Product Description

For the first time on CD! Vintage Stephen King at a great low price!

Stephen King's unparalleled imagination is in full force in this collection of four short stories originally found in the classic, Nightmares & Dreamscapes. An all-star cast of readers bring to life these timeless stories from the darkest places.

A mysterious phone call ends in death in Sorry, Right Number presented in a full-cast dramatization. A gambling addict trying to pay off his debts gets more than he bargained for in Popsy. Nicotine withdrawal leads to horrifying consequences in The Ten O'Clock People. And Stephen King puts his mark on a timeless Hindu fable in The Beggar and the Diamond, and also offers rare insights into the creation of the entire collection in a special afterword his own distinctive voice.

Joe Mantegna, Joe Morton, Domenic Custern and others lend their voices to this haunting collection of classic stories that no Stephen King fan should be without. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Some very good stories
I listened to this book on CD while on a long flight.It really held my interest.Ican't think of one story that I didn't like.I enjoyed the professional touch using actors.

King Audio Books
Products arrived and as described.They are new and I haven't had time to listen to them yet.

had a wierd skip where it kept going back to the beginning.
The cd kept skipping back to the beginning, but we were able to listen to it by ff to the next story.

Great readers!
Like with all audiobooks, your personal enjoyment comes down to 2 things:the reader and the reader.If the person "reading" the book has the appeal of a root canal, I don't care if Stephen King wrote it or a 5 year old, the audio version won't appeal to me either.They have done a great job picking these readers.All of them, especially Joe Mantegna, have the ability to take you there, in the middle of the action.Stephen King will always be awesome, but to hear his work read by people who have talent takes it to the next level. ... Read more

Product Description
A one-of-a-kind illustrated tribute to the joys and history of the cigar—and the good life.For some, nothing is as pleasurable as the smell and taste of agreat cigar. For them, Playboy The Book of Cigars will be thenext best thing to lighting up. Whether you want to learn the finerpoints of cutters, cutting, or humidors, or want to understand moreabout how fine tobacco is grown and fine cigars rolled, it’s all herefor you. Learn why Cuban cigars are so sought-after, what finecigars from the Dominican Republic and Honduras have to offer,and whether cigars from Cameroon and the Canary Islands areworth your time.

With a foreword by artist and bon vivant LeRoy Neiman and an afterword by award-winning actor Joe Mantegna, there is more thana touch of the good life here. Sprinkled with photographs fromaround the world, enlivened by sexy Playboy beauties, and featuringillustrated images of celebrities by Risko, there has never been acigar book offering more of the good life than Playboy The Book ofCigars. It’s the perfect book to keep next to your humidor. 163 color photographs and 22 black-and-white illustrations ... Read more

Product Description

A riveting new novel by the bestselling author of The Jury.

Defense attorney Paul Madriani tackles the most challenging case of his career -- the chilling murder of a friend on a crowded city street -- in this brilliantly suspenseful new novel in the bestselling series.

After a friend and fellow lawyer is killed along with his client in a hail of gunfire outside the federal courthouse in San Diego, attorney Paul Madriani takes on another client, who, he suspects, is involved in double murder. Madriani wants to know who killed his friend and why. He is torn by questions of conflict between his duty to a client who may be a killer and the need to know the truth. Madriani wonders whether he himself had been marked for death, only to have a friend die in his place.

Madriani is drawn into a vortex of crime that spans the Americas. Without realizing, he is suddenly riding the crest of a dangerous wave involving a family of wealthy international developers and people who murder for money. When the police focus on the wrong motive for the killings, thereby threatening to close the book on another unsolved crime, Madriani sets off on a deadly quest that takes him from California to the steaming jungles of Mexico and the ancient cultures of the Yucatán. There he discovers that while death may be driven by distant and exotic motives, the killer, like a serpent, lies much closer at hand.Amazon.com Review
When Paul Madriani's old friend, flamboyant criminal-defense lawyer Nick Rush, is gunned down on the streets of San Diego along with a client, Madriani sets out to find the killer. He follows the trail through shady real-estate dealings, cross-border smuggling, political corruption, and a nasty fight between Rush's ex and his young trophy wife over a hefty life-insurance policy. Eventually the case leads Madriani to the Yucatan Peninsula near Cancún, where the last third of the book takes place--a dandy locale for skullduggery, even if it does make you suspect that the author thought up the plot while vacationing there.

The Arraignment is marred by some sloppy, foggy-headed writing ("The neighborhood exudes the kind of aura picked up by a sixth sense that lingers and lifts the hair on the back of my neck"), and the plot, after its initial bang, sags for a while before it gets moving again. However, the sheer vigor of Martini's prose, his densely inventive plotting, and his sharply drawn characters carry you happily, tensely along. The book's action scenes--including a hand-to-hand fight in a shabby apartment and an unforgettable poolside shooting at a Cancún resort--are told in fresh, vivid prose that unfolds with hypnotic clarity. And the denouement is great fun, although the complex plot takes a lot of explaining at the end. Martini's not perfect, but he's still one of the best legal/adventure thriller writers going. --Nicholas H. Allison ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Don't Trust Anybody


The big law firm in this book reminds me of the one in Grisham's The Firm. The questioning my mind as I read this book was "Who can you trust?"

This is another tale of Paul Madriani, the San Diego lawyer and his sidekick, Harry. It is a page turner with takes the reader into the normal downtown San Diego canyons as well as the jungles of Yucatan.

Madriani should stick to the courtroom
I quite like those Madriani novels that stick to the courtroom, but the ones where he goes galivanting off to Mexico lose me.Fans of the series will want to read this.Action fans will probably like the windup, but will likely be impatient with the earlier part.In short, this is too long, inappropriately titled, and basically disappointing.

Not so much court-based...
I've read the whole Madriani's episodes and I think this is the less interesting. In general, Steve Martini is really bright in portraying the defense-prosecutor in court fight. All of his "trial-based" booksare very entertaining. I can't say the same of this one - that is, in fact, a bit "far" from Martini's usual milieu. It is, nevertheless, a good reading, but don't expect Madriani at his best!

The Arraignment
This story starts off a little slow. You get to know the characters and get a feel for the setting. It is all based around this lawyer named Nick who gets killed.And how his friend Paul Madrini tries to help find out who did this.He gets into a couple of difficult situations in between.

Paul has to go through a whole bunch of people to find out all the missing links of the murder.He has to deal with insurance companies and Nick's wives.Both his ex wife and his widowed wife.You have to sit tight and make it through the beginning chapters before the story really starts to pick up.

Once you start getting towards the end of this book the story starts to move at a very quick pase. When in the beginning you wanted to just put the book aside, but now yo0u can't put it down.There are some pretty crazy action scenes towards the and then it happens.You find out who killed Nick and all the other guys and boy does it surprise you.

