The Interpretation of Murder: A Novel

Amazon.com

It has been said that a mystery novel is "about something" and a literary tale is not. The Interpretation of Murder has legitimate claims to both genres. It is most definitely about something, and also replete with allusions to and explications of Shakespeare, to the very beginnings of psychology, to the infighting between psychoanalytic giants--all written in a style that an author with literary aspirations might well envy.

In 1909, Drs. Freud and Jung visit Manhattan. They no sooner arrive when a young socialite is murdered, followed by another attempted murder, bearing the same characteristics. In the second case, the victim lives. She has lost her voice and cannot remember anything. The young doctor, Stratham Younger, who has invited Freud to speak at his University, soon involves Dr. Freud in the case. Freud, saying that Nora's case will require a time committment that he does not have, turns her over to Younger. The rudiments of Nora's case are based on Freud's famous Dora, complete with sexual perversions, convoluted twists and turns and downright lies.

That is just one of the myriad plot lines in the novel, all of which are intricate, interesting and plausible. All it takes for all of the incidents to be true is a great deal of bad will--and it is abundant here! There are politicians who are less than statesmen, city employees at work for themselves and not the city, doctors who will do anything to undermine Freud's theories, thereby saving the neurotics for themselves, and opportunists at every level of society, seeking psychological or material advantage. Carl Jung is portrayed by turns as secretive, mysterious, odd, and just plain nuts, while Freud remains a gentleman whose worst problem is his bladder.

Not the least interesting aspect of the book is all the turn-of-the-century New York lore: bridge building, great mansions, the Astor versus Vanderbilt dustup, immigrant involvement, fabulous entertaining, auto versus carriage. Despite the tangle of tales, debut author Jed Rubenfeld finishes it with writerly dexterity--and the reader is sorry to see it all end. --Valerie Ryan

Book Description

In 1909, Sigmund Freud, accompanied by his then-disciple Carl Jung, made his one and only visit to the United States. Freud always spoke, in later years, as if some trauma had befallen him. He called Americans savages. This is the story of what happened in 1909. The Interpretation of Murder is an intricate tale of murder and the minds most dangerous mysteries. It unfurls on a sweltering August evening as Freud disembarks from the steamship George Washington. Across town, in an opulent apartment high above the city, a woman is found dangling from a chandelier. The next day, a second woman, Nora Acton, barely escapes the killer. Suffering from hysteria, only Freuds psychoanalytical methods can help her recall the identity of her assailant. In a historically accurate portrait of early 20th century New York City, The Interpretation of Murder will take you deep into the subterfuges of the criminal mind.

Customer Reviews:

Exciting Book.......2007-09-17

I lost more sleep over this book than any I have read in the past few years. I would think that I would stop at the end of a section and go to bed but it would hook me and I would have to keep reading. Several times I was literally on the edge of my seat as I was reading.

Terrible character development, stupid plotting.......2007-08-26

Ugh. I've gotten to the final 30 pages and cannot believe where this is going. What a terribly plotted book. And characters are just bare sketches on the page. Connections to 'Hamlet' go nowhere. It seems as if the author is simply showing off a certain amount of knowledge (oh, I see, he drops his Julliard School credit into his frontpiece bio -- so, what does that mean, he audited a Shakespeare class??). Two stars because he is able to string sentences together. Cheesy.

Insight into US Psychotherapy..........2007-08-23

The start is slow, but the action breathless by the end. The foundational prejudice of US psychiatry towards the medical model, followed by that of US psychotherapy towards a cognitive model, are given an intriguing explanation.

A smart write, a good read.......2007-08-14

I read this book about a month ago while on holiday. I thought I would wait a little before reviewing it in order to see how it would play in my own play-back memory machine. And the answer is that it has played back well. A good plot with some smart twists, a cast of generally realistic and 'sympathetic' characters, well-researched places and times, and a very nicely interwoven piece of fiction with what was an important event in the history of psychoanalysis and its embracement in the US.

So why so many negative reviews? One reason is that the book does require considerable attention; it keeps the reader on his/her toes as every page seems to contain potential clues that may be vital for the plot. Secondly, the author follows the currently fashionable cinematic style of constant scene changes and breathless editing, in which several different subplots move at the same time and the reader has to disentangle them. This proves tiresome at times, as if the author cannot just settle down and tell a story - he has to tell several stories at once. This brings us to the third criticism - the book does move at times from being clever to being clever clever. I found the final denouement very entertaining and satisfying, though the reasons that bring it about seem to fall into the clever clever category. Finally - the hype. Of course, this raises people's expectations; it may have been good for the book sales, though may have undermined its lasting effect.

