Rabbit Angstrom : The Four Novels : Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit Is Rich, Rabbit at Rest (Everyman's Library)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • "Reduxing Rabbit"
  • When a novel becomes a friend
  • a labor of love...
  • I did it!
  • Writing that constantly amazes
Rabbit Angstrom : The Four Novels : Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit Is Rich, Rabbit at Rest (Everyman's Library)
John Updike
Manufacturer: Everyman's Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0679444599
Release Date: 1995-10-17

Book Description

When we first met him in Rabbit, Run (1960), the book that established John Updike as a major novelist, Harry (Rabbit) Angstrom is playing basketball with some boys in an alley in Pennsylvania during the tail end of the Eisenhower era, reliving for a moment his past as a star high school athlete. Athleticism of a different sort is on display throughout these four magnificent novels—the athleticism of an imagination possessed of the ability to lay bare, with a seemingly effortless animal grace, the enchantments and disenchantments of life.

Updike revisited his hero toward the end of each of the following decades in the second half of this American century; and in each of the subsequent novels, as Rabbit, his wife, Janice, his son, Nelson, and the people around them grow, these characters take on the lineaments of our common existence. In prose that is one of the glories of contemporary literature, Updike has chronicled the frustrations and ambiguous triumphs, the longuers, the loves and frenzies, the betrayals and reconciliations of our era. He has given us our representative American story.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars "Reduxing Rabbit".......2007-07-31

Like other readers I read the Rabbit novels as they were first published. I won't dwell on the story lines and spoil your reading. They are poignant, crisply written stories well worth reading and rereading, with Updike's poetic touch on the narrative and excellent dialogue. I first read the books as sheer entertainment, and indeed these books will entertain you, even as they jog your senses with the saga of their tragic anti-hero. On rereading the novels the entertainment was still there, but I focused on deeper meaning. The Rabbit novels inimitably get you thinking about yourself and whether you learned from mistakes, yours or others. The delight about any novel and these in particular is that you can pause, ponder, rewind, or fast forward if you are bored. I was never bored with these books. And whatever your age, neither will you.

5 out of 5 stars When a novel becomes a friend.......2007-04-23

There is always that sad feeling at the end of a great character-based novel. It's as if you just got to know and love someone and they vanish. This series is spectacular for so many reasons, but I particularly love how well I know Rabbit by now (I'm in the 3rd book), as if he were a friend of many years. Updike does an impressive job of weaving details throughout the entire series that makes the reader understand, and believe.

4 out of 5 stars a labor of love..........2006-08-31

as a primarily non-fiction reader, i was drawn to the rabbit series by the NYT list of top fiction novels of all time.. I decided to give Mr. Updike a try, and lugged around this behemoth of a series!

updike's novels are interesting especially when you consider the historical context of the times in which they were written. for example, his references to sex and overt sexual language were highly controversil at the time of his writing.

Reading the series allows you a seat of the passenger train of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, each which their overriding "isms". An enjoyable read.

4 out of 5 stars I did it!.......2006-01-02

I have to admit it: finishing this 1500 page tome, which consist of the four Harry (Rabbit) Angstrom novels, each longer than the one before it ("Rabbit Run," "Rabbit Redux," "Rabbit is Rich," and "Rabbit at Rest"), gave me a sense of accomplishment. Updike is a truly great writer, but his prose can be ponderous at times, particularly in "Rabbit Run." Some of these characters, including Rabbit himself, can be quite frustrating, especially over the course of four books.

Updike's placement as one of the greatest American writers of the last half of the twentieth century, stems from, I believe, his descriptive abilities, whether it be describing the flora in a garden, typical patter on a golf course, sexual scenes, or an angioplasty procedure. The books are spaced ten years apart in time, and Updike does a nice job setting each in the context of its time, although I'm not so sure these novels work as a "time capsule" in that the characters are only peripherally involved in, or concerned with, the seminal events of those eras. Most of the characters don't really change all that much, with the notable exception of Janice, Rabbit's wife, whose character blossoms with each consecutive book. Rabbit, himself, always remains sex and death obsessed, understandably more of the latter as he grows older. He does grow on the reader, though, even after making one poor choice after another. In "Rabbit at Rest," we finally see Rabbit have a relationship based on pure love: that with his grand-daughter Judy.

