with The Foothill Paper
Reviews
Reviewed by Liz
May 3, 2007
These are all well-written stories and I
was absolutely delighted with Just Like Old Times!,
By Liz at reviewedbyliz.com "Because
life is too short for mediocre books. (Cedar
Springs, Michigan, USA)
(editied review. See entire review on Amazon.com.)
LAndmarked for Murder is an anthology of
mystery short stories written by some of
the members of the Los Angeles Chapter of
Sisters in Crime. The central theme of the
book is Los Angeles landmarks and the stories
all occur near or relate to a landmark.
Reading a mystery anthology is akin to going
to a new restaurant and ordering the sampler
dinner. You get to try a small bite of many
different things and expand your horizons
beyond your usual fare. LAndmarked for murder
offers the reader ten tidbits for all different
tastes.
Just Like Old Times by G.B. Pool - a group
of aged Hollywood actors get the chance to
show they have still got it when uninvited
guests crash their dinner party.
These are all well-written stories and I was absolutely delighted with Just Like Old Times.
Did I guess them? Some. Due to their brevity,
short stories are different from novels and
have fewer characters to use as suspects.
The authors need to have different tricks
in their bags and there are some delightful
twists in this anthology that I didn't see
coming.
Favorite character? The geezers in Just Like Old Times are great and the thief in Making it With Gammy is
also a favorite.
Will I read another? Absolutely. I love anthologies
because I discover authors who are new to
me. I often search out an anthology author's
books if their style or characters appeal
to me.
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LAandmarked for Murder - a great collection
of crime stories, November 11, 2006
By Jackie Houchin (Sun Valley, CA USA)
LAndmarked for Murder is the Sisters-In-Crime's
newest anthology; a wonderful collection
of ten short stories, each containing mystery,
murder, malice or mayhem at some well known
Los Angeles landmark.
The stories range from darkly noir to madcap
comedy, from the realistic to the bizarre,
and from the present day to the summer of
1942. They have druggies, newspaper reporters,
lawyers, jazz piano players, marathon runners
and race track employees as protagonists,
criminals or victims.
In "Just Like Old Times" a group of zany, geriatric Hollywood stars
- some in wheelchairs - successfully foil
a bank robbery and return a dead body to
its source. In "Setup" a white
cop curiously hires a black lawyer to defend
him for killing a black athlete. In "It
Doesn't Take A Genius," a chilling justice
is meted out, and in "Making It With
Grammy" you'll find crosses and double
crosses and a kick at the end.
You'll never visit Venice again without remembering
the creepy characters in "Some Creatures
I Care About." And "Running Venice"
is a non-stop, heart-pounding, terror-inspiring
thriller.
At the old Biltmore Hotel or the ultra modern
Bonaventure, on the campuses of USC and Caltech,
or at the Santa Anita Race Track ... nowhere
is safe from the criminal mind. And to help
you navigate this perilous city, Susan K.
Berry introduces the collection and sets
the scene for each story with a paragraph
of local color or history.
LAndmarked For Murder is the best of the
Sisters-In-Crime anthologies so far.
Reviewed by Jackie Houchin
with The Foothill Paper
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Media Justice - Relevant for today!
Media Justice, written G. B. Pool, is a mystery
novel with all the excitement, conflict and
deception of the classic "whodunit"
story. It is also a book that questions the
way our legal system tries its cases.
Just how much influence do the various media
have on the outcome of trials, especially
those involving celebrities? Who regulates
the headlines, the news flashes, the interviews
with questionable witnesses? Who verifies
the anonymous tips and the leaked information
from "undisclosed sources" before
it's presented as fact to the public? And
most of all, how does all this media hype
influence the jury pool? Can a case be tried
by a truly impartial jury?
Pool's protagonist in Media Justice is retired
private investigator, Ginger Caulfield. She
happens to be serving on jury duty when the
"Murder of the Century" trial comes
up and she is selected as a juror. What follows
is conspiracy, homicide, and a little bit
of "gangbusters" as Ginger takes
on the system. The term "jury tampering"
will take on new meaning, and you might hereafter
question the security of a "sequestered
jury."
Pool knows her subject and is good at developing
a mystery plot. Her crisp dialogue, snappy
court room scenes and authentic media-speak
make this book a fast, but enjoyable read.
She has a colorful cast of characters, some
reminiscent of recent celebrity trials, including
a veiled reference to the infamous Jayson
Blair of the New York Times plagiarism scandal.
Media Justice is light reading on a heavy
subject. It's a candid look into how broadcast
and print journalism can manipulate public
opinion and "convict or acquit"
the accused before the jury even begins to
deliberate. Is this Justice...or Injustice?
From Bibliochat.com
______________________________________________________
Reviewed by Roundtable Reviews.com in their Archives Section under the Letter
P
MEDIA JUSTICE is the first of the Ginger
Caulfield series. If this series turns out
to be as good as the first book, it will
be worth a “must read” rating.
Just how does a famous defense attorney go
about keeping his famous client from prison?
What tactics does he employ? How does the
media go about gathering data for their stories?
How can the prosecution recover from the
damages spread by unethical people? These
are some of the questions raised in the book.
Though fictional, I could see a parallel
between the book and some of the notable
trials now in process.
I found the book to be one of the best murder
mysteries I have ever read. I’ll be looking
for G. B. Pool’s next book in the series.
_______________________________________________________
from MYSTERY MORGUE
Reviewed by Angela McQuay
Celebrity trials have been the source of
much media attention throughout the years,
culminating with the media circuses of the
O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson trials.
G.B. Pool investigates this phenomenon further
with her book Media Justice, which takes
a case very much like the O.J. one and looks
at what happens not only in the eye of the
media, but also behind the scenes.
The country is shocked when famous actor
Desmond Williams' ex-wife Marcella is murdered
in her home, along with her gay companion
Adrian. After questioning, Desmond is arrested
for the murders and the frantic media coverage
begins. Desmond retains high-priced defense
lawyer Malvin Shepherd while Johnnie Greer,
an African-American prosecuting phenom, takes
the opposing side.
Seeing this all from the outside is Ginger
Caulfield, a retired private detective who
now spends her time in the garden and on
various hobby projects. Ginger becomes more
than a mere spectator when she is chosen
for jury duty on the case and almost immediately
starts getting threats.
Those who enjoy watching media coverage on
high-profile cases will enjoy the work Pool
puts in to find out what happens behind the
scenes. By alternating between Ginger's point
of view, the media's coverage and what the
lawyers' experience, Pool gives a comprehensive
and fascinating account of everything that
goes into a trial of this magnitude.
This is the first in a series featuring Ginger
Caulfield and is a good introduction to the
former P.I. as well as a successful standalone
mystery. Recommended to those who like series
mysteries with strong female protagonists.