Kyle despite his good intentions and goofy parents.

Tanya generated very little sympathy, and how many college kids refer to their mother as "Mommy"?

Robin was window dressing - a few short riffs on her working at the shop, going out to eat, etc. Nothing on their evolving relationship.

Issac Gomez, who has potential, was dismissed early.

The Mario Fortuno storyline was clumsy, and could have been more interesting if fleshed out further.

The interrogation of Fisk seemed too ordered and convenient (dumb con tells all).

And finally names. Where does he come up with Mary Whitbread?

In summary, it was a boilerplate, pedestrian effort by an author I love. The whole effort seemed rushed and lacked his normal attention to detail.

Not one of his best, but still decent........2007-08-24

Jonathan Kellerman has set the bar for psychological thrillers, and he's set it high. Unfortunately, Obsession, the latest in the Alex Delaware series, falls short of his previous achievements.

While the usual elements are there -- a previous client needs help, and Delaware and his detective pal Milo Sturgis jump to the rescue -- things feel a bit stale. Everything is just a bit tepid. Their reason for becoming involved in the mystery (a dying request from Sturgis' lover's co-worker) is tenuous at best. Because there is no immediate crime to investigate, just the suspicion of one, things start off slow. And the character development seems to stagnate. Robin, Delaware's live-in love, is a mere two-dimensional place holder with no personality of her own, and nothing new about Delaware's or Sturgis' personalities is revealed.

The young girl they're interceding on behalf of is annoying and simple (does this college-aged girl REALLY call her mother "Mommy" ALL the time???). I wanted her to be guilty of something, just because she bugged me so much. Bad news when the reader is cheering for culpability on the part of the who's supposed to be protected.

All in all, a decently plotted and written mystery, but that spark of excitement and frisson of fear that accompanies most of Kellerman's books is missing.

Average customer rating:

Pull-up! Pull-Up!
What was the point?
6th target
Patterson doesn't deliver with The 6th Target
Loved this latest edition in the Series!

The 6th Target
James Patterson , and Maxine Paetro
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316014796
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Book Description

When a horrifying attack leaves one of the four members of the Women's Murder Club struggling for her life, the others fight to keep a madman behind bars before anyone else is hurt. And Lindsay Boxer and her new partner in the San Francisco police department run flat-out to stop a series of kidnappings that has electrified the city: children are being plucked off the streets together with their nannies-- but the kidnappers aren't demanding ransom. Amid uncertainty and rising panic, Lindsay juggles the possibility of a new love with an unsolvable investigation, and the knowledge that one member of the club could be on the brink of death. And just when everything appears momentarily under control, the case takes a terrifying turn, putting an entire city in lethal danger. Lindsay must make a choice she never dreamed she'd face--with no certainty that either outcome has more than a prayer of success.

Customer Reviews:

Pull-up! Pull-Up!.......2007-10-02

While a huge Patterson fan, this book was disappointing. We get three half-formed antagonists and a shiftless plot. More alarming, the ratio of mystery to melodrama is starting to head in the same direction that Patricia Cornwell did--not a positive development.

1st to Die was a taut, well-paced, page-turner. Sadly, this one seemed kinda tired and formulaic.

What was the point?.......2007-09-15

I kept waiting for the 3 storylines to somehow come together and they never did. Usually I read Patterson in 2 days and this one took me 2 months! Let's start writing alone again James!

6th target.......2007-09-15

I agree with the other reviews. I was eagerly waiting for the next instalment of the murder club and I wanted to throw the book across the room in disgust. Where was the excitement, the suspense - the feeling that you can't put the book down until you know. James Patterson re-read the first 4 books and give us something the rivals those books or don't bother.

Patterson doesn't deliver with The 6th Target.......2007-09-03

This was, in my opinion, the worst Patterson book I've read...and I've read almost all of them. He is putting out so many books with so many co-authors lately, I doubt he has time to read or edit them thoroughly. He's too busy counting his money. Jokes aside, The 6th Target is not worth the time or money!

Loved this latest edition in the Series!.......2007-08-30

I loved this book. It had 3 seperate stories which kept my attention. I wound up reading it in 3 hours!!!

Average customer rating:

Suspenseful
Harry does it again
An enjoyable diversion from the normal Bosch stories
Not as Good as Others
A Suspense Filled Mystery, but a bit short

The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316018953
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Book Description

In his first case since he left the LAPDs Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctors death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city. Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harrys one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Boschs job to prove all of them wrong.

Customer Reviews:

Suspenseful.......2007-10-03

This is a short and punchy read, focusing on the execution style murder of a physicist and the theft of radio active material which had been meant for the treatment of cancer patients. The prospect of terrorists being responsible for the theft, with the horror of the material being used to create havoc, sends the police into shock so, when Harry Bosch is sent to investigate and runs into Federal Agents, headed by persons from his past, both sides try to seize control. It's very cleverly written and I must admit to being caught in total surprise at the ending. If you enjoy a suspense thriller which can be read in a night's sitting, this is just for you!

Harry does it again.......2007-10-01

Starts out a little slow, but picks up speed and excitement. An obvious read after reading Echo park. Harry Bosch is his usual self, why follow the rules?

