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California Bookwatch
Table of Contents
Reviewer's Choice
Be Seen Now! Inspiring Insights Into Being a Fearless Speaker
Lee Glickstein
Precocity Press
https://www.precocitypress.com
9798990946064, $24.95 Paperback/$9.50eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Be-Seen-Now-Inspiring-Insights/dp/B0DNXRFRDS
Be Seen Now! Inspiring Insights Into Being a Fearless Speaker explores Lee Glickstein's concept of Relational Presence, directed to wanna-be public speakers whose stage fright gets in the way of effective public speaking. Many books have discussed this subject, and a few others have even provided introductory tools for coping and change, but what differentiates Glickstein's approach from others is his incorporation of the latest brain research into a novel program designed to tap into the natural, unfettered flow of speech and inspiration. Where other books focus on individual barriers to public speaking, and addressing fear, Glickstein's includes such non-egocentric topics as "What it Means to "See Your Listeners So They Feel Seen" and "Break Down the Walls of Separation by Seeing Others." These and similar chapters approach speaking as not just a form of communication, but an engagement that relies on subconscious and conscious interactions between speakers and listeners for maximum benefit.
Mindful practice is incorporated into his advice, from cultivating stillness to engaging audience attention before a single word is even spoken. Such concepts as "radical authenticity" and "mindful belonging" may prove challenging to linear thinkers used to the approaches of psychoanalysis, but give Be Seen Now! an added value of depth and contemplative connection that results in invigorating, enlightening keys to not just speaking more effectively, but more naturally and fearlessly. Glickstein delivers these insights in vivid language that is easy to absorb: "What makes a speaker accessible and irresistible to an audience is a willingness to share in raw form some aspect of what it took to get here. Listeners recognize truth when it is shared, and they can find the place within themselves that resonates with the speaker's truth."
At the conclusion of Be Seen Now!, listeners and speakers alike will gain a greater knowledge not just about self and barriers to public speaking, but the process by which audience and speaker unite and grow from their oral interaction. Libraries will find Be Seen Now! a powerful, reflective advice guide especially highly recommendable to book clubs, while patrons and readers will want to move slowly through its thought-provoking passages of enlightenment. This approach goes far beyond the usual focus on speaker fear to provide the added value of focusing on how connections are built.
The Theatre/Cinema Shelf
Blood Moon Productions
Darwin Porter & Danforth Prince
Blood Moon Productions
www.bloodmoonproductions.com
9781936003945, $49.99
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Moon-Productions-Origins-Magnolia/dp/1936003945
Anyone interested in Hollywood history, gossip, drama, and major players will likely well know of the prolific publisher Blood Moon Productions, whose works have profiled celebrities, ribald atmospheres, and legendary encounters on and off the silver screen. What they won't know is how Blood Moon began, evolved, and became a powerful entity fueled by the "Neitzsches of Naughtiness," Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince. This is why Blood Moon Productions: Its Origins, Its Oeuvre, Its Sources, and Its Legacy is simply outstanding - a "must have" acquisition for any library collection seeing popularity with any of their publications. It's already a fact that Porter and Prince have profiled and preserved the legends of modern times, from Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley to Humphrey Bogart and Carrie Fisher.
A dip into Blood Moon Productions examines the wellsprings of not only the dynamic duo's Hollywood interests and connections, but exactly how they can churn out so much weighty and compelling writing in a short span of years. How weighty and prolific? Think two or three yearly, at about five to seven hundred pages long, packed with rich stories and photos about major public personalities. Their revised focus here is not to say that gossip has been set aside for practical review of personal lives and a publishing house's development. Indeed, as with all their books, gossip, juicy stories, and high drama permeates this synthesis of the many Hollywood lives and encounters Danforth and Darwin have experienced over decades of work. The writing is as impeccable as its headliners (think 'chapter titles' on steroids), as in the book's second part about Darwin Porter: "The most famous person you've never heard of, he's what would have happened if Walter Winchell had fathered a child with Hedda Hopper."
Who would not be inspired to read all about him, fueled by the heady analysis of Darwin Porter, who reviews Danforth's vivid life and choices. And, the color. Most photo-filled Hollywood books rely relatively little on color imagery; but no expense has been spared here... and it shows. Quite simply, any Hollywood-centric library collection would be hard pressed to find anything even remotely like Blood Moon Productions in Hollywood literature. Steeped in the culture from whence it was born, Blood Moon Productions is risque, ribald, rollicking, and powerfully personal, and is highly recommended for a broad audience of fans of gossip, Hollywood personalities, and the individual ambition and connections which have driven and motivated Porter and Prince to stand out from the crowd of Hollywood wanna-be writers. Bravo! More, please.
The Biography/Memoir Shelf
Look Up: Global Stories of Resilience
Heidi Siefkas
Hide N Seek Media
https://hidenseekmedia.com
9780997196375, $19.95
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997196378
Look Up: Global Stories of Resilience opens with a personal story of adversity: when a tree limb left Heidi Siefkas with a broken neck and major injury, life as she knew it changed. Luckily for her readers, her life's transformation led her to only heal and recover. It was not without additional heartache and detours, but resulted in her revised perspective and her encouraging book about others who have not just survived, but thrived, as a result. Her personal life experience was the spark for this collection of stories of others who have also emerged from challenging or nearly impossible situations to adopt new courses in life. It sets the stage for a warm, compassionate, revealing series of insights that, in turn, embrace her readers with the promise of new possibilities and realizations. It's a message that will resonate today, now more than ever: "When life knocks us down, it's our choice to stay down or to rise, stronger and wiser from the experience."
