Sam Pritchard, a great cop, is medically retired after taking a bullet. For the first time he is on the sidelines. After being asked by a neighbor to look into the disappearance of her grand-daughter, Sam enlists the help of a hacker named Indy. He gets a lot more than he planned on with this case.
Who’s the good guy? Who’s the bad guy? You’ll have to wait and see.
This was a new series to me and I can’t wait to see what’s next for Sam and Indy!
Month: September 2015
The End of Tsarist Russia: The March to World War I and Revolution by Dominic Lieven
Dominic Lieven is a senior research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, and a fellow of the British Academy. He previously taught Russian Studies at the London School of Economics for thirty-three years. His last book, Russia Against Napoleon, won the 2009 Wolfson Prize for History and the Prix Napoleon.
The very first words caught my attention: “As much as anything, WW1 turned on the fate of Ukraine” … author, 2013, before the current crisis. The author has researched extensively the topic of Russia and the role it played in WWI, and to a large extent is still playing today.
This isn’t a casual week end read. But a well researched and thought out of the Russians and all of their manipulations in the area and how they still are pertinent today. There is no better time than now to read this book. I was intrigued at the Library by the title and after reading the first paragraph, I was hooked. Ukraine? Why is everything still hinging on Ukraine.
Than you to author Dominic Lieven for such a well researched and written work of art.
A Death in the Family: A Detective Kubu Mystery By Michael Stanley
Startled and shocked by that phone call none of us wants to get in the middle of the night.Assistant Superintendent David ‘Kubu’ Bengu,the best detective in the Botswana Police, is scared and concerned. Who would want to kill an old man? What was his father doing out so late at night and how did he end up dead? I received this book in return for an honest review. I honestly had not hear of this series but I’m really glad I finally did.
Set against a magnificent background in Africa, the detail is very good, and I learned more that I have ever known about parts of it.
But back to the story. Obviously Kobu can’t work on his own father’s death investigation, but as things start heating up in the area and more people start dying,he tries to do his own digging.
Why would a high government official commit suicide? Why would a town turn into a mob and beat and murder its Chief? Could the mine company trying to expand have anything to do with this? Are the Chinese behind it? Well, you will have to read the rest for yourselves, because I’m going back to find the other Kubu tales and read those!
This book is well written and even I wasn’t sure until the end and you know I love an ending when I go “What???”
Congratulation to the author on a very good mystery!
Rushed by Brian Harmon
Spent almost the entire book in confusion. I’m not one to give up on a book, but I did start to more than once. A man has a dream, he follows it and spends the rest of the book wandering in cornfields. I didn’t understand the ending any more than the rest of the book. I kept telling my husband, this damn man is still in the cornfield. Very frustrating.
Gypsy Hunted: a paranormal book with a touch of romance by Andrea Drew
Gypsy is a physic, who doesn’t like being called a physic, or a medium. While I thought the story idea was a really good one, it just wasn’t as fleshed out as I would have liked. There were some time breaks that didn’t quite add up and the characters were all obviously in the middle of some type of life crisis, but I didn’t know enough about them to really care about any of them. I would give the next one Gypsy Cradle a try, if this was a first book, with a little more polishing, Ms. Drew could be on to a great series.
The Romantic by Felix Alexander
I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review. I don’t read Romance novels. Ever. I think watching my mom and her friends exchange bags of Harlequin Romance books every month turned me off. And as I got older, reading them was just to kitchy. When I saw the cover of this book, I was hesitant. After the first couple of pages, I was not. This book is labeled a romance, but it is so much more than that. The characters become the best of friends as children and as that friendship grows into love for Hadriel Alighgieri, he is reluctant to profess his love to Sophia Paula and when he finally does, she flees. The story takes us through their entire lives, each one not sure if telling the other will ruin the special friendship they share over the decades. This isn’t a typical lighthearted, romp on the beach romance with a Fabio look alike and heaving bosoms. This book is about real people and real emotions. The characters are well developed and intelligent. When the Angel of Death gives Hadriel a little more time to find his one and only true love, then we find out what was behind all the decisions that each had made and why. The poetry is beautiful and the writing is pure. If this is the new Romance book, then I’m in all the way. But I’m not sure this should be classified as a Romance book. For Romance and Love are two different things. I read it twice, and even read some parts out loud to friends and they just sighed…and said, now that is love.
A Rant
Not a book review today. Just some things that have been bothering me and so of course I have to share. It’s what I do.
At dinner last night I noticed that everyone, and I do mean everyone except the wait staff, either had their phone right by their plate or they were either texting, checking their social media or reading a book.
We are becoming a culture of non-verbal communicators. What bothers me is that a text is interpreted by the person receiving it. I have to wonder, is he being sarcastic? Funny? What does he mean? When you have a conversation with someone face to face, their are always voice inflections, body language and other non-verbal cues that get the point across much better than a text.
As Human Beings, we crave social interaction. We aren’t a solitary species. We need the sound of a voice we love, the touch of a hand, the smile on a face.
Social Media, texting, twittering, it’s all impersonal, it could or could not be the truth. So last night I sat down and wrote someone a letter. Filled with colorful detail and all the things that I can’t say in 140 characters or less, or spend a whole day texting someone to catch up on their lives.
Everyone is so busy on their devices that they are failing to see what is going on all around them. I don’t know the answer to this, but I have a feeling that it’s not going to be good in the long run.
Today, put your electronics away and really Talk to someone. It could change someone’s entire day.
Thank you and I’ll be here all week if you have any questions…
The Colony by F.G.Cottam
The Colony by F.G. Cottam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Colony is the genre of book we have come to expect from Cottam. It’s dark and creepy and set on an island in the Hebrides. A publishing magnate, who is really into aliens, has bought the best equipment and people, from scientists to psychics to find out what happened 200 years ago on New Hope Island, when a man of questionable character and his followers left civilization to form a new home. It seemed they did quite well at first, but one day there was just no one there. Things start going badly from the start. No one is safe and no one is immune from being killed off.
Maybe it’s just me but I really enjoy U.K. writers. The language, the details, the history education. All I know is I can’t wait for the next New Hope book to come out and I hope it’s sooner rather than later!
