I just read this book, and it's wonderful! Great characters, sexy dialogue, and hard to put down. I stayed up half the night reading this one. Connie Brockway is my new favorite author!

Ms Brockway returns to top form after the disappointing "The Passionate One". The story is unrelentingly dark and turbulent, with two characters tortured beyond tortured, but they find redemption through their love for each other. Raine and Favor are two people whose lives have been filled with nothing but pain and guilt and loneliness - watching them complete the hollow in each's soul is simply an enchanting experience.

The story is filled with exciting intrigue and the villian Ronald Merrick, Earl of Carr deserves the Loreena Bobbitt's VIP Cut Treatment. The secondary characters shine - Fia, Gunna - these people are as real as Raine and Favor.

Great plot, wonderful love, and an utterly satisfied reader - that's a great combination, right?

I love it when an author creates a hero and heroine who seem absolutely right for each other and in this book Raine and Favor are a perfect match. What makes it even better is that there is NO WAY they should be together. Everything seems to point to them having no future yet still Connie Brockway manages to get them together so it seems like there was no way they COULDN'T NOT be together. A very wonderful book! Now I'm anxiously awaiting Fia's story!

This was a good book but not what I was expecting. The first few pages had me hooked but then I lost my my pace along with the author.Things that seem to make sense melt into a burning candle dripping down a frozen glacier two degrees north of the equator. Now I'm forever Three Doors Down ! Try it if you dare!!

Uh, it was very strange at first, then I couldn't stop reading. My cat is so mad at me. I neglected her for the three hours it took me to read it in one sitting. Great cover.

Read the second edition. The minor errors have been corrected I guess because I found none. The format is funny and fun. An elegant mind. I recommend it.

This is the first of Rankin's Rebus Edinburgh police procedurals I've read, so perhaps I'm simply lacking in backstory, but though this neophyte found Rankin's sharp, astringent dialogue and thoughtfully textured scenes impressive, they eventually add up to not much at all.

Spinning far too many characters to keep straight into multiple unrelated subplots that eventually collide seemingly only because its a mystery and they have to, Rankin seems to have little sense of how to tell a compelling story. And though his dialogue is first rate, Rebus, Clarke, and the multitudinous supporting cast never really come alive as characters, just lively noir cliches relocated to Edinburgh. Surely there should be some kind of moratorium on series detectives drinking and listening to classic rock, on either side of the Atlantic, at this late date.

But perhaps I've merely chanced upon one bad apple in an apparently beloved series. Ranking writes well enough that at some point I'll give Inspector Rebus another try.

Ian Rankin has been my favorite author ever since I discovered a remainder copy of "Strip Jack" at a bookstore four years ago; after reading that I found everything I could that he had written, and I have snapped up each new book. I hate to say I am a little disappointed with this one. The intricacies of the plot and spare, terse writing style are equal to Rankin's previous Inspector Rebus books, as are all the characterizations but for one: John Rebus himself. I couldn't help but feel that DI Rebus got relegated to being an almost secondary character alongside the other detectives, suspects, and criminals peopling the book, and worse yet, he didn't put up much of a fight about it. I've read every Rebus book and if there's one thing the guy doesn't do naturally, it's "subdued." His interrogation of a heart-attack victim near the close of "Set in Darkness" was, I felt, the first time I really recognized him in this book. Also good: the thread involving Rebus's dogged pursuit of an underworld boss who's probably the closest thing to a friend Rebus has. But if you haven't read a John Rebus mystery, I would recommend trying "Knots and Crosses" or "Tooth and Nail" first if you want to see Rebus at his flawed, fascinating and incredibly capable best.

I am a late-blooming Ian Rankin fan. Until being directed to him (by amazon.com) last year I didn't know the pleasure. Rankin, and authors like him (John D. MacDonald, Martin Cruz Smith), are the reason I read. Complex, but very human, well-layered characters that strike a chord inside. I also love mysteries, and all of Rankin's Rebus books are great credits to the genre. "Set in Darkness" is a multiple murder mystery, 'done' to the max. If you like murder mysteries, this book is an excellent choice. If you are fascinated by characters with depth, breadth, and all those nasty human traits, to go with your appetite for mystery, go back to the beginning ("Knots and Crosses") and read them all...it will make "Set in Darkness" all the more satisfying when you get to it.

