Book "Almost Gone" by Blake Pierce

About the Book: Cassandra is convinced she’s finally found a fresh start when she takes a job as an au pair in the idyllic French countryside. Just beyond the Paris city limits, the Dubois manor is a grand relic of the past, the family its picture-perfect occupants. It’s the escape Cassandra needs—until she uncovers dark secrets that prove things aren’t as glamorous as they seem.
Beneath the opulence lies a dark web of malice, one Cassandra finds all too familiar, triggering dreams from her own violent and tortured past, one from which she desperately runs. And when a grisly murder tears the house apart, it threatens to take down her own fragile psyche with it.
A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night.
Book #2 and #3--ALMOST LOST and ALMOST DEAD—are also available!

About the Author: Blake Pierce is author of the bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes sixteen books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising thirteen books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising five books (and counting); of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising five books (and counting); and of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting).

ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery--Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery--Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery--Book 1), and WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige--Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

My Review: When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce come up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery!
This time the story evolves around a young lady that goes to the French countryside, close to Paris, to work for a family as an au pair. It is amazing how the author develops the characters, mainly their psychological aspects. He involves us in the story and suddenly we are feeling all the emotions that our heroine is feeling and we start cheering for her and suffering when she is repeatedly abused by her employers and their children. The book is full of twists and the end brings a surprising revelation.
I strongly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very well written thriller. You will not be disappointed. And I cannot wait to put my hands on volumes 2 and 3 of this series. This is the second book I read from this author and I intent to read many more from his other series!

Book "Murder in the Manor" by Fiona Grace

About the Book: MURDER IN THE MANOR (A LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY—BOOK 1) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by Fiona Grace.
Lacey Doyle, 39 years old and freshly divorced, needs a drastic change. She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the fast life. Making good on her childhood promise to herself, she decides to walk away from it all, and to relive a beloved childhood vacation in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire.
Wilfordshire is exactly as Lacey remembers it, with its ageless architecture, cobblestone streets, and with nature at its doorstep. Lacey doesn’t want to go back home—and spontaneously, she decides to stay, and to give her childhood dream a try: she will open her own antique shop.
Lacey finally feels that her life is taking a step in the right direction—until her new star customer turns up dead.
As the newcomer in town, all eyes are on Lacey, and it’s up to her to clear her own name.
With a business to run, a next-door neighbor turned nemesis, a flirty baker across the street, and a crime to solve – is this new life all that Lacey thought it would be?

About the Author: Debut author Fiona Grace is author of the ELLA ROSE COZY MYSTERY series which includes MURDER IN THE MANOR (Book #1), DEATH AND A DOG (Book #2) and CRIME IN THE CAFE (Book #3). Fiona would love to hear from you, so please visit www.fionagraceauthor.com to receive free ebooks, hear the latest news, and stay in touch.

My Review: This is the first book of this series and the first one I read from this author. Reading was really exciting, as the author  shows all her talent creating characters that are so real that you will be cheering for our heroine from the first page. She is a lady that is trying to leave behind a bad marriage, a job with a terrible boss and an overall bad life, moving from New York City to Wilfordshire, England. She has good memories from that place, when her family would spend vacation over there. But she gets involved in a murder investigation and things develop in a quick pace. Very entertaining.
I highly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that appreciate a very good well written mystery, with some twists and an intelligent plot. You will not be disappointed, as the author is a natural storyteller. Excellent way to spend a cold weekend!

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment!

Book "Jeopardy in July" by Barbara Venkataraman

About the Book:Old people were dying at an alarming rate at La Vida Boca, a posh assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida. With its sterling reputation, dedicated staff, and top-notch medical care, none of the deaths are considered suspicious, but when members of the poker club start to die under strange circumstances, attorney Jamie Quinn finds herself once again embroiled in a mystery. With help from her new friend, Jessie Sandler, and her favorite P.I., Duke Broussard, Jamie uncovers a crime that took place forty years earlier. Can she stop the killer in time? Or is she in danger of becoming the next victim?

About the Author: Award-winning author Barbara Venkataraman is an attorney and mediator specializing in family law and debt collection.

She is the author of the Jamie Quinn Mystery series, as well as "Teatime with Mrs. Grammar Person"; "The Fight for Magicallus," a children's fantasy; a short story titled, "If You'd Just Listened to Me in the First Place"; and three books of humorous essays: "I'm Not Talking about You, Of Course", "A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities," and "A Smidge of Crazy", which comprise her "Quirky Essays for Quirky People" series. Two of her books of humorous essays won the "Indie Book of the Day" award. "Engaged in Danger" was chosen as Book of the Day by www.bookoftheday.org and won first place in the Amateur Detective category of the Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Mystery Writing Competition.

