Too Many Clients (Wild Onion Ltd. Mysteries)

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Applaud the Hollow Ghost

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In the third mystery of the series, Chicago P.I. Mal Foley investigates a nasty case of revenge and cover-up, when he tries to clear the name of a childhood classmate accused of assaulting a teenage girl. Mal knows the case is going to get messy, but just "how" messy he would never have guessed .

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Customer Reviews

A talented author creates an entertaining tale
In the Chicago area, Lambert Fleming is arrested for allegedly molesting a little girl. Private Investigator Mal Foley remembers Lambert as the classmate who was thoroughly humiliated by his so-called friends, including Mal. Feeling guilty over that two decade old incident, Mal decides to prove Lambert is innocent.

Mal figures this will be a simple investigation that should not take up much of his time. Instead, to his shock, Mal finds the case to be extremely difficult and even somewhat dangerous as the alleged victim turns out to be related to extremely powerful mob families. Even when the girl's father tries to abort Mal's investigation, he continues to investigate what really happened to the little girl.

In his third appearance, hard boiled Mal Foley continues to be a very interesting sleuth whose acerbic and witty tongue constantly gets him in trouble. The Chicago area also comes to life (albeit through Mal's myopic eyes). This, in turn, leaves readers believing they are visiting the Windy City. Though the story line of APPLAUD THE HOLLOW GHOST includes some stretches, the novel remains a very entertaining mystery.

Harriet Klausner

1998-02-01 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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The End of Emerald Woods (Wild Onion Ltd. Mysteries)

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Chicago investigator and lawyer, wife and husband team Kirsten and Dugan are working together again to investigate what looks like a penny-ante problem: the theft of $2112.50, donations to the Committee to Rescue Emerald Woods, from the grassroots organization's treasurer. It seems like an open-and-shut case. But when it becomes clear that one group who might take offense by CREW's activities is a powerful Chicago land developer, and that the supposedly small-time theft of the money has been accompanied by some very serious threats, the case gets complicated-and deadly-in a hurry.

Edgar Award nominee David J. Walker's Wild Onion series-which includes A Ticket to Die For and A Beer at a Bawdy House-features two of the most appealing and creative series characters in mystery fiction today, and this cleverly drawn new installment is sure to be a success with longtime fans as well as those new to Walker's fine work.

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Customer Reviews

The characters make the story
Chicago's Wild Onion, Ltd. is an investigative and security firm consisting of a lawyer and a private detective. Duggan and Kirsten are also happily married to one another except when she feels the restraints of their matrimonial binds. Those feelings often lead her to do flaky things.

Kirsten accepts the case of twenty-four-year-old Eudora Ragsdale, mother of twins, accused of absconding with $2000 raised to save Emerald Woods from developers. The case seems almost trivial until someone tries to kill Kirsten and her spouse. Another individual follows Kirsten until he is found murdered. It appears as if an unknown assailant will kill to insure plans for Emerald Woods are carried out, leaving the Wild Onion team to uncover the identity of the murderer before they are added to the count.

Well-written environmental mysteries are somewhat rare, but THE END OF EMERALD WOODS is an excellent example of what the sub-genre offers. Edgar nominee David J. Walker creates a fine mystery in his latest Wild Onions installment. However, as usual it is the intriguing married couple conducting business that turns this novel into a winner.

Harriet Klausner

2000-11-28 | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

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Diary of John Quincy Adams, Volumes 1 and 2: November 1779 - December 1788 (Adams Papers)

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Customer Reviews

JQA Diaries
John Quincy Adams gave us a gift- the diary he left us. Beginning as a teenager and lasting until his death, what we see here is the spirit of this man who opposed slavery, advocated equal rights in the face of fierce opposition and argued the first civil rights case before the Supreme Court. Here are the words of the man who did so much for us. Read them.

2000-07-03 | Helpful Votes: 10 | Rating: 5

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A very touching story
The story of John Quincy Adams is hard-to-believe. Congress truly ridiculed this man. I won't tell anymore you have to read it to believe it.

1999-01-03 | Helpful Votes: 6 | Rating: 4

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Doctor Who the Handbook: The Fourth Doctor (Doctor Who (BBC Paperback))

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Customer Reviews

4th doctor handbook
This book is great for info on the stories and behind the scenes details about the 4th doctor (Tom Baker) and his companions.

2008-11-02 (Providence, RI USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Facts and Fictions Focused on the Fourth Doctor
"Doctor Who: the Handbook"--a somewhat plain and generic title, but this handy little tome is after all just what it says it is: a trade-paperback sized reference for the dedicated Doctor Who fan. One of a seven-volume set each of which focuses on a particular Doctor of what has now come to be called the classic series, this one of course covers the Tom Baker years, a particularly definitive era for the long-running sci-fi program.