If you're interested, I reviewed each book separately on this web-site, giving "Rabbit Run" three stars, and the other three books four stars. I believe that consolidating all four into a single volume was worthwhile, since there are so many references to past incidents of which which the reader would not be aware, unless s/he has read the prior Rabbit novel(s). Based on the events that are recalled, sometimes it seemed as if Rabbit has spent his life in a cave, only to emerge every ten years for a few months to experience some traumatic event chronicled in the four books that comprise this series.

Updike's introduction is very interesting, in that he's surprisingly revealing about his sources and inspiration. He even provides self-critique and analysis, which is quite rare amongst authors of this caliber.

5 out of 5 stars Writing that constantly amazes.......2005-07-08

I am new to Updike, just finished the 4 Rabbit novels. I was astonished at the writing in these books. The ability to describe common scenes of ordinary life, the continual observations that ring true and make you nod your head while reading put John Updike above any other author I've read.

In my opinion, the best of the Rabbit novels are the first and last. Rabbit Redux was a letdown and the story was not very believable. A couple of things worth mentioning - these novels have a lot of profanity and a lot of explicit, even kinky sex scenes - adultery, swinging, it's all there. Some folks may be offended, despite the great writing.

One thing that took some getting used to - the author often makes very interesting, profound, humorous comments where it's not easily identifiable as coming from the author/narrator or the character. These observations/asides are what really makes the books so terrific. Rabbit himself is a pretty dull guy and it's Updike's genius that makes his story so compelling. There's a line toward the end of the last book that seems to sum up Rabbit as a man. This comment is obviously from the narrator: The smell of good advice always makes Rabbit want to run the other way.

Rabbit at Rest
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • It does not end with 'They all lived happily ever after'
  • The end of a great series
  • Shallow Harry
  • Brilliant -- But Not Always Enjoyable
  • Rabbit's escape act winds down
Rabbit at Rest
John Updike
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0449911942
Release Date: 1996-08-27

Amazon.com

It's 1989, and Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom feels anything but restful. In fact he's frozen, incapacitated by his fear of death--and in the final year of the Reagan era, he's right to be afraid. His 55-year-old body, swollen with beer and munchies and racked with chest pains, wears its bulk "like a set of blankets the decades have brought one by one." He suspects that his son Nelson, who's recently taken over the family car dealership, is embezzling money to support a cocaine habit.

Indeed, from Rabbit's vantage point--which alternates between a winter condo in Florida and the ancestral digs in Pennsylvania, not to mention a detour to an intensive care unit--decay is overtaking the entire world. The budget deficit is destroying America, his accountant is dying of AIDS, and a terrorist bomb has just destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 above Lockerbie, Scotland. This last incident, with its rapid transit from life to death, hits Rabbit particularly hard:

Imagine sitting there in your seat being lulled by the hum of the big Rolls-Royce engines and the stewardesses bring the clinking drinks caddy... and then with a roar and giant ripping noise and scattered screams this whole cozy world dropping away and nothing under you but black space and your chest squeezed by the terrible unbreathable cold, that cold you can scarcely believe is there but that you sometimes actually feel still packed into the suitcases, stored in the unpressurized hold, when you unpack your clothes, the dirty underwear and beach towels with the merciless chill of death from outer space still in them.
Marching through the decades, John Updike's first three Rabbit novels--Rabbit, Run (1960), Rabbit Redux (1971), and Rabbit Is Rich (1981)--dissect middle-class America in all its dysfunctional glory. Rabbit at Rest (1990), the final installment and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, continues this brilliant dissection. Yet it also develops Rabbit's character more fully as he grapples with an uncertain future and the consequences of his past. At one point, for example, he's taken his granddaughter Judy for a sailing expedition when his first heart attack strikes. Rabbit gamely navigates the tiny craft to shore--and then, lying on the beach, feels a paradoxical relief at having both saved his beloved Judy and meeting his own death. (He doesn't, not yet.) Meanwhile, this all-American dad feels responsible for his son's full-blown drug addiction but incapable of helping him. (Ironically, it's Rabbit's wife Janice, the "poor dumb mutt," who marches Nelson into rehab.)

