Product Description
CHRISTMAS IN REVERSE: A Children's Christian Musical by Kathie Hill and Melody Morris (A Word Music Coral Book 2005) ... Read more

Product Description
Three Vietnamese immigrants are found murdered, and attorney Matthew Hope discovers a situation more complex and explosive than he had ever imagined. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not Among McBain's Best But Mildly Entertaining Nonetheless
Three Vietnamese men are found stabbed and ritualistically mutilated after death in the town of Calusa, Florida--and they share a common history.They were recently arrested and tried for the vicious rape of Jessica Leeds, whose outraged husband, Stephen, swore revenge upon them when they were found not guilty in a court of law.Stephen's wallet is found at the scene of the crime and two witnesses come forward to identify him as the man seen arriving and leaving the scene of the crime.It is, says assistant district attorney Patricia Denning, an open and shut case.

Most famous for his "87th Precinct" novels, author Ed McBain is also the creator of a series of novels commonly known as "The Fairy Tale Books," which draw their titles from loose parallels with children's stories--in this instance the three murdered, eye-gouged victims--and feature defense attorney Matthew Hope.Published in 1990, THREE BLIND MICE is the ninth in the series, and in many respects it is indicative of McBain's stylish prose and way with character.

It is not, however, indicative of McBain's best turn of plot.Although it is never implausible, neither is it--in the best traditions of both mystery and detective novels--realistically inevitable; details tend to overcrowd each other, subplot complications distract from the primary course of events, and although the conclusion is clever enough it lacks any sense of real surprise.Even so, fans of McBain will find it mildly entertaining, as will virtually any reader in seach of a quick read for a rainy afternoon.Mildly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Matthew Nearly Hopeless In Weak Story
What is it about Ed McBain and romance? It can turn him from Mickey Spillane to Maurice Chevalier in a matter of two or three pages. Here we are treated to a pair of romances, one involving Florida defense attorney Matthew Hope and a Vietnamese interpreter, the other involving a private investigator and a woman who works at the Calusa Tax Collector's office. There's also a murder, of three restaurant employees who raped a woman and then beat the rap.

The Matthew Hope books, which seem to have been brought to a close by McBain in 1998 with the release of "The Last Best Hope," was an excursion on the other side of the criminal justice system by McBain, writer of the "87th Precinct" series of police procedurals. It was a detour in tone, in tempo, in setting, and in character, but for some reason, the Hope novels I read never seemed to benefit from this fresh approach. Unlike the "87th Precinct" books he was writing concurrently, McBain seemed to plot these ones by the numbers, with little interest in what made people tick, until it came to a romantic situation. Then his focus would bore in on cute meets, long walks on the beach, and post-coital cuddles of quiet satisfaction. Often he throws in lovers of different ethnic backgrounds, showing what a liberated guy he is and all that. Meanwhile the killer continues to kill and the reader gets frustrated. Love makes the world go round, but it is more likely to make a good mystery go down the drain.

The mystery here, published in 1990, is one of McBain's weakest. It's not terribly clever in its set-up, and an attempt to set up a red herring is transparent. Hope seems unable to see things about his client, the jailed husband of the raped woman awaiting trial for the murders, and those closest to him which any mystery-versed reader will pick up on fast. At one point, when finally confronting the killer, he does so in a stupid, self-exposing way, without backup, despite the fact he knows someone else doing the same thing ended up losing his life.

The romances, picked up suddenly in the middle of the narrative, aren't resolved in any way. About the only thing unique is that one of the romances doesn't wind its way into the bedroom, as the couple want to take things slow for a while. The woman, it turns out, is a virgin, which makes her quite an exotic female in the McBain canon.

But this book is not for McBain virgins, or you may lose interest in reading his other, and for the most part, much better books. Then you really would be losing out on something.

Try it, you will like it.
This is the first McBain book I have ever bothered to read even though I have been aware of McBain for years. I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading the other 12 Matthew Hope novels. Why McBain stopped writing Mathew Hope novels after 1998, I don't know, but it would be nice if he started up again.
Read this one, then enjoy watching the TV movie based on it.