What then are the book's virtues? As someone familiar with the way psychoanalysis works and with the different existing accounts of its founder, Sigmund Freud, I found the descriptions of Freud's visit to America, accompanied by Jung and Ferenzci and met but Brill and Jones, all historical personages, well researched and very convincing. The portrait that the author paints of Freud is very compelling and several of his interchanges with other characters are very realistic and have an authentic feel. Far from being an irrelevance to the plot, the author uses the presence of the father of psychoanalysis as a vital machine that moves the story forward. How so? By using very skilfully the well-established technique of drawing side by side crime-solving with the solving of the mental enigma that is posed by people's actions, especially those that are violent, irrational and 'crazy'. Normal people are crazy, says psychoanalysis; and the detective can go a long way by understanding how a crazy person acts out his/her crazyness while maintaining a perfectly normal appearance.

I found that several Freudian 'interpretations' are very well described; they do make us see events and actions in a very different, very persuasive light; this is surely the sign of a good interpretation. Freud's exchanges with the different characters at a dinner party are highly effective in this regard. Jung's character, by contrast, is not as sympathetically portrayed and, I suspect, that some of the admirers of his theory of the collective unconscious and archetypes will view it as bordering the caricature. However, the rancour with which Jung came to regard psychoanalysis and its founder is borne out by his his writings and letters.

This book reads quickly, but does not read easily. It makes demands of its readers. But if the reader is willing to put the effort into reading it, the book repays this effort in trumps.

Lost in boredom.......2007-08-06

This book starts out with a lot of promise but by about 50% through dissolves into shear boredom. There a basically 3 story line - the Crime, The Solving of the Crime and the gathering of a group of disfunctional men of little interest.
The first two stories (the crime and the solution) hold together well and would make an interesting read - the third losses its relevance quite soon into the novel and brings the whole thing to a crashing halt.

I'm sure some academic somewhere will find it rivetting but, for me, I couldn't even be bothered finishing the book (got about 75% through) I gave up careing about the crime and its solution.

Murder, She Wrote: Manhattans & Murder (Murder She Wrote)

Average customer rating:

A little yuletide murder for Fletcher and friends!
MURDER SHE WROTE and wrote, and wrote, and wrote ...
Murder,She Wrote!
Good, for the first one.
Mannhattan's And Murder

Murder, She Wrote: Manhattans & Murder (Murder She Wrote)
Jessica Fletcher , and Donald Bain
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451181425

Book Description

Jessica Fletcher's book-signing is disrupted by a shocking holiday crime - the murder of a sidewalk Santa. Jessica must not only find out "whodunit" but what happened to the elusive Mrs. Claus.

Customer Reviews:

A little yuletide murder for Fletcher and friends!.......2007-03-17

Christmas is just mere weeks away. However, as opposed to spending the winter holidays among friends in Cabot Cove, Jessica Fletcher finds herself whisked away to the hustle and bustle of New York City to promote her latest mystery novel. In between book signings, appearances on Larry King Live, various interviews, hearty meals at posh restaurants, and a little holiday shopping, Jessica is excited to not only get a bit of much-needed rest, but re-connect with her publisher, and close friend, Vaughan Buckley, and his wife Olga. When Jessica recognizes a sidewalk Santa as Waldo Morse, one of the most notorious ex-citizens of Cabot Cove, however, she realizes that things will not be as relaxing as she originally thought. Waldo was a part of a big-time drug ring years ago, before disappearing from Cabot Cove without a trace. But since recognizing Jessica, the sidewalk Saint Nick is interested in getting together and discussing the past. When Jessica shows up for their meeting the next day, however, she witnesses Santa get shot, and is shocked to see that the NYPD are dragging their feet in collecting evidence for the murder. Jessica knows that something isn't right, and, with the help of her friends, Seth Hazlitt and Morton Metzger, along with a budding Post journalist named Bobby Johnson, is now determined to solve the murder of Waldo, to ease both her mind, and the mind of his estranged wife and children, back in Cabot Cove. However, the deeper that Jessica digs into the case, the more she realizes how crooked the police force, and supposed friends, can be; and must now watch her back, before the killer decides to strike again, and provide her with a very silent night.

