It sounded simple. Go to Savannah. Finish directing an action-adventure film. Earn some quick money. Get a chance to see sister Daisy and niece Pepper. Instead, as soon as Lucy Armstrong arrives on the set of Don't Look Down, she discovers that nothing about her current job is simple. The cast is lackluster. What she has seen of the script is, even by Hollywood standards, unbelievably incoherent. The stunt coordinator is none other than her annoying ex-husband, Connor Nash, and her sister seems to have become a zombie. Bryce McKay, the movie's leading man, turns up with Captain J. T. Wilder, whom Bryce has personally hired to be his stunt double and military consultant. The last thing Lucy needs is a taciturn, too-sexy-for-his-own-good male like J. T. on her set, but once the going gets tough, someone like J. T. turns out to be exactly the kind of person Lucy decides she wants in her life. This first collaboration between best-selling romance writer Crusie and adventure-thriller writer Mayer is a rare delight. Mayer's delectably dry sense of humor perfectly complements Crusie's brand of sharp wit, and together the two have cooked up a sexy, sassy, and smart combination of romance and suspense that is simply irresistible.
Charles Perrone has been a slacker all his life. He falls into a sweet deal with a rich Florida farmer who puts him through school so, as a marine biologist, Perrone can position himself in a job taking water samples from the Everglades (highly contaminated with fertilizer run-off from the farms) and switch them out to show no contamination. Perrone becomes suspicious that his wife, Joey, has discovered his scam and solves this problem by flipping her overboard on their anniversary cruise ship vacation. Joey doesn't die, however, and instead of going to the police she decides to drive Perrone crazy with the help of the man who rescued her. Revenge is sweet and Joey gets hers in this delectable romp. There are wild and crazy characters peopling this story and the pace never lets up. The humor is not laugh-out-loud, but dark and sardonic. A fast and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Warner Books; Reprint edition (June 2, 2005)
Peters' has incredible talent for creating fun, engaging characters and providing interesting, factual descriptions of archaeology. Amelia and Emerson are two of my favorite characters in literature. And the new characters are entertaining, too: Ramses, the reporter, the widowed and flirtatious Lady Baskerville, Mr.Milverton (who has a secret), the shy and feminine Miss Mary, and (my favorite) the hilariously loud, eccentric and obnoxious Madame Berengeria (Mary's mother, who thinks she is a reincarnated Egyptian queen and that Emerson is or was her husband/lover). The descriptions of Egypt and the archaeology make this novel unique, intelligent and entertaining.
Elizabeth Peters's unforgettable heroine Amelia Peabody makes her first appearance in this clever mystery. Amelia receives a rather large inheritance and decides to use it for travel. On her way through Rome to Egypt, she meets Evelyn Barton-Forbes, a young woman abandoned by her lover and left with no means of support. Amelia promptly takes Evelyn under her wing, insisting that the young lady accompany her to Egypt, where Amelia plans to indulge her passion for Egyptology. When Evelyn becomes the target of an aborted kidnapping and the focus of a series of suspicious accidents and mysterious visitations, Amelia becomes convinced of a plot to harm her young friend. Like any self-respecting sleuth, Amelia sets out to discover who is behind it all.
YA?An old-fashioned fairy tale full of mythic images, magic, and lyrical passages. The town of Wall has one opening, which is guarded day and night. On one side of the stone bulwark is England; on the other, Faerie. Once every nine years, the guard is relaxed so that the villagers can attend a fair held in a nearby meadow. There, as a young man, Dunstan Thorn is seduced by a strange woman, and not quite a year later a child is left at the wall. His name is Tristran Thorn. When he grows up, he falls in love with Victoria Forester, and to win her affection, he vows to bring to her the fallen star that they see one night. The star has fallen in Faerie, and though Tristran soon finds her (for in Faerie a star is not a ball of flaming gas, but a living, breathing woman), he has a hard time holding on to her. The sons of the Lord of Stormhold also seek the star, for it is said that he who finds her can take his father's throne. In addition, the oldest of three evil witches seeks the star, for her heart can grant youth and beauty. While the bones of the story?the hero, the quest, the maiden?are traditional, Gaiman offers a tale that is fresh and original. Though the plot begins with disparate threads, by the end they are all tied together and the picture is complete. The resolution is satisfying and complex, proving that there is more to fairy tales than "happily ever after."?
