No comments about The New England Primer of 1777.

No comments about Boston's Freedom Trail, 8th: Trace the Path of American History (Boston's Freedom Trail).

5 comments about Still Life with Volkswagens.

1. I was worried that this book might be to 'British' for my American tastes, but it was wonderful. Well paced, colorful characters, and a good mix of action and humor. Well worth the money.



2. I bought this book at first because I too have a strange passion for Volkswagens. I was thoroughly delighted when I discovered that Mr. Nicholson had a great story to back up the VW obsession, once I got over the horror of destroying all those VWs that is. The strange cast of characters and their individual motivations are brilliantly woven together. The amazing thing is that even at it's most confusing and destructive I didn't want this novel to end. I look forward to trying his other works.



3. Apparently this is the second Volkswagen-themed novel by this British author. I have not as yet read "Street Sleeper," so I can't tell you if this is the better of the two or not. What I can tell you is that is a mostly amusing tale of a number of Brits all bound together in one way or another by Volkswagens. The main problem is that all across England, there are Volkswagen's blowing up left and right. Who is doing and why, and how they can be stopped is the alleged plot which drives this book, but the reader is mostly along for the ride as the main characters search for meaning in their existence. I get the impression that many of the main characters appeared previously in "Street Sleeper," but how long the interval has been in unclear. It's a little tough to describe a novel which culminates in a rave/VW expo under siege by eight neo-Nazi skinheads and their delusional leader, who is questing after a holy grail comprised of a hand carved VW whose sun roof opens to reveal human bone replicas of Hitler and Eva Braun in flagrante... All I can say is that if you have a taste for the quirky, check it out.



4. If there was any more fluff in this book contractors would buy it by the truckload and use it as landfill. The obvious waste of time, energy, and research that went into this book is staggering, on par with the worst writer of our time, Tom Robbins. I admit, I did finish it, even though I regret that waste of life, but the ending was worthless. Mr. Nicholson, in an attempt to tie up loose ends only succeeded in putting a bullet in the head of a horse that didn't even make it out of the starting blocks. The characters were unbelievable as human beings from the start, the author's asides into his depressing and pathetic life were a complete waste of paper, and the story line went from bad to worse to unimaginably stupid. At no one point could I succeed in a suspension of disbelief. Maybe it was the nine year old car thief savant, or the sodomasochist undercover reporter, or the closeted gay neonazi; I don't know, but they all seemed to be part of the cast of an off, off, off broadway musical dreamed up by a necrophilic methamphetimine addict. I think after awhile I just kept reading out of pity for poor divorced Mr. Nicholson, who is obviously so obsessed with Volkswagen toys and writing that he can't seem to keep a normal personal relationship. Poor guy. If he ever reads this I hope he takes my advice and lays down the pen. If I were a psychic I'd say his future lies in the manufacture of kidney pies.



5. I purchased this title a a gift for a "bugged" friend after reading another of his books and seeing this on his back list.
   It shall not disappoint.

5 comments about The Last Temptation: A Novel.

1. The book had a far-fetched premise, but once I was able to move past that detail, the book was readable, albeit unrealistic.
   
   Without giving away anything significant, I can tell you that a major portion of the book was centered around a police officer assuming an alias. Unfortunately, I was a little surprised, and very disappointed in the way the author chose to "reveal" the main undercover operation to the criminal. The unraveling of the cover was brought about by a mistake that I found completely innane. I could not believe that a rookie, much less a seasoned officer would slip up as the author has Carol (and Tony) slip up. This disbelief is compounded by the lengths that are taken initially to insure that the operation is not comprimised.
   
   I was disappointed enough in the book to move along to another author, as opposed to reading the rest of the Carol Jordan/Tony Hill saga. I thought the writing skills of the author were good, but the storytelling skills were not.



2. Pretty boring book. After about the first chapter I wondered if it would get any better. It didn't. Half way through I wanted to give up, but things were just starting to move, so I didn't.
   
   I couldn't get past the fact that it all was so contrived, with the profiler magically pulling predictions about the criminal out of thin air. Definitely not worth the read. If you find that you're not really believing the characters after the first chapter or two, bail out. Read something else.