Where other memoirs and self-help guides document the transformational process, Siefkas both compliments and differs in her efforts to profile days when everything changed and how each person summoned the courage and survival traits to uncover lessons in resilience which are revealed here. The "spirit of Look Up" is advanced through these lives and advice garnered from all kinds of people who summoned resources both within and outside of themselves, such as Pamela and her family, who lost everything in the Maui fires: "Her advice for others is simple yet profound: "Find your community, ask for help, and look for the silver lining, because even in the worst situations, there's always something to be grateful for, so look up." Mantras, revelations, and the circumstances which support the Look Up mandate are all explored in different ways: "I really relate to Look Up. It's not being depressed about what you're going through. Looking up to me means taking on a new perspective, looking up and around, not down - and one doesn't have to do it all on their own."
Ideally, Look Up: Global Stories of Resilience will be given to any new trauma survivor. Trauma survivors will learn many new survival techniques and tricks which are invaluable. Libraries interested in books that connect positivity with survival traits and recovery processes by exploring diverse sets of traumas and individuals who leaned into the Look Up ideal will want to add Look Up: Global Stories of Resilience to their collections, highly recommending it as a healing and self-help journey that also will benefit from book club and survivor group discussions. Packed with examples of the Look Up concept in action, there are few better courses for recovery and growth than this book, which leads by example and focuses on the unexpected opportunities that can arise from adversity. Its highly recommended notes of positivity, adaptation, and transformation are just what the world needs in times of trial, whether struggles are personal, community-wide, or engulf the world.
The General Fiction Shelf
Rainbow Cafe
Dan Chabot
https://danchabot.ag-sites.net
Independently Published
9798312550955, $15.95 Paperback/$2.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/author/danchabot
Who gets fired from a grave digging job? 73-year-old widower Ezra ("who held doctorate degrees in history and anthropology and had taught at one of America's premier universities") faces unemployment despite his intellectual prowess and attempts to rejoin the world after his beloved wife dies. He's just one of Rainbow Cafe proprietor Therese's oddball customers, whose big heart and loneliness have overcome his sense of decorum and formality: "Therese knew from other parishioners that some mourners, already beset with grief, became even more distressed to hear the sobs coming from somewhere behind them. It was Ezra, a gentle, tender soul, caught up in the emotion of the moment and the grim surroundings, overcome with sorrow for families struggling to cope with their loss and the concept of eternal rest. That most of them were total strangers did not seem to concern him."
Chabot's injection of wry humor from the start weaves a complex story about a cafe milieu which reaches out to juxtapose the lives of disparate characters. These range from Cafe regular Juval Platt (a balding, friendly bank manager) to Molly and Mike, early regulars whose friendship with Therese began during her waitressing days. A diverse group of individuals isn't the only thing that drives this warm story. Equally compelling is a situation that involves them all in a theft, resurrection, broken contracts, and family ties. Chabot masterfully entwines the basic elements of small-town interactions and personalities with the bigger picture of a dilemma that challenges them all, flavoring unexpected events with equally delightful ironic introspections. These involve dreams of immense treasure and the reality of plots that somehow seem to come home to rest in the Rainbow Cafe. What do river pirates, grave robbing, hidden gold, and eccentric participants in unusual and funny problem-solving have in common? The Rainbow Cafe.
Libraries seeking a novel steeped in diverse, rich personalities and whimsical escapades will relish The Rainbow Cafe's ability to build and contrast memorable, fun personalities with the bigger picture of a dilemma that involves an entire small town and the Cafe's patrons. Filled with the unexpected, but delightfully well rooted in a range of special interests and personal concerns, The Rainbow Cafe sports a big heart and winning conundrums. It will delight fiction readers seeking a story steeped in a smorgasbord of history, romance, intrigue, and cozy small town encounters.
Haunting Joy
A.L. Hawke
www.alhawke.com
Phantom Heart, LLC
9781953919809, $5.99 Ebook, $13.99 Paperback, $21.99 Hardback, $19.99 Audiobook
https://buy.bookfunnel.com/8lmle6n245
Haunting Joy combines a ghost story with a romantic saga in a manner that turns the typical haunted house story on end, adding a spark of joy and discovery into its supernatural mix. This will prove unexpected to readers used to ghost stories equating haunting with horror. The mansion under consideration for purchase, after its abandonment was built in the 1990s, so is not your usual derelict wreck of history, but modern construction that would seem the last place to house a spirit. During his initial inspection, Alec feels something different about the house: "A cold gust blew across his cheek from the still-open door, but something felt a little strange about it. For some reason, when he turned, he almost expected to see someone standing by the door watching them."
This initial sense expands in unexpected ways as he becomes involved in an immaculate home whose mystery unfolds to take over his life. Alec's increasing involvement with the alluring, vibrant Joy and his slow realization of what this new house introduces to his life makes for an engrossing ghost story whose romance comes with many underlying features and mysteries. Readers choosing Haunting Joy for its promise of love won't be disappointed at Alec's progression, while those attracted to its supernatural promise receive classic haunting events in droves. Alec confronts a ghost who can not only love, but cry, as she reveals monsters in her past and present.
Of special note is how A.L. Hawke presents the ghost's point of view, introducing intriguing dilemmas that come not from the usual perspective of human-encountering-ghost, but a ghost encountering a human: "You have an anger problem! You're shouting at me like a complete dick! It's just like when you threw the kitchen door in my face. For the record, I asked you for consent a million times. I made love to you because I'm falling in love with you. That's all. I don't think I ever really loved a man when I was alive. Being a ghost allows me to... to watch you and I've watched you for months. You're in my house. What else am I supposed to do? I'm not spying on you, you're in my house..."
