Product Description
After she discovers an old doll that had belonged to her mother and her grandmother, Sophie grows to love the doll more and more even though she is missing some hair, gets chocolate-stained, and loses an eye. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wonderful, Sweet Story
My three year old daughter and I went to the library and happened upon this book.We brought it home and she has fallen in love with it.It is such a sweet story, and my daughter loves how much Sophie loves her doll.It's a great book!

Truly Wonderful Book!
This book quickly became a favorite in our house, my four girls love to have it read over and over, and they love to read it themselves and look at the pictures. They story is so sweet, and the illustrations are beautiful. I recommend this book for everyone, but especially for adults who have had that one special doll in their past, and for children who have that special doll now.

A modern day Velveteen Rabbit!
A truly touching story, brought to life with delightful illustrations from Wendy Anderson Halperin, about the special bond between a child and a treasured toy.As a collector of children's books, this one is a winner and will be treasured for years to come.

The simple pleasures of loving a doll
My seven year old and I sat down to read this book.It brought back memories of the little dolls that I had loved.The wear and tear on the little doll did not matter to Sophie.No matter what happen to Rose,Sophie loved her.The illustrations were wonderful.My little girl lovedto follow the boxes around the edge.Everytime we read it, she discoverssomething new. I bought this book for her to keep and share with herchildren someday.

Gorgeous drawings for a simple story
Wendy Anderson Halperin brings this simple story to life through her drawings! The "all-around-the-page" drawings will be recognizable as Halperin's trademark style. The intimacy and detail in which she tracesthe everyday relationship between a girl and her doll gives depth andwarmth to an otherwise simple story. This book reinforces that imaginationand simple pleasures are still part of the life of modern girls. It is abeautiful book! (And WHO is the mysterious lamb puppet??!! ... Read more

Product Description

Just as Aussie FBI profiler Sophie Anderson is settling into her job in the L.A. bureau, she's pulled into a case that's different from anything she's ever seen--the victim has had his throat ripped out. But what weapon could have caused such devastating injuries? And who is the John Doe?

Sophie and her team are dealing with a skilled killer, someone who leaves virtually no forensic evidence. When the team links the body to an Asian criminal organization, things get even more mysterious. The victim has been missing for fifteen years, so where has he been and why has he returned? More important, who wanted him dead?

As L.A.'s underworld rears its ugly head, Sophie will have to draw on her experience and her developing psychic skills to find a brilliant killer who's carved a trail of death in organized crime across the U.S. He leaves only one thing behind him--horrifying murder scenes.

Customer Reviews (2)

FBI Profiler and Kung Fu mix, in this 'who done it'
The Killing Hands centers around an FBI Profiler, Agent Sophie Anderson, working out of the L.A. Bureau. She is assigned to do a profile of an unusual murder of an unknown Asian man.
When the murdered man is identified as using false identification and turns out to be the missing son of a key figure of the Yakuza, an Asian Organized Crime Family in China, Agent Sophie finds herself following a trail originating from China and now doing business in the US.
Many government agencies work together from US to China to solve this for hire murder.
The name of this book is a Kung Fu technique you will learn all about as you follow Agent Anderson in working out a profile of the hired killer.
This book is a page turner with a mixture of technical information and the personal lives of the people involved.

terrific FBI police procedural
Because of the odd wound at the victim's throat LAPD asks the FBI for assistance on this homicide.Los Angeles based agent Sophie Anderson is assigned to help resolve how the person died.The Austrian expatriate profiler agrees with the assessment no knife was used as the forensic evidence is lacking.Finally, Sophie concludes the predator is a grandmaster martial arts black belt who literally ripped open the throat of the deceased.

The corpse's identity also proves a puzzler as Saito Jun has been in hiding for about fifteen years.His appearance begs more questions than his vicious murder as he had ties to an Asian mob.Sophie fears his death means more than just a simple murder.

