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I had a sleepless night thanks to “Sticky Fingers.” First, the book was so good that I could not put it down until I found out what happened, and once I finished, I could not get the images of snakes out of my mind! Morgan Hunt’s wonderful writing style will engage you from the first page and keep you turning pages until the very end.
The main character, Tess Camillo, is just that, a real character. She is not a detective but a middle aged woman, employed in an okay job in San Diego. She shares a house with her ex-lover, Lana, and is currently not in a relationship. The current love of her life is her Welsh terrier, Raj.
The mystery begins when Tess finds a rattler in her bedroom. The police chalk it up to coincidence, but the story takes an ominous turn when someone else in the gay community is brutally murdered by a poisonous snake. As Tess becomes friendly with the murdered woman’s partner, Darlene, the danger increases and she becomes a target herself. Instead of scaring her off the case, she turns into an amateur detective who will not rest until she solves the mystery. I am usually good at figuring out “who done it” in mystery novels, but this story had so many twists and turns that I was surprised at its hair-raising conclusion.
Tess not only has to face her mortality when she faces snakes, but she also has a major health crisis that could end her life. Her naturally inquisitive nature helps her in researching her disease and her friends give her the wonderful support she needs in facing up to this health crisis. Morgan Hunt’s familiarity with breast cancer shows in the sensitivity, fear, strength and dignity that she gives to Tess throughout her ordeal.
The author, Morgan Hunt, has a wonderful sense of humor which comes through again and again through her quirky characters. I also had the feeling that the author and Tess share many similar qualities -- “Criminitlies!” is an expression that Tess uses throughout the book that seems to have no meaning. This is a great book. I highly recommend "Sticky Fingers" to all open-minded mystery readers. I would also recommend it as a great read to anyone recovering from cancer surgery. I definitely would not recommend it to anyone with a snake phobia!
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(3 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (5/07)
?Sentinel of the Seas? reads like a novel. Dennis Powers has written another classic masterpiece which chronicles man battling the sea. As in his earlier works ?Treasure Ship? and ?The Raging Sea,? Powers has thoroughly researched his work. He spent five years in preparation, searching archives, original journals, dairies, ship logs, Lighthouse Board Reports, and doing personal interviews of survivors, and their families. The lighthouse was built on St. George Reef which is one of the most hazardous reefs off the West Coast.
Powers recounts the history, engineering and construction of the lighthouse. He also explains the various lighting and sound warning devices used over the history of the lighthouse. Powers masterfully weaves into the record heroic stories of the men and women who designed, built, and maintained the St. George Reef Lighthouse from it?s completion in 1892 until it?s abandonment in 1975, and renewal in 2002.
?Sentinel of the Seas? heralds the career of Alexander Ballantyne, who supervised the project, as well as the careers of George Roux, and Fred Permenter the lighthouse keepers. Powers details the work of the ?wickies,? lighthouse life, the history and the development of other U. S. lighthouses. He shows a deep appreciation for the courage the lighthouse keepers demonstrated in the midst of crashing waves, tumultuous storms, and hurricane force winds which they faced on a recurring basis.
Turnover among the personal was significant. Powers explained it this way: ?This station was one of the least sought-after assignments in the service. Potential wickies had already heard what duty would be like on Dragon Rocks. It had earned its reputation.? I personally enjoyed the insight into the contrast between routine work and boredom of the assignment with hazardous way of life of the lighthouse keepers. Powers uses descriptive phrases that made me feel ?the enveloping curtains of cold mists? or hear the ?barks of the seals, cries of the seagulls, and the crashing surf.?
This is great adventure reading, brilliantly written. I highly recommend ?Sentinel of the Seas? to everyone who loves epic adventure stories of the adventure of the sea, shipwreck, and nautical history.