Libraries seeking supernatural romance stories that excel in taking the trappings of both genres and entwining them in new ways will appreciate the compelling events that unfold between Alec, Joy, and an odd situation which places even a ghost in danger. Filled with the unexpected, Haunting Joy is a vivid romantic ghost story that satisfies the reader's yen for love and discovery while including all the satisfying supernatural trappings of a good ghost tale's ultimate attraction.
MotherLove
Hope Andersen
Pipevine Press
c/o Warren Publishing
www.warrenpublishing.net
9781966343103, $29.95 Hardcover/$18.95 Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/MotherLove-Hope-Andersen/dp/1966343094
MotherLove is the story of how a missing sister drives sibling Rebecca away from a series of disasters into a new purpose. This changes her life, enabling her to leave a toxic relationship. Clues lead her to St. Croix where Rebecca discovers her sister lying in a coma, unable to clear her name of a serious crime. A prologue set in 2022 opens the story with a vivid scene of partying, sex trafficking, and murder from a yacht in the waters off St. Croix. This draws in readers with a promise of crime and mystery. The atmosphere heightens as the story moves to Rebecca Winslow's very different (but no less filled with danger and angst) world in New Jersey. Rebecca well knows her situation with her husband is untenable, but: "...his cruelty, the "fuck you" attitude he has adopted, comes as a surprise. She knows he blames her - for Juliet's death, for the months of abstinence, for her inability to bounce back from grief and despair. He is also to blame, for not allowing her the time to grieve before he sought out other women for comfort."
She needs more than air. She needs a new life. Hope Andersen creates a story that proves as emotionally compelling as it might be challenging for readers grappling with their own family ties and dysfunctional non-support systems. Rebecca's internal monologues are vivid acknowledgements of her choices and their consequences. This adds to the mystery with personal revelations that are hard-hitting and thought-provoking: "She imagines the disappointment her mother will express. The vitriol Royce will spew because he has been torn from his routine for several days. The disdain he feels toward her because she seems unable to solve any major problems on her own. She does not feel up to handling their criticism or outrage; she is dealing with her own demons. The guilt she feels over not telling her parents sooner. The anger that roils in her over her submissiveness to Royce. There is so much about herself that she would like to change, but she does not know how or even where to begin."
The mechanics of how Rebecca's involvement in her sister's life provokes her to make necessary changes in her own relationships is a particularly notable adjunct to the mysteries that force her to step out of her comfort zone. Andersen has, in effect, created a mystery and psychological probe that is astute, compelling, satisfyingly unpredictable, and filled with discussion points that women's groups and book clubs will love. Libraries selecting stories about evolving family relationships and growth will find MotherLove an excellent collection addition that sizzles with novel ideas and offers insights into conflict, conflict avoidance, and transformation. Filled with realistic characters whose motivations for ennui or change are clearly explained and deeply explored, MotherLove is an intense, absorbing saga that's hard to put down, filled with new possibilities as impossible truths emerge.
When People Leave
Leslie A. Rasmussen
https://www.lesliearasmussen.com
Van Royen Press
9798988971276, $16.99 Paperback/$6.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/When-People-Leave-story-finding-ebook/dp/B0DW751V7B
When People Leave is a novel about suicide, grief, and three sisters whose shared loss of their mother reverberates into a quest to tackle unanswered questions about her life and death. What better place to address these mysteries than the family house? And, what better place to harbor ghosts that threaten the survivors with clues and insights about their mother's well-hidden secrets? Readers who anticipate that When People Leave will be a mystery will appreciate its deep probe into family dynamics and many enthralling, immersive descriptions:
"Mom hated New York," Morgan said more passionately than she intended.
"But that's where she grew up," Ginny said.
Morgan, Charlie, and Abby stared at Ginny as if she had two heads and had turned into a dragon.
"Mom grew up in Los Angeles," Abby said.
"No, she didn't. Your mom was born in New York. After she graduated high school, she went to Brooklyn College," Ginny said.
"That can't be right. She told us she'd only been to New York once and hated it," Charlie said.
"I didn't get the feeling she had a great childhood there, but Brooklyn is also where she met your father," Ginny said. "Carla didn't move to Los Angeles until she filed for divorce from your dad."
As they explore the extent of a reinvented life gone wry and the deep deception which has become family fact and legend, the three sisters come to realize that nearly everything they believed about their mother's history is wrong. Deadly wrong. Leslie A. Rasmussen crafts a thoroughly engrossing story steeped in the efforts of survivors Morgan, Charlotte, and Abby to get to the bottom of the truth, even if it rocks their worlds in the process. She tiptoes through family dynamics, laces realizations with humor to make the most of comic relief, and entwines love and life into these efforts, creating a thoroughly engrossing, realistic novel filled with thought-provoking truths.
Libraries seeking fiction that offers an immersive experience between sisters who each harbor their own unique approaches to life, problem-solving, and family relationships will relish When People Leave's ability to juxtapose many threads of discovery with intrigue. Its riveting revelations, captivating characters, lives touched by tragedy, redemption, and novel realizations makes for a novel that is a page-turner - hard to put down and filled with food for thought that can also power book club and women's reading group discussions.
