I'm not even going to post the summary and all that jazz because well I'm not doing a review of this book...right now. I'll probably come back to it in a couple months but I wasn't feeling it.
I know I'm not into it when I've been reading it for a week and am only on page 50. Yes the new fall season of tv doesn't help but I've always found time for my reading before when tv has been this invovled.
So I'm going to reserve the right to call it back from the depths of my bookshelf and read at a later date.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Jenn's Review: Death Dance
Summary:
Teaming up with longtime friends -- NYPD's Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace -- Assistant DA Alex Cooper investigates the disappearance of world-famous dancer Natalya Galinova, who has suddenly vanished backstage at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House -- during a performance.
The three colleagues are soon drawn into the machinations of New York City's secretive theatrical community, where ambition takes many forms, including those most deadly. Among Galinova's lovers is Joe Berk, the colorful, strong-willed boss of the Berk Organization, one of four family companies that own all the legitimate theaters on Broadway. The aging ballerina was using Berk to help revive her career at the time of her disappearance.
Cooper, Chapman, and Wallace go underground and backstage at the Met, explore Berk's unusual apartment on top of the Belasco Theatre with its rumored ghostly resident, and then discover bizarre circumstances at City Center, which has a peculiar history not one of them knew about until now.
Within the glamorous but sordid inner sanctums of the Broadway elite, the team confronts the ruthless power brokers who control both the stars and the stages where they appear. They meet Joe's niece Mona Berk, who is mounting a vicious campaign to extract her share of the family fortune, and stunning starlet Lucy DeVore, whose beauty may be her fatal undoing. Chet Dobbis is the artistic director of the Metropolitan Opera, and therefore privy to the most scandalous exploits among its famous inhabitants. He also knows every inch of the labyrinthine building into which the ballerina disappeared...
Meanwhile, Alex is working on a very different case, using a creative technique to nab a physician who has been drugging women in order to assault them. As Dr. Selim Sengor eludes capture, Alex must navigate the new investigative world of DFSA -- drug-facilitated sexual assault -- intent on proving him guilty.
Complicating her quest is the explosive legal and ethical dilemma of using the existing DNA databank to solve new cases. Can Alex convince a judge to let her prosecute a man for a violent crime using DNA that was collected for a prior case in which he was never charged? Or do the suspect's civil rights prevent law enforcement from keeping his DNA on file to be used against him at any future time?
Death Dance is a spellbinding thriller combining a former prosecutor's fresh insight into hot-button legal issues with the unique history and spectacle of New York theater, and its shocking twists make this novel Linda Fairstein's most chilling adventure yet.
Review:
Fairstein is one of those authors I don't read very often, and it always takes another book of hers to remind me why. It's not that she isn't a good author... she's very talented. Her plots are complicated, often involve several crimes and a plethora of suspects. For me, however, there are always too many stories and little sidebars, perhaps I need to read the Alex Cooper
series in order, but I don't know that that would help. Fairstein always seems to have more story than fits into her books... too many cases that never tie up into a nice neat little package... too many suspects that appear and disappear. Granted she was a DA for 25 years and I'm sure that it's more realistic this way -life isn't a nice neat little package- but it always leaves me feeling slightly shorted at the end of a book... hey what happened to __________?
Enough about the series, let me focus on Dance of Death. I picked this book in particular out of the series as I'm slightly familiar with the setting of the central crime... a theatre. So while others may be intrigued by some of the background descriptions of the theatre and the intricacies of the fly system, I was glad she got it right but in a hurry to move on.
The suspects were many and the complications of being involved in three investigations at once made it harder for the characters to trace the personal attacks against Cooper back to one source or the other. The central crime was well laid out as was the solution... although I found the wrap up a bit far fetched... and the other two cases seemed to get shorted in the conclusion.
I don't understand the relationship between Chapman and Cooper, perhaps, again, this is because I don't read enough of the series, but there are all sorts of mixed signals and innuendo that comes in and out. I can't tell if either character is interested in the other because they both seem to be playing the "come here-get away" (worse than McDreamy and Meredith ) game a little too fast paced to even catch.
Although, this is a well written legal mystery, I've come to the conclusion that Fairstein is just not for me.
Overall 3.9/5.0
Teaming up with longtime friends -- NYPD's Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace -- Assistant DA Alex Cooper investigates the disappearance of world-famous dancer Natalya Galinova, who has suddenly vanished backstage at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House -- during a performance.
