Showing posts with label detective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label detective. Show all posts

Buy Cheap Vampire Moon (Vampire for Hire #2) Review

Vampire Moon (Vampire for Hire #2)

Are you looking to buy Vampire Moon (Vampire for Hire #2)? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Vampire Moon (Vampire for Hire #2). check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

Vampire Moon (Vampire for Hire #2) Review

Great next installment in the Vampire for Hire series. The author keeps developing the storyline around Sam's family, as well as with her friends (werewolf, fang, etc). Although this book seemed short, and left me wanting to see where Sam goes with Werewolf Boy...it was well written, and I'm definitely pre-ordering the next one!
I am definitely frustrated with the ending!! I don't think I can wait until next April to find out Fang's identity....I've got a few guesses though...

Vampire Moon (Vampire for Hire #2) Overview

Mother, wife, private investigator...vampire. Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire.Now in VAMPIRE MOON, sequel to MOON DANCE, private investigator Samantha Moon finds herself hunting down a powerful crime lord and protecting an innocent woman from her ruthless ex-husband - all while two very different men vie for her heart. And as the stakes grow higher and her cases turn personal, Samantha Moon will do whatever it takes to protect the innocent and bring two cold-blooded killers to justice - her own brand of justice.**Acclaim for the Novels of J.R. Rain**"Gripping, adventurous, and romantic - J.R. Rain's The Lost Ark is a breakneck thriller that traces the thread of history from Biblical stories to current-day headlines. Be prepared to lose sleep!"-JAMES ROLLINS, international bestselling author of Altar of Eden and The Doomsday Key"I enjoyed this immensely. The protagonist, Samantha Moon, is a female vampire with a husband and children. Those predate her condition; six years ago she was attacked by a vampire and rendered into one. Now she's trying to carry on with family and private eye business, and she's a feisty, skilled person, so is doing mostly okay. It is not a horror story; she buys animal blood to eat and doesn't generally prey on humans. But her husband has an increasing problem with her coldness - not of spirit, but of body. 'You sicken me and scare the hell out of me,' he tells her. 'And when I touch you it's all I can do to not gag.' She replies, 'Words every wife wants to hear.' I love this! What makes it special are her character and nature."-PIERS ANTHONY, New York Times bestselling author of A Spell for Chameleon and On A Pale Horse"Dark Horse is one of the best books I've read in a long time! A great classic detective story with a modern twist. Unique and interesting characters (I think I'm half in love with Jim Knighthorse now!), a great plot that kept me guessing until the end, and some of the funniest lines I've read anywhere."-GEMMA HALLIDAY, author of Deadly Cool and Play Dead"Impossible to put down. J.R. Rain's Moon Dance is a fabulous urban fantasy."-APRIL VINE, author of The Midnight Rose and Blindfolded by Lust"Moon Dance is absolutely brilliant!"-LISA TENZIN-DOLMA, author of Understanding the Planetary Myths and The Dolphin Experience "Moon Dance is a must read. If you like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, be prepared to love J. R. Rain's Samantha Moon, vampire private investigator."-EVE PALUDAN, author of Letters from David and The Romance Writer's Pink Pages"I totally loved The Body Departed. As someone who communicates with those who are either earthbound or have crossed over - your descriptions and interpretations of the dialogue and circumstances could not have been written more accurately. My favorite scene is the one of Jesus stepping down from the cross and then the passionate and compassionate way it was treated as he went back to the cross. I will relive that for a long time to come. You're a wonderfully descriptive writer who paints a very creative, visionary canvass based in a paranormal pallet that only a few experience and many can enjoy."-JULIE BELMONT, author of The Path to Personal Success and Freedom and Seizing Your Success"I thoroughly enjoyed The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo from one of my favorite authors. A great way to spend a few hours of the afternoon."-JEN ASHTON, author of The Pleasure Diaries and Ashton Ashton We All Fall Down"I love Jim Knighthorse! Please write faster, Mr. Rain!"-ELAINE BABICH, author of You Never Called Me Princess and Relatively Normal"Powerful stuff!"-AIDEN JAMES, author of Cades Cove and Deadly Night

Want to learn more information about Vampire Moon (Vampire for Hire #2)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Special Prices for The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (Kindle Single) Review