His misplaced sense of responsibility--plus his crude sexual urges and racial slurs--can make Rabbit seems less than lovable. Still, there's something utterly heroic about his character. When the end comes, after all, it's the Angstrom family that refuses to accept the reality of Rabbit's mortality. Only Updike's irreplaceable mouthpiece rises to the occasion, delivering a stoical, one-word valediction: "Enough." --Rob McDonald

Book Description

In John Updike's fourth and final novel about ex-basketball player Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, the hero has acquired heart trouble, a Florida condo, and a second grandchild. His son, Nelson, is behaving erratically; his daughter-in-law, Pru, is sending out mixed signals; and his wife, Janice, decides in mid-life to become a working girl. As, though the winter, spring, and summer of 1989, Reagan's debt-ridden, AIDS-plagued America yields to that of George Bush, Rabbit explores the bleak terrain of late middle age, looking for reasons to live.

Download Description

Rabbit at Rest is the fourth of five John Updike Rabbit novels, all of which focus on their central character Harry Angstrom. In Rabbit at Rest, Harry Angstrom has acquired heart trouble, a Florida condo, and a second grandchild. His son, Nelson, is behaving erratically; his daughter-in-law, Pru, is sending out mixed signals; and his wife, Janice, decides in mid-life to become a working girl. As, though the winter, spring, and summer of 1989, Reagan's debt-ridden, AIDS-plagued America yields to that of George Bush, Rabbit explores the bleak terrain of late middle age, looking for reasons to live.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars It does not end with 'They all lived happily ever after'.......2007-09-23

I suppose I am a sentimental soul. But I wanted a different kind of ending, one in which everything is brought together and in which the hero looks back at his life with a sense of satisfaction- leaving us the wisdom of what he has learned in it.
But what I want is irrelevant to what Updike provides.
Instead of Harry Angstrom being in some way set in life as a semi- retired fifty- five year old we see him a snowbird still unable to make a real peace with his wife Janice. We witness his going towards death in graphic description of his two - heart- attacks. We feel his disappointment at his son's Nelson going off the rails with his coke habit- ruining the family business in the process. We see then something of the same kind of 'screwed-up-ness' that has characterized Harry's life throughout. We also get as with Updike usually exact descriptions of time, place, the American world as a liberal might read it towards the end of the Reagan years. America seems to be falling apart with Harry.
There are moments of grace as when Harry having his first attack while sailing manages to get his granddaughter safely back to shore. And if anyone wishes to know what a heart- attack feels like this work might really be of help. But somehow the whole sense of Harry's not having grown into a larger character than he was at the outset disturbs. Perhaps Updike is too exact here, too realistic, too mercilessly accurate. But I would have liked to see Harry become something more like Updike himself a hero who has grown with the years , and leaves the world much wiser than when he first became conscious he was in it.

