Good solid S/F by a great author
931380
Good solid S/F by a great author.  Could not put it down.  Wish it was longer,  Have already pro-ordered the sequel for February 2015 delivery..
3559048
I first found Jim Wright and his excellent writing on Facebook and his website Stonekettle Station. He has an engaging style that pulls you in and is never boring. I look forward to reading the parts by the other authors but am unfamiliar with them.
4664109
Author "Sandford" may stand alone at the top of almost close to literary detective procedurals does not mean his work is uniformly excellent.  Is it possible that two books a year plus running in a limited geographic and perp small scope almost makes some fall-off inevitable.
What is absent here,  as those non-pro reviewers who have not read and re-read  most of his work do not see, is the lack here of that accumulation of small detail,  and more padding and fluff.
Those who know all the work can compare the Del of the Jael book,  and the first Letty story,
the Sloan of the take down in the nuthouse,  or to take another example, the Jenkins and Shrake of the drug kingpin takedown,  or in the ride downstate to arrest "somebody" (it is hard to cite examples without stupidly spoiling a new reader's enjoyment), and it is clear that Weather and Letty have here just dropped in for tiny cameos. Where are the Gov and Neil, Rose Marie Roux, and so many others so superbly sketched out in so few words yet so tellingly true to life.
After 30 full size novels,  author's fans have had numerous mad evil genius serial killers,  hostage takings, some just plain nuts knocking off folks, and pursuits in an extreme cold climate, but always it is the small, often tersely stated, little character details of dress, "presentation of self",motivation of the cops, political elements impinging on the pursuit, and media intrusions.
Good Sanford is great.  But this one, for all it's values,  seems either tired or rushed.
Let's go back to one top notch book every 18 months instead of two a year.  The hardcover and now expensive book biz is not weekly TV, which at least has visual variety masking over thin content.
Strongly suggest those who sort of liked this one should buy the whole set and go thru chronologically. There is a ton of good stuff and some great stuff readily available. And do read em in order of publication and stick with even the sort of not great ones since they do have lots of interest even if not every one is a 99 % tip topper. AMAZON WILL HAPPILY SELL THEM TO YOU.
Zybysko (in response to all the crabby complaints this is not in ALL CAPS).
4393902
This is a good, solid offering from Ms. Campbell. While Tempting the Devil is my personal favorite, I find everything she writes to be well worth the consumption.

In this plot, Ms. Campbell presents a heroine who has escaped cruel treatment at the hands of her family. She's assumed somewhat of an alternate identity, although it's invented off the cuff when she's discovered by the hero, injured and in need of help. Yes, this is familiar to us as readers of romance. What's nice is that it's somehow entertainingly new.

Although I didn't find Ms. Campbell's usual use of powerful characters and plot devices to be as strong in this book, it still manages to be sweet and engaging. I should mention, in using the word "sweet," I don't mean a sweet, clean read. All of Ms. Campbell's love scenes are appropriately graphic in nature so if you, as a reader, value less detailed love scenes, keep that in mind. Still, I never find Ms. Campbell inappropriate or offensive in those scenes; however, I'm hard to offend.