An enjoyable diversion from the normal Bosch stories.......2007-09-30

Having read all of Connelly's work, I have to say that this story here was a welcome addition to his seminal Bosch series. 'The Overlook' does not fit the formula of the earlier Bosch stories. Instead it felt like a light version of the TV series 24. Instead of Jack Bauer we have Harry Bosch. Much of what makes 24 riveting is used here to good effect.

The story itself starts off with Bosch being called to a murder scene at on overlook along Mulholland Drive. It quickly becomes apparent that terrorists are involved and that the motives behind the murder are based on radioactive materials that could be used in the creation of a dirty bomb. The rest of this story involves Bosch battling the FBI and others for clues in order to solve the murder.

The ending of this book is unexpected and in my opinion is rather clever. I did not see it coming. I would say that Connelly does not always manage to write the perfect story, but this one comes fairly close. If you enjoy this series, you will enjoy this book.

Not as Good as Others.......2007-09-28

I love the Harry Bosch series. He is a great character, but this book was a little disappointing. It starts out great, with an LA murder quickly spinning into a potential terror attack. Harry is on the scene and in control. I won't give away the plot, but Harry solves this mystery within just a few hours, leaving the rest of the LAPD, FBI and Homeland Security behind.

The book is relatively short, I guess because it was originally published as a short story and was fleshed out to book length. It could've stood a little more fleshing out, imo. Also, in all the Bosch books, Harry is always the smartest character in any situation. It is a little too much sometimes, how everyone is stupid and it is up to Harry to solve the crime and save everyone from themselves. This book is no exception but it is a little much, how Harry is such a bull in the china shop but is always the only one with any brains. And the way he goes running to the Chief of Police when the feds won't play his way is beyond ridiculous.

There was also one page stuck in the middle of the book that was a flashback to Harry's days in Viet Nam. It is so sudden, jarring, and just plain confusing. There is no purpose for this scene and it really throws off the rhythm of the narrative.

One other concern is that the book ends with Harry on the verge of some extremely serious health problems. His injuries are such that it seems that this must be the end of the road for Harry. Obviously it's not, since the author is talking about future Harry books, but I will be curious to see how Harry recovers from what would realistically be fatal injuries.

A Suspense Filled Mystery, but a bit short.......2007-09-25

I enjoyed this novel. Michael Connelly has a unique writing style that is both interesting and satisfying. I thought the number of pages (225) was about 90 pages short which would have improved the development of the characters and plot. The plot is fairly simple and I didn't have a hard time following the clues in each chapter. With more pages the story and the characters would have been flushed out more. Still Mr. Connelly was able to pack everything into this mini novel and it kept me reading page after page.

Looking for a refreshing mystery then check out The Monopoly Factor by Robert L. Saunders. In this legal thriller you will start rooting for the main characters as you follow Barry and Susan down the path of corporate deceit, murder and along the way there is a bit of romance. Excellent novel and worthy of your time. Enjoy.

The Watchman: A Joe Pike Novel (Joe Pike Novels)

Average customer rating:

Righteous Thriller
DIVING INTO ADVENTURE IN THE PIKE POSITION
The Watchman is a remarkable book
Seriously disappointing
Ugh

The Watchman: A Joe Pike Novel (Joe Pike Novels)
Robert Crais
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743281632

Book Description

The city was hers for a single hour, just the one magic hour, only hers.

Larkin Conner Barkley lives like the City of Angels is hers for the taking. Young and staggeringly rich, she speeds through the city during its loneliest hours, blowing through red after red in her Aston Martin as if running for her life. Until out of nowhere a car appears, and with it the metal-on-metal explosion of a terrible accident. Dazed, Larkin attempts to help the other victims. And finds herself the sole witness in a secret federal investigation.

For maybe the first time in her life, Larkin wants to do the right thing. But by agreeing to cooperate with the authorities, she becomes the target for a relentless team of killers. And when the U.S. Marshals and the finest security money can buy can't protect her, Larkin's wealthy family turns to the one man money can't buy -- Joe Pike.

Pike lives a world away from the palaces of Beverly Hills. He's an ex-cop, ex-Marine, ex-mercenary who owes a bad man a favor, and that favor is to keep Larkin alive. The one upside of the job is reuniting with Bud Flynn, Pike's LAPD training officer, and a man Pike reveres as a father. The downside is Larkin Barkley, who is the uncontrollable cover girl for self-destruction -- and as deeply alone as Pike.

Pike commits himself to protecting the girl, but when they immediately come under fire, he realizes someone is selling them out. In defiance of Bud and the authorities, Pike drops off the grid with the girl and follows his own rules of survival: strike fast, hit hard, hunt down the hunters. With the help of private investigator Elvis Cole, Pike uncovers a web of lies and betrayals, and the stunning revelation that even the cops are not who they seem. As the body count rises, Pike's biggest threat might come from the girl herself, a lost soul in the City of Angels, determined to destroy herself unless Joe Pike can teach her the value of life...and love.

Customer Reviews:

Righteous Thriller.......2007-10-01

The Watchman is a superior thriller that kicks off as if you're in the middle of a tension-filled scene, and doesn't let up on the thrills and suspense until the very last pages. Crais knows how to keep the dialogue light, the action lean, and still sprinkle the whole book with healthy doses of humor.

