Product Description
Most private investigators are ordinary citizens just like you - except they know how to locate information and people. And so will you after you read this book. A PI is only as good as his techniques,and PI School teaches you everything you need to know: surveillance, paper trails, interrogation and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Too late for me
Fifteen years ago I worked for a period of time as a PI. I was thrown into it with limited training, and I can tell you, just from the "Surprise me" excerpts I read, there is some pretty good stuff in this book. I learned things in just a ten-minute perusal that I guarantee would have been useful to me back then in avoiding/escaping some embarassing/potentially dangerous situations in which I found myself, not to mention more efficiently collecting information. I long ago got out of the PI game (mostly because I was uncomfortable deceiving people for a living, even when it's for a "good" cause), so I probably won't be purchasing this book, but I most certainly would recommend it to someone who wants to learn about or get into the PI business, or maybe just brush up on skills.

It's more than adequate
Did we read the same book.I learned how to tail people, work undercover and pick a lock.How-to's are laid out in chapters.It was well worth what it costs.

The Worst Book on the Subject I've Read Yet!
To refer to this mini-book as a PI School, referencing it as a course is ludicrous.There is almost no information on how to really become a PI. There is some information on the industry, and the writing style is good and straight forward, but just no real meat.If you're looking for a BRIEF overview then this little book is excellent.But if you want real USABLE information that can help you acquire at least a basic WORKING knowledge, forget it.I've read several books on this subject and most are inadequate, but some at least offer some usable real world information. This work is greatly lacking!

The Worst Book on the Subject I've Read Yet!
To refer to this mini-book as a PI School, referencing it as a course is ludicrous.There is almost no information on how to really become a PI. There is some information on the industry, and the writing style is good and straight forward, but just no real meat.If you're looking for a BRIEF overview then this little book is excellent.But if you want real USABLE information that can help you acquire at least a basic WORKING knowledge, forget it.I've read several books on this subject and most are inadequate, but some at least offer some usable real world information. This work is greatly lacking!

Good starting point if you're interested in becoming a PI
This book guides you through all the types of investigations that a typical private investigatordoes.In addition, the author added personal comments about investigations he conducted.If you're not sure about what it's really like, this is the book for you. ... Read more

Product Description
This book aims at introducing the reader with some high school mathematics, to both the higher and the more fundamental developments of the basic themes of elementary mathematics. Most chapters begin with a series of elementary problems, behind whose diverting formulation more advanced mathematical ideas lie hidden. These are then made explicit and further developemnts of them explored, thereby deepending and broadening the reader's understanding of mathematics -- enabling him or her to see mathematics as a hologram. The book arose from a course for potential high school teachers of mathematics taught for several years at St. Petersburg University, and nearly every chapter ends with an interesting commentary on the relevance of its subject matter to the actual classroom setting. However, it can be recommended to a much wider readership; even the professional mathematician will derive much pleasureable instruction from reading it. ... Read more

Product Description
Ben Knight is a private detective who is haunted by the abduction and death of his daughter.When Tom and Sheila Weston ask him to find their daughter Angel, Ben is flooded with memories of his own lost child.As he searches for Angel, Ben is pulled back into his own past, and the loss he will never get over. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Yep, it's funnnnnnneeeeeee
This book says what all parents are thinking but just don't have the guts to voice... Having kids ain't all fun, but it can give you a laugh. I loved the typical Pommy characters and if you want a reality check on all that rubishy 'my life is so complete now I've given birth' stuff check this out. It's an honest to goodness look at life once diaper duty starts. ... Read more

Product Description
Private Detective Ben Knight is approached by a woman who claims someone is trying to kill her.At first he’s skeptical about her claims, but as the attempts escalate, Ben begins his search in earnest.When the would-be killer turns his attention to Ben, he must solve the case, or be another victim himself. ... Read more

Product Description
A fascinating and insightful look into the art glass of the 1950s, this revised second edition spans the range of 1950s art glass from common collectibles to those of museum quality, displaying the diversity and creativity of style, color, and shape. This book has served as an inspiration and valuable resource for collectors, dealers, and all struck by the exceptional quality of art glass. Special emphasis is given to Italian (Murano) glass and Scandinavian glass, with an expanded section on American 50s glass. Included in this edition are new and outstanding photographs of art glass, detailed captions, updated information on artists and company histories, an illustrated glossary with section on signatures and labels, an expanded annotated bibliography, and up-to-date price guide. ... Read more

Product Description
Werewolves assigned to New York City's supernatural security forces are being snatched while on patrols with their new vampire partners. Worse, these vampires are unable to explain to anyone how the events occurred. Jean-Claude, the new chief executive of the supernatural council, is stuck in the middle of this rising tension. He ordered these "mixed" patrols, yet now it seems to be going horribly wrong. Someone has to step in to stop the disappearances and find the missing werewolves. Unfortunately that someone cannot be Mark Julian since Jean-Claude fears having a vampire investigate the matter would only add to the werewolves' fury. The circumstances are dire as a war threatens to erupt. Jaime, the shape-shifting sex demon wife of Jean Claude, decides to step into the case. To do so she must reach out to her worst enemy for assistance. She understands the delicate situation but is convinced a solution only needs just the right Feminine Touch. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

What is Happening to the Werewolves in New York City?
I have been an avid reader of straight vampire novels for years and now I read gay vampire novels. I have read many, but none has held my interest as much as the Mark Julian P.I. series.This is due to the skill of Cicero as reaches back to ancient Roman times and draws on its rich history or battles, the gods and the people of that era who defined it.

