Product Description

Customer Reviews (7)

Plum-Ucci's Best So Far
I loved this book. I felt I could relate to the characters well. The twists and turns in the story will keep you reading and not wanting to put it down. Some of the subject matter is a bit mature for younger readers.

The Night My Sister Went Missing
Kurt Carmody is facing normal high school dilemmas; what to do after he graduates, who he really is, who is friends truly are and why. These problems come bubbling to the surface when his sister has mysteriously vanished off the edge of a "haunted" abandoned pier. It seems the whole town is brought in for questioning and no one has any answers.

Kurt's best friend, Drew, tries to be sympathetic and helpful but at what cost. Kurt finally escapes the police station and finds the one person everyone has been neglecting to search for in lieu of finding his sister.

The ghost details of this story seem to distract from the plot. However, if it mysterious or ghost stories that interest you, these details may help get through the timeline.

An enjoyable teen read, but certainly not Plum-Ucci's best
The night Kurt Carmody's sister went missing was like any other island dune party when the parents were out of town.The usual crowd of year-round islanders were on the burned out pier horsing around and tossing back a few beers,Troubled rich kid Stacey Kearny brought a glamorously tiny pistol to the beach, and after it had gone through a dozen hands, the pistol went off, and Casey Carmody was suddenly no longer on the pier.With no splash.

Carol Plum-Ucci's fourth YA novel is set in a single night in the island town of Mystic.Kurt is a hostage at the police station, waiting for his parents to return on the soonest fight out of Los Angeles.The small town detectives haven't mastered their new interview room, so Kurt and his best friend Drew can hear the stories of every kid who makes a statement to the police.A web of island secrets and family tensions unfolds in the late-night interviews.

The story is a decent thriller with shifting, just-out-of-reach villains, but the book pales in comparison to Plum-Ucci's What Happened to Lani Garver.Many of the supporting characters are one-dimensional props used to repeat Plum-Ucci's familiar themes about high school cliques and stereotypes.Our narrator is wrestling with college decisions on that evening at the pier, and the book weakly delivers an epiphany about career choices in the final chapter.

Don't bother
A sloppy re-hash of Plum-Ucci's other books.The (annoying) narrative voice is almost identical to that in The Body of Christopher Creed.The story of a missing teen is a repeat.And all the heavy-handed themes of popularity and cliquishness are also right out of her other, better novels.Not to mention that the narrative device that allows the main character to listen in on police interviews is ridiculous.

An intricate mystery filled with shocking surprises and memorable characters
Kurt Carmody and his sister Casey are at a party on the pier, breaking lots of rules while their parents are out of town. When Casey disappears after a gunshot is heard, Kurt is left to spend the night at the police station, trying to figure out what happened. Everyone thinks they know and are happy to point fingers. Secrets, and much more, are uncovered about the Mystic Marvels, the insulated group that Kurt and Casey hang out with on the island.

No one has discovered a body, so where is Casey? Kurt finds a place to sit and wait at the station, and is able to hear some of the police interviews with other teens from the party. At 17, Kurt had gone to the party having doubts about heading to the Naval Academy. He had argued the night before with his 15-year-old sister about her older boyfriend, Mark Stern. So Kurt was separated from Casey at the pier, busy talking to a geeky kid who seemed to be happy with a set future.

Casey loved pranks. An accomplished diver, she joked lots of times about diving off the pier. So how come no one can find her? Kurt thinks back to the gun that was passed around. It was small enough to be a toy, and no one seems to know whose it was or where it is now.

Several teens think Stacey Kearny is involved. She is a bit of an outsider who has done kind things. But now she is Mark Stern's ex-girlfriend, is rumored to be pregnant, and was heard screaming when Casey disappeared. She is also supposed to have a big crush on Kurt, who grows tired of all the rumors and goes down to help the search.

His Naval Academy sweatshirt washes up, with a clean hole through it, but no blood.He finds Stacey also looking for Casey, who admits she purchased the gun. As each person speaks, Kurt begins to see what no one else can --- that there is more than one victim, and a lot more to Stacey than anyone realizes.

THE NIGHT MY SISTER WENT MISSING has all the suspense and drama of a locked-room mystery. Everyone observed the gun, but no one really saw anything. Carol Plum-Ucci, author of the award-winning THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED, has crafted an intricate mystery filled with shocking surprises and characters whom readers will remember for a long time.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio ... Read more

Product Description
This book has two purposes: firstly that there is now a greater need for liberal adult education for the working classes. Secondly, it discribes and analyses the community based programme for various 'disavantaged' working class groups. ... Read more

Product Description
Sophie and Sam Shattenberg are two Jewish sisters from Queens, New York. Both love knishes and kosher pickles. Both have said "I’m wawkin’ here!" to cab drivers—and meant it. When the unthinkable happens and their father dies, the girls are devastated. Desperate to get away from their greedy stepmother, they withdraw their father’s money from the bank, pick up fake IDs, and hit the road. All is well until their car breaks down outside of Venice, Indiana, a town so isolated that the mechanic tells them, "You could get lost here forever." Which is exactly what they decide to do....

