Thursday, September 27, 2012

Review: Backfire by Catherine Coulter


Backfire by Catherine Coulter is the 16th book in the “FBI” thriller series. Publisher: Putnam, July 2012

San Francisco Judge Ramsey Hunt, longtime friend to FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich, is presiding over the trial of Clive and Cindy Cahill – accused in a string of murders – when the proceedings take a radical turn. Federal prosecutor Mickey O’Rourke, known for his relentless style, becomes suddenly tentative in his opening statement, leading Hunt to suspect he’s been threatened – suspicions that are all but confirmed when Hunt is shot in the back.  Savich and Sherlock receive news of the attack as an ominous note is delivered to Savich at the Hoover Building: YOU DESERVE THIS FOR WHAT YOU DID. Security tapes fail to reveal who delivered the tapes. Who is behind the shooting of Judge Ramsey Hunt? Who sent the note to Savich? And what does it all mean? Savich and Sherlock race to San Francisco to find out…watching their backs all the while.

A single shot across country. A threatening note to FBI headquarters and soon both Sherlock and Savich are headed to the west coast to protect a friend and catch a killer who has more than one thing on their mind. What a great read that had me turning the pages faster than my eyes could read. The action was fast, fury and non-stop in a race against time before another innocent person is killed. When harm hits closer to home, revenge is on as we watch this FBI duo put an end to the havoc being created by vicious killers. This was another great read in this series and I always enjoy the interaction that exist between Sherlock and Savich and the many people that come into their lives.

 

 

--Dru


 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Review: Delusion in Death


Delusion in Death by J.D. Robb is the 35th book in the “In Death” mystery series. Publisher: Putnam, September 2012

It was just another after-work happy-hour bar downtown, where business professionals unwound with a few drinks . . .until something went terribly wrong. And after twelve minutes of chaos and violence, eighty people lay dead.  Lieutenant Eve Dallas is trying to sort out the inexplicable events. Surviving witnesses talk about seeing things—monsters and swarms of bees. They describe sudden, overwhelming feelings of fear and rage and paranoia. When forensics gives its report, the mass delusions make more sense: It appears the bar patrons were exposed to a cocktail of chemicals and illegal drugs that could drive anyone to temporary insanity—if not kill them outright.  But that doesn’t explain who would unleash such horror—or why. And if Eve can’t figure it out fast, it could happen again, anytime, anywhere. Because it’s airborne.

Someone is spreading an airborne poison and it’ll be up to Eve and her team to nip this in the bud and what a job they do in narrowing down the suspect. Eve and her team are on the hunt and the best part is watching Eve commit the killer to confessing in a fast paced mode to thwart another incidence. As always the suspense kept me turning the pages and it was fun seeing the gang, especially Peabody, do what they do best with assistance from our favorite civilian consultant, Roarke. Nadine, Mavis and even Belle make a wonderful appearance. I love this series and I can’t wait for the next thrilling adventures with Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

 

 

--Dru Ann

Review: Shades by Geoff Cooper and Brian Keene


Shades by Geoff Cooper and Brian Keene

  • Print Length: 114 pages
  • Publisher: Cemetery Dance Publications (July 10, 2011)
  • ASIN: B005C660CE

  • Danny us a boy with an alcoholic mother who skips school to find crabs to sell for a new bike when he discovers a dead body.  Only he was supposed to be able to see the body and the fact that he can is because of magic.  And now he is learning magic from Gustav an eccentric old man to stop a dark magician from taking over the town one shade at a time.  Suspenseful, interesting, and a powerful ride! I loved it.  YA horror/fantasy.

    Terri

    Monday, September 17, 2012

    Review: The Dark Age by Jeff W. Horton

    The Dark Age - By Jeff W. Horton

  • File Size: 521 KB
  • Print Length: 309 pages
  • Publisher: World Castle Publishing (June 25, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • ASIN: B005890R2O



  • 500 years before an EMP took out all technology and the world descended into a new Dark Age.  But now the effects of the pulse are finally wearing off and two groups (The Clansmen - warriors and The Catholic Church) are looking for pieces of a map which will lead the way to find The mysterious Oracle which is prophesied to begin the new Golden Age.  However, if this power ends up in the wrong hands like the villianous Kraken, it could make the Dark Age seem wonderful in comparison.