3. Val McDermid continues her 'Hill and Jordan' series with an entertaining story that combines a dangerous undercover assignment with an investigation of a serial killer, each of which leaves Tony and Carol on the verge of death!
   McDermid does a pretty good job of integrating the two subplots, and her use of German and Dutch settings makes for a change from her usual 'real English locations with fictional names' approach.
   The two policewomen, Petra and Marijke, are among the most interesting characters, and their personal and professional relationship adds some color to the story.
   As for the 'bad guys', the smuggler Tadeusz and his crony Krazic, are suitably creepy, although the scenes featuring just the two of them are a bit slow. 'Tadzio' has more chemistry with Carol.
   The 'serial killer' subplot is not quite as riveting as it might have been, relying on the coincidence of Tony knowing one of the victims.
   McDermid relies a bit too much on coincidental/convenient plot developments late in the book; as other reviewers have mentioned, the bad guys find out what Tony and Carol are really up to purely by chance, due to a careless mistake that neither Tony or Carol would otherwise make. Likewise, when both Tony and Carol are captured separately, both are left tied up, but only one is gagged, and that omision serves purely to advance the plot from a seemingly impossible situation).
   The ending is satisfying for the most part, although it would have been nice to have a final scene with Petra and Marijke, since it's not likely McDermid will use them again.
   Despite the amount of 'suspension of disbelief' required in the final chapters, this is still a worthwhile entry in the series.



4. With apologies to anyone who is reading this as a duplicative review, I am going to review all four of Val McDermid's Dr. Tony Hill/Carol Jordan novels in one place and copy the reviews individually.
   
   I've now read seven of McDermid's books. She's not a great writer but she's a fabulous storyteller and her Tony Hill/Carol Jordan mysteries are the best of the bunch. The first two books aren't written terribly well, but the writing gets better as the series goes on. You may know these characters from the BBC series "Wire in the Blood" starring Robson Green. As an aside, while I generally find film and television adaptations to be far less satisfying than the source material on which they are based, the BBC series is really an exception. While the books have some detail that doesn't make it to the t.v. series, the television program really brings the characters to life and improves on the writing while staying true to the novels, although only the fourth book's plot actually made it to the screen.
   
   As noted by some other reviewers, these books are not for the squeamish. McDermid doesn't pull any punches in writing about vicious psychopaths who commit sex crimes and the books may well be disturbing to many. The second book in particular (more below) actually gave me nightmares. McDermid, however, really gets into the heads of her twisted antagonists and she seems to have done a tremendous amount of research. Most importantly, both Dr. Hill, a clinical psychologist who consults with the police as a profiler, and Carol Jordan, the police officer with whom he works most closely, always feel like real people with investigative abilities and compassion that are easy to admire and foibles that are easy to relate to. They have serious difficulties in forging personal relationships which makes their relationship all the more poignant. Each book focuses on two stories -- a main investigation involving a psychopath and a secondary case that is generally no less compelling, while also following the relationship that develops between the two protagonists. If you've never read any of the books in this series, I would recommend taking them in order. The fourth book is the best, the third the worst, but it's worth reading them in order for the character development (although you could easily skip the third). If you really think you only want to read one, or aren't sure and don't care about spolers, just go straight to the last one. Some people who have read the entire series have found the fourth book repetitive, but it's the one that really works on all levels. Overall, the series gets 4 stars, but here are my individual assessments:
   
   SPOILER FREE REVIEWS
   
   1. The Mermaids Singing - 4 stars
   
   
   The first of the series is really the only one that delves in any great detail into the personal lives of Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, who come together to investigate the brutal torture and slayings of four men in northern England. McDermid's Tony Hill/Carol Jordan books all deal with issues of sexual identity, but this one does is particularly focused on that as the police suspect a gay man of killing heterosexual men. McDermid shares the thoughts of the killer as well as those of Dr. Hill, who relates all too well to the motivations of the subjects he is asked to profile. The writing in this book is kind of clunky, but the insights of the author into how and why someone sets out to cause maximum pain and humiliation still make it a riveting, if disturbing, read.
   
   2. The Wire in the Blood -- 4 stars
   
   
   In this second book in the series, teenaged girls are being abducted and brutally raped and tortured to death. We are introduced to an extremely smooth and charismatic character, Jacko Vance, a television celebrity and former star athlete, that Dr. Hill and Carol Jordan called upon to investigate. This is the hardest of the series to read, probably because the killer's victims are all extremely young, naive and female, with no chance whatsoever of fighting back. This book deals with charisma and celebrity as well as sexual deviance and although the writing is still somewhat awkward, it's generally a more compelling novel than the Mermaids Singing.
   
