“A Prisoner of Birth”   

                           By Jeffrey Archer

 

2011 Book Review #77

    Danny Cartwright proposes to his beloved Beth Wilson who accepts.  The pair and her brother Bernie, who is also his best friend, celebrate.  Four drunks (Spencer Craig, Lawrence Davenport, Gerald Payne, and Toby Mortimer), who call themselves the Musketeers,  insult the trio.  A fight occurs and one of the quartet stabs Bernie killing him.  

The four Musketeers swear they witnessed Danny kill the man though he claims otherwise.  Since they are elite Cambridge University graduates and successful professionals who speak and dress like aristocratic gentlemen, while he is an illiterate slum scum, he is charged with the homicide as “clothing” makes the man.  His attorney the best one he can obtain with little money is slaughtered by the prosecutor.  Danny is convicted to serve twenty-two years at maximum-security Belmarsh Prison.

In prison Danny shares a cell with Nicholas Moncrieff, who teaches him to read Dumas. When someone kills Moncrieff, look-alike, Danny pretends to be Nicholas and escapes his incarceration.  His goals are to destroy the Musketeers and prove his innocence.

The fun in this crime thriller is finding the numerous references to The Count of Monte Cristo as Jeffrey Archer pays homage to Alexander Dumas.  The story line is fast-paced from the moment of the first confrontation and never slows down as Danny works his revenge.  Although the key players including the hero are never fully developed beyond their link to the original novel, readers will enjoy this entertaining modernization of the Dumas classic.              Review by Harriet Klausner

My Thoughts:  I never read  “The Count of Monte Cristo” so….I didn’t make the connection!  But, I loved this book!  It is my favorite of Archer's books so far!   I couldn't put it down!  (Maybe I should have read the Dumas book???)

“Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program to

REVERSE DIABETES NOW: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs."

                 By Neal D. Barnard, MD

 

2011 Book Review #76

               

                  FROM THE

 BACK COVER OF THE BOOK:

If you have diabetes, you likely have been told that it’s a chronic, incurable condition.  As Dr. Neal Barnard shows in his groundbreaking book, this is simply not true.

Through a series of studies, Dr. Barnard has found that it is possible to repair insulin function and reverse type 2 diabetes.  By closely following his scientifically proven program, you will be able to control your blood sugar three times more effectively than with the standard dietary regimen for people with diabetes.  What’s more, you:

1.  Cut back on diabetes medications…if not eliminate them completely.

2.  Reduce your risk of diabetes complications

3.  Realize bonus health benefits as you take off unwanted pounds, lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, and boost your energy.

4.  Enjoy delicious foods in generous portions.

Diabetes need not slowly and inevitably get worse.  Now is the time to take control of the disease…and take back your life.

My Thoughts:  This is not my usual book review.  I bought this book many months ago and, at my daughter’s urging, I finally read it.  I became interested and decided to start the diet following Dr. Barnard’s instructions.  I gave it 3 weeks to either work or not.
So far it is working....I have gone from a fasting blood sugar count of 288 to 152...and a blood pressure reading of 138/74 to a reading of 110/63...in 11 days!  I think it is working so I wanted to share with you now!

“ICED”  By Carol Higgins Clark

       A Regan Reilly Mystery

2011  Book Review #75

      Booklist Review

Thirty-something private investigator Reilly is headed for the ski slopes of Aspen for the Christmas holidays, parents in tow. Mom and Dad are to be houseguests of television actress, Kendra Wood, while Regan visits with an old friend who's opening a new restaurant.

But the Reillys walk into more than just a cheery holiday ski party.  Kendra Wood's valuable art collection has been stolen, and her trusted housekeeper, Eben Bean, is missing. That's all Regan needs to know to send her off in pursuit of Eben and the sneaky thieves.

After assorted hi-jinks, adventures, false alarms, and--yes--plain old silliness, the plot finally gets all tied up in a nice, neat, mostly happy ending that will no doubt charm even the most Scrooge-like reader.

Solidly entertaining, mostly clever, occasionally funny, and always fun, this one is sure to please the author's growing audience. 

My Thoughts:  Clark’s books are always fun to read.  Regan Reilly is an intelligent and fun character.

“THE RIVERS RUN DRY” 

          by Sibella Giorello

A Raleigh Harmon, Forensic Geologist Mystery

2011 Book Review # 74

         Booklist Review 

Raleigh Harmon, the Virginia forensic geologist and FBI special agent, is not having an easy time. Abruptly transferred to the Seattle office, she's finding that they do things differently here than in her native South and that her new boss seems hell-bent on seeing Raleigh fail.

