Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives

Another book I really enjoyed
Its by Cathleen Lewis



From Amazon


5.0 out of 5 stars Rex: A mother, her autistic child and the music that transformed their lives, October 24, 2008
By
J Roberts (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives (Hardcover)I just finished "Rex" by Cathleen Lewis, about a mothers complete devotion to her child who was diagnosed with a large brain cyst at birth then 6 months later with blindness due to an underdeveloped optic nerve. It is so completely moving and keeps you right in the moment with both of them. The transformations that occur in their lives are charged with so many emotions, which are expertly conveyed by the writer. With every small success Rex has, a new roadblock seems to be thrown down. To say it is inspirational is a tremendous understatement. This is a fantastic book for anyone to read. Enjoy!

Seeing Ezra Kerry Cohen

I enjoyed this book very much !
There are a few things I disagree with
I wish Kerry would self-flagellate a little less ( though I identify with it for sure ) 

The Smell of the night by Andrea Camilleri

Another book I thoroughly enjoyed

Italian mystery with mysterious protagonist, April 30, 2006
By A. Anderson "Book Person" (Chico, Califiornia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Smell of the Night (An Inspector Montalbano Mystery) (Paperback)
I love mysteries. While I can be charmed by a cozy, the books that I want to own are the true mysteries that allow the reader to solve honestly presented clues, much preferably with a psychological insight that enhances the understanding of the crime. With the Montalbano series, it is the inspector's psyche that fascinates..he is cranky, moody, sometimes unfair but ruefully honest. His author swings from sentiment to cynacism (proving the cliche that to scratch a cynic is to find a romantic). What makes these books so savory is the quallity of writing. No extra words, no navel gazing, but with spare and sometimes painful accuracy, Camilleri captures a view of life that I think can only be modern Italian. You can see the (fictional) town, the light over the sea and the struggle for Montalbano to manage a romance (badly), a series of clues (very well) and the cultural assumptions that many of his insights rest upon. The whole series is worth collecting. Donna Leon has the detective we want to know (Inspector Brunetti) and I love to read. Camilleri has the detective who is entirely believable, even by a cynic. Less comfortable than Leon / Brunetti, but more realistic.

The Shape of Water By Andrea Camilleri

A phenomenal and charming series

Do you love a mystery where all the clues are right in front of you and you do not know what the answer is ?

The audi books are beautifully done . So unique and fresh and intelligent

From Amazon.com Book Description
Publication Date: November 5, 2002
Andrea Camilleri's novels starring Inspector Montalbano have become an international sensation and have been translated from Italian into eight languages, ranging from Dutch to Japanese. The Shape of Water is the first book in this sly, witty, and engaging series with its sardonic take on Sicilian life.

Early one morning, Silvio Lupanello, a big shot in the village of Vigàta, is found dead in his car with his pants around his knees. The car happens to be parked in a rough part of town frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers, and as the news of his death spreads, the rumors begin. Enter Inspector Salvo Montalbano, Vigàta's most respected detective. With his characteristic mix of humor, cynicism, compassion, and love of good food, Montalbano goes into battle against the powerful and the corrupt who are determined to block his path to the real killer. This funny and fast-paced Sicilian page-turner will be a delicious discovery for mystery afficionados and fiction lovers alike.

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

I recently re-read Kane and Abel and was so excited to see this new book

But I could not be bothered to finish it

I did not like most of the characters

Everything was so forced to look like Kane and Abel and failing miserably - I wondered if it had been ghostwritten

The story starts with Harry Clifton's mother in the early 1900's having a one night stand with a man right before her wedidng

This is so uncharacteristic of those times and the rest of her character and clearly has been done so that they can set up Harry Clifton as the illegitimate son and heir !

I stopped listening this tiresome book ( on CD )

Life is too short

From Amazon



"The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the words “I was told that my father was killed in the war.” A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle, who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he’s left school. But then an unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, and his life will never be the same again.
As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question, was he even his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?

This introductory novel in Archer’s ambitious series The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler’s Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined."

Past Tense by Catherine Aird , A Sloan and Crosby Myster

I enjoyed listening to this book

Amazon review by Mark P Sadler 
All his reviews are here 
In the quiet, English countryside an old lady dies in her bed at the local nursing home. Janet Wakefield receives notification--her husband Bill, who is stationed in South America by his company, is the next of kin--which is a surprise because neither of them even knew Josephine Short existed.
Sent to make the funeral arrangements, Janet discovers that all the particulars have been laid out by the decedent. The church, the hotel and "bun wrestle", as the reception is described, and the `no flowers' request are already in place. She shows up for the funeral service to find several of the local villagers: a friendly, old man who claims to have known Ms. Short, a beautiful, young lady with auburn hair and in the pew behind her, the nursing home matron as well as the attorney handling the estate. As the service starts, a tall, dark-haired, young man sits next to her on the pew reserved for family. Joe Short, the grandson.
Making the acquaintance of another family member previously unknown to them helps the Wakefields discover who Josephine Short is and where she fits into all their lives. The discovery that she is well off and has a large estate is even more confusing. When the auburn beauty's body is found in the river under suspicious circumstances, the heirs are forced to reveal their alibis, which brings down suspicion on both of them, as well as a local thug whose mother was working at the nursing home.
When using material that Aird senses her reader may not have a complete understanding about, such as subject matter, she will have her characters ask questions to show their ignorance of the subject, which in turn edifies both the character and reader at the same time.
Aird weaves the red herrings and suspicions throughout the story, making you look back into the past pages for clues missed, words uttered that might have been a clue, a hint of foreshadowing glossed over until the pieces all fall together, making perfect sense of the tale.

Blind Fury by Lynda La Plante

I am so excited to start a new series that I enjoy listening to

The Hannibal Lecter- Clarice schema is getting tiresome though ( see it here just like it was in the Rizzoli and Aisles series )
Still it is very listenable
I like Anna
According to the reviewers on Amazon this is a good to middling book by this author so I look forward to reading more

From Amazon

When the body of a young woman is discovered close to a highway service station, Detective Inspector Anna Travis is brought on to the team of investigators by her former lover and boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Langton. As more evidence is uncovered, the team realizes that they are contending with a triple murder investigation—and no suspect.

But then a murderer Anna helped arrest years ago makes contact from prison. Cameron Welsh insists that he can help track down the killer, but he will divulge his secrets only to Anna herself. Does he really have an insight into another criminal’s mind, or is he merely intent on getting into hers?

The team soon realizes that they are dealing with a killer whose deviousness has enabled him to commit horrific crimes, yet remain undetected for years. As the case draws to a close, Welsh’s obsession for Anna fuels a terrifying rage that will have disastrous consequences for Anna, who finds herself staring into the face of a desperate personal tragedy.