Sam and Sophie arrive in the small town of Venice, decide to stay, and try to blend in. They get jobs, make friends, and practice "talking the talk" instead of "tawking the tawk." Then the most popular girl in town—the queen of the upcoming Rose Festival—disappears. The sisters were the last people to see her and so become prime suspects. Sophie and Sam realize that they’re going to have to find the missing girl themselves if they want to clear their names. Even if their names are fake.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Delightful New Mystery Series for Teens
Seventeen-year-old Samantha (Sam) Shattenberg and her fifteen-year-old sister, Sophie, know exactly what they have to do when their beloved Father passes away, leaving them with his new wife, their evil stepmother. So, the two Queens, New York, natives create new lives for themselves. New identities, personalities, the works, and head to tiny Venice, Indiana. Everything is going fine for the two sisters there. They've met some new friends who couldn't be nicer, they both have steady jobs, and they're living in a quaint little house for not too much rent. But when Noelle McBride, a sixteen-year-old native of Venice, and Sophie's newest enemy, as well as the girl who is a shoe-in for this year's title of Rose Queen, Sam and Sophie are blamed with kidnapping her, and are at risk of their secret being found out. So the two of them decide to become detectives, and solve this little mystery themselves.

M.E. Rabb is a wonderful new voice in teen fiction who will be extremely well-received by male and female teen readers alike. The characters of Sam and Sophie are cute, and funny, as well as quirky and determined. Their contrasting personalities will have readers being able to identify with one or both of them, and their first adventure is sure to hook readers into reading the next books in the series. Overall this was a delightful new mystery, and I look forward to reading more books from the MISSING PERSONS series in the very near future.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Two Thumbs Up!
This book is excellent. I couldn't wait to read it just from skimming the back cover. The book is hip, modern, and suspensful. The book is a 2004 Nancy Drew mystery for young adults. I love the way it's written for it actually has high school/college vocabulary in it. I was highly impressed with the novel. I'm so glad M.E. Rabb has started a series for I can't wait to pick up the second one.

First book in an original new teen series.
Orphaned now that their father is dead, the Shattenberg sisters, 17-year-old Samantha ("Sam") and 15-year-old Sophie know that their stepmother, who hates them, will take all of their father's money. Worse, they find she plans to send Sophie far away to boarding school. They decide to take their father's money, which should rightfully be theirs, and run away. They get new identities, leave their home in Queens, and head for the small town of Venice, Indiana, where they hope to start new lives. It's quite a challenge adjusting to life in a rural Midwestern town after living all their lives in the city. And shortly after they arrive, Noelle, a popular 16-year-old girl from Venice, disappears -- and Sophie and Sam are the prime suspects! Can Sophie and Sam find Noelle before it's too late, and keep their own true identities hidden?

I loved this first book in this new mystery series for teens. The plot was very original for a teen series. I particuarly enjoyed the writing style -- Sophie narrates the story in a witty, chatty voice, adding humor to the story. I highly recommend this new series to teens.

Nancy Drew meet Judy Blume
A sure hit for any pre-teen girl.They'll click off that TV for this cross between Nancy Drew and Judy Blume with a refreshing Jewish-girl-from-Queens flavor.Great pacing, suspense, and dry humor all conspire to make this one a page turner.Even tired 35 year olds who WISH they were 17 will stay up past their bedtime to make sure that Sam and
Sophie are OK in the end.

Wow!
M.E. Rabb is just fabulous!I can't remember the last time I was so excited about a new author.This story is funny and action-packed.I was up half the night finishing it.I can hardly wait to start the next one.Keep them coming! ... Read more

Product Description
After assuming new identities and hitting the road to escape their wicked stepmother, New York City natives Sophie and Sam find themselves calling small-town Venice, Indiana, home. Venice is a far cry from New York&150which isn't always easy for the sisters&150but it's the perfect place for them to settle down and try to blend in. Teaming up with the local private investigator, the two sisters begin working on a series of missing persons cases . . . while at the same time trying to stay missing themselves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Wonderful Addition to the 'Missing Persons' Series
Missing person prodigies, Sam and Sophie Shattenberg have just taken their third case since becoming pint-size detectives. The two girls are investigating a strange ring of pet-nappers plaguing the small town of Venice, Indiana; while at the same time they're trying to track down Jack, the son of their boss, and resident Private Investigator - when he's on the wagon - Gus. However, their investigations into Jack's disappearance are being kept quiet, so as not to upset their boss and get them fired. Soon the two girls get a few leads, and head out to Las Vegas, where they're finding nothing but dead ends, until lady luck shines her light on them.

I adored the first two novels in M.E. Rabb's MISSING PERSONS series, and am surprised to say that THE VENETIAN POLICEMAN lived up to it's predecessor's. Sam and Sophie are as nosy as ever, and each page contains their signature wit. Fans of the two previous books in the series will adore the fact that the girls love lives are beginning to take on a larger part in the story, and the marvelous cliffhanger will have all die-hard fans racing out to purchase the next book in the series, THE UNSUSPECTING GOURMET.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Incredibly enjoyable series
After reading the first and second mysteries in this series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the third, and I am now waiting impatiently for the fourth.These books are really enjoyable, and I especially like the fact that they do not talk down to the teen audience they are directed at.True, I'm not in that teen audience anymore, but that didn't stop me from being thoroughly delighted with these books.I would highly recommend them as gifts for young teen readers.

Excellent third book in the Missing Persons series.
Sophie and Sam, the Shattenberg sisters, are back in their third adventure. This time, they are involved in searching for several pets that have gone missing in their small town of Venice, Indiana. At the same time, they are trying to locate Jack Jenkins, son of Gus Jenkins, the private detective the girls work for. Jack left Venice after his high school graduation three years ago, and hasn't been heard from since. Lately Gus has been depressed, having failed to locate his son after all this time, and Sophie and Sam are determined to help him. But they have few leads. Can they locate Jack, as well as the missing pets?