I felt that Macbeth was the easiest to understand of all Shakespeare plays. I thought this play was based on betrayal, witchcraft, and murder. Though Macbeth committed many murders, I think his wife influenced him greatly. She poisoned the guards so Macbeth could assassinate Duncan. The witches also had a lot of influence on Macbeth. Every time he visited them they would tell him the future, what murders he would commit, and what thrones he would take. I thought that Macbeth should have prepared for Duncan's sons and friends to come back for revenge. Since he was going insane from hearing the voices and seeing the ghosts he was doomed for death. I was rather disappointed in this play compared to all of the other Shakespeare play that I've read. Although this is an exceptional book compared to "Lord of Flies". Macbeth is much more exciting.

This book has to be my favorite. I love shakespeare and have read close to everything except King Lear. And from all my experience in reading shakespeare MACBETH has to be my most favored except for the Taming of the Shrew. How they show Macbeth as a coward at parts and Lady Macbeth stronger is one Libral thing you will not find in old english. This book is perfect for young readers because they can understand it in the Modern English sides so everyone can enjoy the great tales to know and learn.

Yes I know when you think of Shakesperre you think of either Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. However, this is my personal favorite of all his plays. Easier to understand then something like Hamlet yet it has all the plot and intrigue and is the first very dark and scary book I think I ever read. The moral questions that MacBeth and Lady MacBeth have towards themselves are real ones and it only gets better as the book goes on. As MacBeth slowly loses his grip on reality, but ends his life as honorably as he could, I could feel for him even though he was obviously changing into a villain. I think this should be one of the first Shakesperrian plays a person should read since it is not only his best, but also one of his easiest to understand. After reading Romeo and Juliet I didn't think I could get into Shakesperre. MacBeth woke me up from that. A must read classic for everyone.

Coulter rounded out the Bride trilogy in a very good way. If you read the books in order, you have watched Sinjun grow. Now, in The Heiress Bride, she is all grown up and has fallen in love. Take a ride with Coulter on the rollercoaster of dispair and delight that she has created for Sinjun. The bad, along with the good, makes this book a delightful, although emotionally draining, read that I will enjoy for many years to come.

This book was a very pleasant read. I have always loved Sinjun and watched her since the first book. In this book she was nineteen and fell in love with Colin, a Scottish earl. She was so daring that she managed an elopement with him to his castle in Scotland where she found herself an unwanted stepmom of his children she had not known of their existence before. I secretly prayed for her to help her untangle all the problems she faced. Hot love scenes which will set you aflame are here and there throughout the book. I found myself roar with laughter many times as Ms.Coulter is always adept in adding sense of humor to her romances.

Catherine Coulter's The Heiress Bride is a masterpiece on my bookshelf. The general flow of the novel is fast paced though it does slow down enough in spots for readers to catch their breath and their bearings. From the begining of the series you have watched Sinjun grow into her self, while in this hilarious novel, not only is she getting to know herself, but Colin Kincross as well.
Colin Krincross is the an impoverished Scottish earl, who needs an heiress to increase the estates coffers. Throughout this delightful tale they battle for the right to be the "man" of the family. Sinjun with her no-nonsense ways; Colin with his male pride, battle it out to create a delightful romance and slight mystery.
To find out who wears the britches in the family, read the novel. Though, be prepared to laugh, and be a little frustrated with Colin (maybe Douglas and Ryder, too). Enjoy one of Catherine Coulter's finest works!

The little Scottish village of Lochdubh has been discovered. A beautiful and ambitious TV reporter by the name of Crystal French has decided to do a show about the village. The show, supposedly about village life, is really just going to focus on old scandals that certain people thought that they had lived down. The residents are angry and Constable Hamish Macbeth is also upset because he knows that many innocent people will suffer because of the nasty news reporter dragging up hurtful information.

A pretty new town resident, Elspeth Grant has taken more than an interest in Hamish, but he's still moping over his lost love, Priscilla. When a murder takes place, Constable Macbeth pulls himself together to track down the killer. As usual, the Strathbane police authorities advise Hamish to keep out of the murder investigation, but obsessed with his own theories, he stays in the middle of it all. When a second murder occurs, Hamish is committed to finding the killer.

These light, but charming Harmish Macbeth mysteries are always fun to read.

Death descends into the quiet highland village of Lochdubh once again when a muckraking t.v. presenter is found dead in her car just outside of town. It looks like a suicide but police constable Hamish Macbeth thinks differently and sets off to prove otherwise. Nothing comes easy in the highlands, though, and the more he digs into the crime, the more he discovers that many people had motive to murder....