The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (Kindle Single)

Are you looking to buy The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (Kindle Single)? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (Kindle Single). check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Lowest Price Offers

The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (Kindle Single) Review

You probably already have some of the story from the other blurbs but listen up anyway there's more to tell: The biggest bank robbery in the Big Apple's history, pulled off in broad daylight on one of the city's busiest commercial streets. Even in the annals of crime, the heist was brazen. This is the account of the detective who broke the case.
It's a story made all the more remarkable because the detective was a woman in a man's world and the first female police officer, later detective, in the history of the New York Police Department.
Her name was Isabella Goodwin, 47, and they ought to have given her a medal. They did, and one day in May 1912 after everything had pretty much settled down, a million New Yorkers, almost of fifth of the denizens of the metropolis give or take a few thousand, lined the streets as six thousand police officers marched by in a four-mile parade honoring the city's finest. There in the reviewing stand (which was probably festooned with red, white and blue bunting) on the corner of Forty-Second Street and Fifth Avenue, sat now-Detective Goodwin in a special seat of honor almost right next to the Mayor himself.
The Heist of the Century as the rags called it took place on 15 February 1912. By then the pattern of brute crime from some years back (anyone remember the Five Points Gang?) was a thing of the past that most people had forgotten. New York at the time was a place where for the most part strangers "would never harm strangers, institutions (such as banks) would never be touched by violence." For the most part. This day would be different. It would make history.
A couple of thugs waylaid a taxicab with cabbie and two bank messengers who were making a money transfer from the Produce Exchange Bank at No. 10 Church Street downtown, bludgeoned the messengers bloody and senseless (one of them was still a kid of 16) and then proceeded to make off with a cool $25,000, which even by today's standards is a tidy sum.
The coppers had an idea that Edward Kinsman, aka Ed Collins, aka Eddie "The Boob" might be behind the heist and a smart Deputy Police Commissioner named George S. Dougherty came up with the notion that a widowed police matron might be of some assistance in collaring the perpetrator.
Dougherty called down to the Mercer Street Station and said, "Send me Mrs. Goodwin." Dougherty figured the key to get to Eddie was to locate his moll, a tea dancer named "Swede Annie." Police matron Goodwin was just the ticket to get that done. And to get right to the short of it without giving too much away that's how things came down. And remember this all happened; you can check out the newspapers if you don't think so.
Other than the crime itself, there isn't too much action in this story. Or drama or even suspense. The sharp-eyed Mrs. Goodwin, who by-the-way had the tiniest feet you ever saw not that that means much, called on some good common sense. She employed her knack for making "people believe she was anyone she chose." Then she got out on the street and did some pretty straightforward gumshoeing.
But for what it might lack in drama, the story makes up in atmospherics. You get a real good sense of what it was like in Old New York, with all the dust, the stench, the clatter and clang. Another thing I should say is that the author really seems to know her stuff. She did her homework on this one.
Plus, and this is maybe the best part, the story has a real surprise for the ending. You're not going to believe it. It might even make you cry. So go find out yourself what happens next with Mrs. Goodwin.