The Historical Fiction Shelf
Shattered Peace
Julie McDonald Zander
St. Helens Press
https://sthelenspress.net
9781963467048, $18.95
https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Peace-Julie-McDonald-Zander/dp/1963467043
Shattered Peace: A Century of Silence is a novel based on true events that took place in Centralia, Washington, when clashes emerged between the American Legion and the Industrial Workers of the World ("Wobblies"). The novel's focus is on how conflicting viewpoints and opinions can erupt into violence, which should hold particular interest for modern readers. From a bloody massacre in the streets that resulted in a lynching and the murder of four war heroes during an Armistice Day parade in 1919 to a dramatic introduction of the I.W.W. members arrested for defending their union hall from a raid by veterans during the parade, Julie McDonald Zander brings these times to life. She personalizes their meaning to modern times through the 2019 discoveries made by Colleen Holmes, who unexpectedly inherits her family's home from her grandmother. Her own military service and connections to the past lead her in unexpected directions as she tackles the unexpected results of her grandmother's generous gift. Letters from the past not only introduce her to the circumstances that buffeted Centralia, but bring its issues to vivid life in modern times.
The story swings its timeline from present to past as Michael emerges in 1918 France to add his battleground trials to the mix as his girl at home, Bridget, writes of battles on the home front. "Life truly was too short to waste." This reflection permeates a story in which a broad cast of characters find themselves fighting unexpected battles on different sides of social and political issues. Zander intersects history, letters, and experiences to create a rich connection and threads of thought between past and present worlds. This grows an outstanding interplay of special interests, experiences, and clashes that pair circumstances of love, loss, and growth of the past with present-day lives and concerns. The result will attract more than audiences interested in a singular town's history, but those who wonder about peoples' lives, how they made difficult choices and alliances, and how they navigated "tilting worlds" when everything changed.
Shattered Peace: A Century of Silence brings the Wobbly era to life with many dramatic passages and characters that juxtapose political and personal experience. This special flavor allows even non-history readers access to lives impacted by past social change. Colleen's veteran status lends her a special perspective on why this history feels so personal to her: "As a veteran, Colleen held a soft spot in her heart for those soldiers who, as the statue says, "were wearing the uniform of the country they loyally and faithfully served." Why were they shot dead in their hometown after returning safely from the war?"
Libraries interested in hard-hitting stories of veteran and social clashes that reach from the past to impact present-day lives will find Shattered Peace a winner. Its attention to bringing to life nuances between past and present events, startling readers with haunting passages about justice, hate, sedition and redemption, gives it a special attraction that will serve book clubs and reading groups especially well. Vibrant in its interpersonal depictions and individual interpretations of events an their impact, Shattered Peace is a compelling, winning story about a tragedy that unfolded on Centralia's streets that ultimately forges new paths toward peace and understanding in ways readers won't see coming.
The Child
Marcel Marquie
BookBaby
9798350989762, $2.99 (eBook); $13.99 (paperback)
https://www.amazon.com/Parisian-Detective-Tales-Trilogy-Child/dp/B0DVFVP8FQ
The second book in the Parisian Detective Tales trilogy, The Child, provides another step in a thoroughly compelling series that opened at the end of World War II, following the saga of a missing child into new territory. The stage set in the first book, where sisters Sandrine and Claudine focused on clearing their father's name after he was falsely accused of collaborating with the enemy and murdered, continues in the same 1947 setting. The focus narrows to a search for Sandrine's lost baby. Private eye Toni Bonnet's efforts to locate the foster family who adopted him results in unexpected sojourns. These send Toni on a European journey in search of what turns out to be more than another missing child casualty of World War II.
History blends powerfully with mystery and personal objective as the search reveals new threads of discovery that revolve around the Spanish Civil War's events and lasting impact. With an abducted child assuming center stage in this adventure, readers are introduced to personal and political calamities that attract on different levels. Marcel Marquie deftly captures the dialogues, atmosphere, and intentions of all kinds of cultures and people as the journey unfolds:
"It was aperitif time, and the place was full of loud-speaking customers who communicated in Catalan.
'You think someone speaks French?' Toni asked.
'I'm sure most of them do. They simply prefer to speak Catalan.'
The owner, who was busy pouring Ricard in glasses, pointed to the elderly white-haired man engaged in a heated discussion with three other customers.
'It sounds like they're about to murder each other,' Toni said.
'No, dear Parisian, they're just having a friendly conversation. That's the way locals talk. There's nothing to worry about, but we should politely wait until they're done.'"
Marquie's attention to detail builds flavor and realism into a story that probes many possibilities, from adoption routines and how children go (and stay) missing to a P.I.'s navigation of unfamiliar cultures, routines, and history which limits and challenges some of his investigative prowess. Equally notable is the close attention to details contrasting the histories and eras of different communities and worlds as the story moves from familiar Paris to the Pyrenees, where half a million Spanish Republicans sought refuge after Franco's victory in 1939. As much a work of historical examination as detective intrigue, The Child represents an evolutionary growth process as events move away from the lives portrayed in Two Sisters to build upon its background, presenting different characters and special interests whose personal worlds intersect with political struggle.
Libraries interested in the Spanish Civil War, who have seen interest in Two Sisters, will thoroughly appreciate the unexpected avenues of discovery and recovery which emerge in The Child. It's a story that sparkles with new revelations, old patterns challenged to change against shifting political backdrops, and the ongoing relationships of sisters buffeted by the rise and fall of wars all around them. Its powerful intersection of history and personal experience make The Child a broad recommendation for book clubs and a wide circle of historical fiction enthusiasts.
The Romantic Fiction Shelf
The Journey
Melissa G. Wilson
Networlding Publishing
https://networlding.com
9781959993339, $.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Travel-Romance-Romances-ebook/dp/B0F282333X
Romance fans are in for a treat as they follow Claire Marin into new possibilities in The Journey. Here, an experience-shy reluctantly goes on a cross-country road trip with an author and discovers the America that still lives along Route 66 as well as her own heart, which is still capable of embracing new things. Melissa G. Wilson creates a quick portrait of Claire's approach to life from the start: "Claire Marin's fingers trembled as she watched the locksmith install the third deadbolt on her front door. The rhythmic sound of metal against metal echoed through her small, cozy condo - her fortress against the world outside. She wrapped her cardigan tighter around her body as if it could shield her from the anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her."
