Flesh and Blood

Amazon.com

Psychologist Alex Delaware hasn't been in private practice for a long time, but when the mother of a former patient calls and asks for his help, he can't turn her down. He couldn't help Lauren Teague when she was alive, but something about his failure with the beautiful, sullen teenager who grew up to be a high-priced call girl won't let him walk away after her bullet-ridden body turns up in an L.A. dumpster. When she wasn't turning tricks, she was a straight-A student; despite his detective pal Milo's demurral, Alex is convinced there's a connection between Lauren's death and another beautiful UCLA psych major who disappeared a year earlier. With his customary skill and compassion, Jonathan Kellerman draws us deep into Lauren's complicated life, from a university campus to a Malibu estate owned by a wealthy publisher of soft-core porn (who bears a distinct resemblance to the pajama-clad mogul who made a small white bunny famous).

Kellerman's last couple of books have been a bit disappointing, but here the bestselling author is writing up to the high standard he set in his earlier ones. With solid plotting, well-realized characterizations, and a strong narrative drive, Flesh and Blood delivers the real goods on every page. --Jane Adams

Book Description

Lauren Teague is a beautiful, defiant, borderline-delinquent teenager when her parents bring her to Alex Delaware's office. But for all Alex's skill and effort, Lauren resists--angrily, provocatively. Reluctantly, the psychologist chalks Lauren up as one of the inevitable failures of a challenging profession. But years later, when Alex encounters Lauren as a stag party's featured entertainment, both doctor and patient are stricken with shame. And the ultimate horror takes place when, soon after, Lauren's brutalized corpse is found dumped in an alley. Alex disregards the advice of his trusted friend, LAPD detective Milo Sturgis, and jeopardizes his relationship with longtime lover Robin Castagna in order to pursue Lauren's murderer. As he investigates his young patient's troubled past, Alex enters the shadowy worlds of fringe psychological experimentation and the sex industry, and then into mortal danger when lust and big money collide in Southern California.

Jonathan Kellerman's L.A. is evil, seductive, erotic, and unforgiving, and Flesh and Blood is mind-opening in its drama of a driven man's personal quest, breathtaking in its ingenious plot, filled with unforgettable characters, and topped off by a terrifying climax. This is suspense fiction as its best.

Download Description

Lauren Teague is a beautiful, defiant, borderline delinquent teenager when her parents bring her to Dr. Alex Delaware¿s office. Lauren angrily resists Alex¿s help - and the psychologist is forced to chalk Lauren up as one of the inevitable failures of his profession. Years later, when Alex and Lauren come face-to-face in a shocking encounter, both doctor and patient are stricken with shame. But the ultimate horror takes place when, soon after, Lauren¿s brutalized corpse is found dumped in an alley. Alex disregards the advice of his trusted friend, LAPD detective Milo Sturgis, and jeopardizes his relationship with longtime lover, Robin Castagna, in order to pursue Lauren¿s killer. As he investigates his young patient¿s troubled past, Alex enters the shadowy worlds of fringe psychological experimentation and the sex industry - and then into mortal danger, when lust and big money collide in an unforgiving Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews:

Kellerman Doesn't Impress.......2007-04-16

The first Kellerman book I have read, and possibly the last I think.
It was Ok, a murder mystery that delves into the world of prostitution and porn. It didn't leave me wanting to read more from this author, but judging from other reviews on this page, it is possible I started with the wrong book.

Delaware Delivers.......2007-01-21

When Alex Delaware, former counseling psychologist turned consultant to LAPD, has a former patient murdered, he seems compelled to try to find the murderer. He contacts his friend, Milo, police detective, and they work on the case together. Kellerman's style of writing is very descriptive and enjoyable. Also, the book is fairly suspensful (and a little far fetched at times). Despite a few flaws, it is an enjoyable read. I actually listened to this book on tape and it was easy to get into. This is the third book I have read by Kellerman, and so far it's my favorite. I like the way the author chooses to have the main character, Alex, reveal his thoughts about various people as suspects. He often sifts through his thoughts, and it keeps the reader in tune with who the character sees as the most likely suspects. I would recommend this book as a great starting point, if you were interested in trying out Kellerman.