Fans of the previous books featuring Sophie and Sam won't want to miss this one. I can't wait to read the fourth book in the series, and hope there will be many more. I really like the character's, and Sophie's chatty first-person narrative is really fun to read. I highly recommend this series to teen readers. ... Read more

Product Description
Hannah Grant had volunteered to cover Alan Gregory's practice over the Christmas period, but when he and another colleague called at her office they discovered her body, the cause of death not clear. Then on Christmas Day itself a fourteen-year-old girl is reported missing - eight years to the day after another missing child had been discovered murdered - a girl who had she lived would have been fourteen. Then it emerges that the parents of the latest missing girl had been treated by Alan some years ago, and recently the girl herself had consulted Hannah. Could any of these tangential connections prove to be links to both deaths and the missing girl, or are they mere coincidences? And should Alan break the seal of patient/doctor confidentiality if the few strands of knowledge he has can throw any light on any of these mysteries? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Therapist / patient confidentiality ethics lesson
I listened to the audio book narrated by Dick Hill who is one of my favorites. As usual the naration was superb by Mr. Hill. It almost made this book palatable but the neverending and obsessive preaching about ethics and patient confidentiality was way beyond tiresome. This experience was kind of like listening to an ethics textbook disguised as a mystery. I have enjoyed many of Stephen White's other books and will continue to check them out.

Tiring
I've really loved most of Stephen White's books, but this one was somewhat of a chore.I found the characters less and less likeable, with the strange exception of Bob, the schizoid patient.What I found most tiring, however, was the endless repetition of the sanctity of therapeutic confidences. While I understand the idea was central to the book I felt like I was being smacked over the head with it...over and over and over. After a while I wanted to smack the main character.

DULL

While I have enjoyed most of the books in this series thus far, this installment has me thinking that maybe the best of the Alan Gregory stories are found in books 1-12.

Once again Alan Gregory finds himself involved in a dangerous situation that is revolved around his psychology practice. Like Dr. Gregory says on page 80..."Karma does seem to deliver mayhem to my door with disturbing regularity."No kidding!

When I picked up this book after a long day, I didn't get that sense of urgency to get to the next sentence, paragraph, or page.Mostly, I read to get to the end of the chapter, so I could mark my place, and get a good nights sleep.The pages turned about as fast as they would if I were reading the DSM-IV code book cover to cover.

I can appreciate that Stephen White is himself a psychologist and he writes about what he knows.Up until now, I've found his work interesting and his stories fun, however this latest addition just didn't do it for me.

Babblingand Boring !!!
I read Blinded by Stephen White and liked it.This book however left me wanting from page one!!The characters are uninteresting; and the author introduces new evidence and characters that are dull and have nothing to do with the story.The story itself is so Convoluted that I soon just started reading the dialog, hoping that it would `get better' or finally be worth reading.At the mid-way point I gave that up too!!!And just read the ending, something I have never done before. My advice would be to skip this book it's not worth your time or mine.The `mystery' is less exciting then a cracker jack box prize and makes less logical sense too!!!

Another One I Couldn't Put Down...
Stephen White continues to please with Missing Persons. It starts with a bang when Alan and Diane find a coworker's body in her office and doesn't let up. As the story progresses, more people disappear without a trace. When Diane goes missing in Las Vegas, it is her husband Raoul to the rescue. Maybe that is one reason I like these novels so much. The main character doesn't have to always be the hero. His supporting characters are multi dimensional with lives and feelings of their own.

Onto his next novel, Kill Me! ... Read more

Product Description
Missing Links is the story of four middle class buddies who live outside of Boston and for years have been 1) utterly obsessed with golf and 2) a regular foursome at Ponkaquoque Municipal Course and Deli, not so fondly known as Ponky, the single worst golf course in America. Just adjacent to these municipal links lies the Mayflower Country Club, the most exclusive private course in all of Boston and a major needle in their collective sides. Frustrated by the Mayflower's finely manicured greens and snooty members, three of Ponky's finest and most courageous--Two Down, Dannie, and Stick--set up a bet: $1,000.00 apiece, and the first man to somehow finagle his way on to the Mayflower course takes all. Lying, cheating, and forgery are encouraged, to put it mildly, and with the constant heckling and rare aid of Chunkin' Charlie, Hoover, and Bluto--a few more of Ponky's elite--the games begin.

One of the three will eventually play the Mayflower's course, but their friendships--and everything else--will change as various truths unravel and the old Ponky starts looking like the home they never should have left.

Missing Links is a tremendously funny and fun-spirited novel about the smaller pleasures in life, and the perfect gift for anyone who is even remotely in love with the game of golf.Amazon.com Review
From Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilly comes this spoof ofall things golf and country club. Missing Links recounts the tale of acoterie of golfing friends who ply their hobby at Ponkoquogue Municipal GolfLinks and Deli. An 18-hole garbage dump with hazards that include a concreteriver surrounded by a chain-link fence and the pillars of the elevated trainthat runs through the course, it is reputed to be the worst golf course inAmerica. One day the group inadvertently discovers that all along they'vebeen playing right next door to the Mayflower Club, a true golfing Eden. Therollicking plot includes a bet to see who will be first to sneak in a roundat the Mayflower, as well as the narrator's attempts to reach some sort ofreasonable understanding with his overbearing father. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (106)

Hysterical, Brilliant, and Well-Written
This book is impossible to put down. A great cast of characters graces the text of this hysterical book. Great read.

missing links
Anyone that plays golf needs to read Missing Links to see a picture of yourself and golf friends. It would be the best golf movie ever made!

