Mystery Ebooks

Murray Rothbard takes a complex topic, perhaps one more complex than most of us imagine, but provides a clear, crisp and detailed explanation. The writing style is excellent and it should be accessible to any reader who can navigate the Op-ed page of a 'quality' newspaper. br / br /Having said that, yet as someone who finds even the most simple balance sheet a puzzle, I must confess that some of the process is still something of a mystery to me, despite Rothbard's clarity. I feel like I need to read the book again to fully assimilate it. Perhaps because I have more of a historical bent, Rothbard's outline of the history of the banking system excellent. Especially good was his concise and clear treatment of the role of the Federal Reserve's Benjamin Strong and the Bank of England's Montagu Norman in precipitating the boom of the 1920s and the bust of the 1930s. br / br /Rothbard is an opponent of Fractional Reserve Banking (FRB) and an advocate of 100% reserve deposit banking. His argument is primarily economic but also ethical. He sees the absence of these institutions as the root cause of the business cycle, but he also argues that FRB is essentially fraudulent. As such he opposes many fellow free market economists who support FRB via "free banking". Although Rothbard deals br /extensively with the main real world example of free banking, the Scottish experience in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in a addendum added to the 2008 edition, I'm not convinced Rothbard has completely disposed of his rivals' argument. br / br /Especially with his ethical claim that FRB is fraud. There is certainly a misleading element to FRB, the popular belief that banks profit by "lending out" deposits is at best "a half truth". Banks create deposits as well as lend them and only a small percentage of the public comprehend this. Still the fraud claim may be too strong. Even bank depositors who know that their bank could not possibly redeem all deposits at the same time, continue to use their bank. So perhaps Rothbard's ethical argument is overstated. br / br /Despite this quibble, although the book does not deal with the recent financial crises, the book provides an excellent primer

This is my first laura griffin book. I stumbled upon this by looking for another author and read the reviews and decided to give this a try. This book has it all. Suspense. Romance. Comedy. I couldn't put the book down. It made you keep turning the pages. I'm so glad I found another great author to read and to recommend to my other friends.

As mentioned by other reviewers, it is helpful to read the short story "One Word Answer" before this book. The plot of Definitely Dead can be summed up very simply, since not much happens of note. Sookie is attacked by weres before she must go clean out her dead cousin's apartment, then is attacked again while at the apartment cleaning. As the cover suggests, Quinn plays a pretty big role in this story. I wasn't impressed. He is pretty horny, that seems to be about all the depth there is to his character. We learn a bit of history about Bill, and a little shocker about Sookie as well. There was a bit of action toward the end of the story that was exciting, other than that it was pretty dull. The story opens with some news about Jason and Crystal and we get minimal follow up. As to who the weres are that are attacking Sookie, we find out in a sentence or two a few pages from the end of the book. Personally, I like my mysteries to be more drawn out with hints and clues, instead of the main character just stumbling upon answers, or having a lightbulb go off a few pages before the ending. My interest in the characters and my hope that the no nonsense tough Sookie from earlier books will be back keeps me going in this series.

I picked this up from the bargin sale table in the bookstore; I'm certainly glad I didn't pay full price. I never read any of Chabon's work, but this was a much-heralded first novel from a Pulitzer winner so I thought it would be a good read. Best thing I can say is the book is short a quick read, so I don't regret the colossal waste of my time it was. Maybe it was the sloppy details (BMW doesn't make 1500cc motorcycles or have kick starters) but when one of the main characters is riding a motorcycle you should get stuff like that correct. I live in Pittsburgh and his descriptions of college life doesn't ring true at all; the protagonist spends alot of time crying and throwing up; most of the characters are poorly done and unsympathetic; the story is disjointed and jumps around haphazardly and this reader found them boring and didn't care what happened to them...Arthur Lecomte was this supposedly talented witty charmer but Chabon presents absolutely no evidence of it in Arthur's dialogue or actions. The bisexual main character (also named Arthur) decides at the end of the summer he loves men more than women. Who cares? The most interesting thing in the paperback version of the book is the approximately 8 page afterward where Chabon talks about what he went thru when writing it in the mid-80s.

I just discovered Sookie a week and a half ago, and am currently reading book #6. I decided to review this one, because it's my favorite so far. From the first meeting with Eric in book one at Fangtasia, I have not been able to understand how anyone would choose Bill over him. I am constantly wondering how I can lust after someone who exists only in words. So the plot of this book (and all that flows from it) had me giddy. I read it in record time and enjoyed every second. Some things I suspected about Eric were proved correct (in some very descriptive ways). I loved this book.