Hope takes on a hopeless case in the sunshine state.
Ed McBain's "Matthew Hope" series is one of the more entertaining and engaging mystery series set in that most murderous of states - Florida!Well, not actually perhaps, but if one reads the vast number of murderous tomes and series set in the sunshine state one might get that impression.Like John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiassen, James Hall, Lawrence Shamus, Dave Barry, Tim Dorsey, and others MacBain makes good usage of his setting.Lead character and protagonist attorney/P.I. Matthew Hope's adventures aren't as madcap and humorous as those of some of the other authors mentioned above, but he is definitely hard boiled and suspenseful.

In this novel Hope is engaged to defend Stephen Leeds, a man accused of murdering three Vietnamese immigrants who have just recently been acquited of raping Leeds' wife Jessie.When the men are found murdered and mutilated shortly after Stephen had publicly threatened to kill them, everyone assumes that he is guilty.Evidence found at the scene seems to clinch the matter, but Hope takes on the case and begins to investigate, along with his assistants.As is usual in a MacBain novel, you learn quite a lot about the various characters along the way, making them and their motives believable.I recommend all of the Matthew Hope series.While this one isn't his best, it is still a good pager turner.Recommended.

Four Stars. ... Read more

Product Description
In this remarkable new novel, Belva Plain creates a brilliant portrayal of a man's descent from idealistic beginnings into a world of dishonesty and greed--and of the two women who love him. Robb MacDaniel, a schoolteacher with noble intentions, comes into a little money, enabling him to go to law school.Upon graduation, he goes to work for a fine, honorable firm, and marries the daughter of the senior partner, leaving behind the hometown girl he had planned to wed. From then on his career brings enormous successes but then takes a shocking turn that changes his life, the life of his family, and reverberates into the next generation.

With the magic of a born storyteller, New York Times bestselling author Belva Plain unfolds the devastating tale of a man whose dreams come true. Fortune's Hand is a novel of temptation, betrayal, and greed--and of the redeeming power of love.
Amazon.com Review
Prolific author Belva Plain turns her discerning attentiononce more to the complexity of the human condition in Fortune. High-powered lawyer Robb McDaniel learns too late that dreamsare more easily lost than won, and that life sometimes takes on acomplexion all of its own, when he pursues and achieves "success," asmeasured by standards not his own or his family's. Along the way, Robbindelibly touches other lives: Lily, his high-school sweetheart andformer fiancée; Ellen, his estranged wife who is in love withanother man; and Julie, his daughter who has grown up before Robbrealized what was happening. For Belva Plain fans, thesometimes-unlikely dialogue fails to detract from the message of alife gone astray. In truth, Plain's painfully literal plot reminds usall to remain vigilant, to continually monitor the progress andprocess of our lives, else we wake one day to find it and ourselvesunrecognizable. --Alison Trinkle ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Quite a good book...
This was a very easy and fast read. It's the story of a small town boy who's life is changed when his parents die in a car crash. He is then given the chance to become a lawyer with his parent's life insurance money, and he takes it.
After graduating college, he gets a job in a prominent law firm and ends up marrying the bosses daughter. They have two children, and over the years he becomes richer and richer.
As the years go by, he becomes more and more richer and finally gets himself into a large debt.

Well, as I said the book was really good. I didn't really like the ending, but I was expecting what had happened for a long time.

Awful
I read Evergreen many years ago (and thoroughly enjoyed it), this was the first Belva Plain book I had picked up since - what a mistake! It was the worst book I have read in a long time.The characters were unlikeable, no worthy traits whatsoever and the character development was very poor.The timeline of the story didn't hold any meaning either -it was set in the 1970's to late 1990's, there was no evidence of this at all, it could have been 1870's with the way Robb expressed himself. Old fashioned, questionable sentiments and POOR story! Don't bother picking this one up!

Tale of an overly-ambitious man
Robb MacDaniel has his life all planned when a tragic accident changes everything.His parents are killed and he inherits enough money to go to law school instead of becoming a teacher as he intended.He puts off his marriage to his high school sweetheart and his entire life takes a different turn.The author makes it very plain (no pun intended) that Robb's pursuit of money and prestige inevitably leads to his downfall.The characters in this book are not as finely drawn or as sympathetic as many in Plain's other books and her message is pretty obviously made, but it's not a bad read.

Loved it
Belva Plain has made another story worthy of being made into a mini series. I can only hope it happens someday! In this one, Robb MacDaniel's life changes when he goes to law school. He leaves behind his home town, as well as, "the girl next door". He marries another generous woman named Ellie. As time goes by, Robb's career bring enormous successes and money is no longer a concern. However, soon money is all that matters. Robb never understands that cash in the bank is not the same as owning as much as possible.

