Casa Rossa: A Novel
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Artful, real and eloquently told story about being the younger sister
  • Italian Secrets
  • Compelling and insightful
  • Enjoyable Fiction
  • Great Character Development
Casa Rossa: A Novel
Francesca Marciano
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375421238
Release Date: 2002-08-20

Amazon.com

In Casa Rossa, Roman native Francesca Marciano tells a riveting tale of three generations of women whose separate acts of betrayal set the stage for later destruction. Renée, the grandmother, forsakes her artist husband and her life in rural Puglia at Casa Rossa, to live with a woman. Alba, her daughter, takes a lover and pushes her husband to suicide. Isabella and Alina, Alba's daughters, take extreme measures to keep each other out of their lives, leading to upheaval. Told through the voice of the youngest daughter, Alina, Casa Rossa weaves the selling and closure of the family estate with the family's sordid and unforgettable history. Spanning the 20th century and providing entrée into the not-so-incompatible worlds of Italian cinema and political terrorism, Marciano, author of Rules of the Wild, reveals an authenticity in the way this emotionally warped family comes to terms with its fragmented past. It's a fine, highly entertaining work, laced with lovely writing and emotionally resonant characters. --Emily Russin

Book Description

A mesmerizing story of three generations of a twentieth-century Italian family.

Casa Rossa—a farmhouse in Puglia owned by the Strada family—is being sold. And as she packs up the house, Alina Strada pieces together the history of her family’s past, and of the lives of three extraordinary Strada women.

Grandmother Renée, a beautiful Tunisian, is wife, muse, and model for Alina’s painter grandfather, but she leaves him and flees to Nazi Germany. Alina’s mother, Alba, marries a melancholic screenwriter and lives la dolce vita in 1950s Rome until her husband’s mysterious death. Isabella, Alina’s sister and once her best friend, finds herself drawn to a dangerous ideology in the 1970s; the sisters’ love for one another soon shifts to a betrayal of which they can never speak. As these individual lives unfold, so does the larger one—the story of a family whose secrets collide with history.

From the duplicity of Italy’s role in the thirties to the dark years of terrorism in our own times, and moving from Rome and Southern Italy to New England and New York City, Casa Rossa is a brilliant weave of lives and memories: an enthralling novel.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Artful, real and eloquently told story about being the younger sister.......2005-08-15

This book is fluid and readable and yet complex in how the story reveals itself one thread at a time---not always in sequence. Marciano is an extremely intelligent and insightful writer who is a master at building tension and subtext into a scene and at revealing the dimensions of human psychology. It is a universal story about sisters and how deeply that bond inspires us and at times criples us. It is the story of 2 sisters surviving a dysfunctional family: one crumbles as an adult while the other does not-- but instead, learns to process it, make art from it and live beyond it (healing seems too simplistic a word). It is a story that takes place in Italy but it is a story that could have taken place anywhere.

5 out of 5 stars Italian Secrets.......2004-03-15

A unique blend of page-turning drama with thoughful prose that makes the reader want to linger over the words. The varied plots about family secrets, political unrest, unfulfilled yearnings and an insider's view of Italy are skillfully woven into an enchanting tapestry. CASA ROSSA left this reader eager to visit Italy. Even before I finished this novel, I went out and bought the author's other novel.

4 out of 5 stars Compelling and insightful.......2003-04-30

Francesca Marciano has the verbal equivalent of a master sculptor's chisel for creating believable characters. In "Casa Rossa" she not only tells a compelling tale about three generations of a southern Italian family, she gives many wonderful insights into daily life in Italy today and in the early 20th century. I particularly liked her spin on the tarantella. Although now merely a lively dance at Italian wedding receptions, Marciano reveals the folkloric purpose of the tarantella and the ritual that is connected with it with a clarity I had not before read. The novel has great atmospheric sense as well, whether the location is the deepest Italian south, Rome, northern Italy or New York. It's only drawback is its cinematic pace.

3 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Fiction.......2003-02-27

Loved the fact that it was based in Italy. The family was a good depiction of the real thing. Liked the characters. Too predictable. Held my interest enough to finish the book. I would recommend reading.

4 out of 5 stars Great Character Development.......2003-01-08

I was not certain I would enjoy Casa Rossa after reading the first chapter, but was shortly thereafter swept away by the various stories within the novel. Marciano does a fantastic job at character development. More than likely, you will need to keep reading to find out what will happen to them. Each character also has a distinct personality that shows the depth of the novel. This is the type of novel that remains in your thoughts throughout the day until you can return to it again. If you are interested in Italian culture, this novel should also intrigue you.