5 out of 5 stars The end of a great series.......2007-04-25

The fourth and last of the Rabbit novels. Still another ten years have gone by, and the happiness that Harry felt throughout most of the previous volume now means that the piper must be paid - and Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom pays with his health: the old ticker is about ready to give out. The Toyota dealership that has brought him wealth and good times is about to be lost, thanks to his son Nelson's embezzling the company to pay for his drug addiction; only his wife Janice's financing scheme saves the agency. Much in this novel parallels things in the first in the series (RABBIT, RUN), thus giving the series a circular format with all the loose ends tied up. Harry runs away again, twice, in fact, this time making it all the way to Florida as he'd hoped to do in the first book. This time he makes it only to die after playing in a pick-up basketball game, Harry's sport that made him a hero in high school. Harry's last words to his troubled and troublesome son, spoken only in his mind as he drifts in and out of consciousness are, "Maybe. Enough." The Rabbit tetralogy is a major contribution in modern American literature. I'm convinced that a hundred years from now anyone wanting to learn what middle-class life was like during the last half of the 20th century will do no better than read John Updike's four Rabbit novels for the answer. A truly amazing accomplishment.

5 out of 5 stars Shallow Harry.......2006-11-23

So you want to know how others see us? Why the rest of the world thinks we're ready for the pickin'? Have we passed our prime---- hey, when did the lights go out on that shinning city on the hill-----why are all our cars foreign? Like some space-age implant that can read your thoughts, John Updike chronicles the minute by minute thoughts of an ordinary, 56 year old white American man living in small town USA in 1989. To the extent that his character is representative---you talkin' to me--- these musings go a long way to explain the American condition. It's not a pretty picture. Fortunately, it is one that is constantly changing.
The Harry of 1989 is not someone you'll like; but he is someone you'll recognize. He is a TV watching, sports talking, women abusing, fast food eating, scene stealing, over-the hill, over-weight, foul mouthed, ex-high-school-jock, who plays golf because he can't play tennis, can't run, thinks Frank Sinatra can't sing, and most children, especially his, are more or less disposable. Harry's rueful meanderings may sometimes skew but never derail an amazing investigation as it negotiates a dizzying web of issues with subtlety and polish, not to mention prescience. This is John Updike at his very best. His sense of the ridiculous ---recommended equipment for any serious seer----co-exits with the certitude that however you may view the world today, time marches on, people die, babies are born, perspectives change.

5 out of 5 stars Brilliant -- But Not Always Enjoyable.......2006-10-29

As a woman a couple of generations younger than Updike, Roth, et al, I've always avoided the Big Boys, assuming (with some paranoia) that they intended to exclude me from their audience. Having recently been astonished by Roth's Everyman, I decided to give Updike a try, and started with the last novel in his famous quartet.

There is no denying that this is a brilliant novel. Updike places his reader squarely in the head of Rabbit Angstrom, and there is not a single false note in the book. And the clarity of the prose is breathtaking -- you get the sense that every word was perfectly chosen to communicate precisely what Updike wanted to communicate.

But, for this reader at least, the first 300 pages or so often filled me with an uncomfortable icky-ness. I could understand Rabbit, but I didn't identify with him. In fact, the character I identified most with was his ten year old granddaughter. Rabbit's causal references to his wife-swapping in the Carribean thirty years ago, or to the tingle in his a--hole caused by his heart medication, made me squirm. I just didn't want to know that much about Dear Old Dad, or Grandpa, or whatever.

The last 100 pages, however, were so luminous, so pure, that the squirmy-icky feeling fell away, and the distance I felt from the character receeded. I suddenly understood all of those facile book jacket accollades -- "Crowning Achievement" and "Great American Novel" and the rest. I'd been converted, despite all my resistance.

There are some other things about the book that are simply amazing. The book was set in 1989 and published in 1990, and Updike captures that time with unbelievable precision. Throughout the book, however, I had a strong feeling that Updike was foreshadowing 9/11 -- it's almost as if Rabbit could see it coming. In fact, if this book had been written after 9/11 instead of twelve years before, I almost would have found the foreshadowing a little too heavy handed. I'd love to ask Updike about that -- or, more precisely, I'd love to listen in on someone else's conversation with Updike on that subject, because, quite frankly, in his brilliance and judgmentalism and dismissiveness toward women, he still scares me.

