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Abbot, Jeff: A
Kiss Gone Bad
Barzun, Jacques: From
Dawn to Decadence
DeLong, Candice: Special
Agent
Dresser, Mylene: The
Deadwood Beetle
Liss, David: A
Conspiracy of Paper
Semmes, Raphael: Crime
and Punishment in Early Maryland
Rule, Ann: And
Never Let Her Go : Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer
Tanenbaum, Robert
K: Enemy
Within
Vogler, Christopher: The
Writer's Journey |
 A
Conspiracy of Paper : A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
by David Liss. Restored my faith in Edgar,
December 28, 2001. This marvelous book restored my faith in the
judges who award the Edgars. I hated to see this marvelous story
come to an end. Not only is the main character engaging, his
side-kick, Elias the playwright, is terrific and all the characters
are true to life. The life and times of early 18th century London
are well-portrayed. The suspense as Weaver goes about his business
trying to unearth the secret to what happened to his father is well
done. Weaver lives in a time when people in power had just as soon
permanently despose of their enemies, and Weaver takes care of a few
himself. The writing is superb, contrary to the few detractors.
Don't miss this book!
 American
Beauty (The Awards Edition) VHS ~ Kevin Spacey.  A cartoon, December 9,
2001. The best description of this movie is it is a cartoon. Kevin
Spacey seems to be acting with his tongue in cheek. Annette Benning
over-emotes to the point of being laughable; the makeup on her lover
is so ridiculous as to seem to have been for a high school play. As
for the story, Mendez seems to have been making it up as he filmed
it, and when he doesn't know what to do next, he throws in a sex
scene. Most of the sex scenes are okay, that is they stop short of
really grossing you out. I think everyone misread this movie. It
seems to aim to be a satire, but turns out just to be a lame comedy.
You can't really like anyone in the story, certainly neither of the
teen-age girls, who are probably pretty typical, nor any of the
adults. The young drug dealer turns out to be the most likeable, and
he's got problems. (...)
 Enemy
Within by Robert K. Tanenbaum.  Better than a lot of others,
October 27, 2001. This may not be the Butch and Marlene story that
Tanenbaum has written, but mediocre Tanenbaum is better than the
best of John Grisham. Marlene goes on a tangent that is one of the
best parts of this book when she gets filthy rich and cannot get
enough shopping or enough vintage wine. Lucy is her mother's
daughter all the way. Butch is really left more confused than usual,
but manages to cope. If you are not yet a Butch and Marlene fan,
start with the first and read them in order. Wouldn't you love to
see Cher play Marlene in a movie!
 The
Deadwood Beetle by Mylene Dressler.Unbelieably compelling,
absorbing and inventive story, October 24, 2001. I am not a
reader of mainstream novels, but from the moment I opened this book,
I could not put it down. Dressler grabs your heart and mind and
weaves her delicate but tense story in such a manner that you will
find it difficult to find a place to stop without reading it
straight through. Readers of Nicholas Sparks will positively love
this story. Poor old Tristan Martens, a retired entomologist [and
the metaphors about the beetles are just stunning] discovers in an
antique shop in New York his mother's sewing table, but an even more
startling discovery for him is the owner of the shop, the elegant
beautiful Cora who immediately steals his heart. But how to buy the
table, which she tells him is not for sale! So he is torn between
being honest and trying to devise a method of buying the table so
she will think he is doing her a favor. At the same time, he does
not want to say or do anything dishonest, that might destroy his
chance at the distant hope of Cora's love. Buy this book
immediately! Every moment you delay, you are cheating yourself of a
fantastic experience!
 A Kiss Gone Bad
by Jeff Abbott. Rivetting, rocketting murder
mystery, October 20, 2001. When a death rocks the Texas coast
town of Port Leon, beach-bum-turned-Judge Whit Mosley, is summoned
to the yacht where he finds the supposed suicide of a Texas
legislator his brains spilled all over the bunkbed of the fancy
ship. Very little investigation establishes the fact that the guy
was heavy into porn videos, not only making them but starring in
them. Whit defies local pressure and conducts an inquest, and in the
process, drug lords, con artists and power-hungry sharks turn up,
all with a blood-lust. This story goes to a new level for its
author, the award winning Jeff Abbott who has already established an
audience with his stories about Jordan Poteet. This is sure to
garner an Edgar nomination. You'll love the wry humor of this
wonderfully talented author. Excellent plot, unforgettable
characters that are probably still running loose on the Texas beach,
and writing with a power that stirs all the basic emotions.
 Dona
Flor and Her Two Husbands VHS ~ Sonia Braga. What is all the excitement?,
September 16, 2001. I'm only writing this review because a lot of
people seem to think this is such a great movie. I wish now that I
had bought the Sally Fields version. This is very amatuerishly done
in my opinion. It was made nearly 30 years ago, and if you want to
watch an out-of-shape soap opera star run out naked, maybe you will
like it. He wasn't comical, he was just repulsive. Had he been
gorgeous, maybe I would have liked it better. Save your money and
buy the American version.