Greatest golf book ever
One of my favorite books of all time.If you are a golfer and like to laugh, this is the one.Should be on the book shelf of every chop.

Raunchy yet funny
While the book contains some very off-color humor the golf stories, references, and annocdotes are enjoyable.The first couple chapters were hard to get through but I wound up enjoying the book.I don't plan on reading the sequel though - I've had enough 'muni' reading.There are other similar books (The Edict, The best course that never was/the greatest player that never was) worth reading.

Impossible to put down
This is by far one of the funniest books I have ever read.It can be compared to some of David Feherty's books, which are also, exceptionally funny.Even if you do not play golf, you will enjoy Rick Reilly's constantly funny antics that make this novel impossible to put down. ... Read more

Product Description
The Beat is a crime series set in an inner city police station. 15-year-old Hannah Brown is missing, just another teenage runaway. Or is she? Only PC Clare Coppola, working on her first police case, is convinced that this isn't just another routine case. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What a Dull Beat
Th prequel, Avenging Angel, was great! This, however, is as boring as it's front cover.
The story about a teenage runaway is difficult to get through ,for boredom. ... Read more

Product Description
What made the Sopranos finale one of the most-talked-about events in television history?

Why is sudoku so addictive and the iPhone so irresistible?

What do Jackson Pollock and Lance Armstrong have in common with theoretical physicists and Buddhist monks?

Elegance.

In this thought-provoking exploration of why certain events, products, and people capture our attention and imaginations, Matthew E. May examines the elusive element behind so many innovative breakthroughs in fields ranging from physics and marketing to design and popular culture. Combining unusual simplicity and surprising power, elegance is characterized by four key elements—seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability. In a compelling, story-driven narrative that sheds light on the need for elegance in design, engineering, art, urban planning, sports, and work, May offers surprising evidence that what’s “not there” often trumps what is.

In the bestselling tradition of The Tipping Point, Made to Stick, and The Black Swan, In Pursuit of Elegance will change the way you think about the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

This is the worst book ever.
This book is terrible. I only bought it because I was required to for school. It makes no sense.May tries to compare a bunch of things that do not relate to each other by using the word "elegance" out of context. Do not read this unless you have to.

A Must Have for Consumer Products Industry
I have not been able to put this book down. The stories bring to life the insights that make the methodologies so compeling. It will certainly help you "see the forest for the trees" so to speak. I am plan on making this book a permanenet placement in my library, and if you are in the consumer products industry, I suggest you do the same. There is no better way to break through the clutter than by applying the principles of elegance: seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability.

Getting more by saying less
I try discrimination cases to juries. May's insights support a key trial idea: juries decide on emotions, not facts. Give them a few key facts and they will extrapolate what they think occured;give them too many,they shut down.Our job:fight the helpful facts. Useful insight in much of our lives. Excellent discussion of how our mind's bias toward pattern recognition and to action(great for our survival 30,000 years ago), now impedes our ability to function effectively (ie to stop and think, not to plow on and just do). A worthwhile book, weighing in at an elegant 193 pages.

Elegant advice!
Matthew May has given us one of the best business and design books in my experience. He truly delivers an elegant book on what good design and concepts leave missing. His premise is intriguing and thought provoking. I highly recommend this book to anyone responsible for design and strategic thinking no matter whether the result of your effort is process or product. In my book Matthew May is in a top thinkers ranking along with Chip and Dan Heath.

Everyone is likely to take away something different from this book
I have an interest in urban design. The discussion of the Monderman intersection and why it works so well in handling traffic and preventing accidents is worth the price of the book all by itself. (This is a roundabout-style intersection paved with a textured surface, lacking a traffic light.) Since I read this book, I can hardly pass an intersection without thinking how much better it would work as a Monderman intersection, and how easy and cheap the conversion would be. Maybe you're not interested in traffic flow, but May puts in enough off-the-wall examples to get nearly anyone thinking. Recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a thirty-two-year-old Realtor, had three goals: sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she’s about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.
Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent captive in a remote mountain cabin — which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist — is a second narrative recounting the nightmare that follows her escape: her struggle to piece her shattered life back together, the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor, and the disturbing sense that things are far from over.
The truth doesn’t always set you free.
Still Missing is a shocking, visceral, brutal, and beautifully crafted debut novel about surviving the unsurvivable — and living to bear witness.
Amazon.com Review
Product Description
On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.

Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.

Customer Reviews (167)

Couldn't get far...
I couldn't get far in this book for all the profanities.I love a good suspense novel, but this was essentially profanities with a slight story added in.It was excessive and not enjoyable to read.

A psychological thriller
Still Missing is the perfect title for this book, as the author delves into the detailed experience of a woman abducted for over a year. Ms Stevens cleverly uses the the structure of successive therapy sessions, only in the words of the woman, to describe what had happened to her. The scene keeps shifting from the time of the abduction and imprisonment to the woman's inability to get back her old life. As a clinical psychologist, I commend the author's depiction of post-traumatic-stress disorder. It is quite accurate, in that part of the woman's former sense of self gets left at the scene of the trauma.Reading this novel is like looking right into the eyes of a snake about to strike - terrifying. Bravo, Ms. Stevens for a novel that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat!

Disappointed
I was extremely excited to read this book as soon as I started seeing the advance press for it, and purchased it the day it was released.When I finished it, I was extremely disappointed.The protagonist, Annie, lacked any depth or nuance (unless Ms. Stevens was trying to show her as someone under extreme stress and afraid to go deeper into what she was feeling - if so, that's a brilliant strategy, but it missed the mark), and The Freak seemed to be a compilation of characteristics of psychologically scarred individuals gone bad seen in other fiction and media.Their relationship seemed to be built for a movie script, and has been seen before.The ending felt contrived.

