When the Devil Whistles by Rick Acker

Amazon.com link for When the Devil Whistles 
When the Devil Whistles by Rick Acker has a strong message to tell. The plot revolves around what it means to be a person of good character, living what you believe and making things right when you have done wrong.

Conner Norman is an honest, ethical lawyer. He believes that you should always do right, and if you break the law – you pay the price. His friend Allie works through a temp agency to infiltrate companies suspected of defrauding the government. Together they try to bring the crooks to justice. Allie has problems her own, and Conner learns that she may not be the person of character he thought.

I enjoyed reading this legal drama and the unique story of the very lucrative business of a whistle-blower. The importance of honesty, ethical behavior and restoration is evident throughout this exciting story. They fight for justice and at times, their lives.

Thank you to Netgalley.com for the e-copy of When the Devil Whistles.

The New Knitter’s Template by Laura Militzer Bryant and Barry Klein

Amazon.com link for The New Knitter's Template


First of all, I loved that the book is hard bound with the pages spiral bound inside so that the book will lay flat. This is not your ordinary pattern book. The book starts with 7 simple steps to create that perfect custom garment. All patterns are knitted bottom up with the ability to use different neckline and body styles. There is information on sizing, measurements, and it has a yarn yardage chart.
 
There are several worksheets to make copies and fill out. There is a Body Measurement chart and a blank pattern worksheet to record all of the information for each project.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the finished measurement chart without success. This is the chart that enables the knitter to determine the correct size. This book is not going to be for every knitter. I found it limiting and very confusing, but there are some very good tips in the book. There are also several lovely stitch designs with photographs of the design knitted up into swatches.

Although I found this book confusing, I would recommend checking out the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon.com to see if this is a style of pattern you would be able to follow.

The Confirmation by Ralph Reed

Amazon.com link for The Confirmation
The Confirmation is about a newly elected U.S. president and his attempt to appoint a conservative to replace a recently deceased liberal in the Supreme Court. It is a realistic and often depressing tale of the vicious attacks and nasty political maneuvers that take place all over this country.

I follow the news and political scene faithflully and I love thrillers, so I thought this book would be perfect for me.  Unfortunately, althought I thought this was an interesting book, I didn’t love it. There were too many characters to keep track of, and most of them did not add to the story. There were promised storylines that went nowhere, and no one really comes out looking good in this book.

  Reading this book is like finding out how sausage is made.

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's determined to Kill Me by Jenny Gardiner

Amazon.com link for Winging It 
Winging It is an entertaining story of the author's family and their experience with an ornery parrot. Anyone who thinks they want to buy a parrot should read this book FIRST. Although I never had a large bird (as many as 21 zebra finches), I understood her description of the mess that birds make and the methods that bird owners will devise to keep the mess easier to clean.


The author is very honest about her difficulties with caring for this demanding bird while at the same time dealing with difficulties within her family. She also discusses adopting birds from a rescue group.

Winging It is written in a very lighthearted way, but there are many touching moments of crisis within the family. I enjoyed her story very much.

Hell and Gone by Henry Brown

Amazon.com link for Hell and Gone for Kindle or PC
Amazon.com for Paperback

Hell and Gone by Henry Brown is a top-notch military thriller. The author takes great care to create characters that are believable and unique. Normally I can get lost in a book with many characters, but the characters in Hell and Gone were introduced in such a way that it was easy to follow.

This is a realistic story about a teenager recruited by a terrorist training camp for an attack, and a group of elite ex-military men sent to prevent the use of a nuclear suitcase bomb strike upon Israel.  Great writing creates scenes so well crafted that I felt like I was in a strange land in the middle of the action.
One of the parts of the story I found most interesing was the the author's descriptions of the physical effects on the men following a firefight.   I think this author's work can compare with any of the more famous thriller authors today.

Stop by the Henry Brown's website for Hell and Gone to read an excerpt and learn more about the author. I am very pleased to recommend this book to anyone that enjoys thrillers.

BlogFest 2010 Giveaways

Congratulations to our BlogFest Giveaway Winners

All have been notified and need to respond within 48 hours or other winners will be drawn.

Winners:

Readers Basket-Lisa; Faith Books-Elise; Craft Books-Esma; Knitters Books-Melissa; and Mystery Books-mrsshukr

Welcome to Bookvisions

for BlogFest 2010

There are 5 giveaways!

Enter as many giveaways as you like
using the entry form below 

The next blog and a link for the list of all blogs participating in BlogFest is located after the entry form.  Please check out some of my reviews while you are here!

1. A Reader's Basket with all sorts of goodies

Books in the giveaways are linked to my reviews.

2.Faith Fiction Books Giveaway

Fear No Evil -Robin Caroll

Deceit - Brandilyn Collins

Petra- T.L. Higley

3. Craft Books Giveaway

Felting for Kids by Gry Hojgaard Jacobsen & Sif Hojgaard Hoverby

Decorating with Papercraft by Clare Youngs

4. Knitter's Giveaway

Top Notch Knits 

First Knits by Louise Roberts & Kate Haxell

5. Mystery Giveaway

In Harm's Way - Ridley Pearson

Live to Tell - Lisa Gardner

You must be a Google follower

Entries will be accepted from Sept 9-12 (midnight)2010

United States Only - No P.O. Box numbers  - Winners will be chosen by Randomizer and notified Sept 13, 2010. The winners will have 48 hours to reply with their name and mailing address. 

The next blog on the BlogFest 2010 is here:
Grace With Books
A list of all participants is here:
A Journey of Books - Track your progress through the BlogFest sites here. Anyone using this tracking site will be entered in our massive giveaway.

BLOGFEST 2010 is Coming Soon!

Save the Dates!  Blogfest 2010 is coming September 10-12, 2010. Save plenty of time to blog hop and win prizes.  A couple hundred blogs are participating, and we each have givaways planned. 

I will be having 5 giveaways, including a readers basket, a faith book pack, a mystery book pack, a craft book pack and a knitting book pack.   You will be able to sign up for one or all of them on the same form.  I will probably post my signup form a a day or two early to make sure everyone gets a chance.

The Cruise Ship Crime, A Medical Murder Mystery by Paul Davis,M.D.

Amazon.com link for The Cruise Ship Crime
 
Cruise Ship Crime, A Medical Murder Mystery is not your ordinary mystery. The story is sometimes funny, sometimes touching, but the story of Dr. Alan Mayhew is always interesting. Dr. Mayhew is a recently widowed retired cruise ship doctor. His children decide to give him a gift - a cruise - only this time as a passenger.

The mystery revolves around the death of a ship employee, Michael. Michael's friends and lovers, and a mysterious roll of film often bring up more questions than answers. The doctor and friends try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Most of the story however is the eye-opening romantic frolicking that goes on behind the scenes of a cruise ship.

The author, Dr. Paul Davis, is writing from experience as he was a ship doctor for 10 years. Reading the book was like sitting at a table with the ship's doctor and doing some "people watching". Young and old, male and female, romance is in the air on this cruise ship. My favorite story is one I had actually heard before - only in joke form. That's OK because it still fooled me until the end and I still laughed just as much.

The website for Cruise Ship Crime