Book Description
She was the most outlandish, outrageous, in-your-face symbol of the age - and suddenly, shockingly, she was gone. In life her antics, adventures and behavior kept a nation riveted; in death she stunned a world gripped by the surprise and swiftness of her unexpected passing. The woman was, of course, Anna Nicole Smith. This is the story of the little girl from west of nowhere, born into a broken, dysfunctional, dirt-poor family, told by the one woman who knew her best - her sister. Her fierce resolve, pluck, luck and determination allowed her to claw her way to celebrity status, becoming a tabloid staple, and to reach the potential of unimaginable wealth. And then, in a moment, she was gone, not yet 40 years old. A Horatio Alger story with a bitter ending, TRAIN WRECK- The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith, is the definitive story of the rise and swift fall of one of the most compelling characters to blaze across the American sky.
Customer Reviews:
Uhhh what?.......2007-09-28
Luckily I didn't spend money on this book because it gave me a headache just trying to get through the first chapter. The writing is SO BAD. I can't believe she collaborated with someone and this is the best they could do. It jumps around so much and alot of the book has nothing to do with Anna at all. I figure the reason for that is Donna's writing what she knows and she DOESN'T KNOW ANNA. It's all old news and assumptions. I could have written all the "secrets" that are in this book. Most of the photos are of Donna's family which sure they're partially related, but these people don't know Anna.
If you *have* to read this book, do what I did, and go to the library.
grave-robbing at its best... .......2007-09-22
one word: trash. i bought this book because i felt, well, that no one could probably tell us the personality of this strong woman (and anyone who has gone through what anna nicole smith went through is definitely strong). i figured her sister would clue me in about the culture that brought this young woman to a tragic end. i must say, it is not there. this book would probably amount to "gossip" and nothing else. if you want to read everything you have already heard in the media, it is an okay read. if you are curious about anna nicole's life, this book won't offer you much.
Train Wreck.......2007-09-12
I thought this book was very interesting. I have never been a fan of Anna but found this book to be a good read.I now understand Anna a little better and see that she really had a very sad life. If you are a fan or not this is a good book.
Love you Anna!!!!.......2007-09-09
Good book, I ordered it the second it came out. Very nice cover and image, beautiful packaging. Donna Hogan is a decent writer. I think she might have been false on a few things but over all it was good and worthwhile for Die-hard Anna fans like myself. I LOVE ANNA NICOLE!!!!!!! Been her biggest fan since she came out. She is the most beautiful creature to have ever graced this planet and it is a shame she is gone. Rest is Peace Beautiful and keep the books comin!!!!!
"User-Loser".......2007-09-08
Donna Hogan is just exactly what Anna said she was a "user-loser". She is trying to get her 15 minutes by trashing her half sister who she obviously really knows nothing about. Everything she claims to know comes from the media. She is the epitome of "trailer trash" and too ignorant to realize it. She thinks that her own sleeping with married men and whoever else will have her makes her worldly and sofisticated and that her use of Anna's name to further her causes is ok, yet she trashes her half sister who doesn't appear to have done anything worse than she herself has done. I wish I hadn't purchased this book because I hate to think of her succeeding in making money from trashing her dead sister. She is disgusting.
Book Description
Anna Nicole Smith went from being a small town country girl to being Playboy's Playmate of the Year, exploited by national tabloids for her controversial marriage to one of the richest men in America. In this indulgent biography, authors reveal all of the salacious details of her meteoric rise to fame, now with a new introduction, concluding chapter, and even more never-before-seen photos. The authors reveal all of the salacious details of her meteoric rise to fame from her childhood in tiny Mexia, Texas to her very public struggle with her weight. It includes the details of her Supreme Court battle to hold onto the fabulous fortune left to her in her husband's will.