The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (Kindle Single) Overview

Manhattan, 1912. A time of greed, corruption, scandal and distrust, when the police commissioner had this advice for the citizenry: “Don't take a criminal investigation into your own hands. Don't poke about a dead body. Don't investigate a robbery all on your own." Then the most outrageous and brutal bank heist of the young century occurred, and the city combusted in fear and anger. Wall Street brokers were carrying guns. The police looked more ineffectual by the day. Not a single man could break the case.But perhaps a woman could. Mrs. Isabella Goodwin was a smart and resourceful police matron who had gone about as far as a woman in police work could go. The bank robbery presented a unique career opportunity.As Elizabeth Mitchell writes in "The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin", a true story so astounding it reads like fiction, only a woman could penetrate New York's underworld without attracting suspicion. When Goodwin got the call from headquarters, she was ready. With glimmering eyes, the widow with four children to support disappeared into Manhattan's underbelly. Would she return with her man? Would she make it back at all?In this Byliner Original from the new digital publisher Byliner, Elizabeth Mitchell, the author of "W: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty" and "Three Strides Before the Wire: The Dark and Beautiful World of Horse Racing" has delved into New York City's hurly-burly past and returned with a classic crime story all the more amazing for having actually happened.* * *Praise for "The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin":"What a ripsnort! Elizabeth Mitchell's exploration of New York City in the early 1900s and the remarkable woman detective who took on savvy, brutal criminals is a fascinating piece of history and a riveting story. Old-timey CSI, but much wilder, and no deodorant." - Sam Lipsyte, author of "Home Land" and "The Ask""Molls, tough guys, an insane bank heist and N.Y.C.'s feistiest chick-the perfect beach read. Loved it!!!"- Simon Doonan, author of "Beautiful People""Elizabeth Mitchell is one of our greatest and most compelling nonfiction voices, and her latest is an illuminating and engaging story of a woman and of a time when men were men-which was one of the problems of that time. This is a terrific story." - Jon Meacham, author of "American Lion" and "American Gospel""Elizabeth Mitchell brings to life the story of Isabella Goodwin, New York's first female police detective, with deep reporting and evocative details. This Film Noir tale of early New York is a scintillating read that grips you from the first page and never lets up."- Darcey Steinke, author of "Easter Everywhere" and "Suicide Blonde"."A fascinating real-life crime story, starring New York City's first female detective, and 1912 New York in all its corrupt and vivid glory."- Katha Pollitt, author of "Learning to Drive"

Want to learn more information about The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (Kindle Single)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Purchase Cheap Death by Honeymoon (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder Series) Review

Death by Honeymoon (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder Series)

Are you looking to buy Death by Honeymoon (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder Series)? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Death by Honeymoon (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder Series). check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Death by Honeymoon (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder Series) Review

The story opens with Cindy trying to deal with the devastating loss of her husband, who died on their honeymoon in Barbados. Cindy's loss is even more devastating in the face of the obstacles she and Clint had to overcome to get married (his family did not approve, to put it mildly) and her extremely small support system (even though a lot of people came to visit in the days right after Clint's death, the only person looking out for Cindy was her sister, Ann.) It's an extremely somber opening.It becomes clear pretty quickly that there's something rotten on the island of Barbados, as Clint's repugnant family makes very clear when they come to allegedly pay their condolences and end up interrogating Cindy (Clint's widow, remember) instead. Cindy's sister Ann is doing her best to help but comes across as kind of a bossy boots (I feel like if I were Cindy, every person that tried to tell me what I need or what would be best for me would just start getting punched in the face.) Everyone wants to help but you can practically hear Cindy screaming inside to just get people to back off.Anyway, Cindy has a lot of reasons for her Spidey senses to be tingling, although no one else seems to feel the same. Just when Cindy finally caves and begins to attempt to put her life back together for the sake of other people who love her, it becomes alarmingly clear that her feeling that Clint's death wasn't an accident was right on the money. Now she has to decide whether it would be better to just remember Clint in her heart forever and ride quietly into the sunset, or to try to uncover the truth, however ugly it may be.Because this is a relatively short story it has to get down to business fairly quickly, and there isn't a lot of time or space to devote to side stories or ancillary characters. The plot is lean and streamlined, and we arrive at point B from point A fairly quickly. We as readers can piece together the game that's afoot pretty quickly; watching Cindy figure it out and overcome the obstacles that have been put in her way is a different experience. The ending, too, and the resolution of the story, require you to buy into the story as a reader. Would people necessarily behave that way in real life? Probably not, but that's the great thing about fiction. The author has created an environment where everything comes out in the wash and the stage is set for book 2, and that's okay by me.

Death by Honeymoon (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder Series) Overview

