Reviewing: "Bad Blood: A Virgil Flowers Novel" by John Sandford

Fourth in the Virgil Flower series, “Bad Blood” returns to a theme familiar to readers of this series ---sex. Usually it is some form of perversion and the issue comes to light while Virgil is having an intimate relationship with the local lead investigator. Such is the case here though it takes a bit to come to light with readers knowing far more than the investigators involved.

 

According to Bob Tripp, Jacob Flood died in a freak accident at the grain elevator while he was unloading his late fall harvest. Jacob, like all residents in the area, has been working way too many hours on way too little sleep trying to get the harvest in before winter sets with a vengeance. So, he could have slipped, banged his noggin and died under a pouring stream of soy beans. Of course, that would not explain why none of the soy beans found their way into his lungs. Or why his skull shows two blows to the head.  One made slightly before the other and it was made by a cylindrical object that readers already know was a t-ball bat.

It also does not explain what happened to Bob Tripp within hours of his arrest. Lee Coakley, sheriff of Warren County, has a huge problem and not just because she has two murder victims. Supposedly Tripp committed suicide in his jail cell. But, there are indications that he might not have committed suicide which means her deputy, Jimmy Crocker, who also happens to be the guy she defeated in the last election, is a suspect. This, as well as other issues, creates political connotations no matter what she does. What the good sheriff needs is an outside impartial investigator to look into what happened. Tripp confessed to what he did but didn't say much before his death. Sheriff Coakley needs to know the whys behind both cases as well as prove what happened to Tripp in the jail cell.

                                                                                        

Once he gets permission from his boss, Lucas Davenport (the Prey Series) at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Virgil Flowers and his very well-earned reputation is sent in to figure out what is going on. In addition to figuring out how to relieve the good sheriff's loneliness, Virgil investigates what will ultimately be part of some of the worst crimes in Minnesota's history.

Filled with an amazing and often disturbing amount of references toward sex with adults and minors, this mystery moves fast. Like the weather in the book, character descriptions are bleak. The focus, when it isn't on the relationship between Virgil and Coakley, is on the case and getting those involved in a twisted religious cult to talk. Along the way there will be more death and violence as this read skims along. While it could be read as a stand-alone, it would be better to have read these in order so that you have a greater feel for the Virgil Flowers character. Unfortunately, while breaking the case and trying to break his motel room bed, he breaks no new ground in terms of character development. The quest of the latest available woman is a sad cliché at his age and one that seems to provide hours of amusement for all involved in the book. 

A novel that moves quickly with some pretty horrible and somewhat graphic moments, this is typical Sandford in this series. Average for him still makes him better than most out there. It is unfortunate that he not only continues to feel the need to make cases revolve around some sexual prevision, he also feels the need to tell readers the identities of killers from page one. Author John Sandford is way too talented to need to rely on either one and creates a much better book for the reader when he does not write down for the lowest common denominator.

Bad Blood: A Virgil Flowers Novel

John Sandford

http://www.johnsandford.org

G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group, USA, Inc.)

http://www.penguin.com

September 2010

ISBN# 978-0-399-15690-8

Hardback

388 Pages

$27.95

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System. These are tough times for the libraries, so please do your part to support them.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

Reviewing: "The Killing Storm" by Kathryn Casey

Kids always have been a key part of this series featuring Texas Ranger and Criminal Profiler Sarah Armstrong written by former true crime writer Kathryn Casey. The same is true from the first page despite the fact that the initial focus is about how the summer heat has lingered on deep into October, Hurricane Juanita is stalled out in the gulf, and somebody has killed a very expensive bull on a ranch outside of Houston in order to send a message.

 

With a vulture perched above the scene around in an old oak tree as a backdrop, the prize winning longhorn bull is very dead thanks to its head having been obliterated by a shotgun blast. A circle has been drawn around the entire carcass in the red-brown dirt. Additionally, a design of some sort, possibly of African origin, has been painted onto the bull hide in black ink. In a state that prides itself on the cattle industry, this case is important and not just because the value of the bull makes it a felony.

Then there is the missing children case. For months, Sarah Armstrong has thought about two missing children that have never been found. While at the crime scene at the ranch, she is advised of the latest child abduction.  The latest missing child, Joey Warner, looks remarkably like the other two missing kids. From the get go, Mom seems to have a different agenda than Law Enforcement and the estranged father and his family is of little help. A missing four year old child means Sarah's romantic interest, FBI agent and fellow criminal profiler David Garrity is front and center involved. While Garrity wants and needs her help to locate the missing boy, he does not have time to talk about where their relationship is going in the wake of a new and unexpected complication. That leaves Sarah to do most of the thinking about it, while working cases and dealing with the expectations of her own mother and her 12 year old daughter, Maggie.