The three colleagues are soon drawn into the machinations of New York City's secretive theatrical community, where ambition takes many forms, including those most deadly. Among Galinova's lovers is Joe Berk, the colorful, strong-willed boss of the Berk Organization, one of four family companies that own all the legitimate theaters on Broadway. The aging ballerina was using Berk to help revive her career at the time of her disappearance.
Cooper, Chapman, and Wallace go underground and backstage at the Met, explore Berk's unusual apartment on top of the Belasco Theatre with its rumored ghostly resident, and then discover bizarre circumstances at City Center, which has a peculiar history not one of them knew about until now.
Within the glamorous but sordid inner sanctums of the Broadway elite, the team confronts the ruthless power brokers who control both the stars and the stages where they appear. They meet Joe's niece Mona Berk, who is mounting a vicious campaign to extract her share of the family fortune, and stunning starlet Lucy DeVore, whose beauty may be her fatal undoing. Chet Dobbis is the artistic director of the Metropolitan Opera, and therefore privy to the most scandalous exploits among its famous inhabitants. He also knows every inch of the labyrinthine building into which the ballerina disappeared...
Meanwhile, Alex is working on a very different case, using a creative technique to nab a physician who has been drugging women in order to assault them. As Dr. Selim Sengor eludes capture, Alex must navigate the new investigative world of DFSA -- drug-facilitated sexual assault -- intent on proving him guilty.
Complicating her quest is the explosive legal and ethical dilemma of using the existing DNA databank to solve new cases. Can Alex convince a judge to let her prosecute a man for a violent crime using DNA that was collected for a prior case in which he was never charged? Or do the suspect's civil rights prevent law enforcement from keeping his DNA on file to be used against him at any future time?
Death Dance is a spellbinding thriller combining a former prosecutor's fresh insight into hot-button legal issues with the unique history and spectacle of New York theater, and its shocking twists make this novel Linda Fairstein's most chilling adventure yet.
Review:
Fairstein is one of those authors I don't read very often, and it always takes another book of hers to remind me why. It's not that she isn't a good author... she's very talented. Her plots are complicated, often involve several crimes and a plethora of suspects. For me, however, there are always too many stories and little sidebars, perhaps I need to read the Alex Cooper
series in order, but I don't know that that would help. Fairstein always seems to have more story than fits into her books... too many cases that never tie up into a nice neat little package... too many suspects that appear and disappear. Granted she was a DA for 25 years and I'm sure that it's more realistic this way -life isn't a nice neat little package- but it always leaves me feeling slightly shorted at the end of a book... hey what happened to __________?Enough about the series, let me focus on Dance of Death. I picked this book in particular out of the series as I'm slightly familiar with the setting of the central crime... a theatre. So while others may be intrigued by some of the background descriptions of the theatre and the intricacies of the fly system, I was glad she got it right but in a hurry to move on.
The suspects were many and the complications of being involved in three investigations at once made it harder for the characters to trace the personal attacks against Cooper back to one source or the other. The central crime was well laid out as was the solution... although I found the wrap up a bit far fetched... and the other two cases seemed to get shorted in the conclusion.
I don't understand the relationship between Chapman and Cooper, perhaps, again, this is because I don't read enough of the series, but there are all sorts of mixed signals and innuendo that comes in and out. I can't tell if either character is interested in the other because they both seem to be playing the "come here-get away" (worse than McDreamy and Meredith ) game a little too fast paced to even catch.
Although, this is a well written legal mystery, I've come to the conclusion that Fairstein is just not for me.
Overall 3.9/5.0
Friday, October 5, 2007
Reading Is Sexy!
I love it when my favorite things come together. In this instance reading and televisioncomes together in the form of a t-shirt. How cute is this? Rory wore it in episode # (umm... I swear I'll find out) of Gilmore Girls (RItvP). Now I am going to grab one, because "Reading Is Sexy".
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Did You Know? It's Banned Books Week!
The American Library Association (ALA) is inviting us to celebrate our freedom to read by participating in Banned Books Week (Sept 29 to Oct. 6, 2007). Click here for more information. There are number of ways to participate, but the simplest is to just grab a banned book and read it. Need some help figuring what's banned*? The following are the Top 10 Banned Books of 2006.
*Note: Banned books are more often that not, not completely banned, but merely challenged. The ALA explains it here.
Not so long ago, "The Bluest Eye" was one of our Book Club picks. Difficult? Absolutely! Offensive... I don't think so. I'd certainly let my teenager read it. And just for fun, I plan to stop by the bookstore and see what all the fuss is about with "And Tango Makes Three".
*Note: Banned books are more often that not, not completely banned, but merely challenged. The ALA explains it here.