A Path Where No Man Thought: Nuclear Winter and the End of the Arms Race
Average customer rating: Not rated
    A Path Where No Man Thought: Nuclear Winter and the End of the Arms Race
    Carl Sagan , and Richard Turco
    Manufacturer: Random House
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    Human GeographyHuman Geography | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
    GeneralGeneral | Science | Subjects | Books
    GeneralGeneral | Ecology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
    Natural HistoryNatural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0394583078
    Release Date: 1990-11-27
    Never End (Chief Inspector Erik Winter Novels)
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Nice crime investigation procedural
    Never End (Chief Inspector Erik Winter Novels)
    Ake Edwardson
    Manufacturer: Viking Adult
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    Hard-BoiledHard-Boiled | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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    5. The Cruel Stars of the Night: A Mystery (Ann Lindell Mysteries) The Cruel Stars of the Night: A Mystery (Ann Lindell Mysteries)

    ASIN: 0670037664
    Release Date: 2006-06-22

    Book Description

    Detective Erik Winter is back, chasing a copycat murderer in a gritty procedural from one of Europe's most popular crime writers

    With twelve Erik Winter novels published in countries as diverse as Italy, Norway, France, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Germany—where the series has sold more than 700,000 copies—it's only a matter of time before an American readership discovers what Europe has already declared: Åke Edwardson is a European master of the stylish and gritty crime novel.

    In Never End, the second Erik Winter novel to be translated into English, a heat wave is smothering the Swedish coastal city of Gothenburg. School is out, and parks and beaches are teeming with people. But a spate of unsolved rape/murders casts a disturbing shadow on this particular summer. Chief Inspector Erik Winter, now forty-one and a father, assembles the scant but grisly details of the crimes, and begins to see an eerie connection to a five-year-old unsolved rape/murder, a case he, in typically obsessive fashion, has refused to let go cold. Has the same rapist reemerged to taunt the police and flaunt his stolen freedom, or are these copycat crimes? In the absence of any hard leads, and haunted by the case he could not solve, Winter desperately hunts for a link bridging the victims, convinced that each crime holds the key to the others. Someone knows more than they are letting on, and Winter knows they are running out of time. Never End is a chilling, moody novel replete with Hitchcockian depictions of Gothenburg's vibrant summer spaces and seamy dark corners, that will appeal to readers of George Pelecanos and Elizabeth George BACKCOVER: [Erik Winter] promises to be a superior procedural series.
    —Booklist

    “Mystery fans on this side of the Atlantic can be grateful that the travails of Erik Winter…are now available in English….This dark police procedural is a topnotch work, suspenseful to the very end, with appealing characters.”
    —Library Journal

    “A large ration of suspense, as well as that other reason for enjoying mysteries: an intriguing look at life in a distant part of the world.”
    —Chicago Tribune

    “Åke Edwardson is a three-time winner of the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers' Award and it's easy to see why. He weaves a rich, psychologically satisfying tale. His writing is nuanced and literary, and his characters are deep and fascinating. …Readers looking for a gritty, well-paced, thoughtful thriller will appreciate Edwardson's masterful novel.”
    —I Love A Mystery

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Nice crime investigation procedural.......2007-02-15

    Ake Edwrdson in similar fashion to other Swedish crime novelists like the more famous Henning Mankell, chronicles a methodical homicide inquest while focusing in on both the psychological aspects of the suspects, victims and their police pursuers.

    In a sweltering summer heat wave in the coastal town of Gothenburg, a corpse of a young woman is found in a hollowed out area within a thicket of trees in a local park. Pathology reports have determined that she had been sexually violated and strangled. Chief Inspector Erik Winter, in charge of the investigation, is stunned as the crime is eerily similar to an unsolved rape and murder committed 5 years ago in the exact same location.

    Winter mobilizes his team to pore over the evidence but soon there is another young victim who was raped but survived. Her fragile psychological state provides few clues for Winter. Winter becomes obsessed with solving both the cold case of five years ago and the current crime wave. He is not without his misgivings as being a new father he's torn between sharing his time with his family and on the job.