Old timers will tell you, the only way to break a Texas drought is a hurricane. One lurks off shore, over the horizon, stalking the upper Texas coast with a vengeance. It does not take much thought on the reader’s behalf to realize that the Hurricane has to hit at the end of the book and imperil everything Sarah holds dear.

A bit clichéd at times, overall the read is a good one despite an ending that will clearly annoy some readers-- myself included. Hurricanes seem to be all the rage these days as a back drop in Texas based novels whether they are written by Texas based authors or not. A notable exception being Tyler resident Milton T. Burton’s very good novel, Nights of the Red Moon. 

In a book that occasionally shifts into the pov of Joey Warner as well as his twisted kidnapper, the primary focus is the world seen from the viewpoint of Sarah Armstrong. A world where family and innocents take precedent, evil lurks and will lash out and kill in unexpected ways, and things are not often as they seem in the most tranquil of circumstances. Overall a good novel by the Houston area resident and one worthy of your time despite the noted issues.

If you have not read her prior books in this series, I strongly suggest you read them in order.

Singularity, published in 2008 was followed by Blood Lines in 2009.  

Prior events are referenced in The Killing Storm and as such it would be best to read these novels in order.

 

The Killing Storm: A Mystery

Kathryn Casey

http://www.kathryncasey.com

Minotaur Books (St. Martin’s Publishing Group)

http://www.minotuarbooks.com

November 2010

ISBN# 978-0-312-37952-0

Hardback

310 Pages

$25.99

Material supplied by the Plano, Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

Reviewing: "Classic Southern Desserts" by Editors of Southern Living magazine

Recently released by Oxmoor House, Classic Southern Desserts is a cookbook that is both a treat for the eyes and taste buds and a curse against losing weight. The choices are many in this 344 page cookbook that features over 200 recipes from Southern Living magazine. These are the highest rated ones according to the book jacket copy and are based on their research in their test kitchens.

 

After a brief forward from executive editor Scott Jones, the book opens with a section in “Luscious Layers & Other Cakes starting on page 8. The first recipe is on something titled “New-Fashioned Blackberry Chocolate Spice Cake.” (page 13) It looks awesome. Of course, just about anything can be made good with the liberal use of chocolate and this item is heavy in the chocolate zone.  “Chocolate and spices mingle with sweet blackberries under a robe of chocolate fudge icing drizzled with blackberry sauce.” After that mouthwatering description which is reinforced by a large picture of the delectable offering in its ready to eat glory, there is the recipe that also includes how many servings it makes (12 they claim), how long it takes to prep, cook and finish. Also included with the directions is an ingredient list and a tip that can be applied as a general baking tip to other items. This same format follows for this 80 page section and pretty much the entire book. When necessary, there are detailed instructions on how to make the frostings. Such as starting on page 34 with the recipe for their “Red Velvet Layer Cake” that is followed by the “5-Cup Cream Cheese Frosting” for the cake.

If cakes won't do it for you, how about “Crunchy Cookies & Chewy Bars” beginning on page 88. Not just such classics as drop cookies and lemon bars but such items as “Chunky Chocolate- White Chocolate-Espresso Cookies (page 93), “Turtle Cookies” (page 113) or “Bourbon Balls” page 124) among other delectable. The same formula of picture, recipe, serving numbers and cook/prep time is used along with detailed ingredient list and directions.

Starting on page 140 it is “Cheesecakes to Die For.” The name of the section pretty much says it all. But, for something really different, take a look at the “Uptown Banana Pudding Cheesecake” on page 153 or the “Blueberry Mini cheesecakes” on page 157.

I have always had a fondness for cobbler. My mom made an absolutely incredible blueberry cobbler. “Old-Fashioned Pies, Cobblers & Tarts” begins on page 162.  Surprisingly they did not choose to include a recipe for a blueberry cobbler in the book through they did include ones for apples, cherries, blackberries, and others.

“Sweet Breads & Coffee Cakes” comes next starting on page 240. The section gets going with a “Praline -Apple Bread” on page 245. If that does not appeal, take a look at the “Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake” on page 256, the “Orange Coffee Rolls” (page 267) or the many other delectable choices. Some are tagged with the “bake and freeze” designation making planning ahead easy. For those already thinking about Mardi Gras, there is a recipe on pages 268-269 for “King Cake.”