This is my second MURDER, SHE WROTE novel, but it certainly won't be my last. Donald Bain is an excellent writer, whose ability to transfer the character of Jessica Fletcher from the small screen to the fiction world is amazing. The dialogue within the tale is so close to that of the actual show, that you can literally hear the characters speaking their lines. Jessica, as always, is an enchating character, whose groomed and poised demeanor, along with her nose for news - and murder - is enjoyable to follow along with; while her navigation of the Big Apple is humorous, as she encounters a slew of bizarre characters who, oft-times, appear to have absolutely no conscience, and care about nothing but themselves. While Cabot Cove is very rarely featured in this particular installment, having the opportunity to witness both Seth and Mort make their way through F.A.O. Schwartz, along with a variety of other New York hot spots, more than makes up for it. The introduction of the sneaky sleuth/reporter, Bobby Johnson, is also enjoyable, as he plays off of Jessica's character marvelously. A little yuletide murder for Fletcher and friends!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

MURDER SHE WROTE and wrote, and wrote, and wrote ..........2005-07-14

Reruns of "Murder She Wrote" on cable TV were good for one thing - power naps after work. The episodes put me to sleep every time. I have yet to master the art of falling asleep while reading. The book is dull, routine, and dumb, just like the tv show, but not without that addictive pulp fiction downgraded IQ quality that keeps the pages turning. The resolution is a major let down, like a cold, burnt match concluding the final chapter. When my elderly grandmother died I inherited (took) her boxes of paperback mysteries, which certainly would have been tossed away by less inclined members of my family, mostly classics of the genre and the oddball title like this, based on the popular tv show. Assuming she had read this well-thumbed copy, I'm hoping gramma wasn't bored to, ahem, tears.

Murder,She Wrote!.......2004-07-01

This book is the first in the "Murder she wrote" series and it deserves 10 stars if that was possible. I read this book and I LOVED IT! The Murder She Wrote Book series comes from the tv series which I am a big fan of as well.It stars Angela Lansbury (my favorite actress by far) as jessica fletcher a writer who stumbles upon murder's.If you have not read this book and you like mysteries read it!

Good, for the first one........2003-11-16

Actually this is the second title in the MSW series. The plot was interesting, and kept me at the edge of my seat. Most of the characters are two sided and interesting. I would highly reccomend this to anyone who enjoys the Television series.

Mannhattan's And Murder.......2002-02-16

Jessica is going to New York City to promote her book, and she even appears on Larry King Live. She see's someone she reconizes from Maine, and takes a picture with a disposible camera. The rest of the book snowballs from there. This was the second Murder She Wrote book I read, but I thought it was kind of slow, and real dumb at some parts.

Murder in Alphabet City: A Manhattan Mystery

Average customer rating:

Solving a cold case creates another case
Nice second entry in NY Detective Jane Bauer set -- interesting cold case solved!
good read
Great Series
Avery dynamic and exciting police procedural

Murder in Alphabet City: A Manhattan Mystery
Lee Harris
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0449007359
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Book Description

Newly promoted to detective first-grade with the NYPD, Jane Bauer, is back to work after a nearly fatal run-in with a killer. But while she’s happy to be back on the job, her new assignment–another cold case–seems to hold little promise of being solved.

Eight years ago, Anderson Stratton, a schizophrenic, was found dead of starvation in his apartment. Nothing on the scene indicated foul play, and although he left no note, the death was ultimately ruled a suicide. Stratton’s well-connected sister, Flavia Constantine, never accepted that conclusion, and has insisted that the case be reopened. But in their investigation, Jane and her team stumble upon another grisly suicide–and realize that the two may very well be connected. As her inquiry intensifies, Jane is led to a shocking and horrible truth–and once again finds herself on the threshold of death.

Customer Reviews:

Solving a cold case creates another case.......2006-04-26

Eight years ago, Andrew Stratton starved to death. That was the official cause of death of the cold case Jane Bauer, NYPD, and her two partners are assigned to investigate. His prominent sister has gotten the brass to reopen the case.

As they investigate and begin tracking down people in his past, they discover the suicide of his social worker. Things don't add up and soon they discover it was murder. They continue investigating and trying to discover what really happened to Andrew and his social worker. And what were they involved in.