This story focuses more on Jaime, our shape-shifting sex demon, spouse of Jean-Claude the head of the werewolf clan. Someone is killing or kidnapping the werewolves and Jaimes and Mark must delicately uncover who is making them disappear. Jaime cleverly and doggedly uncovers the truth of who is making them disappear and who is behind it and the unfortunate killing of Gabby, everyone's favourite vampire. Therein lies the richness of the story which involves Mark Julian and his past! (can't give anything away) Along the way, we meet more werewolves and vampire personalities who will now become a part of the fabric of Cicero's books; besides Mark and Julian and Jaime and Jean-Claude and of course The Letter Lounge. Now there is Dexter and Billy, Viola and her lovers, and many more.

I love that Cicero keeps Jaime tough and tender, wise and wise-cracking and always dressed in fourties outfits. I love the love of the couples juxtaposed with the brutality of their ilk.The last chapter is most interesting as it takes place in a church, during a baptism and everyone has their own thoughts, their own agendas.
For lovers of gay vampires and for those who love the vicious cruelty of vamps and werewolves intertwined with love and lust.........I highly recommend this series.

End of the line...for now?
I got a present -- another Mark Julian, Vampire Detective novel but one with even more of a twist than usual.Sexy werewolves patrolling the streets of New York with just-as-sexy vampires are vanishing, leaving said vampires behind to explain what cannot be explained.Jean-Claude, a JFK Jr-like werewolf who's the new leader of the council that oversees all the denizens of the dark and night, had ordered these mixed patrols (it used to be only vampires kept watch over the city) and the fact that the son of the leader of a rival clan of werewolves is one of those who vanished complicates things, immeasurably.He can't have Mark investigate the disappearances; Mark's a vampire and the werewolves wouldn't believe any conclusion he came to.So he asks Mark's semi-mortal lover, Vinnie, a cop with the NYPD to look into things.Problem is, Jaime, Jean-Claude's sex-demon wife, has other ideas and decides to protect her man by joining forces with the one person who hates her most -- Viola, a female werewolf with a lust for kink...and for Jean-Claude's bod -- and the two of them aim to get to the bottom of things (pun sort of intended).Now let the chaos begin.

This series has been one of my guilty pleasures, I have to admit.I love the characters and the situations.I like how KC makes his sex suggestive instead of explicit, leaving a lot to my rather vivid imagination.I like how he mingles gay and straight and human and non into everything.Granted we're not talking Tolstoy here (and I'm one of those freaks who read "War and Peace" for pleasure); not even MY writing is that good, and I got the ego that's ready to say so once I get to the point where I think I am, trust me.No, we're talking about the supernatural equivalent of "Dynasty" mixed with "Magnum PI" and a dash of "NYPD Blue" for spice.We're talking about a fun story that I can read in one sitting and be happy as I do so.

But...it looks like this series of short novels has come to a close, of sorts, and that's too bad, because I'm still enjoying it.Thanks for the ride through the fun house.

The end of the mini-series
A friend of mine's been letting me read this series so I bought him this one for his birthday (but I had to tell him not to get it, himself) and read it before I sent it off.It's fun and builds an interesting world of denizens of the underground, with their own laws and ways of handling things.Plus the writing's gotten better as the story goes along.

Quick recap -- Mark Julian is a 2000 year old vampire who's a private detective in NYC.He's also gay and involved with Vinnie, a hot Italian cop with the NYPD who's just a regular guy.Mixed into this relationship is Jaime, a sex demon who can be either male or female, until he/she hooks up with Jean-Claude, the hot French prince of a werewolf clan; from that point on she's all girl and fixated on styles of the 40's.Causing mischief around our crew are the leader of the supernaturals in NYC -- Tortego, who used to get off torturing people during the Spanish Inquisition.(There's no word as to how he became a vampire, so I bet he just spontaneously combusted into one).Other groups flitter in and out -- like other sex demons who don't like the idea of Jaime marrying out of her kind and other werewolves who don't like Jean-Claude doing the same thing, and various angels and other vampires and vampire hunters and Prussian scum and on and on -- building up a rich world of night-dwellers and really nice (and really un-nice) un-dead and un-human beings.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not hard to keep track of everyone.Kyle Cicero provides updates at the beginning of the stories (sort of a "Previously on 'Battlestar Galactica'" kind of thing) and the stories aren't so complex you can't follow them.Sometimes it's easy to figure out who did what and who's really behind it, but that happened more in the beginning than the last couple books.And there really isn't any sex that's more involving than what you'd see in a Jackie Collins book.What's fun is seeing a writer get stronger in his control of a story.

This one has werewolves vanishing while on patrol with vampire partners, something obviously aimed at causing trouble for the new head of the council, Jean-Claude.Problem is, Mark can't investigate because he's a vampire and the werewolves wouldn't trust anything he found out.Nor would the vampires trust the findings of a werewolf investigation.So Jaime takes over, pregnant and about ready to pop with god knows what, and she enlists the help of a woman who's sworn to kill her, Viola, who's so hot for Jean-Claude she's actually had a sex demon she knows shift into his likeness for some off-page S&M.And that's as close as you'll get to kink, here.Of course, Mark still winds up helping Jaime and the image of what happened to the werewolves is very surprising.