    This is the second book in the Survivors of the Pulse series and I don't feel like I lost anything by jumping right in.  I think it stands well alone.  The characters, Especially Ferrell, Brother Sebastian, Alex and David-Michael were very likeable and I was rooting for them.

    The Kraken was truly an evil master warlord and therefore quite the dangerous advesary for our seekers.The battles were intense and the Oracle fascinating. 

    Really enjoyed this story

    Terri

    Terri's portion of first Round Robin





    Doing a 'Round Robin' with two stitchy friends.  What we do is stitch our pattern onto a large piece of fabric.  Send on to next person and they add there's and so on around...  In the end we will each have something we all stitched on.  It's a lot of fun.  So this is what I sent on to Kathleen.

    Terri

    Pamela's Stitching Finish


    Thursday, September 13, 2012

    Review- Dead Ends by Sandra Balzo


    Dead Ends by Sandra Balzo is the first book in the “Main Street” mystery series. Publisher: Severn House Publishers, September 2012

    Autumn comes early to Sutherton, NC, bring with it the small town’s life blood-tourists. But one particular trio of fall visitors has journalist AnnaLise Griggs worried: Benjamin Rosewood, his wife Tanja, and their daughter, Suzanne.  AnnaLise and Ben have history, a relationship she can’t excuse herself for starting and one he, seemingly, can’t forget. But when Tanja Rosewood is killed on the mountain roads, it seems a tragic accident. Until, that is, there’s another death, forcing AnnaLise to confront just how far human beings will go to get-and keep-what they believe is theirs.

    AnnaLise gets involved in a murder when her married ex-lover arrives in town with his wife and child. By asking questions, AnnaLise suddenly becomes a threat to a killer who’s hiding in plain sight. This was a good read and the author did a great job in keeping me in suspense with the many twists and directions the story took in unraveling and exposing a killer. AnnaLise is a strong yet vulnerable heroine as her search for answers brings her face-to-face with some of her own past actions. This character-driven whodunit boasts a wonderful supporting cast, good conversations and southern charm. The ending left us with new possibilities and I look forward to reading the next book in this charismatically appealing series.

     

     

    --Dru


     

    Tuesday, September 11, 2012

    Review: Artifact by Gigi Pandian


    Artifact by Gigi Pandian is the first book in the new “Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt” mystery series. Publisher: Gargoyle Girl Productions, August 2012

    When historian Jaya Jones receives a mysterious package containing a jewel-encrusted artifact from India, sent by her ex-lover the same day he died in a supposed accident in the Highlands of Scotland, she discovers the secrets of a lost Indian treasure may be hidden in a Scottish legend from the days of the British Raj. But she’s not the only one on the trail.  From San Francisco to London to the Highlands of Scotland, Jaya must evade a shadowy stalker as she follows hints from the hastily scrawled note of her dead lover to a remote archaeological dig. Helping her decipher the cryptic clues are her magician best friend, a devastatingly handsome art historian with something to hide, and a charming archaeologist running for his life.

    When Jaya receives a package from her ex-boyfriend who has suddenly died, Jaya is off and takes us on a fast-paced adventure filled with archeological intrigue and mayhem. The author did a good job in keeping me guessing throughout most of this page-turning drama. The writing was good, the dialogue entertaining and Jaya is a character that I’m interested in learning more about and I can’t wait for the next book in this enjoyable debut series.

     

    --Dru


     

    Thursday, September 6, 2012

    Guest Blogger - Alice Duncan


    This is going to be my last blog for a while, because I’m having lumbar surgery on September 11, and will be recovering for several weeks after that. And probably sore and grumpy. Maybe even really, really grouchy, mean-tempered and hateful. However, some interesting things happened during August, and one of them was even good. I’ll start with the mayhem.

