Product Description
An all-new collection of humor, plus a 36-minute tape from the 1996 Joke Show. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Laugh Your Sanctified Brethren Butt Off!
Where do I start?

(A pretty good impersonator of) Mr. Rogers tells little kittens everywhere that "when you get that special feeling inside, that means it's time to visit Mr. Litter Box" in the "Mr. Rogers Catbox Video".

Guy Noir, the sardonic private eye, makes yet another appearance (minus the wise-cracking, tongue-twisting Pete), being handpicked by an ex-con-turned-poet to publish some poetic parodies in the Paris Review, including a hilarious take-off on Robert Frost's "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening".

"Cold Weather" tends to cheer you up on those super-cold December evenings when the apartment has no heat (hopefully that's just me).Cold weather, according to Mr. Keillor can come in many forms including, but not limited to, your teenage son kicking you out of your own house because he's afraid of his friends coming over and finding the dad in the house.

"You come to New York looking for one thing, and you find another.And Bob Dylan and Carol Channing found each other," in this spoof of the young sixties generation livin' for today in New York City, hanging out with Truman Capote, Larry King, Kirk Douglas, Paul Harvey, and Mr. Rogers ("Found the mushrooms that were so amazing...right here in the neighborhood.").

"Little House On the Desert" is a guarantee side-splitter for any "Little House" enthusiasts out there, when Ma fakes tuberculosis in order to convince Pa to load up the wagon and get the heck out of Minnesota.

For Mother's Day, be sure to take your mom to "Mel's Big Boy Cafe" at the mall.Chewing is optional.

"Newt" is a toe-tappin' little tune about the former Speaker, which is sure to draw laughs from conservatives and liberals alike.Likewise, the Bemidji Boroughway [sic?] song provides a strong warning to ice-fisherman everywhere about the dangers of mistaking cigars, brautwurst, and dynamite.

I could go on and on and on about how great a collection of laughs this is, but I'll end my rambling with "Getting Older", my personal favorite from the three compact discs.This monologue warns us about the dangers of getting older: your grown children getting you as a present one of those stupid books about "the joys of aging"; similar to "Cold Weather", the teenage son lectures his dad on not dropping him off at the front door of school anymore; the vegetarian waitress goes ballistic when her patron orders "the 47-ounce beef-butt in the hot lard sauce" with french fries and butterbrickle ice cream.

In short (a little late for that), this collection has something for everyone.

very impressive
i found this audio book funny and very impressive because he really tried to make the listener feel he was in each situation. ... Read more

Product Description

Allison Leahy is the US Attorney General, the mot renowned lawyer in America. She and her wealthy husband are the twenty-first-century version of the couple who has it all: a happy marriage and two successful careers. To top it off, Allison is the highly touted Democratic nominee for the presidency.

Her opponent is Lincoln Howe, a retired four-star general and bona fide African-American hero. Like Allison, howe is living the American dream, and for months the candidates hav run neck and neck. Both sides need jut one extra push to swing the election - and on Halloween morning, they get it: A twelve year old girl is kidnapped on her way to school. The girl is Kristen Howe, Lincoln Howe's granddaughter. The nation and the candidate explode in outrage. As Attorney General, Allison launches a massive nationwide manhunt. But her motives are under fire, as each side claims the other is exploiting the tragedy and manipulating the investigation for political advantage.

In truth, Allison's drive to bring Kristin home safe is far more personal than political. Years before Allison's adopted baby daughter was stolen from her home never to be found. Now it seeks likely that her own child's fate is somehow tied to the current crisis. Allison now must step off the political ladder if she is to help save the life of an innocent young girl and unravel the secrets of her own painful past.

Customer Reviews (30)

A Terrific Political Eye-Opener
Forty-eight-year-old, second-term U.S. Attorney General Allison Leahy is the Democratic candidate for the presidency. She's opposed by Lincoln Howe, an African-American retired Army general and hero of several wars, including Vietnam and Desert Storm.

Eight years prior to her run for the presidency, Leahy's adopted four-month-old daughter was kidnapped and never found. Now, in the heat of the campaign's closing weeks, Lincoln Howe's granddaughter is kidnapped, and Leahy is forced to direct the FBI's hunt for the girl.