I really enjoy this series by Lee Harris. Jane Bauer is a great detective and I like the way she works and thinks. Generally, I read more light mysteries (generally called cozies), but this is one police procedural that I always read. The characters are well written and the stories are interesting. There is enough police action but without all the gore of other authors.

I highly recommend this book and series.

[...]

Nice second entry in NY Detective Jane Bauer set -- interesting cold case solved!.......2005-10-10

We were delighted to see this second entry in the Jane Bauer series about a NYPD Detective and her two sidekicks that specialize on cold cases. As the author's ex-nun Chris Bennett series seems to sputter a little, this new character is a welcome change from Lee Harris; one that features a somewhat grittier storyline and less family machinations than the "holiday" set. As with other reviewers, though, we do agree that Jane's ten-year affair with a married man (Hack) seems out of character, and a rather unwelcome twist to what we presume to be the author's values on such matters...

In the fine storyline, a mentally troubled man (Stratton) is dead from apparent self-starvation. His prominent sister, with connections high up in the NYPD, wants the case re-opened eight years later, as she never accepted it as a suicide. When Jane and partners Defino and MacHovec start interviewing people and chasing now-distant clues, a suicide of the man's case worker is discovered, which seems way too coincidental to the cops. Eventually that latter death is ruled a murder, and that case is reopened as well. Most of the book then actually pursues that crime and its real circumstances, outcome, and perpetrators to a somewhat surprising conclusion that significantly endangers Bauer. Possibly the only dissatisfaction to the novel is the somewhat unresolved status of Stratton's death.

We seem to enjoy Harris' mysteries and feel she is on the right track to promote Bauer's exploits and maybe let the other series fade away. If she can dream up further interesting cases and maybe fix Bauer's love life while she's at it, we predict she can pump out another dozen or so stories in this set! Not bad for an author with some forty books (under various names) already under her belt!

good read.......2005-04-12

This book was a good enough and enjoyable read, however it didn't really truly satisfactorily solve the crime it tells you about on the back cover, which actually led to the one they spend most of the book on, which they finally figure out in the last 3 pages.
A few things in this book bothered me-1 there was more profanity they necessary, which I could have happily done without; and 2 the love interest in the book (which she doesn't even really tell you anything about his personality at all except to say he's everything she could ever want) is MARRIED and they having been having an affair for 10 YEARS--excess and stupid and wrong--she needs someone else and I don't see why the author had him as the love interest, or the excess foul language, unless she was tired of the holy ex-nun and went overboard with change.
Other than those 2 annoying things the book was enjoyable enough-as I did still want to read it all the way through, overall a good "rainy Tuesday morning" read, but go with the free library version on this one, unless you find it somewhere cheap.

Great Series.......2005-02-21

With the Christine Bennett series getting stale, this is a wonderful alternative. With Jane being a NYPD detective, the stories are a lot more plausible and the writing just seems to be on a much higher level.

The only thing I don't like about the series is Jane's relationship with Hack. She comes across as such an intelligent, self-sufficient heroine in the books that it's disappointing to see her acting like a lovesick schoolgirl over a married man. Hopefully, as the series progresses, Hack will become history and Jane will find a real romance.

Avery dynamic and exciting police procedural.......2004-12-05

After taking some time off to recover from her encounter with a serial killer, New York Police Department Detective First Grade Jane Bauer returns to duty in time to work a cold case with her two partners. Power broker Flavia Constantine wants the police to reopen the case of her brother Anderson Stratton who supposedly committed suicide eight years ago. She demands the police prove it was murder and find the perpetrator.

After doing multiple interviews, Jane discovers a link between Stratton, his social worker Erica Renzler and building superintendent Larry Vale. Jane assumes that Erica visited Stratton as an excuse to talk to Vale. Eight years ago Erica also supposedly committed suicide after she quit her job at social services; Jane thinks the two deaths are linked. When she finds Erica's secret postal box with hidden records hinting that she was involved in something illegal, both cases are officially reopened as murder investigations. Someone doesn't want the police investigating and someone named Bill Fletcher takes off with the daughter of Jane's partner. When that doesn't cause the detective to back off, someone tries to kill Jane.

This is a very dynamic and exciting police procedural. The author gives the audience a step-by-step insight into an ongoing investigation so that readers see how a case is solved. Jane is a remote individual so it is hard to warn up to her but nobody can doubt her dedication to solving the case especially after her two partners are deeply affected by one of the perpetrators. Lee Harris can always be counted on to give her fans an exciting mystery although her Manhattan mysteries are darker and grittier than the Christine Bennet tales.

