"Arcadia" was a bit of a disappointment after "The Monsters of Templeton". It started off very slowly but is well written and the characters very well developed. It definitely "grew on me" and I would recommend it.

While certainly not for everyone, there is some great advice for anyone interested in pursuing educational alternatives outside the typical U.S. path: high school to college to grad school/professional school, all in this country.

Maya Frost has identified parental fear as the main roadblock to getting out of this pathway and allowing your children to experience the world, and offers advice for getting past this.

There are excellent sections on finding year long opportunities for high school students to live and study abroad as part of exchange programs and for college students to study abroad outside the American university system.

Many testimonials/success stories are presented including the author's own. To emulate the Frosts moving the entire family outside the U.S. to study and work is obviously not for everyone. It is a great overview of the possibilities available for anyone so inclined.

I found this to be an informative account of the impact of agriculture, and in some cases of specific foods, on human history.

I particularly enjoyed the accounts of the development of the spice trade and its impact on global exploration and the development of European colonial empires. There is also a good review of the failed attempts by the USSR and China to turn agriculture into productive state run collectives. The book is short enough not to get into too much minutiae but provides notes and a thorough bibliography for those seeking more information on specific subjects. I would recommend this to anyone interested in a good overview of this subject.

In Killer Heat, Linda Fairstein brings back familiar lead characters in Asst. DA Alexandra Cooper, NYPD homocide detective Mike Chapman, and detective Mercer Wallace.

The story is set in N.Y. City during an August heat wave and involves the murders of three women that seem to be the work of a single serial killer.

One of the women is a prostitute with some well known clients which could have made this particularly timely in light of the Spitzer debacle but this angle is not pursued and plays no role in the story.

The book doesn't immediately engage ones interest as the opening seems quite reminiscent of a number of other murder mysteries.

The story then proceeds in a very linear fashion with few unexpected twists. A subplot about a Latino gang out for revenge on Ms. Cooper is never really developed and quickly dealt with in the end.

The book is well written, however, and certainly holds one's interest and has suspense enough to keep the pages turning. Ms. Fairstein also provides interesting historical information about some of the islands in N.Y. harbor.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it as a good read especially to fans of the genre. Of course, fans of Ms.Fairstein's work and the main characters [Ms. Cooper and friends] should love it. The quality of writing could also give it broader appeal.