Read the other reviewers' plot summaries if you want. I'm keeping this review lean, mean, and to the point. Like Joe Pike.

Recommended.

Highly.

DIVING INTO ADVENTURE IN THE PIKE POSITION.......2007-09-22

Joe Pike, silent partner in the Elvis Cole Detective Agency, takes center stage in this well orchestrated offering from Robert Crais, with Elvis Cole stepping into an important albeit "supporting role". For those who have followed the "strong, silent, mysterious Pike" through various Elvis Cole books.....we are finally offered a glimpse at Joe's military experiences, his time as an L.A.P.D. cop, and his relationship with his father. Joe may not be a guy brimming with emotion, but his quiet nature is perfectly fitted for this compelling character.

Recommended by his old police force partner Bud Flynn, Joe is hired to protect Larkin Barkley, the beautiful, spoiled and largely ignored daughter of a real estate tycoon. Joe must utilize all of his accumulated training and experience (as well as his Colt Python and Kimber) to keep both he and Larkin out of the reaches of assassins as well as government agents.

During the first few chapters of the book, I was so aggravated with the shallowness of the Larkin character, that I could have killed her myself.....or at least slapped the daylights out of her. (Crais must have used the antics of Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and Brittany Spears for inspiration when developing this character). As the book progresses, Larkins behaviour is modified and the reader, like Pike and Cole, begins to relate to her. Larkin aside, I loved the pace, plot structure and language of this novel. It's an edgy thriller filled with enough action, plot twists, and body count to satisfy all lovers of suspense and daring exploits. Pike's appeal is his uncanny ability to anticipate the actions of his foes, and then out-plan and out-maneuver them.

Fact of the matter is that Crais talent with the written word creates vivid pictures in your mind that would translate beautifully onto the silver screen. I can see any number of actors as Joe Pike. Bruce, Harrison and Arnold are getting a little "long in the tooth" for this sort of action, but how about Daniel Craig, Gerard Butler, or Clive Owen? Check out The Watchman and see if you don't agree? If not, do your own casting......it's a free country and your entitled to your opinion too.

The Watchman is a remarkable book.......2007-09-21

Robert Crais' The Watchman is a very inventive change from his novel focus on Elvis Cole to a stunningly intense focus on Joe Pike, Elvis Cole's side-kick and chief muscle. By developing a book in which Pike has to protect a young woman who is wanted by a relentless team of criminal killers, the book moves you straight into a world of non-stop violence, steady commitment to survival by doing whatever it takes and the virtues of a highly trained, very skilled person doing what he does best against bad people trying to do the worst they can. If you want an evening of forgetting everything else and going along for the ride, The Watchman is a remarkable book.

Seriously disappointing.......2007-08-27

After reading all of the Elvis Cole novels I thought a Joe Pike novel would be great fun. It isn't. Rather its about Joe babysitting a stupid society brat who is full of herself. She has to hide, has almost been killed a couple of times and she is still whining that she wants to go home. Joe makes her cut and dye her hair but lets her keep wearing her $500 jeans. Please give me a break. She runs off to dance half naked on a table in a bar showing the dolphin tattoo on her butt. Surely somebody has to recognize the halfwit. Joe however forgives her. This isn't the Joe Pike we have seen in earlier pages. Lastly Joe actually falls in love with this piece of trash. Perhaps Crais thought we wanted to see a kinder gentler dumber Joe. He was wrong. Oh finally the plot is garbage equal to the rest of this disappointing effort.

Ugh.......2007-08-17

I've read all of Mr. Crais's books, and for the most part have been quite happy with the characters and plots. This thing seems to be either the manifestation of writers block or a contractual obligation left too late. So all you Elvis and Joe fans, you have no problem with the fact the the female lead is a fictionalized Paris Hilton? Or what happens with her and the other characters (trying not to be a spoiler here). The whole point of these type of books is to get a couple of inetersting and familiar characters and have them have an adventure. in this one, you can't really believe their actions, and the plot seems to be thrown together around the bad premise. Whatever, the guy has written some really good ones like "Demolition Angel;" this seems completely throwaway.

Average customer rating:

A Phenomenal Read!
Great adventure from east to west coast.
A fun ride, but lots of negatives
A slow start grows into an engrossing, richly detailed book
Appealingly impossible novel

Heyday: A Novel
Kurt Andersen
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375504737
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Book Description

Heyday is a brilliantly imagined, wildly entertaining tale of America’s boisterous coming of age–a sweeping panorama of madcap rebellion and overnight fortunes, palaces and brothels, murder and revenge–as well as the story of a handful of unforgettable characters discovering the nature of freedom, loyalty, friendship, and true love.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, modern life is being born: the mind-boggling marvels of photography, the telegraph, and railroads; a flood of show business spectacles and newspapers; rampant sex and drugs and drink (and moral crusades against all three); Wall Street awash with money; and giddy utopian visions everywhere. Then, during a single amazing month at the beginning of 1848, history lurches: America wins its war of manifest destiny against Mexico, gold is discovered in northern California, and revolutions sweep across Europe–sending one eager English gentleman off on an epic transatlantic adventure. . . .