    Edwardson's nicely paced novel chronicles the arduous, dispiriting measures that the police go through while dealing with their own personal conflicts. He rightly devotes a more than adequate effort in character developement which adds reality to his plot
    At Winter's End: The New Springtime, Volume 1 (Beyond Armageddon)
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • At Winter's End
    • Somehow I wanted more from this
    • More than meets the eye
    • My Inroduction to Gripping Sci-Fi
    • One of Silverberg's Best
    At Winter's End: The New Springtime, Volume 1 (Beyond Armageddon)
    Robert Silverberg
    Manufacturer: Bison Books
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    Silverberg, RobertSilverberg, Robert | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0803293305

    Book Description

    From the Five-Time Nebula Award-Winner
    Seven thousand centuries ago, falling death stars unleashed fiery apocalyptic destruction on Earth and inaugurated the Long Winter. One small band of People took refuge in an underground cocoon where they and their descendants waited for the time of ice to end. Now their long winter is over. Prophecy and circumstance urge the tribe out into the half-forgotten world beyond their safe cocoon. Led by their chieftain Koshmar, the tribe journeys to the city of Vengiboneeza, where the prophecy of the gods says they are to rule. On their way the tribe discovers the dangers and wonders of life in the New Springtime. In the face of new temptations and peril, Koshmar and her lover, the priestess Torlyri, struggle to keep the People united and fulfill the prophecy. For soon they will be beset by other trials, as other beings seek to fulfill their own prophecies.
    Robert Silverberg provides an introduction exclusive to this Bison Books edition.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars At Winter's End.......2006-11-04

    At Winter's End, by Robert Silverberg, is a science fiction story about a tribe of apelike, but intelligent beings, who call themselves humans. After seven hundred thousand years, they leave the cocoon that their ancestors built in the depths of a vast mountainside for shelter from the great death stars and freezing winter. Their leader, Koshmar, leads them on a dangerous journey to a city called Vengiboneeza. While they are there, they discover many objects and clues to the past. They eventually follow, when ten of their tribe, led by the warrior Harruel, decide it is their destiny to start their own city. This is the beginning of a new life in a new place.
    The main characters of this book are Koshmar, the chief, Hresh, the young chronicler, Toryli, the offering woman, and the warriors, Harruel and Konya. Koshmar is a kind but stern leader who is adamant about leaving the cocoon when the time is correct. She leads them to Vengiboneeza. Hresh, a boy of nine years, becomes chronicler after the preceding old man, Thaggoran, died from a wolf attack. Toryli is the kind woman who gave the daily offering to the outside world back in the cocoon, and is like a mother to the growing tribe. She provides warmth and love to all who are in need. The warriors, Harruel and Konya aren't the only warriors, but they take part in most of the scenes. Harruel is a burly, massive, towering man who eventually turns away from the tribe with ten others to start his own city. His ferocious fighting spirt makes him the head of the warriors. Konya is Harruel's friend, and follows Harruel when he leads the tribe away. Unlike him, he has a lean, but strong figure, and has earned second rank in power.
    I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, and a little mystery and science fiction. It sets forth thought-provoking ideas, such as a second sight, gods, and contacting the spirit realm, to enhance the experience and make this book a must read for all adventure and science fiction lovers.

    3 out of 5 stars Somehow I wanted more from this.......2005-10-02

    I feel like this took me forever to get through, despite breezing through the first 200 pages within 24 hours of cracking the cover.

    The last 150, on the other hand, took me five or six days to get through.

    I slammed through the early portions of this thanks to the really interesting premise: The Earth is struck by comets and plunged into a long ice age. The story picks up at the end of that era. A small group of "people", sheltered for thousands of years, exit their shelter at the end of the ice age to create a new world.

    Sounds great, but things really ground to a halt about 200 pages in. Is this a soap opera? A philosophical exploration? A "lost civilization" story? An adventure? The book is not sure. Had it chosen its course and stayed there, I would have loved the ride. Instead, I found myself wanting more from this book.

    Silverberg's premise is good enough, but the story didn't feel as if it actually went anywhere. Excellent and well done characters, good world-building, but no sense of urgency or movement to the story. Silverberg plays with some philosophical concepts, but he just doesn't do it very well. And the end was very anti-climactic and unsatisfactory. After reading several good Silverberg's, he may have just handed me my first dud (or semi-dud; the writing was very strong) in a long streak of pretty enjoyable books.

    I wanted to like this. I really did. The characters and concepts were simply brilliant; the world building fantastic. But in the end it was just, "eh."

