The Lawmaker (Hardcover) Review

After finishing The Lawmaker (gosh it took me a long time--sorry Rick) I was fairly convinced that the author was a former trial attorney...turns out that while he DOES work in law enforcement, being a lawyer wasn't his career...so kudos first off for writing a legal thriller without not actually BEING an attorney. My all-time favorite legal thriller is also NOT written by a former practicing lawyer (The Quiet Game by Greg Iles) so you're in good company as far as I can tell.

B-u-u-u-t The Lawmaker isn't exactly a full-on legal drama, either. It also adds the element of politics, bribery and a few other un-seemly underworld adjectives. Meet Wayne Lott, an attorney who seems to hit the jackpot when an opportunity to run for public office seems to fall right in his lap. As the majority of moral America already knows, politics are not as fancy as one may initially believe them to be. Pure as the driven snow? Hardly. And Mr. Lott discovers this the hard way as he quickly finds himself (literally) stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Now I have personally never had to choose between participating in Blackmail or possibly becoming victim to mob-like individuals bent on encouraging (ie: forcing) you to follow your 'pre-determined' path...but, I'd like to think I'd do the right thing. Does Wayne have what it takes to make the right choice? I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say finding out the answer is all part of the fun that is The Lawmaker. On the back of the book it says the book is a cross between Casino & The Firm, and I gotta say that particular description fits like a glove.

If you're looking for a tension-laced novel that doesn't follow the usual predictable pattern which seems to be a plague within the legal thriller genre these days, give The Lawmaker a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome...I know I was.

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Product Description:
Wayne Lott is a young attorney out to make a name for himself. When a state legislative seat becomes vacant, Wayne jumps at the chance to run for office and enter what he thinks is the glamorous life of politics. But he's in for a deadly surprise.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Good Morning, Darkness [Hardcover] Review

The fundamental theme of this novel is obsession and the price it extracts on all of the characters. The obsession takes human form in the attractive body and movements of Laura Finnegan. Everyone who comes into contact with her, even at a distance, becomes attracted to her like moths to a flame. Her boyfriend, Scott Goodsell, loves her so much he wants to marry her. A nameless Mexican fisherman changes his daily routine so that he can stand outside her home and watch her as she moves around her kitchen. Laura's boss, Mr. Johnson, wants her to the point of committing sexual harassment, something he has done and gotten away with before. Then there is Reggie Brooks, a local police detective but also her martial arts instructor. Laura Finnegan has that rare ability to inspire love and devotion in every man and all are prepared to give up everything they each have for her. Then she vanishes.

The Mexican fisherman finds an arm on a local beach and a few miles away, the matching arm washes ashore in Malibu. Since he hasn't seen Laura in days, he begins to wonder if the arms are hers. He also realizes that he hasn't seen her boyfriend, Scott Goodsell, a man he knows only by the car he drives, a white BMW. Assigned to the case of the found arms, Reggie Brooks begins to wonder as well as Laura hasn't made it to class lately. Mr. Johnson also wonders about her even though he got a letter from her stating that she was quitting her job. While there is no reason to suspect that the found arms and Laura's disappearance are in any way related, the detective and the fisherman believe, for different reasons, they are linked.

Shifting between the boyfriend Scott, to detective Brooks, to the Mexican fisherman, and others, the novel gradually reveals a tale of murder and deceit. A weak storyline of a gangland execution is introduced to provide some complexity to the work and as character development, but is not used to any real effectiveness. Additional story elements of classicism and accounting fraud are used much more effectively used and do enhance the tale, but the primary focus is obsession. Obsession in each character drives the work forward and it is only because of obsession that every single thing happens. The result is a good read that engages the reader from start to finish.
This entire review previously appeared online at OnceWritten.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2005


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Morning Prayer: from the Office of the Dead (Paperback) Review

MORNINGPRAYER, the third book in THE OFFICE OF THE DEADseries written by Brother Bernard Seif, is both an entertaining mystery anda journey into the religious spirit.The main character, Abbot Francis, a neuropsychologist, is a "medicine man" on many levels, and a teacher.Enjoy a trip to Tibet with Abbot Francis and his friends.Take a guided journey and finish refreshed with new insights and understandings.

If learning about world religions and cultures interests you, if an entertaining mystery and an educational read is something you like, then MORNING PRAYER is highly recommended.


