Dragon Bones: A Red Princess Mystery (Red Princess Mysteries)

Book Description

In a magnificent land where myth mixes treacherously with truth, one woman is in charge of telling them apart. Liu Hulan is the Inspector in China’s Ministry of Public Security whose tough style rousts wrongdoers and rubs her superiors the wrong way. Now her latest case finds her trapped between her country’s distant past and her own recent history.

The case starts at a rally for a controversial cult that ends suddenly in bloodshed, and leads to the apparent murder of an American archaeologist, which officials want to keep quiet. And haunting Hulan’s investigation is the possible theft of ancient dragon bones that might alter the history of civilization itself.

Getting to the bottom of ever-spiraling events, Hulan unearths more scandals, confronts more murderers, and revives tragic memories that shake her tormented marriage to its core. In the end, she solves a mystery as big, unruly, and complex as China itself.

Customer Reviews:

Dragon Bones by Lisa See.......2007-07-27

What a writer ! Lisa See educates without being pedantic. In Dragon Bones, she has created a complex mystery while including enormous amounts of information on Chinese culture and environmental effects of the Three Gorges Dam. I learned much and was entertained as well.

Another great contemporary mystery by Lisa See.......2007-07-20

Dragon Bones is Lisa See's third contemporary Chinese mystery featuring Inspector Liu Hulan. I read the first one, Flower Net, and somehow the second passed me by. Like Flower Net, Dragon Bones is both a great detective story and a window into modern Chinese culture. Lisa See manages to show us a lot about a rapidly modernizing China without bogging down the story. Liu Hulan is the kind of character I'd like to have a meal with: smart, interesting, with pain in her past but not consumed by it. Lisa See has a gift at making the character seem completely Chinese to the Western reader yet sympathetic at the same time.

Having recently read, and loved, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel, , I understand more about Lisa See's strengths as a writer. Depiction of foreign culture: fantastic. Male characters: not so much. This wasn't as apparent in Snow Flower because the men lived in a different world from the women characters that were the focus of the story. In Dragon Bones, Hulan is married to an American man, David Stark. David's character never comes to life like Hulan's. Although he and I (and the writer) have more in common than Liu Hulan and I do, never the less, Hulan is fully three-dimensional and believable where David falls flat.

If you like mysteries that are different without being gimmicky, you will enjoy this book. There's no need to read them in order although I'm sure there are some benefits from doing so. There are some graphic crime scenes, as a warning to the squeamish.

mystery at the three gorges.......2007-07-16

Ms. See does it again! This is a story in which you can find out about the effects of long-time water immersion on a human body, the largest mushrooms in the world, the result of the three gorges dam project, and the corruption of public officials. A page-turner for sure!!

Not the same calibre as Snow Flower.......2007-04-10

This isn't a bad book but it isn't in the same league with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Another good book by Ms See.......2006-10-26

What I like best about Lisa See is usually not the novel in itself, but the detailed, and genuine aspects of China and its culture. I really enjoy learning chinese words and the traditions of this unique country.
The story is a mistery/thriller that revolves around the construction of the biggest Dam in the world, the impact that this will have on China's culture and the discovery of a very important artefact that could also change China's history, forever. In between there are gruesome murders and religious cults, and the rekindling of love between american lawyer Stark and his chinese wife Liu Hulan. Together they'll try to solve the murders and the mistery and, hopefully, save their love.

Average customer rating:

The 1st time was the best time!
Words can't describe how wonderful this novel is...
Good, very good.
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun
Groundbreaking crime fiction

Red Dragon
Thomas Harris
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0525945563
Release Date: 2006-11-23

Amazon.com

Lying on a cot in his cell with Alexandre Dumas's Le Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine open on his chest, Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter makes his debut in this legendary horror novel, which is even better than its sequel, The Silence of the Lambs. As in Silence, the pulse-pounding suspense plot involves a hypersensitive FBI sleuth who consults psycho psychiatrist Lecter for clues to catching a killer on the loose.

The sleuth, Will Graham, actually quit the FBI after nearly getting killed by Lecter while nabbing him, but fear isn't what bugs him about crime busting. It's just too creepy to get inside a killer's twisted mind. But he comes back to stop a madman who's been butchering entire families. The FBI needs Graham's insight, and Graham needs Lecter's genius. But Lecter is a clever fiend, and he manipulates both Graham and the killer at large from his cell.

That killer, Francis Dolarhyde, works in a film lab, where he picks his victims by studying their home movies. He's obsessed with William Blake's bizarre painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun, believing there's a red dragon within him, the personification of his demonic drives. Flashbacks to Dolarhyde's terrifying childhood and superb stream-of-consciousness prose get us right there inside his head. When Dolarhyde does weird things, we understand why. We sympathize when the voice of the cruel dead grandma who raised and crazed him urges him to mayhem--she's way scarier than that old bat in Psycho. When he falls in love with a blind girl at the lab, we hope he doesn't give in to Grandma's violent advice.

This book is awesomely detailed, ingeniously plotted, judiciously gory, and fantastically imagined. If you haven't read it, you've never had the creeps. --Tim Appelo

Customer Reviews:

The 1st time was the best time!.......2007-07-19

I made the mistake of reading Silence of the Lambs first. Or maybe it wasn't mistake. I absolutely fell in love with this book. Harris character development, especially of the antagonist Dolarhyde, is top notch. His writing is crisp and the story flows making this a definite page turner. And of course who can forget the introduction of the infamous Lecter. Silence of the Lambs was great, but Thomas Harris is at the top of his game with this one.