These are quick reads, though they still have some slow sections, and I'd never call the writing in-depth.The fact is, if you wanted to start with the first one, you could read them all in a week as you toast on a sun-drenched beach,with a Mai-Tai or Corona in one hand and a bottle of SPF 75 in the other.No, that wouldn't work; too big a chance of skin cancer.Just use an umbrella and laze.They're perfect for that. ... Read more

Product Description
Communication is a fundamental and integral part of computing, whether between different computers on a network, or between components within a single computer. In this book Robin Milner introduces a new way of modelling communication that reflects its position. He treats computers and their programs as themselves built from communicating parts, rather than adding communication as an extra level of activity. Everything is introduced by means of examples, such as mobile phones, job schedualers, vending machines, data structures, and the objects of object-oriented programming. But the aim of the book is to develop a theory, the pi-calculus, in which these things can be treated rigorously. The pi-calculus differs from other models of communicating behaviour mainly in its treatment of mobility. The movement of a piece of data inside a computer program is treated exactly the same as the transfer of a message--or indeed an entire computer program--across the internet. One can also describe networks which reconfigure themselves.The calculus is very simple but powerful; its most prominent ingredient is the notion of a name. Its theory has two important ingredients: the concept of behavioural (or observational) equivalence, and the use of a new theory of types to classify patterns of interactive behaviour. The internet, and its communication protocols, fall within the scope of the theory just as much as computer programs, data structures, algorithms and programming languages. This book is the first textbook on the subject; it has been long-awaited by professionals and will be welcome by them, and their students. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Gives helpful insights into the workings and foundations of the pi-calculus
Process algebras, of which the pi-calculus is an example, have been the subject of intense interest in the last decade, primarily because of their applications. These applications have concentrated mostly in business process modeling, the modeling of concurrent processes, and computational biology. This short book is an introduction to pi-calculus from the standpoint of Robin Milner, its originator. The length of the book should not dissuade interested individuals from reading it, as there is much to be gained from its perusal, due to the insights that the author grants into the formalism and workings of the pi-calculus.

The book is divided into two parts, with the first part being a general overview of how to model or describe concurrent communicating systems, and the second an overview of the pi-calculus. In the first part, the author wants to make a distinction between models of computing that involve `computation', and those that involve `interactional' behavior. The former is done using Turing machines and the lambda calculus, while the latter is illustrated in the pi-calculus. To get to the pi-calculus, the author wants first to generalize the classical theory of automata to situations where the automata run concurrently and interact with each other. He emphasizes that interactive behavior is best represented by a non-deterministic automaton which cannot be equated (behaviourally) with a deterministic automaton.

In order to justify this assertion more rigorously, the author discusses the notion of `bisumulation' of nondeterministic sequential processes, as essentially a warm-up for the treatment of concurrent processes. This notion defines an equivalence relation called `bisimilarity' which respects the nondeterminism of these processes. When dealing with concurrent processes, the makes a distinction between actions that are externally observable from those which are internal (interactions between the components themselves). In addition, one needs a refined notion of when concurrent processes are equivalent in some sense, since their effects or behaviors, whether observable or not, may essentially be equivalent. Thus the author discusses the notion of `structural congruence' and that of `strong equivalence.' The latter is a generalization of the notion of bisimulation, but as it turns out one can show that every concurrent system is strongly congruent to a sequential one. This and the fact that strong congruence is still sensitive to the amount of interaction between internal processes motivates the author to define `weak bisimulation'.

The pi-calculus is viewed as a `calculus of mobile processes.' Introduced in 1992 by the author, it views the movement of a process as due entirely to the movement of its links, i.e. in a virtual space of linked processes. The emphasis in the pi-calculus is on certain patterns of behavior that are respected by a given family of systems, and not on `type systems' in the usual programming paradigm. Data is to be represented by a name, the latter of which is essentially a communication channel. The author first defines the pi-calculus for the case where a message consists of exactly one name. Readers familiar with the earlier work of the author will find the notation he uses familiar, but those who are not will find it somewhat peculiar, and it takes some getting used to. This is due partially to the fact that a name can be bound in an input action but can be free in an output action. The pi-calculus does have a diagrammatic representation, and this is elucidated upon in the book. Data structures, so important in the usual computing paradigms, are viewed in the pi-calculus as a special kind of process. Several examples are given on how to apply the pi-calculus to some of the usual situations encountered in programming. The paradigms of object-oriented and functional programming can be realized in the pi-calculus as the author shows using a type system for the pi-calculus. Processes, as well as data, can be sent as messages. The type systems he uses involve as expected the `sorts' and `sortings' that enable the classification of the sorts of information that can be transmitted in an interaction.

So is the pi-calculus a different computing paradigm that is to be distinguished from Turing computability or the lambda calculus? One should probably not think of it as such, since the author shows in the book that the lambda calculus can be expressed in the pi-calculus formalism. In addition, one should not expect that the pi-calculus processes require something other than a Turing machine for their computation. It would indeed be a surprise if this were the case, but as it stands now there is no indication that there are processes computed from the standpoint of the pi-calculus that cannot be computed from the standpoint of Turing machines. The Church-Turing thesis therefore remains in effect for the pi-calculus.

Bravo, pi-calculus here I come
An excellent overview of pi-calculus. This book is interesting, concise, precise, formal... in short: perfect. A must read.