It Happens in the Epilogue
Arraignment was my first Steve Martini book, and I followed the convoluted plot with interest.Much of the plot was implausible but still interesting and worth the time.However, when the denouement occurred in the epilogue, I was stunned. Mr. Martini ends the last chapter of his book with loose ends everywhere. This forces him to give the reader information in the epilogue that he has omitted in the plot.I will give Mr. Martini's work one more chance, but I would not recommend Arraingment. ... Read more

Product Description
Hired by Marlene Cowley to find out whether her husband, Trent, is cheating on her, Spenser soon realizes that the two-timing husband has hired an investigator of his own. Even more shocking for Spenser is the discovery that the Cowleys are a part of an intimate circle that regularly tunes in to the talk-show host Darin O'Mara's unconventional--and possibly deadly--views on cross-connubial relationships. To complicate matters even more, a murder occurs at Kinergy, where Trent is the CFO, sending Spenser in yet another direction as he attempts to connect the dots and determine just how individual depravity figures into corporate corruption and murder. ... Read more

Product Description
Read by Joe Mantegna
Five CDs, Approx. 5 hours

The final chapter in Mario Puzo's landmark Mafia trilogy about power and morality in America.

Mario Puzo spent the last three years of his life writing Omerta, the final installment in his legendary Mafia saga.In The Godfather, he introduced us to the Corleones.In The Last Don, he told the wicked tale of the Clericuzios.In Omerta, Mario Puzo chronicles the affairs of the Apriles, a family on the brink of legitimacy in a world of criminals.

Don Raymonde Aprile is an old man, wily enough to retire gracefully from organized crime after a lifetime of ruthless conquest.His three children have grown up to become respectable members of the establishment.To protect them from harm, and to keep an eye on his group of international banks, Don Aprile has adopted a "nephew" from Sicily, Astorre Viola, whose previous legal guardian made the unfortunate decision of committing suicide in the trunk of a car.Astorre is an unlikely enforcer--a macaroni imposter with a fondness for riding stallions and recording Italian ballads with his band.

Don Aprile's retirement is viewed with suspicion by Kurt Cilke, the FBI's special agent in charge of investigating the Mafia.Cilke has achieved remarkable success in breaking down the bonds among families, cultivating high-ranking sources who, in return for federal protection, have violated omerta--Italian for "code of silence"--the vow among men of honor that, until recently, kept them from betraying their secrets to the authorities.

As Cilke and the FBI mount their campaign to wipe out the Mafia once and for all, Astorre Viola and the Apriles find themselves in the midst of one last war, a conflict in which it is hard to distinguish who is on the right side of the law, and whether mercy or vengeance is the best course of action.
Rich with suspense, dark humor, and larger-than-life characters who have turned Mario Puzo's novels into modern myths, Omerta is a powerful epitaph for the Mafia at the century's end and a final triumph for a great American storyteller.Amazon.com Review
Omerta, the third novel in Mario Puzo's Mafia trilogy, is infinitely better than the third Godfather film, and most movies in fact. Besides colorful characters and snappy dialogue, it's got a knotty, gratifying, just-complex-enough plot and plenty of movie-like scenes. The newly retired Mafioso Don Raymonde Aprile attends his grandson's confirmation at St. Patrick's in New York, handing each kid a gold coin. Long shot: "Brilliant sunshine etched the image of that great cathedral into the streets around it." Medium shot: "The girls in frail cobwebby white lace dresses, the boys [with] traditional red neckties knitted at their throats to ward off the Devil." Close-up: "The first bullet hit the Don square in the forehead. The second bullet tore out his throat."

More crucial than the tersely described violence is the emotional setting: a traditional, loving clan menaced by traditional vendettas. With Don Aprile hit, the family's fate lies in the strong hands of his adopted nephew from Sicily, Astorre. The Don kept his own kids sheltered from the Mafia: one son is an army officer; another is a TV exec; his daughter Nicole (the most developed character of the three) is an ace lawyer who liked to debate the Don on the death penalty. "Mercy is a vice, a pretension to powers we do not have ... an unpardonable offense to the victim," the Don maintained. Astorre, a macaroni importer and affable amateur singer, was secretly trained to carry on the Don's work. Now his job is to show no mercy.

But who did the hit? Was it Kurt Cilke, the morally tormented FBI man who recently jailed most of the Mafia bosses? Or Timmona Portella, the Mob boss Cilke still wants to collar? How about Marriano Rubio, the womanizing, epicurean Peruvian diplomat who wants Nicole in bed--did he also want her papa's head?

If you didn't know Puzo wrote Omerta, it would be no mystery. His marks are all over it: lean prose, a romance with the Old Country, a taste for olives in barrels, a jaunty cynicism ("You cannot send six billionaires to prison," says Cilke's boss. "Not in a democracy"), an affection for characters with flawed hearts, like Rudolfo the $1,500-an-hour sexual massage therapist, or his short-tempered client Aspinella, the one-eyed NYPD detective. The simultaneous courtship of cheery Mafia tramp Rosie by identical hit-man twins Frankie and Stace Sturzo makes you fall in love with them all--and feel a genuine pang when blood proves thicker than eros.

This fitting capstone to Puzo's career is optioned for a film, and Michael Imperioli of TV's The Sopranos narrates the audiocassette version of the novel. But why wait for the movie? Omerta is a big, old-fashioned movie in its own right. --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Customer Reviews (137)

Omerta!! Classic Puzo
If you like Puzo's other work, ie: The Godfather, The Sicilian... than this book is right up your alley. I slightly quicker read then his other book, which go a lot deeper into character development. Omerta is 'The Godfather' set in the early 1990s. Astorre Viola, adopted by the last great American Don, sets out to find his uncle's (adopted fathers) killer, while dealing with an FBI investigation into the 'family business'. Like any Puzo novel, it wouldn't be complete without a touch of the old country, Sicily. A great way to end the crime family novels... Read The Godfather, The Sicilian, and Omerta... Don't think of them as a trilogy, but rather novels that feed into one another. Puzo, you've done it again.

Puzo's farewell novel is a winner
This thrilling tale of Mafia connections, intrigue and revenge is a fine coda to the author's work of powerful families and complicated and contradictory weavings of people, law enforcement agencies and organized crime. Avenging a hit on a retired Don is the plot and sinister forces are at work to convince a nephew of the late patriarch to sell the family's interests in banks to powerful mafiosos and drug dealers. The FBI and the NYPD are portrayed none too favorably as they try play off the influential Aprile family against the powerful Portella family and South American drug cartel members who also have diplomatic immunity. This novel cannot compare to "The Godfather" but is nonetheless an interesting read by a great author.

Omerta
There seems to be a lot of question as to what Puzo intended "Omerta" to be....a conclusion to the Godfather series and movies, or a stand alone expose of the Sicilian/American Mafia.There are enough characters to provide for either scenario, twin assassins, a vengeful son, a pro-bono female lawyer, to mention a few. There still, however, is the unanswered question, "Where was Mario heading before his untimely demise?"

Although he had a very interesting story line I felt he fell somewhat short of my expectations.Maybe I was expecting too much.There are some who claim it is his best writing, so, one must read "Omerta" and then form their own opinion of its place in Puzo's writing repertoire. Even with its shortcomings, I found it an interesting read.

E.J. Walden, author of "Operation Snow Owl"

I Enjoyed Michael Imperioli's Narration andThe Story, But This Version Needs To Be On CD!!
I bought this audiocassette version of the late Mario Puzo's OMERTA
back in the early 2000's and enjoyed Micheal Imperioli's narration of it
because he really has a way of bringing you into the story and the characters.
But my only point of contention is that they didn't release this audio novel in CD form!
I mean in 2009 going into 2010, who still has a cassette deck except
the most die hard of old schoolers who refuse to go quietly into the
digital age without a dirty low down brawl! (-:
(Like a couple of my uncles for instance!)
Once they release this version to CD, I will be glad, and will happily purchase it again.
I've heard that they did a CD version which was narrated by the actor Joe Montegna,
and I like him too as an actor and narrator, but I don't see why Imperioli's version
can't be digitally remastered and reproduced in CD form, since it's already been recorded.
Anywayz, a good audio book.