Not so long ago, "The Bluest Eye" was one of our Book Club picks. Difficult? Absolutely! Offensive... I don't think so. I'd certainly let my teenager read it. And just for fun, I plan to stop by the bookstore and see what all the fuss is about with "And Tango Makes Three".
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
A Word about Pushing Daisies
Now this show is not based on a book in any way, shape, or form, however, I wanted to profile it. I haven’t previewed this show or anything like that, but I am hearing wonderful things about it. In addition, the creator, Bryan Fuller, a former writer for Heroes, is the same one who brought us the brilliantly quirky shows Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me (RIP). Neither of these shows lasted as long as they should have, and I want to do my part to try to make sure that Pushing Daisies doesn’t suffer the same fate.
About Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies is a "forensic fairy tale" that focuses on Ned (Lee Pace), a piemaker with a mysterious ability to make the dead live again. The gift is not without its complications, however: if he touches this being a second time, they'll be dead permanently. If they live for more than 60 seconds, somebody else nearby will die. (Quote: "It's a random proximity thing"). It's a gift that he puts in good use to help a private investigator friend, Emerson Cod and his childhood sweetheart, the once-dead Charlotte "Chuck" Charles.
Pushing Daisies is a "forensic fairy tale" that focuses on Ned (Lee Pace), a piemaker with a mysterious ability to make the dead live again. The gift is not without its complications, however: if he touches this being a second time, they'll be dead permanently. If they live for more than 60 seconds, somebody else nearby will die. (Quote: "It's a random proximity thing"). It's a gift that he puts in good use to help a private investigator friend, Emerson Cod and his childhood sweetheart, the once-dead Charlotte "Chuck" Charles.
Source: Wikipedia
Chicago Sun-Times says:
"The premiere is lovely in scope, ambition, casting, acting, narrative, writing and direction."
I say: "That's not to be argued with!"
Pushing Daisies premieres tomorrow night at 8:00 pm EST on ABC.
Let's all watch this show! I mean, the first episode is the Pie-lette. Not Pilot. Get it? How cute is that?!
And while you're at it, how about some Money at 10:00 pm - some DirtySexyMoney that is. This show is just so much fun. If you haven't wacthed it yet, check it out!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Lisa's Review: White Lines
Summary:Jada left home at the age of sixteen, running from her own demons and the horrors of physical abuse inflicted by her mothers boyfriend. She partied hard, and life seemed good when she was with Born, the neighborhood kingpin whose name was synonymous with money, power, and respect. But all his love couldnt save her from a crack addiction. Jada goes from crack addict and prostitute to survivor and back again before she finds the strength to live for herself and come out on top. And her stormy romance with one of the fiercest hustlers on the streets makes White Lines one of the most unforgettable urban loves stories of the year.
Review:
From her highest highs, living the “good” life as the wife a drug lord, to her lowest lows, selling her body for drug money, reading Jada’s story often times left me dirty and pained. You can’t help but feel for her. Born lost his father to the same drug that ravages Jada and somehow begins supplying it to others. When Jada can’t resist temptation, he throws her out – hypocrite though you don't hate him too much for it – and they both have to lose and learn difficult lessons before they can find peace.
From her highest highs, living the “good” life as the wife a drug lord, to her lowest lows, selling her body for drug money, reading Jada’s story often times left me dirty and pained. You can’t help but feel for her. Born lost his father to the same drug that ravages Jada and somehow begins supplying it to others. When Jada can’t resist temptation, he throws her out – hypocrite though you don't hate him too much for it – and they both have to lose and learn difficult lessons before they can find peace.
It took me a while to get through the first few chapters of this one. It begins slowly. It is tedious, exposition heavy, a little preachy and often repetitious. This one could have easily been a hundred pages shorter.
Ignoring all of that, once things got going, they got going. Some good books make you uncomfortable, truly uncomfortable by exposing hidden truths. White Lines does exactly that. Part love story but more of a gritty urban drama, Tracy Brown spins a tale that puts you in the middle of the crack epidemic that ravaged and still does New York City and countless other urban ghettos in the 80's and 90's. The narrative is so raw and real that I have no doubt that this story was born from experience. Despite the flaws, I enjoyed this one. I chuckled at the epilogue, which featured a hilarious wink and nod to a notorious radio DJ here in New York and I wanted a different pay-off for investing in the love story, but it's a real ending. I’d gladly take another trip with Ms. Brown, but it may a quite some time before I do so, because this was some tough stuff.
Final Take – 4/5
Also recommended – Sistah Souljah’s The Coldest Winter Ever
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