Alex is digging himself a deep hole........2006-07-09

Seems to me Alex has been getting increasingly obsessive over the years and in this one, he is going over the deep end.

Out of nowhere, Psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware gets a frantic phone call from the mother of a former patient. Lauren Teague was a troubled teen when Alex tried to treat her years ago - one of his failures. After years on the street, though, the 25 year old woman seems to have turned her life around and is currently a psych major at the U - influenced by her brief visits to Dr. Delaware as a teen. But now, she is missing and her mother fears the worse. Alex does what little he can to try to find her, but when his pal Milo Sturgis, the homicide detective, finds her murdered, Alex becomes absolutely obsessed.

He starts neglecting his girlfriend Robin, he disregards Milo's warnings and goes snooping on his own. Is it because he feels he failed Lauren all those years ago? Or is the case merely a welcomed distraction from his own disquietude? And he's not his usual erudite self in this one either - he gets a lot of things wrong - almost gets himself killed. He gets enough right, though, to lead Milo in the right direction and eventually the tangled conspiracy is unearthed and the true tragedy is revealed. But at what expense? Will his relationship with Robin survive?

Enjoyable Read.......2006-06-12

I always enjoy the friendship between Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis. There were so many twists and turns but the story kept my interest. Alex became so involved in the murder of a former patient that he seemed to loose track of his relationship with his beloved Robin.

Pretty good.......2006-02-08

This is the first Jonathan Kellerman novel I've ever read, and only because it was a loaner. But, I ended up enjoying it.

The story is about Alex Delaware's quest to find out who murdered a former patient of his, and why. The patient was Lauren Teague, whom Alex had only seen for 2 sessions when Lauren was 15. Then after those sessions, she never returned, and Alex didn't give much thought about her until he encountered her 6 years later. After another brief session with Lauren, she disappeared again, and 4 years later her mother, Jane, contacted Alex, frantic that Lauren was missing. Therefore, Alex becomes enmeshed in the hunt for her killer or killers, placing his own life at risk.

I thought the basic plot itself was good. However, the story got a little bit convoluted at times, what with Alex's list of possible suspects changing on a constant basis. Plus, each suspects connection to other people in the story tended to get a little confusing as well. Nevertheless, you're still kept guessing as to who really perpetrated the crime.

As for Alex's personal life and his relationship with Robin, I didn't really find that very believable. I am sure their relationship has obviously been built up in prior novels, but since this is the only one I've read, that's what I'm basing this on. And the book's description said their relationship was being strained due to Alex's involvement in the case. Yet, from my perspective, it didn't seem like much of a relationship to begin with.

At any rate, it was a good story, and I would probably read another book by this author.

Average customer rating:

Butkus is #1
Butkus Rules
Dissapointing
Great Read about the greatest Football player ever..
Best Ever at Linebacker

Butkus: Flesh and Blood
Dick Butkus
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Football | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0385486480
Release Date: 1997-10-13

Amazon.com

Like his no-nonsense tenure as one of the dominating linebackers in NFL history, Dick Butkus's no-nonsense autobiography covers plenty of ground, offers no excuses, scares the hell out of you (you will never look at your knees--or your doctors--in quite the same way again), and, in the end, entertains with his candor and verve. Butkus has axes to grind, and he grinds them wonderfully, but he also is capable of examining his own behavior. What emerges is a portrait of an athlete willing to explore--roots, warts, and all--the aggression and rage he rode to glory on the field, and the challenges he faced trying to harness those same emotions off the field.

Book Description

From 1965 to 1973 Dick Butkus was the most revered player in professional football. Although he never played for a championship team, and one can't say he set all kinds of records, no other defender in the entire history of the NFL has so electrified the game. The stories about Butkus are legendary. They make him sound so intense, so ferocious, and for the most part they are frighteningly true. Yet underneath the layers of mythology resides a man who is as thoughtful and emotional as he is intense.