Puzo's Final Pithy Mafia Tale
Part one was the Corleone's, then came the Clericuzio's then we end it on the Aprile's. This is a fine tale of greed, vengence and loyalty. The characters come out at you and they come to life. The book is filled with good action, plot and dialog. However the problem is we have seen it all before. All in all it is a fine novel, good for a few evenings, and if you have never read Puzo before, it will be all new to you.

T
... Read more

Product Description
Black Clamshell casing with deep blue artwork cover. Set of 4 Audio Tapes. ... Read more

Product Description
Four Cassettes, 6 hrs. unabridged
Read by

Boston's premier P.I investigates the murder of a prominent local banker, with family ties to the Mayflower - and perhaps the mob.

When fifty-one year old Nathan Smith, a confirmed bachelor, is found dead in his bed with a hole in his head made by a .38 caliber slug, it's hard not to imagine Nathan's young bride as the one with her finger on the trigger.Even her lawyer thinks she's guilty.But given that Mary Smith is entitled to the best defense she can afford - and thanks to Nathan's millions, she can afford plenty - Spenser hires on to investigate Mary's bona fides.

Mary's alibi is a bit on the flimsy side: she claims she was watching television in another room when the murder occurred.But the couple was seen fighting at a high-profile cocktail party earlier that evening and the prosecution has a witness who says Mary once tried to hire him to kill Nathan.What's more, she's too pretty, too made-up, too blonde, and sleeps around - just the kind of person a jury loves to hate.

Spenser's up against the wall; leads go nowhere, no one knows a thing.Then a young woman, recently fired from her position at Smith's bank, turns up dead.Mary's vacant past suddenly starts looking meaner and darker - and Spenser's suddenly got to watch his back.

With lean, crackling dialogue, crisp action and razor-sharp characters, WIDOW'S WALK is another triumph.Amazon.com Review
It's good to see private eye Spenser back in Boston, after his ludicrous imitation of a frontier lawman in Robert B. Parker's Potshot. But he's getting nowhere investigating the gunshot murder of banker Nathan Smith in Widow's Walk. The cops figure Smith's ingenuous but unfaithful young wife, Mary, pulled the trigger. She denies it. Spenser, hired by former prosecutor Rita Fiore to help build Mary Smith the best defense her money can buy, isn't sure either way, and the more time he spends on this case (dense with business and sexual deceptions), the more perplexed he becomes.

Of course, our poetry-spouting hero finally catches a break by linking Smith's demise to a convoluted real-estate scam. The rest of the novel offers plenty of Parker's characteristically witty dialogue, the slayings of several informants that you know from the get-go are toast, and ample opportunities for Spenser and his robustly menacing sidekick, Hawk, to intimidate lesser thugs. Unfortunately, the author isn't as attentive to the needs of other series regulars, including Spenser inamorata Susan Silverman, whose restrained jealousy toward lawyer Fiore ("Rita is sexually rapacious and perfectly amoral about it. I'm merely acknowledging that") and self-flagellation over a gay client's suicide somehow add no new depth to her character.

Parker has a propulsive prose style and can still concoct engrossing stories; his 2001 standalone Western, Gunman's Rhapsody, is a fine example. Widow's Walk doesn't quite meet that standard. Though entertaining, it's an unsatisfying chapter in a series that's become too predictable. --J. Kingston Pierce ... Read more

Customer Reviews (87)

Hardboiled thriller, anyone?
This was an enjoyable enough listen, but nothing to get excited over.It is pretty standard hardboiled private eye stuff.Spenser, Parker's hero, is a tough but decent private eye and ex-cop.He seems like he could be played by Bogart.He trades quips with his even tougher Black sidekick, Hawk, as the two of theminvestigate the murder of a prominent banker.This is one of these "unravel the web" type mysteries.Not enough information is provided to solve the crime, but you could take an intelligent guess.The reader follows along with the hero as he begins to go down some mean streets and tries to force a nasty situation into the daylight.New characters are introduced, and hidden forces clearly want to shut down the inquiry.

In this case, a banker turns up dead in his bedroom, and his much younger, and seemingly dimwitted, wife is the only suspect.Spenser is hired to try to clear her.A series of intrigues appears that involves the dead man's business associates, and possibly the old pals of the young lady (who are not exactly from the posh side of town.)There are revelations of homosexuality, fraud, violence, et cetera.There is a nice twist near the end that involves the behavior of the widow.

There is a slightly stale air around this mystery.I was surprised to find that this was written in 2002, since the dialogue and attitudes struck me as being more 1970s or early 80s.For example, hotshot Spenser flirts openly, and in a somewhat sexist manner, with the ladies that he works with, something that would be unlikely to occur in the 2000s.Parker sometimes steps back to show Spenser at home with his lady, Susan.They have lunch, play with their dog, and discuss their work.It is not very interesting.Nor are the dialogue and character particularly attention-grabbing.And neither is the local color, surprisingly enough, since Parker is known for being a Boston writer.He certainly knows the town, but he does not paint an interesting picture of it.What is good here is the plotting and structure of the story - that, along with Joe Mantegna's able narration, kept me in it to the end.Mantegna is a good choice, but he is a Chicago guy - I did wonder how it might have sounded with a real Boston actor reading it.

a good read
This was a good, easy, readable book and enjoyable.Could hardly find the time to put it down.This is a Spencer book and it is good.


J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

Complex plot, personalities, violence blended with humor
My sudden interest in Robert Parker's books continues to rule my latest reading habits. Diving into Widow's Walk and reading it in a short time, I found the book to be entertaining in many respects but also rather confusing in detail. Once again master detective and cynic with an odd brand of moral fiber, Spenser, is employed to investigate the death of banker Nathan Smith. While all signs point to his widow Mary as being the murderer, Spenser is not convinced. He begins unearthing various sideline factors in the unusual Mary Smith and her entourage of acquaintances. Following a few key meetings, dead bodies and attacks begin to show up, prompting Spenser to involve Hawk, his lifelong friend and protector. As the story progresses, we find a land development scheme, homosexual behavior, criminal activities, affairs, and false information. The story ends well and everything is more or less resolved.

Parker's smooth and direct dialog coupled with a precise narrative provide the reader with an accurate framework for the complicated plot. The characters are well-defined and the events are plausible although a little extreme at times (did we really need that many murders for this story to fly?). The dialogs with Mary are quite entertaining as are the action scenes with Spenser. Using his sarcastic wit and fearless approach to solving problems, Spenser keeps the police on their toes.

Yet even though there were several murders, we never really know who the perpetrator was. The final scene implies that one person was behind it all, but we never really met the person in the book. The overly complex plot with odd connecting points seemed too geometrical and contrived. In many ways the book started well, developed nicely, and then seemed to fizzle in unnecessary complexity and confusing moments. Almost as though it were written in separate installments. Not one of my favorite Parker books, but still worth reading if only for the amusing dialogs with Mary. Several psychological insights also carried the story along and readers might not feel as connected to the main events as to the ancillary challenges.