     

    On the 15th the cataract that developed when I recovered from the surgery to reattach my left retina got removed. Yay! Still can’t see very well, but the surgery went well, and I’ll be able to get corrective glasses one of these weeks. The surgery was NOT painless, no matter what they tell you. Well . . . actually, the next day when I went in for my follow-up appointment, a little old lady sitting in the lobby said hers was totally painless, so maybe it was just me. The eye still bothers me some, but it’s only been a couple of weeks, and I’ll survive. Whether those around me will is another question entirely, although I’d better be nice to them since they’ll be taking care of me after my back surgery. I hope to heaven I’ll be knocked out completely for the back surgery.

     

    And then, shortly after the cataract operation, Freckles, my latest foster wiener, managed to nearly rip a toenail off somehow (I was at the grocery store at the time so don’t know how she did it). I came home with grocery bags, and there was blood all over the place. I couldn’t tell which dog was hurt (due to the aforementioned semi-blindness) so I called my dear neighbor, she came over, and we discovered it was Freckles doing the bleeding. So I took her to the vet, she had an operation, stayed overnight, and came home with a cone around her neck. If you’ve never seen a dachshund in a cone, it’s worth a look. Here she is:

     

     

     

    After that, all seemed well for a few days, until Freckles went bananas and tried to murder poor little Bella, the most timid of my herd. Bella and Bam-Bam came to me from a puppy mill in Texas, and they’re both quite shy dogs. Freckles meant business, and Bella went to the hospital on Monday morning. Why do disasters always happen on weekends? Anyhow, it’s now Thursday, July 30, and Bella’s STILL in the hospital. I have to go to Albuquerque for another blankety-blank eye appointment tomorrow, so I won’t be able to pick her up until Saturday morning. I’ve been visiting her, though, and she’s a real mess. She has more than twenty holes in her poor little butt. The vet’s been giving her pain meds and antibiotics. Sigh. God alone knows how much this will cost. But Bella’s worth it. Truly. Really. Honest.

     

    But then something good actually happened! A fellow author and friend, Jackie Griffey, told me some of her books were coming out in audiobook format and will be available on Audible.com. I was fascinated, since I’ve longed for years to have my books available in audiobook format (I listen to audiobooks all the time because of hideous arthritis and . . . well, semi-blindness). Jackie told me what to do to get my books considered for Audible, and I went and did it! I uploaded all my Daisy Gumm Majesty books and most of my Mercy Allcutt books to a place called ACX. What you do when you’re an author-type person is upload your book’s information and then wait until a narrator gets interested and auditions to narrate the book. I figured it would take months and months and probably nobody would want to audition. I mean, I’m not Nora Roberts or Stephen King, y’know?

     

    However . . . ta-da! The very next day someone auditioned for ANGEL’S FLIGHT. The narrator wasn’t awfully good, but I was pleased she was interested. And then, by gum, other people began auditioning! I found someone I think is going to be excellent to do my Daisy books. I have no idea how long this process will take, but I suspect months, if not years.

     

    And THEN, by golly, an old, old (okay, he’s younger than I am, but almost everyone is these days) friend, Jim Hull, who’s a voice-over artist and who narrates books for the Braille Institute, said he’d be willing to narrate one of my books as an experiment if I had one that could use a male narrator. So I sent him SIERRA RANSOM (an historical romance novel set during the California Gold Rush), he did a great job, and he’s going to narrate that book!

     

    In the meantime, since I’ll be out of it and not able to fiddle with my rotten, lousy hair after my surgery, I got a permanent. I now look like an elderly French poodle with an idiotic smile. I really ought to remember to wear makeup when somebody’s going to take my picture. Sigh. But at least I’m eventually going to have some books available in audio!

     

     

    Review: Blotto, Twinks and the Intimate Review by Simon Brett

    Blotto and his friend go see  Light and Frothy;   a new popular show and his friend falls for the star of the show.  After his friend is k...