On the rugged, wild, eastern shore of Barbados, Cindy and Clint are enjoying their dream honeymoon, when paradise quickly turns into hell. Cindy finds her newly beloved taken away from her, drowned in a freak accident in the ocean. The local police are quick to declare it an accident, to insist that he was caught in a sudden riptide. But Cindy, left all alone, is not convinced.Cindy must return to her and Clint's now-empty home in New York and face her in-laws, who never wanted Clint to marry her, and who did everything to make her engagement and wedding hell. She must deal with all of these women's backbiting, gossiping and unspoken accusations, while she tries to get a handle on her own grief and to get clear on what really happened to Clint.Cindy is mailed an anonymous photo of a woman she had never met, addressed to Clint. As she tries to unravel the mysterious package, as she begins to dig deeper into Clint's emails and files, she realizes how many secrets Clint had been hiding from his past. She realizes that she didn't really know the man she loved. And she also realizes that Clint was murdered.She digs deeper, into the depths of Clint's massive corporation, DGB oil, and as she starts to unearth information she shouldn't, she goes too far. Soon her own life is in peril. On the run, she realizes that the only way to get answers, and to save her own life, is to return to where it all began: Barbados. As she heads into the dark underside of the island, into the heart of the local villages, she is shocked to discover what really happened to her husband on their honeymoon.But by then, it may already be too late.

Want to learn more information about Death by Honeymoon (Book #1 in the Caribbean Murder Series)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Best Buy for The Bathtub Spy (Kindle Single) Review

The Bathtub Spy (Kindle Single)

Are you looking to buy The Bathtub Spy (Kindle Single)? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Bathtub Spy (Kindle Single). check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

The Bathtub Spy (Kindle Single) Review

I enjoyed this story. It did have some good moments. It is the story of a man who lives in Washington DC doing translation work who deals with an unbearable boss. Minor spoiler here but it turns out his boss actually loves literature. It took me all of about 15 minutes to read this so this is much shorter than most of the Kindle shorts I have read.
The story didn't move me as much as I would have liked for a literary work but it did have its moments. I liked how the author explained how our feelings for imaginary characters can be more important to us than real people. I loved how the main character's opinion of his boss changes after a bad book recommendation. I have felt the same way when it has happened to me. It was a good diversion for a few minutes but I don't think that I will be thinking of the story in a years time.

The Bathtub Spy (Kindle Single) Overview

Returning to America after years abroad, Paul Tregwynt takes work at an intelligence agency near the Pentagon, translating wiretaps for decorated military officers and desk-jockey spies. But life in espionage turns strange when his boss gives him a book and an order: read this. Tom Rachman is the bestselling author of The Imperfectionists, a novel set at a struggling newspaper in Rome. His writing has been published in The New York Times, Slate, The International Herald Tribune, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. He lives in London.

Want to learn more information about The Bathtub Spy (Kindle Single)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Special Prices for The Abbey Review

The Abbey

Are you looking to buy The Abbey? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Abbey. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Lowest Price Offers

The Abbey Review

I purchased this .99 book as one of my first electronic downloads. For .99 I wasn't looking to be wow'd but I was. Most surprising is the main character (Ash) is Muslim. Ash is a Muslim version Dirty Harry! Chris Culver weaves the detective's religion into the story in such a manner that displays Ash as a spiritual man, but a bad boy cop at the same time. As a Christian, I found myself chuckling at the way that Ash recognizes his duty to his religion but does what the 'flesh' tells him is necessary to seek justice; he does it without apology. No turning the other cheek here! Hooray for Ash and Chris Culver in this amazingly fresh look at crime fighting.

The Abbey Overview

Ash Rashid is a former homicide detective who can't stand the thought of handling another death investigation. In another year, he'll be out of the department completely. That's the plan, at least, until his niece's body is found in the guest home of one of his city's most wealthy citizens. The coroner calls it an overdose, but the case doesn't add up. Against orders, Ash launches an investigation to find his niece's murderer, but the longer he searches, the more entangled he becomes in a case that hits increasingly close to home. If he doesn't solve it fast, his niece won't be the only family member he has to bury.

Want to learn more information about The Abbey?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Special Prices for Dirty Kiss Review

Dirty Kiss

Are you looking to buy Dirty Kiss? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Dirty Kiss. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Lowest Price Offers