Amid the tumult, aristocratic Benjamin Knowles impulsively abandons the Old World to reinvent himself in New York, where he finds himself embraced by three restless young Americans: Timothy Skaggs, muckraking journalist, daguerreotypist, pleasure-seeker, stargazer; the fireman Duff Lucking, a sweet but dangerously damaged veteran of the Mexican War; and Duff’s dazzling sister Polly Lucking, a strong-minded, free thinking actress (and discreet part-time prostitute) with whom Ben falls hopelessly in love.

Beckoned by the frontier, new beginnings, and the prospects of the California Gold Rush, all four set out on a transcontinental race west–relentlessly tracked, unbeknownst to them, by a cold-blooded killer bent on revenge.

A fresh, impeccable portrait of an era startlingly reminiscent of our own times, Heyday is by turns tragic and funny and sublime, filled with bona fide heroes and lost souls, visionaries (Walt Whitman, Charles Darwin, Alexis de Tocqueville) and monsters, expanding horizons and narrow escapes. It is also an affecting story of four people passionately chasing their American dreams at a time when America herself was still being dreamed up–an enthralling, old-fashioned yarn interwoven with a bracingly modern novel of ideas.
"In this utterly engaging novel, the author of Turn of the Century brings 19th-century America vividly to life . . . While this is a long book, it moves quickly, with historical detail that's involving but never a drag on the action; the characters are beautifully drawn. A terrific book; highly recommended." –Library Journal
"Heyday is fuled by manic energy, fanatical research, and a wicked sense of humor.... It's a joyful, wild gallop through a joyful, wild time to be an American." -Vanity Fair

Customer Reviews:

A Phenomenal Read!.......2007-09-20

This novel is educational, exciting and well-written. Kurt Andersen is a talented author who has certainly done his research, and beautifully combines history with fiction. Read this book!

Great adventure from east to west coast........2007-09-03

This is a long book but worth it. Be prepared to commit yourself to this. You won't want to miss the ending. Great characters, interesting history. Books written in this era are always so fun to read. You won't be disappointed if you enjoy epic, romantic adventure filled stories.

A fun ride, but lots of negatives.......2007-08-21

I was torn between giving this book 4 stars or only 3. There are lots of negatives that distracted me from really enjoying this book, but, when I got to the end, I realized that it was worth the read.

I won't describe the plot - plenty of others have done that, and the book's summary is sufficient. Suffice it to say that the plot itself is one of the book's weaknesses: other reviewers mentioned the coincidences that forced me to suspend disbelief over and over again, but I think, as the book progresses, you get so used to these coincidences that it doesn't matter. In the end, the book is a kind of fairy tale, and coincidence is essential for such stories.

What bothered me most, however, is the author's need to flex his historical muscles at every turn. He clearly did lots of research, and wants to make sure you know it. He almost uses Tom Swifties - bits of exposition that go overboard to explain what he's presented - when tossing around "authentic" elements from the time. Inventions, clothing, food, and anything else he can present, Andersen keeps reminding us that he did his homework. Yet this ends up more distracting than if he simply mentioned these things in passing, or, rather, _didn't_ mention them all.

I read a lot of 19th century fiction, and Heyday does fit well into that style (though clearly it is contemporary, ie 21st century, 19th century fiction.) It's a fun read, full of interesting characters, and only a few tics mar its overall effect.

A slow start grows into an engrossing, richly detailed book.......2007-08-02

This is a loooong novel (640 pages), and as the editorial review from Publishers Weekly notes, one with a "slowish" beginning. The book opens in April 1948 with young Englishman Ben Knowles' arrival in America. On his first day in the new world, he encounters two of the other main characters, the beautiful actress Polly Lucking and her firefighting brother, Duff (the fourth main character, Timothy Skaggs, is introduced a bit later). However, the timeline then reverts back to six months before, when Ben has traveled to Paris to visit a friend. Although the events that occur in Paris are integral to the story that follows (including the introduction of another major character, Sergeant Drumont), I think that the author's use of a flashback here is the reason the first 100 pages or so of this novel tend to drag somewhat.

Once the book returns to the present time, however, the story begins to pick up. Author Andersen provides a fascinating glimpse of life in the mid-1800s, from dietary staples to the newspaper boom to brothels and bathroom habits. He's clearly done his research--for example, he often makes a point of incorporating more colloquial terms in describing "modern" life at that time. Andersen also uses several major historical events as vehicles for his plot, such as France's "February Revolution" and the California gold rush. Major historical figures appear as well--Charles Darwin, Walt Whitman, and others are actual characters in the book, while Abraham Lincoln and similar famous personage receive prominent mentions.

Each of the four main characters--Ben, Polly, Duff, and Skaggs--is afforded with plenty of time and a point of view voice. Early on, the focus is more on Ben's experiences in France and Polly's checkered history, but as the novel progresses, we learn more of Duff's secret past and Skaggs' aspirations; Drumont's perspective is given as well. Heyday is a book is full of both tragedy and humor, although with more of an emphasis on the latter. At the novel's conclusion, I felt that my extended stay in the nineteenth century was time well-spent, and I believe that you will too.

