Friday 56 #100 & BB – The Intruders by Michael Marshall #MichaelMarshall

Posted on September 23, 2016 by fundinmental

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The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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WOO HOO, my 100th Friday 56. I have been hit and miss with them lately, because the outdoors calls my name and I must respond! I try not to post one when I know I won’t be able to visit anyone. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen too often. 😈

Covers with trees grab my attention and the cover for The Intruders by Michael Marshall makes me think something bad this way comes.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“Read the Syntagma Musicum, Praetorius’s ancient catalog of musical instruments. Back in the sixteenth century, all the major cathedral organs in Europe had thirty-two-foot organ pipes, monsters that produce infrasound, sounds too low for the human ear to even hear. Why – if not for some other effect these frequencies have? Why did people feel so different in church, so connected with something beyond? And why do so many alternative therapies now center on vibration, which is just another way of quantifying sound?”

(Page 56 in my paperback, published in 2009)

Book Beginnings

Thump, thump, thump. You could hear it halfway up the street. it was bizarre that the neighbors didn’t complain. Or do so more often and more stridently. Gina sure as hell would – especially if the music sucked this bad. She knew she ought to go upstairs as soon as she got indoors, yell at Josh to turn it down. She also knew he’d look at her in that way teenagers have, like they’re wondering who you are and what gives you the right to bother them and what the hell happened in your life to make you so boring and old. He was a good son at heart, though and so he’d roll his eyes and nudge the volume down a notch, and then over the next half hour the volume would creep up until it was even louder than before.

My question to you: I don’t know how it snuck up on me and why I never noticed it before, but to me there is a lot of noise pollution out there. Do you have a noisy pet peeve?

GOODREADS BLURB: The bestselling author of The Straw Men makes his American hardcover debut with a searing, atmospheric tale that ratchets up the suspense, page by page, until its shocking end

For Jack Whalen, it all starts with a visit from a childhood friend, now a lawyer, who asks for his help on an odd case. The family members of a scientist have been brutally murdered, and the scientist—who may have had something to hide—is nowhere to be found.

But Jack has more pressing matters on his mind. His wife has told him that she’s on a routine business trip to Seattle, yet she hasn’t checked into her hotel. Calls to her cell phone go unanswered, and when Jack travels to Seattle to investigate, she’s vanished.

And in Oregon a little girl goes missing. She’s found miles away, but it soon becomes clear that she’s not an innocent victim, and is far from defenseless.Unusual events, all leading to the same place. As a former patrol cop who left the force under difficult circumstances, Jack is determined to find some answers. Yet the more he digs, the more the intrigue grows. Searching into the dark secrets of a past that still haunts him, Jack discovers that the truth has roots deeper and more evil than he ever feared.

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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE, Including the one above?

Man oh man…that last one is really creepy. ‘shivers’

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Friday 56 #99 & BB – Barrier Island by John D MacDonald #JohnDMacDonald

Posted on September 16, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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The fabulous cover for Barrier Island by John D MacDonald, along with the Gulf Coast setting, would make me pick this one up. A peaceful looking cover hides a mystery inside.

John D MacDonald passed away 25 years ago, but his books are very popular to this day.

The barrier islands along the Gulf Coast play an important part in the ecology of the area by protecting the coastline. The repercussions for destroying the barrier islands can affect, not only the coastline, but the wetlands they help create.

I wish I had a big giant cover to share..

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Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“You can be good, or you can be lucky,” he said. “Me, I’ll take lucky.”

(Page 56 in my 1st edition hardcover, published in 1986)

Book Beginnings

A night bird winging back to one of the islands made a harsh sobbing cry as it passed near a small cruiser anchored well to the south of the channel, The sound brought the owner up out of sleep, wrenching him out of his dreams into a moment of confusion before he sorted his world into the small realities of time and place.

My question to you: Do you feel lucky…punk? LOL

GOODREADS BLURB: There are two kinds of men in Mississippi. They make natural enemies. And sometimes, but only if the balance between strength and weakness tips too far, unnatural allies.

Tucker Loomis is a hard and dangerous man with a ruthlessness all West Bay fears and respects, and an improbable amount of money. Wade Rowley is a common man who aspires to honor but gets caught up in the footwork of a skilled swindler.

.In a pitiless game, with a few harsh rules and just one way of keeping score, the wrong man will die. And another will get away with more than murder.

“Lively, gritty . . . complex and convincing . . . Mr. MacDonald writes with passion!” The New York Times Book Review

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
To see all my reviews, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE, Including the one above?

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Sherry’s Shelves #93 – It’s a Dog Dean Afternoon #Supernatural

Posted on September 11, 2016 by fundinmental

Sherry’s Shelves #93 is my weekly update from September 4 – September 10, 2016.