Optimal as a starter in pi-calculus
How can we describe communicating mobile systems? How can we state that a communicating system "behaves as", and therefore "can be replaced with", another one? This short book (about 150 pages plus bibliography, TOC and index) gives an answer to these questions. The books is in two parts: The first presents CCS, the simpler formalism from which pi-calculus originated, which does not model information exchange between communicating systems. From hence the more complex pi-calculus is presented. The aim is presenting the theory of equivalences between communicating processes, based on bisimulation. First a language for processes is introduced, with its formal syntax and its semantics, then a theory of behavioral equivalence is developed via the bisimilarity concept, and observation equivalence between processes is introduced as a particular flavour of bisimilarity. Finally is proved how a process can be freely replaced by an equivalent one in any context without affecting the overall behavior.
If you are a student or researcher in the field of formal methods for describing and reasoning on communicating systems the book is definitely a must: It introduces quickly many key concepts of pi-calculus, bisimulation and observational semantics. It is also well written, ideal for students. Its plus is the strong link between CCS and pi-calculus, and the fact that, coming after a long experience with the zillions of variants of the pi-calculus, this presents a very clean and self-contained variant. This is also its downside: Some concepts are not introduced, like early and late variants of strong bisimulations. Two semantics are presented, labelled transition and (unlabelled) reduction systems, but without explaining why, nor any equivalence semantics is given for the reduction system. As a result, it seems that reduction semantics is there just as an exercise, but that we do not really need it. More aware readers would possibly prefer other books, like e.g. Sangiorgi and Walker, which appears as a very comprehensive account of pi and its variants.
Also note that the book's purpose is presenting a theory of equivalence between communicating systems, not applications of this theory (the examples just serve the purpose to enlighten the concepts). This implies, for example, that it is not a textbook on how you can write and prove correctness of concurrent/distributed software, nor a collection of algorithms.

good overview of pi, but a bit thick on formalism at times
This is a very good overview of pi-calculus, It starts off well with a review of automata theory and then extends it to communication and concurrency. It focuses more on the principles than on practical aspects ofusing it for real systems. It uses good examples throughout, and with theformalistic presentation it requires careful attention of the reader. It ishard read at times but worth it. However, it is not for a casual reader, but for the really motivated. ... Read more

Product Description
IDoc integration flows are only efficient if they are well designed. But to design them well, you have to know how to address the difficulties that can arise in various scenarios. So, to solve these problems, you have two possibilities: trial and error, or reading this book. The new edition of this best-selling guide has been completely updated and extended. It not only thoroughly explains the concepts behind IDocs, but also teaches you how to process IDocs via SAP NetWeaver Process Integration in different business scenarios. 1 Expert Advice Learn about the usage, configuration, and administration of IDocs, and familiarize yourself quickly with all monitoring and error handling aspects. 2 Easy-to-Follow Examples Discover how to use the best possible techniques through easy-to-follow examples based on MM (Materials Management) and SD (Sales & Distribution). 3 Technical Details and Business Background Find out about the comprehensive technical details of IDocs, as well as the business background of their implementation step by step and with the numerous code samples provided. 4 Key Integration Processes Get to know central processes like IDoc monitoring within SAP NetWeaver landscapes and all aspects of exchange development (tunneling, packaging, serialization, mapping). 5 All-New Topics in this 2nd Edition Explore the ALE distribution model, and two of the latest functionalities for IDoc monitoring: SAP Solution Manager and IDoc packaging. ... Read more

Product Description

After twenty years in Los Angeles, Ed Loy has come home to bury his mother. But hers is only the first dead body he encounters after crossing an ocean.

Customer Reviews (13)

An Irish Ross McDonald
Read this, the first in the series, and promptly ordered all the others. Felt the same way I did the summer I discovered Ross McDonald. Sometimes the hero's pain is pretty brutal to bear. I like a detective on the edge, one not entirely convinced he wants to go on living, or that anyone is worth saving-- makes for the least predicable outcomes.

Declan Hughes:An Irish Ross MacDonald...
Edward Loy, P. I. is a Dubliner who returns to Ireland after twenty years away to bury his mother.He hasn't been a dutiful son; it's his first trip to his homeland since he left.

When Loy is hired by a well-dressed woman to find her missing husband in the first chapter, this reader immediately thought of Ross MacDonald's THE DROWNING POOL.POOL is the second novel in MacDonald's Lew Archer series.The novel is about tormented and fractured families, buried secrets that fester through multiple generations, environmental destruction, and concealed paternity. So is THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD by Declan Hughes.
With emphasis on family blood and betrayal.
Ed Loy as a boy was one of The Three Musketeers, a trio of Irish lads who grew up together in Dublin. And a trio of fathers, John Dawson, Kenneth Courtney, and Eamonn Loy.The fathers, two of which left their families, were all concerned with the booming construction business; at the time of the novel, Dawson is engaged in getting permits to build a Castlehill golf course in the trendy section of the South Dublin Bay area.There's bribery of councillers and murder and mobs involved.
Declan Hughes, before the Loy series, wrote and directed Irish plays.His descriptions of the many characters and their dress is spot on.Loy visits a civic planning officer:"James Kearney dressed like a national school teacher from the 1950's, in a tattersall shirt, herringbone jacket, cavalry twill trousers, polished brown brouges and bottle green knit tie...He was a tall man with a thin face stretched tight over high bones; his pale hair was side-parted and fell lightly across his forehead, just as it must have done when he was eleven."

Toward the end of the book, Hughes tells us about blood.
Sometimes it's all down to blood.
Blood can be wrong in itself.
Blood can go wrong so easily.
Blood can be wrong from the very beginning.
The blood was never right in the first place.