Well-meaning advice from others identifies these fears, but doesn't address them until Claire makes her own move to break out of her familiar world. This is not to say that as soon as she hits the road, Claire opens up. Readers who harbor their own reluctance to engage with the world will readily recognize the emotional baggage Claire packs along with her clothes: "As the initial excitement of exploring the new space wore off, Claire felt her anxiety begin to creep back in. The room was beautiful, yes, but it was also unfamiliar. The silence seemed too loud, the space too open."
A host of encounters bring with them both challenges to Claire's status quo and opportunities to change how she reacts to life. In few other stories do authors address the real impact of travel so compellingly as in The Journey, even though fictional road trips of discovery aren't uncommon. From techniques Claire develops to settle her nerves to how her responses move from guarded at best to being more open-minded about embracing life, Wilson crafts the kind of journey that many a reader will want to embrace themselves. The journey brings with it the quintessential question of how a newly-revised mindset can't go home again:
"When we started this trip, I never imagined it would end like this."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "End like what?"
"With me actually sad to see it finish," Claire admitted. "With me considering... more."
Jonathan stopped walking, turning to face her. "And what does 'more' look like to you, Claire?"
Claire took a deep breath. "I'm not sure. But I know I'm not ready to go back to my old life. The thought of returning to my condo, to my solitary existence... it doesn't feel right anymore."
What evolves then is as much a part of the journey as its outcome, making the story a terrific draw for libraries and readers seeking fictional tales of evolution, discovery, and the impetus for change. Powerful in its character portraits, compelling in its travelogue, and deep in its consideration of emotional overlays to life experience, The Journey is highly recommended for readers who perhaps approach life with their own embedded reluctance, who will perhaps discover through Claire their own pathways forward into a wider world.
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Article 9
Daniel Holub
www.danielholub.com
Dos Palomas Press
9798992963007, $15.95
https://www.amazon.com/Gripping-Western-Political-Thriller-ebook/dp/B0F7FD5YSN
A few political history readers may infer that the title of this thriller, Article 9, refers to the ninth article of the U.S.-Mexican Extradition Treaty. They are unlikely, however, to anticipate how this article takes an unexpected role in the international affairs and national interests that play out in this story, which opens with a raid conducted during Thanksgiving dinner in San Diego. Ryan McDill and his family face masked, armed gunmen who kidnap the CEO, frighten his family and friends, and indicate they are part of a terrorist organization which, the next day, receives top headline attention in American news media. From this highly tense, dramatic opening evolves a story replete with action and confrontations. These range from sniper threats to the identity of terrorists who are likely "...in league with the Army, the cartels, and probably others."
The last thing Brooks Davis expected from his ordinary American life with his wife Molly was to confront ISIS on American soil, be kidnapped to Mexico, and escape his captors only to find his head in a mountain lion's jaws in the middle of the night. Daniel Holub cultivates a special blend of history, a thriller's nonstop action, political revelations, and situations that demand extraordinary reactions from characters who face the surprising intensity of confrontation with realistic, compelling efforts of their own. Holub also excels at exploring relationship-changing paradigms which spark unusual conversations between Molly and Brooks as their lives change: "Repeatedly facing one's imminent death, then killing people to prevent it, causes you to re-evaluate your whole life. You are forced to look at everything you have ever done... the good... the bad... but mostly the bad. It is the ultimate come-to-Jesus meeting. It is a gut-wrenching, all-humbling experience when you face a lifetime of sins and failures all at once."
These moments dovetail nicely with the political ramifications of the evolving "Davis affair." Of special note is how the Article 9 treaty holds dangerous consequences for Davis and his family and threatens the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. Readers will appreciate how Holub expands the action from individual to bigger-picture thinking as this fast-paced, tense thriller evolves. Libraries seeking a visionary work of confrontation and transformation will find Article 9 just the ticket for readers seeking powerful characterization, vivid stories that embrace realistic political and international conundrums, and thought-provoking moments of revelation.
Ultimately, Article 9 will encourage vivid book club discussions and individual reflection that ties neatly into both historical precedent and contemporary world affairs: "What most Americans had forgotten in the decades since Carter was what the real goal of the terrorists was." It's unusual to find a page-turner that incorporates equally powerful elements of psychological, social, and political discovery, but here you have it - all tied together by heart-stopping action that makes Article 9 a standout.
The Conductor
Eva Shaw
https://evashaw.com
Torchflame Books
www.torchflamebooks.com
9781611536133, $19.99 Paperback/$6.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Conductor-Beatrix-Patterson-Mystery/dp/1611536138
Historical mystery readers seeking stories rooted in social change and racial strife will find The Conductor a gripping story, especially since it's centered on a woman whose mission holds a dangerous connection to her family. When Beatrix Patterson's friend is arrested during a fight that breaks out amidst a railroad strike, events swirl quickly to involve her, from the murder of the railroad owner to the blackmail of another friend. The Union Pacific Railroad's ongoing social unrest is hiding a dangerous killer, so Beatrix needs to go undercover to confront the deeper wellsprings of unrest. These center on the actions and influences of a racial supremacist group that is using the railroad's worker rights issues for their own purposes.