    5 out of 5 stars More than meets the eye.......2004-01-07

    Let me say before I start this interview that I LOATH sci-fi or fantasy that involves talking monkies, apes, or animalistic humanoids in general. Silverberg, the literary master that he is, presents his characters in terms of who they are first, then much later their physicality. The entire book was fresh and innovative. After I was done it left me wanting much more. Not more from the story but more pages to devour.

    The other thing I LOATH about sci-fi or fantasy are when authors bury us in consonant heavy, made up names. Silvererg actually manages to use strange names successfully to accentuate the story. There are tons of details, I recommend the read at the highest level.

    5 out of 5 stars My Inroduction to Gripping Sci-Fi.......2001-07-02

    I've been looking everywhere for this book, and have been unable to find it at nearby bookstores and libraries. I read it many years ago, in junior high I believe, which seems not so long ago, but I haven't read it since. As soon as I find a copy to buy though, I plan on devouring the story word by word. Of all the books I have read, Silverberg's tale of a far-future earth has stuck with me, never fading as so many books and their plots often do. This is classic SF written by one of the masters in the genre. I recommend this to anyone searching for a great adventure and not wanting to be bogged down in a long drawn out series, i.e. Hubbard's Mission Earth, or Jordan's Wheel of Time, or perhaps to make the wait between installments not so agonizing, i.e. George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire or the Dune prequels by Kevin J. Anderson and David Herbert, two current obsessions of mine. Also try Silverberg's Lord Valentine books, those are classics as well, and worthy reads for any fantasist looking for someplace better to be, if only for a little while.

    5 out of 5 stars One of Silverberg's Best.......1999-10-27

    Silverberg is perhaps SF's greatest living author. This is one of the best of his later works, a spellbinding and engrossing novel that transports to the reader to an alien world. It's not easy to create convincing aliens that human readers can identify with, but Silverberg succeeds here with a fascinating tale full of mythic archetypes, beautifully drawn characters, and of course his glittering and vivid prose.
    No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Admiration
    • Not so Heroic
    • Pure Optimism
    • Team Player
    No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer
    Rachael Scdoris , and Rick Steber
    Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    GeneralGeneral | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
    WomenWomen | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
    MemoirsMemoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0312352735
    Release Date: 2006-02-21

    Book Description

    For the last ten years, twenty-year-old Rachel Scdoris has been guiding teams of sled dogs over mountain ranges, across frozen rivers and through desolate tundra. She raises and trains the dogs herself, and works with a visual interpreter to compete. Born blind, Rachel's story is about growing up amidst the taunts of classmates who made fun of "the blind girl" to becoming a captain of her track team and later an Olympic torch carrier and dog musher. She became the youngest athlete to complete a 500 mile sled dog race, and - though she faced stiff opposition from the organizers of the race - finally achieved her goal of racing in the Iditarod Trail International Sled Dog Race across Alaska in 2005. No End in Sight is a remarkable story of athleticism and the grace that comes from working with animals. It is also a stirring memoir about how the support of family and an inner compass can propel anyone to achieve their goals.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Admiration.......2007-03-01

    The Iditarod, let alone any sleddograce, is not something one does "on the side". You have to organize, to train, to plan, be prepared against the elements, love the athletes, become one of them. Simply said: it takes guts and without it there is no glory.
    Rachael has set her goal and reaches it, with all the extra handicaps one can think of. It shows the reader that if you have anything you want, anything you really desire, you've got to go for it and cross all the borders you encounter. There is no "but..." I have nothing but the deepest admiration for Rachael!

    2 out of 5 stars Not so Heroic.......2006-06-28

    Wow. At first I was really enjoying it, but when she started making remarks about the ignorance of recreational mushers, my level of admiration halted and started to drop. I personally wouldn't have said that she couldn't do it, but just because a recreational musher (along with some racers too) said that she couldn't doesn't mean that she can generalize and say that ALL recreational mushers are ignorant about mushing. As a long-time recreational musher, that really made me not like her. As I started looked at her from a different angle rather than the girl-who-overcomes-the-odds, she turned into an arrogant person who uses her eyesight as an excuse for special treatment.

    5 out of 5 stars Pure Optimism.......2006-04-10

    I just read this book and found it very fascinating. I was able to relate as a woman athlete, but can honestly say that I will never understand the kind of difficulties this young woman has faced and continues to overcome on a daily basis. I have always wanted to travel to Alaska and see the Iditarod first hand. Rachael has given me a wonderful insight into the race until my dream is possible. After reading this book you will realize that your limits should be set by yourself and only by yourself. Thanks for your incredible story, and CONGRATULATIONS on your 2006 Iditarod finish!!!