In Butkus, Dick Butkus tells his entire life story, from growing up and getting into trouble in Chicago, to his uncomfortable yet glorious years at the University of Illinois. He reveals what it felt like to be the ninth child of two hardworking Lithuanian parents--one of whom was born in a Illinois coal mine, the other never fully learned to speak English--and the camaraderie and contentment he experienced while playing football. He recounts the historic nine seasons with the Chicago Bears where he played with and against such immortals as Gale Sayers, Jim Brown, Brian Piccolo, Mike Ditka, and Joe Greene.

Dick Butkus looks deeply into his own psyche to find the source of his passionate style of play--a style that has often been described as violence and intimidation on the football field. With honesty and emotion, he recounts his battles with George "Papa Bear" Halas, the NFL, and the media.

Customer Reviews:

Butkus is #1.......2005-11-10

My first word as a child was: Butkus. There was a football game on TV at the hospital where I was born. The Bears were playing the Lions. Butkus had five sacks and an interception. I like cookies and milk.

Butkus Rules.......2005-10-26

This book is the best book I ever read. Dick Butkus is the greatest human being who ever bit of a refs ear. I would recommend anyone thinking of becoming a serial killer read this book. I like cookies and , milk.

Dissapointing.......2005-10-10

A very comprehensive study of each and every season Butkus played with the Bears. But I was hoping for much more about Butkus's life off the football field. I would have liked to have heard more anecdotes about players he played with and against. Also would have been interesting to hear personal insights from Dick regarding what he felt about the awe-like reputation he inspired on the field from fans and players alike.

This reads too much as a season-by-season and game-by-game account of his career. Interesting at first but repetitive and dry over time. I was hoping for more.

Great Read about the greatest Football player ever.........2003-06-09

I loved it!

But then again I am a huge Bears fan and a huge Butkus fan,good ol 51 played the game like nobody ever did and I enjoyed reading about how he grewup and about the Bears on and off the field and its mangement,I always thought Bears mangement has always been skummy and this book proved me right,I loved this book though as it was great to hear stories about the players and how they spent there time and about picciolo and sayers etc,
I met Butkus about 4months ago and he looks great and seams to be doing well.

Best Ever at Linebacker.......2000-02-06

Never been a Bears fan, never will. But who amongst us growing up in the '60s and loving football, did not admire Dick Butkus? Whatta' player! I loved the cover of this book! What a menacing figure! Let's talk about the book. Overall, a good, insightful book but a couple of items disappointed me. First, the ramblings about his falling out with the Bears. After many pages, I felt like saying, 'Get over it!' but considering who I would be speaking to...well. Second, I was curious what his kids grew up to be like. Not much mention of his wife nowadays either. But, this is a book about Butkus and his life was football. Fun to read...

Average customer rating:

An Interesting Try at Creating a Second Great Character
Too gritty for some tastes
"It's mum. You should have loved her more."

Flesh & Blood: A Frank Elder Mystery
John Harvey
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Police Procedurals | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0156031817

Book Description

Retirement has not come easy for Detective Inspector Frank Elder. He's fled to a solitary existence on the Cornish coast, but he can't escape the past. Susan Blacklock would be thirty now. But fourteen years ago she disappeared, and the case has gone unsolved. Not that Elder hadn't had his suspects. And now, with one of them out on parole, Elder is compelled to return to the seaside scene of the crime. Shortly thereafter, pretty Emma Harrison goes missing.

Just as Elder's knowledge becomes crucial to the official investigation of this disquieting case, he unwittingly becomes vital to its perpetration. For with cryptic messages on seaside postcards and a few purposefully planted clues, the killer is drawing Elder inexorably into the very heart of the criminal matter. Elder's teenage daughter is already there.

In the first in the Frank Elder series, before Ash & Bone and Darkness & Light, John Harvey sets in motion the events from which Elder's family will never recover.

Customer Reviews:

An Interesting Try at Creating a Second Great Character.......2007-03-23

John Harvey has been known and complemented for his "Resnick" series for many years. Now he has created a new detective, Frank Elder, who has retired from the Service after many years. He left his wife and job and moved to the Land's End area of Cornwall. Elder helped put away two men who had tortured, raped and murderer teenage girls. But he is still haunted by the disappearance of Susan Blalock whose body was never found. Now the younger of the two murderers (the willing accomplis) is being paroled after fifteen years in jail.