Appealingly impossible novel.......2007-07-30

"Heyday" presents the reader with a totally impossible plot, in the sense of one filled with outrageous coincidences plus main characters that somehow manage to meet almost every prominent figure and participate in every major event or historical movement on two continents in the middle of the 19th century. The resulting incredulity almost turns the story, despite the intense violence and mayhem, into a comedy.
Then there are the characters themselves, as flat and static as can be. They move around a lot, but they do not evolve, regardless of the monumental challenges with which are are constantly faced.
The book's sole strength--and it's a good one--is in the details of everyday life of the time. The author has done his homework! What luxurious descriptions of life in Paris, London, New York City, the Midwest, and California during the Gold Rush, including numerous titillating details about sexual habits and instruments!
But in the end, the book is just too long to sustain interest in detail alone

A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive

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A Child Called "It" review
Will make you cry, a must read
I couldnt put the book down
Dave Pelzer is one courageous guy
h-oookay.....

A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive
Dave Pelzer
Manufacturer: HCI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1558743669

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David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother to the Cub Scouts in her care, and somewhat nurturant to her children--but not to David, whom she referred to as "an It." This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school!--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its aftermath, and now he's written a sequel, The Lost Boy, detailing his life in the foster-care system.

Though it's a grim story, A Child Called "It" is very much in the tradition of Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul and the many books in that upbeat series, whose author Pelzer thanks for helping get his book going. It's all about weathering adversity to find love, and Pelzer is an expert witness.

Book Description

This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it." Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive--dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son.

Customer Reviews:

A Child Called "It" review.......2007-10-01

A Child Called "It" is an amazing book about the struggles of a young boy and his abusive mother. Though this book was disturbing and cruel, I thought it was very well written and the author had a great writting style. I thought some of the most disturbing parts were when David would be burned on the stove or locked in the bathroom for gas chamber sessions. I also hated that some of his greatest memories were at his favorite vacation spot and his mother ruined those for him. I think it is important that Dave let out his feelings and experiences in this book. I hope that he has found a way to move on with his life and not let the past ruin his present and future life.

Will make you cry, a must read.......2007-10-01

A Child Called it is and insperational true story about a young boy named David Pelzer being physically abused in his own home by his own Mother. The book shows how David made his way through life dealing with his horrific mother. He keeps his motivation through being drown, being burned, beat, forced to eat the contents out of a babies diaper, and countless other things while fighting for food in order to avoid starvation. He eats food out of trash cans, steals from students, and eats out of freezers in order to survive. This child's life was a living hell, but ahd the dedication to make his way through it with courage and bravery. This story is a must read that will bring you to tears and keep you motivated

I couldnt put the book down.......2007-09-27

I could not put this book down I read it in an hour and a half without stopping for anything. This story although so heart breaking needed to be told.. For the man who wrote this telling book 5 STARS and for the book aswell

Dave Pelzer is one courageous guy.......2007-09-24

I really have to speak up here. This review is for anyone who might be tempted to think that Dave made this stuff up. I am relatively sure it's all true because my childhood was similar to his.

Child abuse by parents really only came out of the closet, so to speak, in the 1990s. The myth was, and is, that ALL adult females are ALWAYS motherly. We now know that mothering is a learned skill, and is NOT instinctual in humans.

Take the story of Cinderella. It is too grotesque to think that a biological mother could be evil to a child, therefore the mother-figure is downgraded to "stepmother." For anyone who has been abused by one's mother such as myself, it is patently clear that this story is not about a stepmother -- it's about a biological mother. European culture could not face that a biological mother could betray her girl-child as in the story.

My experience of my biological mother (whom I call "anti-motter") was not unlike Dave's, only having occurred ten years earlier and in upstate New York. When I was about 18 months' old, she picked me up out of my crib and smashed me into a wall. I shouldn't be alive. By the early 1990s, these memories came flooding into consciousness. She never 'fessed up. If I did some small infraction like didn't finish my veggies, my anti-motter sent me to the cellar for 3-6 hours, and it was one scary cellar with its cold dirt floor, damp sump corner, and spiders. While other kids were out learning social skills by playing with other kids, I was forced to spend Saturdays scrubbing floors, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry, starting in 5th grade.

There were no protections back then for kids. Abuse was not seen as abusive, and people in schools, libraries, neighbors, extended family did not put two and two together, and certainly did not "out" it. As the saying goes, when abuse was seen, people "minded their own business," and it just wasn't respectable to INTERFERE with other families' child-rearing techniques, and it was perceived as interference. Spanking was common. Until World War II, beatings were typical. Society in general thought nothing of treating kids harshly and without compassion. Child abuse was not on the map at all as a possibility. The "caregiver" (that is, abusive parent) could quite literally get away with murder. If a toddler fell downstairs breaking her neck and died, it was not investigated -- it was assumed to be "a terrible accident."

Anyone who doubts Dave's accounts and experiences has not been what I went through living with a brutal biological mother in the 1960s. A person could not think this stuff up if it were not true. Dave Pelzer does not seek attention -- he wants people to listen up and prevent it from happening to other kids. And it *will* happen to other kids unless we know the signs and risk stepping in as powerful adults. So just learn from Dave's many side-tales, and become aware.