All of that being said, the book is a quick read, and the device Ms. Stevens uses to convey the story - using Annie's sessions with her therapist as chapters - was unique and interesting.I am sure I would read another of Ms. Stevens' books - she is a good writer, and has a strong sense of voice - but this didn't live up to the hype.

An Absolute, Can't-put-it-down~!
Loved this story; I cried. Not knowing me, so what, right? Well, not one to take a story in this deeply but this woman prevailed against horrible odds and abuse to finally triumph. Not in the traditional sense, but in whatever terms she could. Please read; wonderful!

Brutally Effective
STILL MISSING is a heavily hyped thriller that consists of three major parts.I found the first two parts very effective, the third part less so.

The first part of STILL MISSING involves the main character, Annie O'Sullivan, being kidnapped and held prisoner by a psychopath.This part of the story is graphic, harrowing, and undeniably suspenseful.I found myself tearing through the pages, anxious to see what would happen next.Without question, this is the best part of the novel, with a great, frightening villain.It's also pretty brutal stuff -- not for the faint-hearted or easily offended.

The second part of STILL MISSING details how O'Sullivan, after escaping the psychopath, tries to recover from the trauma of her imprisonment.Overall, I thought this part was sensitively handled.It's not easy to write about a psychologically damaged character, but author Chevy Stevens does a solid job describing O'Sullivan's efforts to rebuild her life.

The third part of STILL MISSING is more problematic.Essentially, the novel turns into a whodunnit, where O'Sullivan tries to discover the reasons behind her abduction.What follows are a series of plot twists that struck me as cheap and unconvincing -- the kind of lurid, contrived stuff you might find in a James Patterson potboiler.In the end, it's all very readable, but I would have preferred a more realistic and intelligent conclusion.

Still, STILL MISSING is an impressive first effort.This book has gotten a ton of attention, and I can understand why.While I don't consider this a great novel, it's undeniably effecitve.I encourage you to give it a try.

Three and a half stars. ... Read more

Product Description
Sophie and Sam Shattenberg are two Jewish sisters from Queens, New York. Both love knishes and kosher pickles. Both have said "I’m wawkin’ here!" to cab drivers—and meant it. When the unthinkable happens and their father dies, the girls are devastated. Desperate to get away from their greedy stepmother, they withdraw their father’s money from the bank, pick up fake IDs, and hit the road. All is well until their car breaks down outside of Venice, Indiana, a town so isolated that the mechanic tells them, "You could get lost here forever." Which is exactly what they decide to do....

When Sophie starts school, she notices a flyer for a lecture featuring Professor Leo Shattenberg. Could this be their grandfather’s missing cousin, believed to be dead since World War II? At the lecture, Sam and Sophie discover that Professor Shattenberg has a missing person of his own—a childhood sweetheart who, like him, had a love of chocolate. Seeing their chance, the girls offer to help the professor find his missing sweetheart—all the time running their own investigation of him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fantastic Addition to the Series
Summer is over, and real life is starting for the runaway Shattenberg sisters. Sophie has just begun high school, and is finding that the social hierarchy is different in Venice, Indiana, than it was in Queens, New York. While Sam, on the other hand, is doing her best to be a great assistant to private investigator, Gus. When Gus takes on a new case, trying to locate a woman named Ruth Rivka Brauner, whose been missing since 1947, for Professor Leo Shattenberg, Sophie and Sam's interest runs deeper than finding the missing woman. It also makes them wonder if Leo Shattenberg could be their long, lost relative.

I was a huge fan of the first book in THE MISSING PERSONS series, THE ROSE QUEEN, and thought that no future book in this series could compare to that, but I was wrong. THE CHOCOLATE LOVER is a fantastic addition to the series. As usual, we get to view the goings on of everyone's favorite runaway teenagers, while at the same time, we're introduced to some new characters, such as Sophie's new best friend, Mackenzie. Fans of THE ROSE QUEEN will be enthralled with THE CHOCOLATE LOVER and find themselves grappling for the next book in the series. A must have!

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Wonderful second book in the Missing Persons series.
The Shattenberg sisters, Sophie and Sam, are settling into their new lives and new identities in Venice, Indiana, all the while hoping their past won't catch up with them. Sophie has just started at her new high school and Sam has a job working for a local private detective. When they meet Leo Shattenberg, a professor at a local college, they wonder if he might be a long-lost relative. While they try to find out if they are related to Leo, the sisters take on a new missing persons case, searching for Leo's long lost love, Ruth Brauner, who disappeared in 1947, and who may be connected to the theft of Holocaust artwork.

This book was a wonderful continuation of the Missing Persons series. Sophie's chatty narrative adds charm and wit to the book. I highly recommend this series to teen readers, whether they are mystery fans or not.

Loved it!
M.E. Rabb has done it again!Sophie and Sam are such cool characters and the story is so funny and exciting.I have to get the next book asap, because there's nothing else I want to read!

Sophie and Sam Are So Cool!
Sophie is like my best friend - funny, smart, and crazy about nail polish and boys.

I would be scared if I ran away from home, like she did, and didn't know anyone - but she's not scared, she's a heroine! Her new life in the weird mid-west is an adventure. I love Sophie & can't wait for the next book!

sophie and sam - a detective duo unmatched!
I loved the Chocolate Lover by ME Rabb. It had intrigue, history, love connections, and yes - my favorite part: nonsense scrabble!

