A TRAP FOR FOOLS is a fairly good mystery story about the murder of an unpopular college professor. University authorities ask faculty member Kate Fansler to conduct her own investigation of the death in addition to the police inquiry.

It helps if the reader is familiar with the quirky and sometimes mean atmosphere found at many colleges. It also helps if the reader is interested in literature as well as feminine and minority rights issues.

SAIGON SINGER is a very entertaining Hugh North mystery. The story is reminiscent of THE SINGAPORE EXILE MURDERS. Too bad Mason does not let Made Sayu, the heroine of the earlier book, continue on in this adventure. It is apparently not Hugh North's style to keep any old girl friends around when there are so many new ones to pursue.

John O'Hara was a prodigious writer of short stories. In THE NEW YORKER and other magazines he had more than four hundred stories published. In addition eleven volumes of his short stories were issued during his lifetime.

O'Hara never attended college because of the untimely death of his father but he remained forever interested in the minutia associated with university life. One story which reflected his obsession with the latter subject was "Graven Image."

Some of my other personal favorites in this volume are "Too Young" and "The Next-To-Last Dance of the Season." Another story entitled "The Doctor's Son" is very autobiographical and is influenced by O'Hara's experiences during the influenza epidemic at the end of World War I.

This movie is mostly about soldiers stationed at an army base in Honolulu before World War II. Above all the film features superb acting performances and an absorbing screenplay.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director (Fred Zimmerman), Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra) and Supporting Actress (Donna Reed). In addition Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Deborah Kerr all received Oscar nominations for their acting in the movie.

Fred Zimmerman is known for his direction of many other fine films including A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, THE DAY OF THE JACKAL and OKLAHOMA.

James Cagney and George Raft are in the prime of their respective careers in this film about life in prison. Cagney is a convict who is innocent. Raft is his ally who leads an attempted escape. Cagney is very much in his element in this environment and plays his part with particular gusto.

THE DA VINCI CODE is a suspense thriller which at first glance seems to have all of the necessary ingredients for success. The plot includes ancient secrets, shadowy organizations, powerful people, the Holy Grail and even Mary Magdalene. The trouble is that the book is too long and padded with boring details.The story, however, does have the potential to be made into a blockbuster movie.

THE DA VINCI CODE is a suspense thriller which at first glance seems to have all of the necessary ingredients for success. The plot includes ancient secrets, shadowy organizations, powerful people, the Holy Grail and even Mary Magdalene. The trouble is that the book is too long and padded with boring details.The story, however, does have the potential to be made into a blockbuster movie.

DERELICTION OF DUTY is much more than an expose of the national security failings of the Clinton White House. Buzz Patterson also analyzes many of the peacekeeping and foreign policy fiascos from 1993-2001.

The main emphasis of the book is on the irreparable damage done to our military by a president who was hounded by his draft-dodging past.

Liberals have not learned anything from their experience during the Cold War. They were on the wrong side then and they have been on the wrong side again in the war on terrorism.

Ann Coulter does an excellent job of comparing the attitudes and actions of liberals in both conflicts. There is nothing wrong with being concerned about the welfare of the prisoners at Guantanamo but a little interest in the soldiers guarding them will also be appreciated.

In HARD EIGHT Stephanie Plum is working on a case involving a missing child, Annie Soder. The youngster is apparently in the company of her mother Evelyn.

The mother recently obtained a messy divorce from Steven Soder.

Stephanie works for her cousin Vincent Plum in the bond enforcement business. In this instance the child custody bond is written by a rival firm, True Blue Bonds, which is owned by Lee Sebring. Stephanie is asked by Annie's grandmother as a personal favor to find the missing persons.

In the beginning of the search Stephanie is helped by an ex-prostitute known as Lulu and Albert Kloughn, a lawyer who also doubles as a laundromat manager. The real serious assistance comes later from police officer Joe Maxwell and a fellow named Ranger with special forces experience.

The story is filled with action and a lot of original humor. Stephanie lives in a constant state of crisis and her survival depends to a great extent on the timely intervention of Morrelli and Ranger.