Belva Plain also shows the effects all this has on Ellie, his two children, as well as the the girl he left behind all those years ago. Surprise ending! The thing I love best about Belva Plain's writing is that she can create a wonderful and realistic story, without using all the harsh language so many other authors use. Highly recommended reading!

Boring
I liked the story for the first 50 pages, but after that it kept getting boring. I have read other books by Belva Plain and I have to say that this was the one that I liked the least. Her stories begin to develop a pattern and her style of writing is no longer exciting. I wouldn't suggest reading this book unless there isn't another one within 10 miles. ... Read more

Product Description
Collecting four issues of the fan-favorite Star Trek comic books released by DC Comics in the 1990s, written by Howard Weinstein and Michael Jan Friedman, IDW's Star Trek: Archives, Volume 3: The Gary Seven Collection explores the continued adventures of alien-agent-on-Earth Gary Seven. First seen crossing paths with the crew of the USS Enterprise in the 1968 Star Trek second season episode "Assignment: Earth," Seven is stationed on Earth by his otherworldly overseers to prevent nuclear war. And he's not alone. Along with his secretary Roberta, his "cat" Isis, the Beta 5 computer, and his multi-function Servo, Seven must protect the Earth to insure the creation of the United Federation of Planets. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

They Are BAAACCCKKK!
Star Trek Archives Volume 3: The Gary Seven Collection (v. 3)If you were to ask me what my favorite episode is from Star Trek: TOS series?I would choose the episode with Gary Seven (Robert Stack) in it! That the show didn't make the grade, as a pilot for a spin-off, is disappointing. This book is new adventures with Gary Seven and that is some compensation.

First, let's be honest, the book is a comic book.Expect a comic book. Lots of pictures, balloon dialog, etc.So if you are looking for a regular prose book, then move on!That said: the storys are great! The artwork is great.It is Star Trek, with everything you expect from the franchise! The book, itself, has high production values - such as heavyweight, glossy paper.I love it and if you are a Star Trek Fan;I think you will, also!

Convergence Story published by Titan Books as well
The Convergence story is published by Titan Books in Star Trek: Convergence. I prefer the IDW print. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Sporting News, published by Thomson Gale on December 2, 2005. The length of the article is 453 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Sports talk with ... Ken Howard.(KNOW IT ALL)(Interview)
Author: Sean Deveney
Publication: The Sporting News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 2, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 229Issue: 48Page: 9(1)

Article Type: Interview

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Attorney Victor Carl, the tough-talking star of the best-selling Hostile Witness travels from the streets of Philadelphia to the jungles of Belize to unearth the secrets of a powerful dynasty. Simultaneous.Amazon.com Review
In Bitter Truth (previously published Veritas), William Lashner's hero, Victor Carl (last seen in Hostile Witness), is aPhiladelphia lawyer who loves money as much as justice and hascontacts with people of the mob persuasion. Victor's ancestors includeElmore Leonard and John Grisham. What makes him such an engagingcompanion is how he manages to turn all his character flaws intoassets, as he looks into the murder of a very rich, very social womanand finds that there are all kinds of secret truths buried on thegrounds of an old family mansion called Veritas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

WILLIAM LASHNER'S SECOND
This novel, what ever name you use, is follow up to BITTER TRUTH and it's hero Victor Carl.I will go on to the third book.I loved BITTER TRUTH, I like Veritas.SOO much info to try to absorb.A little too long and too complicated, could have been edited down to a much more reasonable read.Victor Carl is a good character.Start with the first novel.

Too long and too many sidetracks
Though I have much liked other William Lashner books, I didn't much like this book. It took me a long time to get through it - and only then by skimming over goodly bits of it.

For me, the main problem was that there were simply too many characters to keep track of. Maybe it is a guy-thing, but I can't follow relationships among people and families over multiple generations. That's what this book is largely about - for nearly 600 pages.

Fathers, grandfathers, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, brothers, half-brothers, half-sisters, unknown brothers, newly found brothers, murdered sisters, murdered fathers, blah, blah.

Then lots of sidebars where we read old letters and diary entries and whatever else recording the events of yesteryear which held the clues as to the murders happening today. On those pages, it seems like every 400th line holds a clue - who's got patience for that? - so I skipped most of it and went for the recap at the end.