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Product Description:
The mystery team is at it again! This time the six good friends travel to the land of mystery and intrigue-Tibet-via Nepal and Bangkok. Having started their journey, but not even out of America yet, they are drawn into a search for an ancient Dorje-a scepter-like object used during Tibetan Buddhist prayer services. The Dorje, however, quickly becomes the least of their challenges.Fertile with information about Asian medicine and spirituality, this book is presented in a light and humorous fashion through the minds and hearts of single, married, male, female, lay, and monastic characters. The great religions of the world are also represented-and a hopeful agnostic familiar to our readers is an integral part of the action as well.Third in the Office of the Dead series, Morning Prayer is a complete monastic murder mystery containing characters which develop out of the first two complete books: Office of the Dead and Vigils. Experience friendship and danger through the psyche of a Christian monk / doctor, along with his friends, as he connects with Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns for some continuing education credits that he will never forget.

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Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon [Box set] (Paperback) Review

When My son was younger these were among his most favorite books.He made sure we saved these so he could pass them on to his little brother to read to him once he is old enough.These are simple chapter books.They range in page count from about 68 to 96 pages I believe so they are relatively quick reads that can be read in a few nights depending upon your child's reading level.This set contains the first four books in the series:

Book #1, DINOSAURS BEFORE DARK

Book #2, THE KNIGHT AT DAWN

Book #3, MUMMIES IN THE MORNING

Book #4, PIRATES PAST NOON

The First, Dinosaurs Before Dawn tells the story of how jack and Annie (the series stars) first find the Magic Tree House and learn how the books can transport them to magical lands and worlds.The first takes them to the Cretaceous period. Through clues and reading the book in hand they learn and discover things about dinosaurs.

In the "Knight at Dawn", jack and Annie are transported back to medieval times.They find a castle and go exploring and find themselves on the run from the castle guards and worry they will never get back to the magic tree house.

"mummies In the Morning" Jack has always been fascinated by and pick up a book that has them traveling back to ancient Egypt.Jack and Annie enter a pyramid and get lost inside.Inside they find the ghost of an Egyptian queen whose been trapped inside the pyramid for ages and Jack and Annie try to set her free.

"Pirates Past Noon"Jack and Annie picture a wonderful beach and are transported to the times of Pirates where they are capture by Captain Bones who is seeking the treasure of Captain Kidd.

These books are geared for kids from the 2nd to the 5th grade I would say.They are entertaining, imaginative reads that help teach kids about history while being fun to read as well.Some have commented that the writing, technically speaking is weak.That may be in some spots but I feel this is mostly intentional as they are writing for 6 - 10 year olds.

These books are really a joy to read and I loved reading them along with my son.I'm glad we saved them!

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Product Description:
Ten years ago, Jack and Annie found a Magic Tree House in the woods and the world of reading was changed forever. Millions of letters later (from children, parents, and teachers around the world!)the exciting and inspiring four books are available together in a keepsake-worthy boxed set. The perfect gift to encourage a struggling new reader or remind old fans of the way they first discovered the magic of books.

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A Morning for Flamingos (Mass Market Paperback) Review

I had just about given up on James Lee Burke.After being stunned with the genius of"Neon Rain," I found most contemporary Dave Robicheaux novels rather gloomy and over-described affairs.Went back to "Black Cherry Blues" his Edgar-winning novel and was disappointed.Now, I feel I've read another gem.I am doubly pleased because from reading and seeing interviews, I think James Lee Burke is one of the most charming authors around.
"A Morning for Flamingos" begins with the death of Dave's partner while transporting two prisoners, Te Beau, a New Iberia boy to whom Dave has certain obligations, and the menacing Jamie Lee Boggs.Dave is left critically wounded and remembers little of the actual escape.The story leads to underworld figures, voodoo, and the sordid, steamy underside of New Orleans.
The pace and brooding menace never let up, and Burke allows no loose ends to annoy the reader.The characterizations are sharp, descriptive, and unforgettable.The solution is elegant and exciting.I liked Dave all over again.

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The Morning Show Murders: A Novel (Hardcover) Review

Reading this book felt, for me, like reading a novelization of a made-for-TV murder mystery circa 1986.In style, tone, and characterization--really everything except the rather persistent pop culture references--Al Roker's "The Morning Show Murders" harkens back to Murder She Wrote, Matlock, Father Dowling, and other classic TV fare: a bit of murder and intrigue, all handled fairly comically, with a large cast of unique personalities in a pretty unrealistic situation.