Harriet Klausner

Murder in Greenwich Village: A Manhattan Mystery

Average customer rating:

Murder in Greenwich Village by Lee Harris
A Great Read....
Slow, confusing, boring....
Mysterylover,fromdownunder
Difficult to Follow

Murder in Greenwich Village: A Manhattan Mystery
Lee Harris
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345475968
Release Date: 2006-02-28

Book Description

“Detective Jane Bauer is a most welcome addition to the ranks of fictional cops.”
–Peter Robinson

When NYPD detective Jane Bauer and her team check in for their new assignment, they reopen a cold case that’s a real killer. Ten years earlier, police responding to a spate of late-night 911 calls from Greenwich Village discovered a young African American undercover cop, Micah Anthony, shot dead on Waverly Place. The killer left no clues, and the murder remains an inscrutable mystery . . . except for two things: Anthony had infiltrated a lucrative gun-trading operation in the city, and it seemed likely that he knew and trusted the killer.

So begins an investigation that leads Jane from Village brownstones to middle-class Queens, from wealthy Sutton Place to sinister subway tunnels, as a mastermind of murder resumes operations–and every path is mined with menace.

“Harris knows a lot about cops and a lot about women and she knows how to plot a good mystery.”
–Stephen Greenleaf

Customer Reviews:

Murder in Greenwich Village by Lee Harris.......2007-07-29

The ordering process from Amazon is very easy. My shipment of books arrived sooner than I expected them. I apprecate the ease of finding the books I am looking for with Amazon. The special discount I received on the day of ordering was a nice surprise. Thank you.

A Great Read...........2006-08-06

What can I say? I picked this book up and didn't want to put it down until the very last page!! This third volume in the Jane Bauer series is a terrific police procedural while giving us further insight into our heroine. Not only did I find the story line suspenseful, but greatly appreciated the fact that Ms. Harris left no threads dangling by completing, down to the last character, the cold case that Jane's squad was working. (I have found too many "best-selling authors" ignoring their very own people and plots and appear to be in a rush to the end-NOT IN THIS BOOK).

Jane's loving relationship with Hack receives the exact amount of attention without going overboard (JMHO) and now they have moved to a place where the "moralists" out there will be happier (maybe?). Personally, until I read the prior reviews, I never gave it a thought.

Again, I must thank Ms. Harris for a terrific read and am looking forward to number 4 in this series!!! Susan

Slow, confusing, boring...........2006-07-06

I found this book extremely hard to follow. I set it down for days, picked it up read a few words and went on with my life. And, has anyone else noticed that Jane and Christine Bennett (from the author's other series) are basically the same woman? I too was bothered by her blase attitude toward sleeping with a married man.

Mysterylover,fromdownunder.......2006-05-10

I really enjoyed this third book in the Manhattan Mystery series, but then I have always enjoyed Lee Harris's books (admitably some more than others)
I felt that Detective Jane Bauer's relationship with her team has evolved more with each book, this time Sean MacHovec redeemed himself with his Online research and seemed to be less of a sleeze.
In this book there is more background to Jane's longterm romance and Jane's hesitation in committing to Hack. I certainly can't wait for the next episode to see where this leads.

Difficult to Follow.......2006-04-22

I really enjoy this series, but I found this installment very difficult to follow. Perhaps it's because, for a cold case, there were an awful lot of characters, and it was hard to keep them all straight. Even by the end of the book, I wasn't sure who some of the major players were.

I also really wish the author would allow Jane to dump Hack or, better yet, kill him off. Running around for 10 years with a married man behind his wife's back, sneaking off to Paris, making phone calls on a phone card, etc. all make an otherwise strong character look stupid and weak. Hack is an annoyance who adds nothing to the stories, so I'm sure I'd enjoy this series much more, and be able to rate it much higher, if he was no longer around.

Manhattan North Homicide: Detective First Grade Thomas McKenna Nypd

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Manhattan North Homicide: Detective First Grade Thomas McKenna Nypd
Thomas McKenna , and William Harrington
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Good story but not terribly original. But fun nonetheless.
Beware the Bats
Builds to a Startling Anti-Climax.
Educational
This is the best book I have ever read in my life!!!!!!!!!

