Mariana Levet Alfonseca Levet Alfonseca itibaren Barthol Chapel, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire AB51 8TD, UK itibaren Barthol Chapel, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire AB51 8TD, UK

Very, very good read indeed! From back cover: "Loyal. Beautiful. Professional. Impeccably organized. Potentially lethal. Sarah Stevens is a woman with many distinctive qualities. First and foremost a butler par excellence, skilled at running large households smoothly and efficiently, she is also a trained bodyguard and expert marksman-indispensable to her elderly employer, a courtly gentleman whom Sarah has come to respect and love. Then one night she thwarts an attempted burglary, a courageous act that awards Sarah her requisite "fifteen minutes of fame" with the local press. But the exposure is enough to catch the attention of a tortured soul who, unbeknownst to Sarah, will stop at nothing to have her for himself..."

The only thing that made doing laundry in San Francisco worthwhile (okay, other than the clean clothes) was reading the Guardian at the laundromat. Specifically, reading Dan Leone's Cheap Eats column. They read more like a Livejournal entry with little blurbs about whatever happened to Leone that week or pretty much whatever his attention defecit disordered head recollects. Also apprearng is broad cast of characters, girlfriend, friends, family, all with ridiculous nicknames. Everyone once in a while the review will actually mention something about the restaurant (he has a fondness for noodle shops I think) but who cares? The few minutes of giggling over Leone's words are why I read his column and why I would recommend the book. I don't think I ever purposely went to any restaurant he reviewed.

Prior to plucking this book off the library shelf I’d never heard of Everett Ruess. Being thus unaware of this “legendary wilderness explorer” I was able to enjoy the roller coaster ride narrated by David Roberts. The ending would have been ruined had I known any of the story before reading this book One of the interesting aspects of this tale is the process by which a 20 year old vagabond with average artistic talent becomes an icon of the southwest. It says as much about the public’s fascination with mystery and martyrdom as it does about our romanticizing of the archetypal suffering artist.