 Crime
and Punishment in Early Maryland (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf)
by Raphael Semmes. A real find, September 4,
2001. An excellent treatise of life in early Maryland, primarily
during the 17th and 18th century. A terrific book for anyone writing
about that period, novel or non-fiction. Also a real find if your
family came from Maryland and you are looking for genealogical
traces. It is amazing that this book is still available, but it is,
and thank goodness for that! A great book for students of early
criminology in the colonies.
 From
Dawn to Decadence : 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the
Present by Jacques Barzun. Not as good as he thinks he is,
August 27, 2001. Mr. Barzun, has on page 739 attempted to define
novels as opposed to tales. He is neither an editor, nor as near as
I can determine, a writer of novels. Most of his information about
"detective tales" seems to be based on books written in
the 1920s. Do not mistake anything he says as being helpful in the
writing of a modern novel. Novels, like clothing, come and go in
fashion as to their form and content. You may write what he calls a
"tale", i.e., the relating of adventures that take for
granted motives and settings, but if you pursue that course, you
will look long and hard for someone to buy it. The modern reader is
interested in motivations, and wants your characters to explain
themselves to him/her. Actions and dialog without the subtext is
boring, and does nothing to illuminate the human condition for the
reader.
 Dave
VHS ~ Kevin Kline. Don't miss this one, August
26, 2001. If you love politics and political humor, you will roll on
the floor while you watch this terrific movie. Kline is great in
this dual role and the rest of the stars complement the story and
are quite believable. On top of that, you get a couple of good
whacks at the crew on John McLachlin's crazy panel. Helen Thomas and
several other prominent reporters and politicians also toss in their
two cents worth. Well worth watching, you won't regret the time you
spend on it. You may keep asking yourself, has this been done in
real life?
 The
Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by
Christopher Vogler. Basic Bible for Writers,
August 26, 2001. No writer should be without this book. It is the
clue to putting together a good plot that will appeal to all
readers. Vogler uses Joseph Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand
Faces" to explain how our pscyhe's are geared to the mythology
formula based on archetypal characters: the hero/heroine, the shadow
character, the mentor, the trickster, the shape-shifter, the
guardian of the threshhold. Vogler shows how our most popular
stories use these components and points out how movies adapt them to
the silver screen. You don't have to a screenwriter to understand or
use any of these materials.
 And
Never Let Her Go : Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer by Ann
Rule. Great story. Tell us it's not
being repeated today, August 26, 2001. This is truly
well-written story about the tragic story of Anne Marie, a young
woman done in by a powerful political figure. Hopefully, this book
did not serve as a guideline on how to get away with murder for
someone in the headlines today. Anne Rule does her usual bang-up job
giving us all the motivations of the characters involved in this
tragedy. You really understand how they think and feel and how they
were all on a treadmill to disaster.
 Special
Agent : My Life On the Front Lines As Woman in the FBI by
Candice DeLong. Good story, August 26,
2001. DeLong tells a good story, one you will not want to miss if
you are interested in true crime and the FBI. Of course, she isn't
Clarice Starling, but she comes damned close. While her story is not
as exciting as Danny " No Heroes" Coulson, she was a woman
fighting her way through a bunch of politically incorrect
chauvinistic men [which is not to detract from their heroic efforts
in the defense of their country]. Right on, DeLong!
 Strictly
Ballroom VHS ~ Paul Mercurio.You'll like this even if you
don't like Ballroom Dancing, August 19, 2001. Great retelling of
the old, old Romeo and Juliet story. Australian films and actors
just have a real charm about them. There is a lot of magic in this
story, in the filming, and in the actors. Enjoy this!
 All
the Pretty Horses VHS ~ Matt Damon.Amazon was so right, August
19, 2001. Amazon predicted I would rate this movie two and a half
stars. Well, no half star is available, so I can only rate it two. I
wanted to watch this because I hadn't read the book and I knew the
book had garnered important awards. I gave it all the breaks I
could, but I wasn't prepared for the many ways the story developed,
maybe because the transitions were so sudden. What started out as a
cowboy story turned into a romance and then a prison story. Probably
in the book, it was not so disjointed. I cut the actors all the
slack I could, and wonder if much of the best part didn't end up on
the cutting room floor. However, for it to have been any longer
would have bored the tears out of the small group who watched it
with me. Ebert and Roeper gave it two thumbs up. I can't imagine
why. Next time I am going to listen to Amazon predicting my opinion.
2002 Reviews
2003-2004 Reviews
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Note to Readers: As you
read my reviews, look for the "Note from Roger." There
are books powerful enough I find myself reading twice, and
certain passages more than that, when I'm trying to figure out
how the author managed to accomplish such an engrossing read.
Consider the "Note from Roger" my second impression
and an additional few stars of endorsement. If you find my
reviews useful and go to Amazon, I'd very much appreciate it if
you'd click "Yes" on the link that says "Was this
review helpful?" I hope you'll enjoy the books I ranked
5-Stars as much as I did.