Sunday Post #201 Countdown to Spring..

Stacking The Shelves {200}

Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews
Bought, Borrowed & Bagged is hosted by TalkSupe
**all images are linked to Amazon (I am an affiliate)**

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Hello fellow bloggers. I’ve had another fantastic week of blogging, reading and cleaning house. I know most people wait until spring to do their cleaning, but I bought new bedding and curtains for the master bedroom and got the bug. That’s not to say I don’t have time to catch some of my favorite TV and this past week I caught this episode….again. ENJOY!

THIS WEEK ON fundinmental

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THIS WEEK ON fundinmental

I will have more posts, I’m just not sure what, so be sure and keep checking back.

Sherry’s Shelves
Teaser Tuesday
Cozy Giveaway & Review – Gnarly New Year by Anne Celeste Burke
Giveaway – Barrier by D C Renfroe
Friday 56 – Barrier Island by John D McDonald
One Sentence Review

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Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

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You may see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
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Friday 56 #98 & BB – The Apocalypse Watch by Robert Ludlum @RLudlumAuthor

Posted on September 9, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Anyone that knows me, knows I am a huge conspiracy fan and The Apocalypse Watch by Robert Ludlum fits the bill.

I used to read a lot of World War II spy novels and I had a lot of Robert Ludlum’s books, but lost them when I moved the first time…

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Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“You really don’t know talented actors. They can walk into a building looking like themselves, then reappear on the street as someone else. A shirt stuffed under their jackets, their trousers baggy, their walk different, and God forbid there’s a clothes shop inside.”

(Page 56 in my 1st edition hardcover, published in 1995)

Book Beginnings

The Alpine Pass, high in the Austrian Hausruck, was swept by the winter snow and assaulted by ht cold north winds, while far below, a valley sprouted crocuses and the jonquils of early spring. This particular pass was neither a border checkpoint nor a transfer post from one part of the mountain range to another In fact, it was not on any map issued for public scrutiny.

My question to you: Do you believe in conspiracies?

GOODREADS BLURB: American agent Harry Latham has penetrated the fortresslike mountain hideaway of the Brotherhood of the Watch, a neo-Nazi organization that was born in the days after the fall of the Third Reich. After three years in deep cover, and on the eve of his most spectacular success, Harry Latham has disappeared.

Drew Latham, Special Officer for Consular Operations in Paris, is frantic to discover his older brother’s fate. But when he receives the sudden good news that Harry has surfaced, gut-twisting doubts arise. Has Harry’s cover been blown? And if so, why has the Brotherhood of the Watch let him live?

For Harry Latham has emerged with an explosive list: the secret supporters of the movement, among them some of the highest-ranking officials in the United States and its allies, names synonymous with honorable service to their nations. It is a document that could topple governments — but is it legitimate? Can Drew Latham trust his own brother? The search for the truth about Harry — and the growing Nazi threat — will plunge Drew into a labyrinth of deceit and death. And whoever gets out alive holds the fate of the free world in his hands.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
To see all my reviews, go HERE.
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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE, Including the one above?

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Friday 56 #97 & BB – Prime Suspect by Lynda La Plante @LaPlanteLynda

Posted on September 2, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Prime Suspect by Lynda La Plante has been made into TV, movie and video game adaptations. The Granda Television series starred Helen Mirren.

This is the cover for the mass market paperback I have that was published in 1993.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

Kernan cleared his throat. “OK, I’ve gone over all the reports on the Marlow case and it looks in good shape. I think, when I’ve had time to assess it all, we can go ahead and charge him. But until that decision is made, and I know time is against us, I am bringing in another DCI to take over. You all now Detective Chief Inspector Tennison…”

(Page 56 in paperback, published in 1993)

Book Beginnings

Mrs. Corrina Salbanna was woken from a deep sleep by the sound of the front door banging in the wind. She squinted at her bedside clock; it was almost two. Swearing in her native Spanish, she threw off the bedclothes and stuffed her plump feet into her slippers.

My question to you: Do you think she’s a bitch? Why or why not?

GOODREADS BLURB: In the dark night of the soul . . . . If Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison hadn’t been a woman, she might not have noticed the victim’s shoes . . . . and that they didn’t match the size given on the info sheet now so obviously misidentifying the dead blonde as a hooker named Della Mornay. Being so through, so good at the details, made Jane a top investigator; being a woman made the boys in the squadron want to see her fall on her face. But Jane Tennison was determined to catch the madman stalking women in London’s street shadows. She had a prime suspect, and she needed to make the charges against him stick. She also needed to keep her own secret in check: she couldn’t let anyone see that she was falling apart inside, as her obsession with cracking this case and breaking out from under the heel of the station house boy’s club took over life, destroying her relationship with the man she loved, pushing her closer and closer to the dark urges of a killer . . . .