James A. Forrest - Eye of the Storm

Words can't describe how wonderful this novel is..........2007-07-05

This novel made my summer. It really did. It has gotten me addicted to the other Hannibal Lecter novels (even though he is a minute character in this novel). The characters are fantastically developed, and you really feel like you know Jack Crawford, Will Graham, and Francis Dolarhyde. As a matter of coincidence, this novel takes place next to where I live. Dolarhyde's house could be 20 minutes away from mine!

Read it, and you will love it!

Good, very good........2007-06-13

Enjoyed the great thinking and writing style.

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun.......2007-04-11

Thomas Harris shoves the horrible side of his characters in your face for the first part of his book. By the end you have seen all sides of them and never want to let them go.

Groundbreaking crime fiction.......2007-04-06

Red Dragon was groundbreaking when it came out in 1981 and has been the benchmark used by literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of crime novels since. Reading the novel today, it does feel a little dated (some younger readers may have no idea that home movies were once shot on 8mm film & shown on movie projectors) but Red Dragon still stands head and shoulders above the vast majority of copycat novels that have followed in its wake.

The plot: Will Graham a former FBI profiler who was nearly killed catching Hannibal Lecter is asked to return to the fold and help the FBI catch a serial killer, the so-called Tooth Fairy (at least so-called by the media). The killer(who calls himself Red Dragon) murders entire families in their homes and shows a propensity to bite some of his victims. Reluctantly Graham enters the investigation, forcing himself to enter the mind of a killer.

Readers expecting this to be a novel about Hannibal Lector may be disappointed. Lector plays a much smaller role in Red Dragon than he did in Silence of the Lambs.

Red Dragon is well written and provides fascinating insight into the behavioral sciences arm of the FBI and into the mind of a sociopath. Harris has crafted the ultimate page turner (not quite as compelling as Silence of the Lambs, but almost).

I highly recommend this novel. One of the best crime novels ever written and certainly one of the most influential.

Average customer rating:

Decent book
Western cowboy in a sci fi nightmare
bad writing, mostly clichés, but worth a quick read
If This Book Doesn't Spur Anti-Bacterial Soap Sales...
Great Book!

Mount Dragon: A Novel
Douglas J. Preston , and Lincoln Child
Manufacturer: Forge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312860420

Book Description

Mount Dragon: an enigmatic research complex hidden in the vast desert of New Mexico. Guy Carson and Susana Cabeza de Vaca have come to Mount Dragon to work shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest scientific minds on the planet. Led by visionary genius Brent Scopes, their secret goal is a medical breakthrough that promises to bring incalculable benefits to the human race. But while Scopes believes he is leading the way to a new world order, he may in fact be opening the door to mass human extinction. And when Guy and Susana attempt to stop him they find themselves locked in a frightening battle with Scopes, his henchmen, and the apocalyptic nightmare that science has unleashed . . . .

Customer Reviews:

Decent book.......2007-09-25

This is the first Preston and Child book, I've ever read. Concept of the book was good and it seemed like (atleast to someone who is not genetian), like they had done their research. However, it also seemed like they were showing off their research by providng too much non-essential detail. Some of the parts just didn't seem to add up. However, while the plot got heavy and going, the book was amazing and hard to put down. The ending wasn't anything to write home about, either. It seemed like, the authors tried too hard to make the ending what it was, rather than letting it flow. over all, I would say its an ok of a book.

Western cowboy in a sci fi nightmare.......2007-09-24

Mount Dragon is one of those rare novels where the less you know, before you read it, the better.

One of Preston & Child's absolute best! Don't miss it!

bad writing, mostly clichés, but worth a quick read.......2007-09-10

The writing in this novel is so bad that it is almost comic. Both of these guys would seriously have flunked out of my university writing classes. And the plot is anything but original. Douglas Preston is an even worse writer than his brother Richard Preston, whose Hot Zone was such a remarkable piece of pseudo-journalism.

These guys shouldn't be writing about computers since it is clear that they actually know nothing about them. There are so many computer issues in the story that are beyond laughable, not just improbable, but impossible scenarios. I don't think there were any characters that were not clichés bad enough to bring high school English teachers to convulsions. The evil, greedy, but genius CEO, the altruistic but, stunningly beautiful, but extremely intelligent, Mexican lab assistant with purple eyes (for christ sake), the crippled computer hacker with more power than a god, the Jewish university professor whose sole purpose in life has to do with the Holocaust. Ooh, and the oh so scary doomsday virus. And don't worry there are plenty more.

Still, there were some interesting parts of the story itself. I would say it is worth a quick read all the way through. If you can get past the painfully bad prose to the clichéd story behind it does have its moments. As bad as it is, I'm a sucker for books about doomsday viruses. Have I mentioned how bad the writing is?

If This Book Doesn't Spur Anti-Bacterial Soap Sales..........2007-08-20

P&C do it again. These authors have a knack for making an interesting storyline from a little science, technology, and lore.

Mt. Dragon is well-told, taking a great science vs.nature controversy and building several characters in which to battle their opposing idealism. The archrivals that catapult the action are Brent Scopes, the billionaire science-hawk looking to expand his empire, and his antagonist Dr./Prof. Levine: the virtuous, yet attention-hungry, anti-science activist. These two stake their lives in battle over their beliefs and involve others to further their causes. Through the extended characters, the scientists of a remote, desert research laboratory (Mt. Dragon), we see the conflict of high risk/high reward microbiology enacted and debated. When things go awry (that's not too much of a spoiler - don't you think?! If the research went smoothly there would be nothing to write about!!), the story really takes off on a thrilling chase to see who will survive (if anyone at all!).