It is obvious that Sophie and Sam share a unique bond, but one that we can all relate to - especially teenage girls who are trying to find their place in the world. They also bring a sense of humor to every occasion, which we all need.

Bravo to M.E. Rabb for taking the plunge into a world of teenage girls and mastering it with wit & grace. ... Read more

Product Description
THE FIRST BODY IS A MYSTERY.
She’s young. She’s beautiful. And her corpse, laid out in the office of Boston medical examiner Kat Novak, betrays no secrets – except for a matchbook clutched in one stiff hand, seven numbers scrawled inside.

THE NEXT BODY IS A WARNING.
When a second victim is discovered, Kat begins to fear that a serial killer is stalking the streets. The police are sceptical. The mayor won’t listen. And Kat’s chief suspect is one of the town’s most prominent citizens.

THE FINAL BODY . . . MIGHT BE HERS.
With the death toll rising, Kat races to expose a deadly predator who is closer than she ever dreamt. And every move she makes could be her very last. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

A bridge novel in the author's career
I've never read anything by this author, so I was quite excited to be offered a chance to listen to this audiobook. The author clearly states in the introduction that this was her bridge novel as an author between romance and suspense and it shows. It felt unpolished and rough; but there's definitely promise of the writer she became. This is a long book, with too much romance for my taste. For the most part, the characters remain one-dimensional. The narrator does a good job of reading each personality and it was easy to follow character changes with each voice. Although this book never quite fulfilled my expectations, it did peak my interest in the author and I'll definitely be checking out more of her later suspense works.

An early Tess Gerritsen work...3-1/2 stars
Tess Gerritsen, M.D. is best known for her murder-myster, suspense series.She is quite talented and her novels provide solid plots with twists and turns, along with good back story on the main characters that keep the reader/listener engaged.This audioversion of "Girl Missing" represents Ms. Gerritsen's first foray into the murder-mystery, suspense genre, and it shows.It was originally published under the title "Peggy Sue Gets Murdered".It is not as detailed or refined as her later work.

The basic summary of the audiobook revolves around Kat Novak, a medical examiner, Adam Quantrell, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, and growing pile of dead women.Kat, a forceful and sometimes overly blunt woman, embarks on a mission to discover what is killing these women and ends up involved with Adam Quantrell, who naturally becomes her love interest.The rest of the story is fairly straight-forward and predictable, lacking the normal complex of storytelling one is used to from Ms. Gerritsen; it is not one of Ms. Gerritsen's strongest pieces of work.It is clear that she is walking the line between romance and murder-mystery and is torn as to which way to go.The love story moves along as expected, but the beginnings of the murder-mystery writing which has made Ms. Gerritsen shine can be seen in the details and prose when describing the various medical aspects of the case.All in all, it is an o.k., but not terribly creative story.

Audiobook Review:The audiobook was pretty good.I always have difficulty when a reader uses different "voices" because sometimes they end up sounding weird and end up distracting from the story.This audiobook reader (Susan Ericksen) in general did a good job with most of the voices, but a few of her accents/intonations for some characters did not work with me personally(for example, the police chief).I think this is more of a personal preference than a problem with the reader.Also, female readers doing male voices is always tough (as are male readers doing female voices, which often are Hilarious and sound like a drag queen convention).Overall, she was a good narrator.

Keep your expectations reasonable and you will enjoy this audiobook.

**On a side note for fans, Ms. Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles murder-mystery series is now a TV series on TNT called "Rizzoli and Isles"**

3 1/2 stars for Girl Missing
This is an early book by Tess Gerritsen, available according to Amazon only on audio books in the US.The story is a good one for an audio book, just complicated enough for you to remember the characters without a cheat sheet, even if you don't listen for a few days.

Katrina (Kat) Novak is a medical examiner with a few problems.She's consumed by her work, but not totally fulfilled.Bodies start coming into the morgue, untouched, but dead nevertheless.Tox screens are equivocal.There seems to be something there causing the deaths, but it takes a sophisticated lab to test for the drug, since it's something no one has seen before.The first death, that of a pretty young woman, leads to a clue; she's clutching a matchbook with a phone number in it.Calling that number leads Kat on a wild chase with a pharmaceutical company, a distraught parent, and deaths that start piling up.Could the handsome stranger really be responsible for the cruel new drug on the street?And why is she strangely attracted to him?

It's an effective audio book. The narration (by Susan Erisksen) is very good.She manages to capture a black and hispanic accent well enough so that we can keep the characters straight.

Recommended for an interesting book with a plot simple enough to not get confused or lost.

Betwixt and Between
Originally published in the mid-1990s as Peggy Sue Got Murdered, this book is pretty dated as far as style goes. When she wrote Girl Missing, Tess Gerritsen was still leaning in the direction of the romance, but working her way toward the thriller genre. As a result, the book is almost completely about the chemistry building between medical examiner Kat Novak and pharmaceutical CEO Adam Quantrell, with the vehicle carrying the relationship being a search for the as yet unreleased drug that is killing young women in Novak's jurisdiction. The result is tepid romance and a linear (read flat) mystery.

The good news is that Tess Gerritsen definitely improves over the next 15 years! Girl Missing is an interesting step in the evolution of a very good thriller writer. As a stand alone work of fiction, not so interesting.

Possibly for a completionist
I have to say first off that I love Tess Gerritsen's medical mysteries.So I'm really comparing this book against what I know she can do.

The preface by Gerritsen tells us that this is a revisit to a book she'd written when she was sort of transitioning between romance and medical mystery. To be brief, it shows. And she made the right choice in ditching romance as an element--there is almost no chemistry, beyond cliche, between the two protagonists.