As the voter's sympathy moves to Howe, Leahy's commanding lead shrinks and in just a few days she's several points behind. Then, as the FBI operation moves forward to recover Howe's granddaughter, it begins to look like someone has orchestrated the abduction to benefit one of the campaigns. But which one?

I was up all night reading this book and I'll have to say that if somehow you've managed to survive the last couple of presidential elections without learning about the dirty tricks, lies, deceit and dishonesty that permeates the route to America's top job, well you'll get a full dose in this book. "The Abduction" is not only a terrific thriller, but a terrific eye-opener as well.

Very good storytelling
Allison Leahy is the Democrat's nominee for president - and the current U.S. Attorney General. She's in a tight race with the Republican nominee, African American Lincoln Howe, a retired four-star general and a war hero.

Things heat up when Kristen Howe, the General's 12-year-old granddaughter is kidnapped. As the U.S. chief law enforcement officer, Leahy has ultimate responsibility for the nationwide manhunt to rescue the granddaughter. And the kidnapping opens old wounds of her own daughter being abducted from her home nearly ten years before.

A situation that should be focused on finding a frightened little girl suddenly becomes the focus of the campaign as Allison's motives are questioned by her opponent and dark secrets begin to emerge on both sides. Leads are followed up and discarded as the Mob gets involved.

Grippando does a wonderful job of painting pictures of both Leahy and Howe as flawed human beings struggling with past mistakes, even as they try to appear perfect in seeking the nation's highest office. You will feel compassion for both-as well as some anger, as political motivation outweighs the safety of a child and the healing of a family.

This is a great read anytime, but especially with this year's political landscape.

Can't stop reading it!!
I began with his first two books, however The Abduction has caused me to think about the book all day, especially when I can't read it. Its a page turner, and I may say it doesn't contain any graphic descriptions the first two contained.Excellent writer, I will read on....

Okay story, but not the best.
I listened to this book on tape and although the story was fairly entertaining, Mr. Grippando used the word "grimaced," so many times I was truly distracted.However, the reader pronounced the word, grim aced with a long "a," rather than grim uhsed.The word was used probably 40 times in the book and became such a distraction that I cringed every time I heard it.As well the major theme of the book was never answered in the end.Frustrating!

A Fast-Paced, Gripping Read!
The Abduction involves the kidnapping of the granddaughter of one of the two candidates for President and its investigation by the Attorney General, who is also the other candidate. The plot grabs hold of your attention and doesn't let go until the very end. The characters are interesting and pretty well-developed, although some aspects in their development requires you to suspend belief a bit. While The Abduction is not great literature, it is a very good choice for when you have a plane ride or a vacation coming up, or whem you just want to escape in a good book. Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
It takes just a moment for a family's life to be changed forever. For a twelve-year-old boy to dash across the street for a pack of peppermints. For his seven-year-old sister to follow him into traffic. For a bus to swerve out of control. And with that terrible moment, a family's search begins for the unlikely miracle that will put together their shattered lives -- and bring their daughter back to life...

In a small hospital room little Frankie Heywood lies in a coma so deep, no one -- not even those who love her the most -- can reach her. It is a parent's worst nightmare. For months the Heywoods have kept an uneasy vigil at their daughter's bedside, waiting in vain for the least sign of hope. Now the experts are telling them that prolonging Frankie's existence may be damaging to their son Ben, who is slipping deeper and deeper into a dangerous emotional isolation. Their marriage already strained to the breaking point, the Heywoods are desperate. Against the expert judgment of all around them, they grasp at their last chance: the brilliant neurologist Elizabeth Chase.

Lizzie Chase knows what it's like to lose a loved one to the darkness. She has dedicated her life to coaxing children back from the brink of oblivion. Her revolutionary work offers the only hope to families like the Heywoods. It has also drawn the unwanted attention of those who, through ignorance, greed, or fear, would do anything to stop her. But Lizzie and the Heywoods refuse to be stopped. They are certain that somewhere, just beyond their reach, Frankie is waiting for the lifeline that will lead her back to them.