This book is the quintessential Hamish Macbeth: sharp, witty, brooding, and oh-so-unlucky at love. Beaton offers up the most well-rounded Macbeth mystery ever, propelling her quirky (but nicely defined) characters along a briskly paced plot that's as warm as a wee dram o' whiskey.

In her latest Constable Hamish MacBeth tale, Death of a Celebrity, M.C.Beaton has outdone herself! Arguably the best yet of this cozy series, Beaton finally fulfills the potential of the series. In this book, Hamish, himself, has been fleshed-out - flaws-and-all, to the degree that on our next trip to Scotland, I expect to be able to spot his tall, red-haired form patrolling the streets of his cherished Lochdubh and the rugged Highlands, as well! Too, coming from a law enforcement heritage as I do, I recognize MacBeth's bucking of "the brass" as a behavior also resorted to by other bright, young talents who serve on police departments in the US, as well...As one who loves both the British "cozy" and the country of Scotland, itself, I have thoroughly enjoyed ALL of M.C.Beaton's books; THIS one is the very best!

Elizabeth George is spiraling into more and more sex in every book--the mystery swirls around sex, rather than relationships. Sex as a tool, sex as pleasure, sex as revenge, sex as everything.... I think just about every character in the book ended up sleeping with almost every other character in the book. I long for a return to mysteries where the mystery was the focal point.

Other than this, the plot is well thought out, and the writing, as usual, execellent. The people are real, the places are real, and the plot has enough twists and turns so you don't get lost, though you do keep turning pages.

FOR THE SAKE OF ELENA is my introduction to Elizabeth George and her detectives Lynley and Havers. I enjoyed the twists in the plot; as soon as I had made up my mind that a certain character was guilty, a new piece of evidence would be discovered to deflect suspicion. All of the suspects were introduced early enough for the reader to ponder the guilt or innocence of each. I look forward to more of George's work.

~ * ~ This is one of Elizabeth George's better novels. It's utterly absorbing, and the characters will evoke strong reactions- like or dislike, sometimes both! Fans of the winning combination of Inspector Thomas Lynley and Sergeant Barbara Havers will enjoy it, but you don't need to know the detectives to enjoy the story.

~ * ~ Elena, a young college girl at Cambridge, has just been killed. She was deaf. This was more than a "handicap"- it became a battleground for her, between the students who wanted her to become part of the "Deaf"- not trying to "fit in" by reading lips, etc; and her father, who tried to minimize her deafness- asking her to fit in with his life. ~

~ * ~, Elizabeth George is always strong in characterizations. She fills her story with complex characters, each of whom have weaknesses that we can sympathize with, and their own selfish and unpleasant motives. The conflicts between the characters are so well plotted; we are drawn into the story completely.
~ * ~ Unlike most of her mysteries, I started to see the conclusion. Elizabeth George usually blinds us to the obvious. She can weave a web so intricate and subtle, that despite all the clues we encounter, we don't ever "see" the solution until it is too late

. ~ * ~ My personal favorite of the Lynley/Havers series are" A Suitable Vengeance" which focuses on the early history of Lynley, Deborah and Simon; and "Deception on His Mind ", which focuses on Sergeant Barbara Havers, and an investigation which forces her to take a stand.
~ * ~

I'm a died in the wool Sheldon fan. I've read all his books, a few more than once. I like his pacing, a master of the page-turner. And TSSD is no exception. What I missed in this book is narrative drive and some description. It's 90% dialog which after a while sets me off to skipping to get to the end. Like all his books, this one is filled with twists and turns and a rocket ride to the end. So, I'll keep on reading all his books, even if I'm disappointed once in a while.

this is one of the best Sheldon has written. i love Lara Cameron (as i love Kate Blackwell in "Master of the Game" and Tracy Whitney in "If Tomorrow Comes"). Lara showed the many facets of a woman's strengths, and weaknesses. i know that she is fiction and too good to be true, but 'she' is not impossible. one time in my life, her character served as a great inspiration to me.

"The Stars Shine Down" is definitely a five-star!

(i lost the copy i bought, and read, several years ago. so i bought another copy. it's a good book to own.)

The iron butterfly, as the main character is nicknamed, is a brilliant charachter. She is smart and a cut throat business woman. The book is somewhat slow in the beginning but picks up after that and makes you want to continue reading until the end. Once again, Sheldon puts in the suprise ending. I recommend it.