5 out of 5 stars Rabbit's escape act winds down.......2006-04-30

Harry Angstrom, known as Rabbit, has basically slid through life ignoring or avoiding the consequences of his appetites, mostly for food, drink, and women. Though married for thirty-three years to Janice and a parent, Rabbit has never invested much effort or time in his family. He, like a lot of athletic stars, has the mentality that any difficulties that he has created or encounters can be reversed at the last minute.

But now at age fifty-five, in semi-retirement in a Florida condo, Rabbit, is forced to confront his whiney son Nelson, who, though now the manager, seems to be stealing from the family car dealership, and his own overweight condition and heart problems. The visit by Nelson, his wife Pru, and their kids from PA quickly turns acrimonious and, worse, triggers a heart event in Harry as he is sailing with his young granddaughter in the Gulf. The scene shifts back to PA, where life continues on a path that is more disquieting, even frightening, than Harry is used to, including an ill-advised dalliance with Pru.

Updike turns up his powers of observation in this book concerning all manner of detail concerning scenery, places, history, thoughts, etc. Rabbit has finally become reflective, as he reminisces about past affairs and changes in his life, though he still cannot come to grips with his dislike of his son. The pace of the book can be slow with long descriptions of an outing to Florida amusements, medical procedures, drives through the old neighborhoods where Harry grew up, or his drive to Florida in one of his last acts of escape. But the richness of description is ample compensation.

Harry can be annoying in his indulgences and indiscretions, yet for all of his shortcomings, he is an appealing character, relying on his good nature, geniality, and physicality. Fifty-five seems early to have a life's accounting, especially for someone who seemed so above normal limitations, but then again maybe he wasn't. It certainly was a pleasure to know Harry through the years.
Rest, Rabbit, Rest (Sweet Pickles Series)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Rest, Rabbit, Rest (Sweet Pickles Series)
    Jacquelyn Reinach , and Richard Hefter
    Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    John Updike's Rabbit at Rest: Appropriating History (Modern American Literature, Vol. 18.)
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      John Updike's Rabbit at Rest: Appropriating History (Modern American Literature, Vol. 18.)
      Dilvo I. Ristoff
      Manufacturer: Peter Lang Publishing
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

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      ASIN: 0820439908
      Lot three (3 books) by John Updike, The Centaur, Rabbit,Run, Rabbit at Rest
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Lot three (3 books) by John Updike, The Centaur, Rabbit,Run, Rabbit at Rest
        John Updike
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback
        ASIN: B000MFHLI2
        Rabbit At Rest
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Rabbit At Rest
          John Updike
          Manufacturer: FRANKLIN LIBRARY
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover
          ASIN: B000OKJU16
          Rabbit At Rest
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Rabbit At Rest

            Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback
            ASIN: B000HMQGN6
            Rabbit At Rest
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Rabbit At Rest
              John Updike
              Manufacturer: Penguin Putnam~trade
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback
              ASIN: B000OIZW9W
              Rabbit At Rest
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                Rabbit At Rest
                John Updike
                Manufacturer: ALFRED A KNOPF
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Paperback
                ASIN: B000VY1B0S
                Rabbit at Rest
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  Rabbit at Rest
                  John Updike
                  Manufacturer: Andre Deutsch
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                  Binding: Hardcover
                  ASIN: B000SQUFTC

                  Suspicion of Guilt
                  Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
                  • OK for a follow up but could be better
                  • Was the will really a forgery? Gail digs to find out.
                  • Good plotting, but I wished I liked the characters better
                  • It wasn't great but...
                  • Greed, Murder, Politics And The Beautiful People In Miami!
                  Suspicion of Guilt
                  Barbara Parker
                  Manufacturer: Signet
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                  ASIN: 0451177037

                  Customer Reviews:

                  4 out of 5 stars OK for a follow up but could be better.......2006-11-27

                  The original book in the Gail Connor/Anthony Quintana series, "Suspicion of Innocence" was excellent. This second book in the series is OK, but the characters are becoming rather more stereotyped.