Family secrets are revealed.Murderers are discovered.
THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD is, indeed, an Irish tale of betrayal.

Excellent read
Hughes has created an original PI, and his writing is like poetry. The Wrong Kind of Blood will not disappoint his growing fan base. It is full of humanity as well as a wicked sense of humor and is a true page-turner of a book. It is also written with style must writers fail to achieve in twice the number of pages.

Moving Thriller
Ed Loy returns to his hometown of Dublin, Ireland for his mother's funeral. Loy left home over 20 years ago, following the disappearance of his father, finally ending up in Los Angeles, working as a private investigator. At the funeral, an old friend asks Loy to find her missing husband, and he discovers another old friend brandishing a gun in this mother's garden. Loy soon finds himself tangled in a web of extortion, drugs, and murder, orchestrated by the notorious Halligan brothers. The present is connected to the past in unexpected ways, and Loy's own personal demons are finally laid to rest as he slowly unravels the mystery. Hughes's distinctive voice shines in this moving thriller.

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_Authors/Hughes_Declan.html

Absorbing Story of Loss and Redemption
Having left his hometown of Dublin for Los Angeles twenty years ago, P.I. Edward Loy has returned for his mother's funeral. The trip's brought back painful memories, including his father's disappearance before Ed left Dublin. It's also brought back a former schoolmate who wants Ed to find her missing husband, and an old friend who wants Ed to hide a gun for him. As Ed peels back layer after layer of lies and deception, he battles gangsters, lots of people with secrets, and his own past.

With a strong theme about things and people gone lost, in a variety of ways, THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD is a compelling, somewhat melancholy story about coming to terms with what can't be changed. Entwined with Ed's story are the changes Dublin has undergone over two decades. Author, Declan Hughes, does a wonderful job of describing the Dublin that Ed remembers and the sanitized mall-fest he sees now. I almost felt as sorry for Dublin sites as I did for Ed.

For a while, the increasing body count seemed a little far-fetched. But the more I learned about the area Ed grew up in, the more believable it was to read about folks solving problems through bloodshed. The gangsters are fairly run-of-the-mill thugs, yet other characters are well-rounded. Hughes takes his time tying up the novel's many threads to create a satisfying ending. THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD is one heck of an absorbing read. Enjoy.
... Read more

Product Description
It's hard to imagine a world without numbers in this day and age, when our whole life is centred around commerce and money, and it is the only language that is the same the world over. However, did you know that for a long period of time people could not get their heads around the idea of zero, a figure representing nothing, and that it was even regarded as heretical in some circles? "Easy as Pi" is an entertaining and accessible guide, written for those who love numbers - and those who don't - and uncovers a great deal of lore and intriguing information, including: snippets of fascinating numerical facts; myths and mysticism in the world of numbers; numbers in language and used as slang; pop-culture trivia; and, useful mathematical rules to remember (and some that it would be easier to forget). Taking a quirky and insightful look at the world of numbers, "Easy as Pi" will delight and entertain any number enthusiast. ... Read more

Product Description
The story of a boy, a boat and a tiger promises an adventure which some may find hard to believe. However, with the Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion companion to Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, readers will begin to consider how to believe the unbelievable.

While Yann Martel takes us on a voyage of discovery, Bookclub-in-a-Box interprets his exploration: Can miracles exist? What is the power of faith?What guarantees successful survival?

This Bookclub-in-a-Box guide to Life of Pi guarantees to raise the bar on your group’s discussion or your individual appreciation of this Martel masterpiece. Spark thoughts and meaningful conversation when you gain new insight into the complex layers of this riveting story. This guide helps you:

- Uncover the importance of imagination and storytelling,

- Analyze the role of the narrator and the significance of numbers.

- Investigate whether Pi’s experience crossing the ocean with only a Bengal tiger for a companion really happened – or not!

Let Bookclub-in-a-Box take you into Pi’s mind, the influences in his life, his physical struggle to survive at sea and his spiritual struggle to understand his own faith and his place in the world.

There are a great many deep concepts to reflect upon in this compact fictional narrative, and Bookclub-in-a-Box presents them to you in an original light, for your thoughtful consideration.That is our job.

Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of themes, symbols, writing style, as well as interesting and little known background information on the novel and the author. The Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide for Life of Pi is no exception!

Bookclub-in-a-Box will be your guide through the novel’s maze of exceptional and intermingled topics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

It's a little too short
The book is nice, but too thin for this price. ... Read more

Product Description

PI Ed Loy wants to escape his past—but it won't be easy. Soon after moving to a Dublin apartment from his childhood home on the city's outskirts, he's approached by Anne Fogarty, whose father was murdered fifteen years ago. Anne thinks the police nabbed the wrong person, and the three most likely culprits are two ex-IRA men and George Halligan—Loy's underworld nemesis. Jack Cullen, one of the other suspects, may somehow be connected with the death of a rising soccer star—another case Loy is asked to take on. And as his two investigations collide, Loy finds himself in grave danger in a city divided—where the wounded Celtic Tiger walks hand in hand with the ghosts of a violent past.

Customer Reviews (5)

Irish ghosts of a violent past...heroes or victims?
Make no mistake.This is an Irish crime novel written by a very Irish author.It's set in contemporary Dublin about the time the Celtic Tiger bears its fangs. It takes place over a couple weeks around Easter when all good Dubliners remember the heroes of theEaster uprising of 1916, the violent confrontation at the General Post Office when Irish Republicans fought to oust the British from the land. But the dead voices in Hughes' book are not heroes, they are victims.