Her popular Jamie Quinn Cozy Mystery Series includes: "Death by Didgeridoo," "The Case of the Killer Divorce," "Peril in the Park," "Engaged in Danger" and, just released--"Jeopardy in July", the fifth Jamie Quinn mystery!

My Review: When you think that life cannot get better, Mrs. Barbara Venkataraman releases another novel from her Jamie Quinn series "et voilà"! Trick is done! Once again the author shows all her talent creating characters that are so real that you will be cheering for our heroine from the first page. This is the fifth book in this series and although each book can live independently, I am sure you will savor better the story if you read the books in the order they were written.

In this particular book, Jamie Quinn volunteers to work at an assisted living facility, where she finds some interesting characters. Some old people start dying and she starts getting worried that those deaths are not completely natural and they might be related with a crime that happened forty years earlier.

While trying to solve the mystery, Jamie ended up placing her own life at risk...

I highly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that appreciate a very good well written story, with some twists and an intelligent plot. You will not be disappointed, as the author is a natural storyteller and this is another of her masterpieces. Excellent way to spend a cold weekend entertained!

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment!

Book "Next Door" by Blake Pierce

About the Book: FBI Evidence Response Team intern Chloe Fine, 27, finds herself forced to confront her own dark past when her troubled twin sister needs her help—and when a body turns up dead in her small, suburban town.

Chloe feels life is finally perfect as she moves back into her home town, and into a new house with her fiancé. Her career with the FBI looks promising, and her wedding is on the horizon.

But, she learns, all is not as it seems in suburbia. Chloe begins to see the underside—the gossip, the secrets, the lies—and she finds herself haunted by her own demons: her mother’s mysterious death when she was 10, and her father’s imprisonment.

And when a fresh body is found, Chloe soon realizes that her past, and this small town, might hold the key to solving both.

An emotionally wrought psychological suspense with layered characters, small-town ambiance and heart-pounding suspense, NEXT DOOR is book #1 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.

About the Author: Blake Pierce is author of the bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes thirteen books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising two books (and counting); of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising two books (and counting); of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising two books (and counting); and of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising two books (and counting).

ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery--Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery--Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery--Book 1), and WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige--Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

My Review: If you read other books from Blake Pierce, you will not be disappointed with this one. The story tell us about the relation of twin sisters that had their mother misteriously murdered when they were 10 and saw their father being arrested for the crime. They grew apart, Chloe choosing an FBI career and Danielle getting lost with her choices in life. Seventeen years later they reunited again when Chloe returns to her home town. But then life turns upside down when Danielle's boyfriend is found dead. The book is full of completely unexpected twists and you will read it at the edge of your chair. It is Blake Pierce at his best! Another masterpiece of suspense and mystery.

I highly recommend it to the permanent library of all readers that appreciate an excellent thriller, full of psychological suspense and with a completely unexpected ending that you would never imagine. This is the first book of what promises to be another excellent series. I can hardly wait to read the sequel of this book.

Book "Agent Zero" by Jack Mars

About the Book: Kent Steele, 38, a brilliant professor of European History at Columbia University, lives a quiet life in a New York suburb with his two teenage daughters. All that changes when late one night he gets a knock on his door and is abducted by three terrorists—and finds himself flown across the ocean to be interrogated in a basement in Paris.

They are convinced that Kent is the most lethal spy the CIA has ever known.

He is convinced they have the wrong man.

Do they?

With a conspiracy around him, adversaries as smart as he is, and an assassin on his tail, the wild game of cat and mouse leads Kent on a perilous road—one that may lead back to Langley—and to a shocking discovery of his own identity.

AGENT ZERO is an espionage thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night.

About the Author: Jack Mars is the USA Today bestselling author of the LUKE STONE thriller series, which include the suspense thrillers ANY MEANS NECESSARY (book #1), OATH OF OFFICE (book #2), SITUATION ROOM (book #3), OPPOSE ANY FOE (book #4), PRESIDENT ELECT (book #5), OUR SACRED HONOR (book #6), and HOUSE DIVIDED (book #7). He is also the author of the new FORGING OF LUKE STONE prequel series, which begins with PRIMARY TARGET.

ANY MEANS NECESSARY (book #1), which has over 800 five star reviews, is available as a free download on Amazon!

Jack loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.Jackmarsauthor.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!