Elder's wife (they never divorced) has been living with her lover/business partner with his sixteen year old daughter. She's the same age as the girls who were taken. Just a few days after his parole, he takes off; the same day a fifteen year old girl goes missing. Her body is recovered, badly tortured, raped and murdered. A huge manhunt ensues. But then Elder realizes that something isn't right about the murder. Before he can get a handle on it, his own daughter goes missing.

This is not an unusual tactic, it's been used by Ian Rankin and others at times. Rankin had a 'crazy' chase down his daughter and hit her with a car to get back at him. So it's not the most original of stories but it is well written and the dialogue is especially well done. It will be interesting to see how Harvey continues to grow this character.

Too gritty for some tastes.......2007-02-09

I am surprised this novel won several awards with apparently no indication (or warning) of the explicit descriptions of violence and sexuality that will bother some readers no doubt. There are plenty of great writers with equal depth of character development and literary accomplishment, such as Henning Mankell, who do not focus as much on the sordid details. I returned the book for this reason.

"It's mum. You should have loved her more.".......2006-07-06

The other frank Elder novels refer to a seminal event in Elder's family that haunts them all profoundly; Flesh & Blood puts that question to rest. The course of events that forever traumatizes sixteen-year-old Katherine Elder is begun simply enough, one more case that Elder can't resist when his expertise is solicited. When his marriage to Joanna fell apart and her infidelity came to light, Frank moved as far away from his memories as possible, to the remote and wild Cornwall coast. Now he lives a spartan existence, solitary and healing, the emotional wreckage of a failed marriage gradually losing its power. Always a detective at heart, although loathe to leave his new home, Frank cannot resist the siren call of one more request, this time related to one missing girl and another brutally tortured and slain.

Acting on the request of another detective, Maureen Prior, Elder returns to Nottinghamshire. It seems that one of the perpetrators of a kidnap-murder has been released on parole and Prior thinks Shane Donald may lead them to the missing girl who has never been found. Although Shane hasn't admitted knowledge of the disappearance of Susan Blacklock, he may know something that will enable them to renew their investigation. But when Donald, whose former crime was heinous, is threatened, he disappears from the assigned group home into the countryside. The police are diligently searching for Donald when another young woman is abducted, violated and murdered; the quest grows more frantic, everyone working against time.

Between visits with his daughter and interviews with Susan Blacklock's friends and family, Elder participates in solving the latest crime. Meanwhile Harvey sweetens the plot with more than one resolution, another set of remorseless criminals, Frank's horrific dreams, too much publicity and Elder's daughter, Katherine, caught up in a nightmare beyond imagining. Harvey's dour protagonist is a driven man, no doubt, but one with a compassionate heart and a realistic take on the checks and balances of the world. Katherine's desperate situation draws Elder into the crux of his moral dilemma, his role as a father, an ex-husband and a man. Psychologically shredded by his own failings and inability to save his daughter from the underbelly of the criminal element he knows so well, Frank Elder faces the most important test of his life. pp Luan Gaines/ 2006.

Average customer rating:

The best work of a brilliant writer
Engrossing family saga
Great book so far....but noticed a common theme...
Now This is Modern Literature
In a Word, "Generic"

Flesh and Blood
Michael Cunningham
Manufacturer: Hill & Wang Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0374181136

Book Description

Michael Cunningham's novel A Home at the End of the World introduced him as one of the most passionate of contemporary writers. In Flesh and Blood, he has produced a work of broad sweep, powerful narrative drive, and intense feeling.

Flesh and Blood follows the Stassos family through four generations, as it is transformed by ambition, love, violence, and accumulating history. Constantine Stassos, a Greek immigrant, marries Mary Cuccio, an Italian-American girl, and they have three children, each fated to a complex life. Susan is oppressed by her beauty and her father's affections; Billy is brilliant, and gay; Zoe is a wild, heedless visionary. As the years pass, their lives unfold in ways that compel them, and their parents, to meet ever greater challenges. Zoe raises a child in New York with a transvestite friend; Billy searches for love and battles with his father; Susan raises a son whose explosive emotions bring the story to its climax.