Vespers
Jeff Rovin
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312193513

Amazon.com

The word vespers in the title of this book is zoologist shorthand for vespertilionids, the family of small, insect-eating bats that includes the little brown bat. In the beginning of the novel, this ordinary bat, which normally never attacks human beings, is going crazy in packs and biting people in a suburb of New York City. An expert bat zoologist--in the form of an attractive but lonely young woman who works at the Natural History Museum--is called to the scene. One strange event involving bats follows another, and soon, a gruff but endearing New York cop is also on the case. They are called to investigate an enormous mound of guano in a subway under the city. If you know anything at all about the horror subgenre of mutant monster animals in the New York subway (think of the movies Alligator and Mimic), you know it won't be long before the lady zoologist and the male copper are falling in love while hot on the trail of monster bats--in this case, two of them, with 30-foot wing spans.

Author Jeff Rovin is the author of a wide variety of books on TV, movies, and cartoons. He knows the conventions of silly, scary monster tales, and spins them out adroitly in Vespers. The book reads like the screenplay for the inevitable movie: director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) has plans to film it. Is it ridiculous and shallow? Yes. Is it fun anyway? You betcha. --Fiona Webster

Book Description

2 cassettes / 3 hours
Read by Boyd Gaines

A new name in terror flies circles around the competition.

Vicious bat attacks moving southward along the Hudson River prompt Nancy Joyce, a bat scientist who works for the Bronx Zoo, to investigate. When the attacks move into the New York subway system, Manhattan police detective Robert Gentry becomes involved. Joyce and Gentry team up to determine what is causing this unusual behavior. What they discover will keep listeners pinned to their seats and clawing for more.

Customer Reviews:

Good story but not terribly original. But fun nonetheless........2004-09-30

I heard this book as a book on tape and I will talk about that aspect at the end.

If you saw any of Hollywood's animal disaster B movies (Giant ants, snakes, bugs, etc. that attack humanity) than you get the idea behind this book. Normally placid bats are attacking people and gathering in a murderous swarm above New York City. Meanwhile, something else - something very large - is killing people in the subway tunnels. Will the animal expert and the rough cop be able to save the day?

Even though the plot is formulaic, I still found myself wanting to know what happened next. I couldn't wait to pop the tape in the player as soon as I got in the car!

The book on tape is read by Boyd Gaines who does a phenomonal job. Every character has a unique and distinct voice in accent. 5 stars for him, if I could.

Beware the Bats.......2004-07-13

The title gets its name from a family of bats containing hundreds of species. It is a successful family with members all over the world in almost every niche.

A young boy and his father are attacked at a little league game by some bats. The bats are insectivores but seem to be acting in a territorial fashion. Once the boy and his father move away the bats leave them alone. But then there are other sightings. The bat population of New York City seems to be climbing but there is also something else going on.

The carcass of a deer found in a tree top and some dead homeless in the city's subway system indicate something far more powerful than any bat. It could be that whatever is responsible is causing the normal bats to act with abnormal behavior. When a bat expert and a policeman team up they find a trail leading across the surrounding countryside and leading into the city. The evidence points towards a mutant bat brought in from Russia that has managed to propagate.

Now the problem is known but there is the matter of getting the right people top believe it. There is an abnormally large bat loose that somehow controls the smaller bats. But soon the bat is spotted by the authorities and plans are made for its capture. But there are two and one is pregnant so there is little time. The final confrontation is a real page turner.

VESPERS is a very interesting book. On the front of it we have a monster story. But that story is handled more like a vampire tale than anything else. Mix in some classic Night Stalker-esque interactions between the investigators and the City officials and you get a far more complex book than one would first think. In a way it reminds me of NIGHTWINGS, by Martha Cruz Smith, which also has bats on the surface but a much richer, and deeper, story line lurking just below. VESPERS is an excellent book and Jeff Rovin really knows how to pace it to keep the reading following.

Builds to a Startling Anti-Climax........2003-11-04

I was disappointed in the book. I felt like there was exposition that was unecessary. The love story was forced and contrived. I didn't care whether the characters "made it" or not. This was a great idea that simply lost its wind.

Educational.......2003-07-14

Summary:
Vespers is about a couple of mutated bats that have been descended from one radioactive bat in Siberia, brought to this country, by a scientist. The story starts off by a little leaguer being mauled by normal, insect eating bats, in a town north of NYC. Upon further investigation, authorities find a full sized deer strung several feet up a tree, with teeth marks.
Enter Nancy Joyce, bat expert, and detective Robert Gentry.