Ed Loy, Hughes' private investigator, has appeared in three other novels.He returned to Ireland after twenty years in America to bury his mother and stayed around. In ALL THE DEAD VOICES he is hired to find the murderer of Anne Fogarty's father, a revenue inspector, fifteen years ago and also to investigate the death of a rising soccer star.Several ex-IRA men and an Irish mobster are suspects in both murders.

But in the background of the story is another incident that occurred in 1980, other brutal unnecessary murders.After you finish the book, you'll remember the dead voices of these victims.They will haunt you!

Ireland Noir
Ed Loy, a private investigator in Dublin, is at an Irish League soccer game keeping an eye on Paul Delaney, a rising young star, as a favor to old friend Des Delaney who has heard that brother Paul may also deal drugs for Jack Cullen, a former IRA killer now a drug king. The game is disrupted by a masked gunman who flees after harmlessly emptying a submachine gun clip into the air.A day later Loy has been savagely attacked and Paul Delaney murdered. Now it's personal for Loy, and there may be connections to the former IRA or one of its radical splinter groups.

But Loy also has a paying case.Anne Fogarty hires him to look into the murder of her revenue inspector father fifteen years earlier.The man convicted of the crime was released after appeal. Anne thinks her father's death was connected to one of the three men whom he accused of not paying taxes on criminal profits. Two of the men are former IRA fighters, Jack Cullen and Bobby Doyle (now a property developer). The third is George Halligan, a career criminal.

Like many modern fictional PI's, Loy is a tough and sometimes violent guy. He pushes his investigations despite attempted blackmail and threats from crooks and cops alike, risks both his life and career, absorbs a couple of severe beatings, wonders if what he does has any value and, despite everything, starts a relationship with Fogarty.

The difference here is the Irish context. In this society life today is deeply intertwined with the long termviolence of the IRA and similar organizations. Many active fighters remained involved in violence and crime after the truce that finally came in Ireland. Many others became respectable citizens, concealing their pasts for obvious reasons but never fully severing the old ties and networks, leaving violence always a possibility.The whole society is complicit in this semi-fictional past, making it almost impossible to know what is real beneath appearances. No wonder Loy is depressed. He lives in an ocean of doubt and mistrust and is near burn out. The story is exciting and moves well, but it is very noir in approach.

Black Irish
The Troubles.At the heart of much Irish history is the violence committed by the Irish Republican Army.And The Troubles plays a very important role in this latest Ed Loy novel of crime and the contemporary Irish scene.

Actually there are two parallel stories unfolding amid the history of the fight for Irish independence.One is a simple case of murder, for which a man served five years before his appeal earned him a release from prison on a technicality.Unsure of the man's guilt or innocence, the victim's daughter retains Loy to find the real murderer, and suggests as the possible perpetrator any one of three persons who the murdered man, a government auditor, had suspected of tax evasion.

As it turns out, the three men were active in the IRA.In addition, Loy suspects one of them to be responsible for the murder of a friend's brother who Loy was supposed to "keep an eye on." The investigation, together with the entry of the IRA into the drug business, leads to a dark tale in this author's fourth Dublin thriller.Rich in Irish history, and written with an insider's knowledge, Mr. Hughes writes with passion, and the novel is recommended.

DUBLIN BASED STORY INTRIGUES


This well told tale casting light on the dark side of Dublin both startles and intrigues.All the Dead Voices rings with tough authenticity; it is Irish crime fiction at its best.After some 20 yearsin the theater as both director and playwright Hughes turned to fiction and created Dublin based thrillers, which brought him not only a host of readers but a Shamus Award as well.

Private investigator Ed Loy is one of his most absorbing creations.Loy is, as he sees himself in All The Dead Voices, a man with "dead eyes telling me that my race was run, that there was nothing new under the sun except the next job of work, the next faithless woman, the next empty glass."

Well, his next job of work is rife with complexities and challenges.He's approached by a woman, Anne Fogarty, to find her father's real killer - a murder that was committed 15 years ago.She believes the police found the wrong man guilty.Steve Owen who was having an affair with Anne's mother was sent to prison and then released following an appeal.Anne has her own trio of suspects.

At the same time Loy is investigating the death of a soccer star, Paul Delaney, who may or may not have been selling heroin.As it turns out Delaney may also have been connected to one of the men Anne suspects of killing her father.It's quite one thing to solve a recent killing but another when one must dig into the past for answers.

Once again Declan Hughes has penned a compelling, plot and character driven narrative that's hard to put down.

- Gail Cooke

fast-paced violent Ireland investigative thriller
In Dublin, Anne Fogarty hires private investigator Ed Loy to investigate the cold case brutal beating death of her father in 1991 though the Garda has a suspect.Her mother's boyfriend was convicted of the crime, but freed when his lawyer's appealed the conviction.Though Ed is already busy looking into the murder of rising Sherbourne football star Paul Delaney whose death appears tied to drugs, he accepts Fogarty's case.

Loy finds out Anne's father was a tax inspector who was investigating three men (Bobby Doyle, Jack Cullen, and Georges Halligan) on potential income tax evasion.Each was IRA; thus they had means and opportunity besides the obvious motive.However, Loy is caught unaware when his two cases seem to converge as Delaney apparently had ties to Cullen.