The mystery itself is fairly obvious--I won't spoil it but just keep thinking of the one thing that keeps coming up and bingo.You've figured it out.

The cast of characters is fairly cliche--the sheltered fabulously wealthy guy, the sheltered fabulously wealthy jealous bitch 'girlfriend', the fat cop, the corrupt mayor, etc.

Kat, the protagonist, is really hard to like.Possibly this is the narrator's (the audio version I'm referring to) choice to give her a flat, slightly abrasive voice (which is still way better than the insulting Southern accent she gives Sykes for no apparent reason than...he's black? *facepalm*), but I really kept waiting for Kat to say, you know, 'please'.Nope. She barges in and makes demands. And then wonders why she gets no results? Weird, that, huh?She's especially nasty to her ex-husband, which is inexplicable when she turns around and demands of him a favor.Hi. I was super mean to you in public, but do this and do it *now!*?

The climactic scene is unrealistic--she swims for how long? Yet (suspect I will not spoil the story for you by naming) is still able to almost shoot her? Does Gerritsen not realize the range of a pistol is not that big?Especially on a windy night?That really killed the climax for me, honestly, and then we still had a bunch of draggy denouement to wrap up, mainly to shoehorn the 'romance' bits into it.

The medical parts are, as usual, brilliant, and there are some moments of just lucid and beautiful prose, but overall, she's written much, much better. ... Read more

Product Description
After the disappearance of Carrie's mother, Carrie is determined to discover her mother's true fate, despite the seeming indifference of her family, her friends, and the police. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Mystery You Don't Want to Miss
The Missing Person by Sally Pfoutz is a great mystery about a girl named Carrie Hightower.Carrie has a pretty normal life, but her mother was never the best influence on her, and when Carrie was younger, her mother had been a horrible alcoholic.One day Martha, Carries mom, leaves a note saying that she had gone to the movies, but she never returned. At first, everyone seems to care about Martha's disappearance, but as more and more time goes by Carrie's friends and family start to accept that Martha just decided to up and leave her family.It seems like only Carrie thinks that something bad has happened to her mom.Carrie devotes herself to finding out what happened to Martha with the assistance of her neighbor Allen who obviously knows something about the whereabouts of Martha but is to scared to tell anyone.

This book was overall pretty good, but the beginning was a little slow and boring.Towards the end of the book, the plot thinkens and becomes very exciting.I would suggest this book to you if you liked other missing person books like the Face on the Milk Carton.

Missing Without a Trace
The book, Missing Person, is a suspenseful mystery that will keep you at the edge of your seat.
Carrie's mom is never around. She's an alcoholic and Carrie's used to have her coming home late. One day, there was a note left by her mom that said she went to the movies. A couple of days later, Carrie starts to get worried.
Carrie spends several hours looking for her mother. With the clues that are given and the help of her friends, Carrie will try and find her mother.
I liked this book because it's very suspenseful and it describes the feelings of the characters well. Once I picked up the book, I didn't want to put it down until the mystery was solved. ... Read more

Product Description
When her emotionally disturbed mother disappears from their home, Lisa searches for her, alternately aided and annoyed by her cousin Sam. ... Read more

Product Description
Kyoichi--the "Lord of Darkness"--has disappeared, and his friends in the occult Literature Club are doing everything they can to find him. After consulting with a witch, a magician, a crooked priest and a zealous exorcist, his friends conclude that Kyoichi must have been spirited away by the eerily ghostlike girl who posed as his girlfriend. But they are no closer to locating him--until one of them receives a cell phone call from Kyoichi's phone on the other side... ... Read more

Product Description
Kim Hockney has a secret. It's to do with the terrible thing that happened eight years ago-and she's never, ever going to be able to tell anyone. It's bad enough that she lost Judy. Her parents are careful not to say it was her fault, but she knows they can't help thinking it sometimes. They look at her and wonder what her little sister would have been like, if Kim hadn't let her run off that dark afternoon. Judy never came back-but Kim still sees her: in the street in her pink fleece top: on the swings with her shining balloon trailing through the air. It seems as if the family will never get any answers-until the day some new evidence turns up. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Missing Judy
Missing Judy is a tense, gripping thriller as it uncovers the mysterious happpenings of the day Kim's little sister Judy disappears. Although at times it can be hard to get into, it is a thoroughly enjoyable book and captures the reader at times. I have given it three stars, because although I enjoyed it, it is not a book I will remember reading or read again in future. ... Read more

Product Description

Ever since a walk home on a particularly stormy day, Jessica Mastriani has had an ability like no other. She became known worldwide as Lightning Girl—a psychic who could find the location of anyone, dead or alive. Jess finally had no choice but to embrace her newfound talent, and ended up lending her skills to the U.S. government.

Customer Reviews (28)

Disappointing
The first four books were some of my favorite books when I was younger. This book, unfortunately, fell short. I discovered Jenny Carroll (Meg Cabot wrote the first 4 books under that name) before Meg Cabot. It's odd how the same person can write SO differently under two different names; one focusing more on action and plot, the other focusing more on romance. While the first 4 books center around a strong, independent, and funny girl named Jess, this book, which was finally attributed to Meg Cabot, reads like the Princess Diaries. Jess turns in to Mia Thermopolis, spending most of her time whining about a boy. When I first read the description saying Jess had been changed by the war, I was really excited to meet this darker, more mature Jess. I think Meg Cabot had some good ideas but it just work out as it should have. Like another reviewer said, I would just recommend you pretend the 4th was the last one and skip this altogether.