Customer Reviews:
Shocking.......2007-10-06
Shocking. Absolutely shocking book. That gal would do anything. I just pray that Dannielynn never reads this book.
can i say gold digger?!!.......2007-10-01
thought the book was very well written. it makes me wonder who can really be a fan of anna nicole. she absolutely seem to be out of control her whole life and used people(yes male and female) for what she could get out of them and step on them on her way to the next. poor daniel didnt have a chance. she exposed this young man to things he should have never seen or known about from a very young age. this story covers her life from about junior high until her death. exposes her lifestyle and the spend spend ways she lived her life.if someone gave her 100,000 she spent 1,000.000. out of control! it is a wonder she lived as long as she did, since she drank and took drugs from 16 till the end. reveals to what lengths she would go to get her hands on money....married men, single men, good men,bad men without ONE BIT OF GUILT!! shocking what depths she would go to. very good read....to bad it is a true story!!!
Great Big Beautiful Doll: The Anna Nicole Smith Story.......2007-06-27
I thought this book was well written but thought there were parts that didn't need to be in the book. I didn't think the nude pictures needed to be in the book to sell it.
The book gave a good sense of how Anna Nicole lived and what a weak person she was. She let herself be lead around by people just because she wasn't educated and she loved money and fame. It is worth reading if you were a Anna Nicole fan.
A 'must' acquisition for any general lending library.......2007-06-17
GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL DOLL: THE ANNA NICOLE SMITH STORY couldn't be more timely: it's released in a newly updated edition to provide a biography of Smith's rise to fame and her glitzy, bright life. The authors aren't outsiders to her life, either: Redding is the photographer who helped launch her career with his Polaroid's; his life was Smith's hairstylist. Their personal relationship with Smith spices her biography and the inclusion of many rare photos makes for a 'must' acquisition for any general lending library; especially those where biographies of celebrities are in demand.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Read it in one night!.......2007-06-17
I liked this book. It was a simple read for a Small Town Girl(who was actually pretty complicated). I new alot of the info, but it put it together nicely and respectfully. I had read part of this book before and lent it out. Admittedly, I bought a second copy after the tragic passing of Anna Nicloe. I am glad I did. It is a Good read, if you want to know how her life unfolded. The pictures featured are a great choice and worth getting the book just for that! If your a fan it's a must.
Book Description
The Junior League of Willow Creek, Texas, is trs exclusive. Undesirables need not apply. Fredericka Mercedes Hildebrand Ware (Frede to her friends) is a member beyond reproach....until her life begins to unravel. When her husband betrays her, steals her money, and runs off to places unknown, it's something Frede would rather keep under wraps. The last thing she needs is to become fodder for the JLWC gossip mill. And to make matters worse, there's only one person in town who stands a chance at helping her get revenge: Howard Grout, a tasteless, gold-chain-wearing lawyer who has bought his way into Frede's tony neighborhood. But there's a price: She has to get his tacky, four-inch-stiletto-and-pink-spandex-wearing wife Nikki into the Junior League. Linda Francis Lee has written an hysterical novel about the crme de la crme of Texas society, the lengths to which one woman goes to bring her cheating husband to justice, and how taking on what seems like a "Mission Impossible" can change you in ways you could never have imagined.
Customer Reviews:
A pleasantly quick read.......2007-09-26
It's a bit of a guilty pleasure watching a spoiled princess being taken down a peg or two, but I also found myself seriously wanting Frede to pull herself back up, which she does in a somewhat unexpected ending. Despite the backdrop of tradition, this is truly a story about a woman questioning those traditions and what they mean to her and consequently discovering herself.
How true, how true.......2007-09-23
I have been a Junior League member for more years than I care to admit. The author hit the nail on the head on every page. I could picture all those meetings and trying to get to the meetings!
Oh so funny!
I hope Nickki was not disappointed.
My husband wanted to know the ending as well!.......2007-09-05
As I read this book, I kept laughing or groaning out loud in front of my husband. So of course he wanted to know why. Funny thing is, he didn't like Frede Ware that much. I did, but that's because I can see her as a woman. While my husband didn't like her, he DID want to see how the book ended. By the time I was 3/4 of the way through the book, I was reading whole passages aloud to him. :D It was a great read. My sister-in-law likes it so much that she is making this a part of her permanent library (which she doesn't do verra often).