The latest Ed Loy Ireland investigative thriller (see THE PRICE OF BLOOD, THE COLOR OF BLOOD, and THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD) is a fast-paced violent tale that may have left blood out of the title, but not the narrative.The inquiry is top rate providing an insight into the Troubles and its aftermath.Ed is his usual self - getting beaten, battered and bruised while working both cases.ALL THE DEAD VOICES is a terrific Irish whodunit.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Product Description
first U.S. edition hardback, 2001 with dust cover ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Life of Pi first US edition - incorrect
The book as pictured is not a first edition as the first edition did not have the Mann Booker sticker on the jacket. Also, the resellers don't reference "First Edition" in most cases. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

strong entry
Like her older sister Hayden, Hailey Grant matriculates at Western Smith College.However, unlike big sister, Hailey has doubts about pledging with Beta Gamma Pi as the sorority rejects her best friend Teddi Spencer.

When Teddi runs for Student Government Association President against Covin Randall, Hailey has a problem as she is attracted to the hunk, but feels a loyalty to her BFF.Enflaming the strained friendship is Hailey's belief that Covin is better suited for the council leadership position than her roommate is although she is Teddi's campaign manager.When a fire breaks out in their dorm, Hailey risks her life to save orphaned Teddi's family memorabilia.Her courage impresses Covin who starts to date the sophomore.

Get What You Give is a fine Beta Gamma Pi entry as the heroine learns the meaning of relationship and friendship, leading and independence vs. sheepishly going along, and faith that God is there when you need him.Targeting young teens, Stephanie Perry Moore provides a strong entry as Hailey learns to adhere to her values not drift from them.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Product Description
Aztec vampires gorge themselves on a small Mexican village. A masked hero of the 1940s stumbles onto a town that time forgot. A gunslinging exorcist works to save a boy from demonic possession. These are the stories of the American West your history teacher never told you about... because she was scared!Includes nine original tales of the weird, wild west, by Barry Reese, Derrick Ferguson, Josh Reynolds, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Collection of Macabre Tales
There have been those critics who have been lamenting the supposed death of the "short story" in American literature.I would argue their alarm is a bit premature, as lately short pulp fiction(i.e. popular fiction of all genres) has not only been surviving quite well, but with books like this one, actual been getting strong.Gathered here are nine fun, extremely well written tales of the Wild West, all with a touch of the macabre.Some are better than others, but the fun of any anthology is that very potential inherent in multiple writers and their varied offering.

"Camazotz" by Josh Reynolds suffers a fatal flaw in that it's too short and one wonders why it was even included.It's a nifty idea of a cowboy trying to get out of Mexico with an Aztec mummy.Unfortunately no sooner does it get going then it's over.Makes me wish the editor would have pestered Reynolds to expand it to a more satisfying length.

"Wyrm Over Diablo" by Joel Jenkins features a colorful pair of heroes that were so much fun to see in action, I'm hoping he had plans to use them again in the future. This was a non-stop action piece pitting a Native American gunfighter against a Cthulhu type monster that was thrilling stuff.

"Don Cuevo's Curative" by Thomas Deja is my favorite.Deja's tale of a spooky, thoughtful exorcist who is hired by a town to save a young possessed farm boy was skillfully laid out with intriguing, sympathetic characters.Deja's style is laconic in that it doesn't rush the story, pacing it carefully to a very rewarding finale.He's a writer worth watching.

"The Town With No Name," by Mike McGee is a comedic entry that never takes itself seriously.An emotional scarred outlaw is recruited to be the sacrificial lamb to the Devil on behalf of a dusty town of lost souls.How he accepts his role in their grand scheme and confronts Lucifer is reminiscent of the finer O'Henry tales.

"Sins Of The Past," by Barry Reese features a 2oth Century masked avenger traveling back into time to put to rest a trouble spirit that is the cause behind a genuine "ghost town."

"You Need To Know What's Coming," byIan Mileham is easily the most frightening story in the collection, with a really creepy ending.

"Of All The Plague A Lover Bears," by Derrick Ferguson not only has the most original title, it also presents the pulpiest tale in which a mystic gunslinger is hired to clean out a town full of flesh-eating zombies.This is the kind of gem I read anthologies for.

The book has two remaining stories, but quite honestly, neither belongs here.One features asteroid miners in space and the other about a small town handy man who meets the Devil on Halloween eve.They are both well written and enjoyable, but I take umbrage that when you set a theme for an anthology, stick to it.Just because the space cowboy wears a Stetson does not make it a "western".Likewise the other tale, whose setting has no distinctiveness, could easily have taken place in the woods of Maine.Which is why I cry foul.Neither of these is a real "western."

That said, HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, is a grand collection that is extremely entertaining and worth your support.In fact, I'm hoping it does well enough to warrant another volume.This are too much fun to end with just one outing.
... Read more

Product Description
"PI-KAN-ET'S AVATAR" is a highly unusual and intelligent book from the author of "An Ode to Id," "Weird Voyage Loveward," and "HappenStanzas."The book doesn't confine itself to a single literary form but includes auto-biographical tales, philosophical essays, short stories, and also poems. Nelson is as comfortable with allusions to classical literature as he is with the details of evolutionary biology, the political and scientific questions of our day, or the culture of rural Thailand where he was recently a professor. But other pieces chronicle a life of wild and barbaric passion. Titles include "An Epic of the Everyday," "An Ode to Jimmy Hendrix," "Albert Einstein as Titanic Pandora," "A Galaxy of Biological and Social Contemplations," "The Titanic Captain Kidd," "Blue Cameron's Quest for Blueddhahood," "On Alien Humanoids," "Macbeth, the devil's avatar, and his lovely Pandora," (avatar is a Hindu concept) "Mineral Rights Gone Wrong," "An Ode to Thailand," and "Following a Small Monsoon." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A joke
those first three reviews were all written by the same person...the author of the book. This thing is garbage.