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(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
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Sticky Fingers (A Tess Camillo Mystery) by Morgan Hunt
Reader Views, August 24, 2007
Reviewed by Cherie Fisher of Reader Views (6/07)I had a sleepless night thanks to “Sticky Fingers.” First, the book was so good that I could not put it down until I found out what happened, and once I finished, I could not get the images of snakes out of my mind! Morgan Hunt’s wonderful writing style will engage you from the first page and keep you turning pages until the very end.
The main character, Tess Camillo, is just that, a real character. She is not a detective but a middle aged woman, employed in an okay job in San Diego. She shares a house with her ex-lover, Lana, and is currently not in a relationship. The current love of her life is her Welsh terrier, Raj.
The mystery begins when Tess finds a rattler in her bedroom. The police chalk it up to coincidence, but the story takes an ominous turn when someone else in the gay community is brutally murdered by a poisonous snake. As Tess becomes friendly with the murdered woman’s partner, Darlene, the danger increases and she becomes a target herself. Instead of scaring her off the case, she turns into an amateur detective who will not rest until she solves the mystery. I am usually good at figuring out “who done it” in mystery novels, but this story had so many twists and turns that I was surprised at its hair-raising conclusion.
Tess not only has to face her mortality when she faces snakes, but she also has a major health crisis that could end her life. Her naturally inquisitive nature helps her in researching her disease and her friends give her the wonderful support she needs in facing up to this health crisis. Morgan Hunt’s familiarity with breast cancer shows in the sensitivity, fear, strength and dignity that she gives to Tess throughout her ordeal.
The author, Morgan Hunt, has a wonderful sense of humor which comes through again and again through her quirky characters. I also had the feeling that the author and Tess share many similar qualities -- “Criminitlies!” is an expression that Tess uses throughout the book that seems to have no meaning. This is a great book. I highly recommend "Sticky Fingers" to all open-minded mystery readers. I would also recommend it as a great read to anyone recovering from cancer surgery. I definitely would not recommend it to anyone with a snake phobia!
(3 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Sentinel of the Seas: Life and Death at the Most Dangerous Lighthouse Ever Built by Dennis Powers
Reader Views, August 3, 2007
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (5/07)?Sentinel of the Seas? reads like a novel. Dennis Powers has written another classic masterpiece which chronicles man battling the sea. As in his earlier works ?Treasure Ship? and ?The Raging Sea,? Powers has thoroughly researched his work. He spent five years in preparation, searching archives, original journals, dairies, ship logs, Lighthouse Board Reports, and doing personal interviews of survivors, and their families. The lighthouse was built on St. George Reef which is one of the most hazardous reefs off the West Coast.
Powers recounts the history, engineering and construction of the lighthouse. He also explains the various lighting and sound warning devices used over the history of the lighthouse. Powers masterfully weaves into the record heroic stories of the men and women who designed, built, and maintained the St. George Reef Lighthouse from it?s completion in 1892 until it?s abandonment in 1975, and renewal in 2002.
?Sentinel of the Seas? heralds the career of Alexander Ballantyne, who supervised the project, as well as the careers of George Roux, and Fred Permenter the lighthouse keepers. Powers details the work of the ?wickies,? lighthouse life, the history and the development of other U. S. lighthouses. He shows a deep appreciation for the courage the lighthouse keepers demonstrated in the midst of crashing waves, tumultuous storms, and hurricane force winds which they faced on a recurring basis.
Turnover among the personal was significant. Powers explained it this way: ?This station was one of the least sought-after assignments in the service. Potential wickies had already heard what duty would be like on Dragon Rocks. It had earned its reputation.? I personally enjoyed the insight into the contrast between routine work and boredom of the assignment with hazardous way of life of the lighthouse keepers. Powers uses descriptive phrases that made me feel ?the enveloping curtains of cold mists? or hear the ?barks of the seals, cries of the seagulls, and the crashing surf.?
This is great adventure reading, brilliantly written. I highly recommend ?Sentinel of the Seas? to everyone who loves epic adventure stories of the adventure of the sea, shipwreck, and nautical history.
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)