ANONYMOUS SOURCES
by Mary Louise Kelly

This is a wonderfully conceived and written who done it ! Kelly has written a clever modern day thriller that involves post 9/11 Muslim terrorism, British Intelligence, bad guys at the CIA , and one very inquisitive reporter.

Our gal reporter, Alexandra James is assigned to do a routine story about an apparent suicide at Harvard. A one Thom Carlyle, whose father, as it turns out , is very well connected. As it also turns out, there is nothing apparent about this suicide because it is not a suicide. James convinces her editor to let her go to London to do a human interest angle on Carlyle because there really is nothing else to write about. All of her digging in Boston is going nowhere. The local cops don't share, and no matter how hard she tries, she is getting nowhere. This is where the fun begins. There are love interest, real and imagined. There are multiple intelligence agents, all of who are  very believable. And the people in DC are VERY believable.

James thinks that she is just trying to get  background info to file her story, and in the bargain, relive some college a days and get some cool new shoes while she is there.In the process, she stumbles upon a terrorist plot to blow up the White House. This plot involves bananas, trans Atlantic murder, and James not knowing whom to trust. In other words, it is a great ride.

The story really heats up in the second half of the book and just flies.he pieces all fall into place and the story is satisfying. This is the first work I have written b this author, but I will be looking for more by her, she knows how to write a thriller !

On My Mind

I have just finished two books that dealt with human trafficking, and this is kind of playing into my theory that books travel in circles. It is amazing how books from  different publishers deal with the same topics and are published around the same time. Not that these books are bad, it is just interesting that they all come out at the same time.  I do believe that the next book I pick will deal with a different topic.

I was going through my Costco magazine for the month and I came across an article about World Book Night. I need to find out more information about this and see how I can get involved for next year. From reading their website, I believe I am too late for this year.

Border Angels
By Anthony Quinn

When you think of Ireland, what do you think off ? Green shamrocks ? St. Patrick and the snakes ? A charmed isle where life is peaceful ? If any of these are your idea of what Ireland is  this book will give you  a very different picture of that country. This story is set on the border of Northern Island and Ireland in wild part of the country that has been peaceful sine the troubles. The same miseries that plagued this country also plagued Ireland. Greed in land speculations, failed business and a host of ghost developments. Into this mix throw in human trafficking along with every other criminal enterprise you can think of. The landscape is wild and so is the Eastern European evil master of all of this lawlessness.

This book will also take away any notion the prostitution is voluntary and victimless. It is neither. The woman at the heart of the story is a Croatian girl who has been trafficked and has been abused in every way you can think of. Lena Novak. She hangs her hope for escape on a customer, who in a previous life was IRA. Jack Fowler is still a renegade at heart, only now he traffics in selling real estate dreams to those who want to believe that they can have it all. Everything comes crashing down, the economy, his life and the story takes off from here.

There are many twists and turns in this book and I gurantee   you will have fun following them. The book is well written and you will enjoy trying to untangle all the “knots” in the story. Read it and enjoy it !

The Weight of Blood
by Laura Mc Hugh

This  is a story about human trafficking, there, major spoiler alert. Mc Hugh haas written this story as a mystery and it is a device that works well. You will not realize what the story is really about, and who the bad guy(s) are until the end and that is something I will not give away.

Human trafficking received national attention when the Super Bowl was in New Jersey and the state Legislature and women ‘s groups raised awareness of this problem. This book is topical but will find an audience for years to come.

The story is told by all of the  maim characters and you will enjoy hearing from all of them. It is set in the Ozarks in a town that has not evolved in decades. In many ways the author has used stereotypes to develop her characters. I was not put off by this because it made the story. I had my favorites and ones that I was not so found of.

This is a book that will make a good book club selection. There's much to discus and reflect on. It will also make you think, is there trafficking going on under your nose? If there is what would you do about it. Read it for the story and pass it on to your friends for it’s message.

