November 2017 Review Issue
Children
of Tiber and Nile
Deborah L. Davitt
CreateSpace
978-0-9860916-4-3
$16.50
www.edda-earth.com
Book II in the series 'The Rise of Caesarion's Rome', Children of Tiber and Nile,
blends
real-world history elements from the alternative 'edda-earth' Deborah
L. Davitt
has created previously for a fresh new perspective and approach that
twists
serious Roman historical scholarship in a fantasy to keep social issues
different and engrossing and characters - even familiar ones from
history -
fresh and unexpected.
From political marriages between Egyptians and Romans which foster social and political changes in the two countries to love spells, spirit trackers, and battles, Davitt creates descriptions that draw in readers, embellishing a story that comes to vivid life with descriptions that feel engrossingly real: "Another man screamed, and Tiberius caught a brief glimpse of something horrific—scarab beetles and scorpions, somehow clinging to the horse’s sides, swarming up the beast’s legs and scrambling up onto the rider. The horse reared, panicking, throwing the man, and then he was on the ground, covered in the creatures—if they were real."
Especially notable are the contrasts between Egyptian and Roman culture, the possibilities of Britannia's druid atmosphere permeating events in Hispania and Rome, and an attention to women's positions in societies that don't fully empower them, and what happens when simmering resentments turn into violence.
It should be noted that explicit descriptions of torture and some degree of rough language are part of the process of describing this world. These capture various elements of the setting's social and political atmosphere, but readers who avoid such elements should know of their presence in Children of Tiber and Nile.
Readers with a special interest in Roman and Egyptian ancient history mixed with a fictional focus will find Children of Tiber and Nile a vivid focus on the evolution of men, women, and societies at war with one another, and will relish the evolving political awareness between disparate forces who participate in their world's vast changes.
Children of Tiber and Nile
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The
Saints of David
Anthony Caplan
Hope Mountain Press
978-1549546365
$10.99 Paper; $2.99 Kindle
http://a.co/eWsmCC7
The Saints of David, the final book in the Jonah Trilogy series, is especially recommended for prior fans who will find this wrap-up volume is a powerful conclusion to Anthony Caplan's thriller/sci-fi tale.
Old connections are revitalized against the backdrop of disaster in this 2072 story of strange romances, half-humanoids, free thinkers and slaves, and unAugmented people living outside the new norm who may prove the last bastions of true humanity.
As the neural network that was the hallmark of civilization begins to fall apart, all sides receive new information about collective processes, choice, freedom, and questionable moral and ethical results: "Life would go on as normal, as the scientific community and the management worked to surpass, synchronize and maximize in the spirit of the greatest good for the greatest number."
Brooklyn-born David is a secretive Saint whose motives are in question. He has a city, the City of David. He has devoted followers. Nobody can touch him. David harvests the "untold stories" of the poor, and his narratives provide them an unusual voice in a new world order which has long ignored them. This process will ultimately redirect evolution itself.
Those who would spy on or attempt to understand him often find themselves questioning their own humanity and society's newfound structures: "It is very important to know what David plans. There is a bunker mentality, which threatens the stability of the entire world system. You and I and David and everybody. We are all one.” Actually we were all the many. The many faces of God."
How does a world-changing Saint emerge from the bowels of a Brooklyn bookstore? And how do individual quests with singular purposes coalesce to enter David's utopian world?
Blend an apocalyptic battle with an incoming asteroid and stir up action with moral, ethical and social inspections for an absorbing, engrossing story that (it should be mentioned) comes packed with philosophical and social inspections of liberty, ideals, honor, and the survival of humanity itself.
Readers who have imbibed of the previous Jonah Trilogy titles will find The Saints of David packed with a flavor of doom and hope that makes it hard to put down and an exquisitely demanding, satisfyingly read that leads readers to question many beliefs before they are through.
The Saints of David
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Androcide
Erec Stebbins
Twice Pi Press
Paperback 978-1-942360-32-2 $12.99
Kindle 978-1-942360-31-5
$ 3.99
www.amazon.com/dp/B074W1Z96J
Serial killers often gravitate towards women and children as easy victims; but the Eunuch Maker is different: he's specifically targeting more dangerous male prey, and New York City's best investigators are stymied in their efforts to stop him.
The story begins with the death of the Reaper, a man used to being in control when it comes to domination and fear. But tonight he's picked the wrong victim. Tonight, prey becomes predator. And on this night, everything changes when a serial killer's modus operandi is defined.
At this point, it should be noted that this is 'Intel 1, Book 5'. But where other books make a series connection obvious and prior book reading essential, one of the pleasures of Androcide is that no prior familiarity is required in order to thoroughly enjoy this book, which stands well both individually and as part of an ongoing theme.
The international backdrops that carry readers far from domestic shores are present here, as they are in other books of the Intel series; but just as delightfully solid are a detective's desperate search for a clever killer with an urban city as his playground of pain, a PI's game-changing case, black market business intrigue and the influence of one Nemesis, and terrorists operating in domestic and international scenarios alike.
As body bags and prisoners escalate and covert operations expand, readers are treated to an unusual combination of international espionage and murder mystery that (it should be warned) involves torture and death scenes which serve as backdrops to bigger questions and deadlier investigations.
The result is a powerful thriller that pairs high-octane action with investigative processes designed to keep thriller and mystery readers on edge throughout: a satisfyingly engrossing read that romps through New York City and the world alike; very highly recommended for thriller and murder mystery fans who like crossover titles and engrossingly unpredictable scenarios.
Androcide
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Blood
Business: Crime Stories From This World And Beyond
Edited by Mario Acevedo and Joshua Viola
Hex Publishers
978-0-9986667-9-2
Price: $27.99 (hardcover), $4.99 (eBook)
www.HexPublishers.com
Blood Business: Crime Stories From This World And Beyond offers two sections of mysteries (stories from 'this world' and those 'and beyond') - 'beyond' meaning: prepare for something entirely different.
Readers expecting the usual 'whodunnit' approach will find this anthology offers far more than intrigue or murder problem-solving alone. The introduction deftly states some of the purpose and feel of Blood Business: "Bad business…blood business, baby. The nature of our engagements and interactions can be a tricky thing. For each heartbeat of altruism, greed is the selfish counter tempo. For each measure to provide comfort when a confidence is shared, there’s the flip side of knowing certain information must never come to light—that money can be extorted to ensure such secrets remains unspoken. The mark is drawn into the con, duping themselves because they itch for something more. They need to feed their hunger and inexorably they fool themselves into believing what they desire is within reach—if only they had the guts to act. The stories in this enthralling anthology offer a step through the funhouse mirror and into our rubbery distortion. On the other side we see beyond the image and are fascinated by what is reflected."
Blood Business is horror wrapped in the guide of crime and mystery. It is human psychology turned on end, and it's as much about embracing fate's darker side as it is about crime sprees or the clues surrounding them.
Humanity's darker nature is profiled in such works as Alvaro Zinos-Amaro's 'Morphing', about Cadmus Burnett's evolutionary process when a war with rodents in his house takes a horrible turn involving snakes, the changing definition of his Pals, and something darker. His fluid definitions of friends, enemies, and a purposeful effort to eliminate the bad guys produces a fascinating, dark read into a disturbed man's logic and processes (or, is he really disturbed?).
The ultimate issue lies not with Pals and their purposes; but in murder and depravity in a twisting story that takes its time to thoroughly probe one man's motives and dreams. Where's the crime in this? You'll see...
Each short story is different. Each, however, holds the same ability to capture mercurial personalities in its protagonists, providing vivid scenes tinged with horror, and incorporates a moment-by-moment immediacy that is thoroughly engrossing, as in a deadly cat-and-mouse tie in Sean Eads' 'The Guessing Game': "I escaped into Leeweather’s bedroom and shut the door, locking it. Moments later the knob rattled. Then the whole door shook as both Nathan and Screamer tried to kick it open. But the door was good, sturdy oak, and not your typical hollow core Home Depot shit. I had some time."
Take horror writing at its best and add a crime/mystery spin. Then pair this with psychological depth for the foundation of the special atmosphere and focus of Blood Business, where every story is powerfully wrought, filled with satisfying twists, and presented with a flair of originality and surprise not typically seen in crime story collections.
For all these reasons, Blood Business is a unique, compelling, dark production very highly recommended for fans who like their crimes tinged with psychological depth and horror, and who look for original, unique, compelling productions where every story is a gem and no 'filler' is allowed.
Blood Business: Crime Stories From This World And Beyond
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Cops
Lie!
Leonard Love Matlick
GSP Press
978-1548866068
$14.95
https://www.amazon.com/Cops-
NYPD police officer Charley Griffin isn't your usual policeman sworn to uphold the law - not when he's regularly breaking it himself. It's no surprise when bully, drunk, and a drug dealer Charles is killed - but what is surprising is the depths of depravity that homicide detective Tony Philadelphia uncovers when an assignment to probe his fellow officer's activities reveals far more than anticipated.
The first thing to note as Cops Lie! unfolds is the wealth of police procedural information it contains, from abbreviations used in radio communications to nicknames for perps: "Cops like the 12 midnight to 8AM shift because that’s when the skels come out and that’s when they make most of their arrests. The most violent crimes occur between 8PM to 4AM. Skels are the term cops use for criminals, not perps. That’s the term writers gave. Skels are short for skeletons, that’s what drug addicts look like, and the name stuck."
Street talk is part of what lends Cops Lie! its realistic feel, which goes beyond many investigative mysteries to capture a sense of real-world atmosphere both within police ranks and on the street.
From open-and-shut cases (which Tony finds particularly time-consuming and dull) to court processes, cover-ups, officer actions and review board consequences, and Charles Griffin's complex secret life, investigative processes are well detailed and mob operations realistically portrayed.
Readers receive a fine mix of mystery, intrigue, and the unraveling of one policeman's life by peers who uncover more than a simple case of street graft or drug money. One doesn't expect some of the elements that enter the picture and move beyond police procedurals and into personal lives, changing Tony's life in the process - and that's yet another quite satisfying element to Cops Lie! which makes it an exceptionally interesting read filled with turns even the savviest detective story reader won't see coming.
Cops Lie!
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Framed
Wayne Kerr
Imagin Books
Ebook:
978-1-77223-331-5
$ 5.99
Paperback: 978-1-77223-335-3 $16.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/
Framed opens with a homicide cop in prison who faces the reality that: "I worked, ate and even watched the occasional movie with 250 people that wished me mortal harm simply because of what I had been—a homicide detective."
Inmate Reggie Swann is used to taking care of herself, but doing time in prison involves a degree of self-defense, political savvy, and social interactions as alien to this investigator as being on the other side of the law. And this is no sudden confinement: she's already spent 10 years in prison after being framed for a murder she didn't commit.
That's a long time to go through and investigate, from prison, a list of possible suspects involved in the frame-up. Swann's investigator friend helps in what increasingly seems like an impossible pursuit that seems like a lot of wasted time when the last suspect is eliminated, leaving Swann with no clues or hopes of regaining freedom any time soon.
The premise is stark and simple: "Someone had framed me and there had to have been a motive but I couldn’t find it."
The process of finding motive, perp, and justice from behind prison walls opens Framed; but as the story moves beyond its initial purpose, readers are drawn into an investigative piece that sifts through witnesses as it provides a complicated and absorbing story that keeps posing new possibilities and then disproving them.
Before it's over, others are framed, as well. And the modus operandi and results hold a sinister motive that few could have guessed from the beginning.
In a story where 'who didn't do it' is just as important as 'whodunnit', detective and investigative fiction readers receive an absorbing probe of how an ex-cop framed in a professional manner becomes a PI with license to investigate anything and everyone. The evolution of justice and exoneration makes for a spirited puzzler that will delight readers looking for intriguing stories and absorbing twists and turns of detective work.
Framed
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The
God Scrolls
Michael J. Rhodes
Ancient Elders Press Inc.
9780982597088 $21.95
www.AncientElderspress.com
Uncovering alien plots was the last thing that college philosophy teacher Michael Whyse had in mind, but a journey to Cairo with the intention of going off the beaten tourist path leads him straight into trouble when old scraps of papyrus pose an incomplete puzzle and a visionary encounter.
When offered these ancient artifacts, Michael is initially cautious - after all, many a tourist has been jailed for trafficking ancient antiquities out of the country, and he refuses to be one of them. When he learns he is the 'rightful owner' of these scrolls, what seems like circumstance and chance becomes something larger as his small-time position in the scheme of things suddenly becomes much bigger than he'd ever imagined.
The God Scrolls is billed as sci-fi, but it's also a thriller in disguise. There's an ancient secret to unravel, encounters with Egyptian priestesses who have led past lives, and a secret government behind the government (The Order) which is in collusion with the aliens, working behind the scenes.
As alien encounters become more frequent and priests fall under their spell, it's up to Michael to thwart alien and human ambitions alike to save the day.
It should be cautioned that The God Scrolls is no light read. Over seven hundred pages delve into magic, politics, ancient truths, and present-day alien conspiracies in a complex series of encounters designed to keep readers guessing.