The latest Sophie Anderson FBI police procedural (see The Murderer's Club, Fan Mail and Body Count) is a refreshing entry due to who the victim is, why he suddenly resurfaces after a long hiatus and how he dies.Sophie is at her best as she puts together the how and ultimately struggles with the who and why, especially proving the actual person behind the murder and not just the Killing Hands of the hired gun.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Product Description
A young woman's body is found with puncture marks on her neck, and soon the delicious word vampire is on everyone's lips. All of FBI profiler Sophie Anderson's skills—psychic and psychological—will be needed for her to determine whether this was a thrill kill or something even more sinister.

Exploring the blood bars and Goth clubs of L.A., Sophie immerses herself in the seductive culture of self-styled vampires. Posing as the alluring Lady Veronica and infiltrating a notorious clan, Sophie will learn just how deep the fantasy goes for some believers.

When life requires death, nothing is sacred. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

ENJOYED READING
I enjoyed this book .. it arrived in a timely manner, was well packaged and the book was in like new condition.

tense well-written police procedural
The corpse was found in Temescal Gateway Park.LAPD fears the murder is ritual caused by an NRM (new religious movement) as the locale is where After Dark, a self proclaimed vampire group, holds rites and the victim has two puncture wounds in her neck.The local cops ask for FBI profiler Sophie Anderson to work with Detective Sloan on the investigation into who murdered Sherry Taylor, teenage daughter of an affluent producer.

As they interview interested parties, Sloan believes an acting professor or the former boyfriend killed Sherry while Anderson believes either After Dark or another "vampire" clan performed the deed.When a second corpse is found near the Sherry's murder scene, Anderson fears someone is working on a psi transfer of power.However, as the Fed ignores her visiting boyfriend (from Arizona) and fears her attraction to Anton Ward, leader of After Dark, who senses her psi power, she goes undercover as Lady Veronica seeking a killer amidst the Goth scene.

The fascination in this tense well-written police procedural is with the insight into the two types of vampires (psi and blood suckers) as readers learn of psychosomatic illnesses (porphyria and Renfield's syndrome).Sloan is a terrific support character who should have a return engagement with Anderson.The prime rest of the secondary cast bring to life either the Goth or police subcultures.Although Anderson's eerie attraction to Ward is not fully explained as this is a key element and questionable is the ease she switches to and from her Aussie accent (and vernacular), fans will enjoy her latest whodunit (see Killing Hands, Fan Mail and The Body Count).

Harriet Klausner

Fascinating Research & Investigation
With two puncture wounds in her neck, an exsanguinated corpse was likely the victim of vampires...or people who think they are. FBI profiler Sophie Anderson works with the LAPD to investigate the case, and she's a little too eager to unofficially go undercover, infiltrating the mysterious After Dark group. She's been struggling to understand her own psi abilities, so maybe that's why she wants to spend more time with the leader...

This is the fifth novel in the Sophie Anderson series. I'd already read the first two novels, skipped the third (features one of my most disliked tropes), and haven't yet got my mitts on the fourth. The original Australian trade paperback edition mistakenly labelled KISS OF DEATH as a "thriller" on the front cover, but I'd put it under the catch-all genre of crime or, more specifically, procedurals. (The thriller element kicks in at least halfway into the novel.) The Aussie mass market paperback cover has wisely removed the "thriller" label, but I'm including this note in case you acquire the earlier version.

It's never really concluded whether the vampires really are supernatural, or if they suffer from porphyria and/or Renfield's syndrome. I'd love to read more about these medical/psychological conditions, so hopefully future authors of vampire fiction will continue to explore the science.