“Bread Puddings, Custards & More” follows with lots of choices beginning on page 276. The “Blueberry Bread Pudding” on page 282 looks really good as does the “Ultimate Chocolate Pudding” on page 306.

Page 314 marks the start of the section on “Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts” that begins on page 314.  The classic “Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream” on page 318 is followed by such temptations such as ‘Toffee-Coffee Ice-Cream Torte (page 322) and “Simple Peach Sorbet” (page 328) among others. This is the shortest section of the book and features lots of season specific recipes.

The last part of the book is all about how you can duplicate what you see in the book. It includes a list of essential baking equipment, tips for making perfect pies and cakes, what can be frozen, a metric equivalents chart and other helpful info. An index of four pages brings this section and this 344 page book to a close.

While Classic Southern Desserts is a very good cookbook, it has a major drawback in this day and age of obesity awareness. This book has been published with zero nutritional information. The recipes included make no mention of healthy substitutes or recipe changes you could implement to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Granted, this book is designed to ignore such concerns and features recipes that are heavy and as an every now and then temptation that works for most people. But, one is left to wonder why in this day and age such information is left out and how many workout hours it takes to shed the pounds gained from consuming anything in this book.

Lovingly photographed and full of delectable treats, this recent release from Oxmoor House would be a great gift for any cook that does not have to worry about the health complications of any of the recipes.

Classic Southern Desserts: ALL-TIME Favorite Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Puddings, Cobblers, Ice Cream & More

Southern Living Editors

Oxmoor House

http://www.oxmoorhouse.com

2010

ISBN# 978-0-8487-3330-8

Hardback

$29.95

344 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

Hope Clark at the Writers Chatroom --Tonight!

Meant to mention this earlier and it slipped my mind. Hope Clark, who does "Funds for Writers" and lots of other things, is back at the Writers Chatroom tonight. Always informative, the chat starts at 7pm EASTERN time. You can find it at:  www.writerschatroom.com

Review: "nd Every Man Has To Die: River City Crime Book Four by Frank Zafiro

Possibly the most complicated and hard hitting novel in the series, “And Every Man Has To Die” currently scheduled for May release is the fourth book in the River City series. A series that began with “Under A Raging Moon” moved into “Heroes Often Fail” and last year’s release “Beneath A Weeping Sky” has provided lots of action, crime, drama and occasional romance through the lives of the men and women of the River City Police Department in eastern Washington State. While the novels and numerous short stories that bring this fictional world to life may be just that, fiction, there is universal truth in them. Beyond that, the hard hitting series provides hours of quality reading as does this latest book.

It's July 1998 as the novel opens and Officer Katie Macleod and others are being dispatched to a report of violent domestic abuse. Officers Battaglia and O'Sullivan arrived mere seconds before she did and are quickly inside the victim's apartment. Forced to confront the male suspect as he attempts to escape down a flight of stairs, Officer Katie Macleod quickly becomes involved in a fight for her life.

A fight that will have major repercussions in obvious and not so obvious ways. Against the back drop of an increasingly strong and always ruthless Russian mob suffering its own not so obvious power struggle, author Frank Zafiro once again brings home the truth of what it like to be a police officer day after day. While the Russians may have “plans within plans within plans” to gain control of not only just River City but much more, the men and women of the River City Police Department are just trying to hold the line.

And survive.

Author Frank Zafiro has created another gem in a series distinguished by numerous short stories involving these characters as well as the three preceding novels. Those of us of a certain age can remember the TV series “Hill Street Blues” which, for its time, was not only ground breaking but brought police officer reality home to the average viewer. Author Frank Zafiro does the same thing through words and creates images that will linger in the brain long after the final pages detailing a shocking conclusion are finished.

AND EVERY MAN HAS TO DIE: RIVER CITY CRIME BOOK FOUR

Frank Zafiro

http://frankzafiro.com/

Gray Dog Press

http://www.graydogpress.com 

May 3, 2011—Scheduled Release Date

ISBN# 978-1-936178-41-4

ARC

Material provided by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

FFB: "Case of the Vanishing Beauty" by Richard S. Prather (Reviewed by Barry Ergang)

It is Friday and that means it is time for another Friday’s Forgotten Books Review. (For the complete list, surf over to http://pattinase.blogspot.com/ Lots of  good reading there and not just on Fridays.) Barry Ergang made his FFB debut here last week with his review of Killers Are My Meat. This week he reviews Case of the Vanishing Beauty by Richard S. Prather.