Readers who enjoy the intersection of visionary fiction and science fiction and who appreciate multifaceted stories that move quickly, with thriller elements added into the mix, will find The God Scrolls satisfyingly unexpected and fast-paced. It's highly recommended for readers who enjoy stories of alien intervention that offer higher-level thinking than most.
The God Scrolls
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Greco's
Game
James Houston Turner
Regis Books (an imprint of Ruby Rock Films LLC)
978-0958666473
(paperback)
$12.99
978-0958666466
(eBook)
$ 4.99
http://www.jameshoustonturner.
https://www.facebook.com/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/
https://www.amazon.com/Grecos-
https://www.barnesandnoble.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/
https://www.scribd.com/book/
https://play.playster.com/
What does a 1619 classic chess match, in which the game was won in only eight moves, have to do with an old KGB chess instructor, the Russian mafia, human trafficking, and a man on a deadly course of self destruction?
Greco's Game embraces so many subplots and twists that under another hand, it would be easy for readers to get lost in the action, but James Houston Turner's ability to build a book into a chess-like game of cat-and-mouse moves makes it a read like none other, highly complex but entirely comprehensible and absolutely riveting.
KGB agent Talanov is actually a good guy trying to do the right thing - even when he tries to stop caring. Aleksandr Talanov's actions may be part of Turner's thriller series, but each book holds the ability to stand firmly on its own - and Greco's Game is no different, inviting newcomers to the series with a story that places the issue of human trafficking on par with Talanov's own struggles with past, present and future.
A stolen wallet leads him into this sordid world, where he draws on all his KGB procedurals and instructions to gain answers and survive.
At the heart of the story is this perception: "Chess is the ultimate game of strategy,” Talanov explained. “It requires one to outwit an enemy mentally before engaging that enemy physically.”
It's this mental clash of titans that drives a thriller steeped in Russian intrigue, social issues, and power plays that lead Talanov into an international human trafficking world filled with struggle, hope, miracles, death, and, unexpectedly, love.
Fans of international thrillers tempered with social issues will find Greco's Game not just a satisfying, well-done read, but thought-provoking long after its unexpected conclusion is digested.
Greco's Game
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L'assassiner
de Sebastian Dubois
G.N. Hetherington
GNH Publishing
978-1975931995
$15.99 Paper; $3.99 Kindle
www.hugoduchampinvestigates.
With yet another addition to the blossoming story of feisty gay French investigator Hugo Duchamp, it should be evident that Hugo's personal growth and life is as much a central part of his stories as his investigations into matters that too often hold big impacts on his personal life and evolution.
The setting is small town Montgenoux, France in 2016, where Hugo has just returned to his job as Captain of a small French town's police station after two weeks on a Caribbean island, where loneliness and the possibility of quiet anonymity is juxtaposed by the attention he earns as an obvious stranger in town.
While there, he comes to realize that his previous London life didn't hold the same happiness he's experienced in Montgenous - nor the same challenges. He still loves Ben even as he acknowledges Ben's decision changed his life and caused him to run away from everything he's loved. Now he's back, with trouble extending beyond romance, stemming from an old promise made to Sebastian Auguste Dubois, a man he met the previous year, who saved Hugo’s life and is now in prison.
But all this is just the backdrop to a riot at the new prison, a terrible murder, and the appearance of criminals from his past who return to haunt Hugo's future.
Kidnapped girls endangered, internal investigations when no crime has really been committed, and circumstances which keep drawing Hugo back to the past and to the new Centre Pénitentiaire de Montgenoux all coalesce in a story that examines gay life in prison and subterfuge that embraces Sebastian Dubois, a "cat with nine lives", and a situation which has spiraled out of control and out of the hands of the police.
In the midst of this all, does Hugo have a future with Tristan - without hiding, without secrets, and with full reciprocity? Hugo's always been single and has always been a wanderer - but Montgenoux is his home and Ben is his life, even if circumstances have changed. And as Hugo and Tristan join forces to handle both personal and professional complexities, one of the most difficult challenges of their lives and careers may turn out to be love.
Hugo's life is always filled with possibilities, whether it's racing against time, tracking down perps, or dealing with a myriad of romantic challenges. L'assassiner de Sebastian Dubois is a powerful continuation of all the forces evident in previous books in this series, takes many unexpected turns, and is very highly recommended for prior readers who have developed an affection for a French investigator who constantly finds his personal and professional lives entwined and challenged by deadly forces.
L'assassiner de Sebastian Dubois
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The
Last Deception
D.V. Berkom
Duct Tape Press
978-0997970869
Price: $17.99 (ppb) $5.99 (eBook)
Website: http://dvberkom.com/
Ordering links:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Last-
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/
Former assassin Leine Basso thinks she's retired from her profession - but apparently she's not done killing, yet. The Last Deception is Book 6 in the thriller series and involves her investigation into a Russian deception and its implications for a new world war.
The story opens with Leine's violent rescue of a battered young woman from a brutal terrorist group, an event that takes place in Libya and involves an organization that reunites kidnapped women with their families.
As other subplots emerge in a rain of bullets and confrontations, readers receive high-octane, action-packed scenes that wind social issues and efforts to seek justice with the brutal, violent impact of clashes between different forces in the world.
This sets the stage for the greatest clash of all when the globe-trotting Leine uncovers acts of international espionage that lead her on a desperate hunt for an elusive spy that could bring down the world.
Warning: once started, The Last Deception is difficult to put down. The feisty and creative problem-solving techniques Leine employs throughout will make newcomers want to turn to her prior adventures even though no previous familiarity with the other books is needed.
As Leine faces bad characters and good guys, makes decisions that will affect her world and beyond, and plays her part in a dangerous game that tests her skills and cleverness, readers along for the ride will relish a blend of satisfying insights into terrorism, world social issues, politics, and mystery that make The Last Deception a powerful survey into the life of a jet-setting assassin who just cannot lay her special skills to rest.
The Last Deception
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Lesson
Plan for Murder: A Master Class Mystery
Lori Robbins
Barking Rain Press
Trade Paperback:
1-941295-54-1 $14.99
eBook: 1-941295-55-X
$ 5.99
www.BarkingRainPress.org
What
are the connections between psychopathic behaviors and teachers? Lesson Plan for Murder
explores this and
other facets of an English teacher's sudden demise with a story line
that is
hard-hitting from its first sentences: "If
you wish to inflict the kind of pain that festers forever, consult an
English
teacher. They’re easier to find than psychopaths, and they understand
how to
make people suffer. I speak from experience. Ten years of teaching
English has
taught me that emotional torture delivers slings and arrows that linger
long
after the initial attack."
Perhaps there's no one better qualified to both assess the powers and
problems
of English teaching or the possibilities involved in the murder of an
especially
demanding instructor than a fellow teacher. Liz just knows no
self-respecting
English teacher could commit suicide (as some have suggested) without
leaving a
grammatically-correct note detailing the matter.
And so she joins a police investigation, embarking on a mission outside her area of expertise to solve the puzzles surrounding Marcia's death. The first thing she finds is that some of the answers lie in the English language, in coded lesson plans that involve Shakespeare references and clues that a non-English instructor could not decipher.
Her special English language knowledge thus places her in a better position to track down the possibilities than even the savvy detective assigned to Marcia's case (it also helps that she's the daughter of a small-time crook and con man). As she unravels a complicated case, a series of dangerous encounters place her not only closer to the truth, but at odds with others who also are racing against time.
Within the mystery genre there are always standout titles, and the reasons for their exceptional presence lie not so much in murder mystery solving, but in the delicate process of crafting personalities, purposes, and logic that lead mystery fans on a satisfyingly complex route during the investigation.
In the case of Lesson Plan for Murder, this art is carefully construed to lend a lively feel to a story line filled with clever twists and psychological intrigue. Part of the reason why these devices work so wonderfully here are the story's tie-ins with English literature and teaching: "Mrs. Donnatella was not a likely candidate as the target of Marcia’s lesson plan on Lolita, since the book featured a pedophile, and she loathed children even more than she loathed adults."
Liz maintains close relationships with students and family and attends to her teaching duties throughout, adding realistic atmosphere and insights to the story line. The peppering of psychological insights about these relationships also offer plenty of well-done moments: "When I asked George “what about you” I meant that I wanted to know what he would be doing to help take charge of the situation, and I was distracted by his selfish answer."
Threads of humor also offer a style of comic relief unexpected for a murder mystery ("While I was waiting I called the Oak Ridge police department, although I was slightly embarrassed at the thought of the cops inspecting the house. The cleaning ladies were due to come the following morning, which meant that from a housekeeping perspective, the house was at its worst."), rounding out the attributes that place Lesson Plan for Murder in a class of its own as a thoroughly engrossing, occasionally funny, wry examination of the world of teaching, students, and the special challenges of solving a colleague's demise.
Very highly recommended as an exceptional stand-out powered not just by its mystery, but by a psychological atmosphere that brings characters and setting to life to keep its action fast-paced and vivid.
Lesson Plan for Murder: A Master Class Mystery
Return to Index
Mirror,
Mirror
Deborah Hawkins
Deborah Hawkins, Publisher
ISBN 978-0-9889347-9-5 (ebook) Price: $2.99
ISBN 987-0-9992180-0-6 (print) Price:
$17.98
https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-
Mirror, Mirror is powerful legal thriller by Deborah Hawkins, who brings her background as an attorney to yet another engrossing courtroom drama about a man who has achieved the pinnacle of his legal career, only to see it crumble from a ghost from the past and accusations that he's encouraged a witness to lie.
In some ways, Jeff's actions and reactions are predictable: thwarted from reaching his coveted new position and haunted by accusations, he forms a law firm and begins his own investigation into the case that threatens to ruin even more of his formerly-successful career; but as he probes events that led to his downfall and persuades a husband and wife to bring a negligence case into play, matters are complicated when he falls in love with his friend's wife and faces a dilemma.
If he goes through with the discoveries and evidence that will prove his innocence, he'll destroy friendships and romance alike. When he's arrested for murder, and such evidence is his only alibi, what can he do?
One of the ongoing pleasures of Deborah Hawkins' approach to the legal thriller lies in not just high-octane action loaded with unpredictable twists, but in ethical and moral dilemmas, whether she's talking of forbidden love or approaches to life that hold huge impact for everyone involved.
These questions move beyond innocence, proof, and justice and into the realms of choices, consequences, and both legal and personal processes.
In these gray areas, there is no black and white of truth and exoneration; no obvious path that doesn't lead to some form of disaster. As Jeff navigates his own trial and murder investigation, readers receive a tense thriller that ultimately winds up in the courtroom with a surprise reveal in a story that is engrossing and hard to put down and highly recommended for legal thriller readers looking for a satisfyingly unexpected plot.
Mirror, Mirror
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Murder
at Broadcast Park
Bill Evans
Köehlerbooks
9781633934917 $16.95
www.koehlerbooks.com
Murder at Broadcast Park is a thriller piece about a CBS news station that finds itself in its own broadcast headlines when local news reporting about murders turns into a crime scene itself. Broadcasters need look no further than their offices as a gruesome discovery at an anchor's desk starts a whirlwind of murders, with the station at the eye of the storm of its own reporting.
The process of this particular investigation probes behind the scenes of broadcast television to create insights into the TV business that are surprisingly sordid, vivid, and engrossing for a station located in a relatively monied area of California where murder is not usually part of the morning's local news.
In addition to creating a winding mystery surrounding the perp and his objectives, Murder at Broadcast Park succeeds in immersing readers in California culture, from Jacuzzis and company meetings to conflicts between loyalty and justice, gourmet meals and last meals, an autopsy that fails to turn up anything abnormal in the case of death when all evidence points in this direction, and the fine line between news reporting and sales.
The interactive environment of a broadcast news station, from company meetings to reporter conundrums, comes to life in a story where broadcasting is a fitting, if not unusual, backdrop to events that leave even seasoned reporters puzzled about their purpose and outcome.
The result is a murder mystery steeped in broadcasting and California culture: a spicy blend that is absorbing, hard to put down, and filled with surprises right up to the end.
Mystery and thriller enthusiasts - especially those with some interest in media or California atmospheres - will find Murder at Broadcast Park is a vivid, engrossing read - very highly recommended as a genre standout for its character complexity, fine atmosphere, and realistic feel.
Murder at Broadcast Park
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The
Unexpected Visitor
Tom Alberti
Self-Published
ASIN: B0753FTPK4
$.99
http://a.co/hw3YmTv
The Unexpected Visitor features three Chicago murders that lead Lieutenant Paul Marconi to make an unexpected connection at a ritzy private club that harbors a secret worth killing for.
The problem with secrets revealed is that once they go public, nobody is safe - not even professional investigators with a vested interest in exposing killers, subterfuge, and plots. And while justice isn't blind, sometimes it's stupid.
The crime involves an unexpected visitor who feels others are ruining his life, and whose horrible deed involves not just murder, but a deeper plot. Detective Marconi is so immersed in his job that it's taken over his life - but his commitments and investigative process are about to move in new directions as he faces a homicide far more complex than the usual perp's modus operandi.