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
To see all my reviews, go HERE.
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Friday 56 #96 & BB – Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard @elmoreleonard

Posted on August 19, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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This is the perfect time of year for RUM PUNCH by Elmore Leonard.

This is the cover I have, a 1st edition hardback published in 1992. It is embossed with raised lettering and design. I love the heron with the ammo.

Check out the others below. I am curious which you would like best.

My 56

They had booked Jackie at the admitting desk, removed the handcuffs, and brought her to a counter at the end of a narrow hallway where she was searched, photographed, and fingerprinted on six separate cards. She studied a list of bail bondsmen…

(Page 65, 56 was blank, in hardcover)

Oops…forgot Book Beginnings

Sunday morning, Ordell took Louis to watch the white-power demonstration in downtown Palm Beach.

“Young skinhead Nazis…”

My question to you: Do you think Jackie and her bail bondsman will become an item?

Add to Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB: The inimitable Elmore Leonard follows up his bestseller Maximum Bob with a punch–Rum Punch–where a gun dealer, a flight attendant, and a bail bondsman make interesting bedfellows. When Jackie gets caught smuggling her boss’s gun money on the airline she works for, she hatches a plan with her bail bondsman to walk off with the money.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
To see all my reviews, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE, Including the one above?

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Friday 56 #94 & BB – The Natural by Joe Klein @JoeKleinTIME

Posted on August 5, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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The Natural by Joe Klein

The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton

Even though this is the Goodreads ebook cover, this is the cover I have on my 1st edition hardcover.

My 56

So the political benefits of dropping the gas tax were obvious. And there was no political benefit to expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit…The EITC was too cumbersand a concept for most journalists to even bother to understand, much less attempt to describe.

But Clinton…expanded the EITC…

(Page 56 in hardcover)

I am not big into politics, or news, for that matter, but I do believe in exercising my right to vote. I must be informed enough to make my own educated choice, so some knowledge is mandatory. That being said, I thought it was “funny” that this was sitting on a fiction shelf. Timing is everything, so even though I have only been sharing non fiction, thus far, I will go ahead with this biography.

MY QUESTION TO YOU: How do you view the press? Do they cause more harm than good in this day and age?

Add to Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB: Joe Klein, best-selling author of Primary Colors and one of our most brilliant political analysts, now tackles the subject he knows best: Bill Clinton. Astute, even-handed, and keenly intelligent, The Natural is the only book to read if you want to understand exactly what happened–to the military, to the economy, to the American people, to the country–during Bill Clinton’s presidency, and how the decisions made during his tenure affect all of us today.

Much has been written about Clinton, but The Natural is the first work to cut through the gossip, scandals, media hype, and emotional turbulence that Clinton always engendered, to step back and rationally analyze the eight years of his tenure, a period during which America rose to unprecedented levels of prosperity. Joe Klein puts that record into perspective, showing us what worked and what didn’t, exactly what was accomplished and why, and who was responsible for the successes and the failures.

We see how the Clinton White House functioned on the inside, how it dealt with the maneuvers of Congress and the Gingrich revolution, and who held power and made the decisions during the endless crises that beset the administration. Klein’s access to the White House over the years as a journalist gave him a prime spot from which to view every crucial event–both political and personal–and he sets them forth in an insightful, readable, and completely engrossing manner.

The Natural is stern in its criticism and convincing with its praise. It will cause endless debate amongst friends and foes of the Clinton administration. It is a book that anyone interested in contemporary politics, in American history, or in the functioning of our democracy, should read.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
To see all my reviews, go HERE.
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Friday 56 #92 & BB #68 – The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King #StephenKing

Posted on July 15, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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The Blue Angels are back in town and gearing up for the beach show this weekend. Mr Wonderful snuck off to practice without me and this is what he came home with.

Check it out!

Fat Albert is their support plane and starts off the show.

Flying over Pensacola Pier.

In Formation. I love that you can see them inside the jets.

I love the vapor running over the plane.

If you would like to see them in action, visit Fundimonium for more.

What have you been up to this week?

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Are you a dragon lover?

I don’t think there is anyone that hasn’t heard of Stephen King, but have you read this epic fantasy of dragons, princes and evil wizards?

MY FRIDAY 56

In Peter’s cool gaze he saw the very possible derailment of all his plans and careful work. More and more Flagg came to believe that getting rid of Peter was a necessity.

(page65 in paperback)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

Once, in a kingdom called Delain, there was a King with two sons.

Add me to Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB:

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The cover above is for the paperback copy. The cover below is for the ebook copy.