    5 out of 5 stars Team Player.......2006-04-06

    I don't know much about dog racing, but this story had me mildly interested all the way through, and I learned a lot, not only about the sport, but about blind people and how one girl's courage catapulted her into a 500 mile, grueling endurance race across the wildest parts of a wild countryside. Rachel speaks candidly about how, when she was young, she wanted to be part of the clique of "popular girls" who ruled the roost at school, and how these uncaring girls mocked her and humiliated her for even trying.

    She didn't like being treated as some sort of second class and in a way, you can see the whole of her subsequent career as a sort of insolent salute to the girls who made her life hell. Her family was supportive, up to a point. But the challenge of the Iditarod Trail frightens even the most dedicated guides. And some unimaginative, if concerned, fellow sledders told her she was crazy, being blind to attempt such a physical feat. For even strong men with both eyes sometimes went mad along the trail. The ITC wasn't helpful, and she had to appeal to them in person. What would she do if she had to go to the bathroom, for example? Rachel answers these questions with the frank good humor for which she has been known all over the world of sled racing. One indication of the deeper pain involved is that, usually, Rachel cries sometime during a race. But finally she's at a point where she's having fun and it shows not only in her work, but in the pages of this delightful book. My brother who gave me NO END IN SIGHT knows of my love for the books of David Sedaris, and he thought that Rachel might be some relation! Well, there's no direct blood connection (and her name is "Sedoris") but she is like David Sedaris in being able to find the humanity and humor even in the most awful of straits.

    Yes, it's "heavy sledding" at times, especially if like me you're a newbie with next to no knowledge of anything she's talking about and anything she's been through. But, there's a helpful glossary at the back of the book so all you non-mushers can decipher the somewhat specialized lingo. You'll be crying out "Haw!" and "Hike!" like seasoned trailhounds. Ever wonder what kind of personality you would have as a canine? Are you the wheel dog type or the swing dog, a team dog or a lead? Check out NO END IN SIGHT.
    The End of the Cold War (Cold War International History Project Bulletin, Fall/Winter 2001)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      The End of the Cold War (Cold War International History Project Bulletin, Fall/Winter 2001)
      Vladislav M. Zubok , Csaba Bekes and Melinda Kalmar , Pawel Machcewicz , Jordan Baev , Jim Hershberg , David Wolff , Richard K. Herrmann , Paul Maddrell , Gary Bruce , and Neb Lebow
      Manufacturer: Woodrow Wiilson International Center,DC
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

      RussiaRussia | History | Subjects | Books
      ASIN: B000KGKHNY

      Product Description

      This 2001 softcover 359-page scholarly book (11 x 9 x 1) explores details of the causes and effects of the end of The Cold War from the perspective of many international contributors, including former Russian Soviet Union era writers. Articles include new evidence about The End of the Cold War, 1989, The Fall of the Wall, Sino-Soviet Relations, 1958-59, Soviet Missile Deployments, 1959, The Iran Crisis, 1944-46, and Tito and Khruschev, 1954. Several other in-depth articles concerning arguably the most important event of the 20th century are also included. It is a volume of interest to historians or anyone interested in modern history or, specifically, the fall of the Iron Curtain.
      The Street.com Ratings' Guide to Closed-End Mutual Funds: Winter 2006-07 (Street.Com Ratings' Guide to Exchange Traded Funds)
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        The Street.com Ratings' Guide to Closed-End Mutual Funds: Winter 2006-07 (Street.Com Ratings' Guide to Exchange Traded Funds)

        Manufacturer: Thestreet.com Ratings
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

        GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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        All TitlesAll Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
        ASIN: 1587732858
        Winter's End (Alex Rourke, 1)
        Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
        • Fantastic debut
        • Winter's End: Fresh Start
        • Psychological thriller with a surprise ending
        • Winter's End by John Rickards
        • A fine debut!
        Winter's End (Alex Rourke, 1)
        John Rickards
        Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Hardcover

        ContemporaryContemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
        Police ProceduralsPolice Procedurals | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
        SuspenseSuspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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        3. The Chemistry of Death The Chemistry of Death

        ASIN: 0312310978

        Book Description

        As a violent storm rages over the small town of Winter's End, Sheriff Dale Townsend comes upon a chilling scene--a young man, knives in his hands and the body of a woman at his feet.