What Beatrix also confronts are evolving threats to her own family, identity, and purpose. The web of intrigue and danger spreads even wider than she'd imagined, dredging up emotional quandaries that impact everyone she loves. Eva Shaw includes Beatrix's husband's involvement and observations as part of the plot, adding depth and rich complexity to her family life: "His wife had put herself in terrorizing situations before, but whatever this haircut had to do with their future, he did not like it."
Unlike many mysteries in which women seem to operate far from family ties, home life takes center stage from the story's opening moments, which describe Beatrix's interactions with her husband and child. Beatrix's astute observations of the underlying causes of strife and political decisions add further details, expanding the mystery's boundaries into racial influences and motivations for social and legal choices: "This is about the fighting at the rail station. Sam was attacked by a gang. When he tried to defend himself, he was arrested for causing it. It was as if a few cops were waiting just out of sight. It's all not true. Sam would never cause trouble. Then some judge, who I think might be on the take, is conspiring to get Sam out of town because of his position and influence with people of color in the union."
Equally intriguing are descriptions of how Beatrix absorbs and confronts racism in everyday life as she interviews a range of people who might hold insights into events: "Mrs. Welsh often meets the pool maintenance fellow on the street with a cup of coffee for him. I am scandalized. One should never mingle with the help. Don't you agree, Miss Patterson?" Beatrix wanted to laugh out loud and thought, A snob and a racist, but she covered her mouth with a pretend cough." In order to arrive at the truth, Beatrix must become a conductor on the train, as well as an investigator of its operators. What she uncovers proves shocking. Between the social observations of racism and women's roles, the psychological allure of how Beatrix maintains her family life and connections while investigating her latest case, and the deep dive into union and railroad politics that influence the direction of her investigation, The Conductor operates on a compelling level, indeed.
No prior familiarity with railroads, union activities, or 1940s California life is required in order for readers to become thoroughly immersed in these times and situations. Libraries will find The Conductor an absorbing mystery that's highly recommendable to patrons who also enjoy historical facts, while readers will find its special blend of history, mystery, and uplifting notes to be the perfect panacea for angst over any modern social disturbances: "Superman can and will take down the Ku Klux Klan. And to quote him: 'I believe in truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.'"
Dangerous Visions, An Eden Beach Crime Novel
Liz Hartley
https://www.lizhartleyauthor.com
Rainy Valley Press
9780997438796, $4.99 eBook; $19.99 Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Visions-Beach-Crime-Novel-ebook/dp/B08PCCXH8P
Dangerous Visions, An Eden Beach Crime Novel will appeal to readers of women's crime fiction with its powerful protagonist, psychic Stacie Cappella, at the helm of an uncommon, mysterious investigation. Many mysteries focus on problem-solvers who harbor extraordinary, powerful visions which give them an investigative edge; but what makes Dangerous Visions a genre standout is its ability to capture and cultivate the impact of such abilities on overall life. Stacie is introduced and comes across initially as a woman traumatized by her own talents, who desires nothing more than a normal life free of magical influences. Normalcy seems to elude her as much as love, as the story opens, but neither will remain in the wings for very long - especially when her decision to include some paranormal materials in her bookstore opens the door to accusations and even more unexplained encounters.
Suddenly, Stacie is fighting on different levels that involve her psyche, abilities, and career. Liz Hartley builds a crime story fueled by underlying psychology, motivations, and influences on the part of not just perp and a single investigator, but an entire community. These revelations form a story that probes the minds and abilities of healers, considers the impact of seers and possible telepaths, and presents issues of validation and discovery that weave the practical-minded Iraq veteran-turned-detective Ben Robard's probe with Stacie's uncommon approaches. Of special note is how Ben's personal interest in Stacie is piqued by her own careful disguise of how she seems to know extraordinary things about him:
"You looked tired, I guess," she said finally. "Pinched around the eyes. Like maybe you didn't sleep well. It seemed like you'd lost some level of... joy... from your life. Like a stream that was once buoyant, but is now filled with debris." She paused. "That day up in the Heritage Park? I surprised you on the trail. You put up a wall around yourself when you knew I was there. Not angry, so much as..." Another hesitation. "As private. Protective."
Nothing that would have told me that someone had gone through hell, thought Ben. He was astonished at her perceptiveness.
"You're in the wrong business," he told her. "You should be a cop."
Hartley is a master at juxtaposing relationship-building with increasing new realizations about a killer whose actions immerse and embrace the lives of both her characters. Crime novel readers seeking the perfect interplay of emotional reaction and motivation with a crime scene that evolves ever more challenging ideas will find Dangerous Visions thoroughly captivating and packed with unexpected twists and turns. Libraries seeking crime novels that stand out for their deep attention to emotional connections and impacts of love, problem-solving, and being able to see forbidden things will find Dangerous Visions easy to highly recommend. It will attract audiences who enjoy paranormal influences, but want them to extend beyond the usual mystery's formulaic approach to problem-solving.
Omniviolence
Jones Worthington
Vesuvian Books
www.vesuvianbooks.com
c/o IPG (distribution)
www.ipgbook.com
9781645480655, $17.95 Paper/$7.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Omniviolence-Jones-Worthington/dp/1645480658
Omniviolence tells of cryptokiller teen Jackson Cross, who uses computers and drones to murder from the of refuge his mother's basement... until his actions gain attention and place him on a "slaylist" himself, forcing him to go on the lam and leave his comfortable killing digs. Enter Joseph "Bones" Carboni, a Mafia hitman whose latest assignment, to murder teenager Jackson, pushes his moral and ethical boundaries a bit too far. The picture is bigger than crime, murder, and revenge, however, for Jones Worthington's tale embraces broader crime connections, violence, cryptocurrency, and technology to create a sweeping story of governmental and personal collapse.