This book is probably my least favorite so far in the entire series. First, the mystery in this book is not compelling. There is only a small sense of danger for the main suspect, Jason, and it is resolved very anticlimactically and not given a second thought. Second, I didn't enjoy Sookie complaining about Bill, Eric, Alcide and her other suitors. She seemed most interested in Calvin, which I thought was very strange. Also, she kisses random characters out of no where. It is all very strange and very unlike the Sookie we were introduced to earlier in the series. In addition to those shortcomings, the book was very boring. When action or conflict was introduced it was easily brushed over. I have two major events in mind, which I won't reveal due to spoilers, that when they occurred Sookie was not nearly as upset as she should have been. I want the old Sookie back with her upbeat no nonsense attitude. Stop dwelling on Bill, get over Alcide with his bad temper and grumpiness, and move on! Another love interest or two were introduced here, so I guess we will have to wait and see where that goes. I'd really just like a good MYSTERY, minus all of the relationship issues and complaining. That is what these books are supposed to be after all: Southern Vampire MYSTERIES.

When I was in 6th grade a brilliant teacher who loved to write would occassionally pull out these gorgeously detailed black and white photos depicting the most bizzare scenes with a line or two about the picture. From that picture and the line we would write a story. Everyone's stories ended up being so different. br / br /I searched high and low to find out what these pictures were and where they were from. They were from the Mysteries of Harris Burdick. They still intrigue and inspire me the way they did when I was a kid. Although now that I have the portfolio I see that there is a story about the mysteries of Harris Burdick, who he was and how he came to draw these pictures. This just added to the fun. br / br /I love these illustrations, I plan to have them all framed and put in my writing room. But if you are perhaps a teacher or parent or mentor who encourages others to write these are extremely inspiring photographs they are approximately 16 inches X 12 inches. These are the original 14 illustrations with a "newly discovered" 15th, They are inside of a large papery-cardboard portfolio. br / br /This was my first introduction to Chris Van Allsburg, and it wasn't until I saw (as an adult) the Polar Express sitting on a bookshelf in a library that I discovered this was the same author and illustrator. Since then I have purchased all have Mr. Van Allsburg's books. This series of illustrations was so meaningful to me I can not begin to describe it.

If "fair-play" cozy mysteries are your cup of British tea, then this book is likely to leave you as satisfied as a good cuppa Earl Grey! It has all the classic elements of this subgenre of mystery fiction, such as a gathering of all the suspects at the end to reveal the killer, scheming relatives, and a multiplicity of fairly subtle clues throughout the book, but also the fine touches, such as a cast of characters and chapters with TITLES, that show a careful attention to detail and craft. There are reasons Kirkus Reviews named it one of their best books of 2008. br / br /Given a plot that centers around a summons by a rich-and-famous-but-far-from-beloved aging mystery writer to his children to gather at the family estate for the nuptials of said mystery writer to an apparent gold-digger who may also have murdered her first husband, the clichés are so thick that only a light tone could save the story from triteness. This is a witty, clever book, but I would warn that reviews describing it as "hilarious" or "a romp" may raise expectations that would cause some readers to be disappointed. This is not P G Wodehouse writing a stately home mystery, nor is it a book that produces belly laughs. br / br /Instead, this is wonderful tongue-in-cheek classic British mystery. The gathering of the clan includes ample dysfunctional personalities ranging from the thoroughly unpleasant father and sons whom the reader would love to see either as murder victims or perpetrators to the sympathetic, pitiful daughter to more enigmatic personalities like the Italian cook and the playboy son's pregnant girlfriend. The plot thickens like a good marinara, and the denouement is delightfully complicated, fair, and ties up all the loose ends. Who could ask for more?

Theodosia Browning, proprietor of a Charleston tea shop, is participating in a horse show when she makes a gruesome discovery--the dead body of her arch rival. The brother of the victim was once romantically involved with Theodosia and he asks her as a favor to help with the investigation. As usual, the book centers around many social events and snooty Charlestonians. The novel's structure seems very familiar since it is virtually the same as every other book in the series. Hopefully, author Laura Childs will use a more varied format in the future.

I teach 6th grade reading. I bought this book for my classroom library. It is perfect for sustained silent reading. The students can learn critical thinking skills from this book. They can also learn to read for understanding. This book is very interesting and should hold a student's interest for several minutes. br / br /This is perfect for a middle school classroom library.