Then as if I wasn't completely confused already, he adds time juxtapositions. From time to time, we are in the actual present with the lead character. Most of the time, we are in the recent past recounting the events leading to the present. And then for other big chunks of time, we are varyingly a few years earlier, many years earlier, and a hundred years earlier.

Basically, I couldn't follow most of it and more or less lost interest.

Bitter Truth
Very upset to learn this is same book previously published under title of Veritas.Don't think author's should change titles to increase book sales of same book.Watch out!

OK, but needs a good editor
I read a lot of hard-boiled detective fiction and legal thrillers and am always looking for new authors. When a friend recommended the Victor Carl series I immediately ordered 3 from Amazon with great anticipation. I found them OK, but not great. They are solidly in the tradition of the flawed hero/detective going down the mean streets, and getting involved in Ross MacDonald-like cases in which the past haunts the present. All that makes them pretty interesting.

However, the books are WAY too long. Lashner's editor needs to cut about 200-300 pages from each one.There's way too much of Carl's interior musings - he's just not than interesting, and interferes seriously with the plot development. To anyone familiar with the genre the actual mystery is very slowly developed and the plot holds few surprises. Some of the characters and subplots are interesting, but by the time you get to the end, the resolution has been so obvious for so long, that I find I have been skimming for about the last third of the book.

Fun to pass some time with when you're out of Crais, Connelly, Child, etc.

This is a retitled work from 1997, then called " Veritas "
reviewers need to recognize this retitling of an older work ... Read more

Product Description
Over 60 Celebrities answer the questions:1. Whose fan club would you consider joining out of sheer admiration for that person?2. Have you ever had the good fortune to meet that person?3. If yes, what happened? If no. what would you say or ask? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Local to National Celebrities Interviewed
This is a great book for anyone who is a fan, but also a real treat for people living in the metro-Detroit area, as a few of the celebrities asked are local TV and radio stars. She wrote to a lot of people over the years and has a great collection of stars' heroes, from Soupy Sales to Les Paul and of course Davy Jones! It's neat to find out who inspired the celebrities to be who they are today.

What a great concept for a book!
Mary Guerra is an authority on fandom as she is a member of a fanclub or two herself. I know this since she belongs to the fanclub I run for Davy Jones, Davy Devotees. Though the concept of fandom is normally perceived as being something the nonfamous possess, Mary spent years contacting various celebrities asking them just who they consider themselves a fan of and what fanclubs they would join if they could! She received personal responses from legends in the field of entertainment like RoseMarie and Phyllis Diller to Les Paul, inventor of the electric guitar, Richard Petty, of racing fame, columnist, Liz Smith and "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe. Shirley Jones, Peter Noone and Mary's personal favorite, Davy Jones of The Monkees, are just a few of the many other highlighted celebrities. If you've been a fan of anyone at anytime, this book gives you an interesting look at who those we admire actually admire. At times the featured celebrities provide laughs and at other times intriguing revelations. Overall this is a fun read with a lot of heart!

A Unique Look Into the Minds of Well-Known Celebrities
This book is fabulous.My husband and I found it to be a quick, entertaining read. We particularly enjoyed the entry from Mike Clark, our favorite radio DJ.It's interesting to see what people celebrities find heroic, and it conveys more of an inside look into their personality as well. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Sensible Sound, published by Sensible Sound on May 1, 1998. The length of the article is 698 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Incoherent (with Ken Kantor, Matt Garfein, and Bob Hopkins). Recorded in 1996, at Kantor's home studio. Engineer: Ken Kantor. 48+ minutes. Anxious Hippy Music 6601.(Review) (sound recording review)
Author: Howard Ferstler
Publication: Sensible Sound (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 1998
Publisher: Sensible Sound
Page: 94

Article Type: Sound Recording Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description

Will Lee, the hero of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Run Before the Wind and Grassroots, has finally established himself at the heart of American government as the respected Senator from his home state of Georgia.

