Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff

Vanished Beauty, the second of the Fatal Sunset books, dives into two cases of young women who have (presumably) died during their vacations to exotic, far-away countries. As with the first Fatal Sunset book, this one manages to carry the narrative of the real life events along in a gripping manner. The stories are certainly interesting enough to warrant this book being written. In both cases there are obvious 'villains' that could be, and were, easily thought to be behind the deaths. The books detail the cases against them, and the testimony, evidence, and lack of evidence surrounding each case. Beyond the cases themselves, and slightly out of left field, the book raises an interesting question and discusses it well, if not at length. I don't want to spoil too much of it, but perhaps we are a little too quick in placing the blame on people in situations where the reality is even scarier and harder to swallow than bad people doing bad things. Maybe bad things just sometimes happen to good people, for no reason at all.
Overall, Vanished Beauty is a quick, but entertaining and thought-provoking read.… (mais)

From the outset I was sceptical to how well a book containing real life horror stories about people on holiday would work. Fortunately the concept works better than I expected it to do. The book recounts a handful of cases in which bad things has happened to holidaymakers, often under unclear, suspicious, or mysterious circumstances. The stories are presented in a very factual way, and are mostly collations of facts and information collected from various sources. The book as a whole reads very well, despite being rather 'pure' in the way it sticks quite strictly to an undramatised, chronological, presentation of events. The stories themselves are interesting and gripping enough to hold ones attention, and the unobtrusive way in which they are presented is a credit to the book.
Fatal Sunset is a quick read, perhaps a little too quick. Still, it makes good on its promise, and if the cover and description of this book peaks your interest, the inside will definitely sustain it.… (mais)

A really nice collection of fluff. Author has a solid ability to keep the stories flowing, and they're arranged in such a way you can read this cover to cover or as standalone stories.
Some of the stories are rather dated -- assistants having to stick close to home to await a call vs. checking blackberry/iphone/etc, but they're mostly timeless. Feel badly for the one whose boss' sister never made it home --- or the one who had to rescue his boss' dead dog from the pool. Really shows other side of the industry.
MYN manages to make some old Hollywood stories and stereotypes funny and engaging -- and remind me why I'm glad I work in a saner industry. I look forward to reading his other work.… (mais)