Bravo!.......2007-07-18
What an unexpected delightful book! I was drawn to this book because I grew up in Texas and know women in other states in the JL, I just had to read it. WHAT A STORY! Altho there is a fair share of cat-fighting, scheming, and manipulating ugliness there is also a story that unfolds in a way that makes you hardly believe so much could happen in such a short time in one person's life. I enjoyed the various story lines and how things were redeemed with many characters. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thanks so much for a terrific (and timely) read!
A hilarious tongue-in-chic romp.......2007-07-16
Frede Ware is on top of the world. She is Texan, gorgeous, fabulously wealthy, married to incredibly handsome (but poor) Gordon, has her own art gallery, and is a member of the Willow Creek Junior League inner circle. As the story opens, she even giddily suspects that she's pregnant after years of infertility treatments.
Frede dashes home from her Junior League meeting to use her pregnancy test --- and that's when her world falls apart. Her maid, Nina, is in the foyer with a mousy stranger named Janet Lambert. Janet informs Frede that she's pregnant with Gordon's child. Can things get worse? Yes, they can.
Gordon arrives. He's shocked to see Janet and angry when she reveals to Frede that she's been in Frede and Gordon's bed every Wednesday. Then he blurts out that Janet can't be pregnant because he had a vasectomy years ago. Frede, who is way beyond furious, throws Gordon out.
When she calls her bank to cut off Gordon's access to her money, she discovers that Gordon has cleared out the accounts. And when she contacts their lawyer, he refuses to help her since he represents Gordon in so many business dealings. Frede can't go to her parents since their money is dwindling, and she can't bear to lose face.
Finally, Frede calls on her loud and obnoxious lawyer-shark neighbor, Howard Grout. Howard agrees to help her if she can get his stiletto-heeled, hot-pink, leopard-print legginged wife Nikki into Junior League. That's impossible, yet Frede has absolutely no choice if she wants to retrieve the money Gordon stole from her so she can continue her luxe lifestyle.
Nikki and Frede have a history. They were part of a clique in junior high that eventually fell apart in high school due to social status issues. Now Frede has no choice but to concoct a game plan to help her ex-friend. She must recruit five snooty Junior League members to sponsor flamboyant Nikki, and soon. First she plans an intimate tea at Nikki's and tries to avoid the pitfalls --- namely Nikki's jungle room and slutty outfits.
Meanwhile, Howard and Frede go to battle against Gordon. Howard insists that Frede must turn a profit at her art gallery and sends her off to persuade eccentric sculptor Sawyer Jackson to show his pieces. That quest opens up an entirely new and different can of worms.
Frede has major Attitude as she undertakes her Henrietta Higgins quest; she grows and changes (yet remains her own persnickety self) through the course of the plot, which makes for a satisfying story arc. THE DEVIL IN THE JUNIOR LEAGUE melds a little mystery, a little hot romance, some surprising plot twists and a whole lot of snarkiness into a hilarious tongue-in-chic romp --- the perfect recipe for the ultimate beach read.
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)
Book Description
Out of school, out of work, and out of motivation, Abby Rose is contemplating her life and wondering what to do next. It's the kind of situation that would get some girls down, but luckily Abby's got a heart the size of Texas-and a bank account to match. But when she discovers the gardener dead in her greenhouse, Abby realizes what she needs to do with herself: she needs to solve a murder...
Customer Reviews:
Great detective.......2006-08-24
First in the Yellow Rose series, this series is in Texas, featuring Abby Rose. Abby's gardener is murdered, and she wants to find out why: why he was killed and why he was there. Abby's fraternal twin Kate helps her run the computer business that their father left them, and she also gets roped into helping Abby find the answers to her questions. In this, Abby finds out answers to other questions, ones she wished she hadn't asked. I found this to be better than your average cozy - I was leery of the basis of the spoiled rich girl playing detective - but Abby redeems herself.
Witty, Charming Début!.......2006-07-29
Introducing Abby Rose...a privileged woman living in River Oaks, Texas...a wealthy town near Houston. In the first book in the Yellow Rose Mystery series, we find that Abby has inherited her late father's home and computer business along with her twin sister, Kate. The business runs fine without them, and they are able to pursue other interests while having a steady income. Having no real ambition in her life, and feeling left out now that Kate is finishing her dissertation and moving in with her boyfriend, Abby longs for something meaningful to fill her time. When their hard-working gardener is found dead after he promises to share a large family secret with the twins, Abby begins to investigate both his death and her past. Questions about their adoption begin to loom again in Abby and Kate's mind, and she wonders if they have the whole truth about their birthparents. When the trail to a killer leads her directly to a shady adoption agency, Abby begins to ask some tough questions. Will she discover the killer and the key to her past in time to stop a murderer on the loose?