Females are no more "motherly" than a rock unless they had nurturing females who treated them with dignity and kindness growing up. My anti-motter was herself battered as a child, never recovered from it, and did pass it on to her kids. Thank God neither my brother nor I had kids because we likely would have passed the hatred to the next generation. Not having kids was the only way we knew how to "break the chain of violence." Some lineages deserve to die out.

Dave Pelzer is a life-saver. He has said what I had not the courage or awareness to. He is an amazing fellow for bringing his stories into the light of day. He deserves respect, not ridicule. He is hero. If I were Catholic, he'd be a saint.

h-oookay............2007-09-23

All these five star reviews and the apparently wet faces of the readers was an impetus for me to seize the book and read it the first chance I got. I'm a sucker for tear-shedding novels, so you could understand my excitement and my all-too-ready sorrow for this "non-fictitious" little boy. Unfortunately, for my great regret, for both the work and my wasted time, what I read from that book was not at all what I expected. From the first page the story just barfed at me "I'm fabricated, synthetic as can be." The whole story has no point whatsoever, except that of morbid, preposterous describtions of events that we can't even prove to be true. Even if it were true, why would the author write about something like that? Who is he writing to anyway? What kind of helpful message is THAT to anyone? A story about falling off your bicycle & breaking your arm and learning a lesson about caution and attentiveness is more practical and useful than this piece of dross.
I could never undestand why some particular people's minds function the way they do. If you really want to read stories about survival, skip this one and read actually a book from this world, that can actually be put to use, starting from The Diary of Anne Frank.

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The Worst Connelly Book
One Of The Best Of Its Type I've Ever Read
Return to Form
Michael Connelly
Good book

Echo Park (Harry Bosch)
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316734950
Release Date: 2006-10-09

Book Description

In 1993 Marie Gesto disappeared after walking out of a supermarket. Harry Bosch worked the case but couldn't crack it, and the twenty-two-year-old was never found. Now, more than a decade later, with the Gesto file still on his desk, Bosch gets a call from the District Attorney. A man accused of two heinous murders is willing to come clean about several others, including the killing of Marie Gesto. Taking the confession of the man he has sought-and hated-for thirteen years is bad enough. Discovering that he missed a clue back in 1993 that could have stopped nine other murders may just be the straw that breaks Harry Bosch.

Customer Reviews:

The Worst Connelly Book.......2007-10-03

This is the 11th Michael Connelly book I have read and it is by far the worst. There was no character development and the plot was predictable & contrived. The Connelly formula is growing thin: Bosch is driven to solve a murder, some flimsy romantic sub-plot is thrown in, it appears that one character committed the crime but then, at the last second, some tangential character really did it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Connelly fan, but I am now concerned that he may have "jumped the shark." He needs to reinvent his formula. Bosch is beginning to come off as a two-dimensional annoying character.

One Of The Best Of Its Type I've Ever Read.......2007-09-26

To say I liked this this book is an understatement. It is one of the best of its type I've ever read.

Other reviewers in this space tell you what it's about, so I won't repea; but in general Harry Bosch, a middle aged single, lonely, virtuous yet scarred LAPD detective battles Dpartment politics to save a girl and solve a crime ten years old wherein another girl disappeared. The crime always haunted him; and here he gets his "justice" of sorts. It's just a great read for your vacation or the airlane or a rainy afternoon by the fire. Highly recommended. Almost guaranteed.

A word of warning. Unless you know downtown Los Angeles better read this with a map or else follow the action on Mapquest. Harry speeds down lots of streets which meant nothing to me till I got a map.

Return to Form.......2007-09-23

Actually, the last Bosch novel I read was "Lost Light," which I thought signaled a character and series running out of steam. "Lost Light" was pretty much by-the-numbers, with some extra "family" stuff tossed in to show Harry's getting older. Whatever. Well, I was wrong about Harry's sunset years. For one thing, despite occasional novelistic misfires, one has to keep in mind that Connelly is such a pro at writing, that he just keeps chugging along. "Echo Park" is a fine example.

At 400 plus pages, you wonder if it's appropriate to call "Echo Park" a lean, stripped down Harry Bosch novel - but that's what it is. A genuine page turner. A young woman's years ago disappearance, a serial killer, corruption, familiar stuff that Connelly rearranges, yet again, in a fresh and exciting way. And with Harry as an X factor, those are usually interesting twists, like the unseen twist in the metaphorical tunnel of the Bosch series (which gets very concrete in "Echo Park").

This time around, the plot has at its center the unsolved case of a missing woman that Harry had investigated thirteen years. Now, as part of the Open-Unsolved Unit, Harry returns again and again to the case, looking for that missing piece that will put away the man he has long suspected of being the killer. But then a call comes in, another man has confessed, and things quickly veer off in directions that the reader - or Harry, can not anticipate. One dark treat in all of this is the serial killer, Raynard Waits, the "Echo Park Bagman." Connelly can develop a character with the best of them. And Waits is a particularly repulsive entry, but one that Connelly is also able to humanize. Yes, he's monster, but a pitiable one that his own history - one that intersects with Harry's own personal life story. On the downside of all of this is Connelly's uneven development of characters. For if Waits is extremely well developed, characters such as FBI agent (and love-interest) Rachel Walling, are paper-thin. Walling in particular, since she is so prominent, is little more than a tool to keep the story revving. You know: "Get this report, Do this for me, Use your influence" with a little love making, wine, and Jazz on the side. This is particularly frustrating, since it's clear that Connelly is so good at character development, but it's a trait I've seen in all of the Bosch novels - the good and the so-so (Connelly doesn't write "bad" novels). Still, this time around the good far outweighs the by-the-numbers stuff. Check it out.