The Lazarus Child is that rare story that touches you in a way you didn't know you could be touched. It is an unforgettable testament to the power of love, hope, faith -- and the inexplicable magic of family. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Absolutely riveting!
From the very first chapter, the story pulled me right in! The characters really came to life as well and Mawson revealed their histories, flaws and traits in an interesting style that kept me turning the pages well into the night. And while the ending felt a bit rushed and chaotic, with a few too many outside forces pressuring down on them from every side imaginable, it did end well - with a very cinematic flair. I am curious to read his first book now!

great read
I just logged on to see if I could find more by this author.I really enjoyed the book.I thought the descriptive passages showed much talent and imagination. It was a great read.I couldn't put it down.I was surprised to see that it didn't have a five star review.

intriguing
This story was a thrilling medical drama, filled with intriguing details of ethical issues and the limitless power of the human mind. Very different than my usual reading material, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I loved it
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen.

A Touching Family Novel
I read The Lazarus Child by Robert Mawson. It is a fiction novel about the strength and love of a family. I had mixed feelings about the book, but I enjoyed it for the most part.
I liked the overall story and the plot. I enjoyed the ending. I would say more about why, but that would give it away. All of the characters were well developed and I think the author wrote them all well.
There were only two things that I didn't like about this book. One of them was that the author goes overboard with the descriptions. He went into such detail in some places that I skipped ahead to the next paragraph. The other thing that I didn't like about the book was that it jumped around.Within a chapter the plot would move from Frankie's hospital room to Dr. Elizabeth Chase's childhood, and then to Jack's office. It was hard for me to keep up with the plot and what had happened in the previous chapter. It was especially hard if I put the book down for more than a day. It would have been a lot easier to keep up if I had the time and the patience to sit down and read the book in one sitting.
Despite the two low points of the book I would have to say that the overall story and the concept of the book outweighed the low points. I would also have to say that I would recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a good book to read, but to be prepared and have your thinking cap on. ... Read more

Product Description

Alexandra Cooper has seen many murder victims, but few more disturbing than the silk-clad body of a woman pulled from the waters at Manhattan's northern tip. Alex races against the clock and hopes for a "cold hit" -- a DNA match that would reveal the identity of the murderer by linking the crime to someone already in the police database. But as the case pulls her into the exclusive world of East side auction houses, Alex discovers she may be marked as an expendable commodity in a chilling and deadly scheme...Amazon.com Review
When Linda Fairstein describes the route Alexandra Coopertakes from the district attorney's office to NYPD headquarters, youknow she's walked that way many times herself. "I took the shortcutover to One Police Plaza, cutting behind the Metropolitan CorrectionalCenter and alongside the staggeringly expensive new federalcourthouse, which made our digs, complete with oversized rodents androaches that obviously thrived on Combat, look like judicialfacilities in some third world country."

Like her fictionalcounterpart, Fairstein is a Manhattan assistant district attorney incharge of a sex-crimes unit. As she did in Final Jeopardy andLikely to Die,Fairstein mires her somewhat unlikely heroine (a beautiful 35-year-oldblond with an Ivy League education, a house in Martha's Vineyard, andan affection for betting on quiz shows at cop bars) in a wealth ofprocedural detail. The "cold hit" of the title, for example, refers toa computer match between DNA samples from a recent rape case withevidence from an older crime.

With her trusty cop sidekicks MikeChapman (who eats everything in sight and drops wisecracks likethey're crumbs) and Mercer Wallace (who is a big fellow and can take abullet meant for Alex without flinching), Cooper is working on twomajor cases--a serial rapist who has suddenly decided to come out ofhiding and a couple of murders linked to the nasty underground worldof fine-art sales. But she also has time to give her fellow sex-crimeprosecutors advice on how to handle everything from a man shootingvideo up women's skirts at a Star Trek convention to a guy whotakes his love for racehorses well past the legal limits. Once again,Fairstein has produced a story whose entertainment value is veryhigh. --Dick Adler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Cold Hit
This was a good read. I love this book. She is a great author. The Alexandra Cooper series is my favorit from Ms. Fairstein. This is great.

Too complex to be entertaining.
Too many characters. It soon becomes more of a chore than a pleasure. Left it half way.

