Product Description
A practical guide to planting, growing and picking flowers for drying. This text is botanically precise, alphabetically organized and contains entries for over 200 varieties. It gives practical instruction on natural drying methods. ... Read more

Product Description
Superintendent Alan Markby and Meredith Mitchell are in desperate need of a holiday - and the Cotswold village of Parsloe St John seems the perfect choice.Their neighbour, retired journalist Wynne Carter, is as convivial as the village itself and, over a glass of blackberry wine, indulges in her latest obsession, Olivia Smeaton, a racy old lady whose life - and death - she is convinced are not all they seem. Markby is more interested in buying Olivia's house than the circumstances of her vacating it, but Meredith is intrigued: by the old lady, the death of a cherished horse and a dusty junk shop run by a white witch.When another fatality - of a very grisly nature - is discovered, it seems her suspicion is justified.Clearly Olivia isn't the only enigma in Parsloe St John - and her death might be the first of many unless Meredith Mitchell and Alan Markby can make sense of some very secret lives to reach the truth ... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A Classic English Village Mystery!
Ann Granger's Markby and Mitchell series is a very satisfying one.She has the genre of the English village mystery down to a tee.In this book Meredith and Alan are on vacation in the Cotswolds, and even there they can't get away from strange happenings and murder.They discover a witch's coven, the village Romeo and even the village young man who has a lot of psychological problems.I really enjoy the way the Meredith and Alan's relationship is progressing.They are are good complimentary sleuthing duo.I enjoy a book that takes me to where the book is written, and one that feels like an old friend.Granger's series is this for me.Once I begin one of her books, I'm taken away from everything else in my life.

yet another village mystery
Granger's books would lead one to believe that English villages are among the most insular and dangerous places on earth.In this one she follows a rather predictable pattern that she has established in her earlier books. Alan Markby and Meredith Mitchell are vacationing in a village. Markby is asked to look into the unsuspicious death of a reclusive widow. Meredith gets, as always, a local historical angle to investigate. The mystery isn't all that interesting, but the characters have a certain charm, and that's what Granger's books are really about. This particular novel is poorly edited, with some typos and some words left out. Most of the omissions don't do any more than annoy the reader, but at one point there's a reference to Markby's sister, Laura, and to her husband Paul, who is described as Markby's brother.And yet Markby complains about the inbreeding in an English village!Granger's writing could be tighter.For instance, she describes a minor character -- a police officer -- at great length, when all he does is find a weapon and then disappear.Granger might heed Elmore Leonard's advice to "leave out the parts that people tend to skip."There is a nice twist at the end, though, which a careful reader might have anticipated from one clue, but it's not such a blatant clue that the surprise is ruined.

Another good read
I enjoy the Meredith and Markby series very much and recommend them to all those who enjoy English mysteries.Please keep them coming.

To any one who is going to take the plunge, go back to the beginning so you can enjoythem all.

Didn't wait for the paperback and wasn't disappointed
Until this year's Friends of the Tucson [& Pima County] Public Librarybook sale, I hadn't heard of this series.I picked up the first, second,and fifth books there.After I read them, I bought every book I could findin town.As soon as I learned there were more, I ordered them. I likedthis book as much as the others.The bits of historical information welearn along the way were interesting,(especially how the people of theRegency period obtained a certain shade of pink paint).There are at leastthree separate mysteries:Who is the vicious vandal?Who committed themurder?What was the secret of the elderly recluse?and are they in anyway connected?I can't feel too smug guessing the vandal's identity 32pages before it was revealed or the recluse's secret 4 pages before Alancaught on because I missed a lot of clues and I didn't guess the killer. Furthermore, I didn't get even a whiff of the final revelation's coming. However, it wouldn't matter if readers could guess everything correctly. This series is worth reading just for the characters.Other comments: There's a very good lesson to be learned from the vandal's motive, but Idon't know how many readers will heed it when it's so much easier to lookthe other way.On p.44, full paragraph 3, Alan says they're on the firstfloor, but they're upstairs.It was nice to learn that the game I knew as"gossip" is called "Chinese whispers" in England.Thedust jacket wouldn't tempt me to buy the book if I were not already a fan,but it's rather pretty.Ann E. Nichols

Another good read by ann Granger
Inspector Alan Markby and his girlfriend Meredith Mitchell share a holiday in Parsloe St. John where they learn that an old woman recently died when she tripped and fell down some stairs.Thinking of early retirement, Alan is very interested in buying the deceased's cottage while Meredith wonders if the rumors of murder are true.

