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Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Complaints against officer keep coming
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Region makes way for latest batch of snow; cancellations rise
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Five local gridders to play in Big33
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Law, Love and Chocolate
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
OFCCP Report
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
Published on Sunday, Jun 07, 2009
The Awful Truth About Dead Men? Can't tell you — the truth is just too awful. Besides, it would spoil your fun in reading Stow author Terry Sykes-Bradshaw's lighthearted murder mystery.
The narrator is Kate Kelly, who decides she can't handle one more blast of icy January air and, with her four Jazzercise girlfriends, blows Ohio for a sailing cruise in the Florida Keys. The captain is handsome Ned Fairweather, to whom Kate takes an instant dislike but who later seems to be decent enough; also on the trip are the slinky Svetlana, who talks like Natasha from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, and her husband Glenn, who appears to be batting out of his league.
Kate notices that a few things seem peculiar on the cruise; for example, Capt. Ned and Svetlana profess not to know each other, but they're a little too friendly when nobody's looking. When a storm arises and an indignant Kate goes to the captain's cabin to see why he's not taking command, she discovers his dead body — but when she brings the other ladies back to see for themselves, the body is gone.
When they report the event to the nearest police chief, the poor girls have to stick around in the sun, though Ellie remarks, ''We can't be suspects. We're from Ohio.'' The chief does little to investigate, so the girls form the Jazzer-detectives (even they know how lame that sounds) with the help of a friendly waiter at a Key West gay bar and a couple of vacationing congressmen.
The Awful Truth has a twinkly humor and an inherent danger — that of reading about the unbelievable quantity of crab puffs, mini muffins and umbrella drinks the ladies consume. The 422-page softcover costs $14.95 from Tale Spin Publishing Co., and is available from the author's Web site, http://terrysykes-bradshaw.com.
Writer's book
looks at conspiracy
Many Northeast Ohioans know of Johnson's Island in Lake Erie, the site of a Civil War prison camp for Confederate officers. Fewer know that there was a plan to raid the island and release the prisoners. Victim of Honor: The Story of John Y. Beall and the Northwestern Conspiracy, by Medina resident James E. Duffey, tells of the man who conceived the plan.
Beall, born in what is now West Virginia, left the University of Virginia when his father died. He joined the 2nd Virginia Infantry when the war started, and was soon badly wounded.
He could have married his sweetheart and sat out the rest of the war, but instead approached Stephen Mallory, secretary of the Navy under Jefferson Davis, with his idea of a prison raid. Leery of jeopardizing England's neutrality, Mallory chose Beall's Plan B, in which he would act as a privateer on the Chesapeake Bay, capturing Union ships and supplies and cutting telegraph lines.
Beall was caught and imprisoned at Fort McHenry, but freed in a prisoner exchange; he then went back to trying to rescue prisoners. The book is written as a novel, with the author's speculation of conversations. This story of a lesser-known figure in American history is well worth knowing.
Victim of Honor (271 pages, softcover) costs $17.95 from http://www.rionhallpublishing.com. Duffey is an adjunct professor of American history at the Stark campus of Kent State University.
Events
Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Legacy Village, Lyndhurst) — Victoria Christopher Murray signs Lady Jasmine, the latest in her series about a preacher's devious wife who will stop at nothing to cover her tracks. 7 p.m. today; Cleveland-based author Anne Ursu signs The Immortal Fire, the conclusion to her Cronus Chronicles fantasy trilogy , about teen cousins who visit Mount Olympus and battle Greek mythological figures, 7 p.m. Tuesday; Jim Krusoe signs Erased, a novel about a man who gets a postcard from his dead mother and travels to Cleveland to see what's going on, 7 p.m. Thursday; comedian Carol Leifer signs When You Lie About Your Age, the Terrorists Win: Reflections on Looking in the Mirror, 7 p.m. Friday.
Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library (3512 Darrow Road) — Stow novelist Chrystom G. Horattas signs On the Island of Aphrodite, a romance about two people from rival cultures. 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson) — Mary Zelinsky signs Something Very Wild, about a young New Orleans woman who is disgraced at college and finds a job at a fancy art gallery, where she meets a handsome FBI agent; romance and intrigue ensue, 7 p.m. Thursday; Richard Edington signs the useful and attractive The Photographers' Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday; Stan Purdum signs, Pedaling to Lunch: Bike Rides and Bites in Northeast Ohio, with routes for scenic rides and stops for lunch, 1 p.m. Saturday.
Bank of America Conference Center, InterContinental Hotel, Cleveland Clinic — Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, speaks as part of the Ideas for Tomorrow speaker series. Registration is free; call 216-932-3448. 5 p.m. Thursday.
Barnes & Noble Booksellers (4015 Medina Road, Bath Township) — Former Streetsboro teacher Rick Niece signs The Side-Yard Superhero, 7 p.m. Friday; Len Stauffenger signs Getting Over It: Wisdom for Divorced Parents, 1 p.m. Saturday.
Borders (3737 W. Market St.) — Horattas signs On the Island of Aphrodite, 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
— 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.
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