Nobody knows what pain they inflect on others; especially when pain perceived as a game. That's how madmen are created. That's how situations evolve which return to haunt the game's instigators. And that's part of what immerses Detective Marconi in one of the deadliest investigative courses of his career.
One notable feature of The Unexpected Visitor is its ability to move through different mindsets and perspectives. Killers, detectives, and bigger-picture thinkers all are explored in chapters of alternating perspectives which don't always clarify the point of view being offered, but which always lend a piece to the bigger puzzle of what's going on.
Thus, readers should expect a degree of complexity in The Unexpected Visitor which surpasses most whodunit approaches to probe the reasons for the kinds of choices and actions leading to murderous intentions.
Darkness permeates The Unexpected Visitor, from the detective's night prowls to the psychological wounds that foster revenge and more. As the chronicle emphasizes, justice isn't blind - but it can sometimes turn a blind eye towards moral issues before the dust finishes settling.
But not before hostages are taken and a detective charged with problem-solving finds himself drawn into something more deadly than a singular murder investigation.
Replete with psychological depth on the makings of a killer and the motives of a problem-solving detective, The Unexpected Visitor will reach and engage audiences who look for involving investigative pieces that reveal secrets, depravities, and circumstances which draw victims and bad men into an engrossing series of dangerous games. Mystery readers will find it a nicely detailed, absorbing plot that moves between characters with a fluid attention to detail and psychological insights on all sides.
The Unexpected Visitor
Return to Index
White
Water, Black Death
Shaun Ebelthite
J John Riley Books
ASIN: B074Y4X37Y
$0.99
http://a.co/gHfYEb9
White Water, Black Death introduces magazine editor Geneva Jones, who is assigned to a cruise ship to gain a major advertising deal from its CEO. But business objectives are interrupted by a crew member's sudden death, which the cruise line explains away as a suicide. Perhaps it's her former line of work as an investigative journalist, but something isn't right, Geneva fears - and so she moves beyond her original purpose into a murder probe with a difference: a possible perp and his pursuer are in close quarters aboard a luxury liner, with no possibility of escape.
What she uncovers is a deeply-held secret that involves not just an outbreak of murder, but an outbreak of Ebola that threatens everyone on board - and again: mid-Atlantic, there is no escape for anybody.
Other mysteries have used the cruise ship model to heighten the tension between murderer and investigator; but what sets White Water, Black Death apart from others who utilize the same backdrop is its deeper attention to detail, which goes beyond a murderer on the loose and ventures into something far more complex.
From the beginning, purposes are revealed which (it should be forewarned) are not as straightforward as they initially appear: "Time slows when you feel like this, like you’re dying. Almost as long as my six month to a year contract, almost as long as each day before my new life. In my old life I was a nameless face among many shades of brown, a temporary screw in a great machine of temporary parts. Six months a year, that’s how long contracts are here. They discard you like a flimsy receipt when you aren’t needed anymore. They don't realize how much damage a nameless face can do. If a plane can be a missile, why can’t a cruise ship be a biological weapon? I cough into my hand now as well."
The cruise line is desperate for free publicity - but not the kind it likely will wind up getting. Geneva is desperate for something more, and as events ramp up, she and readers become embroiled in turns of events that excel in unexpected twists and engrossing threats.
This murder mystery turns into a social commentary on business and employee psychology, set against a blossoming threat that could move beyond the liner's boundaries.
Mystery fans will find a degree of complexity in White Water, Black Death that keeps them on their toes. There are no easy answers, and Shaun Ebelthite neatly eschews common genre devices in favor of surprises. Lots of threads, subplots, and possibilities will keep readers involved, puzzled, and intrigued to the unexpected ending in a story highly recommended for mystery readers who like their stories fast-paced, unexpected, and satisfyingly intricate.
White Water, Black Death
Return to Index
All
the Tomorrows Picture
a young man on the cusp of adulthood, facing an arranged marriage in
India.
Imagine a new wife who can't handle the affair he embarks upon soon
after their
union, and who takes matters into her own hands to change the situation
to make
him solely her own. Add a tempest blossoming under the sweltering sun
of Mumbai
and you have the foundations of All the
Tomorrows, a heated, passionate story of two
young newlyweds not
quite ready to build lives together despite the politics and norms of
their
society. In
one way, All
the Tomorrows is a
love story that reflects the characters' perceptions of love both
within and
outside the confines of marriage. Akash and Jaya both have hopes for
their
arranged marriage; but romance can't be forced, and doesn't seem to be
evolving. Instead, dreams literally go up in flames, and everything
changes for
them both. As
All the
Tomorrows turns into a
story of physical and mental survival, it also becomes a search for
redemption
and a story of time's healing properties. As Jaya faces her own rage
and the
impact of her decisions and Akash turns into a broken man, the two find
the
winds of life and circumstance bring them back together for a second
encounter
which will either fill their dreams or wreck additional havoc: "How easy it would be to fall
into his arms, to wish
away the years of hurt. But that would be an illusion. In reality, this
broken
man could not be hers, and she could not be his. They had gone too far
in
separate directions." Replete
with hard lessons, determined dreams, and illusions and realities
surrounding
love and relationships, All
the Tomorrows
is a gripping saga set under the sweltering heat of not just India, but
hearts
on fire. It's an involving story of the tides and trajectories of love
which
will especially intrigue readers looking for more than a light dose of
Indian
cultural insight. Casino
Blues Casino
Blues tackles a family structure
under stress, much like Rose Mary Stiffin's prior A Winter Friend;
but takes a much different approach in
portraying a family addicted to and affected by drugs. Trudy
is pregnant with her third child even though she's hopelessly addicted
to
cocaine. Her boyfriend goes to school and sells marijuana to keep them
afloat.
This is an accident waiting to happen, and when the inevitable occurs,
it
proves a life- and habit-changing force where addiction clashes with
parenting
in a big way. In
some ways, Casino
Blues
represents the evolution of prior themes Dr. Stiffin has explored in
previous
books about family interactions and life-changing moments. In another,
it
represents a big departure in her style because the characters involved
aren't
just facing emotional challenges, but physical obstacles that entwine
with the
emotional piece to make recovery even more elusive. Dreams
turned to nightmares, healers with ulterior motives, new romances with
old
friends, and different characters on trajectories set to collide
produce a
novel steeped in tension, self-inspection, and a gritty style of
writing that
keeps readers guessing about relationships and their potential for
emotional
disaster. Even
when describing such a disparate group of individuals, Casino Blues
nicely explains their diverse
viewpoints, motivations, and methods of facing life which teeter on the
edge
between survival and death. Readers
who enjoy stories of damaged individuals seeking ways out of their
dilemmas
will find Casino
Blues precisely
captures the kinds of situations that keep individuals invested in
life, and on
their toes. The
result is a hard-hitting, insightful and moving story that traces the
disparate
paths of all involved, from healer to struggling parents and beyond.
It's
ultimately the story of winning a long, hard battle and it considers
the
boundaries between destiny and choice and stops along the winding road
of life
that can lead to miracles and love. The
Cult of Venus The
Cult of Venus: Templars and the Ancient Goddess
adds yet another volume to the six volumes in the Templars in America Series
and is based on real artifacts
and sites, but with a fictional overlay that keeps action fast-paced
and makes
for an excellent dramatization. It
should also be noted that just because The
Cult of Venus adds to a series, doesn't mean
that newcomers would be
confused. The book is designed as a stand-alone read supplementing
previous
series titles and does a fine job of achieving this goal as it presents
the
investigations of 42-year-old attorney and historian Cameron Thorne and
his
passion for early North American history. One
anticipates that the story will begin with Cameron's investigations and
perspective; not from the viewpoint of adopted twelve-year-old daughter
Astarte, who is tackling a school video project assignment involving
detailing
one of the biggest challenges of her life (in this case, her parents
and her
true calling). The
Mandan Native Americans know her as the reincarnated Fortieth Princess,
charged
with leading a movement that will “...reunite
the people of the world in a religion worshiping the Mother Goddess.”
Prophecy rules her life, but the question is: how can she fulfill her
destiny? As
Cam becomes involved in a sting gone awry and his wife Amanda
Spencer-Gunn, a
former museum curator who shares his passion for historical research,
uncovers
artifacts and circumstances that leads in directions that will affect
them all,
Astarte moves ever closer to discovering her own heritage's truths and
her
potential impact on the world. Three
different, connected lives move in trajectories that coalesce into a
series of
mysteries, revelations, and revisions of historical fact that lead into
greater
questions about spiritual foundations affecting all who encounter this
greater
mystery: "Jamila
exhaled. She used to
think she had figured it all out. Now, in her ninth decade, she
realized how
little she knew. The book-burners were the good guys? No. But perhaps
not the
enemy either. The truth was undeniable. Every culture in the history of
mankind
which had adopted the alphabet had simultaneously rejected the Goddess.
The
good, kind, just Goddess." The
result is a gripping story of Goddess worship from ancient to modern
times, its
lost history, and the archaeological pointers that reinforce both the
story
line and real North American events with newfound questions about
beliefs and
facts. Astarte is committed to fulfilling her destiny and changing the
world.
But will Amanda and Cam let her? While
fans of the prior series titles will appreciate this engrossing
expansion on
the theme, newcomers with an affinity for stories of Goddess worship,
evolving
belief systems, prophecy, and intrigue will find much to relish in a
story that
takes one uncommon family and follows its uncertain course as each
member
confronts a variety of challenges and dangers. Color
images of relics are included. An affinity for historical facts will
enhance
satisfaction with this reality-based adventure story. A
Few Streets More to Kensington Mature
teens and new adult readers will relish a more contemporary backdrop to
the
traditional coming-of-age story in A Few
Streets More to Kensington, which is set in New
York City in the
1990s and focuses on the evolving life of Artem, whose newfound
position as an
artist opens up a wealth of memories on how he got to this uncertain
point in
his life. Alex
Sheremet's descriptions are poignant and pointed as we view the world
through
Artem's first-person thoughts and observations, which often wind past,
present
and future into their threads, adding an overlay of powerful imagery to
cement
impressions: "I
took one last look at
the hallway. There were so many doors. I wondered how much was
unearthed, every
single day, behind every one of them. The lights were dimmer now,
turned off by
the custodians as the kids shuffled home. I took a deep breath, as if I
were
about to push a shovel into the dirt, and turned the knob." Artem's
journeys between memories of the past and attempts to navigate the
streets of
New York to understand his world bring readers along for a stroll
through
memory lane and the rough face of present-day New York. But
there's more going on here than a walk through social situations and
dangerous
streets: an attention to introspective detail and dark, brooding
encounters
between prejudice, purpose, and people brings A
Few Streets More to Kensington to life in an
unusual manner powered
by reflections that are thought-provoking and reveal Artem's
evolutionary
process: "...it
wasn’t the darkness
that got me. Yes, his skin was dark, but really, when you’re a kid, how
much of
that do you even notice, anyway? It’s especially true if you have a
little bit
of intellect – you don’t really think of how your friends play up (or
down) to
some idea in your head. Perhaps that’s what they mean by children’s
“innocence,” but all of that is probably nonsense, anyway. I don’t
think it’s
innocence, at all, but a kind of raw intelligence, which, over time,
gets
filtered, trimmed into a mere word. And so it was with Medhet, the
merest of
those words, and the barest – like a feather across recoiling skin – of
our
friends. He was, at bottom, a liar... Perhaps this was the reason I’d
always
want to be his friend, to try to figure out the when – at birth? at
some shock
to the head? – if not the why. No, why was beyond the word’s scope, at
least
then. Perhaps there was darkness to this after all, but now, thinking
how he’d
grow, adapt to things we never could, I doubt the darkness was really
his. Is
this what’s meant by raw intelligence? Am I still a child in recall?
