"Dark Dreams" by Roy Hazelwood & Stephen G. Michaud

Book Details:

Title- Dark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide, and the Criminal Mind
Author- Roy Hazelwood & Stephen G. Michaud
Published- 2001- St. Martin's Press
ISBN- 0-312-25342-7
Genre- Non-fiction - Crime - Forensics
Pages- 275 pages
Rating- 5 of 5


My Review:

Dark Dreams offers an in-depth and often troubling look into the minds of some of the most dangerous sexual predators and serial killers of our time. Criminal profiler Roy Hazelwood has dedicated his career to perfect criminal profiling in an effort to create the most accurate picture of potential offenders. Profiling has been used to both discover the warning signs of violent behavior before they become a real threat and to point investigators towards likely suspects in murder cases. Leaving out none of the gruesome details, the authors paint a truly vivid image of these crimes, the extents the killers go to in the throes of passion - whether sexual or rage, or even just for the rush of adrenaline.

Readers of forensics or psychology and fans of true crime novels should definitely put Dark Dreams on their reading list. I found every chapter captivating, many times anxious myself to discover the killer's identity, in awe of the crimes they've committed. The information provided about the human brain and psyche shows the experience and dedication Hazelwood puts into his work as a criminal profiler, as the descriptions he provides in many of his cases turn out to be very true-to-life once the offender is finally identified. The author's credentials in this field of study are quite numerous, with many advances in profiling to his name, along with a natural propensity to understand and isolate factors that may trigger these violent criminals to act out.

I highly recommed this book and give it a full five stars. The authors provide a healthy balance of what makes a work of non-fiction successful: information, entertainment, and readability.

"Good Omens" by Terry Prachett & Neil Gaiman

Book Details:

Title- Good Omens
Author- Terry Prachett & Neil Gaiman
Published- 2006- HarperCollins Publishers (orig. 1990)
ISBN- 978-0-06-085398-3
Genre- Humor
Pages- 412 pages
Rating- 5 of 5


My Review:

The Day of Judgement is upon planet Earth. Everything foretold in the Bible, from frogs falling from the sky to the ride of the Four Horsemen, is going according to plan. At ten years old, the Antichrist, affectionately named Warlock, has spent his short time on Earth being pushed and pulled by the influences of divine entities from either side of the moral spectrum, grooming him for his ultimate destiny to ring in Armageddon. Except there's one small problem. Warlock, lazy and spoiled rotten, is showing no particular interest in either faction and time is running out. Unknown to all involved, the infant Antichrist had been accidently switched at birth at the incapable hands of a rather chatty, devil-worshipping nun. The mistake is completely unknown to anyone until a hellhound, specially released to search out and serve only his true Antichrist master, and the plan for the end of the world begins to unravel. Dog, as the hellhound becomes known by his young master Adam, experiences life as a true pet and enjoys the attention from his diplomatic, if a little eccentric, Antichrist and his small following of three fiercely loyal friends.

Meanwhile, centuries-long rivals and occasional "friends", the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, sent to Earth on the day of its creation to spread their respective values and behaviors and sway the impressionable humans to their side. However, after thousands of years on Earth, both have become accustomed to, and very fond of, the freedom and pleasures of our world and aren't ready to give up their current lifestyles. When each is ordered back "home" to prepare for the ultimate battle, they make the drastic decision to go rogue and stop the Apocalypse from destroying their comfortable living.

One hilarious side story in the novel is that of the "witch" Anathema Device and her companion Newt. Guided by a book of obscure prophecies made in 1655 by a witch named Agnes Nutter, this strange duo also sets out to stop Judgement Day from occurring. Originally skeptical about Nutters' ability to actually tell the future, Newt blows it off as the bizarre hobby of a potentially unstable old woman. As their adventure takes off and their relationship begins to grow, so does Newt's faith in the extraordinarily accurate book.

To further complicate matters, self-proclaimed witch hunter extrordinaire Shadwell, a life-long bachelor and a war veteran, hears wind of Anathema's reputation as a witch and sets off on a good, old-fashioned witch hunt. Also among the cast of highly unusual and entertaining characters are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (whose "horses" are actually motorcycles), and a crochety old man constantly on the lookout for material for his next "Letter to the Editor" rant.