Case of the Vanishing Beauty (1950) by Richard S. Prather

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

Released in 1950, Case of the Vanishing Beauty was Richard S. Prather's first published novel but the second one he wrote. The first, The Maddern Caper, was subsequently published under the pseudonym David Knight but retitled Pattern for Murder. Still later it was retitled The Scrambled Yeggs and published under Prather's own name. (All of this is explained by Prather in an interview conducted by Linda Pendleton.)

Case of the Vanishing Beauty begins when private detective Shell Scott is hired by Georgia Martin to find her missing sister Tracy. She also insists that Scott accompany her to a less-than-respectable L.A. nightclub called El Cuchillo (Spanish for "the knife"), but beyond saying she might need his protection, she won't tell him why.

At El Cuchillo, Scott and Georgia watch the feature act: the knife-throwing Miguel Mercado and his beautiful assistant/target Lina Royale. After Scott has an altercation with Mercado, he meets the club's owner, the equally repellent Maggie Remorse.

When he and Georgia leave the club, they're tailed by someone in another car who's not reluctant about shooting at them. Scott fires back and the shooter takes off. But Georgia has been fatally wounded. She's able to say "I killed...Narda" before she dies.

Determined to see the case through despite—and because—of the loss of his client, but with very little to go on, Scott talks to his friend Captain Phil Samson, head of L.A. Homicide. When he mentions Narda, Samson tells him a man by that name is the head of a religious cult called the Inner World Society of Truth Believers.

Scott returns to El Cuchillo and later tails Miguel Mercado, who practically leads him to the IW's door. It seems pretty clear the cult is somehow involved in the events that led to Georgia Martin's murder and the disappearance of her sister. Consequently, Scott attends a service, pretending to be a philanthropic sort and using the name Francis Joyne. Narda, he discovers, is very much alive.

As events unfold, Scott eventually finds and rescues Tracy, but there are still multiple mysteries to be solved—among them why Georgia was killed and how Narda, the IW, Miguel Mercado, Maggie Remorse, and twin gunmen Peter and Paul Seipel fit into the picture. Solve them Scott does, of course, and in a fairly-clued manner, with plenty of physical action in the process. 

I first read Case of the Vanishing Beauty when I was in my teens—more than forty years ago—so apart from recalling that Scott's term of endearment for Lina was "pepper pot," I had no recollection of the story during my rereading. But when I was a teenager, I didn't read the early Scott novels in order of publication—gave no thought to doing so—I read them in whatever order my father or I purchased them or as the whim took me. I mention this only because, remembering certain things about the series even after all these years, Case of the Vanishing Beauty has some of the earmarks of an early series novel in the way it establishes scenes, descriptions, and authorial tendencies that will recur in later books. Among the latter is Prather's habit of having first-person narrator Scott tell the reader at some point during his cerebrations that there's something tickling at his unconscious which, if he could only pull it out, would completely elucidate and solve the case at hand. The technique serves the dual purpose of offering a challenge to the reader, letting him know that he now has all the information Scott has and can solve the mystery himself if he can put all the pieces together; and allowing the author to protract the action and suspense so he can build to a "sock finish."

There have been many Shell Scott novels with sock finishes. Case of the Vanishing Beauty is not one of them. Oh, it's satisfying as far as wrapping up the mystery is concerned, but it doesn't have the wild action and comedy Prather became famous for in later works. Nevertheless, it's a long way from the weakest in the series, and stands up as a fast-paced piece of entertainment.

For more on the Golden Age of Detection as well as about this book follow the link

http://gadetection.pbwiki.com/Case%20of%20the%20Vanishing%20Beauty

Barry Ergang © 2007, 2011

Winner of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s 2007 Derringer Award in the Flash Fiction category, Barry Ergang’s written work has appeared in numerous publications, print and electronic. For links to material available, see  Barry’s Smashwords offerings http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/cassidy20

and Barry’s webpages

 

Urgent Request from Tony Burton owner of The GenReView

I am Tony Burton, the owner of The GenReView, a review website that specializes in genre fiction: science fiction, romance, horror, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and so forth.  In the past year or so, my cadre of reviewers has shrunken from over a dozen to only two.  Two reviewers, honestly, cannot keep up with the usual number of requests.  