The
phrasings linger for a moment, then dissolve by the order of memory..." By
now, it should be evident from these few quotes that A Few Streets More to Kensington
is as much a work of
literature as fiction. Readers should anticipate crass language and
conflicts,
gritty street life, young love and life's lies, and Artem's urge to
escape,
change, grow, and even explore paths that are obviously dark and
dangerous
routes. As
Artem searches for elusive purpose to life, a better world, and
connections, he
discovers and forms a new life. In returning full circle to school,
Artem finds
his past, present and future coalesce as he organizes not just his
room, but
his mind. Literature
readers who relish coming-of-age sagas will find A Few Streets More to Kensington
more than a cut above the
typical new adult story, with entire worlds embedded into a tale of
evolution
and transformation that is as much about graduating as a person as it
is about
life's inevitable progression. Groovin'
on the Half Shell Groovin'
on the Half Shell: The Biography of Bluesman Carl
Murray provides a novel steeped in
Southern musical tradition
as it tells of a newly married dreamer who journeys to Memphis with the
goal of
making it big as a famous blues singer. His
trajectory towards success is stymied in many ways, however, when his
perfect
marriage falls apart for lack of a child, resulting in a living and
love arrangement
that raises many eyebrows and is anything but conventional in
appearance and
purpose. Carl
isn't just an aspiring musician, but a would-be family man; and he will
go to
great lengths to make both happen. Having the story also narrated from
the perspectives
of others, from 'the other woman' to a father-in-law, adds depth and an
interesting contrast to a plot that offers challenging observations
about both
the music business and the process of forming a family, however
unconventional
these approaches might be. Love,
respect, and the process of getting to know one another coalesce in a
wide-reaching saga that moves from family to career objectives and back
again
in the lively fictional biography of a man determined to achieve his
goals by
any means possible, while retaining a sense of connection to and
decorum in his
world. Readers
who enjoy stories about unconventional lives and characters who dare to
be
different will find much food for thought in this tale as it unwinds a
different kind of life that's still filled with love and
ambition. Keep
Me Close Book
website: https://elizabethcole.co/keep- Keep
Me Close opens the Brothers Salem
series and revolves around professional ghost hunter and demon slayer
Dominic
Salem, who breaks his own rule not to pick up hitchhikers and finds
himself
saddled with artist Lavinia's dreams and nightmares. Perhaps
only Dom could tell that her nightmares aren't actually limited to the
realm of
dreams and that she faces far more danger than she suspects - and
perhaps he's
the only one to not only save her, but introduce love into her lonely
life. The
first thing to note about this paranormal romance is the wry sense of
humor
that winds even into life and death confrontations between human and
demon:
"I'll cut your
skin into slivers and
make you watch while I eat them," it hissed. Flames dripped from its
mouth
as it spoke. "Sure you will," said Dom. "Watch me! I can-". Perfect. A
big mouth." But
how does he explain magic to a 'civilian' like Vinny? How does he
explain that
not just her life, but her soul, is in danger? And how does he fight
the
romantic impulses that stem from their mutual attraction despite
constant
interruptions and demonic interventions? As
Vinny inadvertently strolls into other worlds and Dom faces her
uncommon ability
to walk into realms most humans can't enter, he finds himself
discovering more
about this stranger than he could ever have anticipated as he confronts
a force
that challenges his skills, his purpose, and his heart. To
call Keep Me
Close a paranormal
romance may be over-simplifying the description; because the humor,
drama and
intrigue that permeate a story of close-held secrets, spells, and love
make it
a gripping read heads and shoulders above any formula writing or genre
description. Readers
who love stories of demons, dangers, and matters of the heart will find
Keep Me Close
a diverse, involving read. Last
Things Last
Things represents a departure from
a
set course in life when priest Frank, who has driven past dozens of
accidents
without pulling over, stops at the scene of a horrible crash and is
called upon
to give last rites to a deceased Catholic victim. Until
this moment, three decades of being Father Francisco Ochoa has imparted
a
degree of ennui to his tasks that has led him to feel restless about
his
choices as he leaves middle age. There must be something more useful
for his
skills than tending a parish - and when he's asked to extend his
abilities to
directly work with victims, joining an EMT team that weekly faces
terrible
decisions, he finds his life changed not just professionally, but
personally. In
many ways, Last
Things is about a
midlife crisis on both a spiritual and an emotional level. When Frank
accepts
the challenges of a new purpose in life, he also finds the door open to
unexpected relationships and feelings that introduce both opportunity
and
dangerous temptations. His
entry into the fast-paced world of EMT emergency response brings him
face to
face with some of the deepest emotions and confrontations with life and
death
that he could ever imagine - and so his world changes. One
of the special pleasures of Last Things
is its ability to draw people into the story of a priest's
transformation. As
he moves from spiritual offerings to hands-on EMT work, Frank not only
confronts life and death in a more intimate and immediate manner, but
discovers
that many people around him don't want to hear about his experiences
and new
career. Liturgical,
counseling, and bureaucratic responsibilities occur as usual; but what
is less
familiar to him is the types of people he encounters and the
friendships that
evolve into something different than he's known all his life. Last
Things is about a man whose course
has long seemed set, who finds himself on an uncertain trajectory
sparked by a
single impulse to become involved beyond his expertise. As he discovers
new
aspects of life and death, readers are carried into a story that is
thought-provoking, evocative, and engrossing all in one, charting
complex
emotions and new duties that take the emergency medical world and
dovetails its
experiences with those of a well-meaning priest embarking on his own
late midlife
journey. Readers
who enjoy stories of personal transformation and midlife changes will
relish
the insights and details Last
Things
provides as the story follows Frank's life-giving efforts. Lovely Lovely
is a coming-of-age story about the
life of young Lovely, who faces the aftermath of an accident, helps
care for a
terminally ill parent, and assumes the adult duties of running a
household. Preteen
Lovely is adept at her new role in life and seems more than capable of
fielding
the issues that arise daily until a questionable family member enters
her world
and adds to her challenges, changing her perspective to one that
includes
self-destruction - an unwelcome transformation that plagues her into
young
adulthood and threatens her independence. It's
unusual to find a coming-of-age story that moves beyond the early teen
years to
follow the protagonist into new adulthood, but this is just one of the
strengths in Lovely,
which
creates a foundation fusing her personality and life events and then
follows
her evolution and influences. At
all points, her first-person perspective is engrossingly presented: "Sliding underneath the sheets
with my grief, I hugged
a pillow thinking how I no longer cared about being pretty. Pretty only
got me
unwanted attention from a dirty old man. So I sobbed into that pillow
making a
pledge: From this point on, I'd make sure to look like shit. That way,
no man
will ever want me." Lovely
is a compelling, gripping story
that follows one positive girl's personality and its terrible
progression to
the dark side. Mature teens to new adults who enjoy coming-of-age
stories that
incorporate threats to newly formed personalities and perspectives will
appreciate Lovely's
portrait of
exactly what it means to overcome adversity in all its various
forms. MAD
Librarian Librarian
Serenity is hopping mad: she's lost her library funding even as the
city's fat
cats seem to have plenty of funding available for their own special
interests.
There doesn't seem to be anything she can do about it, either - or, can
she? What
if she uses her librarian skills to get back what has been lost? Would
she use
that money to change the world? MAD
Librarian is the intriguing story
of a
traditional polite, retiring librarian who finally has enough of graft
and
corruption and decides to take matters into her own hands. She's
managed to
build a calm sanctuary out of the library, making it an oasis of
comfort in a
sea of conflict. Now even her most basic support stystem is threatened,
leaving
her no choice but to fight back in ways she never could do
before. There
are many surprises in MAD
Librarian
- so many that readers who approach this read with preconceived notions
of
characters, action, or outcome in a story about a librarian may feel
stymied
because of its additional depth, fire and unexpected passion - not to
mention
the subterfuge and plots - which emerges from dialogue and events.
Quite
simply, there's a lot going on, and many moments where MAD Librarian
doesn't seem to fit its own
direction - and that's not necessarily a bad thing unless the reader
desires
predictability. Political
confrontations, elusive funding, revenge, fraud and account
manipulations, and
even light humor enter the picture: "Something
happened. Any case, the ring was pulling in a ton of money until a
bunch of
folks died and it stopped. But here’s the thing: Kendall thought
something much
bigger was going on now, with ten times the money. But we could never
find
anything in Jericho.” “Any idea what could squeeze more money out of
corporations than the mob?” Joe asked. “No. But it doesn’t sound like a
library.” Everyone
views the library and its overseer librarian as a relatively benign
force in
the community. But books have teeth, and it's not a good idea to jilt a
fed-up
librarian. Community
outreach takes on a life of its own in this story, which is at once
quirky,
quaint, funny, and pointed in its message about library funding,
politics, and
revenge. Perhaps readers need Southern roots in order to appreciate all
this,
but the result is an edgy, complex read that deftly moves beyond the
initial
plight of libraries facing public funding cuts to enter realms that
even
include closely-held secrets and murder. Pair
angst and social dismay with a wide-ranging story that offers dashes of
something for everyone and you have an original production recommended
for
readers unafraid of chick-lit stories laced with social observation as
a pillar
of the community decides enough is enough. On
Liberty's Wings Book
3 of the Courageous
Footsteps
series continues the story of Yasu, who is now married and leading a
new life
in the aftermath of World War II, which landed her family in a Japanese
internment
camp and resulted in the death of her beloved brother. How
does one recover to lead a new life in the aftermath of such
gut-wrenching
disaster? That's one of the keys to understanding the determined,
feisty Yasu's
process as she faces a vastly changed world and life, including a new
teaching
job and expanding opportunities, even as her husband Masato struggles
to pursue
a degree and faces losing his job to an experienced, returning war
vet. Especially
notable as Yasu's story evolves is the ongoing impact of World War II
on daily
American life and perceptions post-war, and the prejudice against the
Japanese
which continues to permeate American society; something too many
post-War
stories omit: "My
father—Leona’s
grandfather—served during World War two. He was stationed in the
Pacific and
witnessed many horrible things done by Japanese soldiers. He does not
want his
precious granddaughter in your class.” At
different points along the way, Masato and Yasu face decisions about
how they
should lead their lives honorably ("Hey,
I know how important your engineering degree is. Why didn’t you let me
help?”
Masato shrugged his shoulders and said, “I appreciated your offer, but
when I
thought about it, knew I had to earn my degree honestly. Otherwise
what’s the
point?”), and this adds to the overall theme of
recovery and
positive growth. Readers
who have followed Yasu's evolution in previous books will especially
appreciate
seeing these threads of change, which force characters to consider new
actions,
reactions, and consequences of their behaviors even as society changes
and
evolves around them. Many
novels focus on the Japanese internment camp experience; but far fewer
continue
the story to document the ongoing challenges faced by the Japanese as
they -
and American society - recovers in the aftermath of war. The different
forms of
prejudice that continue to complicate her life, even for something as
simple as
a real estate transaction ("The couple
refused to even consider buying a house that Japanese people lived in.
You will
have to find another realtor. I’m taking this house off my selling list."),
are especially revealing and powerfully portrayed. The
themes of forgiveness, choice, prejudice, and achievement that run
through Book
3 of the series paint a powerful portrait of family relationships,
stress,
cooperative efforts, and change. All this is set against the backdrop
of daily
life and goals, making for a realistic and involving feel that immerses
readers
in both Yasu's evolution and her family's recovery. While
the story stands nicely alone as an individual piece, when read in the
wider
context of Yasu's life, it serves as yet another jigsaw puzzle piece
creating
the bigger picture of the World War II experience. Especially when
taken as an
integral part of this blossoming series, it is recommended for mature
teens to
adult readers seeking far more psychological depth and social
inspection than
the usual focus on the Japanese experience in America during the
War. Reflections When
does 'tall, dark and handsome' not
translate to an ideal romance? This happens when physical beauty masks
a
self-centered drunk: something not initially recognized by naive
eighteen-year-old Cosby Tates, even though she's purposely rescued this
drunk,
beautiful man from a wedding and changed his life for the
better. Fast
forward ten years. Cosby is long gone, Warren is now sober and on the
fast
track to business success, and he is engaged to a lovely photographer
when he's
tapped to attend a conference, there to espy a haunting woman from his
past who
is accompanied by a little boy. But
the 'girl from his dreams' is also engaged to another, and a
complicated
scenario evolves involving the lives and decisions not just of the
now-mature
Warren and his rescuer from the past, but two fiancées and a small
child. If
all of this sounds convoluted, it should be advised that one of the
strengths
of Reflections
lies in its
ability to take complex entanglements of human emotions and
associations and
lend them a logical structure and evolution that makes it easy to
empathize
with good and bad choices made by all sides. From
single motherhood and secrets kept for a greater good to connections of
the
past that arise to haunt and possibly challenge future happiness and
trajectories towards fulfillment, Reflections
does a fine job of tracing the psychological evolution and perspective
of all
its characters. In
many ways, Warren has changed for the good. In other ways, the past
maintains
its magnetic pull, injecting doubt just when everything seems certain
and
stable: "Why
have the dream now?
Everything was perfect in his life. He was getting along with his
parents and
The Traumatic Trio. His father's health was good, which made his mother
happy.