I would only give this book a 3.5/3.75 stars (it falls just short of 4.) Why not a higher rating? It's just not quite up to par with their best. The authors used a little too much cliche in the story plots, for my taste (I'll refrain from specifics as not to spoil) and the main characters were developed too quickly to explain some of their later actions. You could almost envision this being a hundred pages longer to feel more complete. All these criticisms aside, it is fast moving and involves just the right mix of intertwining plots and interesting characters to make it a worthy read. If you are a fan of P&C or this type of action/adventure/mystery type story, you'll be sufficiently entertained reading this book.

TO sum it up, those of you that enjoy witty, yet brief action/mysteries will enjoy this book. Those of you that yearn for a comprehensive version of action/mysteries, might be left a little short.

Happy page turning!

Great Book!.......2007-05-15

Douglas Preston, along with Lincoln Child are expert suspense writers! They leave you hanging onto your seat and you will find it hard to put this book down! All of their books are nail bitters and great to read!

Neon Dragon (Hardscrabble Books : Fiction of New England)

Average customer rating:

A wonderful debut
NEON DRAGON - picture cover
SHORT TO LONG
A fine legal thriller

Neon Dragon (Hardscrabble Books : Fiction of New England)
John Dobbyn
Manufacturer: UPNE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 158465614X

Book Description

This explosive first novel by veteran short story mystery writer Dobbyn brings to life the legal detective team of Michael Knight and Lex Devlin, who have been featured in a dozen short stories in such magazines as Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Amid the flash and din of Boston's raucous Chinese New Year's celebration an elderly man named Chen An-Yong is shot while watching the parade from his Tyler Street window. Anthony Bradley, the young son of an African-American judge is standing across the street at the time and is immediately arrested for the crime.

Michael Knight is a young lawyer who's going places, but even he is surprised when Judge Bradley asks him to defend his son in such a high profile and politically delicate case. Luckily, Knight finds he has powerful support when a senior partner at his firm, the legendary Lex Devlin, gets involved. Once the foremost criminal defense attorney in Boston, Devlin has mysteriously withdrawn from defense work in recent years. As Knight and Devlin investigate the incident and prepare their client's defense, the older lawyer's passion and ability come to the fore, forcing Knight to wonder about and delve into the murky allegations that eclipsed his mentor's career.

But before he can defend the young Bradley, Knight is forced to enter into the shadow world of gangland Chinatown, where Triads and Tongs rule through fear and intimidation. From the halls of Harvard to the streets of Chinatowns in Boston and Toronto, Knight doggedly pursues an investigation that involves drugs, prostitution, human trafficking and, ultimately, a corruption scandal that could bring down the most powerful people in Boston.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful debut.......2007-07-09

First Sentence: Suppose you were to wake up one Monday morning to a promising, amber sun rising out of Boston Harbor.

Michael Knight is a young attorney in a very prestigious Boston law firm. Lex Devlin is a legendary attorney whose career was nearly ruined by rumor that he bought a juror. Now the two are working together to defend, and prove innocent, the son of an important Judge. The young man is accused of shooting a revered elderly man in Chinatown. In the investigation, Michael, with his college friend Harry, sees sides of Chinatown he didn't know existed and he may not survive the experience.

Gripping, exciting, suspenseful--over the top at times but boy, did it keep me turning the pages. There was good development of the main characters, wonderful wry humor and a chance to visit my favorite city of Boston and the drive to Canada. I can't ensure the accuracy of the legal scenes, but considering Dobbyn was a practicing lawyer and now a professor of law, I have to assume they are correct. They certainly aren't dull, as is nothing in this book. If you are looking for an exciting weekend read, this is it. I'll also admit I also loved that his inside cover picture is him, his wife and their dog.

NEON DRAGON - picture cover.......2007-03-22

My awesome sister-in-law TOOK the picture that is now the cover of this book! Also, she named her picture "neon dragon" BEFORE the book was ever written....HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!
Yes - she's very talented!!!!! Just thought I would share! Thought some of you might find this info interesting!

SHORT TO LONG.......2007-03-03

As a long time fan of Dobbyn's short stories in Ellery Queen, Hitchcock, et al,I read his first full length novel with eager anticipation.Neon Dragon did not disapppoint & in fact was a great read!
Fast paced with well placed sarcasm & wry humor, the story & characters pull one in & make it difficult to put down ala Patterson & Grisham.However, Dobbyn has a style uniquely his own. His scenes in & about Boston bring back images that I as a former Bostonian can really appreciate.
I look forward to his next novel.

C.F.DiSilva

A fine legal thriller .......2007-03-02

In Boston Michael Knight works as a third year associate attorney at Bilson, Dawes, Leftbridge & Sykes law firm. Thus he is shocked when African-American judge Amos Bradley, expected to be named to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court soon, asks him to represent his son Anthony, who is accused of killing sexagenarian Mr. Chen An-Young during a New Year's parade. The shooting has angered the Chinese-American community as Mr. Chen was a well respected grandfather.

Knight visits the incarcerated Anthony at the Suffolk County prison where he finds his client articulate and grateful. Anthony insists he is guilty of only agreeing to go with his friend Terry Blocher to attend the Chinese New Year gala. At the office, attorney Alexis "Lex" Devlin offers to help Michael with the case; Alexis was the top gun until a decade ago when a jury-tampering charge forced Lex into "hiding". The case looks hopeless on the surface, but with Knight following clues that take him into nasty neighborhoods, he believes he can prove his client's innocence that is if he stays alive long enough.