Alan's disinterest in the senior citizen's death rapidly changes when the head of a handyman is found severed from the body.Other evidence of nearby satanic worship also exists.Instead of a laid back restful holiday, Alan and Meredith begin a working vacation as they investigate the rash of strange doings, that have rocked the tiny village and its eccentric people.

A WORD AFTER DYING is a very interesting entry in the Markby-Mitchell mystery series because the lead protagonists arenot quite featured as much as in previous entries. Instead the local villagers seem to dominate the story line as Alan and Meredith propel their stories and the who-done-it forward.Surprisingly, this cleverly works, turning the story line into an invigorating, very interesting novel. Fans of the series and the English cozy need to read Ann Granger's newest novel (as well as the rest of the series) to enjoy some of the top books in the sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

Product Description
Beverly and Carl find love together, until she realizes that he is slowly turning her into a living corpse, trapped and powerless, only able to pray that Carl's next victim, Megan, can stop the cycle and save her life. Original."Amazon.com Review
Drawn to the Grave is a short, tight novel with asimple premise, the grotesque implications of which are spelled out in fullby midway through the first chapter. This approach allows the reader toconcentrate on the characters: an arrogant man who is trapped by fate andweakness into performing the same horrible act of supernatural violenceover and over, the woman he has justvictimized, and the woman he plans to victimize next. As in the classictale of "Bluebeard," the question of "Will it happen again?" is much lessimportant than the nuances of how the pattern unfolds, mostly seen throughthe eyes of next victim. She is a college student on a solitary hiking tripwho stumbles into the eerie and beautiful setting--a wide river in aremote, wooded area.

This is Mary Ann Mitchell's first novel: it has a bit of first-novelawkwardness (while not gory, the book does have quite a few gross-outmoments), but the prose smoothes out and gains power as the bookprogresses. Especially effective is the use of odor, such as the sweet,cloying smell of hyacinths that drifts along the river, alternately enticing and maddening thecharacters. --Fiona Webster ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Not Worth the Money
I bought this book based on reviews, and the promise of an unusual premise.Many first novels are wonderful, but this is not one of them.The characters seem one-note personalities, without development (unless you count rot as movement), and thus hard to care about.While the idea of the story is compelling, the plot is manipulated to the point that I stopped looking for logic, reason, or even the power to suspend disbelief.The book is horror-fantasy, to be sure, but if I can't believe a word of it, then it doesn't work for me.The prose seems wooden, and I was finally so frustrated with it that I threw it on the floor.I don't often have a book tantrum, but unfortunately, this novel brought one on.I hate to discourage first time writers, but I hope Ms. Mitchell gets better editing on her next effort, because her work this time out really doesn't seem ready to be presented as a finished, polished book.

The Worst Book I've Ever Read
This was one of the worst books I have ever read (and I am a bibliophile if ever there was one!).

The plot is ridiculous, the characters are not well-developed at all, and the entire time I was reading, I kept asking myself... "Is this for real?No one would react like this!"I've heard of suspension of disbelief, but this is ridiculous!!

Save your time and money...take my advice...stay away from this novel!

Don't read while eating!
I love horror.Always have, probably always will, and I have a horribletendency to read while eating lunch at work.This book is the only one(recently, at least) that bothered me.It's very graphic and thedescriptions actually make you picture what Beverly is going through. Truly a fun and fast read, but be forewarned, finish your lunch beforepicking this one up.

A strange and haunting tale
This sad, haunting, almost dreamlike book gave me the creeps.There are more than a few clumsy first novel moments, but in the end it is a truly powerful story that has stuck with me.Recommended for those interested in something a little different from the same old story.

Worth the read
I gave this novel a chance after reading Mitchell's SIPS OFBLOOD. I wanted to see if she was truly worth the praise I had heardabout her because I found SIPS to be rather, well, mundane and silly.