Onward to more Parker books. A nice reading adventure for sure.

Terrible
This book reads like a poor Spenser pastiche. It is banal and most unusually for Parker it meanders all over the place. Spenser novels used to be witty light reads with pretty good mysteries. This has a really silly plot and also way too much heavy handed sermonising ,yet again ,which slows things down enormously.
I agree that the author should retire as ,although easy money for him, this is beyond embarrassing.

"Mr. Spenser, you are a little man in a big arena. You simply don't matter." (a review of the audiobook)
"Mr. Spenser, you are a little man in a big arena. You simply don't matter."

With that comment fans of Spenser know that he's going to be digging in his heels and pull even harder at all of the loose ends until he finds something he can use. That is both the beauty and the weakness of the Spenser novels - they are formulaic. Spenser has a routine and this one touches all points (help from Hawk with a tail? Check. Vinny Morris brought in to back up Hawk? Check. Bounce his case off of Susan for a new perspective? Check. Witty commentary? Check. Both the cops and the bad guys irritated with Spenser? Check. It's predictable but quite enjoyable.

The case is interesting and goes all over the place. The only real problem I had with this audiobook presentation is Joe Mantegna as the reader. Mantegna does a solid job of reading - his diction is impeccable, he can deliver a smart-aleck comment pretty well but his range of different voices is limited and his Susan Silverman voice sounded like Carey Grant to me. A four-star book is reduced to a total of three stars by the narration. ... Read more

Product Description
Naples, Italy, during four fateful days in the fall of 1943. The only people left in the shattered, bombed-out city are the lost, abandoned children whose only goal is to survive another day. None could imagine that they would become fearless fighters and the unlikeliest heroes of World War II. They are the warriors immortalized in Street Boys, Lorenzo Carcaterra’s exhilarating new novel, a book that exceeds even his bestselling Sleepers as a riveting reading experience.

It’s late September. The war in Europe is almost won. Italy is leaderless, Mussolini already arrested by anti-Fascists. The German army has evacuated the city of Naples. Adults, even entire families, have been marched off to work camps or simply sent off to their deaths. Now, the German army is moving toward Naples to finish the job. Their chilling instructions are: If the city can’t belong to Hitler, it will belong to no one.

No one but children. Children who have been orphaned or hidden by parents in a last, defiant gesture against the Nazis. Children, some as young as ten years old, armed with just a handful of guns, unexploded bombs, and their own ingenuity. Children who are determined to take on the advancing enemy and save the city—or die trying.

There is Vincenzo Soldari, a sixteen-year-old history buff who is determined to make history by leading others with courage and self-confidence; Carlo Maldini, a middle-aged drunkard desperate to redeem himself by adding his experience to the raw exuberance of the young fighters; Nunzia Maldini, his nineteen-year-old daughter, who helps her father regain his self-respect— and loses her heart to an American G.I.; Corporal Steve Connors, a soldier sent out on reconnaissance, then cut off from his comrades—with no choice but to aid the street boys; Colonel Rudolph Van Klaus, the proud Nazi commander shamed by his own sadistic mission; and, of course, the dozens of young boys who use their few skills and great heart to try to save their city, their country, and themselves.

In its compassionate portrait of the rootless young, and its pitiless portrayal of the violence that is at once their world and their way out, Street Boys continues and deepens Lorenzo Carcaterra’s trademark themes. In its awesome scope and pure page-turning excitement, it stands as a stirring tribute to the underdog in us all—and as a singular addition to the novels about World War II.


From the Audio CD edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

Boring and predictable.
I read Sleepers years ago and remember liking it so I thought I'd give this book a try.Street Boys never really took off.The story was predictable from beginning to end.I could have put the book down at any time and not regretted it, but I kept on going thinking that it would get better.It didn't.The characters were unbelievable, the writing was stilted.I gave this book two stars because a teen might like it, but I can't imagine recommending it to anyone else.

Lifted???
It's interesting how much of the plot of this novels seems to have been lifted from a 1970 Rock Hudson movie entitlled HORNET'S NEST.

Sorry Mr. Carcaterra, flush this one and try again.
Mr. Carcaterra, your mistakes were so evident in the text that I hardly feel a need to reveal them. However, for the sake of the public, here they are:

1. Do you even know what you are doing with the history of this event? You have taken this battle of guts and courage from cowering, left behind children and made into into Helms Deep. The cleverness and cunning of your characters, while cute, was a complete insult to their legacy of ultimate destruction against an overwhelming force of perhaps the mightiest soldiers of their era. That said, I disagree with the reviewers who have only skimmed the text and say that only two kids die. In truth I could count maybe twenty deaths of children in your almost fantastical story.

2. You made me want to cry. And cry and cry and cry. And after I got done crying, cry some more. Your battle scenes were HORRIBLE! In every one you have kids come out of buildings like Gorillas, pull grenades and Molotov cocktails from their butts, kill 100 Nazis and under fire run to the enemy lines to steal their guns before retreating back into the buildings and sewers with their newly acquired weaponry. You made the German army out to look like impotent fools touching their weapons for the first time, when in fact they were trained and able men who had fought for years, who had superior weaponry and an entire division of tanks. I remember in one battle scene you have your character Vincenzo lure unsuspecting Germans into a castle courtyard to be picked off and all but slaughtered by a few kids who had managed to lay Mines just before the soldiers bust into the courtyard. First off, the Germans would have either beaten the kid into submission for information when he approached them, or better yet, they would have shot him. And secondly, THIS IS NOT AN EPISODE OF "HOME ALONE!" The Germans would have spotted Mines roughly laid by the hands of Neapolitan children. Even with superior position on the Germans, the tank that the Germans had brought into the courtyard with them would have crumbled the structure from the inside out in a matter of minuets, taking the children with the rubble to the jagged floor below. Those who didn't die on impact would have found themselves alone, weaponless and outnumbered by battle-hardened German soldiers that would have taken their lives without uncommon consequence. Frankly, Mr. Carcaterra, these kids were fighting a lost cause that would consume all of their lives before liberation and it wouldn't have been a single American bomber that took out an entire panzer division.

3. All impracticalities aside, your writing and plot structure was ill developed. You obviously didn't take that much time planning out the succession of events. About 100 pages before the "immoral" snipers got in a firefight with the children that finally took their lives, you introduced them in the middle of the conflicts moving into the central city. THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE. NEVER! Didn't you go to college, because your preliminary English teacher is shaking his head in sorrow. You need to spend more time thinking about your writing before sending it off to be published on a gimmick, simply because you're a best selling author!

To conclude, you are an excellent writer and I am sure a great person, but you blew it with this one. Disappointing, yes, but still another addition to the library. Suggested only to those few brave who are willing to be a bit experimental with history.

Mat Perrin, esq.

Concept Good, execution terrible
This nearly became one of the handful of books I've put down before finishing it. I stuck it out, but it really wasn't worth it. The idea is a fantastic one, and as a lover of WWII fiction I was really looking forward to something different. But the language and events are all over the place. The action is very hard to follow and in just about every battle I had a hard time telling what was going on. It also could have benefitted from a map of Naples--I've never been to Naples, and his descriptions of locations left me baffled. One moment some kids are chasing a tank down an alley, the next moment they're in a castle. Huh? Where did a castle come from? I was lost. He also builds up some major character only to have them fizzle out later, as if they were never really imporatant.