Ho-B-52 by Eric Carpenter

This is a short story that I requested, and received, from Eric Carpenter via Librarything.com. It's a short story about a very small slice of  the War in Viet Nan. I really don't know how to categorize this story. Usually when I read story, the author has painted a picture and I can visualize and put my own spin on it. THis is not the case here. This was like sitting down with the author and having him tell me the story. It was truly different and I really liked it. I was able to put myself in the cockpit of the B-52 and really feel what he imagined they must have felt. It is one thing to use the first person voice when writing, it's effective and good, but having some tell you what they thought the characters were feeling and doing is really something else.

The story ended with a question for me, which I am sure the author intended. Was the war in Viet Nam, or the American War, worth fighting. I watch travel shows, and the Amazing Race TV show, that showcase Viet Nam, I wear clothing made in Viet Nam, the nail techs in my neighborhood are Vietnamese, For me the answer is no. There was death and destruction, both military and civilian. In the end, no one really remembers what the fighting was all about, but this can be said about any war that has ever been fought. In the end, people become allies, the fanatics try to rekindle the flames and trade goes on. Mr. Carpenters short story made me think, and thatg, I believe, is the point of storytelling. I enjoyed this work. I am going to check out his others stories and see what they make me think about and how they do it.

The Tenth Circle or a New One for Dante

The Tenth Circle by Jon Land

WARNING: SOME SPOILERS (not many)

Wow, what a read ! Jon Land takes you on a roller coaster that just will not stop, even if you wish he would ! This is a story that has some roots in reality, remember the preacher down South who was burning the Koran ? Well, Jon takes him into this story and creates a truly terrifying picture of what a madman who is convinced that God is on his side can do. He also takes stereotypes of
neo-cons, embittered ex military types, retired military types, spies, counterspies and creates fantastic story. In this story Blaine McCracken and his sidekick, the Indian need to stop a plot to overthrow the government by Americans. Another borrow from reality, terrorism is coming from within and being made to look like it is coming from abroad. Who's to say that this is not
happening ?

The story goes back and forth between characters, including spies, counterspies, and American history, I loved it

Land takes the reader inside the mind of a truly disturbed preacher, Jeremiah Rule and the reader hopes to God that this is pure fiction. This character is guilty of murders, rape and mutilation, you will be happy to see what happens to him ! Land draws a parallel between his military characters and those in real life who express the sentiment that they "want their country back" . I am  never sure what the people in real life want back, but Land seems to have his characters want a country thatg predates 9/11. You'll have fun discovering of they get it.

There is one chapter that had me laughing out loud in another wise  dark book and that was the way Land described just how effective retired military personnel can be when they are called upon.

This is a really good book that will start you thinking , could this really happen here ? A friend of mine thinks that this type of book gives the bad guys ideas, I disagree. This book is well plotted and will also give the good guys some ideas.  Good job, Mr. Land

The Condor Song 

by  Daryl Nyznyk

This book will grab you from the opening and will not let go until the very end. Not to give the story away, but the book opens with a murder and is chock full of them. This gives the reader many opportunities to try to solve them, I promise that it won't be easy to do that! Besides murder, there are deceptions and betrayals! There is also love and forgiveness.

The cover bills the book as a novel of suspense but it is so much more than that. The author makes use of a flashback storytelling to set the story and give the reader information that moves the story along. I usually have a problem with this method but not in this cases. It is so well done that you forget you are reading about things that happened in the past. I really enjoyed it.

This is also the age old story of right versus wrong. What happens to your life when you decide to do the right thing? What will the cost be? Will it turn out well for you? Will there be those in your life who will try to destroy you because they knew what the right thing to do was and chose to do something else? When all is said and done, will everything turn out okay? These are just some of the questions that the author answers in this book. The story is straightforward. A man who is an environmentalist is murdered because he has discovered something that will stop a major project from going forward. There is much money to be made, and there are characters in the book who will stop at nothing, including murder, to see that this project goes ahead. For me the heart of the story was the conflict between the protagonist, Sean Donovan and the antagonist Richard Wolf. There's could be the story Joseph and his brothers, or the prodigal son, or any story when right and wrong collide.