A larger bat is on the loose, the size of a bull, using echolocation and its non human squeals to have the smaller vespers attack people. This big bat makes its way to the NYC subway system, while people go missing.

Joyce and Gentry track the origin of the mutated bat down to a man in New Paltz, New York, who was in Siberia 10 years earlier. In New Paltz, they see evidence of another large bat. So, there are two to deal with. One a male, the other a pregnant female.

Gotta destroy the bats, before she gives birth to more large mutated bats, that feast on humans, and in the populated environs of New York City.

Likes: For me, this was a very educational book. Learning how bats behave, and locate their food, send signals to other bats...etc. It was an average thriller, although I've read better horror books with bats involved, this was more science orieneted. Also a little history lesson on the Statue of Liberty!

Dislikes: The story was somewhat lame, and rarely did I feel like I was in a state of suspense. Pretty predictable.

Finally: Don't mix radioactive waste with the animal kingdom, a la Godzilla, you never know what could happen.

This is the best book I have ever read in my life!!!!!!!!!.......2003-02-12

This book is never boring, there is always something new happening when another ends, and it is not difficult to read at all. It is as if you become the characters in the book and everything that happens is so intense you can't help but continue to read. I am not a big reader and this book took me two days to read because it was so good I did not want to put it down. Trust me buy the book and you will not be sorry. The first chapter there is already two people who are murdered by these creatures and it done in great detail. Love the book!!!

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Murder in Manhattan (Zebra Books)
S. Allen
Manufacturer: Zebra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0821730339

Duped by Derivatives: A Manhattan Murder

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A wonderful slice of New York

Duped by Derivatives: A Manhattan Murder
Gail Farrelly
Manufacturer: Chicago Spectrum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1886094977

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful slice of New York.......2000-01-26

Ms.Farrelly has done it again. Not only a clever mystery, but I finally understand what derivatives are. Wonderful local color and memorable characters plus a good plot. Who could ask for anything more?

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Exquisite Sustenance for the Intellectually and Emotionally Starved!
Wish I could *sniff* but I can only *yawn*
Multi-dimensional
A book that grapples with the big, unanswerable questions
A superb novel by an exciting new author

And the Word Was: A Novel
Bruce Bauman
Manufacturer: Other Press (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1590511417

Book Description

This gripping debut novel challenges our assumptions about faith, identity, and humanity. When the tragic death of his son compels Dr. Neil Downs to flee New York City for India, he takes a job as the resident physician at the American Embassy, where he is introduced to the paradoxes of Indian social and political life. Unable to mourn, and angry about a betrayal on the part of his wife, Sarah, Neil seeks philosophical refuge in the writings of Levi Furstenblum, whose work grapples with the nature of language and god after Auschwitz. At the same time, he becomes involved with a prestigious Indian family and forms a bond with Holika, the rebellious, activist niece of the family's industrial and political doyen. With this relationship, Neil discovers the intrigues and the horrors that plague a society not dissimilar to the one he left behind. Through a complex interplay between the external and internal, foreign and domestic, the promises of faith and the ineluctability of evil, Neil slowly unravels the lies and misrepresentations that had woven the texture of his life.

This tightly plotted novel will be irresistible to anyone who yearns for affirmation in spirituality and matters of the heart. A stunning reinterpretation of the Abraham and Isaac sacrifice myth, And the Word Was is guaranteed to leave readers profoundly moved.

Customer Reviews:

Exquisite Sustenance for the Intellectually and Emotionally Starved!.......2006-10-28

Bruce Bauman accomplishes a rare feat in today's book culture--he not only writes a compelling and masterful novel, but he makes you think long after you've finished the book. The prose is incisive and satirical which complements the emotional journeys of his vivid characters. When everything is working this well, I don't want the book to end. But what was even more powerful for me was that it made me think about questions I have asked myself, questions I should be asking myself and that sometimes not having an answer to these questions is the only answer. This book lingers in the best way possible. I have given this as a gift to many people and I look forward to Mr. Bauman's next novel.

Wish I could *sniff* but I can only *yawn*.......2006-06-16

The following review is based on a thorough reading of upto half the book and a flipped-through-the-rest coz me was yawning.