Great buy
The book arrived quickly and was in the conditioned promised. I loved this book and I'm sure you will too!

Wraps Up the Loose Ends
In MISSING YOU, several years have passed since the end of SANCTUARY.Jess is now 19, has helped fight a war and has returned without her "Lightning Girl" powers and with a case of PTSD.She is living in New York with Ruth, Ruth's twin brother Skip, and Jess's brother Mike and spending her days miserable at Julliard.She and her maybe-boyfriend Rob are long broken-up so, when he shows up at her door wanting help locating his missing half-sister, Jess doesn't quite know what to do.

Meg Cabot had a huge task filling in the gaps while still moving the story toward a solid conclusion in a relative short amount of pages.I think, having read the entire series one after another, the jump in time was more jarring than it would've been to someone reading the books as they were initially published. The 'A' plot of the book is definitely the relationship (or lack-of) between Rob and Jess with the 'B' plot of Rob's missing sister tossed in there as an excuse to throw Jess and Rob together.While I definitely enjoyed the story and the closure it provided there were a few things that niggled at me throughout.First off, the whole 'everybody ends up in New York' thing felt contrived.Secondly, Rob may've achieved *too much* over the course of just a few years.I never felt throughout the series that Rob needed to throw money around in order to be good enough for Jess--he was good enough already.Also, I question the logic of breaking into homes to steal evidence as it would surely be inadmissible in court.

I did think the references to the Lifetime TV series based on the books were cute.Cabot did the same in the Princess Diaries books referencing the movies Disney made.I did enjoy how things were settled between Rob and Jess even if it did seem a bit quick (had there been more books in the series, I'm sure it would've been a more natural progression of events).

All in all, it was a good ending to the series that wrapped up the larger loose ends.

A note about the Kindle edition: A-OK.Didn't see a single formatting issue.

great series
Great book.Glad she made the effort to finish this series b/c it is my favorite by her.

Book 2 in Meg Cabots Lightning Girl Series
Review of Meg Cabot's LIGHTNING GIRL Series (1-800- WHERE-R-U)
Meg Cabot's books in the 1-800-Where-R-You series are fantastically fun and must be read in the order they were written . The first book, WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES,sets the conceptfor this series about Jessica who can, after being struck by lightning,locate people in her dreams.Jess sees a picture of a missing child and the next morning when she wakes up she knows exactly where the child is located. This seems pretty cool but this "gift" of being "lightning girl" causes lots of difficulties. Jess and her friend Ruth speak our language and think our thoughts. Each character seems so real. Jess has anger issues and is perpetually in detention for fighting. Jess is plucky and all of her fights were in defense of others.
I don't want to spoil any part of this book or others in the series by revealing anything of the plot. Meg has the ability to bring conflicts of mystery into her story. Jess must battle doubters , the US Governmentwho want to use her to catch criminals,FBI agents and bad guys who want her dead, all the while trying to get a boy she likes to like her. She escapes with the help of her almost boy friend, Rob, in a exciting techno scene and it was obvious a new book was coming..
Try the entire series. I have read them all.
The second book CODE NAME CASSANDRA has Jess trying to hide her abilities to avoid beingused by the FBI and other governmental agencies. While not hiding she becomes a camp counsel for a group of boys (an interesting development that is really funny.)When Jess finds and saves a missing boy she makes an enemy who wants her dead. When a boy goes missing she used deductive reasoning and a sweater to locate him, fight the bad guy and save the day all while foiling her FBI stalkers. Her almost Boy friend, Rob, helped her again.
The third book, "SAFE HOUSEinvolves a murder of a missing high school cheer leader that occurred when Jess was away on vacation. Jess faces hostility because no one is accepting her story that she has lost her abilities to find people by dreaming. She wasn't there to help the missing girl before she was murdered and almost everyone is mad at her. This book introduces a boy who Jess uses to try and make her almost boy friend Rob jealous. Yes, we have a girl with super powers who spends most of her waking hours trying to figure out boys and how to get her almost boy friend to accept her as a girl friend . This book was more of a murder mystery and kept me guessing. It is exciting and, as in each book, Jess is in physical danger and Rob is there to help her again.
The fourth book, SANCTUARY,was really good. I could picture everything as I read it. It was a murder book. Jess gets even more help from her almost boy friend, Rob. As I was reading a part of the book where Jess and Rob were going to sneak into an area to rescue a missing boyI thought it to be pretty fanciful and farfetched. OK, I then thought I am accepting without question the fact that Jess has special powers from her lightning strike and I question a rescue attempt? Jess used all of her wiles in this and didn't rely on any special magic- other than her ability to deliver a solid punch. I like Jess and I have ordered book 5 and I can't wait to read more of the same. I like the way she thinks and views life in high school while at the same time trying to get her almost BF Rob to realize she is perfect for him.
Book Five, MISSING YOU, begins after Jess was out of the country locating bad guys in a war zone for the Government. She had left without saying good bye to Rob because she saw Rob kissing a girl. Jess was drained from her experience and lost her powers for real, or so she thought, until Rob appears asking Jess for help to locate his sister. I won't say anything about the circumstances as they are disclosed with frightening reality. Of course, we are rooting for Jess and Rob to get back together and for Jess to stop being so obstinate- all while Jess is solving a complex mystery.
Jess is a great character. Meg goes into incredible detail chronicling her thoughts and her family life and her pursuit of a boy friend. She is a real girl. She thinks and talks like us and except for her special gifts she could be your best friend, if your best friend solves some problems with her fists. HeHe.
... Read more