Overall the story is developed well and beautifully told. There are a few places where the author seems to lose track of the story, but they are few and he gets back on track quickly.

I have found a new author! Mr. Nyznyk has written two other books and I know that I will be reading them. I am curious to see what his earlier style was and how he grew, or was shaped, into how this story was written

 The Reluctant Reaper

by Gina X Grant

This tale is a comedy of the absurd and I so loved reading it! In Gina's world hell is absurd, wacky, weird and more than a little strange ! Kristy D'Arc is reaped by the grim reaper who in this case is not grim at all, but rather a hottie, six pack and all! It turns out that her boss has sold his soul to the Devil, just like Faust did! Good thing that Gina doesn't make any reference to Faust because her main character has no clue as to the identity of any of the denizens of hell, not to mention  any references to the myths and literature that she does include in the story ! Probably just as well, because this is what makes the story so enjoyable. For the reader who does know who Dante Alighieri is, the visuals are wonderful! I myself never thought of him as a sex symbol! Buy hey, who knows it could be! I also have never pictured Cerbes as an overly friendly dog who would slobber you to death. Gina makes you like and really care about the characters that she has developed.

There are so many funny and well written scenes in this that I am hard pressed to name just one.  I do think that the characters in the scene with the time machine are my favorite. You are just going to have to read it to find out what I mean. I read this in a few hours and thoroughly enjoyed it. Read it and laugh, I can’t wait for the second book to come out, because clever as she is has set us up for a sequel !

Wow, I can't believe that the entire summer has flown  by ! It has been busy and it is time to bring this blog up to date !

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat

by Edward Kelsey Moore

          How would your life be different if you grew up with your BFF’s, shared everything, and in some cases lost everything? Well this is a wonderfully told story about three lifelong friends who do just that.

Odette , Clarice and Barbara Jean grew up in a small town in Indiana. This small town shaped them, as towns do to all of us. Even big cities have small neighborhoods, and these “villages” determine what the city will be for those growing up in them. This is the same function as a small town. These three friends could not have been more different but it is their differences that make the bonds of their friendship so remarkable.

 Odette, proud and strong with a moral compass that all of her friends rely on is the main character in this story. She is also engaged in the fight of her life for her life. Her courtship by James is unconventional but really works. He is stable and strong, as is she, and she will need every bit of strength of the both of them before this story ends. Odette also has the pleasure of talking to her dead mother and many other recently departed. These are among the funniest and warnest moments in the book.

Clarice is proper and long suffering. She is a talented musician who gave up a chance at a career to marry the man that she fell in love with. This is the story of so many women of her generation.  This is a bitter pill to swallow especially in light of what her husband turns out to be!

Barbara Jean is a young girl who falls in love with someone who she should never have and discovers that you don’t get to choose who you fall in love with. This nearly destroys her. Her life goes along a path that she didn’t choose but in the end works out.

In fact all of the lives in the end work the way they are supposed to. I really believe that when let go of preconceived notions about what we should be and what we should do, we lead fuller lives.  This is just what the gals do and they do open up to the possibly of love and new experiences. There is a great deal to digest and discuss in this book and I will be going back to read parts of it again it again. My Kindle makes that really easy to do !

The Jake Merlin Mysteries

Medicine, Magic, and Murder

By James Tucker

What can I say, these books are terrific! A few weeks ago I had never heard of the Jack Merlin mysteries or Jim Tucker. Now that I know about both the author and the series, I can’t wait for more of them. I hope that he continues with the characters because in his latest book, he introduces new characters. Let me start by writing what I liked the most about these books, and that is how he has developed his characters. Jim Tucker has a female ADA, Assistant District Attorney, Tory Welch, in his first three books. He has evolved her from a brand spanking, somewhat naive, new ADA into a character that is sure of herself and her role in the stories. By the second book, she has a gun and is not afraid to use it when the plot calls for it. There are a few writers who write a female lead into the plot and then have them acting helpless throughout all of their stories. This is not the case with Tucker ort with Welsh. Tucker has written her multidimensional and this makes the character more real and believable. I know from his website, http://www.jamestuckerbooks.com, that he has sons so I am guessing his wife was a huge influence on the development of this character. Come to think, on all of the female characters in the books. He writes them well, no condescending, or demeaning roles in the stories. Kudos Jim for how you write female characters.