Generous, masterfully crafted, alternately stirring and heartbreaking, Flesh and Blood is a rich and memorable sounding of contemporary life.

Customer Reviews:

The best work of a brilliant writer.......2007-09-18

While reading a novel, if I come upon a line I particularly like, either for its grace or its insight, I'll turn down the corner. By the time I was done with this one, the book was twice as thick as when I started.

Cunningham is frankly astounding. He writes beautifully, doing more with a single line than many authors can do with a chapter. Better still, he has such a subtle understanding of the human heart, and so much empathy for all of his characters, that it's hard to believe the thing is fiction. Following three generations of a family, FLESH AND BLOOD is about all the good stuff: love, loyalty, ambition, hope, lust, pain, loss, need, joy. It's too bright and too big to be summed up here. All I can say is that it's one of the best books I've read this year, and that I can't recommend it highly enough.

Engrossing family saga.......2007-08-13

Covering many years and concluding well in the future, this family saga centres on the lives of three children, including the son who is gay, and their parents a Greek immigrant and his Italian wife.
Of the children, Susan readily marries to escape he father; Billy goes to Harvard; and Zoë takes up a free lifestyle in New York. Each finds love in his or her own way, and of course the problems that go with such. As the children in turn have children their lives become part of the saga. Each member of the family is a distinct and very individual character, from the down to earth, physical, abusive and self made patriarch Constantine, his sensitive wife Mary, the rather prim Susan, level headed Billy who is gay and perhaps the most endearing member of the family, and Zoë who is into free love and drugs. The one outsider to the family who figures strongly in the story is Cassandra, Zoë's flamboyant transvestite and very caring friend, and an appealing individual.
Between them they face innumerable troubles including divorce, abuse, illness, discrimination, drugs, AIDS, adultery, suicide, death, and family rejection. But these troubles are tempered with the more positive, essentially the love that binds a family, and the love that some find beyond the family, including gay love. As the saga draws to its conclusion way in the future it is the less conventional family members, those at times rejected, who come through with credit and prove to be the true survivors.
Flesh and Blood is an engrossing family drama with vividly drawn and diverse characters, a very moving and ultimately heart warming story.

Great book so far....but noticed a common theme..........2007-06-07

As I said in my title line, I'm almost half way through the book; so far I really like it...I'm a little bugged by the glanced mention of a more intimate daughter-father relationship (perhaps there's more to surface later?), then it's dropped...
With Mary's "problem," I'm thinking "Didn't I just read [and see in the movie] this in "Bee Season" by Myra Goldberg?" Perhaps this is an epidemic among repressed housewives and moms?
Curious to see the coming of events with Billy - I predict another great Cunningham-delivered tour-de-force of coming out in suburbia...

Now This is Modern Literature.......2006-10-12

Once in while you read a book that is so well written that it stays with you for months. When I hear other people mention this book, my heart jumps a little. This is simply one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. The writing is utterly beautiful and literally perfect in its pitch. I could not put this book down save for the end when I had no other choice because it was so moving. This is one of those books that you will take your time to finish because you don't want it to end. I love it when a book can have that effect on you and this one definitely had that kind of effect on me.

In a Word, "Generic".......2006-08-16

This is the first book I've not been able to put down - not because it was so riveting, but because I couldn't wait to be done with it. It reads like a grocery list of domestic issues that might be intriguing for an adolescent or, perhaps, for someone who has never left their small town and dreams of the dramas that they assume lie in the big city. The themes, problems and experiences of the Stassos family are so completely generic that, should the book be interpreted into any visual form, it would take the shape of the most heavy-handed after-school special ever made!

And as for the "poetic" prose that is attributed to this novel: the use of language is over-the-top and often pretencious. Many experiences are not simply stated, but are rather coated with words that only add weight rather than description or meaning.

One example that I underlined: "'I'm always careful,' Ben said, in exactly the spirit he would toss a too-small offering -- a hibiscus blossom, a pomegranate -- into a crater." WHAT?!!!

Granted, the context is missing, but even in the context, this quote made me laugh. And by the time i came to the last third of book, the laughter was all that got me though to the end (that, and the fact that I had to finish it because I told someone that I would.)

