Two for the Dough revisited

Ten years after publication i decided to reread "Two for the Dough.". I found reading this entertaining book was like visiting with an old and humorous old friend.,

Stephanie Plum is still at work pursuing her career as a bail jumper.while dreaming of romance and wealth.  She is on the trail of Kenny Mancuso, a bail jumper from Stephanie's area or berg as locations in the Trenton New Jersey are referred  to.

Kenny has recently left the army and is accused of shooting his best friend.

Ranger is Stephanie's bounter hunter pal who occasionally steps in to pull her out of a jam. He's a more experienced bounty jumper who adds his knowledge to the hunt as does Stephanie's pistol packing grandma who reminds me of "granny" from the Beverly Hillbillies.

The story is good fun and adds a love interest Stephanie's love interest of Joe Morelli.

As enjoyable as I recalled the original reading.

The Don flows Quietly

"And Quiet Flows the Don," is a novel by Nobel Prize winner Mikhail Sholokhov.

As a literature major, I had read this novel in the '60s and thought I would reread it. However, on a current read, I was disappointed. I felt the writing was crisp and the dialogue strong but I just didn't care about the characters

This book is 552 pages long and only part 1 so I think it was just too much for my current state of reading.

I did enjoy the descriptions of Russia and the various subjects that the characters had to deal with. The novel covers the period between the 1917 revolution and the end of civil strife in Russia in 1921. It covers the fortunes of a  group of Cossacks and their women during the death throes of the old order and the birth of a new life.

Save the last dance for me" Lyrics

Matt Scudder is hired by the brother of a TV Anchor to see if the woman's husband either killed or had her killed.

The author certainly knows the New York territory and enlightens the reader of what is going on in the fight ring and in many of the gay bars in the New York Chelsea areas.

Matt uncovers a connection to "The Dirty Dozen" and spends time searching for an old time TV buff. He's an unlicensed PI and former cop. He's also a member of AA and asked by another member to find the killer of the man's sister.

The story deals with sex crimes against children and some other topics not for the faint of heart.
It provides good descriptions of New York and tells about two excellent characters, Elaine and Joe Decker.

The action keeps moving and the story is well tld.

Love, love is strange." Lyrics

Back in the day, times were different. Much so in prim and proper Boston of 100 years ago.

It's 1905 and the reader can picture the family reaction when Fremont Jones graduates from Wellesley . Thinking of Fremont as a prim daughter of Boston society would be wrong. Fremont wanted more out of life and moved to San Francisco to become a private investigator. She was always inquisitive and self starting and thought this would be a natural outlet for her talents.

As she opens her agency, she meets an author who writes in a style of Arthur Conan Doyle but better because, he states, his stories are true.  She also meets a Chinese man who wants a document drawn.

Soon after, the papers tell of the death of the Chinese man and more adventures follow.

There is a good view of San Francisco in 1905 and the realistic writing practically speaks for itself.

This is a story that should entertain courageous young women without a lot of violence.

On my word of honor..." Lyrics

Lt. Ben Tyson is a good teacher and leader of men in Viet Nam.

During the fierce fighting around the Tet Offensive, there is an incident at a civilian hospital where his men kill a number of civilians and vow never to talk about it.

Years later, Tyson is an established businessman and he's called back to active duty to face a military tribal for misconduct.

DeMille tells a good story as Tyson's men are being killed and finally reach the breaking point and shoot back. Now it seems that he has to pay for their actions.

Ben continues to show his honor as the case comes to trial and we see the result on his family as his son, a senior in high school, has to take abuse because of Ben.

I'm a Vietnam era  military man who spent my time in the U.S. but enjoyed this story and what seemed the reality of the story and it's effects on Ben and the surviving men in his military unit.

Home Home on the Range" Lyrics

Ike Parson's is a small town sheriff with a big heart.

As the winter in Montana can often be cruel and devastating to farmers, Ike hears about Chas Stubblefield who has fallen on hard times. Ike decides to see for himself and travels to Stubblefield's ranch.

He sees a sight that would shock most other farmers and ranchers. The cattle are emaciated, the feed is wet and rotting and Stubblefield seems to be existing by using the cattle for food. He's depressed and angry at the world.

Ike knows enough not to go into another person's business but as a rancher himself, it's too much.

He brings a veterinary friend to the ranch for a second opinion  and then takes legal steps in hope of saving his neighbor and the remnants of his ranch.

What Ike gets is resentment and the loss of friendship of many local friends. When threats begin to come to his ranch, Ike gets angry and realizes that he should have listened to others and let the rancher sink to his own ending - no mater how heartless that seems.

A good description of life in the wilderness and small town life in the Montana winters.

Desire to help

It appears that John Gresham saw the success of Michael Connelly's "Lincoln Lawyer" so decided to have his own attorney working out of his car.

In "Rogue Lawyer" Sebastian Rudd works out of his bulletproof van. His driver is his bodyguard and is Rudd's only friend.

In this work, he goes through the process of defending a number of people who no one else wanted to defend. One of his defendants is an eighteen-year-old tattooed, brain damaged social outcast.

His next case involves defending a crime lord who had killed a judge. When Rudd takes on this case, the man is on death row after being sentenced to death.

Maybe he needed more excitement because the next case he takes on is defending a homeowner arrested for shooting at a SWAT team who had mistaken this man's home.

Rudd is a knowledgeable, wise cracking attorney who most people accused of crimes would want on their side.

However, neither Rudd nor many of his characters are described enough to create sympathy from the reader. In most cases, I didn't care of Rudd won the case or not.

Power Play needs something

In a strong story plot line, "Power Play" lacks something.

Normally, I really enjoy Catherine Coulter's writing but not this time.

Natalie Black is the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Her fiance dies in an auto accident and there are rumors that she is responsible.

Her daughter, Perry, is a very attractive woman who works for the newspaper.
Natalie returns to the U.S. and someone appears to be stalking Perry. The reader is led to believe the stalker is Psychopath Blessed Blackman. FBI also believes that Blackman who has escaped from prison, might be at work again since there is a link between Blackman and Davis Sullivan.


I read the first couple of hundred pages but found I was forcing myself to continue. Therefore I put the book aside and hope for a more entertaining novel for the next read.

Pass this one up.