The protagonist knew nothing about government corruption or Chinese organized gangs in spite of being in the prosecutor's office for four years before he joined his current firm and grew up in the city. Knight is a terrific protagonist who, with his mentor, makes for a delightful Bostonian joy ride. The story line is fast-paced and includes some fun references to Beantown literary sleuths. However, it is the courtroom that makes this a fine legal thriller as fans of the sub-genre will enjoy the teaming of Michael and Lex.

Harriet Klausner

Mysteries of the Moonsea (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Supplement)

Average customer rating:

An excellent resource for DMs
An absolutely awesome sourcebook!
Not a core book.
Very Disapointed
Docks review

Mysteries of the Moonsea (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Supplement)
Thomas Reid , Sean Reynolds , Darrin Drader , and Wil Upchurch
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 078693915X
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Book Description

Mysteries of the Moonsea™

Thomas M. Reid Sean K Reynolds
Darrin Drader Wil Upchurch

A Campaign Arc for Characters of Levels 1—18

The Moonsea–a perilous frontier ruled by tyrants and threatened by monsters. Here cities consumed by decadence and war rise and fall like the sun, and conspiracies abound. Great adventure awaits those who oppose evil, for the Moonsea is rife with it.
The Mysteries of the Moonsea accessory contains 37 loosely connected adventures that can be run individually or linked to form the basis of an entire Forgotten Realms® campaign. In addition to the adventures, this book presents maps and descriptions of the major Moonsea cities of Melvaunt, Hillsfar, Mulmaster, and Zhentil Keep, as well as statistics and descriptions for 15 important campaign villains.

For use with these Dungeons & Dragons® products
Player’s Handbook™ Dungeon Master’s Guide™ Monster Manual™
Forgotten Realms® Campaign Setting

Customer Reviews:

An excellent resource for DMs.......2007-01-22

This book is different from most of the other supplements that Wizards of the Coast has released, and I have to say that it was a very refreshing change of pace. The best way to categorize this book would be to say that it's halfway between a regional sourcebook and a campaign module.

Unlike the other regional books, it doesn't contain a random hodgepodge of information about NPCs, locations, Prestige Classes, new spells, and so on. Instead, you don't have new Prestige Classes, feats, and spells at all, which is just as well, since I think there's more than enough of all three. The book also has much narrower scope, focusing on only the four main cities in the Moonsea region and their surrounding areas. Again, this is just as well, since at least half of the material in my other regional books sit unused.

And unlike the other published modules, the adventures presented in Mysteries of the Moonsea are very loosely connected. Most are nicely self-contained, and have just enough encounters for a party to face in a single day. Each adventure presents a few possible hooks to draw the players in, and I found that it was very easy to tailor them to fit the flavor and motivations of the players closely.

Overall, I think that this book strikes the perfect balance between being a generic regional book that puts most of the work on the DM, and a published module that railroads players.

An absolutely awesome sourcebook!.......2007-01-03

As a long time follower of Zhentil Keep, the Zhentarim, and Lord Bane, I'm sure my opinion is -most- biased. But I have to say that this is one of the best sourcebooks I've read to date. As stated below, yes, this is nore a core book. However, that doesn't at all make it useless.

As a player myself, I like to read up on the NPCs and lore of the Realms, and this is an amazing book for that. Covering the entire Moonsea region, this book delves into key aspects of the north, south, east, and west regions of the Moonsea. It provides maps of the cities, though not to large amounts of detail, and offers up new NPCs; in Zhentil Keep, it gives you the Slave Master of the city, an Erinyes working eagerly under Fzoul Chembryl's guidance, and the dottering old Evil head of the mage's society.

All in all? A worthwhile read!

Not a core book........2006-10-29

Please, do not buy this book if you are looking for a core book. Do not make the same mistake I made.
This is a good book if you are looking for an adventure book. But that is it. Do not spect a lot of descriptions, you will get mostly adventures, not very detailed ones but a lot of them.
I just gave one single star to this book because it is totally mislabled.

Very Disapointed.......2006-09-01

I believe many in the people bought this book expecting another regional sourcebook such as shining south, Unaproachable East etc.

Instead its a collection of thinly flushed out adventures. THe book as a adventure source book is fine, the real issue is that most people wanted a Regional Sourcebook on the Moonsea.

I hope they continue making the Regional Sourcebooks, and seperate these adventure collections into a different area.

Docks review.......2006-08-13

This was a good book, however, I recommend dragon's of faerun and the power of Faerun.

Average customer rating:

This is one silly story ...
One of the best
One of my favourite Elizabeth Peters books
One of my favorites
Elizabeth Peters' funniest mystery

Summer of the Dragon
Elizabeth Peters
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0380731223
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Book Description

A good salary and an all-expenses-paid summer spent a sprawling Arizona ranch is too good a deal for fledgling anthropologist D.J. Abbott to turn down. What does it matter that her rich new employer/benefactor, Hank Hunnicutt, is a certified oddball who is presently funding all manner of off-beat projects, from alien conspiracy studies to a hunt for dragon bones? There's even talk of treasure buried in the nearby mountains, but D.J. isn't going to allow loose speculation -- or the considerable charms of handsome professional treasure hunter Jesse Franklin -- to sidetrack her. Until Hunnicutt suffers a mysterious accident and then vanishes, leaving the weirdos gathered at his spread to eye each other with frightened suspicion. But on a high desert search for the missing millionaire, D.J. is learning things that may not be healthy for her to know. For the game someone is playing here goes far beyond the rational universe -- and it could leave D.J. legitimately dead.

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Customer Reviews:

This is one silly story ... .......2007-04-26

Peters can write and the book is mostly readable if you can get past the silliness. In the Amelia Peabody books Peters takes the rediculous and creates fantastic, entertaining and humorous literary concoctions.