I've seen an episode or two of the television version, starring the ever charming Robert Carlyle, and when BBC America pulled it from their lineup I decided to give the books a try. I think, perhaps, I picked the wrong one to start with, because if they're all this trite I'm flabbergasted as to why people read them.

Hamish is his usual do-goody, city-loathing self and that's about all I can tell you because the plot is a completely scattershot affair. What starts as a murder mystery becomes what could have been an interesting cult-infiltration if the author didn't seem to have ADD and instead arbitrarily abandons both plot threads in favor of one about drug smuggling. Soon the murder is nothing more then an afterthought as Undercover Hamish jets off for a random trip to Amsterdam, with requisite Snow Queen Superior Officer in tow. Thrill to Hamish hanging around a hotel room, Hamish eating at a restaurant and...Hamish going home with a prostitute?

Of course, Snow Queen's icy heart is inevitably melted to reveal a weak, angry girl who, of course, jumps into bed with our hero to prove her gratitude. Just once I'd like to read a mystery novel where the two leads of the opposite sex don't hop in the sack with each other, it happens in real life all the time I'm told. Simply because a man has a pretty smile and a charming brogue doesn't mean a woman has to immediately fall hoplessly in love with him (alright, well *I* would, but that's neither here nor there).

This book is hampered by the fact that there is no real villain. It starts out being the murderer, then flips to the cult leader, then the drug czar, none of whom are the leaste bit threatening or interesting. And Hamish's longtime rival has little to do except get drunk and plot out schemes so vile and unreal I half expected him to start twirling a big black moustache and talking like Edward G. Robinson.

A more accurate title would have been: Death of a Potential Fan

Although our PBS station has not yet aired the Hamish MacBeth TV series, I know it has quite a following in Great Britain. I have begun to wonder whether its success has marred the books. As other reviewers have pointed out, the idea of Macbeth fooling a drugpin into believing he, Macbeth, is a big-time drug dealer is ludicrous-- all the more so since apparently it is Macbeth's sneer that causes this oh-so-convincing transformation. The plot contrivance seems to this reader to be an excuse for a "Macbeth Goes To Amsterdam" TV episode. All the more annoying is the way the initial crime victim becomes virtually forgotten for 2/3 of the book. Why rate it as high as 3 stars ? Well, there is just enough Scottish atmosphere and visits with recurring Lochdubh characters to merit a read for MC Beaton's fans.

I read this series largely for the amusement of reading about Hamish's eccentricities and exploits. They never fail to make me smile, even with mayhem in the background.

For those who are unfamiliar with Hamish, give the series a try. For full enjoyment, you might want to start with the first book: Death of a Gossip, in which the village and characters are introduced.

For those of you who have met Hamish only through the TV series, I don't think that the books are at all like the show. I've noticed some readers are disappointed with the books after seeing the television series...

I won't comment about the entire book because Ms. Klausner did a good job of it. What bothered were inconsistencies in the book. Passages that were obviosuly placed at the wrong place in the book. Some ideas were began but never fully developed and further pursued. At certain points I had to stop and go back and re-read. It is never explained why Melari never met Philip the night she was supposed to do so. Also, Melari never told Robert that Philip had come by while he was away from home. Parts of this were not very clear, although I did enjoy the story. It was not one of those "I hate you" sort of stories between hero and heroine which I absolutely despise. The lead chearacters have disagreements but this "hate" stuff turns me off. This book doesn't.

The ghost was a nice touch to this beautiful romance novel. The dialogue is very detailed. I felt like I really got to know the heroine. And, as another reviewer said, the descriptions of the land are enchanting. While the plot may have a few illogical turns, the book was a good read and fun. I recommend it. I cried at the end for the beauty of the story (and not many books can do this to me). My only complaint, a small one, is that I wish the love scenes, although fairly good, had the same detailed descriptions -- like Stephanie Laurens does. I plan to read all of Ms. Coffman's books. :)

Once again this author captures me with her delightful characters. One thing I like about Elaine Coffman's books is that she isn't afraid to tackle a big story with lots of characters. Her books don't follow the typical "I love you, I hate you" storyline. Her characters grow. The women are always strong but they are also believable. I can't imagine anyone putting this book down before they finish it. Like another reviewer said, "this book made me cry at the end and not many books can do that".