DRAWN has that "tales from the crypt" feel to it. A well-worn premise (you know, white explorer stumbles on fantastic jungle spell and capitalizes on it until his own destruction), somewhat interesting characters and detailed gory descriptions of rotting corpses (er...living corpses?)...these all make for a rather fun read. I have to admit, I enjoyed it.

DRAWN certainly isn't a horror masterpiece in my book, but it is worth your time. Watch out for graphic sex and even more graphic gore; if you are easily offended, this one isn't for you. But if you are willing to suspend disbelief and pretend you are watching a Saturday afternoon "B" flick, you'll like this book. The ultimate revenge sequence at the end makes it worthwhile. ... Read more

Product Description
Although he has largely receded from the public consciousness, John Mitchell Jr., the editor and publisher of the Richmond Planet, was well known to many black, and not a few white, Americans in his day. A contemporary of Booker T. Washington, Mitchell contrasted sharply with Washington in temperament. In his career as an editor, politician, and businessman, Mitchell followed the trajectory of optimism, bitter disappointment, and retrenchment that characterized African American life in the Reconstruction and Jim Crow South.

Best known for his crusade against lynching in the 1880s, Mitchell was also involved in a number of civil rights crusades that seem more contemporary to the 1950s and 1960s than the turn of that century. He led a boycott against segregated streetcars in 1904 and fought residential segregation in Richmond in 1911. His political career included eight years on the Richmond city council, which ended with disenfranchisement in 1896.

As Jim Crow strengthened its hold on the South, Mitchell, like many African American leaders, turned to creating strong financial institutions within the black community. He became a bank president and urged Planet readers to comport themselves as gentlemen, but a year after he ran for governor in 1921, Mitchell's fortunes suffered a drastic reversal. His bank failed, and he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years in the state penitentiary. The conviction was overturned on technicalities, but the so-called reforms that allowed state regulation of black businesses had done their worst, and Mitchell died in poverty and some disgrace.

Basing her portrait on thorough primary research conducted over several decades, Ann Field Alexander brings Mitchell to life in all his complexity and contradiction, a combative, resilient figure of protest and accommodation who epitomizes the African American experience in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Ugh.
At first, this was decent.. The Spanish Inquistion is going on, Teresa is leaving a convent to care for an elderly man, and tons of sinister characters are introduced. Then it starts going downhill.

The sinister characters are unlikeable and vile. They are all jealous, cruel, vindictive, having sexual relations with their brother or sister, wanting to have sexual relations with their brother or sister, or sexually molesting young girls.

Meanwhile, the Inquistion is eyeing this household of sinister people (who I add are constantly bickering with each other) because the head of the household used to be Jewish. All the money in the world could not protect the Jews for long during the Inquistion.

And that's that. The only reason it doesn't get a one star is because I was interested in Teresa enough to keep reading. But I didn't like it or the way it turned out.

insightful look at the Spanish Inquisition
Late in the fifteenth century in Spain everyone fears the Inquisitor, whose Papal direction is to root out heretics and Jews, but never allow blood to flow.Many Jews convert to Christianity to avoid torture, but practice their secret religion inside their homes; if outed they are tortured until they confess.Susana Diego's lover reported to the authorities that her father was still a Jew so he was burned at the stake and though she lived to give birth to a daughter had her skull nailed to her home to warn others from going down the wrong path.

Susana's daughter Teresa, unaware of her Jewish heritage, was born at a convent and raised by the sisters.Considered a healer Teresa is sent to the Velez home on the "STREET OF DEATH" to care for the dying wealthy patriarch Roberto, a converted former Jew.His son Luis does not want her in their home at first, but soon finds himself attracted to her courage.As they fall in love, Luis continues to try to learn the fate of a servant Catrin, taken by the Inquisitor.However, family secrets by their parental generation begins to surface placingboth in danger as Teresa is accused of witchcraft and Luis of Jewish heresy.