Not so in Summer of the Dragon. I'm surprised she would allow these older books to be published under the same name as the Peabody series.

One of the best.......2007-01-20

This was one of the first Elizabeth Peters books I read. I read it years ago, and have reread it many times since. I recently went to Arizona for the first time - I have been dreaming of going there since I read this book back in the 80's. I fell in love with the Desert just as DJ does in this book. I highly recommend this novel - it's descriptive ability to place you in the spot where it takes place, I can now confirm, is fabulous! The humor is great, the charactors interesting!

One of my favourite Elizabeth Peters books.......2006-09-13

Ahhh, Peters is so, so great!

Anthropology grad student D.J. Abbott is a master procrastinator. She has left finding a summer job so late than when she sees her advisor about it, all that's left is an offer from well-known crackpot millionaire Hank Hunnicutt, who seems to believe in every weird theory floating about. Since it's an extremely generous offer, though, D.J. decides to apply for it (it doesn't hurt that Hunnicutt's Arizona ranch isn't within visiting distance from her parent's house, something very important for her).

Hunnicutt's already rejected a few applicants, but he accepts D.J., and so she heads over to Arizona. When she arrives, she finds the house full of assorted weirdos and a couple of extremely handsome men. She also meets the endearing Hank, who's very vague about the reason he wanted her at the ranch. He insists she rest and relax and enjoy the amenities until a certain gadget arrives... then he'll show her his discovery.

But soon thereafter, after a couple of suspicious accidents, Hank vanishes, and it falls to D.J. and a few allies to find out what happened to him... and which of the nuts might have had a reason to make him disappear.

Summer of the Dragon has three strengths which are the reason I love this author so much. First, there's the characters. Peters is a master at creating fascinating, three-dimensional, fresh secondary characters, and she's not bad with her protagonists, either! Each of the weirdos in residence has a distinct personality, and they are, every one of them, loads of fun. As for D.J. and her romantic interest (whose identity I won't reveal here, though anyone familiar with her books will probably deduce it the minute he shows up), they're great. I especially loved the way D.J. was a declared feminist and refused to take any silliness from anyone (remember this is a 1979 book, so she's a very unique heroine that way), and the way Peters wrote her total enjoyment of food... and her guy's reaction to this!

Second, I absolutely adore Peters' writing. She's got a wonderful sense of humour, and this shows through, not only in extremely funny scenes, but also in the very way she puts things. If you want to see what I mean and haven't yet tried this author (what are you waiting for?), just go use the Look inside feature amazon offers and read the first couple of pages.

Third, Peters' plots are always enormously entertaining, and I always love her mix of adventure and archeological and historical elements. Summer of the Dragon wasn't an exception. It takes a while to get to what's going on, but once we do get there, it's fascinating, as is the setting!

One of my favorites.......2005-11-17

One of my favorite of Elizabeth Peter's one off mysteries. This one involves a geology student finding herself in the middle of a geology murder mystery in the Arizona mountains. What sort of trouble will her eccentric wealthy benefactor get her into?

Elizabeth Peters' funniest mystery.......2003-11-07

The heroine is a young anthropologist, D.J. Abbott (named after Deanna Durbin, but strangely embarrassed by this, why?)She takes a summer job working for eccentric millionaire Hank Hunnicut, who fills his beautiful Arizona home with a variety of charlatans, mediums, experts on Atlantis etc. She finds herself at daggers drawn with Hank's gorgeous assistant, Tom De Karsky, Elizabeth Peters' sexiest hero. Permanently hungry, she munches her way through the lavish and delicious meals served at the ranch, while cheerfully goading Hank's preposterous guests. Her spirited denounciations of the drivel spouted by these charlatans are some of the most amusing passages in the book. Some of the guests at least are up to no good, hank dissapears and D.J., Tom, and Debbie, the beautiful indian girl who loves Hank, embark on a desperate search. humour, suspense, romance, and wonderful descriptions of the desert, this book has everything you need for a pleasurable read.

Average customer rating:

Worms in a Wineglass
Living Death
Dragon Tears
Great Book
My first Koontz Novel.

Dragon Tears
Dean Koontz
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0425208435

Book Description

Harry Lyon was a rational man, a cop who refused to let his job harden his soul. Then one fateful day, he was forced to shoot a man--and a homeless stranger with bloodshot eyes uttered the haunting words that challenged Harry Lyon's sanity:

"Ticktock, ticktock. You'll be dead in sixteen hours...Dead by dawn...Dead by dawn...Dead by dawn..."

Customer Reviews:

Worms in a Wineglass.......2007-09-07

Picked up at a yard sale from neighbors who moved several years ago, I finally pulled this off the nightstand. I'm not completely sure why, but at times I didn't want to read any further because the murders seemed too brutal. The chapter with Ricky Estefan's murder was the best in the book for me. Worms in a wineglass, spiders and snakes and eyeballs that pop out of the head had to make that one of the scariest chapters. Like many, I enjoyed the happy dog thoughts from Woofer. I enjoyed his role in the unfolding of the ending and his joy at a delicious piece of ham at the final meal. Connie was an interesting character with much of her personal history appearing to be a dead end as far as the plot was concerned; however, maybe it's there to help us imagine her life after Dragon Tears. Jennifer Drackman was a sad figure with eyes sewn shut and not being able to get anyone to listen to her. Koontz may have been a bit obvious with the mother knowing the baby would be a bad guy before he'd even been born, but her tale was a good soap box against illegal drugs. The steady revelation to the reader of who and what Ticktock was set up the target and was probably necessary so that Harry Lyon knew what to do at the final confrontation. All in all, this was a suspenseful read. My question had to do with where's the real God if this false one is Becoming. Perhaps we could have had some battling angels on Lyons & Gulliver's side. For the price of a used book, this is a good way to stay awake! Enjoy!