Michael Connelly.......2007-09-22

I enjoy all the books in the Harry Bosch series. The plots are easy to follow and the dialogue is good. What more can one say?

Good book.......2007-09-17

This was only my second Michael Connely book. the first one was The overlook, wich was really overrated, and almost turned me off of him. But this book was good, and shows me why other people like him so much. The only thing, is the ending was kind of boring, and the climax came before. You almost end up liking Reynard Waits, and thats an awesome name when you find out the meaning and what he does. It was a good book but I expected the ending to be more shocking and exciting, and I always like to really hate the killer, and you really didn't know much of him in the book.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

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A Paradigm of the Complexities of Modern Medicine in Relation to Cuture and Ethnicity
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Great introduction to cross cultural communication
Oh so predictable...
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Anne Fadiman
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0374525641

Amazon.com

Lia Lee was born in 1981 to a family of recent Hmong immigrants, and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, overmedication, and culture clash: "What the doctors viewed as clinical efficiency the Hmong viewed as frosty arrogance." The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions, written with the deepest of human feeling. Sherwin Nuland said of the account, "There are no villains in Fadiman's tale, just as there are no heroes. People are presented as she saw them, in their humility and their frailty--and their nobility."

Book Description

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction

When three-month-old Lia Lee Arrived at the county hospital emergency room in Merced, California, a chain of events was set in motion from which neither she nor her parents nor her doctors would ever recover. Lia's parents, Foua and Nao Kao, were part of a large Hmong community in Merced, refugees from the CIA-run "Quiet War" in Laos. The Hmong, traditionally a close-knit and fiercely people, have been less amenable to assimilation than most immigrants, adhering steadfastly to the rituals and beliefs of their ancestors. Lia's pediatricians, Neil Ernst and his wife, Peggy Philip, cleaved just as strongly to another tradition: that of Western medicine. When Lia Lee Entered the American medical system, diagnosed as an epileptic, her story became a tragic case history of cultural miscommunication.

Parents and doctors both wanted the best for Lia, but their ideas about the causes of her illness and its treatment could hardly have been more different. The Hmong see illness aand healing as spiritual matters linked to virtually everything in the universe, while medical community marks a division between body and soul, and concerns itself almost exclusively with the former. Lia's doctors ascribed her seizures to the misfiring of her cerebral neurons; her parents called her illness, qaug dab peg--the spirit catches you and you fall down--and ascribed it to the wandering of her soul. The doctors prescribed anticonvulsants; her parents preferred animal sacrifices.

Download Description

When three-month-old Lia Lee arrived at the county hospital emergency room in Merced, California, a chain of events was set in motion from which neither she nor her parents nor her doctors would ever recover. Lia's parents, Foua and Nao Kao, were part of a large Hmong community in Merced, refugees from the CIA-run "Quiet War" in Laos. Parents and doctors both wanted the best for Lia, but their ideas about the causes of her illness and its treatment could hardly have been more different. The Hmong see illness and healing as spiritual matters linked to virtually everything in the universe, while the medical community marks a division between body and soul, and concerns itself almost exclusively with the former. Lia's doctors ascribed her seizures to the misfiring of her cerebral neurons; her parents called her illness qaug dab peg - the spirit catches you and you fall down - and ascribed it to the wandering of her soul. The doctors prescribed anticonvulsants; her parents preferred animal sacrifices. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down moves from hospital corridors to healing ceremonies, and from the hill country of Laos to the living rooms of Merced, uncovering in its path the complex sources and implications of two dramatically clashing worldviews.

Customer Reviews:

A Paradigm of the Complexities of Modern Medicine in Relation to Cuture and Ethnicity.......2007-09-30

I read "The Spirit Catches You, and You Fall Down" as a required reading for a Sociology course on Health and Ilnness in Society. This is simply put, an amazing piece of work, that not only is thorough, but has a great deal of emotion and you really are able to sense the pain, frustration, and joy, of both the Lee family and the medical community that cared for her. This work is also a testiment to the Hmong people and culture, who are often grealty overlooked in US Asian American culture. Anne Fadiman goes into great detail describing their culture, from it's language, history, and religion both here and in Loas, and to their unfortunate and tragic involvement in the US war in Vietnam which landed them in refugee camps in Thailand. My opinions vacillated at times from anger to empathy for her parents and their inability and refusal to follow the doctors advise, that could've saved their daughters life. I encourage this book to be read by anyone going into the medical field where you will encounter a myriad of ethnicities, that often fly in the face of conventional US medicine. This is nonfiction that reads with the excitement and personality of a well crafted novel.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down .......2007-09-26

exceptional book for those involved in anything dealing with human relationships. gives unbiased information from all sides of the issue (language & cultural barriers resulting in medical "errors")
this book smacks you in the face with your own preconceptions about what families know about their child, and what professionals know about their field, and how sometimes those two don't mesh, resulting in the child being put in the middle.
oh yeah, and every once in a while you will want to yell out about "the guy hiding behind the rock." because hindsight is so clear!