This was a great start to a new series! The fact that Abby and her twin sister, Kate, sometimes work together in the book (but are not "joined at the hip"), made a likeable, interesting combination. The mystery itself offered a lot of twists and turns, and I was kept guessing throughout the book as to the twin's past, and to the identity of the killer. The only thing that I disliked in the book was the overuse of clichés. I know previous reviewers have mentioned this as well, and I completely agree with their feelings on the subject. However, the book was too good to pass up even with this minor flaw, and I will eagerly pick up future installments in this fun, witty series.
The next book in the series is called "A Wedding to Die For". Enjoy!
Enjoyable Read.......2005-12-16
I enjoyed the book. However, I agree with the Reviewer that said the main character used too many bad cliches. It did seem forced and got to be a little "too much". I thought the ending could have had a more interesting twist but I knew that wasn't going to happen because it is a series so all the main characters had to stay in tact.
Delightful.......2005-08-15
My second book by Leann Sweeney and I laughed all the way through at the antics of Abby Rose, an amateur sleuth who manages to get in and out of trouble in delightful ways. I'll be buying a third book by Ms. Sweeny as they are easy reads and keep you entertained.
Fabulous first mystery! Abby's a winner........2005-02-15
Abby Rose is trying to decide what to do with her life. Since she has a large bank account, she doesn't have to rush to decide. Her twin Kate is soon moving out to be with her boyfriend, and Abby doesn't know what she will do with the large house their father left them - it's too big for just her.
After she discovers her gardner, Ben, dead in the greenhouse, she realizes how little she knew about him. She begins to look into his life so that she can express her condolences. That just opens up more questions, like who killed Ben's wife years before? And why was he working for Abby's father?
Abby contracts with her ex-husband, who swears he is clean and getting his life together, to help her renovate the house in Galveston. It hasn't been lived in for years. She finds herself having to interact with him more than she likes.
The sexy detective from the Houston P.D. who is investigating Ben's death, adds some spice to Abby's dull life. Especially when he tells her that Ben was poisoned. Now Abby is determined to unravel the mystery surrounding Ben and who killed him. She finds more questions to have to find answers to.
In her investigation, she finds herself in many sticky situations. Can she discover the truth before someone puts an end to her?
This is the first Yellow Rose Mystery. LeAnn Sweeney has a real winner. I had trouble putting this book down. Abby and Kate are terrific. The Texas setting is fabulous. I've always wanted to go to Galveston, and I feel like I've at least had a short visit there. I just started reading A Wedding to Die For, the second in this series. It looks to be just as great as the first.
I highly recommend this book!
Book Description
With more than sixty million copies of her books sold worldwide, New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels writes big, bold, provocative stories of love and heartbreak, drama and desire that are impossible to put down. Standing out amongst her most treasured works is the breathtaking Texas series. Now for the first time in a new hardcover edition comes Texas Rich, the extraordinary novel that introduces the unforgettable Coleman family– and the brilliant heroine who began a powerful American dynasty.
Young and pretty Billie Ames naively fell for the exciting pilot Moss Coleman at the Philadelphia Navy Yard during World War II. Within a few months she was pregnant, married, and traveling across the country to Austin . . . to the 250,000-acre spread known as Sunbridge and into the tantalizing world of the Texas rich. In a vast land dominated by the industrious Colemans, Billie fights to maintain control of herself and her marriage.
This is the captivating story of four generations. There’s Moss, living in the shadow of a father whose obsession with power overshadows the needs of his only son; Jessica, the doomed mother who gave up everything to become the perfect Coleman wife; Moss and Billie’s children, struggling against the family’s legacy while desperately trying to live up to insurmountable expectations; and the grandchildren, heirs to a tarnished empire who just might fulfill their dreams. Most of all this is the triumphant story of Billie Ames Coleman, a woman of courage and strength who holds them all together even as her own life falls apart.
