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Tim R. (xela) - Reviews

1 to 18 of 18
Blue Screen (Sunny Randall, Bk 5)
Blue Screen (Sunny Randall, Bk 5)
Author: Robert B. Parker
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 89
Review Date: 10/21/2006


Sunny & Jesse really do make a cute item!


Cold Service (Spenser, Bk 32)
Cold Service (Spenser, Bk 32)
Author: Robert B. Parker
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 105
Review Date: 12/27/2005


I love RBP's writing, but the Spenser series is getting stale and the characters are more stereotypical with each one. Try Double Play (fiction about Jackie Robinson's bodyguard) or Poodle Springs to experience Parker at his best.


Dirty Blonde
Dirty Blonde
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 122
Review Date: 10/13/2006


Very engaging plot and characterization. Great exploration of sexual equality issues.


Double Play
Double Play
Author: Robert B. Parker
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 40
Review Date: 12/28/2005


Fictional account about bodyguard of Jackie Robinson. The bodyguard is a WWII vet dumped by his ex-wife. Imaginative with exemplary characterization. Parker at his best! This will appeal to both Parker and baseball history addicts.


The Earthsea Trilogy
The Earthsea Trilogy
Author: Ursula K LeGuin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 2/19/2007


All three volumes of the Trilogy and box included!:
A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore


Echo Park (Harry Bosch, Bk 12)
Echo Park (Harry Bosch, Bk 12)
Author: Michael Connelly
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 259
Review Date: 11/12/2007


I agree that this is not Connelly's best work. Characters could use some more development and draw more empathy from the reader. Plot development is exemplary as always and keeps the reader engaged.


Final Notice
Final Notice
Author: Jonathan Valin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 2.8/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 12/26/2005


Harry Stoner mysteries are always a quick enjoyable read.


Lost Light (Harry Bosch, Bk 9)
Lost Light (Harry Bosch, Bk 9)
Author: Michael Connelly
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 398
Review Date: 12/27/2005


First Harry Bosch mystery after his retirement from the LAPD. Highly recommended.


The Magic Mountain
The Magic Mountain
Author: Thomas Mann
Book Type: Paperback
  ?
Review Date: 12/26/2005


Great story of sickness and healing during tuberculosis epidemic


Northern Girl (Chronicles of Tornor, Bk 3)
Northern Girl (Chronicles of Tornor, Bk 3)
Author: Elizabeth A. Lynn
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 12
Review Date: 12/26/2005


Fantasy novel part of a trilogy about a land bright with magic and peopled with warriors, lovers and dancers.


Orsinian Tales
Orsinian Tales
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 12
Review Date: 12/26/2005


Short stories by Ursula LeGuin, sci-fi/fantasy master and author of the Earthsea trilogy.


Poodle Springs (Philip Marlowe, Bk 1)
Poodle Springs (Philip Marlowe, Bk 1)
Author: Raymond Chandler, Robert B. Parker
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 17
Review Date: 12/31/2006


Robert B Parker completes the unfinished work of the great master of mystery, Chandler. The transition is seamless and Parker proves he is heir apparent!


Shrink Rap (Sunny Randall, Bk 3)
Shrink Rap (Sunny Randall, Bk 3)
Author: Robert B. Parker
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 121
Review Date: 12/26/2005


A Sunny Randall mystery, Robert B. Parker's female PI.


Stone Cold  (Jesse Stone, Bk 4)
Stone Cold (Jesse Stone, Bk 4)
Author: Robert B. Parker
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 64
Review Date: 1/19/2006
Helpful Score: 1


From Publishers Weekly
It's taken four novels, but finally Parker's Jesse Stone series has produced a book as good as top-drawer Spenser. This outing finds the laconic, troubled cop tackling three problems: to capture the pair of serial killers who are murdering random victims in small-town Paradise, Mass., where Stone is chief of police; to bring to justice the three high-school students who gang-raped a younger schoolmate; and to come to terms with his love of both alcohol and his ex-wife, Jenn. The serial killers, revealed early to the reader and soon enough to Stone, are a married yuppie pair who taunt Stone, whom they take as a dumb hick cop, as he collects evidence to bring them down; his pursuit of them leads them to kill someone close to him, then to target Stone himself, and eventually to an emotionally cathartic climax in Toronto, where the killers have fled. That story line serves as a fine little police procedural, but Parker is at his max here when following the rape plot, especially in scenes in which Stone, in his cool, compassionate way, tries to help the besieged victim as best he can. Meanwhile, under intense media attention and pressure from town elders for the ongoing serial killings, Stone works his way toward an understanding of the roles that booze and Jenn play in his life. Told in third-person prose that's a model of economy, with sharp action sequences, deep yet unobtrusive character exploration and none of the cuteness that can mar the Spenser novels, this is prime Parker, testament to why he was named a Grand Master at the 2002 Edgar Awards.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


The Time Traveler's Wife
The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 116
Review Date: 4/8/2007
Helpful Score: 2


Masterful first novel! Niffenegger weaves time matrices, plot lines, and passion masterfully. A must read that made year's best list on many PBS discussion forum posters.


Tunnel Vision (V.I. Warshawski, Bk 8)
Tunnel Vision (V.I. Warshawski, Bk 8)
Author: Sara Paretsky
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 101
Review Date: 12/27/2005


V.I. Warshawski mystery


The Two Towers
The Two Towers
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Book Type: Paperback
  ?
Review Date: 12/26/2005


Part 2 of Lord of the Rings trilogy


The Wind's Twelve Quarters
The Wind's Twelve Quarters
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 8
Review Date: 12/26/2005


Seventeen short stories by the mystery/fantasy master


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