If I could give this book less than one star, I would.

Average customer rating:

Predator: Flesh And Blood
Michael Jan Friedman , and Robert Greenberger
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1595820477

Book Description

In 1987, the first Predator movie was released, garnering an Oscar, huge audiences, and an instantly loyal fan base. Five years later came the first of the best-selling Predator novels. What accounted for the success of the series? It combined seemingly disparate genres — science fiction, action, and horror — with unforgettable characters for a fresh experience. In this novel by New York Times bestsellers Michael Friedman and frequent writing partner Robert Greenberger, humans have all but destroyed the earth, creating an opportunity for unscrupulous moneymakers to take advantage of the destruction. One family, the Ciejek clan, have made their fortune exploiting Earth’s misfortunes. But with power comes corruption. The members of the Ciejek clan are at each other’s throats, enlisting the help of the fearsome Predators to settle the score . . . When the Predators arrive, however, the brutality they unleash is far beyond what the Ciejek family could have imagined.

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One for the Prosecution
VERY WELL WRITTEN
It's not as bad as everybody else says
Darlie is Guilty as Sin
Flesh and Blood

Flesh And Blood (True Crime)
Patricia Springer
Manufacturer: Pinnacle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0786004517

Customer Reviews:

One for the Prosecution.......2005-12-03

If you already believe that Darlie Routier is guilty, that her husband is pristinely innocent, and that the state of Texas is never wrong, this is the book for you. The author leaves no doubt that she believes these things. Nevertheless, Springer provides an interesting read, including a compelling account of events on the night of the murders, a well written - albeit obviously biased - explanation of the police investigation, and a blow-by-blow description of the trial itself. The book also contains a few innocuous photographs of investigators, the prosecution team, and some of the marches and protests organized by the pro-Darlie camp.

The book is entertaining, but readers who are searching for a more objective approach to the subject would be better served by reading Don Davis' book, Hush Little Babies.

VERY WELL WRITTEN.......2004-11-21

VERY TALENTED WRITER, YOU REALLY FEEL YOUR AT THE CRIME SCENE, WITH THE GREAT DETAIL. DEALS WITH ALOT OF THE COURT CASE, WHICH I FOUND TO BE VERY INTERESTING. FOUND OUT A FEW THINGS THAT I DIDNT IN OTHER BOOKS. (HUSH LITTLE BABIS). IM STILL CONVINCED SHE DID IT. READ THIS ONE YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED. HARD TO FIND HOWEVER, GET A USED COPY, I DID;

It's not as bad as everybody else says.......2004-10-26

I have read the four books so far published on the Routier case, and I'll admit, I found this one to be the most biased against Darlie Routier. I still found it to be a good read, although I'm certain she is innocent of the horrible crime of killing her two young sons. I have read too much of the evidence that has been made public to believe anything else. I think Springer is a pretty good true crime author but it is obvious she believes Routier is guilty, as opposed to the other authors, namely, Don Davis, Barbara Davis and Christopher Brown. I don't, however agree with most of the reviewers who want to nail her to a cross. I have had a fascination with this case since I read Davis' "Precious Angels". I don't know how anyone who has seen the crime scene photos could believe she did it. Read "Media Tried, Justice Denied". You'll know what I'm talking about.

Darlie is Guilty as Sin.......2004-10-13

This book is rather short and not too complex, but Ms. Springer does get the main points across. What convinced me that Darlie definitely did it, no question, was:

The luminol test after the murders - small bloody handprint and small butt print found on the couch, Darlie's footprints found in kitchen walking back and forth and to kitchen sink. Blood in and around kitchen sink. This was blood that was not visible to the eye. This blood had been wiped up and did not show without the Luminol being sprayed and the lights turned off. Luminol picks up a protein in blood and enables the markings to show up in the dark. What this means is Darlie was busy wiping up blood stains before she called for Daryl. If you were attacked by an intruder and your sons lay dying, would you be busy wiping blood off your couch, IF YOU WERE INNOCENT? No, you wouldn't.