A natural-born leader who continuously mesmerizes his modest preteen following, Adam knows something is pulling his focus to the nearby army base, leading his friends straight into the thick of the battle between Heaven and Hell. In a race to stop (or ensure the success of) the Apocalypse, mortals (along with an angel and a demon) take on the divine and discover that there's always an alternative to destroying the human race, and sometimes an old witch knows best.

Hilarious from start to finish and brimming with imagination that can only come from these acclaimed fantasy writers, Good Omens is an exciting read and a hilarious reread that all readers are bound to enjoy. With no particular religious undertones, this novel burrows straight to the funny bone and holds on tight. A definite must-read for any fan of fantasy literature and anyone looking for a good laugh with a plot.

"The Sins of the Father" by Jeffrey Archer

Book Details

Title- The Sins of the Father (The Clifton Chronicles, #2)
Author- Jeffery Archer
ISBN- 978-1-250-01040-7
Published- 2012- St. Martin's Press
Genre- Drama
Pages- 415 pages
Rating- 5 of 5


My Review

Abruptly beginning exactly where its prequel, Only Time Will Tell, left off. In the heat of World War II, Harry Clifton goes to extreme measures to maintain the rouse of his true identity, while Emma Barrington, unable to accept Harry died in the wreck of the Kansas Star and takes an extended leave to the United States to uncover the truth about her beloved, determined not to return to England without him.

A secondary character in the series' first installment, we get a much deeper, intimate knowledge of Giles Barrington, Harry's long-time friend and Emma's brother, who believes his friend has not survived the sinking ship and sets out to fulfill Harry's dream of joining the Royal Army and fighting in the war. Giles faces many of his own trials and tribulations as he rises quickly through the ranks, becoming more uncomfortable as he is given command of soldiers he once considered peers and equals.

The reader also meets a slew of new characters also, some minor and others causing major plot twists, such as ruthless, renowned New York lawyer Sefton Jelks.

The ever-present question of Harry's paternity is once again the key problem at hand, the one detail keeping the star-crossed lovers, Harry and Emma, from their dream of spending their lives together as husband and wife.

Obsessed with proving he did not father Harry, Hugo Barrington, destitute and running his family's company into the ground, draining the coffers just to survive. He hires a private investigator to keep tabs on Maisie Clifton's every move, bent on keeping the secret of Harry's survival a secret to ensure Giles will inherit the Barrington shipping company, if anything remains of the company as Hugo drains it dry of all funds.

Just as beautifully written and shockingly suspenseful, this dramatic sequel matches the high expectations I had set after Only Time Will Tell, and as in its predecesor, this novel begins by answering a few questions posed at the abrupt ending of the first novel, ending in the same manner- making one want to immediately go out for a copy of the third installment of The Clifton Chronicles. Well beyond worth the read, The Clifton Chronicles are fascinating novels set during a fascinating time in history. I give it five out of five stars and commend the author on his consistency and writing abilities.

"White Oleander" by Janet Fitch

Book Details:

Title- White Oleander
Author- Janet Fitch
Publisher- 1999: Little, Brown and Company
ISBN- 0-316-56932-1
Genre- Drama
Pages- 390 pages
Rating- 4 of 5


My Review:
When her mother is imprisoned for murdering her boyfriend, 12-year old Astrid Magnussen becomes a ward  of the state- a Los Angeles foster child. Coming from a dreamlike, care-free life of traveling and living in the most beautiful, exotic places around the world, and admiring her beautiful, secretive, and hard poet mother's exotic lovers. Ingrid Magnussen raised her daughter to be ruthless, tough, unattached from anyone else, and to certainly never weaken one's resolve. Thrown suddenly into the real world and bounced around from foster family to foster family, craving only the accepting, loving, family, complete with a father, that she has never had. Instead, she must learn to survive as everyone she grows to love along the way is eventually torn away from her.

Her time spent as a ward of the state create some extreme changes in Astrid, as she tries fitting in to each new environment she is forced into, while trying to figure out what she wants for her own life and the kind of person she wants to be herself. She unfortunately decides after these six years that completely walling off her heart to any other being is the only way to avoid the devastation she feels when they all eventually leave her. A personal re-read, White Oleander is a tragic, sometimes overly dramatic, yet real-to-life coming-of-age story that wrings every bit of sympathy out of the reader's heart.