On top of all that, the Germans are portrayed here like the bumbling idiots that chase down Indiana Jones. Everybody knows the German's were horrible and intelligent, and there's no way they would have gone out like they did in this book. True, a fight in the streets of Naples did take place, but many lost thier lives. I think only two kids die in the book, at least that you witness. That's just not realistic.

Anyone who wants a good WWII story should read The Good German by Joseph Kannon.Skip this

Best book ever!people who don't like it are stupid.
this was a very entertaining and emotional book.some readers said it was devoid of emotion, but i totally disagree.carcaterra does not claim this book to be an accurate portrayal of WWII events, but it is based on the brave actions of street fighters.the characters were wonderful and NOT one-sided.the main characters had depth and each had their own unique qualities, fears, and emotion. ... Read more

Product Description
An attorney flees after ending an affair with his boss' wife, but he returns when his former boss is killed and the wife becomes suspect #1. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

As Compelling As Waiting to be Called for Jury Duty
When characters appear for only a line or two, I do not need to know their full names and biographies. By naming every tiny bit-part character, it just confuses and complicates things, especially when the main characters recieve similar sketchy descriptions. If it's a receptionist that is talking to the protagonist for a half a second, call her the receptionist. Don't call her Lyla Miller, don't tell me about her French Manicure that could have used a touch-up, don't tell me about her knee-length raw silk skirt swirling around her as she walks. If there's a primary member of the board of directors, ok, name him. But I don't need a roll call for every director in the room and what they have ordered for coffee if I am never going to see them again. Insignificant characters tramp in and out of this novel so fast that I started to feel like I was not reading a novel, but performing a name recognition exercise.

To make matters worse, Martini is very poor at handling transitions. One paragraph the protagonist is talking to Joe Shmoe, then in the next breath he's in a bar talking to John Doe. THEN we find out that actually it's actually two days later, when John Doe tells him that Joe Shmoe is dead. Martini doesn't even bother to clue us in, either. Just suddenly Shmoe has been dead for two days. As far as I knew the protagonist was still sitting in Joe Shmoe's office talking to him, but somehow meandered to the bar in the back of Shmoe's office for a drink. I must admit that I got confused because the protagonist was getting drinks from Jane Doe (the bartender, but we have to figure that out) and asking Ralph Roe (the busboy, I am guessing) to call him a cab because Irene Protagonist (his ex-wife) wanted to know why he is representing Janis Shmoe (ex-girlfriend - we are not sure whose - the protagonist and/or the dead guy and/or somebody else), who is the wife of Joe Shmoe, except now she's dating Stud Jones, and I wonder why all of these people are in Shmoe's office. He must be a bigshot, I had guessed. No, it's an actual bar I later learn. Well, that's interesting. When did we arrive in a bar? Martini never bothered to mention that it was two days later and somewhere else until very near the end of the Joe Shmoe is dead conversation. Next thing I know the protagonist talking to Ron Crow about Joe Schmoe, then Grover Smith about Joe Shmoe, then Robert Chow about Jane Shmoe and I have pretty much no idea where we are or what day it is.

The book got more interesting as it entered the trial phase where Martini stood on more sure footing, describing what he knows. He still managed to blow it though. The jury's decision lacked both suspense and the relief from suspense, and their actions were not at all well explained.

Martini did provide an interesting who that done it, a pretty nice twist, but he threw away this good plot point by simply explaining the answer like an afterthought. The protagonist just blabs about how after the trial the killer did this, the killer did that, blah blah blah. This mistake is what good writing teachers really hate. Show it, don't tell it. How many times have you heard that? Well, Martini just tells it, big time. Not even the thinnest veneer of action or dialogue. Very dissatisfying, like a magician whose act involves standing onstage and saying, "Hello Las Vegas! Yesterday I pulled a rabbit out of my hat!" I don't think he'd play Vegas for long.

Read by Joe Mantegna, who probably could do a good job making a phone book entertaining. But he couldn't save this one.

I review only audiobooks, and I welcome your comments.

Compelling Evidence
Why didn't I read "Compelling Evidence" first instead of "Prime Witness"??Steve Martini has a style that really turns me on to his writing.His plots are clearly outlined and developed, and his characterizations leave little to be desired. I find his story line in "Compelling Evidence" to be totally engrossing and faultless.Paul Madriani, his hero lawyer, comes across as human and believable.What happens to him could happen to any one of us under similar circmstances.

Madriani, succumbs to his baser instincts and has an affair with one of his partners wives.Then, finds himself actually defending this strumpet when she is accused of the murder of her husband, who was pegged for a much higher positon on the California Supreme Court.The plot has its twists and turns,but Steve keeps our interest with his rich and understandable portrayals of courtroom drama.I look forward to reading his other writings.


E. J. Walden, author of "Operation Snow Owl"

Great courtroom drama with a hint of Perry Mason
Don't get me wrong, it is just a hint of Perry Mason here, but it's unmistakablee.My first Paul Padriani book was GUARDIAN OF LIES, not the best introduction to the chasracter.This one which is the first of the series is definitely a far better one to start with.Madriani defends a former lover, Talia Potter, the widow of Madriani's former mentor.Convinced of her innocence, he uncovers another prime suspect and goes on from there.Of course, you can expect surprises and upsets and the author, Steve Martini, will keep you glued to this one.Very highly recommended.

Good prose, good plot, warm, deep characters
True, he is not Turow.Very few novelists can be Turow.(Only one in fact: Turow).But Steve Martini is an entertaining writer.

I had only one problem with this novel: when the true killer is revealed, the "hows" are explained, but not the "whys."It is never shown WHY this person would want to go to all the trouble to frame the accused.The killer in fact never had anything at all against the accused.The killer hated the deceased, that's a given, and those reasons are explained.But to pin it on the accused made no real sense to me.

BTW, another reviewer voiced objection to frequent use by the author of the phrase "made a face..."That is a "Turowism" through and through."He made a face.""She made a face."Scott does it all the time.In context of scene, that makes all the sense it needs to, it is good prose, as it is always clear in your mind just what kind of "face" is being made.

Think about it.The alternative is to describe the "face" in detail."His brows furrowed and a smirk spread across his expanding cheek area indicating a sardonic mood" would probably be purple and specific, and fiction is designed to allow your imagination to supply concretizations.

A Complicated Trial Scene To 'Beat All'
It's fairly well known that one who represents himself in a court of law is a fool.It's equilavent to trying to be your own physician.A lawyer emotionally involved in the case, such as this one, is such a fool, but he was rooked into trying to defind his ex-lover, the wife of the prominent lawyer who is found murdered.He is set up by one of the other attorneys in the firm who will profit the most if the wife is out of the way. "It is the first of punishments, that no guilty man is acquitted if judged by himself."As a legal secretary, I had the occasion to watch first hand as the guilty went free, depending on the acting ability and sometimes friendship with the presiding judge of the defendant's lawyer.Courtroom law is like a stage and the prosecution and defense is all acting.Knowing Randy Nichols as I do, he lets women get killed simply because the prosecutors won't protect them from predators, and his corrupt office won't take a case they can't win.That's law today.