Which cover do you like best? Why?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
To see all my Review, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
Leave your link in the comments, I’ll drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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Friday 56 #91 & BB #67 – Rage by Jonathon Kellerman

Posted on July 1, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Rage by Jonathon Kellerman

Jonathon Kellerman is one of those authors that is a must read for me.

There is plenty of mystery, thrills and suspense from this prolific writer.

Have you read any of his books?

MY FRIDAY 56

“She wants to screw me – screw Rand. I thought we were all on the same page but she’s pulling a fast one, shifting to blaming it all on my client so her little sociopath can get easy treatment. I thought you should be alerted.”

(page 56 in hardback)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

On a slow, chilly Saturday in December, shortly after the Lakers overcame a sixteen point halftime deficit and beat New Jersey, I got a call from a murderer.

Add me to Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB: In a host of consecutive bestsellers, Jonathan Kellerman has kept readers spellbound with the intense, psychologically acute adventures of Dr. Alex Delaware-and with excursions through the raw underside of L.A. and the coldest alleys of the criminal mind.” “Rage offers a powerful new case in point, as Delaware and LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis revisit a horrifying crime from the past that has taken on shocking and deadly new dimensions.

Troy Turner and Rand Duchay were barely teenagers when they kidnapped and murdered a younger child. Troy, a remorseless sociopath, died violently behind bars. But the hulking, slow-witted Rand managed to survive his stretch. Now, at age twenty-one, he’s emerged a haunted, rootless young man with a pressing need: to talk-once again-with psychologist Alex Delaware. But the young killer comes to a brutal end, that conversation never takes place.

Has karma caught up with Rand? Or has someone waited for eight patient years to dine on ice-cold revenge? Both seem strong possibilities to Sturgis, but Delaware’s suspicions run deeper . . . and darker. Because fear in the voice of the grownup Rand Duchay-and his eerie final words to Alex: “I’m not a bad person””-“betray untold secrets. Buried revelations so horrendous, and so damning, they’re worth killing for.

As Delaware and Sturgis retrace their steps through a grisly murder case that devastated a community, they discover a chilling legacy of madness, suicide, and multiple killings left in its wake-and even uglier truths waiting to be unearthed. And the nearer they come to understanding an unspeakable crime, the more harrowingly close they get to unmasking a monster hiding in plain sight.

Rage finds Jonathan Kellerman in phenomenal form-orchestrating a relentlessly suspenseful, devilishly unpredictable plot to a finale as stunning and thought-provoking as it is satisfying.

A killer is watching . . .

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Which cover do you like best? Why?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
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Friday 56 #90 & BB #66 – A Perfect Evil by Alex Kava @AlexKava_Author

Posted on June 24, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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A Perfect Evil by Alex Kava

Alex Kava is a master storyteller that is on my hit list. I don’t even need to look at the book, just hear her name and I know I want it.

I was lucky enough to meet her a year or two ago and got her autograph for my hardcopy of A Perfect Evil. I love this cover and the story inside. This is the first book in the Maggie O’Dell series.

MY FRIDAY 56

“What makes you say that?” He was annoyed by her matter-of-fact attitude, She had been here only minutes and seemed to have it all figured out.

“You fell here when you tripped, right?” she said, pointing to the torn grass and the indent in the mud.

(page 56 in hardback)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

“Bless me Father, for I have sinned.” Ronald Jeffreys’ raspy monotone made the phrase a challenge rather than a confession.

Father Stephen Francis stared at Jeffreys’ hands, mesmerized by the large knuckles and stubby fingers, nails bitten to the quick. The fingers twisted – no, strangled – the corner of his blue government-issue shirt. The old priest imagined those same fingers twisting and choking the life out of little Bobby Wilson.

Uh, oh…What do you think happens next?

Add me to Goodreads

GOOREADS BLURB

A killer is watching . . .

The brutal murders of three young boys paralyze the citizens of Platte City, Nebraska. What’s worse is the grim realization that the man recently executed for the crimes was a copycat. When Sheriff Nick Morrelli is called to the scene of another grisly murder, it becomes clear that the real predator is still at large, waiting to kill again.

Morreli understands the urgency of the case terrorizing his community, but it’s the experienced eye of FBI criminal profiler Maggie O’Dell that pinpoints the true nature of the evil behind the killings — a revelation made all the more horrific when Morrelli’s own nephew goes missing.

Maggie understands something else: the killer is enjoying himself, relishing his ability to stay one step ahead of her, making this case more personal by the hour. Because out there, watching, is a killer with a heart of pure and perfect evil.

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I have never see this cover before. The colors sure do pop, but it looks too cheesy.

Which cover do you like best? Why?