He Sees You When You're Sleeping : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: He Sees You When Your Sleeping
Review: I think this is a great book for all types of people. Sterling, the main character , had unforgetable encouters and helped the lives of several people. This book made me think of how life would be like after death and how good you should be to others. This story took place near Christmas. I would recomend reading it towards the end of the year. I recommend this book to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Check Your List Twice Before You Buy
Review: Sterling Brooks is marking time in the celestial waiting room watching everyone else get their wings. As a lawyer during life, described as the kind of person who was first in the lifeboat, who never went out of his way for anyone and who was too smug and self-absorbed to notice what was going on around him (trial lawyers won't like that portrait of one of their own), it's not going to be easy for Counselor Brooks. Summoned by the Heavenly Council and informed that his only chance for admission will be his participation in an earthly experiment to recognize someone with a problem and help them solve it, Brooks is off to earn his wings. Transported back to Rockefeller Center during the holiday season, Brooks doesn't have that much time to help seven year old Marissa get reunited with her father and grandmother. The road to heaven may be paved with good intentions; but Brooks' trip takes him to the underworld of gangsters Junior and Eddie Badgett who have scared Marissa's father and grandmother into the witness protection program because of something they know.

While this book may fly off the shelves this holiday season because of its authors' following, it's not destined to take up residence next to Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" or Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life" in this reviewer's holiday collection. Sure, it's probably not expected to be a classic, but even as an afternoon read with Mel Torme crooning in the background and the chestnuts roasting on an open fire, it's a disappointment.

There's not enough humbug in me to say don't read this book during a free moment in the holiday rush. It is short at 199 pages. It's just that I think mother-daughter authors Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark could have done much better if they lightened up on the sugar coating.

Rating:
Summary: DYNAMIC DELIVERY OF A YULETIDE THRILLER
Review: The Clark ladies are a formidable literary pair, often co-authoring to offer double dips of pleasure for mystery loving readers. Now, they've taken a leaf from the classic Christmas film "It's A Wonderful Life" and spiced it with danger. Carol Higgins Clark gives authentic voice to their story.

Sterling Brooks might be everyman--except for the fact that he's in heaven's anteroom, where he's been waiting for almost 50 years for admission to heaven. In his case patience isn't its own reward, and the Heavenly Council proposes a test for him. Sterling must return to Earth and prove his Pearly Gates eligibility by helping someone else.

Where to start but Manhattan and the Rockefeller Center skating rink? There he finds a woebegone seven-year-old, Marissa, whose family has been placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program due to the threats of the murderous Blodgett family. It is the Christmas season and Marissa is separated from those she loves.

It does take some work and thought on Sterling's part but, of course, the tale has a happy ending. After all, even almost-angels have mysterious powers.