Who can protest a cast of major and minor characters which includes a celebrity chef, an all-business TV executive, a security guard named after Andy Warhol, a mysterious all-knowing Yoda-like figure in a track suit, an obnoxious restaurant hostess, a lesbian comic book artist, a couple gruff and clueless cops, an ex-terrorist-turned-bestselling-author, and, of course, a faceless and legendary international assassin who leaves drawings behind at murder scenes?Yes, they're all packed in here pretty tightly, and I give this novel four big stars for sheer zany fun, even though, in the end, it's a bit like a cross-country road trip: plenty to see along the way, but nothing really matters much till you reach your destination.Clues, and characters, are introduced and come and go, and in the end, as usual, an amateurish detective finds a single, subtle clue that wraps everything up with a neat little bow.But, you know, I expected nothing less.This would be a great read on the beach or on an airplane.Just don't expect to remember any of it once you close the book.

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White Doves at Morning: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback) Review

The arrival on bookshelves of anything written by James Lee Burke is a reason for celebration in my household-- as well it should be, for the man is arguably the finest living craftsman of eloquent prose in America today.At my own book signings, my oft-repeated line is that I'd read a phone book written by James Lee Burke.
But I have to confess, I hesitated before taking home a copy of WHITE DOVES IN THE MORNING, Burke's most recent release.After all, it features neither Dave Robicheaux nor Billy Bob Holland; it is not a reprinting of what I consider Burke's Golden Age of fiction, the stuff he wrote in the 1960s (which still staggers, with its literary mastery) before disappearing for almost two decades.
WHITE DOVES is, rather, a Civil War novel-- not surprising, in a way, to any reader of Burke's other fiction. His fascination with both combat in general and the Civil War in particular is evident in much of his writing.Nonetheless, for the reader eagerly awaiting the next return of Streak or Billy Bob, the thought of instead plunging into a... historical novel? ...might give pause to even the most ardent James Lee Burke fan.
It shouldn't.Within a half-dozen pages, it is evident that the master is in rare form here. Burke's lyrical, evocative prosequickly sweeps the reader into a story that is impossible to put down.
It helps that much of the setting is familiar ground: Burke's beloved Louisiana bayou country, specifically the New Iberia of 1861 - 65.The smells and sounds of what will, in a century or so, be Dave Robicheaux country, will be immediately recognized by any Burke aficionado-- a timeless land of live oaks, hanging air vines and mosquitoes buzzing in the marshland shadows.
It also helps that many of the character names we've become accustomed to in the Robicheaux chronicles are also present-- this time, as living characters who flesh out the fables and anecdotes and events that later will be passed down to Dave Robicheaux and from him, to we readers. We meet the Negro freeman and slave owner Jubal Labiche, whose skin color will make no difference to the soon-to-be-invading Yankees.We meet brothel owner Carrie LaRose and her brother, the brawling, pirate-minded Jean-Jacques LaRose, both shrewd Cajun entrepreneurs who deal in contraband and live by their own rough code of ethics. We meet Ira Jamison, whose sprawling Angola Plantation will later become Angola State Penitentiary.
And while we do, we realize that we already know their descendants, themselves familiar from the Burke/Robicheaux series: the twin Labiche daughters of another generation, one of whom will be executed for the murder of her molester; the LaRose descendant, elected Louisiana governor only to die in a last effort to save his doomed wife in a pyre that was the LaRose mansion; even the Angola Prison which is so often plays a key dark role in Burke's Robicheaux tales.
It is a masterful device, this intermingling of our recollections from other novels and other storylines, that in less capable hands could have failed miserably. But Burke handles it with ease, even to the point of centering the story on his own ancestor, one Willie Burke.
If there is any flaw in WHITE DOVES IN THE MORNING, it is the distinctly too-abrupt conclusion with which Burke has provided us as an epilogue. Here, in a departure from the seductive rhythms, eloquence and rich characterization which Burke uses elsewhere so well, the author merely ticks off, one by one, a digest of the ultimate fates of the characters. It is a decidedly less-than-satisfactory conclusion for the reader; worse, it does a disservice to the characters in this novel. Burke's skill has turned them into living people about whom we now care, and whom he appears now to casually discard.
And it is in this sole failing that WHITE DOVES IN THE MORNING gives every James Lee Burke fan a reason for optimism.
We want more than Burke's closing has left us-- far more than the brief, tantalizing, much too incomplete information on the balance of these characters, these lives. We want the author to take us back: back to antebellum New Iberia, back to these characters, back to this compelling chronicle of a time and a place that he has drawn so well.
I don't know if WHITE DOVES IN THE MORNING was intended as the first in a new, ongoing series; given the amazing talent that is James Lee Burke, I can only hope so.
Earl Merkel

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