Another writer of courtroom cases, both he and Steve Martini being former trial lawyers, John Grisham has to say about this book: "a carefully written 'tale' of trial warfare, research is flawless, with the story including two elements essential to good suspense; a sympathetic hero and narrative tension."Many books have that; it's only the crime which is different.Lawyers are merely actors who know how to debate.They work primarily for the person who pays the most and cares less about society, punishing the person who did the crime.His aim is to get him off at all costs, unless he is an appointed defense and can live with an easy conscience that it was not his job to free the guilty.Crime takes place everywhere; the poor end up in prison while the rich live their good lives with no conscience. ... Read more

Product Description
Prosecutor Paul Martini thinks that he has found the murderer of six people, but when no evidence links the suspect to the last two slayings, Paul realizes that another brutal killer is still free. By the author of Compelling Evidence. 85,000 first printing. $100,000 ad/promo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Prime Witness
I had already read this book in PB but wanted a 1st edition HB. I was able to find it online and ordered it. It is a little shelf weary but otherwise in great condition. I would order from them again. Thanks.

Prime Witness
I found "Prime Witness" to be a great read for my first venture into the writings of Steve Martini. Paul Madriani, acting as the temporary Chief Prosecutor, finds himself up against long time arch-enemy, Adrean Chambers, who is the defense attorney for the Russian suspect Andre Iganovich.

The plot, well written and developed, starts with a series of double murders committed by a so called "serial killer" who is thought to be the Russian emigrant Iganovich. The investigation and the trial are all part of a well thought out and developed plot line, with explosive confrontations between the legal parties, and a totally unexpected and utterly surprising ending.Well worth the time and effort to read.Martini at his best!!

E.J. Walden, author of "Operation Snow Owl"

Entertaining
I first got interested in Steve Martini after watching The Judge, an interesting movie that had some nice courtroom scenes for which I am always a sucker. I had already purchased Prime Witness in audio so decided to make it my chores listening.I enjoyed it.Several characters pop up who were in The Judge.This one is unusual int hat Paul Modriani, Martini's protagonist plays the role of district attorney, rather against his will and he is thrown into the middle of a case that pits him against an old antagonist. No point repeating the plot, that's available everywhere.

Some reviewers have downgraded this book because of the level of detail supplied in the investigation. That's the kind of stuff I like. I especially enjoyed the courtroom and lawyerly battles using obscure features of the law in an attempt to gain the upper hand in the battle to gain the advantage.

One negative, I thought, was the side plot that involved threats against Modriani's wife.I thought that was unnecessary and not well explicated. The ending is perhaps a bit preposterous; nevertheless, solid entertainment.

Engrossing
What a great book. This is the first book I've ever read by Steve Martini and I can't wait to start the next (Compelling Evidence). Prime Witness was engrossing from start to finish. My only reservation is that I would have liked to have seen a little more courtroom action. I don't recall prime Witness being made into a motion picture, but it sure seems like a great candidate.

half star if I could
WOW was this book a stinker! I mean really...first of all I had to search for the name of the main character in the book. Second I didn't realize that this was the second book in a series thus I was completely lost whenMartini talked about things that happened in the first book. Also while I usually like first person books this one was just WAY to hard to follow. I felt that most of the characters that we met in the first book where not fleshed out in this one, again losing me. This was my first Martini book and it will most likely be my last. ... Read more

Product Description
Six CDs, 6 hrs.
performance by Joe Mantegna

Boston P.I. Spenser returns — heading west to the rich man's haven of Potshot, Arizona, a former mining town recently reborn as a paradise for Los Angeles millionaires looking for a place to escape the pressures of their high-flying lifestyles. When a band of modern-day mountain men, led by a charismatic individual known as The Preacher, takes over the town, even the local police are powerless to defend the residents in the face of the clever, dangerous gang. Spenser assembles a group of his own, including the redoubtable Hawk, to beat the gang at their own dangerous game and form the nucleus of a real police force to watch over the town when he's gone.
Amazon.com Review
Maybe Spenser's driven all the bad guys out of Boston. Which is too badbecause on his home ground, the tough and tender PI and Hawk, histrusty sidekick, don't need a gang of other guys to do their work.And the hired guns they round up to help them clean out a nest ofne'er-do-wells who have the desert town of Potshot, Arizona, terrifiedaren't nearly as amusing as, say, John Dortmunder's criminal colleagues inDonald Westlake's caper novels.

The thugs who populate the Dell, a scrubby little enclave justoutside of town, have the locals in their pocket, which is why thepretty blonde who hires Spenser to find whoever killed her husbandpoints him toward the Preacher, who rules the Dell and its denizens.But Spenser's not as certain as his client that Steve Buckman died atthe Preacher's hands. As our hero and his ethnically diverse butpolitically incorrect henchmen (one gay shooter, one Latino, one black,one Native American--all that's missing is Annie Oakley) investigate,it turns out that Spenser's right, as usual. The action ranges from LasVegas to L.A., Atlanta to New Mexico, but much of it is a humdrumtravelogue as Spenser rounds up his gang from all over the country to takeon the Preacher and his musclemen. While Potshot isn't one of Robert B. Parker's best, it's still not bad. The one or two lines devoted to introducing Spenser's backup buddies don't begin to do any of them justice, and there's a lot more description of the artillery the guys pack than usual. But they do fill up the white space, and when the action lags, there's always Susan's dirty talk, shopping jones, and dietary obsessions to divert the reader. There's a midlifecrisis somewhere in this evergreen series that's just waiting to erupt. Whether it's Spenser's, Susan's, or Parker's, however, remains to be seen. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Customer Reviews (118)

Spencer Fan
If you are a Spencer-a-holic like myself, you will enjoy this one.It has it all; action, adventure, romance, and the quick wit of Spencer.

Buy it for the snappy dialogue, not the story
Parker's novel Potshot, written in 2001, is aptly named. A Potshot is random or easy shot. My impression after reading this book is that by 2001, Parker had justifiably established a formidable reputation as a storyteller, a creator of characters, and a master at translating human values and emotions to fiction. In his book "Potshot", he used that reputation to take a harmless potshot at those of us who purchase his books.

It has little story, little mystery (although the ending on the last page is novel), zero character development, and some detection. Had he published this novel in 1973 instead of "The Godwulf Manuscript," we would never have heard of him.

And yet, I liked it. The novel was like a family picnic - characters from previous novels assembled to launch a crusade. The characters, Chollo and Bobby Horse, for two, say little, but say it very well. And that's the best part of this novel - the snappy dialogue between Spenser and those of his "family."

On problem with this book, and other Parker novels written in this decade - there is no explanation of "why." Why does Spenser immediately take this case - because ML Buckner had nice legs? Why do Vinnnie and Tedy Sapp immediately join the crusade? Why doesn't Preacher just shoot Spenser? Sure, we know Spenser is a bulldog when on a case, but does he take this one?

Parker has sadly passed away this year at the age of 77, so we won't have any more family picnics.

Will I purchase the other Spenser novels I haven't read. Sure. I'll buy them for the dialogue, and I would buy the current product from Stuart Woods for the same reason. Both used to be excellent storytellers and developers of characters in their fiction, but their current work is like Jay Leno channeling Rodney Danger field - all one-liners. That's not bad, it's just not good mystery fiction.