The timing of this book could not be better, with the world teetering on the cusp of good and bad new trends and technological influence. The injection of moral quandaries which connect and divide disparate individuals and their special interests will provoke much food for thought in readers who like their thriller action tempered by insights into discovery, world trends, and social growth. Because it's set in the near future, sci-fi fans will also relish Omniviolence's close connections between present and futuristic values and turns of events. The dialogues that power character encounters also serve to explain the different nuances of this environment and players of all ages:
"Bones shrugged. "Miss the good ol' days when a man knew what was what. Before all this madness."
Jackson stopped dead. "Good ol' days? The hell are you talking about?"
Bones faced the kid, his features all creased up. "When you knew who the good guys and bad guys were, and you picked a side. Back then, there were rules. We all knew them. Everybody had a code. Now - well, look at us." He waved his arm at the rundown street littered with broken drone pieces, overflowing garbage, and kudzu-ridden brickwork. "Hell, kid, even money ain't money anymore. Invisible coins run the world."
Jackson barked a harsh laugh. "Money was always invisible, man. A number on an account. Controlled by crusty old pricks who ran countries and banks. You think a kid like me, folks like my mom, were allowed a piece of that? No - because you had to have money to make money. And some douchebag with a clipboard dictated whether my mom's job meant enough to put food on the table..."
Libraries seeking sci-fi and techno-thriller books for their collections that take the extra step into creating worlds that are both believable and thoroughly mind-boggling will appreciate how action and insight entwine to make Omniviolence a widely appealing read. Filled with insights and reflections that are uncommon and delightfully cemented in human nature, Omniviolence draws disparate connections between individuals who find surprising novel associations rising from old habits, new technology, the restructuring of the political world - and murder.
Pina Colada Calamity
Tanya Westlake
Impractical Press
https://pinacoladacalamity.com
9798985642568, $14.99 Paperback/$2.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Colada-Calamity-Kalliope-Brooks-Mysteries/dp/B0CLH4BTX3
Pina Colada Calamity is the second book in the Kalliope Brooks series. It documents a relaxing getaway gone awry when Kalliope and Tess's cruise vacation turns into a murderous nightmare. The death of a fellow passenger not only rests upon a literally captive audience to solve, but taps the investigative prowess of two women who find themselves unexpectedly struggling to solve the crime despite a seemingly limited set of possible perps. From the start, Tanya Westlake builds an intriguing scenario in which Tess Russo wins a radio station show's music trivia contest and brings partner and friend Kallie along for what turns out to be a wild ride.
Barely recovered from their last investigation (which also struck too close to home, with a murder at the bar Kallie worked at), the two at first are confident that their prior sleuthing will easily reveal the truth... and the perp. This case, however, is of an entirely different ilk as they find themselves researching blog posts, conducting a murder investigation in an entirely novel way, and delving into affairs that are really none of their business. (Or, are they?) Dilemmas over who's really in charge emerge as they find evidence that points in an unexpected direction, then must decide whom to involve (and trust) in the course of their investigation:
"We really should go tell that agent everything we know," Kallie sighed. "Even if we don't have the actual key anymore, we can tell him what we saw and heard. He'll understand that it's a possible clue. And even if it turns out to be nothing, we did our duty - and it's officially his case now, anyway."
Once again, Tanya Westlake builds a community setting that demonstrates it takes a village to solve a crime, placing these two women in the crosshairs of danger. Especially intriguing are the disparate forms of risk assessment which affect their judgments and conclusions, the intersection of investigation and psychoanalysis, and how close they come to being suspects themselves when their past crime-busting comes to light. The mystery's resolution is not a 'given,' by any means, which makes its outcome and progression even more inviting - especially for mystery enthusiasts who like their relationship- and community-building aspects to take center stage alongside the mystery component.
Libraries seeking involving mysteries that stand nicely on their own while contributing to prior adventures will find Pina Colada Calamity builds a cozy community and interactions that create dilemmas for all its characters. Highly recommended for prior fans and newcomers alike, Pina Colada Calamity features a delicious cruise into uncharted waters that is simply delightful reading.
A Voice in the Mind
Bruce M. Perrin
www.brucemperrin.com
Mind Sleuth Publications
9781955114110, $3.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Mind-Sleuth/dp/1955114110
A Voice in the Mind is the eighth book in Bruce M. Perrin's 'Mind Sleuth' series, and takes place in a little over a month's time. Isabella Perez-Hutton is involved in developing software that will help users integrate more smoothly with AI technology. Her role as an intermediary between computer and human is in direct opposition to her husband Randy's experience of losing his job to high-tech, his management position dissolved by automation. Isabella isn't just involved in high tech, however. Suicide and murder enter the workplace to challenge her with tragedy as her husband, Randy, struggles with voices in his head that mandate revenge and torment his waking hours with nightmares. Isabella's new friend, Nicole Vele, suspects something is going on between Randy and the advanced tech Isabella works with. As she gets to know Isabella, Nicole finds herself in an increasingly dangerous position as her investigations and insights lead to terrible conclusions.
Bruce M. Perrin crafts a thriller that is psychologically astute and filled with depth. Its characters represent logical and sometimes unexpected connections not only between disparate personalities, but shifting reactions to the presence of AI in daily lives. Its intrigue uses these changing relationships to drive a thought-provoking series of events whose outcomes are anything but predictable. This gives thriller readers an important attraction to a story that embraces different perspectives and possibilities, social and business issues, and personal insights that connect the dots between violent reactions and the impact of AI's transformative promises and accompanying threat: "You know, of all the things I thought we had to be concerned about with artificial intelligence - the vast amounts of misinformation it could create, the unemployed it might leave in its wake, the deep fake scams it could produce - creating a serial killer wasn't among them... at least, until now."