At the present time I have six requests for review, and three in progress.  But because of the shortage of reviewers, I recently decided to shut down the site.  It is very frustrating to me to have requests for review to come in, and to be forced to tell the publicist, publisher, or author, “Sorry, I don’t have a reviewer available.”

My good friend Kevin Tipple, who has his own review site with a broader focus than my own, graciously offered to put out the word for me that I am looking for reviewers because I simply don’t want to let the site go down the tubes.  I believe a books review site, especially for small press books, is very important.  The number of “traditional” review venues has shrunken so much, and continues to shrink—and the number of books being published each year continues to grow!  These two trends are not compatible, so I’d like to help by keeping the site up and running.

Here’s the way it works.

1. Any reviewer must agree to accept at least one book per month, if offered.  The truth is, sometimes I am covered over, and some months I only get one or two requests.  But I need people I can rely upon.

2. Generally I send out a request for review to all the reviewers, and the first one to respond by email gets that book.  (Of course, if the person who responds first already has a book in their clutches, they are disqualified.)

Past that, the reviewers have these responsibilities:

To give the author(s) of the book a fair shake by actually READING the book.
To form their own opinions and give them honestly, rather than using someone else’s ideas about the book.
To review every book fairly and honestly, whether written by friend or enemy, unknown or literary superstar.
If the book has problems, to name the problem(s) specifically, with examples.  Conversely, in the places where the book shines, to make note of those places as well.
To state in clear, jargonless terms what they think of the book.  That means a “Joe Everyman” sort of review, not a literary review about the deep philosophical symbolism of the empty inkwell and the death by strangulation with the victim’s own argyle socks.
If you think you might be interested, drop by the site: www.thegenreview.com .  Take a look at some of the books we have reviewed there, look at the requirements for a book to be reviewed, etc.

If you are STILL interested after that, contact me at beirdd@gmail.com and let me know.  But do it soon—as I said, I have people waiting to have their books reviewed, and I’d rather not tell them that I’m going to shut the site down.

Thanks much!

Tony Burton

Event: C.J. BOX booksigning in Dallas

Mystery author C. J. Box will be at the Barnes and Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Highway, Saturday at 2 pm to sign and talk about his latest novel in the Joe Pickett series, COLD WIND. This time around Joe must clear his mother-in-law of a murder charge. Should be interesting to read and I have to wait for my turn via the library.



Event Location:

Barnes and Noble (Lincoln Park across from North Park Mall)
7700 W. Northwest Highway
Suite 300
Dallas, Texas 75225
Phone: 214-739-1124

Review: "P. Allen Smith’s Seasonal Recipes From The Garden: A P. Allen Smith GARDEN HOME COOKBOOK "

Despite having a small apartment patio which limited my gardening area, I used to grow quite a few things that later wound up boiling, simmering and on occasion, burning, on the stove. These days I can’t do either, but I still review the books for my monthly column in the newspaper SENIOR NEWS. 

Thanks to the recent push the last couple of years towards growing food locally, there has been a rash of cookbooks and gardening books devoted to the subject. Whether this type of deal is going to be meaningfully sustained for years to come or flame out in a few months like most fads do remains to be seen. In the meantime, P. Allen Smith's latest book is part of that movement.

This 256 colorful page book is organized into four sections named for the seasons of the year. After a short introduction that covers how the book is organized, how the recipes were considered and other information. The book starts off with “SPRING” on page 14. Since section headers, recipes titles, etc. are displayed in all caps, this review will follow the book’s format.

The “SPRING” section opens with “STARTERS” such as “STRAWBERRY LEMONADE” (pages 16-17), “GREEK SALAD” (page 18) or “SMOKED BLUE CAT PATE” (page 20) made from catfish among other recipes. “SOUPS AND SANWICHES” follows in the section and opens with “GRILLED SALMON SANDWICH WITH LEMON-DILL MAYO on pages 26-27. Several more suggestions follow before the section moves into “SALADS” such as “POACHED EGG AND SPINIACH SALAD” (pages 30 -32) among others. Also present are various dressings one can make instead of buying something at the store.

“MAIN DISHES” comes next in the “SPRING” section and starts off with a recipe for “BLACK BEAN AND SPINIACH BURRITOS” on pages 40 and 41. That leads into “GRILLED PORK CHOPS IN ZUCCHINI AND PEPPERS” on pages 42-43, “CRAWFISH (OR SHRIMP) ETOUFFEE” on pages 45-46 and others. If you have a main dish, you need “VEGTABLES AND SIDES” and that comes next and opens with “RADISH TOP PASTA” on pages 50-51 before moving on to “GINGER-SESAME STIR-FRIED ASPARAGUS” on pages 52-53. Personally, I am not sure enough of anything could be done to make asparagus edible enough for me to eat it.