Spenser and the thugs unite
"Potshot" is not perfect, but makes a great read for present fans of Robert B. Parker's ultimate character, Spenser. In the miserably hot, isolated desert town of Potshot, a gang of uncouth ruffians take over and extort the citizenry there. It's Spenser to the rescue, but the sheer number of bad guys makes it impossible for him to handle it alone. His solution: recruit his own bad guys! We see him organize and lead an uncomfortable alliance of incredibly dangerous anti-heroes, such as Chollo, Bobby Horse, Bernard J. Fortunato, and of course, his main man Hawk. It's not a literary classic, but "Potshot" makes for a unique and wild ride amongst Robert B. Parker's underworld tough guys.

Plenty of action, lots of heart, thoughtful plotting
Parker's tribute to the Magnificent Seven in the form of a book called Potshot takes place in the hot mountains of the West. When asked to investigate the death of a lady's husband whom she claims was killed by a band of marauders controlling the town, our hero Spenser discovers another layer of corruption. In addition to the vicious, mountain-dwelling gang, Spenser recognizes all is not as it seems. Gathering several tough guys, he returns to the town to put a stop to the marauders and get to the truth of the original murder. Discovering a land development scheme that includes a mob king, and the greed and corruption of a woman, using both his wits and the skill of violent men, Spenser puts an end to the warring, staying true to his original charge but not to the benefit of his employees.

In some ways, the entire book reads like comic strip made into a movie. Its implausibility becomes its charm, and the super-human heroes are the guardians of the universe. The absurdity of solving the problems with amazingly strong, skilled men who are eager to join the action for a price is almost more than a work of literature should experience. Mike Hammer meets James Coburn for a fun adventure of taking out the bad guys. Just a bunch of manly stuff for an excuse to play the Wild West shoot-out game!

Yet, in spite of the Hollywoodish gathering of thugs to kill the thugs, we find a thoughtful story with moments of emotional and intellectual depth. The plot has twists and turns and we are never quite sure where things are going. Add violence and intelligent deductive reasoning and we have a page-turning book containing depth of emotion and an odd brand of moral integrity. Spenser kills but only after they make the first move.

The unusual usage of minimal descriptions, terse dialog, and the occasional advanced vocabulary combine with sexual tension, violence, and intricate plotting to form a book that is typical of Parker's writing style. The comic book hero stuff would be worth about one or two stars, but the smooth, direct prose, realistic dialog, and interesting plot off-set the "let's get some tough guys together and solve the problem" story. A recommended book for fans of Robert B. Parker and his Spenser series. A fun read from beginning to end.

Spenser Goes West
In his novel Potshot, Robert B. Parker does his take on "The Magnificent Seven." Spenser heads out to the Arizona desert to take on a horde of marauders terrorizing a small town. He brings with him a complement of the most dangerous thugs that he has encountered. The plot itself manages to be both lightweight and convoluted. It brings in Los Angeles gangsters, real estate developers, and crooked law enforcement. However, the primary strength of Potshot lies in the characters and dialogue. 6 of the most interesting (and toughest) recurring characters of the Spenser series appear in the book, and the interplay between the group is worth the cost of the book by itself. The plot isn't spectacular, but the joy of the assortment of thugs Spenser recruits all working together makes it all worthwhile. The dialogue is excellent and quite funny, and the characterization is superb. It's definitely more lightweight than some of the better Spenser novels, but it also is fun. Definitely a worthwhile read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

I LOVE Spenser!!!
With that said, however, "Hugger Mugger" isn't my favorite Spenser book, probably because we don't see Hawk, and there's not much of the guys, or even Susan. The best thing about it, in my opinion, is that we first meet Tedy (sp? Such is a problem with audios. LOL) Sapp. The whole horse lifestyle is so foreign to me it just leaves me cold, which doesn't help.

"Potshot" IS one of my favorites, though. It's pretty much all the guys, all the time--Tedy Sapp, Hawk, Vinnie, and more, which is what I like. Their picking with each other is what MAKES the books for me.

I always enjoy listening to Joe Mantegna. While I prefer the voice he uses for Tedy in "Potshot" and later books, I suspect his voice is "Hugger Mugger" may be more realistic to what is described for the character in "Hugger."

So, in short, I'm rating "Hugger" at 4 stars and "Potshot" at 5, and 5 for Joe Mantegna, too. Since I can't do fractions or decimals, I figured best to round down to 4.

My vote is for more Spenser audio collections too!!!!!

Great Book
Great story and interesting character.This is a good series to get wrapped up in. ... Read more

Product Description
Robbie Feaver is a charismatic personal injury lawyer with a high profile practice, a way with the ladies, and a beautiful wife, who is dying of a fatal illness.He also has a secret bank account where he occasionally deposits funds that make their way into the pockets of the judges who decide Robbie's cases.Robbie is caught by the Feds, and, in exchange for leniency, agrees to "wear a wire" as he continues to fix decisions.The FBI agent assigned to supervise him goes by the alias of Evon Miller.Lonely, uncomfortable in her own skin, she is impervious to Robbie's charms.And she carries secrets of her own.Amazon.com Review
Scott Turow has always pushed himself beyond the expectationsof readers and critics. In Presumed Innocent (1987), heintroduced fictional Kindle County and ushered in the era that spawnedsuch mega-authors as John Grisham, Richard North Patterson, and DavidBaldacci. In Personal Injuries, Turow continues to innovate onlegal fiction, but his achievement this time is not gained throughclever plot twists (though there are several) or intense legal action(though there is much of that too). The achievement of mastery thistime is via exquisitely drawn, Faulknerian characters--attorney RobbieFeaver, agent Evon Miller, U.S. Attorney Stan Sennett, and JusticeBrendan Tuohey--whose lives become the driving mystery at the core ofthe book.

The novel begins with Robbie Feaver seeking counsel fromthe narrator, attorney George Mason. For years, Feaver has beenbribing several judges in the Common Law Claims Division to winfavorable judgments. Now that U.S. Attorney Stan Sennett has uncoveredFeaver's dirty little secret, he wants to use Feaver to get at the manhe believes to be at the center of all the legal corruption in themetropolitan area, Brendan Tuohey, Presiding Judge of Common LawClaims and heir apparent to the Chief Justice of Kindle CountySuperior Court. With Mason as an advisor, Robbie assists Sennett andhis team of FBI undercover agents in crafting a massive stingoperation that involves an FBI-manufactured lawyer named "JamesMcManis," a cast of fictional clients, and "Evon Miller"--a deep coveragent (and former Olympic athlete)--who poses as Robbie's paralegaland paramour.

With a skill rarely found in genre fiction, Turowcomposes his narrative with variations on several recurringthemes. The novel ripples with paranoia as the FBI enshrouds the legalcommunity of Kindle County in a web of tapped phones, concealedcameras, and wired spies.

At the center of indirection sit Robbieand Evon. The pair dance through an elegant game of erotically-chargedhide and seek: Robbie the practiced liar and former actor, and Evon,the agent whose whole life must remain a fiction if she is tosurvive. At their best, legal thrillers leave readers confronting thecore of their values and perceptions of legal and moralrectitude. Personal Injuries is the legal thriller at its verybest. --Patrick O'Kelley ... Read more

Customer Reviews (232)

Dull
Had high hopes for this one, but had to put down after about 50 pages. Just did not find the characters and storyline interesting enough. Also the dialogues seemed contrived and too "clever"...it was hard to follow along.