The haunting atmosphere of the Velez home located on the aptly named STREET OF DEATH ironically brings to life the Spanish Inquisition in which loyalty was a commodity not to trust.The family secrets provide fascinating twists that add depth so that the audience fully understands the plights of Jews in fifteenth century Spain; for instance why Luis' mother is buried where she is.Although Luis' conversion from disdain to desire seems a stretch, Mary Ann Mitchell paints a dark picture of what mankind did in medieval times and still does to one another in the name of God.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Product Description
The Marquis de Sade still lives as one of the undead, and rumors of his evil deeds don't begin to describe what the Marquis has become. His tastes remain the same, only more pronounced. And his desire for blood has become a hunger. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Disturbing S&M Story With Little Horror/Vampires
I bought this entire set of books and was excited to read vampire stories by a woman who won the Bram Stoker award. I stopped reading this one 3/4 through and gave the entire set away. The explicit details of sexual violence completely overshadows anything regarding vampires or resembling horror. There should be a warning label on these books since they are disgusting and disturbing!

Quel fromage!
Quel fromage! Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading the book but Sade'sfrançaise de Pepi Le Pew got tiresome. The S&M sex scenes were gratuitous and often times stopped the flow of the plot (yes, there is a plot). I know, I know, what am I thinking... one of the main characters is the vampire form of the Marquis de Sade but does that mean that everyone else in the book has to be as weird or weirder than he?

A very colorful& Literary Soap Opera
I'm not totally done reading the book yet, but so far it has become, (keyword: become) a great book which is very attracting and makes me want to read on and on! At first, it was hard to keep track of the characters but they become all intertwined at some point, which makes it easier to grasp. The vocabulary was a little above my level, using the french language frequently, but still I understood the events happening. The book is a real soap opera, but more colorful than the ones on the television.

Brain Candy at its finest!
I LOVE IT!I could not put it down, it sucked me in from cover to cover.The characters are very well developed in this first book of a series, however, make sure you read this one first or the others (Quenched and Cathedral of Vampires) will make no sense to you at all.Kudos to angel's and algerina's posted reviews, I could not describe the book better myself.

Vampires, Bondage and S&M
Sips of Blood is a meandering story of vampires, blood worship, bondage, and sadism. I found it rather superficial and lacking substance. The characters, having no real believable personality, also added very little to the story. Even the infamous Marquis de Sade, of who this book revolves around is seen as little more than an everyday man with a secret life dealing with torture, pain, and brutality. Little if any of the psychological aspects of his mind and thought process are dealt with.

For those looking for an easy reading book dealing with porn, bondage, and a thirst for blood, then you probably will enjoy the book. However, if you expect something more substantial than superficial flash and shock, if you want to get into the minds, hearts, and souls of people and their behaviors, then you won't be satisfied. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

If only I could give a negative number of stars...
I don't know what the writer was thinking... (The more I read the more I realized I would never know what the author was thinking.) This book sucked so bad... no pun intended. Thankfully I sold my copy on ebay and made $1.00 back of my money. But the time I spent reading the first 10 chapters.. pages.. (what does it matter there was only like 1 page to a chapter anyway)I will never get that time back and that makes me sad. PLEASE DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID AND BUY THIS BOOK BECAUSE OF THE COOL TITLE!!!!!! CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED IF YOU DO

Godawful
What can I say - The book was bad.The dialogue is frequently stilted, and there's frequently scenes that do nothing to advance the rather stagnant plot.So de Sade takes a break from angsting to kill a girl at a farmhouse somewhere - so what?Is it just so we know he can?Otherwise, the storyline is disjointed, the characters are terribly flat, and the author pays no attention to her own continuum. De Sade himself is defined by missing his "niece" and lusting after (and nailing) practically everything that walks, no matter if the author tells us a side effect of the voodoo priestess's spell is that he's visibly decaying.

All in all, readers should heed the bit of work on the back cover: "Mary Ann Mitchell will make her readers cringe while they read the horror within her pages!" Hey publisher, that doesn't really look like a compliment.

