The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland ***1/2

Douglas Coupland contines to produce manuscripts that fascinates, captivates, confuses and illuminates. The raw material for this absolutely entertaining novel includes Roger, a 43 year old, divorced, alcoholic; Bethany, a 20 year old gothically dressed school drop-out and a Staples, a business supply store. Multiple stories are intwined with remarkably gifted clarity.

Bethany accidently discovers that Roger is writing a mock diary pretending to be her. Rather than getting angry she sends him a note suggesting that they secretly exchange their writings. These writings become the soul of the novel. Coupland has an almost indescribable style of writing that is filled with ironic and satiric humor in the most bizarre contexts.

Roger is composing a manuscript for a novel and Bethany encourages him to share it with her. The characters in his novel also become characters within the book. In addition, Roger's ex wife and Bethany's mother make cameo appearances that punctuate the essence of message. The adhesive concept of all the characters is the notion of overcoming death, tragedy and adversity. Humor prevents the stories from ever becoming bleak. The final resolution testifies to the value of friendship even when the friendship is between two totally uneven characters. With the strength of one another adversity can be overcome but never permanently. There is both tragedy and joy on tomorrow's menu.

The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deavers (PF)

In this book Deaver's does create a most devious villan in the person of Pell, a power hungary killer who idolizes Charles Manson. The book starts with a dramatic prison break by Pell that quickly defines Pell's as a sociopath who has no conscious about killing others if it is necessary for his survival. The break occurs after he has been interrogated by a kinesic analyst, Kathryn Dance. Once he has escaped Dance and her team are charged with anticipating his motivation and his probable action in order to capture him before he kills any more. The action is fast, the plot unpredictable, the characters diverse, and the outcome unpredictable. One of the most fascinating elements of the script is the remarkable exposure of the physical and verbal clues that a skillful kinesic interogator uses to determine the level of believability of the speaker's responses.

Treasure of Kahn by Clive and Dirk Cussler (PF)

In his customary format Clive Cussler somehow combines a disarray of unbelievable components in another fantasy yarn in the adventures of Dirk Pitt. From the treasures of Genghis Khan buried in a secret tomb in Mongolia surprisingly discovered by a villainous, arrogant, power-monger, Mongolian who happens to be a Khan descendent. The elements that provide the foundation for the dramatic action includes: a machine that creates earthquakes, the destruction of world oil supplies creating a desperate shortage, the blackmail of China for energy resources in exchange for the liberation of Mongolia. Saving the world from destruction are again Dirk Pitt, Al Gordino and all the other Numa gang. Added to the mix are Dirk’s son and daughter who are doing their own explorations in Hawaii. Through the magic of total disbelieve their encounters ultimately connects to the adventures in Mongolia. As long as entertainment rather than reality literature is the objective for reading Cussler this is another predictable but easy read.