What I did have minor difficulty with was the pace of the charade between the heroine and hero and what seemed to be a slightly rushed dramatic encounter with the heroine's family at the end of the book. I also personally prefer a stronger heroine and, since I'd read this book after reading more than one of Ms. Campbell's offerings that presented strong female leads, I was a tad disappointed. Still, I think the order in which I read her books, back to back (all very standalone), probably affected my opinion in this way. In its own right, this is a solid, entertaining, and well-written read for a rainy afternoon.
4945787
as always a good one by Jance - one of the few authors I buy in advance and read fast
4762545
Good story, good characters, good read, good grief... what else do you need? Grab the whole series, it's worth your reading time
1640658
You can't keep a good girl down, even when she's near a wall. I enjoy this author's books. I found her back a spell and keep her name on my reading list.  I have quite a list, some authors forge to the front of that list without effort.  Recommended, enjoy.
2801419
Great story by a great author. I also enjoyed this author's other book,"How To Kill A Rock Star.". But both are great stories that hold your interest, with well-developed characters.
3715958
This is a favorite from one of my favorite authors. She has s wonderful way of character description. Not beautiful prose but a well thought out storyline
627062
I like this story, I like this author.  I look forward to her new releases and I will continue to look forward to all her stories that she shares with us.  In saying that I do have to say at times she is long winded in her story telling, her spelling and grammar are lacking at parts, but you know I over look all that because the story is worth it to me.  Don't not read it because of a couple of spelling and grammar complaints, just go into it know to expect it. You won't be disappointed, it's a good read.  The character development is top notch, the story is good.  This is a great book in a great series.
658716
I very much enjoy Tigner's books.  This story along with his others are good solid entertainment.  I'll continue to read anything the guy writes. Pushing Brilliance, this book's predecessor is also excellent!  Highly recommended!
3153384
love this author... just need to find a few more books to complete my collection!!  And, looking for great authors writing novels of same period
2873357
I really enjoy this author's books and characters.  The slightly old-style phrasing adds to the authenticity of the books.  Awesome reads!
4164873
Valerie Bowman is a consistent writer, producing enjoyable stories with believable characters, a good flow to the story, and plots that are not too elaborate. This is another solid entry.
 The H Derek is a war hero, given a dukedom for his heroics. He has promised his dying friend to wed a certain lady, Cassandra, who is the best friend of our h Lucy. The problem is that Cassandra is in love with another, Julian, who is almost-betrothed to yet another lady, Cassandra's cousin. Cassandra does not want to wed the Duke because she loves Julian, who is dying of wounds in Belgium, and even though he will never marry her due to his betrothal to Cassandra's cousin.
  So, what is the plot? Cyrano de Bergerac meet Taming of the Shrew. Cassandra is too polite and sweet to tell the Duke her true feelings and to buzz off. Lucy therefore steps into the breach to coach Cassandra how to rebuff the Duke and send him on his way. Even with coaching, Cassandra is no good at being rude, so Lady Lucy steps up her efforts and does more and more to sabotage the Duke's courtship of Cassandra.
  Lucy, while beautiful, is a shrew and a wallflower because of her wicked tongue and appalling manners. (We are given a sort-of explanation for that, but it really does not satisfy.) She prides herself on her wit, which in my opinion is not wit but plain old-fashioned bitterness and rudeness. This was one thing I did not like about the book. There was just no reason for Lucy to be SO rude. But she has many other redeeming qualities, so she is not an unlikable h. The H Derek is a delight.  The 2 love to spar and trade witticisms. And naturally, the sparks fly between them.
  The Duke, however, is an honorable man and still intends to wed Cassandra because he promised. When Lucy learns about the promise and that is why he is so relentlessly pursuing Cassandra, she backs off, and intends to pave the way for his courtship of Cassandra because that appears to be the right thing to do, even though by now, she realizes she cares for Derek.
  Part of the attraction between the H and h is his desire to master her and his intrigue at finding someone who is not intimidated by him,  and her desire to find a man strong enough to stand up to her. They admire each other for their strong personalities, loyalty to friends, and sense of honor. All in all, a very good story.
3110753
As usual, Steve Perry does a fine job.  Excellent plot, well written.  I'd recommend any of his work highly. My only criticism (and it's a small one) would be in the character development of the villain of the piece.  Couldn't quite wrap my head around his going bad in this particular way, but necessary to the plot, so can't really fault it.
Pity I can't find some of his older work in bookstores.
4425570
Over the past few years I have read just about everything this author has written  right from the beginning.  It has been interesting to follow his progress as an author and story teller.  I can frankly tell you that Mr. Cash continues to improve in every aspect of his craft.  The first couple of novels were excellent and they have continued to improve.  This guy can write.

This is yet another ghost story.  I cannot say it is a horror story even though there are some rather fearful moments to be had.  It is not one of those Boo and Scream tales though; no, it is much more thoughtful (although there are plenty of rather uncomfortable moments offered up to the reader), but the story dwell as much on loss and love.  This is a paranormal story with heart.

From a personal point of view it has all the elements I love in stories like this, starting with a very frightening haunted house.  The story had many twists and turns and kept me completely off balance from the first page to the last.  The only parts of the book I did not like was the fact that there are episodes of sadness and I hate reading sad stories.  In this case though it was necessary to tell the story and the sadness most certainly was not gratuitous in anyway...the author was not trying to tug at your heart strings and give you a good cry...he was telling you a tale and the author is a very, very good story teller.

The only problem this, and other books by this author causes, is that my wife keep buying them and I keep grabbing them up and reading them before she gets to them...we are a rather competitive couple and have been going at it for well over 50 years now.
4885581
I like all of this author's work.  This is the 2nd book in the series that I have read and I enjoyed as much as or more than the first.  I like the characters and the setting.  I didn't notice any spelling, grammar, or word usage errors which is something I appreciate.  There was one editing or possibly a formatting error but it didn't cause any issue with understanding.  There is some light, clean romance but it isn't the focus of the story.  All in all, I recommend all of her work as long as you like this genre.