Customer Reviews (82)

Politics Over Shadows the Story
The purpose of popular fiction is to entertain, to ask the reader to step into the story world and suspend belief.
Stuart Woods takes the weakest character from his best seller, CHIEFS (Will Lee) and gives his a run for the White House on a Liberal ticket in THE RUN. The political agenda kills a weak story that has been done over and over into nauseous pap.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Weak
I picked this up hoping for a thriller but ended up slogging through it waiting for something to happen.I have not read any other Stuart Woods Books but I hope the others are better - I don't think I will risk it to find out.The characters are more caricatures with little development.The antagonist is a right-wing militia member (of course) who is out to kill a "moderate" Democrat candidate for President.The motive for this is never explored.The book is overly predictable and not very imaginative.

exciting political thriller
Everyone in the Democratic Party assumes Vice President Joseph Adams will be the nominee to replace the current incumbent.However, Joe does not plan to run as he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.He asks highly regarded Georgia Democratic Senator William Henry Lee IV to make a run for the presidency and he will publicly support him.Though he has some doubts as he fears to be elected he will have to give up much of his ethics, William decides to run.However, the current PROTUS suffers a stroke and Adams as acting president delays his support.

Will's primary run is filled with nastiness even as he and his campaign team take the moral high road.A South Carolina Republican arranges a dirty campaign to insure unelectable Senator Kiel becomes the Democratic nominee.Will's past ignites headlines when his lover from ten years ago movie star Charlene Joiner demands he file a Death Row appeal on behalf of a murderous rapist he once defended; both try to pressure him to acquiesce to their wishes.Even his wife, the Deputy CIA Director's past, intrudes on the run.Finally an assassin who failed to kill him years ago is back for a second attempt.

Though the timing is a bit late as the campaign is over, the reprint of this exciting political thriller remains a fun read even if Will's run for PROTUS goes off the plausibility scale; than again when Obama started he was even further off the scale.Will is an intriguing lead character as he insists on an ethical run though his staff places their values on what that means; while his stereotypical opponents prefer disinformation taking events out of context.Although health enables Will to run was also used in GRASS ROOTS to make him a senator, fans of Stuart Wood's Lee saga will enjoy his presidential campaign.

Harriet Klausner

A review of the abridged audiobook
Ken Howard (most famous for his TV show "The White Shadow") narrates this 6 hour abridgment of a below par political thriller.

Filled with undeveloped story threads that promise something interesting but rarely deliver (the VP has alzheimers, militias are out to assassinate the candidate, the candidate's wife is a bigwig in the CIA, there's dirt on the candidate - all for naught) "The Run" is a great example of a political thriller for people who do not really follow politics. Lots of things won't sit right with folks who watch politics -primaries are still happening in July and August, there is at least one brokered convention (another one is hinted at but it may have been abridged out of my version), the amounts of money spent are tiny, even by year 2000 standards.

Perhaps strangest of all, Bill Clinton is referenced several times throughout this book which purports to be about the year 2000 election. Strangely, Clinton is not the president at the time of the 2000 election, nor had he been removed by impeachment in the story (Woods would have been writing this at the time of Clinton's impeachment). Why not make the election the 2004 or 2008 election? Not a big deal, but it bothered me throughout.

Skip this one. If you want to read a good Stuart Woods thriller, read Chiefs: A Novel (25th Anniversary Edition) or White Cargo.

Lacks total imagination
4 hours of my life I will never get back. I wish I was the type that could stop reading garbage once I start a book because it was quite obvious early on. ... Read more

Product Description
This tale of scandal and courtroom drama involves politics, the media, and shocking secrets that forever changes the lives of the characters. 2 cassettes.Amazon.com Review
The core of Richard North Patterson's legal thrillers is characterization, and Degree of Guilt, the novel that relaunched his career in 1993, features two captivating individuals: Christopher Paget and Mary Carelli.Paget, the upstart hero of Patterson's 1979 Edgar-winning The Lasko Tangent, is nowa sophisticated trial lawyer doing his best to raise a teenage son in SanFrancisco.He's a man to be admired: famous for bringing down thepresident in a financial scandal, he has settled into the comfortable lifeof a successful attorney.His life is transformed, however, when hisformer lover (and mother of his son), Mary Carelli, pays a visit.

The novel begins in a San Francisco hotel room as Mary, now an NBC journalist,surveys the torn landscape of author Mark Ransom's apartment. Ransom is, or was, America's most eminent writer. As she tells the police, Ransom haduncovered new recorded evidence of an affair between a long-dead starletand a now-sainted senator (shades of Marilyn Monroe and JFK).While Ransom and Mary were listening to the tapes, she claims, he tried to rape her andshe killed him in self-defense. Mary turns to Paget to defend her inwhat becomes a complex case of missing and conflicting evidence.Oldemotions are stirred between the two just as Paget begins to doubt Mary'sinnocence.

