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Akron police investigate teen mob attack on family
Woman, 75, charged with beating fawn to death
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Man shot outside his Akron home during robbery attempt
Man admits repeatedly biting 2-year-old
Tragic day puts man on path to be Pinnacle owner
Blogs:
Pets:
Dogs' Bark: Not fair! Study shows pups get jealous
The Heldenfiles:
Who Will Get the Michael Media Treatment Next?
Patrick McManamon:
More on Varejao
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Kent State
Browns Bulletin:
Quick thought on Browns rookies
Tribe Matters:
Wedge challenges relievers
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Andy’s Signed According to ESPN
All Da King's Men:
Does Medicare Have Lower Administrative Costs ?
Blog of Mass Destruction:
CIA Did Mislead Congress
Akron Law Café:
Breaking Story: CIA Lied to Congress about Secret Program
Varsity Letters:
East basketball update
See Jane Style:
Oh Baby!
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Closings….Not the Good Kind!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Margy inquires-when is a Taste of Hudson?
Sound Check:
LeVert II live performance Saturday night — "Dedication" album due July 13,
HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work
Akron Gamer:
First 24 'Guitar Hero 5' songs announced
Published on Sunday, Jul 13, 2008
Milan Jacovich isn't the best-known alumnus of St. Clair High School. He's not even the second-best-known. But at least he's still alive.
In King of the Holly Hop, Cleveland Heights author Les Roberts' 14th Jacovich mystery, private-eye Milan attends his 40th class reunion to see a wildly successful playwright toss a drink in the face of an eminent cardiologist — who later ends up shot to death in the garage of the hotel hosting the event.
Now Milan has a job he doesn't want: The playwright is the main ''person of interest,'' though it seems almost everyone had a motive to want the doctor dead, and Milan's been hired to find those motives — not to find the killer, but to take the heat off the suspect. His beating the bushes gives Roberts' loyal fans what they like best — lots of Cleveland color, from gritty warehouses to old-money mansions, and true-to-life characters and dialogue. And you know he's going to find the killer anyway.
King of the Holly Hop (256 pages, hardcover) costs $24.95 from Gray & Co.
Twinsburg resident
pens enjoyable novel
Almost all of the narrative of Dear Annamelia, the debut novel by 84-year-old Twinsburg resident Edgar V. Barmann, takes place after the title character has died. Annamelia Malone leaves her husband, Ned, a farmer; son Tim, who's studying for the priesthood; and daughter Jeannie, a divorcee with two children.
The family drama includes Tim's leaving the seminary, and an accusation of wrongdoing leveled against Jeannie, a nurse; the main plot involves Ned and his relationship with a determined widow who goes after him as if he's made of pie. With an obnoxious lap dog and a disdain for prenuptial agreements, Myrtle is written with a wink by Barmann.
Though the book comes to an end rather abruptly, it's an enjoyable ride. Dear Annamelia (360 pages, softcover) costs $14.95 and can be ordered throughhttp://www.edbarmann.com.
Footnotes
• Jana Kohl, author of A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere, will sign her book at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst. She will be accompanied by Baby, the rescued three-legged poodle. On Saturday at 11 a.m., Betsy Snyder of Independence will read from and sign Haiku Baby, her charming book; afterward, she will create a craft with customers.
• Lakewood author and fiber artist Shannon Okey will be the guest of the Barnes & Noble Booksellers' needle craft club Knitters 'R Knotty on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., and will sign her books, including How to Knit in the Woods, Alt Fiber and Felt Frenzy. At 7 p.m. Friday, Sandra Anne Taylor, author of Secrets of Success: The Science and Spirit of Real Prosperity, will speak about and sign her book, which is based on the ''Law of Attraction'' concept. The shop is at 4015 Medina Road, Bath Township.
• The Barberton Library, 602 W. Park Ave., will host acclaimed nature photographer Jim Roetzel at 7 p.m. Wednesday as he talks about his books, including Birds of North America and The Cuyahoga Valley, the latter with Ian Adams.
• Karen J. Hasley, author of Lily's Sister and Waiting for Hope, will present Women Moving West, a history in photographs and journal writings of women who traveled the Oregon Trail, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Firestone Park branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library, 1486 Aster Ave., Akron. She will sign her books afterward.
• Meet Canton author Audrey Lavin from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Learned Owl Book Shop as part of its Friday Fresh Voices series. Lavin will sign Eloquent Blood and its sequel Eloquent Corpse, a fun murder mystery set at a writers conference. Her main character is wry professor Mary Beth Goldberg. The shop is at 204 N. Main St., Hudson.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.
Milan Jacovich isn't the best-known alumnus of St. Clair High School. He's not even the second-best-known. But at least he's still alive.
Get the full article here.