While the research and investigation are fascinating, I can't connect with the characters. As a psychological expert, you'd expect Sophie to know better, to smell a rat, to not fall for a New Religious Movement leader. She shouldn't be so easily charmed. As soon as we encounter him, Anton Ward's a sleaze, and thus I don't get the attraction. Quite possibly the idea that he could share more details of Sophie's psi abilities could explain the appeal, but only partially. But generally speaking, in fiction alpha males tend to be douchebags, so I never understand their appeal. But I'm likely in the minority, so my opinion doesn't count ;-) ... Read more

Product Description

Getting into a killer's mind is both a blessing and a curse for FBI profiler Sophie Anderson. The agent suffers through brutal premonitions in order to save lives. Now a resident of Los Angeles, Sophie is working on a case where fiction has become fatal. A popular crime writer is sexually mutilated, strangled and marked with an eerie lipstick kiss...just like the crime scene in the dead author's last book.

As more writers are punished for their dark imaginations, there is a recurring theme--a chilling fan letter that arrives before each murder. In order to stop the slaughter, Sophie must delve into the writings of the dead authors. But the sinister mind behind the crimes is linked to an unsolved case from Sophie's past. And that person is determined to create a killer ending.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wonderful
This book was great.. I could not put it down.Would recommend this author to anyone and everyone..

excellent reading
PD Martin is an excellent author.I have truly enjoyed all of the books by this author.

Very entertaining
I had never read anything by author PD Martin butthe first thing that immediately attracted me to this novel is the humour.I love that the author decided to give the main character Sophie a bit of a sense of humour - which although not overtly demonstrated is still there in the description and dialogues.

Sophieis moving on, but notbefore she gets to meet Loretta who is a novelist looking for some "hands on" experiences of the FBI and their Behavioral Analysis Unit or as they say in the TV show Criminal Minds BAU (must easier to say and write).

However, shortly afer Sophie and Loretta's tour, Sophie learns that Loretta was brutally murdered and that she received a very odd piece of fan mail prior to her death - as a matter of fact this letter is appearing next to each murdered author as the work of a serial killer focusing on authors.

Sophie must invetigate and in the middle of the investigation, she will end up discovering some scary information that will put her smack in the middle of the serial killer's path.

Although i can't say that this book reaches the peaks of "whodunnit", it nonetheless managed to keep me absolutely glued to the book until I found out who the killer was and WHY they did it.

The pacing was very good and the writing was a lot of fun to read.Although the author does give us some background on the FBI BAU unit, its kept too a minimum as is much of the "procedural" information which I am grateful for.

This book was alot of fun to read and I found myself a little annoyed that it ended.

Disappointing
I wasn't particularly impressed with The Murderer's Club, but I read Fan Mail anyway because of a couple of good reviews and because I hoped she'd improved.Where are the editors these days?The book primarily revolves around two murder cases, one in San Francisco and one in LA, and Sophie claims that because the murders were in two separate states the FBI was now in charge. Later she places Wyoming in the midwest.I could perhaps cope with these geographical issues, but solving the crime at the last minute with a vision and no supporting evidence prior to the vision was a bit much for me.

super police procedural
Her last act at Quantico before reassigning to the West Coast, Australian expatriate FBI profiler Sophie Anderson escorts renowned crime writer Loretta Black and her assistant on a tour of the Behavioral Analysis Unit.Soon afterward, Sophie starts her new field assignment in L.A.She also finds out that someone sexually mutilated and murdered Loretta in her Beverly Hills home; eerily similar to a victim in one the author's novels.

Beverly Hills homicide detective Dave Sorrell leads the inquiry.However, soon afterward more authors are brutally murdered.The evidence includes a frightening fan mail to the novelists just before they are killed.Sophie assists David on the investigation, as she searches for clues trying to "profile" the novels while also horrifically yet heroically uses her premonition skill to mentally see future murders, but unaware a cold case of hers is the missing link.

This super police procedural is loaded with plausible twists that will keep the audience guessing who the killer is throughout although serial killer themes have flooded the market including Sophie (see THE MURDERER'S CLUB and BODY COUNT).Sophie is terrific as she investigates with David.Though similar in tone to her previous killer caseload, fans will enjoy P.D. Martin's exhilarating efforts of the Aussie profiler trying to prevent the next writer's death.

Harriet Klausner

... Read more