If his parents were happy, they were not crowding him." Readers
who seek a novel about entwined, complex results of decisions made long
ago
will relish the devices used in Reflections,
which uses a complex, fast-paced story line to inject a deeper level of
psychological understanding than most novels offer. Sarah
& Zoey Pronoun:
https://books.pronoun.com/ iBooks:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/ Google
Play: https://play.google.com/store/ Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ Sarah
has everything good in life: a career, family, and nice home. Mindy Sue
is her
opposite: she has none of these things and few joys in life - just her
dog,
Zoey. It's ironic to find that a dog will bring these disparate worlds
together
in a meeting that portends changes for both, and intriguing to read the
process
whereby Sarah and Mindy find their very different lives on a parallel
trajectory. Animal
lovers will relish the clear contrast between a woman who feels truly
blessed
with her life and choices and one who feels trapped; all set against
the
backdrop of a special dog who brings them together. For
Sarah, this involves a day when everything changes and her perfect
world comes
apart in an instant. For Mindy Sue, it's when the final blow sends her
dog and
herself to the brink of death. Mindy must consider what's best for
Zoey's
future. Sarah is deep in grief. Three
disparate lives - two human, one canine - whirl through a circle of
circumstance that is poignant, involving, and especially moving to dog
lovers
who want a novella about crisis, escape, and recovery. Sarah
and Zoey can be read in short
segments, so it's perfect for busy fiction readers who want high drama
packed
into succinct chapters. The mechanics whereby loss and endangered lives
heal
are nicely portrayed in a winning story that emphasizes hope and offers
an
involving tale dog lovers will relish. A
Shadow of Hope A
Shadow of Hope: The Story of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd
is a historical novel centering around the Civil War era and the
experiences of
a country doctor who finds his profession, his life, and his world
changed by
politics and conflict. The
real Dr. Mudd was imprisoned when he treated the broken leg of
President
Lincoln's assassin, unwittingly assisting a patient embroiled in
political
conflict, As a result of his professional impulses he endangered his
reputation
and life. In his case, justice was not served, and his actions resulted
in four
long years of prison hardship, torture, and vanishing hope. Dialogue,
letters written to prisoners, Lincoln conspirators, and court verdicts
that
ignored the formerly-esteemed doctor's contributions to society are
facets of a
novel that reads like history, but re-creates events from facts and
adds lively
interpersonal interactions against the backdrop of evolving social and
political turmoil. Pamela
Bauer Mueller's close attention to historical detail and accuracy and
her focus
on adding the dramatic elements that mark good fiction produces a
mesmerizing, well-researched
story based on her survey of the diaries, published letters, and
stories by
Mudd's relatives (and even his enemies) and historical
records. A
Shadow of Hope is a hard-hitting,
absorbing novel that is hard to put down, bringing Civil War politics
to
sparkling life as it considers how a small-time country doctor became
embroiled
in an unjust and fiery political controversy. A
Shadow of Hope is especially recommended for
historical fiction
readers who want their dialogue crisp, their characters firmly based on
real
personalities, and their history accurately represented in the course
of a
rollicking good read. Summer
Girl It
would be too easy to bill Summer
Girl
as a young adult romance story; for it contains all the elements of a
breezy
summer fling as sixteen-year-old protagonist Jake meets vacationer and
new best
friend Andi during her seasonal sojourn on Cutter Island in Maine in
1965. However,
take a deep breath; because Summer Girl
isn't formula writing about a summer fling, but a deeper story of
coming of
age, sexual abuse in families, and methods of survival that enter the
picture
of a blossoming interpersonal relationship, crafting an unexpectedly
complex
atmosphere to Summer
Girl's plot. This
intricacy is strengthened by the perspective of three different
characters who
narrate events: Jake, Andi, and Sammy (who views their evolving romance
from a
distance and harbors his own secrets). It also includes flashbacks and
changed
viewpoints on all sides as readers are treated to Andi's musings about
her
continued connections to the past, (cemented by letters) and her
observations
not only of how her world has evolved, but what it might have been: "...after I’d read what he’d
written, I watched
his hand move, reaching for me, and I knew that if I’d been given the
chance I
would have taken it and RUN . . . run away from this cottage . . . away
from
this life . . . run with him as fast as I could, the wind and salty air
putting
roses in our cheeks, the sound of the waves pounding in our ears. Run.
Run
until we found a beach . . . any beach . . . anywhere . . . where we
could lie
in each other’s arms and, if only for one night, tell the stories
written in
the stars once again. Consequences be damned." The
process of falling in love is closely examined in a moving account that
is
especially powerful for its inclusion of not only Andi and Jake's
perspective,
but that of an outside observer. These three threads create a potent
story of
one fateful summer of change and its lasting impact on participants and
observer alike. Readers
who enjoy coming of age stories given from the perspective of maturity
and the
passage of years will relish the unique detail and perspectives Summer Girl
embraces, which sets it apart
from other coming-of-age romances and makes it accessible to new adults
as well
as mature teen readers. The
Summer of Crud It's
the crack of dawn, and two friends newly graduated from college are
embarking
on a journey that involves the idea of a long road trip across the U.S.
and
into Mexico. Each searches for something missing in their lives, and
each seeks
to discover a sense of freedom, purpose, and history after their
newfound
release from college. The
opener in The
Summer of Crud
offers a powerfully positive sense of purpose that two new adults seek
from
such an endeavor. This is just one example of the evocative, absorbing
language
that sets this coming of age/new adult saga part from other road trip
accounts:
"I wanted to
roll in the dirt and wash
myself in the rain and touch the earth and feel my atrophied spirit
rise inside
of me. America as I’d known it was oppressive and filthy and imbalanced
and
negligent and abusive. But there had to be a real America out there. A
Great
America. And there had to be a real me out there too." But
is such a trip, replete with dreams and ambitions, doomed to failure?
Danny
states this possibility early on, given the personality and background
of his
travel companion, and this feeling is reinforced in chapters that are
steeped
in musical ambition, a road map to a different/better life, and a
series of
encounters that involve cute girls, camping, crippling fears, life's
passage,
and struggles with drugs and angst. Although
The Summer of
Crud is a loose
prequel to Jonathan LaPoma's previous Understanding
the Alacran, it both sets the stage for that
story yet stands well
on its own as a unique coming-of-age story of a new college grad out on
his
own, embracing the positives and negatives of a wider world that is
alternately
both familiar and strange. Also
most notable in this production, setting it apart from other road trip
sagas,
is its connections between different geographic atmospheres and their
social
and cultural differences, nicely expressed by a narrator who draws
important
links between them and his evolving life: "I was thrilled to cross the
Columbia River, which, to me, felt like the
last natural barrier between us and California. Once we passed over the
Cascades, we rolled down into Seattle. By the time we got to the city,
I was
feeling like myself again. Coming from Buffalo, this place seemed so
foreign.
Cozy Craftsmans and minimalist modern houses littered the city’s
fringes, and
the whole place stunk of real wealth—not Buffalo wealth. Not
both-of-my-parents-are-lawyers wealth, but millionaire and billionaire
meeting-with-world-leaders kinds of cash. It made me feel ashamed of my
dirty,
ripped clothes and the shitty car we were driving." Just
as compelling are Danny's references to his musical ambitions, which
permeate a
story filled with insights and emotion: "The
song got to me too, but for a different reason. While dicking around at
band
practice one day, I came up with a riff that was halfway between the
one
driving “Take Me Out” and another song wildly popular at the time,
“Float On”
by Modest Mouse. I knew it took more than a fucking riff to make a
song, but
every time I heard either of those tunes, it reminded me that the whole
world
was passing me by. Some people felt inspiration and turned it into
something
beautiful. But me . . . I felt inspiration and ducked for cover." The
Summer of Crud weaves an
extraordinary
road trip with a young man's changing and gripping perceptions of the
wider
world and his place in it. It's a pot-smoking, paradigm-changing
journey that
brings reads along for a wild ride, offering a high-octane blend of
psychological
revelations and cultural observation designed to captivate and involve
readers
in Danny's search for what truly constitutes a sense of place, home,
and
meaning in his young life. The
Summer of Crud is especially
recommended for readers who appreciate coming-of-age stories beyond the
usual
teenage angst focus. This
Second Chance This
Second Chance tells of newlywed
Rachael Battaglia, who should be enjoying everything about her new
marital
status until the unexpected gift of a snow globe - something connected
to her
abusive ex-husband - introduces an evil into her new life that
threatens to
shatter everything. Happy
endings are not all alike - some of them only seem happy and
conclusive, as
Rachael discovers when a series of seeming accidents eventually
reinforce the
notion that something dangerous is threatening her new family. It
should be mentioned that this story is driven by angels, afterlife
interactions, and forces on two sides that use the human realm and
Rachael's
family to twist events to their own objectives. At stake is not just
Rachael's
newfound happiness and that of her family, but those who face final
decisions
and opportunities for redemption on the way to their final resting
points. The
juxtaposition of supernatural forces and real-world dilemmas is
satisfyingly
done as the characters find themselves caught up in something they
never could
have predicted. The
result is a vivid, engrossing story that keeps readers guessing to the
end,
bringing to life a new family's efforts to survive against all odds.
Readers
who like supernatural and spiritual elements in their novels will
relish this
story of lives and spirits on edge. Unloved,
a love story Cassidy's
father was executed when Cassidy was only eight for his role in
murdering
twelve innocent children. Cassidy has grown up under this shadow and,
sensing
the dark potentials within himself, has chosen to isolate himself from
life in
an effort to keep from following in his father's footsteps. Love
seems to bring this inner dragon to life; so it's something he
especially must
avoid. When Brynn inadvertently enters his world, something changes in
both of
them. Love looms - and death awakens, hungry. It's
unusual to see a romance so wound into murder and angst as in Unloved,
but one of the special forces at
work in this story line is its cross between the story of a killer and
the saga
of a lover. Circumstance and serendipity play big roles in what
transpires,
because Brynn wouldn't be single were it not for a dead car battery
that leads
her fiancée Jem to a nightclub and into the sights of a deadly shooter,
one
fateful night. Another
unusual aspect is Unloved's
ability to include psychological inspection in its story, explaining
the
motivations and feelings of everyone involved in life-changing events: "The shooter left a note saying
that he didn’t love or
hate the music of Steeple 10.What he hated was the idea of all those
people in
a club for the same reason: having something in common that they all
enjoyed.
He didn’t enjoy anything with anyone and was jealous of their communal
happiness, their shared appreciation for noise pop." There
is despair in abundance - but also the soul's longing for love and the
kinds of
actions that keep evil and death at bay. Star-crossed lovers are in
abundance
here, and they traverse just as rocky a terrain as Romeo and Juliet, in
many
ways - although here the threats come from within as much as
outside. Thanks
to Cass, Brynn can finally say goodbye to Jem. Thanks to Brynn, Cass
can learn
new things about himself: desire, caring, and perhaps even love. These
moments
of revelation are succinctly and powerfully revealed in flashes of
insight that
grab and wrestle with the reader's own heart: "But even that moment was
surpassed by another—by the communion of two
hearts that have broken and kept on beating. By the keen and consummate
sympathy that is only born from surviving something that almost broke
you and
recognizing that journey back from hell in someone else’s eyes." By
now it should be evident that Unloved
is actually not about the absence of love, but its presence; and what
happens
when two lonely individuals who have eschewed romance for various
reasons find
solace and newfound love in another, against all odds. Poignant
and absorbing as it shifts in perspective between Cass and Brynn, Unloved
is a read like few others and is
highly recommended for audiences who like their love tempered with a
flirtation
with danger, frosted with psychological inspection, and packed with
revelations
that resound in the heart long after the last page is
absorbed. Walk
in Bethel Walk
in Bethel represents yet another
departure,
in some ways, from Dr. Stiffin's prior family stories in that it's set
in the
Mississippi Delta and steeped in an atmosphere of the South, focusing
on a
Christian woman who is a reverend's wife, convinced that God walks
among us. How
many times have best intentions resulted in angst, struggle, and
difficulty?
When Nashville helps a once-battered young woman, she is literally
dragged into
an assault and rescued herself, and unwittingly introduces terrorism
and sin
into her life during a flight that leads her to question everything
she's
valued, from family to God. As
her choices resound in three generations of this Southern black family,
readers
are treated to a story that evolves along with its plot and characters,
with
accounts moving from the 1800s to modern times as they follow the
threads of
Nashville's decision and its lasting impact. Despite
a plethora of characters which introduce a degree of complexity into
the story,
Walk in Bethel's
ability to
explore depth and meaning at every turn means that readers are seldom
lost or
left wondering. Descriptions are well-done, and nicely reflect
character
thoughts, emotions, and moral and spiritual conundrums: "He thought of his sermon. God
exacted vengeance, not
man, not him. God judged swiftly. Seeking those boys out,
exacting his
revenge would ensure him one thing, his own death. Vengeance is Mine,
sayeth
the Lord. He had to believe these words." It's
one thing to believe in good times. It's quite another to reassess and
remain
strongly moved by conviction when the desire for retribution burns in
one's
heart. This
is one theme that shines in a story that changes generations,
perspectives, and
experiences, from the Klansmen burning a house because of a suspected
illegal
marriage between a white man and a colored girl to terrible decisions
to
sacrifice self for the sake of bringing peace to a beloved
husband. Prejudice
takes many forms. Sometimes it's in the guise of an untimely death;
other times
it's in the hearts of those who would keep loving gay parents from
adopting a
child into their lives. Physical attractions and affairs of the heart
are two
of the themes that permeate the spiritual and social clashes in Walk in Bethel,
keeping it an absorbing
account of changing lives against the backdrop of changing
society. In
many ways, these stories read like a series of vignettes as characters
move
through their lives and choices and search for the light that keeps
them
purposeful and connected. Thus, readers who fall in love with one of
the
characters, or a particular era, receive a broader discussion that
moves
through the decades with the precision of a military march. Walk
in Bethel is complex, deeply rooted
in Southern tradition and evolving social changes in America, and a
powerful,
must-read recommendation for readers who look for sweeping family
chronicles,
African-American historical inspection from personal perspectives and
experience, and a tribute to family connections as they change through
time. A
Winter Friend A
Winter Friend opens with a typical
successful American family torn asunder by a job loss and changes which
prompt
new decisions, which could serve as a mirror for many modern Americans
who
struggle as economic and social conditions change. Forced
to relocate after tragedy strikes, a family of six discovers that a new
environment brings newfound conflict and strange attractions as first a
devoted
wife and mother and then a daughter meet others, fall in love, and face
some
life-changing moments that question everything they've believed about
love and
life. A
Winter Friend is about new
friendships
evolving during turbulent times. It takes a classic nuclear family,
breaks it,
and turns it on end, offering a close inspection of the stresses and
forces
that lead family members to divert from familiar beliefs and
dedications into
dangerous waters of emotional dependence and new
relationships. As
a series of hardships forces not just new lives but new ideas of
romance, the
family's females embark on paths that receive especially strong
descriptions of
the links between personal habits and changed economics: "When they'd lived in Houston,
she'd belonged to a
couple of book clubs. She had enjoyed meeting the members,
mostly women,
to discuss a book, gossip, and even drink the occasional glass of
wine.
