John Garfield has been mostly forgotten by the movie going public. He has fans yes-but a place with the 'greats' of the movies seems to be just out of his reach.
This new biography of Garfield reminds us...what a true raw talent he was. The author tells us how Garfield burst opon the movie scene in 1938-causing such a spash that Warner Brother's were shocked and...not sure what to do with there new discovery. They plunked him in some 'B' potboilers that didn't utilize has talent but still made...money. Garfield languished for awhile and while bored still delivered some standout performances. He began to grow as an actor in the 1940's delivering what I believe to be a Oscar worthy performance in the classic BODY AND SOUL.
The bio does a good job of detailing the 'times' that Garfield lived in and sadly what destroyed his career. The chapters about his childhood are most fasinating.
The only reason I did not give this book '5 stars' is because I feel that the author took some 'pot shots' at Garfield...'shots' that he had already told us about earlier in the book.
Other then these 'few' comments I feel the book is a worthy and a fine way to remember, and give our 'due' too a truely unique actor.

I think I understand why some folks gave THE TRIGGERMANS DANCE a fair review.

It starts really SLOW..so slow that I was thinking about the next book I was going to read. The character's..at the beginning..are not very interesting..and the story plods along.

But..as I said..near page 100 or so..I began to care about John and the FBI agent, Joshua.

The story is basically about revenge and what some are willing to do to achieve it. Two men in love with the same woman join forces to bring down the guy they think is responsible for a murder and there broken hearts. Is this guy guilty or innocent?

When the author introduces Van Holt, a former FBI agent things really begin to take off. The tension builds and builds. Summing up..I would say..Stay with this one.
T.Jefferson Parker knows how to write a good thriller, this time it just took a little while to get going.

I wouldn't compare Richard Barre to Ross Macdonald or for that matter Raymond Chandler. Macdonald's writing was more subdued and touching, Chandler more witty and crackling, while Barre's is more 'wham bam'..'lets go'.

The Ghosts Of Morning is like that, fast, and twisting, it reminded me of a good action flick. Around page seventy the story really kicks into gear. I didn't find the plot confusing, Barre held it together nicely, injecting little tidbits of information to keep the reader guessing.

The flashbacks scenes are written very well as our hero Will Hardesty, attempts to find some meaning from his past as well as how it connects to his future.

Hardesty is a part-time P.I. hired by his best friends mother to find her son, who everyone has presumed dead for years. Hardesty takes the job as a favor, not realising the depth of the secret's his former friends family has buried.

I agree with some of the other reviews that, some of the charecter's are sketcy and typical, BUT the story moves along so nicely that i just ignored these shortcomings.

A very nice read...enjoy.

This is one exciting novel. I had never read anything by 'Rennie Airth'..so i wasn't quite sure what to expect.

It was more then worth my time. The Author does a great job of keeping the reader guessing, he makes you care about the main character's, and draw's a compelling picture of the times as well as the people. He takes a different approach then most mysteries i've read ( mostly American) by writing about the 'events' and then explaining after what 'caused them'

His main 'Copper' John Madden is nicely drawn, a wounded haunted man, driven to detachment by pain and memories. I liked him right away, and was curious to see what had caused his pain.

The author parallel's the pain of Madden and the main suspect, a man accused of a atrocious murder, a secretive man, a nobody, a vicious serial killer.

The romantic angle is nicely covered, and feels right, contrasting with the uglyness that occurs.

I read somewhere that Mr. Airth is writing a NEW 'Madden' book, i can't wait to read it..

WHITE WIDOW will sneak up on you.

'On Time' Jack Olsen is a well respected and well liked Bus driver in Texas.

He's a all around nice guy, with a nice house, and a even nicer wife.

Everything is fine until the 'White Widow' boards his bus..

Author Lehrer's despritions of the places and people of Texas are very effective. The story takes place in the 1950's, but there is nothing dated about WHITE WIDOW..

'On Time Jack' is much more complex then your average fictional character, his emortions, hidden away from his friends are troubling and very poignant.

Give WHITE WIDOW a try, i don't think you'll be disappointed..

Ross Macdonald could flat out write. His style is at times very 'Chandleresque', (he really enjoyed Chandler's books)but he brings something else to this story that even the master Raymond Chandler wouldn't have.