In the hands of consummate storyteller Fern Michaels, Texas Rich sweeps across the twentieth century with seductive intensity and fiery passion in a tale as magnificent as the land that inspired it.
Customer Reviews:
First book of the series.......2007-09-15
Ruthless Seth Coleman rules the roost at Sunbridge, a Texas ranch located outside of Austin. He considers the purpose of women to be to produce male heirs and to do the bidding of the men around them. His aloof behavior towards his wife Jessica sets the pattern for his son Moss, who woos Billie, a sweet girl from Pennsylvania, who has an ambitious mother named Agnes. As soon as Billie marries Moss, her fate is sealed. She has everything that money can buy, but has little respect and tenderness from her thoughtless and philandering husband. The book takes the reader through four generations of dysfunctional Colemans and shows the destruction that greed and avarice can bring to family relationships.
"Texas Rich" is a page-turner, but it falters in a few places such as when it depicts raging snowstorms in Austin, which would be very rare. Some of the characters have rather abrupt turn-arounds in their behavior, but most of the interactions of the family ring true when considering the circumstances around them.
SUPER READING OF THIS LONE STAR SAGA.......2005-06-26
Prolific author Fern Michaels has penned more than 50 novels but for many her real blockbuster is the Texas foursome - Texas Rich, Texas Fury, Texas Heat, and Texas Sunrise. All are dramatic, action filled stories that immediately draw readers and listeners into the lives of her characters. No one could bring such a diversified cast to life better than voice performer Laural Merlington. She's wise enough not to lapse into a stereotypical Texas accent and gifted enough to cause listeners to both laugh and cry.
In the first of this Texas series, Texas Rich, we meet an intriguing heroine, Billie Ames. She's young, beautiful and when she meets Moss Coleman, a dashing pilot she's a goner. They met in Philadelphia, at the Navy Yard, during World War II. Once married her home will be a far cry from what she has known - she moves to a gigantic ranch in Texas.
There's more for her to learn than ranch life - she must also come up with ways to retain her individuality and raise her children as she sees fit among the overpowering Coleman clan. Moss, too, has his work cut out for him as his father is a domineering man whose aphrodisiac is power, his mother is a shadow.
Texas Rich spans four generations, it's a spellbinding saga, every bit as large as its setting.
- Gail Cooke
Worst book I've ever read.......2004-09-13
It looked promising, but I found the characters shallow, insipid, and one-dimentional; the dialogue seemed contrived and each time a person's eyes "welled up with tears", I felt the urge to scream! Good story idea, but poorly written. Sorry.
Vivid, but depressing!.......2004-08-18
This is the first of Fern Michael's books that I have read. Don't know that I'll read another. I have the sequel to this book (Texas Heat) but don't think that I'll read it because I don't care enough about any of the characters to continue reading. Obviously this was a tragic romance, although it was a little too tragic for my tastes. The end of the book left me feeling nothing but depressed; and I generally like my books to give me a *nice* escape.
The characters were a little too dark for me. I also found it annoying that although the author tried to paint Billie as a pushover, she did find the power to assert herself time and time again, yet each time she talked back it seemed like a revelation to the people around her, as if they'd never seen it before. With her father-in-law, Seth, Billie talked back many times, but Seth seemed to be floored every time it happened, as did her husband, Moss.
I did enjoy Michael's vivid description and dialogue; however, the whole book depressed the heck out of me. And Maggie (Billie's daughter) is not a character I'd like to continue reading about. She's a little too conniving for me.
Emotional.......2004-04-05
I cannot express enough how much I LOVE this book. The story catches you right from the beginning and doesn't let you go. This is one of those books that the characters really come to life. Their joys will be yours and their sorrows too. I truely came to love these characters. Especially Billie. This is the first book of the Texas quartet. And it is the best of the four. Ms. Michaels takes us from the 1940's to the 1980's with the Coleman family. Everywhere from Philly to Texas, Guam to Hawaii, Japan to Vietnam. She creates wonderful visuals of these places. This story is filled with love (and great love scenes) and with heartbreak. When the characters cried I did too. Powerfull book.