For its unassuming size, the book packs a lot of interesting information and this from a number of angles. Excerpts from interviews with Tom Baker on everything from his early life and acting career to his many thoughts on different aspects of his tenure as the Doctor start things off; this alone is worth the price of the book, as these many comments are taken from vastly scattered sources, including newspapers, magazines, and fanzines now all but inaccessible to all but the most obsessively diligent scrapbook keeper. Then a brief overall account of this period in the show's history puts everything in context, followed by a summary of each storyline with associated facts, observations, and comments (the latter of which are a bit critical sometimes but seem fair and balanced overall, as these things go anyway). After this comes a number of sections zeroing in on particular facets of the show: the succession of producers and their differing approaches to the program, the nuts-and-bolts making of the show using "The Brain of Morbius" as an example, the development of special effects, the ups and downs of location filming, and the show's impact on popular culture more generally (including its rising profile in the realm of barely reputable British tabloids--no publicity is bad publicity?).

As the book was published in the early 1990's before the advent of the internet and DVDs, some aspects of it are just a bit retroactively obsolete. The story summaries and related data can mostly be found online nowadays and the remarks by the director and set designer on the filming of "Morbius" read like the old-fashioned equivalent of a DVD commentary track. Still, if you ever desperately need to look up the author of "Meglos" during a power outage, this book's got you covered. With that in mind, though, the majority of the book is full of fascinating information, amusing anecdotes, enlightening reminiscences, and nuanced overviews of the show's history and development that all stand the test of time nicely. The authors also demonstrate throughout a balanced view of the constraints under which the "Doctor Who" creative team worked and a fair and realistic sense of the varying audiences to which they needed to appeal--diehard fans, casual viewers, and everything in-between. In general they strike a tone that's appreciative and positive without being gushingly overenthusiastic. This is the kind of reference book that one can just sit back and enjoy reading at one's leisure, a nifty behind-the-scenes look for anyone who loves the show and wants to know more about it.

2007-10-30 (Chicago, IL USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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A facinating look at the most popular Doctor
Tom Baker, for being the most popular actor ever to portray Dr. Who, has also stayed out of the sportlight. This book combines episode guides with collected interviews to form a facinating look at Baker's era as the Doctor. Really THE essential book on Tom's era as the Doctor

1997-07-21 | Helpful Votes: 7 | Rating: 5

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All the Dead Fathers (Kirsten and Dugan)

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Customer Reviews

Proof that Walker's Time has Come
Occasionally there's an author that makes you say, "Hey, this guy's good. Why haven't more people been reading his work?" They have a style that is readable and engaging without being overly pushy with their story. One such unassuming writer is David J. Walker. This isn't to say that Walker's not been noticed. His first Mal Foley novel, Fixed in His Folly, was nominated for the coveted Edgar award. Even so, it seems not enough people are talking about this talented ex-priest, ex-investigator, ex-lawyer (if you can ex- out of any of those careers to be a writer). Even I haven't given any time to him here. Well, now that's about to end.

Kirsten is an ex-cop turned private eye who loves her lawyer husband. She is the owner/operator of the Wild Onion, Ltd. private investigation firm of Chicago. Her latest case is one brought to her by her uncle, the priest. Fathers who have been listed in the paper as being accused (if not convicted) of child molestation are being brutally murdered one by one. Michael, the uncle, is on the list and that brings a lot of back-story baggage to the novel. Walker makes it work.

Kirsten hires on to provide "protection" for those left on the list (especially those who are appealing their cases to Rome and living for the duration at the Villa St. George monastery). Interspersed with chapters that focus on the killer who has a history of their own that includes priests and Kirsten, Walker weaves a story that hooks you and makes you want to read--on into the night.

All the Dead Fathers is not your run-of-the-mill, weepy-eyed, politically correct whodunit. Nor is it your normal offering of the hardboiled variety. Here you will find all the grit and gnarled justice of a hardboiled detective story mixed with the emotion of a high-powered mystery novel. No major twists and turns, just good reading. Those who are offended by hard language will be offended, but the language is not a distraction to the story itself. It's time to give David J. Walker his due, and I give All the Dead Fathers five full sets of reading glasses.

--Benjamin Potter, December 7, 2007

2007-12-07 | Loom & Wheel (Mulberry Grove, IL USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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strong cat and mouse murder mystery
When she was younger Kirsten's uncle Father Michael Dugan helped her through personal problems. Now he has troubles having his name appear on a list of priests who allegedly abused their positions of authority; someone plans to execute those on the list. Kirsten, owner of the Chicago-based private detective firm Wild Onion, Ltd, plans to stop the killer from harming her uncle accused of sex with a seventeen year old minor female.

Her friend lawyer Dugan does not hold Father Michael in the same regard as Kirsten. When she agrees to help her uncle and the other condemned priests, all locked away though the evidence has not yet proven the charges in all cases, Dugan knows he will do likewise. Kirsten develops a short list of probable threats, but when the menace targets Kirsten, she feels she knows the identity of the priesthood killer. Now she must stop him and prove she is right although the FBI wants her off the case and her husband remains oblivious that she is in the eye of the storm.

Readers will enjoy this strong cat and mouse murder mystery because of the antics of Kirsten who though her uncle has crumbled from his exalted spot, will still be there for him because he was there for her when she needed someone, which bewilders Dugan. Although the tertiary characters like the Feds and to a degree the culprit are stereotypes, the lead pair, her spouse, Father Michael, and several other accused priests make a wonderful cast. Fans will enjoy this modern day priestly version of the List of Adrian Messenger.

Harriet Klausner

2005-03-30 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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