But Raleigh doesn't have time to worry about personal squabbling: a woman is missing, and only Raleigh, with her unique investigative gifts, can find her before it's too late.

Giorello, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist, has made the transition from journalism to fiction writing smoothly: the novel reads as though it were written by a veteran of the genre. Raleigh is a strong, assertive series lead, and, if these first two novels are any indication, she should be around for quite a while.

My Thoughts:  This is my first time reading this author…it won’t be the last!  I loved the characters and the writing.  Even male readers will enjoy this one.  It has a fresh approach to the mystery genre and a more believable one. 

"SNAGGED"  

              By Carol Higgins Clark

A Regan Reilly Mystery

2011 Book Review #73

  Publishers Weekly Review

In Miami for a friend's wedding, PI Regan Reilly acquires a new friend in the bride's uncle, Richie Blossom, who has invented ``run-proof, snag-proof'' pantyhose. If Richie can sell his patent to a manufacturer, he'll have the funds to buy the retirement home where he and his friends live. 

A year earlier, the residents acquired an option on the home from Dolly Twiggs before she died under suspicious circumstances; now the option is about to expire, and if Richie's endeavor fails, the extremely valuable property goes on the open market. 

Meanwhile, Ruth Craddock of Calla-Lilly Hosiery, who has her hands on a pair of the prototype pantyhose, realizes that Richie's invention could put her out of business. 

When an aggressive driver nearly mows Richie down, Regan appoints herself his protector and determines to learn more about what happened to Dolly. Although Regan gets the job done and is generally pleasant company, her gripes about such trivial matters such as hotel-room hangers and health-food aficionados occasionally make her seem a whiny sort of lass. 

My Thoughts:  This is what I call a "fun" mystery!  This is Clark's second Regan Reilly novel, (she has written about 10 of them), and it is fun to read, but I think I prefer her later novels after Regan meets Det. Jack Reilly (no kin).  They become much more interesting!!! If you want a light mystery, this is one!

“The Confession”   By John Grisham

2011 Book Review #72

Summary from the Hardcover Edition of the Book

An innocent man is about to be executed. Only a guilty man can save him. For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesn't understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesn't care. He just can't believe his good luck.

Time passes and he realizes that the mistake will not be corrected: the authorities believe in their case and are determined to get a conviction. He may even watch the trial of the person wrongly accused of his crime. He is relieved when the verdict is guilty. He laughs when the police and prosecutors congratulate themselves. He is content to allow an innocent person to go to prison, to serve hard time, even to be executed.

Travis Boyette is such a man. In 1998, in the small East Texas city of Sloan, he abducted, raped, and strangled a popular high school cheerleader. He buried her body so that it would never be found, then watched in amazement as police and prosecutors arrested and convicted Donte Drumm, a local football star, and marched him off to death row.

Now nine years have passed. Travis has just been paroled in Kansas for a different crime; Donte is four days away from his execution. Travis suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. For the first time in his miserable life, he decides to do what's right and confess. But how can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges, and politicians that they're about to execute an innocent man?

My Thoughts:  Not Grisham’s best book, but…an exciting action packed read anyway!

“MOBBED”  By Carol Higgins Clark

      A PI Regan Reilly Mystery

2011 Book Review #71

Publishers Weekly Review

In Clark's 14th mystery featuring New York City  PI Regan Reilly (after 2010's 'Wrecked'), Reilly's mother, "well-known suspense writer" Nora Regan Reilly, asks Regan to join her in Bay Head, N.J.

Nora is concerned about eccentric 78-year-old Edna Frawley, who's sold her house on the Jersey shore and is about to hold a big garage sale. The sale's prize items are personal possessions of movie actress, Cleo Paradise, who recently rented the house, then left suddenly with a note to Edna authorizing her to do whatever she wanted with whatever was left behind.

Life imitates art as a stalker begins leaving Cleo dead flowers, just as in her latest film, ‘You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Alive or Dead’. The action shifts perspectives to introduce a legion of people who wish the star dead. Cleo is so underdeveloped that few will be waiting with bated breath for the identification of the creep threatening her.

My Thoughts:  I’ve read most of Carol Clark’s books and this one was not as well developed as most of the others.  I listened to it on audio book and probably would not have finished it if I had been reading it.  I kept waiting for the action to pick up.