My Review: After reading the whole Luke Stone series, I became a huge fan of Jack Mars. His books are so dense, filled with action and the plot is so intelligent that you will not sleep until you are finish with the book. This is the start of a series that promises to be as good as the previous one.
In this book, Professor Reid Lawson teaches at Columbia University, has two daughters (Maya and Sara) and lives a nice life, until his world turns upside down when he is abducted by three terrorists claiming that he is a CIA spy.

The author did a superb job creating a set of characters that are fully developed and very much enjoyable. We cheer for our hero in every turn of the pages. The description of the action scenes transport us into a reality that is almost like sitting in a movie theater with surround sound and 3D presentation (It would make an incredible Hollywood movie...). Overall excellent plot, I can hardly wait to start reading the sequel of this book. I recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoy a well written thriller novel. They will not be disappointed.

I received this book from the author for reviewing. I was not requested to provide a positive review. Opinion expressed here is my own.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment.

Book "A Smidge of Crazy" by Barbara Venkataraman

About the Book: A collection of humorous insights into important topics ranging from being targeted by annoying ads ("Nowhere to Hide"), to resorting to symbols when you've forgotten your words ("At a Loss for Words"), to figuring out what door that extra key opens ("My Extra Key"). Other essays examine how sitting is the new smoking (whatever that means), and why it is just so hard to focus when you have the attention span of a gnat.

About the Author: Award-winning author Barbara Venkataraman is an attorney and mediator specializing in family law and debt collection.
She is the author of the Jamie Quinn Mystery series, as well as "Teatime with Mrs. Grammar Person"; "The Fight for Magicallus," a children's fantasy; a short story titled, "If You'd Just Listened to Me in the First Place"; and three books of humorous essays: "I'm Not Talking about You, Of Course", "A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities," and "A Smidge of Crazy", which comprise her "Quirky Essays for Quirky People" series. Two of her books of humorous essays won the "Indie Book of the Day" award. "Engaged in Danger" was chosen as Book of the Day by www.bookoftheday.org and won first place in the Amateur Detective category of the Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Mystery Writing Competition.
Her popular Jamie Quinn Cozy Mystery Series includes: "Death by Didgeridoo," "The Case of the Killer Divorce," "Peril in the Park," "Engaged in Danger" and, just released--"Jeopardy in July", the fifth Jamie Quinn mystery!

My Review: This author is a brilliant and natural story teller. Her style is so nice and clever that makes reading a pleasure, and will really bright your day. This collection of small chronicles or essays is a description of everyday's life situation that turns out to be very funny when you talk about them (probably not that funny when the situation really happened...). The only downside of this book is that it finishes too soon! We have only 15 short essays... But every new one is better than the previous one. Family Ties is a great one!

I recommend it to the permanent library of any reader who loves a laugh and enjoys a very well written collection of short stories. These essays will give your spirit a lift and leave you smiling.

I received this book from the author and I was not requested to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment!

Book "Transmission" by Morgan Rice

About the Book: From #1 worldwide bestselling fantasy author Morgan Rice comes a long-anticipated science fiction series debut. When SETI finally receives a signal from an alien civilization, what will happen next?
A 13 year old boy, dying of a rare brain disease, is the only one able to hear and decode signals from outer space. SETI confirms it is a real signal.
What is the message? How will the world react?
And most of all: are the aliens coming?

About the Author: Morgan Rice is the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of the epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising seventeen books; of the #1 bestselling series THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, comprising twelve books; of the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising three books; of the epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS, comprising six books; of the epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY, comprising 8 books; of the new epic fantasy series A THRONE FOR SISTERS, comprising six books (and counting); and of the new science fiction series THE INVASION CHRONICLES. Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and translations are available in over 25 languages.

TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals), ARENA 1 (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy), A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1 in the Sorcerer’s Ring), RISE OF THE DRAGONS (Kings and Sorcerers—Book #1), SLAVE, WARRIOR, QUEEN (Of Crowns and Glory—Book #1), and A THRONE FOR SISTERS (A Throne for Sisters—Book #1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!

Morgan loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.morganricebooks.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, download the free app, get the latest exclusive news, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!

My Review: Morgan Rice did it again! In her superb writing style, she always make us release our imagination to fantastic worlds, living the story with our heroes, enjoying the well built characters in very intelligent plots.
In another series that promises to be as entertaining as the previous ones, Morgan presents us with the tale of a young boy named Kevin, who suffers from a uncommon degenerative brain disease, known as  leukodystrophy. That disease allow him to be sensitive to radio messages coming from space, and he can translate the messages that for others seems just noise. After SETI confirms that the message is real, things go crazy and the plot develops in a nice pace with some twists that will keep the reader on the edge of their seats. This is not a typical alien invasion book. Put your seat belt on and enjoy the ride.