Book Description
Texas Rich: This is the captivating story of four generations of Colemans. There's Moss, living in his father's shadow; Jessica, the doomed mother; Moss and Billie's children, trying to live up to insurmountable expectations; and the grandchildren, heirs to a tarnished empire. Most of all this is the triumphant story of Billie Ames Coleman, who holds them all together.
Texas Heat: The magnificent Austin empire now belongs to Moss and Billie's daughter Maggie. She has invited the whole family to a Fourth of July barbecue in celebration of a renewed sense of family pride. But as loved ones gather, they bring along old resentments and new temptations destined to generate more than a little heat.
Texas Fury: For Amelia Coleman Assante, the last surviving child of a legendary tycoon, it is a time of transition. As her family's kingdom faces new challenges on the horizon, she starts a fateful journey that recalls a troubled past controlled by a father's iron will.
Texas Sunrise: Billie Coleman Kingsley, beloved matriarch of the clan, is dying. As her family gathers together, the indomitable Billie offers new hope to heal the rifts that separate them. Even as her own strength fails, Billie instills courage, fortitude, and her conviction that life goes on after tragedy.
Product Description
This book chronicles the remarkable ascendancy of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas over the past sixty years. Beginning with the occupation of about 30,000 square feet of temporary Army barracks located on Oak Lawn Avenue, Dallas in 1943, the medical center is now one of the premier academic biomedical institutions in the world. It is home to four Nobel Laureates and seventeen members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The book is primarily based on personal interviews with prominent faculty members as well as Dallas philanthropists who have contributed to its success, and is liberally illustrated.
Book Description
Now in one irresistible volume, here are the first two novels of Fern Michaels’s bestselling Texas series, which follows the illustrious Coleman family–four generations of a powerful American dynasty.
TEXAS RICH
At the Philadelphia Navy Yard during World War II, young Billie Ames falls head over heels for the daredevil pilot Moss Coleman. Within months she is pregnant, married, and moving to the 250,000-acre estate known as Sunbridge in Austin . . . and into the tantalizing world of the Texas rich. In a vast land dominated by the industrious Colemans, amid intrigue and betrayal, courageous Billie must fight to maintain control of her marriage and her life.
TEXAS HEAT
Hoping to heal the wounds of a fractured family, Moss and Billie’s daughter, Maggie Coleman, throws a Fourth of July bash at her newly inherited Sunbridge estate. But Maggie has finally decided to divorce her husband, much to the dismay of her children. And as loved ones gather, old resentments and new temptations promise to generate more than a little heat.
Don’t miss these tempting novels in the Texas saga, now in one volume!
Book Description
Exciting never before seen photos, interviews, and memorabilia of Elvis' tours of Texas.
Customer Reviews:
Worth a look.......2004-05-25
This a very nice book. There are some great pictures in here. I own a lot of Elvis books and there are some pictures in here I haven't seen before. The text is a bit gossipy but okay. It's not an in depth study of the King but good coffee table fodder. According to this, he really did sow his wild oats in Texas - I wonder how many little Elvi are going about?
It's interesting to see Elvis the boy at the beginning, looking full of life and looking to the future and then look at pictures of him toward the end. Was all the success worth it? Perhaps not.
Sarcastic author sounds unprofessional.......2003-07-20
I bought this book because I'm writing Faron Young's biography and needed information on dates Faron and Elvis worked together. Lori Torrance lost my respect in the very first paragraph of the book, with her statement, "Country music twanged on the radio, Hank Williams crying in his cornflakes again." A few pages later, she says, "At that time, easy listening and my-dog-has-fleas country music monopolized the mass music market." The research was useful but the flippant writing was a turn-off.
Great photos! Frustrating read & sometimes inaccurate text........2002-08-23
Scotty Moore, Elvis' original guitar player and manager, recently said he thought he had seen every photo from that era until he saw this book. That's why I bought it. The photos, mostly performance snapshots, are great. Unfortunately the text is not. At best the writing gets in the way, and at worst it is just plain wrong (which Scotty warned me about). Still, this rare glimpse of one of the greatest American bands merits its recommendation.