Living Death.......2007-04-13

How do you kill what can not be killed? That is the question with which Harry and Connie must wrestle throughout the story that is Dragon Tears.

Yes there is a bit of the Koontz "formula" to this story, which is why I graded it 4 stars instead of 5...but this book is arguably one of my favorites. Unlike some of his other "formula" books (like the much-celebrated WATCHERS) I truly enjoyed the frights in this book. It was engaging and engrossing. If a reader doesn't get absolutely caught up in this chase.... well, I just don't know what to say.

Highly recommended!!!

Dragon Tears.......2007-03-10

TWO WORDS: "DEAN KOONTZ"
Need I say more..... He is an awesome writer, and this book is super!!!

Great Book.......2007-02-24

Always good, as usual. Very well written - look forward to the next one I get.

My first Koontz Novel........2007-02-09

I first read this book way back when I was thirteen. A little young for that sort of thing, one might say, but my mom borrowed it from a friend and thought it might be good for me to read. She turned out to be quite right, as I haven't yet encountered a Koontz novel that I actually disliked. Some were better than others, of course, but I haven't read a novel of his yet that I wouldn't reread. In fact I read Dragon Tears at least once a year.
The story begins on a Tuesday morning like any other. Police Detective Harry Lyon starts his day by having breakfast at his kitchen table, then cleaning up the kitchen. He then heads to work just in time to hit the streets with his partner, Connie Gulliver. While stopping for lunch at a burger joint before resuming the search for their current suspect, they are thrust into a life or death situationwhen a man enters the restaurant and peppers the place with bullets. after an intense chase that leads them into the building's attic and a few close shaves involving a dialogue composed entirely of Elvis Presley song titles, some manicans and a pair of hand grenades, the two cops manage to bring down the killer.
Things only take a more disturbing turn when Harry, standing outside the restaurant for a breath of fresh air, forces a young man back behind the crime scene tape and is subsequently visited by a derilect in a black raincoat who warns him that he'll be dead by dawn before dissolving into a cloud of refuse.
Harry's day only gets worse as he becomes the target of a series of bizarre, supernatural events in which he suddenly finds himself holding objects he can't remember picking up.
Things only get worse when, returning home from the office he is surprised by the vagrant who appeared to him on the street. Upon discovering that bullets are ineffective against this particular foe, Harry is forced to flee for his life as his condominium is set ablaze by his adversary, who seems to possess other powers besides the ability to form out of and dissolve into a cloud of litter. Later, with Connie at his side, Harry goes to see his friend Ricky Estephan, whom he visited after leaving the restaurant, only to find him brutally murdered, his eyes torn from their sockets and his house infested with an army of snakes and spiders.
Elsewhere in the day, others find themselves living under the same bizarre threat, from a former advertising executive fallen from grace thanks to a drug addiction, to a beaten down mother and son and their dog Woofer. As the night progresses, Harry and Connie find themselves fleeing for their lives from a seemingly invulnerable foe. Their search for the identity of their attacker ultimately leads them to an expensive private nursing home and a burned-out, forty-something-ish blind woman with a dark past and a connection to their persecutor that they never expected.
In his usual fashion, Dean Koontz delivers a tale of action and adventure and excitement, mixed in with just the right amount of humor. I've been hooked on his work ever since.

Dragon's Lair (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Average customer rating:

Ransom demand
Wonderful book!
A Huge Disapointment
third in a terrific series
Justin de Quincy Rides Again!

Dragon's Lair (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Sharon Kay Penman
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0345434234
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Book Description

July 1193. King Richard Lionheart lies in a German prison, held for ransom by the emperor. His mother, Dowager Queen Eleanor, ransacks England for gold to buy his freedom, while his younger brother, John, plots with King Philippe of France to ensure that he rots and dies in chains.

When a ransom payment vanishes, Eleanor hastily dispatches young Justin de Quincy to investigate. In wild, beautiful Wales, his devotion to the queen will be supremely tested–as an arrogant border earl, a cocky Welsh prince, an enchanting lady, and a traitor of the deepest dye welcome him with false smiles and deadly conspiracies. The queen’s treasure is nowhere to be found, but assassins are everywhere . . . and blood runs red in the dragon’s lair.

Customer Reviews:

Ransom demand.......2007-04-03

King Richard, caught while on his way back from the Holy Land, has been imprisoned by Henry VI, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor. Prince John, Richard's hated brother (and the same Prince John from the Robin Hood stories) is plotting with the French king to make sure that Richard doesn't leave prison alive.

Henry sets the ransom at an impossible 150,000 marks (perhaps five times the annual income for the English Crown under Richard), and the Dowager Queen Eleanor has set about raising the ransom. In Wales, a sizable portion of that ransom has gone missing, and she sends Justin de Quincy into Wales to find it.

Davydd ab Owain, Prince of Wales, suspects his nephew, Llewellyn ab Iorweth, who would later grow to be one of the greatest of all Welsh princes. He is married to Emma of Anjou, the highborn half-sister of Richard's and John's father - and Eleanor's deceased husband - King Henry. Davydd is incensed when Justin approaches the problem logically, wanting to inspect the site the ransom was to have been stolen from, conducting interviews, etc.

While not as intricately plotted as the next book in the series, Prince of Darkness, this nevertheless is a fantastic read, especially if you've read and enjoyed Penman's historical fiction, and amongst those, namely Here be Dragons.