Fully Recommended
This is a worthwhile read. Without having read the entire book, I can safely say I have grown to respect the work of Sean Lawlor Nelson. He has some very thought provoking ideas, and a refreshing flow to his books. Definitely check this out.

awesome, fascinating, fun
It's hard to describe exactly what this book is in terms of the traditional forms of literature.But it's quite easy to describe what it is in terms of a reading experience: pure pleasure.This is the first book I've read by Nelson, and it certainly won't be the last.

Pi-Ka-Net's Avatar
Book description:

"Pi-Ka-Net's AVATAR" is a highly unusual and intelligent book from the author of "An Ode to Id," "Weird Voyage Loveward," and "HappenStanzas."The book doesn't confine itself to a single literary form but includes auto-biographical tales, philosophical essays, short stories, and also poems. Nelson is as comfortable with allusions to classical literature as he is with the details of evolutionary biology, the political and scientific questions of our day, or the culture of rural Thailand where he was recently a professor.
But other pieces chronicle a life of wild and barbaric passion. Titles include "An Epic of the Everyday," "An Ode to Jimmy Hendrix," "Albert Einstein as Titanic Pandora," "A Galaxy of Biological and Social Contemplations," "The Titanic Captain Kidd," "Blue Cameron's Quest for Blueddhahood," "On Alien Humanoids," "Macbeth, the devil's avatar, and his lovely Pandora," "Mineral Rights Gone Wrong," "An Ode to Thailand," and "Following a Small Monsoon."
It should be clarified that AVATAR is an ancient Hindu term for the earthly incarnation of a God. Pi-Ka-Net is the little-known one-tusked elephant God of the arts, and the title of this book comes from his comparison to the German author and artist Herman Hesse: "An Ode to Herman Hesse, Pi-Ka-Net's Avatar"
... Read more

Product Description
The Marilyn Monroe in question is a beach donkey and Grace Smith – too broke to be selective when it's a question of work – is called in by the donkey's owner, Drysdale, to investigate this bizarre crime.While doing so she finds herself inexorably drawn into the mystery surrounding the murder of a young woman, Tina, whose aunt lived in the house backing on to Drysdale's land.As the plot unfolds, it becomes clear that the murders of Marilyn and Tina are connected – and that Grace has stumbled on a whole lot more than she bargained for . . .‘Witty dialogue and spirited pace make this an enjoyable start to what I hope will be a series of Grace Smith investigations’ Daily Telegraph ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Liz Evans is one of my favorite mystery writers
Unfortunately, she's not well known in the United States, although she deserves to be.

You can't help making some comparisons between Kinsey Milhone and Grace Smith (Liz Evans's PI) -- both are basically loners who have a few close friends, both are tight-fisted, are careless about their clothes and personal appearance, and both live in the margins, without family ties to speak of.But Grace Smith is very much her own character -- she's funny, sharp in her comebacks, has an edge to her, and inhabits a very different world from a wealthy California coastal town.Grace lives in a seaside town in England -- a town that used to be a resort but now only gets weekend visitors.And Liz creates a world around Liz that seems real -- like you've been there and can see it all, see the people, see the greasy spoon restaurant she's always cadging meals at, see the lonely beach off-season.

This story is about a donkey -- Marilyn Monroe -- who is killed.The police don't want to waste time on this, so the donkey's owner hires Grace Smith to find out who killed Marilyn Monroe.Grace is no fool and suspects it may be tied to a killing of a human that happened about the same time in the same general area -- and so her investigation follows that line.She quickly discovers who was killed (the police don't have a name yet) and begins to investigate who that person was and what the motive was.

My only regret is that I have only one more book to read in the Liz Evans series.I hope she keeps writing them, and I hope these books become more readily available in the U.S. so that others can get to know Smithie and her sharp British wit.

Is this title a mistake or a joke?
Marilyn Monroe fans -- beware!
This book has nothing to do with the Marilyn
Monroe--actress and legend--that we know and
love.
The Marilyn Monroe of the title is a donkey,
and the author is a _______ (fill in the blank).

Marilyn Monroe ..The Donkey !That is........
I'll admit, I saw this book in the bookstore several times and was put off by the title, Who Killed Marilyn Monroe, frankly who cares..Then the other day I was checking to see if the new Evanovich was in and actually picked the book up and read the jacket.This is when I discovered that the Marilyn in this book is actually a donkey,in my opinion any book with a male donkey called Marilyn Monroe, multiple murders and mayhem is worth a read.

This is the first book in the series featuring PI Grace Smith, Grace is tall, blonde and perpetually broke, she has as many problems and hangups as the rest of us and is very easy to identify with.The one-liners scattered through the text are brilliant, the dialogue is well written and fast paced with frequent oportunities for a laugh.I will definitely be buying the next three books to see what else Grace manages to get herself into. ... Read more

Product Description
This Book categorically deals with Moorish political science, public policy, cultural policy and lawful indegenous rights, in common law. ... Read more