Not Bad
This is the first book by Ms. Fairstein that I've read.It was enjoyable.I especially enjoyed the art history in the books.I'm not into art that much so it was fascinating to me.It was something different for me.I did however like the mystery itself.Author had some good plot twists in there.I liked the characters interplay with each other and how you could see their bonds.I think I made the mistake of reading the third book first however.They speak of other cases which I'm assuming are in the first books.I plan on picking those up soon.It's not early Cornwell or Sandford but I would still highly recommend this book to others looking for a murder mystery.

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton would be ever so proud!
If you enjoyed Paul Clifford, you'll love this.Here's the first sentence for you: "Itwas a dark and stormy night;the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals,when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets(for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops,and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggledagainst the darkness." Linda Fairstein has taken the master's style and run with it.
Not in my recent reading have I seen a book so in need of slash and burn editing.It is said that smarter people write longer sentences, but this book bludgeons you with excess words on every page.

Not an Enjoyable Read
Linda Fairstein's 3rd novel in the Alexandra Cooper mystery series, "Cold Hit," follows Alex and her team as they track the killer of a victim who washed ashore in Northern Manhatten, strapped to a ladder. Her connections to the flashy art world add plenty of glitz and suspects for Alex, Mike Chapman, and Mercer Wallace to investigate before the killer strikes again.

I used to read alot of Patricia Cornwell and I had to stop because I realized I was reading the same novel over and over again. Now, you can say that of pretty much any mystery author, I realize. Most of them do a really good job of masking it though. I am hoping that Fairstein is able to do the same. Cornwell's character Kay Scarpetta is not likeable and always is attacked by the vicious killer. Fairstein's Cooper is likeable, but the reader sorta has to work at it and she is always attacked by the vicious killer. Authors need to realize that readers catch on to these sort of canned plots. We're not stupid, dearest authors, really we're not.

I did find the plot of "Cold Hit" to be a bit tedious. Fairstein can be overly wordy sometimes. 50 pages could easily be shaved off of each of her books and they wouldn't be any different. ... Read more

Product Description

Delaney Westcott is a beautiful career woman in a man's world. Owner and chief asset of a personal security business -- where she guards the rich and famous from the unwanted attention of friends and enemies -- she can take care of herself. Except for the one time she didn't: when she fell headlong for handsome cowboy Jared McCallister, a man she couldn't have.

After it ended suddenly, Delaney threw herself into her work with a fury and intensity calculated to erase every other thought from her mind. And she promised that she'd never let any man touch her so deeply again. Ever.

But when Delaney finds herself in Jared's hometown of Aspen, Colorado, on a dangerous job, she begins to wonder if she is strong enough to refuse him a second time...

Customer Reviews (7)

I was enjoying it for a short time
Hard to understand why every guy was interested in her.

Not a lot of character development. I was enjoying the storyline until the middle of the book totally bogged down. Not sure where the author was going. By the end of the book I couldn't have cared less what happened to anybody.

Not Bad....
Overall, the story was good but what was missing was more character development and relationship background between Delaney and the one she ends up with. The story's end was too abrupt and and epilogue would have been nice.

Another great Janet Dailey Book!
I never saw it coming - this is a great mystery and romance, and I figured out the romance but the murder mystery? Never would have dreamed it!Love Janet Dailey's work and you'll love this book.Lovely romantic ending!

Janet Dailey rediscovered after so many problems
Since my youth, I know the existence of Janet Dailey, but I never wanted to try her books. And some years ago, when I heard about the plagiarism she made on Nora Roberts books (and Nora's one of my favorites), I wasdisgusted.

But the worlds keep moving, and then,ILLUSIONS came to my hands and I started to read it. And believe me, Iloved this book. I couldn't believe that it was plagiarism, and later Iknew it wasn't. Janet has a very nice sense of humor, she made up adorablecharacters on this book and a very nice plot that kept me reading duringthe whole night. It's the kind of book that sometimes it's not sointeresting but that is never boring. I loved this book and I'd highlyrecommend itfor fans of this genre. Janet is a very good writer.

Interesting
This book started out with a cast of interesting characters, however, early on you could figure out who Delaney would end up with.Jared, Lucas, and Riley all interested in Delaney, lots of side characters that werequirky (her dad, Toby, Susan, Delaney's staff, Rina, the lawyer).It was afun summer read, went quickly, and had a plot instead of girl meets guy whoshe doesn't like but who likes her, etc., etc. ... Read more