Wonderful book!.......2006-08-28

If you haven't discovered the joys of Sharon Kay Penman, then I feel sorry for you. All of her books are fascinating character studies and are rich in action, romance, and period detail. This is one of her delightful short mysteries.

If you are interested in the Medieval time period, then do read Sharon Kay Penman. She has researched this subject so much, that she is able to bring historic characters to life in an exciting and fascinating way.

Check out her novel: "Time and Chance", or any other of her historic novels.

How did they solve murders in the Middle Ages? Penman's mysteries tell you how. Her series is on par with Cadfael, and The Name of the Rose. I love all four of her mysteries and think most readers will too. My only complaint is that they aren't longer!

Dragon's Lair is a fun read. I love the Medieval characters, and think other readers will be happy to discover the wonderful world of Sharon Kay Penman's Middle Ages. Check her out. Her books will hook you!

A Huge Disapointment.......2005-07-27

Personally, I don't see what the fuss is about over Penman. This book was underwhelming in a number of catergories.

For example, the main character Justin de Quincy is two-dimensional and unrealistic. After spending over 300 pages with this character, I feel I know very little about him, and what I do know is somewhat of a contradiction. Whilst de Quincy is loyal to his queen, he has no loyality to the woman that carries his child. Not only does de Quincy cheat on the pregnant woman, he doesn't even think twice about it. Meanwhile, his sense of duty to his queen and stedfast loyality to her are constantly apparent throughout the story. The point is, it is very hard to believe a character who is a loyal professional, but doesn't have the slightest bit of regret by living an amoral personal life.

The second issue I have with this novel is the mystery itself. 'Dragon's Lair' has so much potential in this arena, but falls flat time and time again. The basic premise of trying to find the queen's ransom is appealing, but the way in which the crime unfolds is anti-climatic. Moreover, the murder in this book does not occur until after page 200 of a 320 page book!

Dialogue is another major issue here. When murder finally occurs it announced by a character declairing 'there's been murder done!' - for me, that was a laugh out loud moment. Do people really talk that way? de Quincy's lover constantly says silly things like 'goodbye lover!' and 'thank you lover'. Again, people don't talk that way, and I found it very annoying having to read dialogue that was continuously unrealistic.

Lastly, although this book is historical in nature, there was hardly anything historical about this book. Although the politics of the age affect the events of this story, that alone did not bring the middle ages alive in this story. Penman resorted to cheap tricks such as having over half the book take place in taverns in an attempt to create time and place.

In short, lack of detail, flat characters, bad dialogue, and no real mystery to solve made this book a huge disapointment.

third in a terrific series.......2005-05-04

Sharon Penman's series about Justin de Quincy, the Queen's Man for Eleanor of Aquitaine, is both highly readable and historically accurate. The reader is treated to an interesting plot involving a king's ransom stolen in Wales, as well as the development of the de Quincy character.

I enjoyed reading about Wales and the politics of the region at the time. I also thought the secondary characters were interesting and believable. I have enjoyed other books by this author and will continue to follow this series.

Justin de Quincy Rides Again!.......2005-03-17

Sharon Kay Penman's "Queen's Man" series of historical mysteries is starting to rival her other, longer novels of a more pure "historical fiction" bent. It's no surprise -- her historical mysteries demonstrate better research and command of the period than many "pure" historical novels.

"Dragon's Lair" again features Penman's fictional hero, Justin de Quincy, bastard son of the bishop of Chester. Justin is educated, resourceful, clever, and, as he admits, lucky. As a result, he's the perfect choice to serve Queen Eleanor. Beset by a tide of troubles in her later life, Eleanor in 1193 is trying to ransom her beloved son, King Richard, currently held captive in Germany. While the call has gone out across the realm for the ransom to be compiled, many less-than-loyal subjects desire to keep the ransom for themselves. The leading candidate for betrayal comes from within the royal family, as Eleanor's son John has no desire to see Richard return from confinement.

And so it is no great surprise when a valuable shipment of coin and luxurious wool (worth its weight in gold) goes missing en route from Wales. Eleanor immediately dispatches Justin to this remote, wild kingdom, charged with recovering the lost ransom. Justin soon finds himself in Welsh intrigues as wild and tangled as the Welsh countryside, and there's more than a wee spot of murder afoot, too.

Along the way, Penman feasts the reader on a host of precise details that evoke the time period, but does so in a highly readable fashion. We also delight in learning more about Justin, including meeting some players from his misspent youth.

An entertaining mystery (very realistic in its details) populated by a vivid cast of characters, "Dragon's Lair" keeps you guessing from page to page. A very enjoyable read!

Average customer rating:

Dragon Fire is thoroughly entertaining
As good as any Forsyth book
Fiction from the Secretary
Clancy does it better
A "Real" life Thriller

Dragon Fire
William S. Cohen
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765316196
Release Date: 2006-08-21

Amazon.com

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William S. Cohen, former Secretary of Defense, US Senator and Congressman, discusses how writing a political thriller--rather than a memoir--allowed him more freedom to "pierce the veil" of international diplomacy and paint realistic portraits of those in power--and those who seek it.