The word is 'dimension'. Where Chander and Hammett were known for there 'hardboiled' approach, Macdonald's Lew Archer is obviously a man of keen intelligence. He is also one cool customer, a flawed man in a flawed world.

The story concerns a murder that could be connected to

another murder that happened many years before. And, maybe another. The plot reveals itself slowly, I wasn't quite sure where it was going, but the writing is so crisp and poetic, that i just read, and let it all happen.

This is a wonderful book, written by a man who deserves all the praise in the world for bringing something else to the mystery novel.

Just read it, and enjoy.

James Lee Burke is a master at setting the scene and creating a feeling with his stories. His novels are so heartfelt and deep, that even if the story is a bit familar as the above reviewers have stated, for me at least it doesn't matter.

Corruption and greed are at play in Deaf Smith, Texas. Billy Bob Holland, a one time Texas Ranger, is man with scars that he can't hide. He's a walking wound, attempting to understand why people act as they do, and if some of those people get into trouble, Billy Bob is there to defend them.

He cant shake his violent past, a past that includes the death of his best friend, a man and event that he can't let go of.

The story center's around a murder, the accused is someone that Billy Bob knows well, he knows the boy is innocent, but there are other's who seem bound and determined to nail the boy and Billy Bob.

The pace is fast, the dialogue is short but real, you feel as if you went to Texas you might just run into Billy Bob.

This is a book to enjoy, to sit back when the house is quiet and just read, letting yourself disappear into the world of James Lee Burke.

The Widowers Two Step is everything you could want in a mystery. The hero, practicing P.I. ' Tres Navarre' is one funny guy, some of his encounters with various 'Texans' are laugh out funny. Using Texas as a backdrop, each page comes alive as Tres moves about the state investigating and getting into peoples hair.

The story Tres finds himself involved in concerns a missing demo, a demo so important that people are prepared to kill for it. The paces quickens as the missing demo leads to some more and more dire situations.

Author Rick Riordan's dialogue crackles, Tres's 'friends' are truely memorable, and his enemies uniquely sinister.

Tres is cut from the same cloth as Robert Crias 'Elvis Cole' and a long lost relative of Chandler's 'Phillip Marlow'. He's a hero with a heart of gold, a loner looking for something more.

Believe the hype this guy can write!

Highly Recommended

The cover of this book tells the story...

Black and white, shades of light encapsulating the scene, a man, on all fours struggling to rise.

Sonny Liston was a walking contradiction. On one hand he could be brutal and cruel, cold, and uncarring.

Then in the blink of eye, he's playing with children, laughing and smiling.

The children respond, unafraid of a man who scared so many others.

Nick Tosches captures the essence of Liston, the many sides, moods, and moments of the former champs life.

It's not a pretty picture, the mob is everywhere, filtering in and out of Liston's life like a long dark shadow.

Torches research is amazing, his writing of the Liston family is highly informative. Going in i already knew quite a bit about Sonny, but Tosches uncovers facts that i had never read before.

This is not a book for everybody. Tosches style is blunt and hard, like a left hook to the jaw, he wanders sometimes, but like the man he is writing about ultimatly there is understanding.

If your a boxing fan, you might be disappointed at the short shift Tosches gives to a number of Liston's fights. It's the behind the scenes activity he wants to tell you about, the wheeling and dealing thats so compelling.

It's brutal and sad..

Highly Recomended

First time author Steve Hamilton does a wonderful job of keeping you guessing in 'A Cold Day In Paradise'.

His flawed hero, Alex Mcknight a ex-policemen from Detroit, is tortured by a single event that changed his life forever. Alex's partner was killed by a madman who calls himself 'Rose'.

The problem is that Alex lived, with a bullet one inch from his heart. It's a reminder and a hollow pain that won't go away.

Alex tries to 'get away' to a small town in the upper Michigan Peninsula, to forget, and find some inner peace. He succeds for awile until a couple of murder's barring the unmistakable signature of 'Rose' appear in his quiet little town.

Has Rose come back?, how could this be?

Mr. Hamilton does a excellent job of weaving a fasinating mystery, the plot rarely slows, it's tight and as crisp as a artic breeze from Lake Superior.

Alex Mcknight is a very likable character, i particularly enjoyed the atmosphere Hamilton provided and the local people that Alex interacts with. They all come across very real..Highly Recomended