Now, with no money for a babysitter and the guilt of forcing her older
daughters to take on an adult role too soon, she had to be content to
read a
few pages of a novel every night." As
lies build up between mother, daughter, and the family, Connie
questions
abilities she'd thought she had for raising her children properly ("Was this her fault? Yes. She was
a terrible mother.
She had to be. No good mother would allow this or not know about it.");
but one of the strengths in A Winter Friend
is that there aren't always clear right and wrong choices - only
diversions,
unexpected love, and opportunities explored on all sides. How
friendships turn into something more and how these affect family
structures
makes for an engrossing story packed with psychological depth and
detail as it
explores several evolving timelines of interconnected family members
who form
their own responses to the changes in their lives. Readers
of women's literature who enjoy stories about family structures facing
the
rigors of tragedy and recovery will find much to appreciate in a novel
by a gifted
author, which does more than lightly brush the surface of life and
love,
offering a depth and focus that examines individuals as they operate in
a wider
arena of changing connections.
Nillu Nasser
Evolved Publishing
978-1-62253-785-3
$14.95
http://evolvedpub.com/books/
All
the Tomorrows
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to Index
Rose Mary Stiffin, PhD
CreateSpace
9781545315118
$19.00
http://a.co/7LgvZb6
Casino
Blues
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to Index
David S. Brody
Eyes That See Publishing
978-0-9907413-3-6 $14.95
www.davidbrodybooks.com
The
Cult of Venus
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to Index
Alex Sheremet
Crossroads Press
ASIN: B075812SDR
$4.99
http://a.co/8FR7viT
A
Few Streets More to Kensington
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to Index
Rose Mary Stiffin, PhD
CreateSpace
9781494965532
$25.00
http://a.co/9A9HbCy
Groovin'
on the Half Shell
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to Index
Elizabeth Cole
SkySpark Books
9781942316275 (ePub) $ 4.99
9781942316282 (Print) $14.95
Author Website: https://elizabethcole.co
Keep
Me Close
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to Index
E. J. Myers
Montemayor Press
1932727248
$16.95
www.MontemayorPress.com
Last
Things
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to Index
Autumn J. Bright
A Light Bulb Publishing
9780986192340
$13.95
www.alightbulbpublishing.com
Lovely
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to Index
Michael Guillebeau
Madison Press
978-0-9972055-2-7 $20.00 Paper, $7.99
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/MAD-
MAD
Librarian
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to Index
Diane Dettmann
Outskirts Press
978-1478714026
$20.95
http://a.co/2p5EwW8
On
Liberty's Wings
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to Index
Rose Mary Stiffin, PhD
CreateSpace
9781478321231 $23.00
http://a.co/9xszvHU
Reflections
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to Index
Linda Watkins
Argon Press
9781944815035
$2.99
Ordering Links:
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/
Sarah
& Zoey
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to Index
Pamela Bauer Mueller
Piñata Publishing
9780980916355 $18.00
www.pinatapub.com
A
Shadow of Hope
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to Index
Linda Watkins
Argon Press
978-1-944815-04-2 (eBook)
978-1-944815-05-9 (Print version)
http://www.lindawatkins-
Summer
Girl
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to Index
Jonathan LaPoma
Almendro Arts
978-0-9988403-2-1
$12.95
https://www.ingramcontent.com/
The
Summer of Crud
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to Index
D.L. Finn
D.L. Finn, Publisher
ISBN Print:
978-0-9977519-0-1
$9.99
ISBN eBook:
978-0-9977519-1-8
$2.99
www.dlfinnauthor.com
This
Second Chance
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Katy Regnery
Katharine Gilliam Regnery, Publisher
978-1-944810-15-3 $4.99 e-book,
$14.99 paperback
www.katyregnery.com
Apple iTunes: http://ow.ly/
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Unloved,
a love story
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Rose Mary Stiffin, PhD
CreateSpace
9781452838908 $16.00
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Walk
in Bethel
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Rose Mary Stiffin, PhD
CreateSpace
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A
Winter Friend
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to Index
Anorexia:
You Can Never Be Too Thin - Or Can You? Anorexia:
You Can Never Be Too Thin - Or Can You?
joins a host of other books on the topic, probing the challenges of
image,
health, and psychology where anorexia intersects with daily life.
Author
Jennifer K. Jordan, a recovering anorexic, wrote this book for upper
elementary
to middle school age levels, and though older teens to adults can also
benefit
from its discussion, the fact that relatively few discussions of
anorexia are
designed to reach this age group, who needs it the most, makes Jennifer
K.
Jordan's approach a standout from the majority which are addressed to
adult
readers. Another
difference in her title lies in its interest in clarifying the topic,
from an
easy checklist of anorexic tendencies and knowing what constitutes 'too
thin'
to discussions of triggers, healing therapies, and spiritual as well as
health
insights. At
each step, Jordan's own experience cements statistics, facts, and
studies,
offering preteens the kinds of tools that are typically only provided
to older
readers. (Lest one question this focus on younger age groups, it should
be
noted that even kindergartners have been diagnosed as anorexic, and the
disease
is on the rise for youngsters under 12.) Three
parts are used to attract this younger audience: a fictional story, the
author's account of her own recovery process, and a section of healing
strategies. By opening with the example of young Tina's story and how
her
self-perception was questioned, fueled by the taunts of schoolmates, to
evolve
into anorexia and continuing with the author's experiences, this book
succeeds
in involving the youngsters it's designed to attract. The
book's organization, approach, and information are attractive and
perfect for
this age group, offering parents, educators and students options for
understanding, recognizing the signs of, and averting anorexia at an
early age
before it becomes firmly entrenched into a condition notoriously hard
to treat
and alleviate. Jennifer
Jordan reveals that "A
short version of
a cliché says, 'You can never be too thin.' I learned that you can."
By giving her experiences and insights to a younger audience than is
usual for
a book on this subject, Jordan takes an important step in empowering
young
audiences and their caretakers with early information that can lead to
prevention and understanding. California
Cures! California
Cures! How the California Stem Cell Program is
Challenging Chronic Disease and Disability—How We Have Begun to Win…And
Why We
Must Do It Again! is a hard-hitting
testimony to the power of
stem cell research, but differs from most general approaches to the
topic by
focusing on the California Stem Cell Program. One
reason why this book is so important is that most coverages of stem
cell
research present general analysis and discussions of scattered research
results; but California
Cures! provides
the specifics of a single program's objectives, processes and
successes, and
this narrowed focus allows for a depth few other stem cell overviews
can match. Another
notable feature lies in its case history examples of clinical trials
using stem
cells, from efforts to use injections to halt the destructive blindness
that
results from macular degeneration to the 42 therapies being tested
through
California's stem cell program. These promise major health and
therapeutic
breakthroughs ranging from an embryonic stem cell therapy that has
already
returned hand and arm function to six paralyzed patients to the specter
of a
stem cell “credit card” for diabetics that can be slipped under the
skin to
provide insulin. These
aren't goals but achievements
that hold groundbreaking promise and sound like miracles (getting the
deaf to
hear again, or helping the blind to see); but they come with a price,
and that
price involves special interests and political battles. These
elements aren't missing from this survey, but are thoroughly covered in
chapters surveying the political, moral, ethical, and social issues
surrounding
stem cell research and applications. What
does it take to convert a country to biomed's possibilities? What do
other
scientists around the world think about California's revolutionary stem
cell
program and its results? And how can quality of life be improved for
those who
suffer chronic (and currently incurable) health problems? California
Cures! charts the cusp of
research potentials just beginning to be realized as clinical trials
play out
for better or, sometimes, for worse. One
doesn't expect the references to Marine World animal encounters and
management
that is one of the threads running through this story; but it's just
one of the
elements that makes for a lively, unexpected consideration of
California's
program and its implications for health care everywhere. All this
contributes
to an engrossing read that is hard to put down and packed with insights
that
blend history and the latest research with broader examination of stem
cell
potentials to change not only health conditions, but society as a
whole. No
collection covering stem cell advancements should be without this
hard-hitting
examination that uses California's results as a foundation for
considering stem
cell's special promises and powerful obstacles to success. Don't
Mind Me, I Just Died Don't
Mind Me, I Just Died: On Time, Tennis &
Unforgiving Mothers is an essay
collection of reflections
especially recommended for parents and children, offering insights on
relationships,
life-changing moments, sports, and efforts to understand, cope with,
and accept
family relationships and strife. In
some ways, Don't
Mind Me, I Just Died
is a slice of life - but not the kind of introspective collection one
might
anticipate from such a description. Its essays often capture those
moments in
life where truth and reality break through illusion with hard-hitting
impacts,
as in the ethereal 'The Ghost Player': "Late
that night, and often at night, I hear voices without sound (as the
ghost
player saw form without form), silent articulations of combat and
confusion,
words repeated with aching clarity until daylight finds them drained of
color,
limp as a dogwood petal tarnishing at the rim. My voice calculates the
number
of years I have left to live by any reasonable estimation, while the
whisper of
an other obliterates those words with breezy denial....My other is as
imaginary
as a dragonfly cloud momentarily obscuring the moon." Perhaps
the reason behind these changing voices and descriptions and their
varied
topics lies in the fact that the essays were penned over a period of
fourteen
years, during which the author's life and family vastly changed. While
her
mother's decline and death lies at the heart of many of these
reflections, and
this account introduces the collection, it's by no means solely a
tribute to a
parent's demise or life; but an exploration of the connections between
everyday
experience and life-changing events. The
result is accessible, but not a breezy piece: a read packed with
thought-provoking moments couched in the seeming banality of daily
affairs that
assumes new life meanings under Caroline Sutton's blend of psychology,
philosophy, and quiet observation. Readers
of literary essays who like their works to move from the mundane and
normal to
extraordinary reflections will find moving sagas, a dose of whimsy, and
introspection that will connect the stories in Don't
Mind Me, I Just Died to their own experiences in
satisfying,
uniquely compelling ways. The
Highway of Life The
Highway of Life: Learning About Your Purpose in Life takes
the admonition "be the best you can be" and lends it new life through
an approach that lends Kiyoshi Terrell Fish authority as a
mentor and
friend to readers who are just embarking on their own journey to find
their
life's purpose. A
child killed in front of the author while crossing the street led to
his
reflections on how short life is and how quickly things can change.
Most would
stop there; but Kiyoshi Terrell Fish used these thoughts as a framework
for
change, pursuing a course of action that embraced new patterns of
growth, a
newfound ability to recognize signs of destiny and walk a different
path, and
an approach to truly living life rather than driving it from a sense of
insecurity. Having
an author's story of personal transformation is one thing, and this has
been
presented numerous times in autobiography and self-help books; but what
sets The
Highway of Life apart from
similar-sounding titles is its attention to refining the process of
discovery
to a step-by-step framework any reader can follow to jump-start their
own
search for and embodiment of purpose in life. Chapters
incorporate spiritual reflections on God's plan, select quotes from
Biblical
and other sources, and offer psychological discussions on
self-awareness as
they plot a course any thinking reader can easily follow. The
prerequisites to a thorough appreciation of this book will be a desire
to
jump-start a new view on life and the commitment to see this process to
fruition. Readers unwilling to accept the spiritual piece of this
journey or
who want a simple plan that takes little effort should look elsewhere;
for The
Highway of Life requires the mindset
of those who would embrace change and new possibilities. This
audience of new age, psychological, spiritual, and self-help readers
alike will
here find all the guideposts for a complete life makeover in a book
which takes
the approach of a professional life coach and synthesizes its steps
into a
framework anyone can utilize. Inklings:
Poems of the Point and Beyond The
first striking thing to note about Inklings: Poems of the Point and
Beyond is
the depth of its images, which pull readers into each succinct poem
like a
snapshot captures the eye with colourful immediacy: "When
the harnessed heads
of the/Clydes shook, music/tingled the star-startled/night above, and
whiskered/hooves sped along the back-/country roads like
Pegasus/preparing for
flight…" Readers
can see, feel, smell, and taste the scenes being observed, be it the "ear-curdling
cry" of one Mrs.