Watch a video clip featuring author William Cohen

Book Description

William S. Cohen, former Secretary of Defense, US Senator and Congressman, has walked the most powerful corridors in the world. Now, in Dragon Fire, he takes us with him into the top-secret rooms where the fate of the world is held in the hearts and minds of men with dangerous and hidden agendas. Packed with action and espionage, intrigue and romance, Dragon Fire is a riveting, intricate, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that so convincingly written, readers will wonder just how much of it is true.Upon the assassination of the Secretary of Defense, former senator and Vietnam POW, Michael Patrick Santini, is called upon by his President to fill the vacancy. Once there, he discovers that the United States is under attack by a silent, sinister force, someone determined to alienate our allies and undermine our position as a global superpower. But America is hours away from going to war-with the wrong enemy. Rejecting direct orders from the president, Santini races across the world in a desperate attempt to prevent a catastrophic global war. When Democratic President Bill Clinton chose Republican William S. Cohen to join his staff in 1997 as the 20th Secretary of Defense, it was the first time in modern U.S. history that a president selected a member of the opposing party for his cabinet. Cohen, the first Secretary of Defense to make biological warfare and terrorism almost a personal crusade, was integral in orchestrating a comprehensive strategy to deal with the threat of terrorism. In Dragon Fire, he takes his experience, knowledge, expertise, passion, and fears and melds fact and fiction into a political thriller only he could write.

Customer Reviews:

Dragon Fire is thoroughly entertaining.......2007-01-11

It's frightening to think that such things occur in the shadows of society but they do. This work of "fiction" might just as well have come from the diary of someone's life or from memories and fears chosen to be put to paper before fading into the darkness of old age.

From the Situation Room of the world's most powerful nation to the spys and operatives in the field, the reader will be kept on the edge wondering what will happen next; how will this one turn out? Plan to be entertained, thrilled, puzzled and frightened at the thought of such things actually happening. Could they, have they, or will they? Perhaps this story is a compilation of facts instead of a mere creation of the author's fantasy. Fantasy or disguised facts, I still wonder which is true but you must decide for yourself. Certainly a worthwhile read.

As good as any Forsyth book.......2006-12-04

As a Frederick Forsyth fan, I give high compliment to William Cohen.
I loved this book. I tried to read it slowly so it would last longer, but alas, I couldn't put it down. Please write another, Mr. Cohen!!

Fiction from the Secretary .......2006-09-27

Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen takes a shot at novel authoring and comes up with Dragon Fire. And it's a sure winner. He uses his experience to create gripping but plausible situations along multiple threads of national security. Naturally for an ex-Secretary of Defense, the story is cast in the intrigue of International politics - Russia, Israel, Iraq and Iran and, naturally, the stakes are big-time. It will not take you long to read Dragon Fire - the book is a self-activated page turner.

Clancy does it better .......2006-09-21

Very run of the mill convulated techno-thriller whose only selling point is that it was written by a former Secretary of Defence. The blurbs on the dustjacket of the hardcover are very impressive. Praise from Clinton, John McCain etc... but eventually the book disappoints and you gotta wonder if this would ever have been published if he hadn't been a former Sec Def.

A "Real" life Thriller.......2006-09-15

William Cohen's book, is a fascinating true "roman á clef" of the inner workings of Washington's bureaucracy and a fantastic and first hand insight into the inner circles of the new asian powers and their influence (good and bad). Whether true or false, it certainly generates plenty of expectations. After todays news of the assassination of a high profile Russian Banker, coincidence will become the norm with this book. Not the best narrative but then again it is his first and hopefully not his last novel. Good reading!!!

Legend of the Jade Dragon: A Chintz 'n China Mystery

Average customer rating:

Every Dragon has a Story
The Second in the Chintz & China Series
Think people will like this one
Getting better all the time
Legend of the Jade Dragon

Legend of the Jade Dragon: A Chintz 'n China Mystery
Yasmine Galenorn
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0425196216
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Book Description

The second Chintz 'n China mystery--charm recipe included.

When a client gives seer Emerald O'Brien a statue of a jade dragon as payment, bad luck follows. To thwart its evil spell, she'll have to follow a trail of heartache to China's Ming Dynasty.

Customer Reviews:

Every Dragon has a Story.......2007-07-28

#2 in the Chintz 'n China Mystery Series. Things go downhill quickly for Emerald when a man leaves her shop after a reading and is killed by a hit and run driver leaving behind a small jade Ming dragon that has been cursed and disrupts the lives of those that are in possession of it. Unfortunately, little things in this book kept distracting me from the story. Doesn't Yasmine have an editor that would point out that you don't give a school nurse your insurance card or that you don't hear the "ringing" of the dial tone, even if this is a cozy mystery shouldn't an editor still do their job?

The Second in the Chintz & China Series.......2006-06-09

This book, like the first, has both a paranormal and normal mystery that the main character needs to solve while balancing running her own business, romantic relationships, friendships, and raising two children. This book moves the series along as well. As far as the main character's personal life, this book seems to focus on a transition period.

In this book, Emerald only does one tarot reading, for a client who is hit by a hit & run driver after leaving Emerald's shop. He leaves a cursed trinket behind that turns Emerald's life upside down. While bringing back many of the characters from the first book, we meet some new ones as well.

The book is well written and very entertaining. I think the first book was better, but this one is definitely worth the read. The book is a little hard to find but worth the effort.

Think people will like this one.......2006-01-12

I was not familiar with this Author or Series when I saw
it on here and decided to take a chance on it.Received It Tuesday And started reading it Tuesday Night.Got hooked
and stayed up most of the night to finish it.Liked the main
character,Emerald 0'Brien and well as the supporting characters
and plan to read other books Yasmine has written.

Getting better all the time.......2005-11-24

This second book in the Chintz 'n' China series is even better than the first. The mystery is offbeat, Emerald is drawn into taking more chances, and the other characters each emerge as individuals in their own right. I especially enjoyed Jimbo. The book grew in tension, too, and really kept me turning the pages. A highly enjoyable second act in the series.

Legend of the Jade Dragon.......2005-09-25

She just gets better with each book. Looking forward to her other series.

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