Dirty Kiss Review

First, I have to admit that romance is not my favorite genre. It's not that I'm down on love, relationships. and canoodling, I prefer a higher ratio of action/plot to sweaty cuddle sex. That being said, Dirty Kiss provides plenty of both.
You've all seen the dubious free e-books out there with names like "Twilight Wannabes in Suede Condoms" or some such thing. You may have even downloaded one. And then felt ripped off afterward because it sucked and your brain is now bleeding from the literary trauma. Dirty Kiss did not make me feel like I lost 30 IQ points reading it. Rhys Ford's writing is solid, witty, and well-paced. The story is compelling. Exploring Cole and Jae-Min's back stories was unexpectedly enjoyable. The author did a great job at revealing just enough to keep you interested at just the right times.
There is a fair amount of time spent on the relationship mechanics between Cole and Jae-Min. As a romance novel its less "are they going to get together" and more "can they make this work?" Both of them come with some heavy baggage, but I never felt that it was overplayed or that they were unrealistically victimized.
The complexities of homosexuality in modern Asian culture are also portrayed well. Some authors just slap on an ethnic name, throw in some chopsticks, and think they're done. Ford conveys the situation well.The sex scenes were hot, and there were a few of them.
There are some bits that I feel could have been fleshed out more. The mystery is solid but I feel some of the structure was sacrificed for the romance. Still, the writing is good, and at the end of it, I can forgive almost anything as long as the writing is good.

Dirty Kiss Overview

Cole Kenjiro McGinnis, ex-cop and PI, is trying to get over the shooting death of his lover when a supposedly routine investigation lands in his lap. Investigating the apparent suicide of a prominent Korean businessman's son proves to be anything but ordinary, especially when it introduces Cole to the dead man's handsome cousin, Kim Jae-Min. Jae-Min's cousin had a dirty little secret, the kind that Cole has been familiar with all his life and that Jae-Min is still hiding from his family. The investigation leads Cole from tasteful mansions to seedy lover's trysts to Dirty Kiss, the place where the rich and discreet go to indulge in desires their traditional-minded families would rather know nothing about. It also leads Cole McGinnis into Jae-Min's arms, and that could be a problem. Jae-Min's cousin's death is looking less and less like a suicide, and Jae-Min is looking more and more like a target. Cole has already lost one lover to violence-he's not about to lose Jae-Min too.

Want to learn more information about Dirty Kiss?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Purchase Cheap The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy Review

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

Are you looking to buy The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy Review