        But the enigmatic suspect refuses to answer any questions, and, bizarrely, there is no forensic evidence to link him to the crime.

        So Sheriff Townsend he calls his childhood friend Alex Rourke back to his sleepy home town in wooded hills of north-eastern Maine. After an absence of nearly twenty years, Rourke--ex-FBI interrogator turned private eye--is an expert in navigating the twisted pathways of murderous minds.

        But this killer is twisted indeed and very, very clever. And--as a pervading sense of evil descends upon the town--Rourke realizes he may well be an integral part the killer's game. A game that is not yet over....

        Customer Reviews:

        5 out of 5 stars Fantastic debut.......2005-06-18

        This was above and beyond your regular P.I. novel. It was atmospheric, with some scenes that made me feel like I was reading a gothic horror novel. And at the same time it was an astounding page-turner. I found myself staying up too late wanting to read more. Alex Rouke is a likable character, yet also human, with real flaws. I enjoyed the ending as well and did not find it predictable at all. Highly recommended for mystery/suspense fans. I'm looking forward to Rickards' next book.

        4 out of 5 stars Winter's End: Fresh Start.......2004-11-01

        This book is certainly interesting reading.

        The story of a man who solves mysteries for a living running into a suspect he can't crack, in the town he grew up in of all places? Certainly a nice premise, and one that the author does his best to play through to the end.

        I read this book while travelling in Europe, and after having spent a few days in England I was certainly aware of some Britishisms in the book, but otherwise the dialogue is clean and the characters range from interesting to tolerable. The lead character is tough and smart without being "hard boiled" or invincible, and even when some characters seem a little one-dimensional they are at least engagingly so.

        Some of the relationships between characters are a bit thin at times, but the exploration of what it means to "go home again" with the express purpose of digging up the unpleasant corners of your past is built carefully. Certainly there are moments where the reader (or at least this reader couldn't) can't help but imagine what secrets might be lying beyond the edges of our own vague memories of home.

        The twists and turns kept me reading, and the generally smooth writing made it enjoyable. I recommend this book for any casual reader's mystery list, as long as police procedurals and New England settings don't grate the nerves. They don't bother me at all, and I plan on picking up any other books from this author that I see.

        5 out of 5 stars Psychological thriller with a surprise ending.......2004-06-18

        Ex-FBI agent turned private investigator, Alex Rourke, is called back to his hometown of Winter's End, Maine by old friend, Sheriff Dale Townsend to help solve a murder of a woman found lying dead on a dark roadway. A young man wielding knives sits besides her naked corpse. The man refuses to give his name and to answer any questions. Rourke is an expert interrogator, but suspect is more adept at playing mind games than he could have imagined. Rourke struggles as he confronts his own demons brought into the forefront by this mysterious suspect who has too much personal knowledge of him.

        WINTER'S END was an engrossing page-turner from the very first page; a very hard book to put down. The plot while not exactly realistic, was intricately plotted and very suspenseful. An excellent debut novel to what hopefully will become a series.

        5 out of 5 stars Winter's End by John Rickards.......2004-05-17

        In this very good and very dark mystery set in Maine, Alex Rourke is asked to come home and help with a murder investigation. Alex is a former FBI agent born and raised in Winter's End, Maine. He hasn't been home once since he left years ago and now has resurrected his life as a private investigator in Boston.

        But Sheriff Dale Townsend, brother of his best friend in school, needs his help. Sheriff Townsend has a suspect in the recent murder of a local woman. While the suspect was seen standing over the nude body holding knives in his hands during a heavy rain, there is not any proof that he actually committed the murder. The man won't confess or say anything meaningful at all and the Sheriff is stumped. The Sheriff and Alex worked another case a couple of years ago by phone with Alex suggesting a couple of things and that fact along with the fact that Alex had a reputation as a very good interrogator before his mental breakdown several years ago, convinces him that Alex is the man for the job. They need identification of the suspect and a confession fast as the local population is very upset and the pressure is on to close the case.

        Alex agrees to help and soon finds himself back home in Winter's End dealing with a suspect that seems to be playing with him for his own amusement. At the same time, Alex begins to confront why he left in the first place and his actions the last several years. Alex is forced to deal with the past as dark forces move around him, pushing him towards a final confrontation and not just with the suspect.