Lost In ...what? Where?
Simply put - one of the worst books I have read lately! While it's true that to give a fair assessment of this book, one should have an idea of what has gone on before, I believe that a well-written series would give the reader a sense of what transpired previously in any one of the books that makes up the series. The reader should be able to pick up on the general story line even if she/he has not read any of the previous books. Fellow book-buffs: do not look for any such flow in this book. Ms. Mitchell, while I acknowledge your efforts as a writer, (it is a talent that few of us possess, and it's darn hard work, we know), I must repeat my original opinion: BAD! This book is boring, confusing, and badly written in terms of dialogue (stilted, awkward, and archaic). The characters are flat and without interest. Sade comes off as a bumbling, whining entity, who stumbles through the book, looking for all the world like a Master Vampire/Sadist/Manipulator/Sex Fiend, in control of his world and all those around him - NOT!! The plot is (almost) non-existent, and the action scarce; the sentences dis-jointed and in some cases seem irrelevant. The book consists of mostly dreams scenarios, and conversations between lacklustre protagonists.
I love the Vampire genre, and will read anything that boasts these bad boys/girls of the night on its cover - but 'The Vampire De Sade' will NOT be making it to my 'keeper' shelf!Wish I could get my money back! So sorry, Ms. Mitchell.

A Train Wreck Combined With a Plane Crash...
"The Vampire de Sade" is Mary Ann Mitchell's latest installment in the series of the same name. The Marquis is a vampire living in present day Paris. He begins to dream of his niece, Liliana. This would not appear to be troublesome, except vampires in this reality lack the ability to dream. They die and rot each night as they sleep. Clearly magic is being used against him and the Marquis soon learns that it comes from his former love, New Orleans Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau.

Doesn't my synopsis sound terribly interesting? Too bad the novel wasn't! This novel was a catastrophe! I expected a wonderul fantasy novel because the scenario seemed so intriguing, but I was let down and disappointed. I wasn't aware when I purchased this novel that it was part of a series and that in order to have a clue as to what was going on, I need to have read all of that series. I was so lost. Also, there was almost no action in this novel. Everything was dreams and dialogue which can become cumbersome after 200 pages. The characters were also very surfacey. They had almost no depth. I will probably give Mitchell another try, but I will definitely keep my expectations low.

Let's get ready to rumble!
I want my vicious killers back and I want them now! Yes the new breed was cool ... for about five minutes. That time has come and passed, now bring back the revolting murderers! No more do I want to see our bloodsuckers sexy and self-loathing. I'm tired of reading whine-after-whine about the pain. So please for all that is pretty and yellow in the world, end the madness. I'm warning you, don't make me get a pitchfork and some stakes.

Warning* you need to read the first four books in this series in order to have a clue as to what's going on. Also the back cover blurb is very misleading. If for some reason you thought it would be a battle of great evil forces, you were wrong. Oh Dear God where you were wrong.

Now here is where I tell you about the plot, but the thing is, there wasn't one. The story wanders aimlessly, drifting with the hope that the pretty vampires will distract the readers long enough so as not to notice. Sorry didn't work, I noticed. The layout is patent, the events predictable and the outcome is anticlimactic. The ending is a tangled mess that not even Houdini could figure out. Do not delude yourself into thinking that it has to get better, it doesn't.

The pace starts out slow, accelerating sporadically and with little grace. Think of accompanying a first time driver in a car that requires you know how to maneuver the stick shift, and then maybe you'll understand my meaning. Mitchell's style of writing is overworked and accommodating. Basically people, she's trying too hard. Instead of writing from the heart, her book comes off as distanced and restrained. Were she to find her own voice, the connection between her readers and her writing would alter dramatically. For the better!

The atmosphere aims to create a sense of revulsion, but only manages to pull off a quiet irritation - towards the book. The taste of the story wreaks havoc on your senses, never deciding if it wants to set a romantic tone or a horrifying one. Neither worked. The characters are a mass of self-indulgent, pathetic creatures with no redeeming qualities to speak of. Their interactions are weak and their dialogue clichéd. Instead of using De Sade's history as an advantage, Mitchell whips it out whenever he's in his "woe is me" phase. That is just wrong.