Also, the fact that the "intruder" broke in the house by slashing the garage window screen from the INSIDE (the window sill of which the dust had NOT been disturbed), with a knife that was in a wooden block in the KITCHEN.

To some of the nitpickers, it makes no difference to the story which lawyer made the opening statement, or whether Darlie had an abortion - permission only given by her husband after she agreed to have breast implants. Permission is not required by husbands in Texas, but anyone can see that she has had implants. For Daryl to be bragging about the size of Darlie's breasts to the police when his sons were stabbed to death, shows where his priorities lay.

Past history on Darlie included sexual abuse by a step-father, and narcissistic, histrionic behavior - she could not stand it when she lost the spotlight to Daryl at his graduation party, so she left, then came back hysterical, claiming to have been attacked, in order to get some attention for herself.

Darlie needed help, but never got it. She didn't get what she needed from her dysfunctional family, who also need help. The only way Darlie will ever be free in her own mind is to admit her guilt. She probably never will, because she is afraid of losing the support of her family members.

Daryl has also failed a polygraph, so there is probably more to this story.

Flesh and Blood.......2004-01-03

Patricia Springer did an excellent job of giving a first hand look at the participants in the trial and their family members as the trial progressed. So much was going on in this case that the transcripts can't depict. Her eyes at the trial helped define the characters and so far this is my favorite of the books written about this case. Bravo, Ms Springer!

Average customer rating:

Eh... decent
touching.
should have been the sequel
Worth reading, worth buying if you're major crow fan.
A bitter Sweet tail of love and revenge.

The Crow: Flesh & Blood (Crow)
James Vance , and Alex Maleev
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1593071256

Book Description

In the midst of a rural land-rights struggle, federal conservation officer Iris Shaw is murdered in a bombing by a rag-tag band of right-wing activists. Little do her killers know that Iris wasn't their only victim and now, with the help of the Crow, Iris must exact vengeance not only for her own death but also that of her unborn baby. Raised from her grave and armed with cold-blooded hatred and a few deadly weapons, Iris hunts down her killers one by one. But if exacting ultimate pain is the goal, when does vengeance cross the line to brutality? And what is the price to the soul?

Customer Reviews:

Eh... decent.......2004-09-02

As far as graphic novels go, The Crow - Flesh and Blood is nothing to rave about. The artwork is decent(sort of) and the story is pretty much what you'd expect from a Crow title. It wasn't that good though. It isn't nearly as deliciously bizarre or captivating as the original comics by James O'Barr. This graphic novel carries the J. O'Barr name, but don't be taken in - it has nothing to do with the original Crow comic books. This comic is a rehashing of the Crow story with a female protagonist and a list of pretty weak supporting characters. It has none of the original feel of the old Crow. If you're a die hard Crow fan and you need every little scarp of Crow you can find, then go ahead and get this one. It isn't totally disagreeable... But if you're a casual fan, this is one piece of Crow media that you can afford to pass up. You've been warned.

touching........2003-02-20

i bought this for a road trip. i like it and the art is great. one thing got me though. the chick who comes back as the crow, why did she come back? she wasnt even going to keep her baby, she didndt love it. but it was good

should have been the sequel.......2000-08-19

with a little bit of editing and etc. this could have been an excellent sequel..

Worth reading, worth buying if you're major crow fan........1999-08-29

Very cool book. Pretty cool story line, most of the drawings are very cool. Others, it looked like they didn't know what else to put in and still be able to put in all the dialogue. Seemed that they were trying too hard to make her outfit look like the crow in the movie (minus the trench coat). Definately worth seeing to see a chick kicking butt!

veGAMan infErior

A bitter Sweet tail of love and revenge........1999-04-11

The Crow Flesh and Blood is a great story about love revenge and all things crow. The only drawback I found was the lack of the famous art of James O' Bar but the story more than makes up for it. All in all great.

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Flesh & Blood
Pete HAMILL
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000ILLELK

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Miss the Charlie Resnick series? This is for you!
how lame
"It's mum. You should have loved her more."
Well Crafted Suspense
Well done!