A Voice in the Mind is a vivid addition to the expanding 'Mind Sleuth' series that provides yet another dilemma in which mental health issues and adversity spark both an investigation and a crisis. Libraries interested in thrillers that feature more psychological depth than most will appreciate the special focus and insights of these developments, while readers that find relationship and high-tech issues of special interest will relish the unexpected twists and turns Randy's story takes. Packed with action, a "string of unfortunate occurrences," and an evolving plot that poses death as a solution to problems, the contrast between Nicole's pragmatic investigative psyche and Isabella's preoccupation with career that puts both women's lives in jeopardy makes for a supercharged story of discovery and psychological tension. A Voice in the Mind represents not just another solid 'Mind Sleuth' foray into murder, but a delicate dance between intention, perception, and illusion.
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
The Esquadron
Charlie Freelander
https://charliefreelander.com/index.html
Independently Published
9789526560700, 7.99$ e-book, $17.99 paperback
https://books2read.com/b/49qa0J
The Esquadron is the second book in the 'Legacy of Wrath' series, a blend of mythology and redemption saga that will simply delight those who seek more than fast-packed action alone from their fantasy reading. Depth and discovery mark a vivid story that picks up from where the first book left off, injecting swashbuckling adventure into the continuing dilemmas of the children of a fallen immortal, Velimir and Peri, whose clashes once rocked and threatened the world. Now friends, the two continue to bristle against one another and those who love them, searching for redemption even as their father rises to power with a new world-changing threat. Valkyries and hostage situations merge with the fluid nature and influence of the Otherworld to create new, unique dilemmas. Velimir and Peri's actions as powerful celestial beings change the course of the future for everyone and everything.
More than clashing swords, this battle of words and perceptions evolves an intriguing struggle that encourages readers to reflect on the philosophical and ethical quandaries that buffet both celestial and non-celestial beings... even when the enemy turns out to be their mirrors: "The apparitions glared at Peri, advancing steadily. 'I fought tooth and nail for everything I ever had! Anything good in my life was taken from me!' snarled the Peri-apparition from behind the visor. 'How I despise you and your blind luck, the way you were protected and pampered without a care in the world. I would have given much for what you had and took for granted.'"
This nail-biting story will delight prior series fans - especially those versed in Norse mythology, who will recognize the depth and allusions Charlie Freelander further unfolds in The Esquadron. As rich in its confrontations as it is in building revelations and strong characters from different worlds, The Esquadron compliments the first book, The Makings of a Monster, while adding insights that sizzle with high drama and unexpected twists. Prior fans will realize that new patterns are evolving within this series, introducing fresh undercurrents of high-octane action and drama that immerses them in the looting of tombs, adventure, and plots that involve new destinations and possibilities. Fantasy readers are in for a treat!
The Poetry Shelf
Thief of Laughter: Poems
Jim Frazee
www.jim-frazee.com
Independently Published
B0F3KNLJ3P, $5.00 eBook/$12.00 Paperback
https://a.co/d/0VC3mFy
Thief of Laughter: Poems is not a casual survey of life, but a potentially devastating, thought-provoking mesh of memoir and free verse poetry that moves from harsh childhood memories to adult confrontations with cruelty and struggle. Where's the light in all this? It lies in the survival, examination, and upward momentum of growth which moves readers through the initial poems about Jim Frazee's raging father:
"Later in the backyard I spied from the patio
as he crouched by a eucalyptus tree bearing my initials, alone with a two-man saw.
My wish to desist, greeted with laughter, sent me back inside "where I belonged."
Again his curses and sweaty strokes pushed into the trunk the grin of the blade,
fighting himself as much as my invisible partner in crime whose ear I seemed
to have, yet he couldn't stop him or the saw, slashing toward a deeper permanence."
From relationship-building to dissolution and alienation, the journey brings readers on a wild ride through life and love with insights that are raw, hard-hitting, and reflective:
"You can't avoid the debris of someone who's left for good as it permeates
the house long after she's gone, pervasive as floating dust and even menace,
a bully that hounds you room-to-room, and finally outside where you stop
in wonder over how you landed there. The house dares you back inside
but you jump in the car and head-off without destination, and for reasons
unknown, the other drivers appear snug and happy in lives foreign to dissolution."
The power of these perspectives comes as much from the juxtaposition of nature, personalities, and a permeating humor that intersects with angst as in their free verse power. These qualities will draw a wide audience, perhaps triggering a few sensitive readers with its combined force of realization and anguish. Yes, there is hope within conflict, pain, and recovery. This emerges like seeds within the kernels of life changes and confrontations. Each seed grows a new set of opportunities and transformations that poetry enthusiasts will appreciate. Devastation and harshness thus evolve into something more uplifting, where the dreaded circumstances of youth come to embrace the dreams which existed alongside anguish.
The result is a hard-hitting, intense, vivid blend of laughter and tears that encourages poetry readers to involve themselves in the descriptions' psychological allure and revelations. Packed with lessons on adaptation, kindness, and survival tactics, the reflective poems in Thief of Laughter delicately trace the origins of discovery and survival with a powerful allure that libraries and readers will find devastatingly attractive.
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
www.midwestbookreview.com
Diane C. Donovan, Editor & Senior Reviewer
12424 Mill Street, Petaluma, CA 94952
phone: 1-707-795-4629
e-mail: donovan@sonic.net
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