Don't buy it, don't borrow it, just Burn This Book! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

I love all her books but...
this one {next to Quenched }is my favorite in her saga though the story mainly focused on the family rather then Marquis de Sade & Marie I think it was meant to.Here are these two sadistic selfish destructive vamps who loathe one another and play these power games and the only thing {are vamp rather }that tied them together and forced them to tolerate each other is gone and I think that is why they haven't outright killed each other & I think at the house they saw what their blood has done to the family they are staying with how it TAINTED them & how they decided to flee rather then fight each other I think they saw a lot of themselves in the members causing them to flee not in shame but in repulsion yes she left a lot to ponder I only hope she brings back this family & Will {Sips of Blood & Quenched} are better yet all the main characters back in one book for the last book in the saga {hopefully that isn't for many many years to come }Needless to say I LOVE THIS BOOK I love the whole saga it's my favorite

What A Calamity!
I read Mitchell's "The Vampire de Sade" about a month ago. I wasn't blown away by the novel, but I decided that I would try one of the other books in the Marquis de Sade series. I wish I had not. Mitchell's work is an absolute train wreck. This novel was supposed to be about de Sade and a big battle with another vampire named Marie. Instead, 80% of the novel was about a family of vampires that Marie and de Sade pay a visit too. The characters were completely flat, there was basically no plot, the dialogue was atrocious, and it was once sad and tired cliche after another. I will not be reading anymore of Mitchell's work. I am a huge fan of vampire fiction, but I will not be reading this garbage just because it is part of that genre. I am really surprised that "Tainted Blood" received such a high rating. I am horribly disappointed and I would not recommend Mitchell's works to anyone.

You can't judge a book by it's cover
On the back of the book, there is a short synopsis of what this book is about.It waxes on about Marquis de Sade and his life.It mentions in two sentences about Sade's "journey leads him back to America, to a seemingly normal suburban house.But the family who lives there is far from normal."Guess what, 75% of the book is about this American family of vampires.What a collection of co-dependant, undead creatures !!The Sade character just peeks in and out of the story and we are left with the family of vampires who just can't get it together.I eventually got tired of the tedious storyline.I was dissapointed that the description wasn't really what the story was about.Other reviewers mentioned the short chapters were a nuisance.I agree.

So Much Potential
The Marquis de Sade is an immortal vampire?!?
What a premise. Oozes with potential, however Mitchell writes a novel of the hunt and hunted of the undead in a convoluted plot of family of vampires trying to escape from Sade's what else sadism haha.
In particular the first few chapters are such a mishmash of characters and scenes you need a scorecard to keep all the players in this game of undead cat and mouse straight. Mitchell only excarerates the situation, by sometimes referring to de Sade as de Sade and sometimes as Louis (it took me half the novel to discover they were the same person).
This is a novel brimming with potential.... unfortantely wasted, the premise places a fresh spin on the vampire mythos, yet in an attempt to write flourishing prose (which succeeds in parts but not in enough passages) with the grace of de Sade's own style the author boggled the reader down with too muc h style without depth.
Mitchell compounds the weaknesses of this story by instead using the vampire's innate sensuality to help tell the tale relies on shock value graphically depicting her love/sex scenes very heavy handedly.
If you are desperate to read a slightly different vampire novel I may recommend this book to you but there are many better books on the market. Also if I was asked to point out example of wasted potential I would recommend this book and point it out as being a case in point.
Writing this review was no fun, after all as a creature of the night it pains me to pan this novel, but honesty prevails in the end.

ONEOFMITCHELL'SBEST-IFNOTT.H.E.BEST!!!
I love 'Tainted Blood' by Mary Ann Mitchell! It's has a good stoy, & a great ending! I think the only partial downside in the book is the French that Sade adds in now & then b/c he doesn't remember how to say it in English... *bah!* All-in-All the story has all the good elements - Vampires, Blood, Comedy, Action & Sex. All that get combined in yet another blood~sucking Sade lifestyle & keeps the pages turning until you reach the end - & still leave you thirsty for more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

A Mediocre Good Time!!
Although this book had some flaws... all in all, I liked it. There were splotches of creepy moments that made you cringe.
The writing is not the greatest, the diolouge dry at times, and the characters as flat as a cardboard box, but all that can be mildly forgotten with an intereting plot.
Im not denying that it was far-fetched at times, but at least the author takes you places you've never been before. The beggining of the novel was amazingly descriptive, some of the most repulsive horror out there, but the book took a bit of a downfall after about a third of it, changing the plot from cannibilism to demons and hell.
I will be reading more of her. This book shows potential. Keep an eye on Mary Ann Mitchell.

delightfully evil
Yes there is canabalism, yes there is gore yes its cheap horror, but its cheap horror at its absolute best.If you like horror stories read this.