The Feds Will Get You Every Time
Ambulance chasing attorney Robbie Feaver wears Amrani suits and drives a new Mercedes. He acts like he's got the world by the shorts, but in reality it's U.S. Attorney Stan Sennett who has Robbie's undies in his fists. Sennett has caught him hiding income from the IRS and that undeclared income has been buying and corrupting County judges. Robbie's looking at a trip up the river for tax evasion unless he turns into a snitch, wires his office and helps the Fed catch the culprits who have been paying him.

Not only is Robbie dropping a dime on the very people who made it possible for him to drive that Mercedes, but he's also putting himself in the spotlight. The man behind the judicial corruption, Presiding Judge Brendan Tuohey, is a powerful man with all the right connections. Robbie could be in real trouble.

But Robbie does have help, undercover FBI agent Evon Miller (not her real name). She's working in his office to guarantee that he stays with the program, and neither of them are to discourage the rumors that they're sleeping together. That Evon is having problems struggling with her own bisexuality doesn't seem to make her job any easier.

The strain of what he's doing, being a federal snitch, gradually removes most of Robbie's masks, but only in front of Evon, who also is forced to confront her own true self, hidden under layers of deception.

This book has great twists, great drama and great writing with wonderful character development, however I found Evon's identity crisis just a little annoying. Still I stayed with the book well into the night, reading away to see what happens next.

An Oldie But Very Very Goodie
I have only recently discovered Scott Turow, so I'm in the process of reading all his past books.Personal Injuries was an amazing book.The story was complex and always interesting.The characters are fascinating and realistically complex.There are many twists that genuinely surprised me.As I am finding in reading Turow's books, he is a master at including wonderfully introspective views into the individual characters and human nature in general.This book made me laugh and cry and I can't recommend it highly enough.

I know Robbie Feaver. . . .

I know Robbie Feaver.

Maybe you do, too -- if you're lucky.

In my opinion, Robbie is among the most brilliantly -- and lovingly -- created characters in fiction.

Robbie is a lawyer, a nice Jewish boy, handsome, sexy, funny, and a complex human being.

"You could never count on him for honesty, assuming he even knew what it was. He was unruly and incorrigible. But if she stumbled, he'd come running. She couldn't even say for sure she'd be able to reach out when he extended a hand. But he'd be there. she wasn't going to forgive him, really. But she had to stop pretending with herself. Nine hundred people had just turned out, all there to buoy Robbie Feaver in his grief, nearly every one a friend who'd experienced his openness and the soothing warmth of his care. And she was one, too. You couldn't fight facts."

There have been at least two Robbie Feavers in my life, and as much as I love men, I loved these two most of all. It was an extraordinary delight to find such a beloved character in a novel.

Robbie shows us what love truly is -- unconditional love, the kind of love you would be both blessed and unlikely to find in your lifetime. The man is deeply flawed: dishonest, irresponsible, undependable. Unfaithful, yet faithful: he strays, but always comes back to you.

In PERSONAL INJURIES, Mr. Turow tests Robbie Feaver (pronounce it "favor") beyond all limits of physical and emotional endurance. Robbie's wife has a fatal illness. She is slowly dying throughout the novel. The course of her illness is graphic and heartbreaking. The strength and courage of this woman and her husband are beyond the meaning of courage and strength.

In PERSONAL INJURIES, Mr. Turow explores love in all its forms: Robbie and his wife, Robbie and a lesbian woman, Robbie and his law partner and lifelong friend, Mort Dinnerstein.

"There is deep feeling between these men," one of the lawyers says, though Robbie and Mort are not homosexual.

In PERSONAL INJURIES, love transcends sex.

Scott Turow is a brilliant writer. He unfailingly delivers a great story, a roller coaster ride, and a page-turning cliffhanger. Sometimes the writing bogs down just a little bit. Forget and forgive that. The book is superb.

And don't pigeonhole this author as a "genre writer" of law thrillers. He is far, far better than that and getting better all the time. PRESUMED INNOCENT is a great read, and in the opinion of many reviewers, his best book. But I think his skill with characterization -- making his characters real and complex and exciting for us -- is, in PERSONAL INJURIES, superior to his other works.


Arlene Sanders
Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia

These Injuries are very personal
Scott Turow has written one of the best in this genre, and I have read most of the Grisham stuff.Personal Injuries has two outstanding traits. First are the unforgettable characters, introduced in an off-hand way.The lawyers are neither good nor bad, just playing the hand they were dealt and trying to meet the expectations of their families.Second amazing thing here are the plot twists in the second half of the book. Feaver has a judge on the side who is not being bribed,Feaver's mother had a past with the chief judge, a friend was in on the whole thing from the beginning. Unlike Grisham this thing is not preachy, there are fun characters like the ancient judges who can barely find their way to the bench.

Ken Howard, a.k.a The White Shadow, does an excellent job with the narration for the audio book. He can handle the voices and knows how to deliver a story. ... Read more

Product Description
Copyright 2002 by Robert B. Parker, P 2002 by Random House, Inc. (on CD-ROM). P 2001 Books On Tape, Inc. Published by arrangement with Random House audio publishing Group(on back case paper). (5886-CD) 5 Compact Discs. ISBN 0-7366-8446-8. (from CD and case) ... Read more

Product Description
Born over 2,400 years ago, warrior, thinker, and leader Sun Tzu lived during a time of great internecine conflict in China. A classic of Chinese literature, Art of War reveals the strategies, tactics, and insights that lead to success. Mastery of warfare and the maintenance of power are the most important values in Suns philosophy--without which there can be no peace or life. According to Sun, studying your enemy, detecting his weakness, allowing him to expose himself and then acting accordingly is the key to success. But, it is perhaps even more important to master the skill of winning without fighting. Suns battle-proven strategies have been put into practice by countless leaders--from Mao Tse-tung to Napoleon to the planners of Operation Desert Storm. Filled with practical wisdom and strategy Art of War is an indispensable guide for anyone who want an edge over the competition. With powerful narration by George Guidall and Joe Montegna, listeners are sure to be destined for greatness with this audiobook. ... Read more

Product Description
Collector's edition Unabridged audiobook. ... Read more

Product Description
(4 Audio Cassettes/6 Hours) Read by Joe Mantegna. Robbie Feaver is a successful personal injury lawyer with a burgeoning practice, a way with the ladies, and a beautiful wife (whom he loves) dying of an irreversible illness. He also has a secret bank account where he occasionally deposits funds that make their way into the pockets of the judges who decide Robbie's cases.Robbie is apprehended, and, in exchange for leniency, agrees to "wear a wire" as he continues to try to fix decisions. The FBI agent assigned to supervise him goes by the alias of Evon Miller. She is lonely, uncomfortable in her skin, and impervious to Robbie's charms. And she carries secrets of her own.As the law tightens its net, Robbie's and Evon's stories converge thrillingly. Scott Turow shows us new sides of Kindle County, the world of greed and human failing he has made immortal in his previous novels, Presumed Innocent, The Burden of Proof, Pleading Guilty, and The Laws of Our Fathers. He also shows us enduring love and unexpected heroism. Personal Injuries is Turow's most reverberant, most moving novel-a powerful drama of individuals struggling against all odds to escape their characters. ... Read more