Jack Merlin is also a multidimensional character. Jim Tucker has written about a physician with a sense of humor and honor. Merlin is a physician who relates to his young patients through magic. He is not afraid to get a few good laughs and take a few good laughs. His honor shows through in his loyalty to those closest to him. Merlin and Welch are a couple in the books and Tucker has written a very believable story about these two. You will find that you want to finish the books both to see how their story turns out as well as the “who dunit” part. Tucker has written about what he knows very well, physicians and their counterparts. All of the physicians in these books are believable. In fact many have traits that you may have seen in your own doctors. They will elicit a chuckle or a shake of the head, as in “yep, I know someone just like that”. This is quite a talent.

Of course Tucker also knows the cops and bad guys very well also. The bad guys, in his books, the mob, are automatically the villains. However, the cops are also villains in the stories. This makes for a nice little twist because you don’t see it coming, especially in Tragic Wand.

Tucker manages to create plots that are intricate. What I especially like is the fact that when he ends the story, he does not do it a rush as so many authors do. The ending flows with the story and the reader does not feel like the author ran out of story and just wants to finish the book. As a reader I appreciate the fact that Tucker leaves you wanting more. His books can be read as stand-alone stories but they read better if you read them in sequence. I commented that the Silent Samaritan could easily be made into a TV show, in fact all of his books would do well as TV shows. They are entertaining and fast moving, and as I have already said, I hope that we get more Merlin mysteries !

Following is a synopsis of his first three books. Be sure to visit his website http://www.jamestuckerbooks.com to keep in touch with what he is doing. Maybe he’ll have Merlin and Welch solving a golf course mystery. Now there’s a story for magic, the game of golf, murder, what a place to hide a body, the golf course and medicine, all kinds of things can happen !!

Abra Cadaver

We first meet Jack Merlin, MD, a resident who is assigned to work with the head of the Anatomy Department at the Medical School. The head of this department is obnoxious but brilliant. On his first day helping the new medical students, he discovers that one of the cadaver’s is that of his best friend and roommate that went missing over a year ago. What a place to hide a body! We meet Tory Welch, a brand new assistant district attorney and the cast of characters from her office, including an equally obnoxious District Attorney! The characters from the mob, are both obnoxious and deadly, what a combination! Merlin and Welch get together to solve this case, and in doing so create another plot line. We are introduced to the hospital and it functions. This book is a fast read with a good plot and strong characters. It is hard to put down! This is a great first book !

Hocus Corpus

This is the second book in the Merlin Mysteries. Merlin is now the Chief Resident at the hospital in Pittsburg. Welch and he are now a couple and life seems to be going well. That is until a series of deaths from a drug resistant bacteria start to take place. One of the deaths is a young patient of Merlin’s whose father is extremely rich and well connected. Merlin’s reputation, as well as that of the hospital is at stake. Once again, Tucker knows his players well and writes them accordingly. The villains this time are not only the mob but an insurance company and a ambitious hospital administrator. Merlin and Welch team up to solve the mystery. There are enough red herrings to keep you guessing till the end.  This is a really good read that is sure to please.

Tragic Wand

This is the third in the Merlin Mystery series and what a twist in this one! Merlin is now an attending physician at the hospital when he accompanies Welch to a plastic surgeon’s office. What starts out as a routine office visit turns into a scene from hell when a crazy patient attacks Welch. The patient is convinced , against all evidence, that the DA’s office know why he is at the plastic surgeon’s office and tries to kill both Merlin and Welch. The action is fast. The cops and the Department of Justice are both involved in this one and you really will not see the end coming until almost the end! This is a good read and a good story. I hope that there are more Merlin stories coming, because I want to see how the characters develop!