Excellent first half
Loved the first half of this one.Some of the most effective gore I have read in a long time.The reason behind the character's actions and dining habits is made clear and consise.This book was a more abstract look at obsession than it was an effective story, but when the main character is exploring his need to consume his own flesh, the novel was wonderful.Then in the second half there was an attempt to redeem the flesh eating protagonist, and after his brutal acts I could not get behind his quest for redemption no matter how hard the author fancied it up with mysticsm and spitualism.

A must for wannabe horror writers looking to learn techniques to write a perfect gore symphony, but as a story this iece misses the mark.Ballsy though.

THIS IS WAY BEYOND GROSS! IT IS JUST PLAIN OUT SICK!!!
1 star is being very generous in rating this book! Don't get me wrong, I love a good horror story but this is not horror! There are few books that I don't at least finish to see if there is some literary worth to them. This is one of the very few that I DID NOT finish. This book is gruesome, gory, absolutely disgusting, in addition to BORING. If you are looking for an entertaining, sitting on the edge of your seat, bump in the dark read...this is NOT for you! The best place for this book is the trash can.

Good Gore, but Utter Disappointment
Being that I'm all for gory stories, I picked up Ambrosial Flesh as a way to transition into reality from a George Romero fest, however, when I read this piece, I thought that there was much that is lacking from this novel.

Jonathan is a man with a strange appetite for human flesh.It starts with his religious convictions as a devout Catholic, but then slowly transforms into a fetish.However, as a reader, this "slow transformation" is a jolting transition for the reader.

His fetish drives his wife from his life, only to seek refuge in the "church" of an evil being known as Yakut.Yakut helps Jonathan kill and dispose of his wife and blame the murder on a hapless motel employee.

But obviously things don't end there for the cannibal.Jonathan is haunted by Yakut.Yakut goes after the Jonathan's mother, which prompts the cannibal, who is remorseful for the death of his wife, begins to stalk the entity, which leads to a warped showdown between the two.

This novel has only one developed character.The others seem to be drawn merely to show Jonathan's complex character.I did think Jonathan's character was sympathetic only at the beginning and close to the end.The plot was very simplistic, but did a good job of the Man vs Man/Demon genre of storytelling.

I did think there was a lot of strong writing prowess in the story, so I am sure that Mary Ann Mitchell is a good writer.I just picked the wrong book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is based on the author's informative and interesting news column that has run in antique publications across the country since 1997. These articles are presented here, along with photographs of hundreds of pieces of vintage costume jewelry with descriptions, designer names, and current collector values. A section on costume jewelry on the Internet is also included, which profiles in detail, the best costume jewelery sites on the web, including biographies of each dealer and a synopsis of what makes the sites special. There are also hints for those wishing to sell their jewelry at auction. There are even vintage costume jewelry advertisements to add pizazz to the book. Finally, an informative section on where to buy replacement stones, how to restring beads and pearls, how to repair costume jewelry, and how to join vintage costume jewelry clubs rounds out the book. 2004 values. REVIEW: This book is useful for those who know little about shakers as well as those who are diehard collectors. It is organized by company, shapes, and patterns. Large, full-color photographs are presented, with current collector values given for every shaker shown. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Inside the jewelry Box Vol 1
This was the start of a fabulous new item for collectors.We look at flea markets, yard sales and have come across many beautiful pieces that we would not have known their worth without thias book!

Usefull Book - Not Quite as Nice as Volume 2 & 3
I have a collection of about 50 jewelry books that I use for reference and enjoyment. I learn something new from every book including this one. However, I also own Volume 2 & 3 both of which seem to have better illustrations and descriptions.