Bradley, who transmits
her rage at being trapped in an elderly body to the entire village, or
the
photo of a beloved Gran who looks pensively into the distance on a
Sunday
morning, "while
the Sunday jello cools
on the veranda behind her", perhaps reflecting
on how she came
to be in this place and time, while a grandson looking at this portrait
feels
the transmission of all that is left unsaid: "I'm left/wondering what courage
it took/to abandon your home and
say/hello to a far country…". As
the collection evolves, it becomes clear that the
"inklings" being described are the remnants of family and their
physical and emotional legacies to the next generation and beyond. And
what is
an 'inkling'? Even this definition uses powerful poetic imagery: "An inkling is a tingle/in the
brain, a sprout
abruptly/unbudded, the beginning/of a word or more precisely/its first
singing
syllable…" These
are the moments that define our lives past, present, and future. Like
Kodachrome, they are snapshots of what was, is, and could be. As the
camera
captures the image in its seconds of glory before it fades or
transforms, so Inklings
captures those connections in
life and family before they evolve into something different, bringing
free
verse poetry readers along for a ride through metaphor and
experience. Succinct
in presentation (every word counts)and compelling in its choice of
images and
life portraits, Inkling's
strong
voice and propensity for building striking analogy and metaphorical
reflections
makes it a top recommendation for any free verse reader who wants their
poetry
filled with astute observation tempered with the reflective powers of a
superior attention to atmosphere and detail. The
Journey to Wealth Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/ Author
James E. Demmert has been managing investment portfolios for
institutional and
individual investors for over 30 years, making him the perfect author
for a
book about building wealth. In The Journey
to Wealth: Smart Investment Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Curve,
he focuses on basic, key concepts involved in the process, but don't
expect the
usual series of explanations on different forms of financial investing
and how
to choose among them. Demmert's
approach is original in books about investing because it covers a
process he
created himself. He eschews the reiteration of basic facts in favor of
analyzing strategic approaches to a portfolio to keep it versatile and
responsive under a variety of economic scenarios. It especially
pinpoints
common mistakes that often keep investors from realizing the full
income
potential of their investment choices. Chapters
examine the foundations of making wise investments, providing the keys
to
recognizing just where the unpredictable curves lie in a changeable
marketplace. Investors seeking basic definitions and 'how to'
approaches will
be surprised at the wealth of knowledge contained herein, as it should
be
cautioned that this is no quick and easy 'pop' approach, but a detailed
strategy designed to explain market trends and how to anticipate,
recognize,
and strategically take advantage of them: "Being knowledgeable about what
leads up to these cycles is invaluable
for today’s investor. With a better perspective on this repetitive
cycle of
advances and declines, you can adapt to it." This
approach is anything but simple, linking lessons of economic cycles
with
psychology as it shows how to profit from bear and bull markets
alike. Even
investors with basic market knowledge should anticipate many
thought-provoking
moments here, including definitions of popular terms often bandied
about by
other authors without clear underlying meaning: "The term debt does not have a
fixed definition. Some
analysts use only long-term debt when calculating the debt/equity
ratio. Others
use the total of both long-term and short-term liabilities that the
company
has. When evaluating a stock based on the debt/equity ratio, be sure to
know
which definition of debt is being used." From
preferred stocks and the value and limitations of bonds to
diversification
processes, there is no better book on the market suitable not just for
explaining investment processes, but for understanding the psychology
of
creating and sticking to a flexible strategy that works not by formula,
but by
concrete knowledge and market analytics. Sound
complex? Not under James E. Demmert's hand: he makes The Journey to Wealth accessible
to a
wide audience, from savvy investors to novices alike, and gives it a
straightforward, jargon-free treatment that makes it an informative
pleasure to
read. Permeable
Divide Permeable
Divide provides Ellen Rachlin's
fourth volume of poetry and blends it with a philosophical
observational style
that is elegant in expression and rich in description and psychological
insight. Take, for one example, the unexpected depth of 'Families': "Those slack wire acts that
balance/by focusing near,
love the sloped wire./First, there are the shakes of contorting
bodies/then the
hold while they juggle troubled kin/in each outstretched hand." Readers
are invited to reflect on various incarnations of what Rachlin
describes as the
"permeable divide", which consists of the gap between the living and
a loved one lost to death, the rift between art and business, or the
breaks
that limit freedom and result in revolutions that may based be as much
experiences of the past as the present. Each
poem is so different that this collection requires slow, careful,
contemplative
thought before realization sets in that each poem is actually
interconnected,
in a much broader sense. 'Divide', for example, also explores change,
loss, and
being lost in a different sense than 'Families' offered - yet, in a
familiar
way: "There is
nothing to change/if you
fit in/but that's the catch./To go from shore to mountaintop/you must
adjust./The mind won't let go." Permeable
Divide captures confrontations
with self, evolving efforts to change and grow, and how gaps are
bridged or
widened between life, death, and daily affairs in a succinct yet
absorbing
collection of images and ideas that requires slow, thoughtful reading
from free
verse fans and rewards these efforts with rich insights that linger in
the mind
long after the last poem is read. Unlocking
the Cage Author
website: https://www. Author
Mark Tullius was a cage fighter and boxer who gave up his career, but
never
quite lost his passion for the sport, and Unlocking
the Cage follows his journey as he sought to
understand both his own
attraction to blood and violence in the name of sporting and the
experiences of
other fighters. He
spent three years traveling to over a hundred gyms across the country,
interviewing fighters in an effort to discover shared insights on why
cage
fighting is so attractive, and so his survey of MMA fighting's
particular
processes and psychology offers more than a casual inspection of what
fighters
find compelling about this passtime. Whether
the reader knows about and relates to cage fighting or not is
irrelevant:
Tullius offers all the background and specifics needed to understand
not just
the mechanics of the sport, but the minds of its players and
observers. One
might anticipate this story to involve a condemnation of MMA
techniques; but
one of its many surprises are insights into how fighters have evolved
into and
then beyond MMA: "Marcus
points to 2007
as the year his life became storybook, the type of life he’d always
wanted but
never imagined he’d have. He’d found a perfect partner with his third
wife, he
was finally making money doing what he loved, and he’d become much
healthier as
a person and a parent. Without a doubt, a huge part of the reason for
that
change was MMA, but there was another part, a mental technique he’d
adopted.
Marcus had discovered that as he became more peaceful and okay with
himself as
a person, he began to lose some of his fire, some of his edge. That
angry
little boy who’d become The Irish Hand Grenade had his purpose, and
Marcus
decided he’d keep him around. He just had to keep him separate and
decide when he’d
let him loose." The
journey between successful cage fighter and a peaceful life sans
fighting, the
personal goals that can be achieved through MMA, and the values that
emerge
from it (such as fairness in fighting that translate into life in
general) are
exposed and explored as Mark Tullius comes closer to understanding
himself as
well as his fellow cage fighters. The
result is a surprisingly revealing read recommended not just for
enthusiasts of
boxing, fighting, and MMA in particular, but especially for outsiders
who abhor
the idea of such a sport without really understanding its players. This
audience will find their eyes opened about many things, including
evolving
values and maturity processes in life, and will discover Unlocking the Cage
also unlocks
preconceived notions about a little-understood sport. Wartime
Vignettes Wartime
Vignettes: A Boyhood Memoir of World War II and of
Its Aftermath at first glance seems
a story, like so many
others, of a young boy and his family caught up in the Holocaust during
World
War II. 75
years later, T.A. Dolotta embarks on a trip down memory lane as he
recalls
those years of hiding in the Polish ghettos, narrow escapes from
concentration
camp death, and how the family made it to the end of the war and picked
up the
pieces of their world. Unlike
many similar accounts, this did not involve a flight to America during
the war;
but a process of survival in Europe to the war's end and beyond. The
family
wound up in France, where Ted resumed his studies, and they lived there
for
years before they came to the U.S. to built new lives for themselves in
America. Unlike
others which focus on escape to freedom, this memoir's survey of
determinations
to survive reveals logic in the actions and processes of living in
Poland
during the war and offers insights too rarely touched upon elsewhere: "After a year or so, history
repeated itself: more
sweeps in the ghetto, more railroad coal gondolas with their
soon-to-be-gassed
human cargo, and my father still believing that safety lay in numbers.
This time,
we decided to go for broke: back to Warsaw and its ghetto." Even
when Warsaw is almost completely destroyed by the war, his parents want
to
return and resume their lives - and this, too, represents a departure
from most
Holocaust memoirs, adding an extra dimension of insight to the portrait
of
lives transformed by war's impact. The
result is a powerful survey that moves beyond personal family choices
to
consider how many survivors forged new lives for themselves during and
after
World War II, remaining in Europe. No
military or Holocaust collection should be without Wartime Vignettes. When
Soulmates Unite Author:
www.christinareneej.com The
story of Christina Renée Joubert's lifelong search for love and how she
discovered it takes the form of journal entries, blogs, and letters,
divided
into two sections: learning to love self, and learning to incorporate a
feeling
of worthiness into one's life. Readers
who look to When
Soulmates Unite for
insights on romance and change should be advised that there is a heavy
spiritual component involved in this quest. Because "the soulmate
relationship is a spiritual one," no treatment of love can be assessed
sans the spiritual element. Joubert explores a 'higher purpose'
alongside
psychological interactions and self-analysis, so readers receive a
multi-faceted inspection that revises the definition of 'soulmate' and
the
bigger picture involved in this connection, often employing a chatty
tone that
personally addresses the reader: "The
purpose is so we’re inspired to shed some of the baggage we’ve gathered
during
our lifetime. It’s so we’re compelled to look at ourselves—and really
see
ourselves (faults and all!) and to look at our lives, and really see
our lives
(just as they are! happy or not!). And then, my dears, the purpose is
to
inspire, compel, and energetically force us to grow, evolve, and get
closer to
our Higher Selves (which is unconditional love), live the life we’re
meant to
live, and to live our purpose." Through
separation, distance, and other loves, love is always there, and the
messages
she gives to her young son are equally powerful instructions to
readers: "Love
transcends physical reminders of that love. And
love isn’t something someone does; it’s something you feel. It’s on the
inside
of your body. If you believe in the love, it will always be right
there. You’ll
always be able to draw on it for your comfort, your inspiration, your
growth,
and as your guiding/directional force. It becomes yours, and not a
feeling
predicated on someone else. The love begins to guide your faith, your
belief in
love and in yourself." From
healing processes to revelations about what constitutes a good
relationship and
partnership ("I’m
ready for a partner
who is ready. I’m ready for a partner who can let go of the
things/patterns
that no longer serve him (or has already let go of the things/patterns
that no
longer serve him). I’m ready for a partner who looks forward to sharing
his
life with me and Benjamin and is excited about the idea of waking up
next to us
every morning..."), this blend of memoir and
advice guide isn't
your usual approach to finding, keeping, or even benefiting from love,
but a
hard-hitting survey of the changes soulmates can bring, the blessings
imparted
by a kind of love that dissolves old patterns in favor of new
opportunities,
and the lessons and letters Joubert writes to her partners and herself
in the
process of searching for not just a better life, but a better
perception of and
acceptance of the powers of love. What
better approach to sweep readers into these possibilities than the
hopeful,
eye-opening blend of personal experience and life revelations in When Soulmates Unite? Her
book is highly
recommended reading for new age, self-help, and psychology and memoir
readers
on their own paths of self-discovery and growth.
Jennifer K. Jordan
Motivational Press
978-1-62865-401-1
$12.95
www.MotivationalPress.com
Anorexia:
You Can Never Be Too Thin - Or Can You?
Return
to Index
Don C. Reed
World Scientific Publishing
www.AmericansforCures.org
California
Cures!
Return
to Index
Caroline Sutton
Montemayor Press
9781932727203
$16.95
www.montemayorpress.com
Don't
Mind Me, I Just Died
Return
to Index
Kiyoshi Terrell Fish
Xlibris
978-1543443363
$19.97
http://a.co/0eLHU5J
The
Highway of Life
Return
to Index
Don Gutteridge
Black Moss Press
9780887535819
$10.00
http://a.co/bQcGB57
Inklings:
Poems of the Point and Beyond
Return
to Index
James E. Demmert
New Insights Press
ISBN: 978-0997335712 (print-Hardcover) $40.00
ASIN: B01M3VJJ02
(eBook)
$15.00
http://jamesdemmert.com
The
Journey to Wealth
Return
to Index
Ellen Rachlin
Antrim House
9781943826278 $15.00
www.antrimhousebooks.com
Permeable
Divide
Return
to Index
Mark Tullius
Vincere Press, LLC
ISBN kindle –
9781938475276
$9.99
Hardback –
9781938475269
Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/
Unlocking
the Cage
Return
to Index
T.A. Dolotta
Uniflow Press
978-0-9991246-0-4
(paperback)
$11.95
978-0-9991246-1-1 (hardback)
$20.95
978-0-9991246-2-8
(ebook)
$ 2.99
http://a.co/4zqZJLl
Wartime
Vignettes
Return
to Index
Christina Renée Joubert
Teaching the World to Love, LLC Publishing
978-0-9991185-0-4
$21.99
https://www.barnesandnoble.