                  Some months have passed since the end of the first book, and although in that book it appeared that Gail Connor was starting her own law firm, that hasn't happened yet. Her relationship with the gorgeous Anthony Quintana is also somewhat more distant than we might have expected.

                  This book is about Gail defending an old flame who is contesting a Will. Much of the plot is about society links and internal machinations within her law firm. Anthony Quintana features occasionally as a rather annoying macho "saving the day" kind of guy who tells Gail what to do (she then does the opposite). I found this book a little unsatisfactory as I felt the characters had not really moved on from the first book, they'd regressed. If you want to know how NOT to carry on a relationship with a gorgeous rich man and with your daughter, read what Gail does. She also continues to display her rather dense nature (the reader is well aware she's wandering into trouble long before she is) and it sometimes makes you wonder how she got into such a high-powered job.

                  The plot is OK although a little complicated at times, and the end is perhaps a little weak, but overall it's a good book. If I had read it first I would have been less inspired to read the others in the series - it's definitely important to start with Suspicion of Innocence.

                  4 out of 5 stars Was the will really a forgery? Gail digs to find out........2006-09-20

                  This was a good book, and I enjoyed it enough. It begins right away with Althea Tillet, being murdered in her home. No one discovers foul play until later though as the story moves on.

                  Patrick Norris, Gail's old buddy from law school drops in with a proposition. He believes his Aunt Althea's will was forged, and that he was deliberately cheated out of his share of the estate-which holds a lot of money-millions of dollars. Patrick's aunt raised him after his parents had both died in a serious car wreck.

                  Rudy and Monica were Althea's sister's children, and they maintain that Althea left them her beautiful home and a lot of money. But Patrick found more than one will-there were several rewritten many times over and signed. The signature on the final one though, was definitely much different. So Gail calls a handwriting expert who confirms all of this stuff-and the case moves on from there.

                  Gail's firm will earn big bucks if she can get to the bottom of this case, and she will also earn a partnership as well. But the case is very complex, and becomes even moreso as many people are involved. There is Laura Sontag, who stood to gain from the will, Carla Napolitano, who was the notary and witness to a forgery in the case, and of course the Simms woman who stood to gain as well. Someone else, Irving, wants to confess to forging the will, and almost does so, but then dies before anything is confessed.

                  Gail gets into danger herself the further she goes into this case-and if she doesn't watch her back closely, she may wind up seriously hurt. Especially after Larry Black, the big boss at the firm is badly injured and almost doesn't recover.

                  On a personal note in the book, Gail is still hooked up with Anthony Quintana, but they have a lot of quarrels and break up again-and it is awhile before they get back together. Karen, Gail's young daughter would rather have her dad back, and always has a tough time with the idea of Quintana playing daddy.

                  4 out of 5 stars Good plotting, but I wished I liked the characters better.......2004-11-30

                  At least some of them. Is this what people in Miami in those circles are like?

                  Anyway, the plot involves Gail Connor, an attorney aspiring to partnership in a prestigious law firm in Miami, who gets asked by an old friend to challenge his aunt's will. He finds it so unlike her (the will spoke of him affectionately, which is out of character for his aunt) that he is convinced it's a forgery. There's a lot of money at stake, and a lot of it going to Miami charities -- but the contingency fee if she wins will bring a lot of money into the firm. Being Miami, everyone of a certain class knows everyone else, and Gail knew the deceased aunt and Gail's mother was a close friend of the deceased. That's just the beginning of this tangled tail of a community with varied interests in upholding -- or not -- this will. The aunt's death is suspicious; we know from the first few pages that she has in fact been murdered, but eventually the police catch on. So the disputed will gets connected to a homicide.

                  There are quite a few characters, but that's not the problem with this book. It's the general yuckiness of most of the people in this book. Even Gail, our heroine, behaves badly fairly often, but particularly in the somewhat unbelievable ending (she is, after all, an officer of the court and really has to stay within the law more than she does).