Inside The Jewelry Box #2
Fabulous photos and lots of good information. This book should be a staple in any one's collection that's interested in costume jewelry.

Inside the Jewelry Box: A Collection Guide to Costume Jewelry
Service was great. Book is new and wrapped in shrinkwraped so it was not be opened at this time as it is a gift.

Excellent for collectors
If you are a vintage jewelry collector by hobby or by trade, this book is a great addition to your reference library.The photos are of excellent quality showing necessary detail, and the author, Ann Mitchell Pitman, has done everyone a great service by adding some additional references of websites and organizations available for continued study. If you are an eBay shopper, I highly recommend this book so you can become familiar with the products and know the approximate values when bidding. ... Read more

Product Description
An evil stalks the clubs and seedy hotels of San Francisco's shadowy underworld. It preys on the unfortunate, the outcasts, the misfits. It is an evil born of the eternal bloodlust of one of the undead, the infamous nobleman known to the ages as...the Marquis de Sade. He and his unholy offspring feed upon those who wont be missed, giving full vent to their dark desires and a thirst for blood that can never be sated. Yet while the Marquis amuses himself with the lives of his victims, with their pain and their torture, other vampires to their new lives of eternal night. And as the Marquis will soon learn, hatred and vengeance can be eternal as well undead can barely imagine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

So far so good
Hi. I have just gotten in to reading Mary Ann Mitchell and so far so good. Quenched is pretty good. It is a good read. Thanks PSM:)

a story as aimless as its characters
Mary Ann Mitchell's Quenched reminded me a lot of the work of John Rechy in that it deals with aimless decadent characters, but this is where the comparison ends.Had Mitchell the talent of Rechy, she could have prevented this story of modern-day vampires from coming across as so dull and--well-- lifeless (sorry).This one doesn't even have the occasional S&M scene to defibrillate the meandering plotline like Sips of Blood.

Ugh - don't waste your time.
Mitchell's writing begins to approach appeciable at the oddest times, and then falls flat when the need really calls (such as during the climax).

The characters never develop, in fact the interactions often seem as if they were written, then jumbled up and put back together. Situations don't flow, conversations are contrived, and nothing seems congruous. I kept thinking, "Just a few more pages and you'll fall into it..." but that never happened.

In fact, I turned the last page expecting there to be more, and when there wasn't, I honestly thought some pages were missing. I understand this is a series, but there was no meaningful path of the book.

Awful. I hesitate to speak negatively of someone's writing because putting yourself out there must be difficult, and often tastes are just personal opinions. But... I felt strongly enough to do so!

Read at your own risk
An excellent second book in the Marquis de Sade vampire horror series. But the author wastes no time filling the reader in on much of the history fromthe first book. So its a bit like coming into a nighttime soap in thesecond year of the series. I would strongly suggest that readers buy andread Sips of Blood first before cracking the cover on this one. Ms Mitchelllets her characters drive the story. For that reason I liked the first bookbetter. Some of the most fascinating charaters were left behind. This storycentered on the least enjoyable pair a father and son in a life longstruggle of love and hate seasoned with guilt. Sade was entertaining asever. His attempt to Henry Higgins the new inexperienced vampire was veryinteresting. The book ends with nothing but loose ends nothing resolved andso many possiblities that I can't wait for book three.

Not Your Mama's Horror!
Ms. Mitchell has rescued the vampire from the clutches of romance. Wil and Keith are not the angst-ridden fanged heroes of popular television or the modern romance novel. You truly do not want to meet these two in a darkalley or anywhere else, for that matter.

This is not a plot driven novel;rather, the author explores characters that clearly intrigue us, giving usthe many shadows and shadings of those who've grown up with dark hearts inthe heart of darkness. Wil's and Keith's relationship begins to evolve whenthey are forced to flee from the police; you could even say that the darkheart of this book is the relationship between father and son and how it'sresolved.

Ms. Mitchell uses language dramatically, sets her creepy sceneseerily, and explores characters who are the bottom feeders of modernsociety. If you are looking for Hemingway, you are in the wrong place;however, if you cut your eye teeth on Lovecraft, pull up a coffin andsettle in for the ...night... ... Read more