Flesh & Blood (Frank Elder Mysteries)
John Harvey
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786713593

Book Description

After his wife's betrayal and his own retirement from the force, Detective Inspector Elder has fled as far as possible to go in England without running out of land. But he is haunted by the past and in particular by the unsolved disappearance of sixteen-year-old Susan Blacklock back in 1988. Shane Donald and Alan McKeirnan, convicted just one year later for the brutal rape and murder of a young girl, remain the prime suspects in Elder's mind, and when he hears of Shane's early release from prison, he feels compelled to leave his safe haven and to revisit the scene of the crime. When Shane breaks parole and disappears and yet another young girl is horribly murdered, Elder's involvement becomes crucial. McKiernan seems to still wield a frightening power over his ex-partner even from his prison cell, and the new murder bears all the hallmarks of their earlier crime. Taunted by postcards from the killer, an increasingly desperate Elder battles his own demons as he and his family are inexorably drawn into the very heart of the crime in this breakthrough novel from John Harvey, winner of the first-ever Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British author.

Customer Reviews:

Miss the Charlie Resnick series? This is for you!.......2007-08-06

It's funny that the problems that some of the reviewers have, with the dialogue, and the "boring Englishness" of the story, is what endeared it to me. I couldn't put this down -- I read it in one day. Frank Elder is the answer to my mourning over the end of the Charlie Resnick series. Gritty, yes, but compelling.

how lame.......2006-12-19

For me, this book's highlight was the local color. Characters used the word "innit," as in "I were in the kitchen, innit?" I kept practicing until I could pronounce it without adding a 'd.'
Then one of the characters pronounced it "idnit." --DOH!
Another reviewer has said that "the denouement is quite contrived and ultimately disappointing." Judge for yourself: The killer sends some postcards to his buddy in prison with pictures of the town he's in. But the cops can't find him until he calls the local police station and tells them where he is. Then he's amazed when they show up and bust him!
Mr Harvey, yer head is up yer arse, innit?

"It's mum. You should have loved her more.".......2006-06-26

Well Crafted Suspense.......2005-08-25

Harvey is clearly an experienced writer in this genre, and the plot flows from page to page with seemingly no effort. It's easy to keep reading, but not so compelling that you stay up all night to finish it.

Frank Elder has retired as a police officer in the Nottinghamshire police force, and he now leads a quiet and lonely life in Cornwall (being introspective no doubt). His interest in the outside world is engaged when a teen he sent to prison is set to be released--at almost that same time, crimes this boy committed prior to incarceration begin to surface again. Elder, because he has a vested and personal interest in the boy he sent to prison and the crimes this boy committed, becomes peripherally involved with the police as he and they investigate a new stint of kidnappings and murderings involving 16-year-old girls.

Elder is just a shade different from the usual detective. He is not morose or depressed (at least not too much), he doesn't have an alcohol problem, and he doesn't brood about all the horrible things he saw as a detective. He is honest and honorable, and he's likeable without being perfect.

The mystery is fairly engaging, and the conclusion is realistic and not too melancholy. Also, something I really liked in this book was a proper conclusion--something that has fallen out of style in this era of crime fiction! Frank follows all the loose ends of the case and ties them up for us, long after the perpetrators are in custody. En fin, it's a well plotted English suspense/crime novel written by a veteran who still has a masterhold on his craft.

Well done!.......2005-04-10

John Harvey won the first-ever Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British author, and deservedly so. I was sorry when Harvey retired his Charlie Resnick series, although Charlie makes a very brief appearance here, but Harvey certainly didn't retire his writing skills. He knows how to draw you into the story and keep you there to the very end. Well-developed characters, good dialogue, tension, a very literate style; these are all hallmarks of Harvey's writing.

Flesh and Blood : The National Society of Film Critics on Sex, Violence, and Censorship

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Excellent essays on the films of our time

Flesh and Blood : The National Society of Film Critics on Sex, Violence, and Censorship

Manufacturer: Mercury House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1562790765

Customer Reviews:

Excellent essays on the films of our time.......2001-01-13

This book is full of great essays on violence and sex in the cinema. The essays are guaranteed to get you thinking and may make you want to take a second look at some of the most controversial films of our time. I highly recommend this for any film lover, and for anyone who has ever critisized movies for there depictions of violence and sex.

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