                  I'll read more of this series because they're entertaining and well-plotted, but I doubt that Parker will end up on my favorite author list. I need a character to cheer for. I didn't even like the child in this story!

                  3 out of 5 stars It wasn't great but..........2004-05-22

                  It wasn't great fiction, but it kept me turning the pages - I just had to know who messed with the old lady's will. Unfortunately, I figured out whodunnit long before the end, but it still was gratifying to think, "Ah-hah! I knew it!"

                  Good book to read on a trip.

                  4 out of 5 stars Greed, Murder, Politics And The Beautiful People In Miami!.......2003-10-12

                  Barbara Parker brings back brilliant, lovely and frequently stressed-out lawyer and single-Mom Gail Connor in this excellent sequel to "Suspicion of Innocence." Gail is now involved with charismatic Cuban American defense attorney, Anthony Quintana, and still struggling to help her six year old daughter adjust to life without her father. She is extremely ambitious in her career as a lawyer with a prestigious Miami firm, and is looking to make partner soon.

                  An old school friend and former lover brings a potentially lucrative case to Gail involving a forged will. If Gail wins the case her partnership in the upscale firm is assured. After an investigation into the death of the deceased, whose will is being disputed, it is determined that she was murdered. The cause of death had previously been called an accident. Gail's client is the prime suspect in his aunt's murder, and she persuades her lover, Anthony Quintana, to take the case. Against Anthony's advice, Gail is soon investigating both the forgery and the murder, and risking her life, career and relationship with Anthony to do so. When another "accident" occurs and a potential witness is silenced, the story's pace really picks up and it becomes apparent that there is more than one murder and one person's greed behind these crimes.

                  Barbara Parker writes tight, taut prose, her dialogue is snappy and realistic and her scenes involving opposing lawyers, and boardroom scenes are tension-filled. Her characters are well defined and very believable, especially Gail Connor. Ms. Connor is not always likable. She is often stressed, as we all would be if faced with a failed marriage, a young daughter who is miserable with the sudden changes in her life, a demanding career that doesn't allow for time to cope with family problems, a man who loves her but is as strong-willed and stubborn as she is, and a criminal investigation that becomes more complex everyday. She is frequently snappish, disagreeable, and not there for her child. Gail has many positive traits also, but what is so different and refreshing is that the author gives her heroine human frailties. One does not always have to like her for the novel to succeed. In fact, one of the reasons the plot is so successful is because the story and characters are so lifelike, as are the relationships. The characters grow and are, at times, transformed by what they learn.

                  There are roller coaster twists and turns in this tale of career white collar criminals, financial misdeeds, politics and multiple murders. This is a series so filled with complex characters and relationships that you will want to read more about them and their continuing development. I can't wait for Ms. Parker's next book. A compelling read!!
                  JANA
                  Suspicion of Guilt
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    Suspicion of Guilt

                    Manufacturer: Recorded Books, Inc.
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Audio Cassette
                    ASIN: B000E1C3SW
                    Reasonable Doubt / Suspicion of Guilt / Betrayal of Trust (The Mahoney Sisters, Books 1-3)
                    Average customer rating: Not rated
                      Reasonable Doubt / Suspicion of Guilt / Betrayal of Trust (The Mahoney Sisters, Books 1-3)
                      Tracey Bateman
                      Manufacturer: Heaven Sent Heartbeat
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Hardcover
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                      ASIN: 1582882541

                      Product Description

                      3 Novels in one book. suspense novels by Tracy V. Bateman
                      Suspicion of Guilt: The Mahoney Sisters #2 (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense)
                      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                      • Suspicion of Guilt
                      Suspicion of Guilt: The Mahoney Sisters #2 (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense)
                      Tracey V. Bateman
                      Manufacturer: Steeple Hill
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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                      Romantic SuspenseRomantic Suspense | Romance | Subjects | Books
                      Steeple Hill Love InspiredSteeple Hill Love Inspired | Series | Romance | Subjects | Books
                      Similar Items:
                      1. Betrayal of Trust: The Mahoney Sisters #3 (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense) Betrayal of Trust: The Mahoney Sisters #3 (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense)
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                      ASIN: 037344222X