A couple more vegetable recipes lead the reader to “BREAD AND SUCH” starting on page 59. Of course, there is a french toast recipe. This one is on pages 60-61 and titled “PINEAPPLE –ORANGE FRENCH TOAST” and uses your oven for the cooking process after you soak your bread in his concoction. There are a couple of other recipes in this section but it is one of the shorter deals in the book.

“DESSERTS” are also covered and start with “BANANA DELIGHT” on pages 64-65. It features the required bananas, pie crust, cream cheese pudding, coconut and pecans among other items. Several other dessert recipes bring this section to a close.

Each recipe features simple instructions, an ingredient list, and the number of servings it makes. Most recipes also come with tips on making the item or growing the ingredient(s) needed along with a colorful picture of the finished item either by itself or at a lavishly decorated table clustered with several more versions of the same dish. This same format is followed in terms of opening with “STARTERS” and progressing through “SOUPS AND SANDWICHES” etc., followed through the remainder of the book in the seasonal sections titled “SUMMER,” “FALL,” and “WINTER.”

Growing your own vegetables and hers is a key point in the book and sometimes that creates recipes that are absent meat and rely on cheeses for protein. One such way is in “THE GARDEN SANDWICH” on pages 88-89 where bread, herbs and salad items, goat cheese and a couple of other things combine together to make one heck of a sandwich. Fresh herbs, greens and vegetables are a key ingredient in nearly every dish and are presented in many different ways to please the most finicky eater throughout the book.

While recipes are located in specific sections dishes such as “RUBBED BEEF TENDERLOIN” (pages 213-214) among others would work any time of year. After 242 pages of often mouthwatering recipes, the book moves into the “RESOURCES.”

Here P. Allen Smith opens the “RESOURCES” on page 242 with specific instructions regarding growing your own produce in three 8 foot by 8 foot beds. While specific plans are not drawn out for you, there is plenty of information on what to grow and how to grow it and contains lists of specific plants. This section is written from the novice stand point and may be of little interest to the experienced gardener other than the fact he shares some information on how he handled specific situations. He also provides tips on what to plant depending during the seasons though you would need to do your own research as he points out on your local growing situation. These helpful tips end with some suggestions for those of us with limited space and/or readers with short growing seasons. There is also some general information on how to keep weeds and critters at bay before a three pages index brings this helpful book to a close.

Overall, the book is well done and presents well despite a complete lack of nutritional information. Like many cookbooks published recently, the “obesity epidemic” is completely ignored as no nutritional of any type is provided. Something that is rather surprising since the author has spoken out on the subject on his television show and other forums.

Despite that issue, the cookbook is a visual treat and well done overall. It features lots of information, plenty of recipes, and multiple ideas for your entertaining pleasure making sure something in here should suit everyone.

P. Allen Smith’s Seasonal Recipes From The Garden: A  P. Allen Smith GARDEN HOME COOKBOOK

P. ALLEN SMITH

http://wwwpallensmith.com

BEN FINK, Photographer

http://www.benfinkphoto.com/

Clarkson Potter/Publishers (Crown Publishing Group/Random House)

http://www.clarksonpotter.com

December, 2010
ISBN# 978-0-307-35108-1

256 Pages

Hardback

$32.50

Material supplied by the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

Cooking with "Taste of Home: Slow Cooker"

 Featuring 403 recipes contributed by Texas cooks as well as residents of other states, this 256 page book has meal and/or snack time covered. With specific sections devoted to beef, pork, poultry, pasta, as well as soups and various chilies, there are a number of easy to use recipes sure to tempt the taste buds. Also included are sections devoted to sides such as “creamy macaroni and cheese,” snacks such as “sweet tangy chicken wings” and drinks such as “hot spiced cherry cider.” 

A ten page index brings this colorful and helpful book to a dose. While the recipes are plentiful and varied in terms of content and difficulty in preparation, no nutritional information is included in this otherwise good cookbook.

Taste of Home: Slow Cooker

Reiman Media Group

http://www.tasteofhome.com 

2010

ISBN 978-0-89821-802-2

$15.95

Paperback

256 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011