Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

After buying Stanley Park on October 22, 2004, I finally got around to reading it. I started it shortly before moving, and made sure to keep track of it during all the packing and relocating of boxes so I could pick it up without too much elapsed time and still be able identify characters' names. That's my main problem with books, even books I love. If I set it down for too long, say a fortnight or so, then continue on, I'll have to rack my memory to recall who so-and-so is. Usually I have to flip back several pages to be sure they are who I think they are. Didn't have that problem with this one. It kept my attention, even through all the cooking/restaurant/chef details which is a testament to the writer's ability to wruite about it so even the laypeople among us could keep up. At the same time, I noticed there were (brand)names that the insiders would know about.

The storyline of Stanley Park - the actual park - was very well done. The true story bit about the babes is heartbreaking. I've long known pieces of the story, but being the father of a five-month-old baby makes it much tougher to ponder.

Stanley Park on BookCrossing.

condolences about The Monkey's Paw

Jeremy left Dante and Benny to explore by himself, to chat with the chefs and winery reps he knew. Almost to a person he was greeted with condolences about The Monkey's Paw, and about half of those people tagged on an additional coment along the lines of: "Inferno Coffee, though. Wow." The meaning of the wow varied widely depending on the speaker.
-- Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

Really? No way! That's great. How does that make you feel?

the ray she had beamed out

Oblivious but for one, who folded her arms across her rib cage under her sweatered breasts. She lowered her chin as if to listen to the current monologue, lids set in an expression of rigorous boredom. But with her head turned slightly to observe Jeremy at the back of the restaurant, to assess whether the ray she had beamed out had been received.
-- Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

Rays were beamed out on bicycles and buses, at school and sea, at work and in woods. To name a few places.