So you're forty-one. You've never written a book before, but you think you'd like to try your hand at it. You suspect, perhaps rightly, that you'd be pretty good at it. Before giving it a go though you live your life and fool around with photography (and by "fool around" I mean "get your photographs into the Smithsonian's permanent collection"). Then you write a children's chapter book that draws on every source from Elizabeth Ende to Edward Eager (alliterative writers are a source of wonderful books) and your little novel is written. It then garners itself a National Book Award that same year. Such is the tale of Jeanne Birdsall and her remarkable book. Having read pointed criticisms as to whether or not "The Penderwicks" should really have won the aforementioned National Book Award I went into reading the title thinking something along these lines:
"Harumph. Obviously `Autobiography of My Dead Brother' (which I haven't read either) should have won the award. It's so meaningful. This book is probably just a rehash of old classics with some utesy-cutesyness to turn off serious readers. I'll just read a little..."
Five minutes later.
"Huh. This is pretty good. Well-written. Let's just dip in a little more..."
Eighteen chapters later.Which brings us to this review. Up against serious book after deeply meaningful book, I commend the committee of the National Book Awards for acknowledging what the Newberys, the Oscars, and pretty much all other awards offered to artistic works fail to recognize. Comedy is only easy to read. It is near impossible to create. It takes far more skill to write a meaningful piece of work that makes you laugh than a meaningful piece of work that makes you cry. Kill a puppy and the tears fall like rain. Make that same puppy do something that makes you laugh and it's a miracle of authorial genius. On top of all that, "The Penderwicks" has something that not many books this year will be able to claim: It's great for all ages.
It never would have happened at all if the four Penderwick daughters and their father hadn't gotten a new cottage rental for their summer vacation. Arriving at heavenly Arundel, the headstrong Penderwick Skye proceeds to immediately discover and knock unconscious their new landlady's son, Jeffrey. After some apologies all is forgiven and Jeffrey meets each girl. There's twelve-year-old Rosalind who is a kind of mother figure to her sisters. Eleven-year-old Skye is deeply intelligent and has a temper that in any other book would make her a redhead. Ten year old Jane is the dreamy romantic Penderwick, prone to writing overindulgent adventure tales. Finally, there's four-year-old Batty, clad permanently in detachable butterfly wings and accompanied by the family dog, Hound. With Jeffrey by their side the girls must deal with Rosalind's crush, Sky's capacity for messing up, Jane's publication fantasies, and Batty's shyness. Top it all off with Jeffrey's mother, Mrs. Tipton, believing that her son should be sent to a military academy ASAP and you've got a fine frolicksome summer adventure to be read for years and years to come.
I love pinpointing the moment a book wins me over. It's never when you would expect such a moment to take place. For me it was a rather quiet scene at twilight. It's a balmy summer night, such as you might experience in the Berkshire Mountains, and the girls are catching fireflies. Suddenly, it was perfectly clear that Birdsall had somehow or other managed to capture the lazy magic of a summer night in her writing. People have killed to do so much. With "The Penderwicks", you hold in your hand a crystallized encapsulation of all that is lovely about warm July evenings at home. Remarkable.
Don't let my flattery fool you. The book, for all its charms, was not incapable of the occasional misstep. Not too long ago my mother-in-law was pointing out the sheer proliferation of books and films in which a girl lives with a widowed father who dotes upon her. Now how many widowed fathers do you know personally? I'm sure there are plenty out there, but to read books like "The Penderwicks" is to believe that women, particularly mothers, are rarities (at least in their living state). In the olden days a mother could be done away with in childbirth. "The Penderwicks" does the same thing but this time the mother dies of cancer a more-than-slightly-unbelievable two weeks after giving birth to Batty. Seems to me that Birdsall is pushing the envelope a little here with the scant lag time between labor and the choir invisible.
Still, there's no denying the charms of the tale. "The Penderwicks" avoids overly emotional dribble. This is the kind of story where the father will say good-naturedly to an overly enthusiastic canine, "Be still, demon dog". The story puts down fashion modeling and obligatory military service all within the course of a single paragraph. And most importantly to my mind, it does well by Batty. How many insufferable four-year-olds populate children's literature? Too many. Often they'll be overly cutesy-pie and big eyed. Think of Destiny in "Surviving the Applewhites". These tots usually mispronounce words and, when corrected, mispronounce them in entirely different ways. They do horrible unconscionable things but are forgiven because they up the "awww" factor of the book. Admittedly, Batty isn't immune to this sort of stuff, but she's a lot less bad than most of the over-indulged young `uns out there. By the way, extra points to the Penderwicks for not being a delightfully "eccentric" family. Eccentric tales ala "Ordinary Jack" are easy to write but often quite hard to make good. "The Penderwicks" relies solely on the charms of the writing, and is perfectly peachy as a result.
So let's sum up here. Good writing? Check. Three-dimensional characters (with the possible exception of the mother's boyfriend)? Check. A plot that actually doesn't rip off any authors I've read and certainly no one within the last thirty-five years? Check. Seems to me we've got a pretty nice winner on our hands here, ladies and gentlemen. So let us tip our hat to "The Penderwicks" and wish it all the luck in the world. A stunning debut and a book that, without relying on fantasy or magic, will be loved and adored the world over.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy Overview



Want to learn more information about The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Best Price Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It Review

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It

Are you looking to buy Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It Review