        Vast stretches of this debut novel reminded me tremendously of work by James Lee Burke. The author's use of imagery that, in this case is often the play of light and shadow evoked the association, as did his use of disturbing dreams and visions. Much like in James Lee Burke's works where the dead take visible form and have a message for the living, the same sort of thing happens in this novel several times. Alex's subconscious is very active and as this nearly three hundred-page novel works to its conclusion, the line of sanity becomes increasingly blurred.

        At the same time, the character of Alex like many of the other characters in this novel is slowly developed. Unlike many first time novelists who perform a sort of data dump on the reader, each piece of background info is slowly doled out to the reader. As such, along with the other elements of pacing, plot, action, etc. everything is slowly but consistently moved forward tightening the grip on the reader as the novel unfolds.

        This is a complex and very enjoyable novel and one of the best books I have read in a long time. Hopefully, this is the beginning not only of a series, but also of a novelist's career. If so, it is one heck of a start.

        4 out of 5 stars A fine debut!.......2004-04-06

        Think: Stephen King and Thomas Harris meet Ed McBain. This is a fine debut by an author who, the back bio blurb says, lives in England. The book is about a small town in Maine: Think Salem's Lot. But the first person phraseology and dialogue of allegedly all-American middle class folk ring stiltified and British to this American ear: "I've not found," "midday" "half past six."
        But Dialect be Darned - it's a fine debut! That's all I'm saying - to say more would engender giving away the genre in which this finally finds itself - and I just hate it when reviewers divulge too much!
        /TundaVision, Amazon Reviewer
        Behoref Hayamim: In the Winter of Life: A Values-Based Jewish Guide for Decision-Making at the End of Life
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Behoref Hayamim: In the Winter of Life: A Values-Based Jewish Guide for Decision-Making at the End of Life

          Manufacturer: Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Press
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

          GeneralGeneral | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
          GeneralGeneral | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
          Jewish LifeJewish Life | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
          TheologyTheology | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
          GeneralGeneral | Medicine | Subjects | Books
          DeathDeath | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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          2. The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning (Revised and Expanded Edition) The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning (Revised and Expanded Edition)
          3. Mourning & Mitzvah: A Guided Journal for Walking the Mourner's Path Through Grief to Healing Mourning & Mitzvah: A Guided Journal for Walking the Mourner's Path Through Grief to Healing
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          ASIN: 0938945068

          Book Description

          An anthology of articles addressing the the common medical questions that families face at the end of life, and offering insights into what the spirit needs at such times.
          4 ROSAMUNDE PILCHER Books - 1-The Shell Seekers / 2- Blue Bedroom / 3-The End of Summer / 4-Winter Solstice (Unboxed Set of Books)
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            4 ROSAMUNDE PILCHER Books - 1-The Shell Seekers / 2- Blue Bedroom / 3-The End of Summer / 4-Winter Solstice (Unboxed Set of Books)
            Rosamunde Pilcher
            Manufacturer: various
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback
            ASIN: B000W8PGMM

            Product Description

            4 ROSAMUNDE PILCHER Books - 1-The Shell Seekers / 2- Blue Bedroom / 3-The End of Summer / 4-Winter Solstice (Unboxed Set of Books), in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package to save on shipping costs.
            Another Winter, Another Spring/The Best of Bombeck: At Wits's End, Children of Your Own, Postnatal Depression/Blood and Money/Walt Disney (Reader's Digest Today's Nonfiction Bestsellers)
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              Another Winter, Another Spring/The Best of Bombeck: At Wits's End, Children of Your Own, Postnatal Depression/Blood and Money/Walt Disney (Reader's Digest Today's Nonfiction Bestsellers)
              Louise de Kiriline Lawrence , Erma Bombeck , Thomas Thompson , and Bob Thomas
              Manufacturer: Reader's Digest Association
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Hardcover
              ASIN: B000GSLJGK

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              1. Civil Procedure: Theory And Practice (Casebook)
              2. Cloud of Sparrows
              3. Companero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara
              4. Confessions of an English Opium Eater (Penguin Classics)
              5. Consent to Kill: A Thriller (Mitch Rapp Novels)
              6. Creative Techniques For Stained Glass
              7. Customer Data Integration: Reaching a Single Version of the Truth (SAS Institute Inc.)
              8. Dem Bones
              9. Dona Perfecta (El Libro De Bolsillo)
              10. Double Tap (Paul Madriani Novels)

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