Death Game hits the ground running and never stops, December 22, 2006
Reviewer: M. D. Benoit (Ottawa, Canada)
What would push Cooper O'Brien's brother Jimmie to shoot and kill another teenager, one he didn't even know? The evidence is there: a tape of the shooting, with Jimmie's face clear as day on it. But Jimmie isn't there to defend himself. He disappeared, leaving behind the murder weapon.
What follows is Cooper's quest to prove her brother innocent, despite all the evidence against him. As she gathers facts, the situation becomes more and more complex. Is everyone involved in a dark, secret plot, including her ex-husband and her ex-lover? Where is Jimmie, and what would have impelled him to kill? Did his beloved video games hide a darker side to them?
Death Game hits the ground running, and doesn't stop until the end. With this first novel, Swanson impresses with complexity of plot, intricate characters, thrilling suspense, and a final chase worthy of a James Bond movie. Swanson also gave Cooper O'Brien a sharp, gutsy, sarcastic tone that goes extremely well with her neurotic toughness.
Death Game is a satisfying read that ends in a thrilling climax, in which Cooper barely escapes with her life. Or, does it really end?
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Tagged--I didn't run fast enough.
MD Benoit tagged me a week ago--just before I went to the emergency room. (Nah, not because of her...)
I'm back in the loop and I'm up to revealing five things about myself that most people don't know. (Those are the rules of this latest cybergame.)
1) I raise orchids in my spare time. I have about a hundred orchids (30 or so different varities) on my property in Kauai. Orchids mostly raise themselves here on the North Shore, so it is a simple hobby. I tie them on trees, let the rain fall on them, cut them for blooms and regrafting.
2) My husband and I have completely renovated three homes. It takes us about seven years, and when we're done we sell them and move to the next one.
3) I started a medical software company with two programmers in the early 80's. I bailed after two years, they sold it ten years later for...I don't even want to go there.
4) My four-year-old daughter and I surf together. She gets on the front of board, I get on the back. Surfing on the North Shore of Kauai ranges from extremely easy in the summer (when I surf) to 25 foot waves in the winter. (Hey dude! Knarly.) The waves crash so hard in the winter the beach trembles.
5) My husband's brother was just knighted in the Netherlands. He's a teacher. If only we appreciated our teachers in the United States like that.
Time for me to tag someone. Hmmmm...let me think about it.
I'm back in the loop and I'm up to revealing five things about myself that most people don't know. (Those are the rules of this latest cybergame.)
1) I raise orchids in my spare time. I have about a hundred orchids (30 or so different varities) on my property in Kauai. Orchids mostly raise themselves here on the North Shore, so it is a simple hobby. I tie them on trees, let the rain fall on them, cut them for blooms and regrafting.
2) My husband and I have completely renovated three homes. It takes us about seven years, and when we're done we sell them and move to the next one.
3) I started a medical software company with two programmers in the early 80's. I bailed after two years, they sold it ten years later for...I don't even want to go there.
4) My four-year-old daughter and I surf together. She gets on the front of board, I get on the back. Surfing on the North Shore of Kauai ranges from extremely easy in the summer (when I surf) to 25 foot waves in the winter. (Hey dude! Knarly.) The waves crash so hard in the winter the beach trembles.
5) My husband's brother was just knighted in the Netherlands. He's a teacher. If only we appreciated our teachers in the United States like that.
Time for me to tag someone. Hmmmm...let me think about it.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Great Independent Bookstores
I love the smell of books, that distinct combination of wood pulp and ink that assaults you when you walk into a bookstore. Whenever I am traveling, I check out the local independent ones, browsing through the shelves, pickomg up books and reading the first paragraph and a few in the middle, in hopes of finding a true gem.Below I have listed some excellent independent bookstores, a list that will be continually revised. One of the best ways to find a good new book is to go to the person who is in charge of stocking a good, independent bookstore. Or…develop a group of friends, offline or online, and let them make recommendations.
On the other hand, recommendations only go so far—sometimes we can’t stand the books even our best friends recommend. Other times, we pick a book at random and go through it in one sitting. The only other guideline I know for finding a great book? Stay away from anything that has New York Times bestseller written on top of it.
Here are some great bookstores that I've personally enjoyed:
Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, California
Calistoga Bookstore (When you visit, give my regards to Sara the cat.)
1343 Lincoln Avenue
Calistoga, California
Copperfield's Books
Several locations, including
Santa Rosa and Napa
The Depot Bookstore (Charming location, great tea...what more could you ask?)
87 Throckmorton Avenue
Mill Valley, California
Four-Eyed Frog Books (For all you Sea Ranch visitors--you gotta get tired of looking at the ocean sometime.)
39138 Ocean Drive
Gualala, California
The Well Read Coyote (Slide Rock in Sedona was my favorite place as a kid. This store is almost as much fun.)
3190 W. Highway 89A
Sedona, Arizona
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