The suspense of Degree of Guilt is grounded in the twists andturns of the trial at the novel's center, but just as compelling is theemerging history of Mary and Paget, and Paget's struggles to keep hisson out of the media frenzy surrounding his mother's case. As well, Patterson addresses the deeper ethical questions thatface many lawyers as they decide which cases to take and which evidence touse.Capturing archetypal characters and situations, Degree ofGuilt becomes a parable of American law. --Patrick O'Kelley ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

Degree of Guilt
Degree of Guilt is a courtroom drama, written in 1992 when such novels were very popular. In it, a popular television personality is accused of murdering the country's most famous author. She claims she was only defending herself from his attempts at rape however her story doesn't match any of the evidence. She calls upon her ex, the father of her son, to represent her.

The only thing that stood out about this particular tale was the 545 page count. There was a striking similarity in the side plot between the fictional Laura Chase and senator James Colt and Marilyn Monroe and JFK. The big 'shocker' of the story was predictable rather early on. Good book for a very, very long flight or some other situation in which you just need to kill time and not overwork your brain.

Excellent
Degree of Guilt is my first Patterson novel, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. The thing that strikes me most about Degree of Guilt is the intricacy of the plot and the pains that the author went to to make the novel surprising from beginning to end. And maybe more impressive is the way that Patterson writes very realistically from both sides of the case. I can't imagine how hard it would be to write a court scene where you have to present an argument and then have the opposing lawyer pick it apart. It seems to me that it would take an abundance of forethought and patience, and I don't know if I would be able to persevere. But Patterson did, and the result is very enjoyable and extremely satisfying. There were times when I questioned the author's choice of defendants, because the defendant is not someone the reader will like, but there are so many other layers and plot lines, that the fact that you don't necessarily want the defendant to win ceases to matter. If you like court room thrillers or just quality books in general, Degree of Guilt is for you.

bad deal!old worn out book
The book looked like it went to war. Very poor seller. said it was in good condition,I am unable to even hold it. I had to thow it away!! I would not seel this book in a yard sale.I will never buy anything from Amazon again. I was riped off.

Patterson Delivers the Goods with this Legal Thriller
DEGREE OF GUILT was Richard North Patterson's "breakout" novel, written all the way back to 1992.I can see why -- this is a very impressive courtroom thriller.

I'm not a huge fan of Patterson's more recent novels, which seem more interested in politics than good characterization.However, in DEGREE OF GUILT, Patterson does an excellent job fleshing out his characters, and also crafts a highly entertaining, suspenseful plot.While the storyline is rather lurid, somewhat convoluted, and highly unrealistic in spots, it is always riveting to read.

DEGREE OF GUILT centers around the crimes of rape and sexual assault, and it can be a difficult read for those who are uncomfortable with such subjects.A lot of this book deals with sexual politics, but Patterson treats the subject in a largely tasteful manner.Still, be aware that this novel is highly graphic in its descriptions, and is therefore not for everyone.

Overall, DEGREE OF GUILT is a fine effort by Patterson, and is much better than your typical John Grisham or Steve Martini legal thriller.Of the four Patterson novels I have read, this is easily the best one.

Good Characters and Courtroom Drama, but Lots of Explicit Sexual Assault
This book started out extremely well, carried on strongly through the middle and then, though it tailed off significantly in the last section, concluded satisfactorily.Had the final portion been as good as the start and the middle, it would rate five stars.

The strengths here are the development of the main characters and the care of the presentation of the legal machinations.While not at the level of a Scott Turow book in these categories, it is infinitely better in these respects than John Grisham's books or most others in this crowded field.At the same time, the characters' self-examination avoids the brooding length that Turow's characters indulge in, which preserves this book's proper place in the "page turner" realm.

The book unfolds gradually and events are not revealed in chronological order, so there is a steady stream of revelations, and a constant change in the appearance of events (realistic, in this sense, to an actual criminal case) that is highly engaging, until the revelations peter out about two-thirds of the way through.The last portion of the book is less realistic in its courtroom aspects and less interesting in the way it reveals what is going on.Basically, you are just waiting to see what happens.Patterson does skillfully add interest to the book by including thinly veiled, but fictionally altered, versions of real-life people--Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and Jane Fonda to name three.