The cover is very telling - with the woman and her big bindi signifying the Indian motif. Well, she sure does not feel like Holika - the almost main character - who is an upper-class Delhi urbanite. Neil Downs, a doc, comes to Delhi, seeking refuge from his past made up of exactly one murdered son and one unfaithful wife, who he still loves. Of course, the author reveals this throughout the book, running breathlessly between Delhi and NY; throwing in some good old holocaust writing in-between. Why bring in the Nazis ? Aren't there enough books on holocaust to feed the voyeur in all of us ? The feeble connections that Downs is Jewish and his son was a target of anti-Jew sentiment does not warrant chapters devoted to concentration camps and tortures. I guess Bauman was not satisfied with doling out misery from the past, when he decides to introduce some typical issues that will depress the already depressed reader. The usual masala of sexual exploitation, child molestation, women's rights. For god's sake is this a foray into world pathos !

I would have loved to wallow in sorrow if the plot was any good. It is difficult to understand the sudden compassion between Holika and Downs, although we see later that they share similar losses; Holika's socialist agenda; Downs' wife Sarah's problems (her infidelity was built on some real weak ground) etc.

Bottomline: You can safely bypass this one.

Multi-dimensional.......2006-01-26

Every reader will find a novel written for her or himself in "And the Word Was."

I picked up an advance uncorrected copy of "And the Word Was" at a local bookstore and was captured. When I dived into the book I found myself walking in my mother's shoes, yet through the eyes of a different body and a different faith. While other readers will never know the full story of my mother's pain in a Communist concentration camp, it should be remembered that many people outside the Jewish religion and race suffered horribly during WWII.

How simple it might have been for my mother, a young Catholic girl, cruelly imprisoned by America's decision to abandon Czechoslovakia in the last days of WWII, to give up her God and her beliefs as Levi did, and lay blame at His feet for her immense loss. She did not. Stalin, however, took full advantage of the situation.

Levi's dispensation of his god was, ultimately, complete. He found a way to crush the serpent of his long-forgotten god in his final act and, I am certain, stirred the coals of the fires down below.

Stalin truly WAS an idiot. Bauman proves it in "And the Word Was."

Readers, you will likely find that your own story has been beautifully captured in the book. Follow it, devour it and hold it tight as it closes in on you.

Bauman has proved himself a master of the mountain of literacy.

A book that grapples with the big, unanswerable questions.......2006-01-19

I like books that grapple with the big, unanswerable questions. Bruce Bauman's And the Word Was (Other Press) asks this: "How much must you love god to accept Auschwitz? Or whatever happened to you? To accept that god exists after that?"

Neil Downs, an ER doctor living in NYC loses his only child in a Columbine-like school shooting. Unable to save his son in his own ER, he waits hours for his wife to arrive, learning then that she had spent the day with another man. In a tailspin against which his Judaism seems useless, he flees to India, not to set off on a spiritual quest so much as to become lost in a place as different and far way as he can imagine.

Downs seeks out one person there: his favorite author, the controversial Levi Furstenblum. A Holocaust survivor who lost his wife and child in Auschwitz, Furstenblum later penned (among other works quoted within this novel) the chilling and satirical novella, "Chamber of Commerce" --a story about Hitler's winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Downs hopes to learn from the cranky and reclusive Furstenblum how to persevere in what seems to be a cruel, meaningless world. Instead, his mentor teaches him a powerful lesson about the anguish of victims mirroring the hate of their oppressors. Downs faces a number of other challenges as the story progresses: a dogged media, a lawsuit filed against him by the parents of one of the gun-wielding students, an affair with an activist named Holika, and a surprising revelation from his grieving wife whom he'd hoped to stop loving. The triumph of this book is its ultimate hopefulness without any pat answers. Downs' spirituality remains elusive but life continues to engage him, and he has not lost his ability to love. He's retained enough, at least, to manage the pain and uncertainty of life.

A superb novel by an exciting new author.......2005-11-09

If you're looking for an intiguing story written with skill and sophistication, this is it. A wonderful first novel, filled with unexpected delights, both in story and in style. Try it, you'll like it.

Box Set of 4 Original Tv Mysteries; Brandy & Bullets, Manhattans & Murder, Rum & Razors, Martinis & Mayhem (Murder She Wrote)

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Box Set of 4 Original Tv Mysteries; Brandy & Bullets, Manhattans & Murder, Rum & Razors, Martinis & Mayhem (Murder She Wrote)
Jessica Fletcher
Manufacturer: Reader's Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Product Description

Slipcase of 4 paper back books

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