Photos are great! Text gets in the way........2002-08-23
Scotty Moore, Elvis' original guitar player and manager, told me he thought he had already seen every photo from that era until he saw this book. That's why I bought it. The snapshots in this book are great, but the writing is so full of itself, it's frustrating to read. I find the photos helpful as a visual reference when reading other books on Elvis' early years.
ELVIS-Texas sure helped your career!!!!.......2002-01-30
Great Book... The chapter on "Devil In A Pink Dress" was really good.. A 'must have' for any true Elvis fan..
Book Description
Essie Sue Margolis is at it again. This time, she's organizing the reunion from hell for the Big Givers to Temple Rita in Eternal, Texas.
The reunioners are gathering at a ritzy hotel in nearby Austin to celebrate the beloved temple's history and to salute its two most important -- or is it self-important -- members: Freddie Fenstermeister, grand-nephew of Miss Rita Fenstermeister, who gave the money to establish the temple, and the temple's current leading lady, Essie Sue herself.
Ruby Rothman, whose late husband Stu was the Temple Rita rabbi, has been roped into helping Essie Sue with some of the plans. Big mistake. An Essie Sue event is sure to be full of surprises, not all of them pleasant.
Cheap but elegant is Essie Sue's motto, with an emphasis on "cheap." To save money, Essie Sue has made her own pièce de résistance -- a chopped liver mold in the shape of Texas. Imagine her shock when the mold disappears from the hors d'oeuvres table and is replaced by a body on ice.
Is the unfortunate corpse related to one of the out-of-town reunioners, or is he a complete stranger who just wandered into the Temple Rita festivities? Who had a reason to wish him dead?
With some unexpected help from Rabbi Kevin Kapstein, and from police lieutenant Paul Lundy, Ruby's soon on the trail of a killer who's also a chopped liver thief.
Meanwhile, back home in Eternal, Ruby's dog Oy Vey must learn to live with new feline friend Chutzpah, and Ruby must decide which of two special men has a place in her heart.
Rich with humor and suspense and with deep insights into the friendships and foibles of small-town congregational life, Which Big Giver Stole the Chopped Liver? is the best yet in this captivating mystery series from one of crime fiction's most entertaining storytellers.
Customer Reviews:
Fun Read!.......2006-10-01
Ruby the Rabbi Wife mysteries are fun reads. Worth picking up if you are in the mood for something light and easy.
Twist On "Who Done It".......2006-02-13
Ruby is a Rabbi's widow in Eternal, Texas and her congregation still expects her to behave "appropriately". The book starts off very slow.....there is a lot you will learn about Temple Rita, and the Jewish faith along the way. I thought even with the snail like start I'd continue only because I might learn something. The Essie Sue character is annoying at best, but unfortunately you need her...after all, she made the chopped liver and is the organizer of the reunion event for Temple Rita. What made this so unusual for a mystery is that the killer is revealed shortly after the murder...and the rest of the book is set on catching him in all sorts of plots and twist which are very cleverly done. Rita , I suspect, must be in her early 40's, at best. If it says, I missed it, but her actions and clothes she wears and her 20 something college son all point in that direction and the fact that being a new widow she has two men chasing after her. Ed, the journalist, who I hope she dumps sometime soon, and the ever charming Lieutenant Lundy.
A clever mystery.......2005-01-20
Clues to this murder mystery are hidden in a chopped liver mold
of Texas. It's a delightful read.
Books:
- Warlord
- Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns: Stories
- Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny
- Wooden on Leadership
- 10 Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You: (But Can't, Because He Needs the Job)
- 7 Weeks to Safe Social Drinking: How to Effectively Moderate Your Alcohol Intake
- A Far Country
- A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire)
- A Rose in Winter
- A Wild Pursuit
Books Index
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- Future Cinema: The Cinematic Imaginary After Film
- CREATIVE LICENSE, THE: GIVING YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BE THE ARTIST YOU TRULY ARE
- Cytology of ferns of the Western Ghats, South India
Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Great Big Beautiful Doll: The Anna Nicole Smith Story
Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death
The Anna Nicole Show - The First Season
If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
We, the Jury: Deciding the Scott Peterson Case