When Soulmates
Unite: Learning to Love
Ourselves from the People Who Can Hurt Us the Most
provides the
author's love story, but it's as much about how she learned to love
herself as
it is a struggle with a seemingly-perfect life that nonetheless lacked
something major.
When
Soulmates Unite
Return
to Index
Be
Careful Adding
to the Zoom-Boom focus on friendships is Be
Careful, a survey about being safe whether
parents are present or
not. Kids
are encouraged to think about all kinds of things that might lead to
unsafe
conditions, whether it be traffic, not seeing warning signs or
cautions, or not
being aware of one's environment. While the emphasis is on traffic
situations,
the overall encouragement to pay better attention to the world makes
for an
important discussion about dangerous situations and how to recognize
them
before trouble strikes. Scarecrow
Zoom-Boom is a rescuer of careless children, but his actions only
supplement
the overall, overriding advice to be careful, not let others talk you
into
doing unsafe things, and recognizing true friends as those who practice
good,
safe behavior themselves. The
result is a cautionary tale that clearly identifies not only good
friends and
better behavior patterns, but the kinds of thinking and actions that
lead to
dangerous situations - an excellent introduction encouraging parents
and kids
to talk about the greater world and how to handle it. Be
Tidy, Or Not? Be
Tidy, Or Not? adds to the Zoom-Boom
book series, providing parents and young picture book enthusiasts with
reads
that lend to discussions and sharing. Once
again, the farm is the setting, and illustrator Garrett Myers provides
colorful
and fun embellishments to the story of daily chores and two individuals
who
undertake them despite the contrast between their names and their
actions
('Dirty Bird', for example, is actually very clean and tidy. Charm's
habits, in
contrast, are anything but charming.). Some
unexpected messages are revealed beyond the obvious contrast between
two very
different habits, and parents will especially enjoy the opportunity to
involve
their kids in a read-aloud survey of ideals, perfection, the
differences
between friends who cultivate different habits and values, and
more. It's
unexpected to find an important message about tolerance and friendship
in the
guise of a story about good and bad habits; but that's one of the
strengths in
a tale that is more about values and acceptance than about right and
wrong. BetterNot!
And the Tale of Brat School BetterNot!
And the Tale of Brat School - Teaching Morals and
Manners in School is illustrated by
Roderick Fong and offers
color drawings, a simple rhyme, and a big lesson on school environment,
purpose, and a school where teachers are thwarted in their purpose by
kids who
disrupt lessons, clown around, and don't follow school rules. The
kids won't listen to any admonitions, even from the school Principal
John, who
is summarily shot into space when the kids tire of him. But
BetterNot is on the job. He can see cheaters, interrupters, and class
clowns -
and he's adept at applying messages with a strong punch that gets kids
to
listen. The
ultimate message in Gene Del Vecchio's latest book is a celebration of
learning
and school, but the focus is on the attitudes, manners, time-wasting
student
displays, and appropriate student efforts that make school either
ineffectual
or purposeful. While
morals and manners are part of the explanation, parents of kids with
good
reading skills will find its underlying message about school's meaning
in life
and why respect should be cultivated makes for an intriguing discussion
that
parents will want to continue beyond the boundaries of this
tale. Read-aloud
possibilities for the very young will add excitement to this story of
unruly
kids and the lessons they receive from BetterNot in a picture book
recommended
both as part of the BetterNot series about manners and as a stand-alone
discussion
of school behavior and how kids can support the process of learning. Billy
Twigg and the Storm of Shadows It's
rare to have a story begin with a flashback on the cusp of death, but Billy Twigg and the Storm of
Shadows'
opening scene is just one of the surprising routes the story takes as
teen
Billy faces death in the ruins of a national monument with no memory of
how he
arrived at that point. When
snippets of memory do begin to return, he's not sure if they're dreams
or
reality, as they revolve around an evil threat from the Arctic that is
moving
relentlessly towards the world - a force only he, a quiet English
schoolboy, might
be able to repel. Kids
often dream of becoming the saviors of the world - but for Billy Twigg,
this
dream assumes all too nightmarish a proportion as he finds himself in
roles
that continually challenge him. While
young adults are the intended audience of this action story, Billy Twigg and the Storm of
Shadows is
one of those thrillers that crosses age lines despite the obvious youth
of its
protagonist, offering a classic sci-fi thriller format that many an
adult will
find surprisingly complex and accessible, while teen audiences will
relish the
development of a not-so-obvious (or even capable) teenage
hero. In
his dreams, Billy has long been a traveler. When those dreams begin to
spill
over into reality, Billy discovers there are more to them than illusion
- even
if sometimes they involve a real-looking alien cooking him a meal in an
odd
café, for one. His
strange dreams may not actually be dreams. Governments need to get used
to the
idea that aliens are on Earth. And Billy needs to adjust to the fact
that he
may be the only (unlikely) hope for his planet. All
this seems like heady adult reading (which is why many an adult sci-fi
enthusiast will relish its story line), but the character and choices
of the
unassuming Billy Twigg will engross teens who will appreciate a very
different
kind of superhero in a shy boy whose attempt to solve a puzzle leads
him to
cultivate unusual friends in strange places and an uncommon
courage. Original,
wry, sometimes funny, and always action-packed, Billy Twigg and the Storm of
Shadows is engrossing and sets
the stage for further books which will be eagerly anticipated by all
ages. Cassie
Pup Takes the Cake?? Cassie
Pup is being adopted! The opening paragraph of this inviting children's
book
nicely captures Cassie's world with delicious descriptions that
illustrate
Cassie's inviting new home in a bakery: "The
bakery shop glistens like whipped topping. The revolving door
smells like
cotton candy." A
cupcake-baking contest between Cassie and the resident baker cat treats
young
readers ages 3-7 to a fun and lively blend of inviting description,
cooking
contest mayhem, and sly jokes traded between the competitors. When
things get out of hand and the unexpected happens, who will emerge the
winner;
and what lessons will be learned? Young
readers with good reading skills or adults looking for an especially
lively
read-aloud will find Cassie
Pup Takes the
Cake?? to be an inviting, fun story of
responsibility, competition,
and friendship in a new Cassie Pup adventure highly recommended for
adults who
look for leisure stories about animal friends and lessons about how
friendships
are built. (Illustrations
were not seen by this reviewer, but are presumed to be on par with the
previous
engaging Cassie story.) Esme's
Wish Esme's
Wish is an enchanting
young
adult story which winds two genres (mystery and fantasy) together under
one
cover. It follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Esme Silver, who
has the
gall to stand up and protest her father's remarriage. Just because her
mother
vanished long ago, doesn't mean that she's actually dead and should be
replaced! Esme
embarks on a journey to find her mother, convinced that the 'lost at
sea'
designation on her mother’s empty tomb masks the real truth about her
disappearance. Her journey takes her away from her island home, where
she and
her mother were always treated as outsiders. The
first thing to note about Esme's
Wish is its language, which offers up
poetic descriptions that
pull young adult readers into the story. Atmospheric descriptions are
thick
with sensations and emotions: "Neglect
hung in the air. A layer of dust covered the logbooks on the desk, and
the
clock was stuck on half past the hour. A large storage cupboard, behind
the
ladder to the lantern room, caught her eye. The door, usually locked,
was ajar.
She opened the cupboard door wide, and stepped back in shock. The past
came
rushing back to her. The air hummed with loss. The cupboard was full of
her
mother’s paintings – ones she hadn’t seen for years." Esme
follows her mother's footsteps into another realm, where she makes
friends as
she tries to solve the mystery. Much of the story takes place in the
canal city
of Esperance, where the waters are enchanted and dragons populate the
skies. The
purely fantastical elements are nicely described, bringing this world
to life:
"After taking
one for herself, Esme
handed the bag of dragonsbreath buns over to Daniel. The red paste
inside the
buns was the spiciest thing she had ever tasted. Her eyes brimmed over
with
tears. “What’s – what’s in these things?” Lillian laughed. “They’ve got
dragons
on them. What did you expect, jam? Come on, let’s go.” Strange
creatures and shadowy figures stalk her journey and Esme’s
determination is
tested at every turn: “The
preternatural
thing hung there in the gloom. Fear glued itself to the bottom of
Esme’s ribs,
making it difficult to breathe, but she stayed there, staring up at
it.” Esme's
odyssey is filled with the kind of action and adventure that keeps
young
readers immersed in her changing perspectives and experiences. This
vivid story
is packed with twists and turns that will keep readers involved up to
its
unexpected end. It should be noted that while Esme's
Wish concludes nicely, its open-ended
possibilities keep the
door ajar for more adventures. Lucy
Meets the Family The
prior book in this series, Lucy's Tale,
documented how a lost kitten was rescued, but readers from preschool to
grade 3
should actually begin with Lucy Meets the
Family, which follows a rescue cat who is
brought home to meet an
existing family of dogs and cats. In this story, the kitten
in Lucy Meets
the Family is the same kitten
that is rescued in Lucy
Finds a Home. While
one might expect a light-hearted, welcoming atmosphere, to its credit, Lucy Meets the Family
doesn't sugar-coat
the realities of introducing a new pet to existing ones. Lucy
doesn't know what to do with the litter box, thinking it's a sand pit
for
playing, and older, wiser cat Addy has to teach her. Lucy's penchant
for
exploring gets her into trouble that the other animals must mitigate in
this
fun tale of a new cat's changed home and how the other pets must pitch
in to
teach her some important lessons. As
human and animal families make adjustments and learn about Lucy's
habits, so
Lucy observes what is being done to help her feel a part of the
family. Whether
Lucy Meets the
Family is used for
bedtime read-aloud or picture book pursuit by early readers, any child
who
loves animals will delight in this gentle story of the adjustments an
entire
family must make for a new arrival. Illustrator
Ruby Wheeler's drawings are fun, personable embellishments that share
the
learning process of Lucy and her new family alike in a story that will
find a
special place in the hearts of parents and kids who love cats and dogs. Zoom
Boom the Scarecrow and Friends Zoom
Boom the Scarecrow and Friends
introduces young picture book readers to a magical farm filled with
farm animal
friends and a happy scarecrow named Zoom-Boom, who likes to help others
stay
out of trouble. Everyone
feels his concern and love, and Zoom-Boom relishes their adoration and
the
feeling of helping them. But, why 'zoom-boom'? Because when he's on the
rescue,
he 'zooms' and then 'booms' with action-packed words parents will
especially
enjoy using with their kids. Zoom
Boom the Scarecrow and Friends
lends
to read-aloud opportunities as the perfect choice for the very young,
as
parents will be able to guide kids through its several sentences per
page and,
more importantly, concepts of friendship, rescue and helping, and
animal
personalities who get into trouble as much as have fun. "Trouble
is so easy to get into, but hard to get out
of!" That's just one of the simple
admonitions in a
gentle lesson about friendship, problem-solving, and a particularly
useful
scarecrow who is not afraid to help his barnyard friends. The
picture book's lessons and action makes for a fine read-aloud
opportunity that
parents will appreciate.
Author: Joel Brown, Illustrator: Garrett Myers
Rapier Book Publishing Company (Fannie Pierce, Publisher)
978-0-9966083-3-6 (Soft
Cover)
$13.00
978-0-9970307-4-7 (Hard
Cover)
$18.00
www.amazon.com
Be
Careful
Return
to Index
Author: Joel Brown, Illustrator: Garrett Myers
Rapier Book Publishing Company (Fannie Pierce, Publisher)
978-0-9966083-2-9 (Soft
Cover)
$13.00
978-0-9970307-3-0 (Hard
Cover)
$18.00
www.amazon.com
Be
Tidy, Or Not?
Return
to Index
Gene Del Vecchio
BetterNot Enterprises, LLC
9780692931509
$15.99
http://a.co/8MOasF6
BetterNot!
And the Tale of Brat School
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Ninian Carter
Kindle Press
978-1542969024
$10.99
ASIN: B01N4EFMZ5 $
2.99
Website (store): https://www.amazon.
Website (information): http://www.
Billy
Twigg and the Storm of Shadows
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Sheri Poe-Pape
CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1974028153
$5.99 Paperback, $3.99 Kindle
www.sheripoe-pape.com
Cassie
Pup Takes the Cake??
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Elizabeth Foster
Odyssey Books
978-1-925652-24-6
http://odysseybooks.com.au/
Esme's
Wish
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Rolynda Tassan
RiverRidge Publishing
9780998331829 $8.99
http://a.co/4Jsyvhg
Lucy
Meets the Family
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Author: Joel Brown, Illustrator: Garrett Myers
Rapier Book Publishing Company (Fannie Pierce, Publisher)
978-0-9966083-1-2 (Soft
Cover)
$13.00
978-0-9970307-2-3 (Hard
Cover)
$18.00
www.amazon.com
Zoom
Boom the Scarecrow and Friends
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