This book is a companion piece to the documentary Food Inc. It consists of 25 essays on topics ranging from agribusiness, to so-called "frankenfoods," to pesticides and hormones, to biofuels, to nutrition and global hunger. The essays are written by acknowledged experts including Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation (2006) and Michael Pollan, who wrote some of the best books I have read on food, including The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World (2001), The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006), and In Defense of Foods: An Eater's Manifesto (2008)--see my reviews at Amazon.
The topics are presented in a fairly balanced way with one essay followed by an essay termed "ANOTHER TAKE." For example Peter Pringle's piece "Food, Science, and the Challenge of World Hunger--Who Will Control the Future?" argues that genetically modified (GM) foods are not as dangerous as some think and they can, with proper precautions taken, help us feed a growing world population. However in the next essay, using the term "genetically engineered" (GE) foods, Ronnie Cummins argues that such foods are dangerous and threaten to take away from local farmers the ability to grow food and give that power solely to agribusiness.
In his essay, "Exploring the Corporate Powers behind the Way We Eat," Robert Kenner recounts his experience making Food Inc. emphasizing how closed and secretive are the big corporations that produce and process our food. They wouldn't let him and his camera crews into their plants and they made the people who would talk to him feel threatened. There was no counter to this, possibly because the agribusiness people wouldn't participate in the book just as they wouldn't cooperate in the making of the film. This is damning. Secrecy and closed-doors suggest that they have something to hide.
Nonetheless I have mixed feelings. There is no question that in an ideal world we would all have local access to organically grown and minimally processed foods--free range chickens and vegetables grown with natural fertilizers in a sustainable family farm environment where the animals are treated humanely. But we don't. Why? The usual answer is you can't produce food cheaply enough in that manner to feed a world of six and a half billion people. This book in effect argues that you can, and the real reason we don't is that the big corporations have a stranglehold on not just our governments but on the science and logistics required to deliver and present the food including labor, transportation, storage, and the markets. Small and local can't compete.
However, what is hardly mentioned in the book and seems almost taboo to say is that the underlying problem, which is only going to get worse, is the enormous demand for food put on our resources because we have too many people living on this planet. I can see a Wendell Berry kind of agrarian paradise possible after we cut our numbers by perhaps half (more would be better) with a larger percentage of the population choosing to become farmers.
Currently the Slow Foods, sustainable foods, organic foods, and the humane treatment to animals movements are mainly supported by society's well-to-do, its elites educationally and economically. The average person cannot afford to shop at Whole Foods, which is sometimes called "Whole Paycheck." Neither can your average urban or suburban dweller conveniently find his or her way to the local farmer's market, if there is one.
But the main problem in the United States is public ignorance. The average person has little understanding of nutrition and is bombarded by conflicting claims in the literature as the big corporations pay for studies that support their interests. On television and elsewhere there's an endless stream of ads promoting fast and cheap food, adulterated food, and food that entices and seduces with depictions of juicy, fatty, starchy essences. A secondary problem is the loss of the tradition of the home cooked meal. As Joel Salatin writes in his essay "Declare Your Independence": "Learn to Cook Again"(!). Much of the food that is bought at supermarkets and taken home to prepare is of the "throw it in the microwave" variety. With many if not most households having two bread winners or a single parent, who has the time and energy to prepare a complete home-cooked meal?
So ultimately the stranglehold that agribusiness has on our society is the result of an unhealthy lifestyle pursued by most people, a lifestyle that has removed us from the land and thrown us onto the concrete and asphalt jungles of our cities and suburbs, has taught us little to nothing about our real relationship with the natural environment and the foods that have sustained us for thousands of years. Instead we live in ignorance in an artificial and unsustainable world of mass produced, sanitized junk food, force fed to us as if by gigantic steam shovels. Or, to change the image, like our cattle, hogs and chickens we are kept at the trough and stuffed to the gills with an ever flowing stream of denatured concoctions of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, sugars and additives until perhaps someday we'll burst. Obesity and chronic disease reign supreme and all our days we will dwell in the house of the overfed and the under nourished.
I applaud editor Karl Weber and the others who contributed to this excellent book and hope it is widely read. And I wish the producers of the documentary a huge audience. Understanding and education come first. We as a society have to know there is a problem, and if this book and accompanying film reach a large number of people, that will be a giant step in the right direction.

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It Overview



Want to learn more information about Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

22% Off Discounts: Special Prices for The Case of the Hooking Bull (Hank the Cowdog) Review

The Case of the Hooking Bull (Hank the Cowdog)

Are you looking to buy The Case of the Hooking Bull (Hank the Cowdog)? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Case of the Hooking Bull (Hank the Cowdog). check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

The Case of the Hooking Bull (Hank the Cowdog) Review

Our family likes to get Hank the Cowdog audiotapes from the library. This one is one of my favorites, probably due to the trouble Little Alfred and Hank get themselves into. My kids (ages 4, 6, 7 and 11) all enjoyed this tape tremendously. (I only gave it 4 stars because it doesn't have great educational or moral value--but it sure is hilarious!)

The Case of the Hooking Bull (Hank the Cowdog) Overview

Unsupervised for the day, Hank the cowdog and his human friends, Little Alfred and Slim Chance, mind the ranch with humorous results.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Want to learn more information about The Case of the Hooking Bull (Hank the Cowdog)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...