Sci-fi is my favorite genre and this is a very nice book, that I recommend to the permanent library of all readers that love a well written sci-fi/fantasy book. They will embark in a journey full of action, heartbreak and magic, loyalty and betrayal, and they will not be disappointed.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment.

Balance of 2017

The unusual low amount of books read this year was mainly because my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and between surgeries and treatment there was little time left for reading... Hopefully 2018 will be better than 2017.

During 2017, I reviewed the following:

January

Books:
- "Hatching the Phoenix Egg" by Joel Horn. Read my review.
- "The Final Offering" by J.G.Gatewood. Read my review.
- "The Northeast Quarter" by S.M.Harris. Read my review.
- "A Chance Beginning:  by Christopher Patterson. Read my review.

June

Books:

- Book "Dreams, Goals and Adventures" by Michael Ditton. Read my review.
- Book "Envied Prize" by Lolita London. Read my review.

July

Books:
- Book "No Place to Die" by Jaden Skye. Read my review.

August

- Book "Love Like This" by Sophie Love. Read my review.
- Book "Game of Thrones - Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1" by George R.R.Martin. Read my review.

September

- Book "A Throne for Sisters" by Morgan Rice. Read my review.

December

- Book "DNA" - by James Corkill. Read my review.

Book "DNA" by James M.Corkill

About the Book: DNA and social media postings will determine who will survive.

An exciting science fiction techno-thriller from six-time award-winning author, James M. Corkill.

Alex Cave, an Ex-CIA operative now a geophysics consultant for NASA at Area 51, meets an archaeologist named Mya Austin, who tells him about a prophecy found in an ancient cave drawing belonging to the Sioux Nation. He is intrigued, but declines Mya’s offer to visit the dig site because of a pressing family issue. A rift had formed between him and his nineteen-year-old nephew Derek, and it was like a dagger through his heart.

Geneticist Zane Simon’s amazing discovery will save the lives of a select number of people, but there is no hope for the other seven billion. The problem will be keeping it a secret or society will disintegrate into chaos. How does Alex save civilization from total collapse?

About the Author: "Hello. I would like to take you on exiting adventures here on our planet, with courageous people in dangerous situations, desperately trying to save humanity.
I'm a retired federal firefighter from Whidbey Island, Washington. Before that, I was an electronics technician and part time mechanical engineer at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. I was in the military, and served in Viet Nam. Being retired allows me to write full time and blend my knowledge with my imagination to create the adventures I would like to go on. When I was fourteen I moved to a small place called Orcas Island in Puget Sound; a community of around seven hundred people at that time. Fortunately for me, the famous horror writer, Hugh B. Cave, lived on one of the islands and became my mentor, though I don't write in that genre. The most important lesson he taught me was, only write what you know. Accurate details lend credibility and believability to the story. With that in mind, I do extensive research for my stories. Thanks for joining me on my adventures. It's not always easy finding good books to read. If you liked this one, please write a review on Amazon. Thanks! James M. Corkill. You can visit me at http://jamescorkill.com/.

My Review: After reading "Dead Energy" I was hocked by James Corkill's writing style. And he delivered again and again with "Cold Energy", "Red Energy", "Gravity", "Pandora's Box" and now with "DNA", the sixth book in the Alex Cave Series.
"DNA" is a masterpiece. If you thought that the story of our hero, an ex-CIA agent named Alex Cave, could not get better, you were completely wrong. The author keeps raising the bar, as if it was possible at all.
As usual, we can see that a lot of research was done by the author in order to create a very intelligent and believable plot. This time, an imminent catastrophic event is set to destroy life on earth. And Alex is just there, in the middle of all action, with his friend Okana and other new characters that run against time to unravel the mystery behind the appearance of a rock in the middle of an indian (Sioux Nation) reserved area. When plan to save humanity goes sour, it is up to Alex to find a plan B in order to prevent the disaster that would destroy more than seven billion lives.

You definitely should try James Corkill's books. His intelligent plots are here to stay. There are lots of brilliant sequences in action, some dose of romance and all the good ingredients that make this book a must read for all fiction lovers that want to spend some hours entertained.
Although they are completely independent books, I recommend that you read all of them in the order they were published, so you can know the characters better and savor each detail of all the books. I recommend this series to the permanent library of all science-fiction readers. They will not be disappointed.

This book was written by James M.Corkill and I received an electronic version for reviewing. I was not requested to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own. 

Balance of September, 2017

During the month of September, 2017, I reviewed the following:

Books:
- "A Throne for Sisters" by Morgan Rice. Read my review.
- "A Clash of Kings - Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2" by George R.R.Martin. Read my review.