I do have one significant reservation.The book involves an allegation of rape and, in the litigation of that allegation, discusses a broad array of sexual assaults and sexual abuses of women repeatedly and in detail.Patterson's discussion of them is uniformly "politically correct," which I mean in a good way.He emphasizes the seriousness of sexual assault, the challenges of prosecuting it, presents the detail much the way it would actually be presented in court, and offers no excuses for it.Nonetheless, at various points it crossed my mind thatthe detailed recounting of the sexual abuse was exploitive.While presented in a facially appropriate way, there is a lot of it presented in the book, so much that one suspects it is being used in part on the principle that sex sells--even abusive sex.Whether or not that is the case, I would warn readers, especially female readers: there is a lot of sexual abuse of women in this book--rape, pretend rape, extorted sex.It is certainly not approved of, but it is there, and if reading those words makes you cringe, or you can't read about such conduct abstractly, you probably want to skip this one. ... Read more

Product Description
In the early nineteenth century, in a puritanical New England town, two women fall in love. With no one to guide or support them, Patience and Sarah try to follow their hearts. Defying society and history, they buy a farm and discover they can live together, away from the world that had sought to limit them and their love . . .
... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Great book. I really enjoyed it.
This book is a beautiful romance written in wonderfully evocative prose. It is relatively short and not just easy, but a pleasure to read. I loved the language, I loved the characters and I loved the story. This should definitely be on everyone's reading list.

The Classic and still a great story
I first read this book in 1971 when it was called A Place for Us. I was starving for a portrayal of love between women that was positive and captured the "spiritual" feeling of that experience(as well as its other aspects). This book was it. A friend had it and she didn't want to lend it to me until she read it, so the two of us stayed up from 10 p.m. unti 3 a.m. reading it aloud to each other.

Sure, there's more nuanced work out there now but this is still a wonderfully sweet and well-written story that captures, as far as I'm concerned, the heart of what women loving women is about. I just reread it and am amazed at how it still touches me. It is particularly remarkable that the book was written several years before Stonewall and so well presaged how the Gay Liberation Movement would press for a new understanding of love between women. Thank you, Isabel Miller (Alma Routsong), Daughters of Bilitis, and all who made this possible.

I highly recommend this, particularly for women who feel drawn to women and are in circumstances where you feel unsupported.

Delivered on time, great condition
Like the title says, the book I ordered was delivered very quickly and even though used, was in great condition. I'm very happy with my purchase.

Excellent Read
Great book. For me, very thought-provoking, inspiring and hopeful.
I ended up reading it in one sitting while over seeing exams.
The prose and eloquent wording are fantastic.
Definitely worth the buy.

Loved - Loved - Loved it !!!
This is a terrific novel that should not be missed. Patience and Sarah is a timeless classic so well written you would think the author made a career in writing historic literature.

You actually feel the deep emotion that they have for each other. It's so strong that you sometimes forget the humor that is laced throughout. There are some powerful scenes that reflect the harsh times where women did not have a say in their own affairs.

There is as much depth in one chapter as you will get in entire novels. The writing simply flows and you don't put the book down until you notice the day has gone dark and lunch and dinner time have passed you by. Wonderful characters so rich in details that you wonder about them long after the novel ends.

I couldn't be happier by the author's other books - if you enjoyed Patience and Sarah you will be delighted with Side by Side.

You will not find a better novel to read

From the publisher - Set in the nineteenth century, Isabel Miller's classic lesbian novel traces the relationship between Patience White, an educated painter, and Sarah Dowling, a cross-dressing farmer, whose romantic bond does not sit well with the puritanical New England farming community in which they live. They choose to live together and love each other freely, even though they know of no precedents for their relationship; they must trust their own instincts and see beyond the disdain of their neighbors. Ultimately, they are forced to make life-changing decisions that depend on their courage and their commitment to one another.

First self-published in 1969 in an edition of one thousand copies, the author hand-sold the book on New York street corners; it garnered increasing attention to the point of receiving the American Library Association's first Gay Book Award in 1971. McGraw-Hill's version of the book a year later brought it to mainstream bookstores across the country.

Patience & Sarah is a historical romance whose drama was a touchstone for the burgeoning gay and women's activism of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It celebrates the joys of an uninhibited love between two strong women with a confident defiance that remains relevant today.

A newedition published in 2005 features an appendix of supplementary materials about Patience & Sarah and the author, as well as an introduction by Emma Donoghue, the Irish novelist whose numerous books include the contemporary Dublin novels Stirfry and Hood, the latter of which won the ALA's Gay and Lesbian Book Award in 1995.
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