                      Customer Reviews:

                      5 out of 5 stars Suspicion of Guilt.......2006-09-22

                      Whoa! What a great series. I enjoyed reading all three book. Lots of mystery, fun, excitement and easy reading.
                      4 Titles in Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana Series - Suspicion of Innocence - Suspicion of Guilt - Suspicion of Betrayal - Suspicion of Malice
                      Average customer rating: Not rated
                        4 Titles in Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana Series - Suspicion of Innocence - Suspicion of Guilt - Suspicion of Betrayal - Suspicion of Malice
                        Barbara Parker
                        Manufacturer: various
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Mass Market Paperback

                        GeneralGeneral | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
                        Parker, BarbaraParker, Barbara | ( P ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
                        ASIN: B000MW78WO

                        Product Description

                        4 massmarket paperback Titles in Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana series - Suspicion of Innocence - Suspicion of Guilt - Suspicion of Betrayal - Suspicion of Malice
                        Guilt by Suspicion: The Louise Woodword Trial and the Different Klan
                        Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
                        • Very interesting book
                        Guilt by Suspicion: The Louise Woodword Trial and the Different Klan
                        Vinnie Lillywhite
                        Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Paperback

                        CriminologyCriminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
                        GeneralGeneral | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
                        GeneralGeneral | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
                        ASIN: 1585000949

                        Customer Reviews:

                        4 out of 5 stars Very interesting book.......2000-10-05

                        This book is a very opinionated account of how the Louise Woodward trial was portrayed in the media, of how she was found guilty before the trial even started, and of the incompetence of the jury. The poetry in the book is very good as well. Also, a very quick read.
                        Suspicion of Guilt
                        Average customer rating: Not rated
                          Suspicion of Guilt
                          Barbara Parker
                          Manufacturer: Signet
                          ProductGroup: Book
                          Binding: Mass Market Paperback
                          ASIN: B000GRBLZK
                          A Suspicion of Guilt
                          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                          • disturbing and exciting
                          A Suspicion of Guilt
                          Ronald J. Watkins
                          Manufacturer: Virtual Publications
                          ProductGroup: Book
                          Binding: Paperback
                          ASIN: 0967950384

                          Book Description

                          A probation officer holds a position of trust. What happens when he breaks it? What are the consequences when the rules no longer apply? PO Alex Byrne is divorcing and the biggest problem in his life is getting custody of his six year old daughter. But when one of his female probationers is murdered and he becomes the prime suspect, a brutal sequence of death and deceit is set in motion. ASOG offers an explosive view inside the real world of criminal courts where justice is only an accident.

                          Customer Reviews:

                          5 out of 5 stars disturbing and exciting.......2002-05-09

                          I learned more about criminal law in this book than from three years of law school. It was exciting and fun to read. The book has a great plot and the author kept me guessing until the end.
                          Suspicion of Guilt 1ST Edition Signed
                          Average customer rating: Not rated
                            Suspicion of Guilt 1ST Edition Signed
                            Barbara Parker
                            Manufacturer: E P DUTTON & CO INC
                            ProductGroup: Book
                            Binding: Hardcover
                            ASIN: B000Q032SQ
                            Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana Series: Suspicion of Innocence, Guilt, Deceit, Betrayal, Malice, Vengeance, Madness, Rage (Set of 8)
                            Average customer rating: Not rated
                              Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana Series: Suspicion of Innocence, Guilt, Deceit, Betrayal, Malice, Vengeance, Madness, Rage (Set of 8)
                              Barbara Parker
                              Manufacturer: Signet
                              ProductGroup: Book
                              Binding: Mass Market Paperback
                              ASIN: B000NHZ83Y

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                              4. Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy (Public Works Trilogy)
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                              7. The Angel of Forgetfulness
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