Great introduction to cross cultural communication.......2007-09-04

I was assigned this book as a supplement to a Cross Cultural Communication class. It's a very interesting read about a young girl who gets caught between Eastern and Western medicine. It makes a good read to see how CCC can be so important in our daily lives. It has a good lot of medical jargon and even more characters. There are a lot of doctors that are important for various reasons. It is certainly not a light beach read. Once you read it though you'll want someone else to read it to have someone to talk about. You can get in long discussions over who is "right" and if there is a right.

Oh so predictable..........2007-08-07

Detailed, researched look at the Hmong people of Vietnam in America through the experiences of one family in the medical/hospital system as they try to help their epileptic child. Although the action takes place in California, the story would probably have been similar no matter where the family lived. Non judgemental author keeps reader engaged. Structure of the book with alternating chapters detailing the history of the Hmong and then the specific family works well. Cross cultural misunderstandings seem inevitable given language and cultural differences. Sad without being depressing.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.......2007-08-01

An excellent book. A powerful and moving true story of a cultural east/west clash, especially concerning medical care. I couldn't put the book down. Enlightening also when it comes to the drugs used in treating status epilecticus, specifically in children under three. I also appreciated learning about some of the political history regarding the beautiful people of Laos. My heart goes out to the Hmong people.

Average customer rating:

Good to use for tutoring

Pre-Algebra: California Edition
David M. Davison , Marsha S. Landau , Leah McCracken , and Linda Thompson
Manufacturer: Pearson Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0130504866

Customer Reviews:

Good to use for tutoring.......2007-08-31

This was my son's school textbook, but when he didn't have a math teacher for a year, I bought it to use over the summer. It is much better than Algebra for Dummies and books like that. Even if you're good at math, it helps to read their approach to teaching the subject. It's in color, has lots of problems, about half with answers, and extras like how to do things in excel! I'm keeping it for myself now that my son has moved on and I'm very happy our school system is using this series of math books.

The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family

Average customer rating:

The brave boy
Dave's story helped me during really tough times.
The story continues
My Hat Goes Off To Dave Pelzer
Best book!!!

The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family
Dave Pelzer
Manufacturer: HCI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1558745157

Book Description

Imagine a young boy who has never had a loving home. His only possesions are the old, torn clothes he carries in a paper bag. The only world he knows is one of isolation and fear. Although others had rescued this boy from his abusive alcoholic mother, his real hurt is just begining -- he has no place to call home. This is Dave Pelzer's long-awaited sequel to A Child Called "It". In The Lost Boy, he answers questions and reveals new adventures through the compelling story of his life as an adolescent. Now considered an F-Child (Foster Child), Dave is moved in and out of five different homes. He suffers shame and experiences resentment from those who feel that all foster kids are trouble and unworthy of being loved just because they are not part of a "real" family. Tears, laughter, devastation and hope create the journey of this little lost boy who searches desperately for just one thing -- the love of a family.

Customer Reviews:

The brave boy.......2007-05-25

I recommend this book because it is very interesting,and you do not want to put it down.In the book, I learned that I have a good life and that I should be thankful for everything I have after seeing what Dave has gone through in his life. I would read another book by this author because all of the books are sequels and at the end of each book you are left hanging and wondering what will happen next. These are some things about the The Lost Boy.

Dave's story helped me during really tough times........2007-04-18

As a foster parent who accepted only one child at a time, I needed all the inspiration I could get. Dave's story not only inspired but also encouraged me. It is full of truths that make us aware of how blessed we are. Anyone who is interested in helping abused kids should read this book. With Great Mercy author.

The story continues.......2007-04-14

Dave Pelzer gives a wonderfull account of his experiences of foster care in this sequel to A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive. In this book you begin to see the transition to a "normal" state of being, but it is not without it's problems.

My Hat Goes Off To Dave Pelzer.......2007-04-06

All of Dave Pelzer's books are absolutely by far the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put them down!!!

Best book!!!.......2007-04-06

Do you want to know how it feels like to have your parents not love you? Well thats how a little boy named David (the main charactor) feels in this story. David Pelzer is a young teenager who only wants the love of his parents, but his mother, doesn't love him... She keeps David in the basement, and she rarly ever feeds him!!!! Once David id put into foster care, he has to go to court, and the judge gets to chose whether to keep him in foster care, or to release him back to his parents. The judge chooses....... Well to find out you have to read this amazing book.
Dave Pelzer has written more books besides this one.. The Lost Boy is part of a three-part series... That includes A Child Called "it," The Lost Boy, and A Man Named David. I really think that Dave Pelzer is a great and wonderful Author.
This book will really make you cry and become very mad at the same time.. If parents read this book they will see what some parents really do to there kids. I would extemely recomend this book to others, becuase it is an adventure of one boys determination to find love. I think this book wouldn't be a good book for kids under 13, becuase it has some pretty foul language in it and they might not understand what is happening. When you start reading this book, you won't want to put it down until your done reading it..

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