   3. The Last Temptation -- 3 stars
   
   This is the weakest book in the series. On the plus side, McDermid decides to branch out from northern England and take the reader into continental Europe, particularly Germany, where Carol Jordan has gone as an undercover operative to investigate a drug dealer/slave trader. Tony Hill is also in Europe, helping the police solve a series of murders in which psychologists are the victims. McDermid brings to light some of the darker deeds of the Nazis that are generally not known and discussed and for this she should be commended. The writing also starts to improve with this book and the secondary protagonists, two female, European police officers who develop a long-term relationship with each other, are the best of any of the books. There are some serious problems with the novel, however, that make it the weakest of the bunch. First of all, in the other books McDermid is writing about the North of England, which she clearly knows like the back of her hand. The locale in the other books is really the third character after Tony Hill and Carol Jordan. The European locations never quite come to life in the same way. But the biggest problem with The Last Temptation is that McDermid tries too hard to force a particular ending. In order to get where she wants to go, she has to have Carol Jordan do something completely out of character and, frankly, she doesn't do a good job of convincing us of the reason. The whole book feels a bit contrived. Kudos to McDermid for trying something different instead of just writing variations on a theme, but the theme is one she does really well and this effort is a bit disappointing.
   
   4. The Torment of Others -- 5 stars
   
   There's a reason this is the only story that got used in the BBC series. By this point, McDermid had started to write really well, and she'd really gotten the hang of tying the two story lines together. In the main story, someone is killing prostitutes with the m.o. used by a man currently in an insane asylum. How does the killer know exactly what the prior murderer did? The mystery is more satisfying than that of the prior novels and the sub-plot, involving kidnapped boys, also intrigues. There's not much to learn at this point about Dr. Hill, but while the third book didn't entirely work, the aftereffects of that novel's events on Carol Jordan are all too real and bring the characters' relationship to a new level.
   
   If books on criminal profiling and psychological forensics are your thing, you'll probably really enjoy McDermid's work. If someone has recommended her writing to you and the Dr. Hill/Carol Jordan mysteries sound like they are too gruesome, check out the Grave Tattoo, which is a neat, little literary mystery.



5. This is by far the best out of the four Dr. Hill books I've read. It is riveting, believable, and suspenseful. A definite must-read for McDermid fans!

2 comments about Backcountry Skiing Adventures: Vermont and New York: Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in Vermont and New York.

1. A superbly presented compendium of two dozen classic ski and snowboard tours throughout the states of Vermont and New York, David Goodman's Backcountry Skiing Adventures offers the best routes, equipment and backcountry riding tips; topographic maps and photos for each tour; information on avalanche awareness, winter camping, gear, safety, and first aid. This absolutely user friendly outdoor guide is a "must" for anyone planning a skiing or snowboarding excursion in Vermont or New York. Also very highly recommended is the other title in this outstanding Appalachian Mountain Club "Backcountry Skiing Adventures" series: Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in Maine and New Hampshire.



2. This is a great book if you are looking for a guide to some of the best cross country and telemark trails, however since i was looking for more of a downhill backcountry guide, this is not really what i was looking for, but it is still a very informative and well written book.

1 comments about Political Waters: The Long, Dirty, Contentious, Incredibly Expensive, but Eventually Triumphant History of Boston Harbor : A Unique Environmental Success Story.

1. It's hard to conveniently peg Political Waters: The Long, Dirty, Contentious, Incredibly Expensive, But Eventually Triumphant History Of Boston Harbor: A Unique Environmental Success Story is at once a political history of Boston and its harbor, as well as a story of urban planning and environmental success. Political Waters charts some stormy seas indeed as Boston spent literally centuries working to clean up its reputation as having one of the nation's most polluted bodies of water. Political Waters presents a semi-scholarly assessment of this process and is a highly recommended addition to Environmental Studies reference collections and reading lists.

1 comments about Militant and Triumphant: William Henry O'Connell and the Catholic Church in Boston, 1895-1944.

1. splendidly written. best book I've read in Am Ch History and I've read a few hundred. How O'Connell managed to keep all the scandals under control
   is itself a mystery.

2 comments about The Rail Lines of Northern New England : A Handbook of Railroad History (New England Rail Heritage Series).

1. This book is great for anyone looking for a starting point for historical and geographical information on the railroads of northern New England. Maps of each railroad (as well as certain regions) featured in this book make it easy to locate where a railroad was located, what cities it connected, among other things. I highly recommend this book for model railroaders and railfans, as well as anybody just interested in general history of the New England region.



2. I was looking for an introduction to the railroads of New Hampshire, and this volume provided the answer.

1 comments about Zagat 2007/08 Boston Restaurants (Zagatsurvey).

1. Zagat reviews are incredibly helpful for price range and getting a sense for what a restaurant's really like. This edition has maps in the back that are very helpful for finding a new destination, in addition to having cross-streets listed in each entry for ease of navigation.

No comments about Massachusetts Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff (Curiosities Series).