This is one of the few times where a title catches my attention before the cover. If you want to know what is wet warm and noisy, well, you’ll need to read the book for yourself.
I have been recovering from a serious illness and wanted a book to blow me away. Wet, Warm And Noisy didn’t do it, but the blend of law enforcement and the supernatural kept my attention. The things Jake Ward goes through has me wondering what will be left of him when all is said and done. It is suitably creepy and I did find myself cringing as he was poked and prodded.
As Jake Ward follows Belle Anderson down the rabbit hole, the danger rises. He has no idea what’s in store for him….and neither did I. It didn’t end the way I thought, and I love it. I look forward to going on more adventures with Jake Ward and David A Willson.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Wet, Warm And Noisy by David A Willson.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A supernatural crime thriller set in Alaska, the Last Frontier…Surrounded by the unforgiving climate of the frozen north, Jake Ward, a tenacious Alaska State Trooper Investigator and cancer survivor, is on a relentless quest to regain his health and return to full-duty status.
But Ward’s world takes a bone-chilling turn during a routine polygraph examination when a woman escapes custody, leaving an officer critically injured. What started as an ordinary investigation transforms into a complex web of intrigue, where medical experimentation and consciousness collide.
In “Wet, Warm, and Noisy,” Willson masterfully blurs the boundaries between law enforcement and the supernatural, leading readers on a heart-pounding journey through a realm where the tangible and the mysterious intersect. With time slipping away, can Ward decipher the enigmas that defy reason, or will forces that transcend human experience overwhelm him?
Author David A. Willson, with over two decades of experience as an Alaska State Trooper, brings a rare authenticity to crime fiction that will both enlighten and captivate you. Prepare yourself for an electrifying thriller that challenges the very foundations of our reality.
Genre: Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction
Format: 244 pages, Paperback
Published: February 7, 2024 by Independently published
English
ABOUT DAVID A WILLSON
David A. Willson is a father, husband, pancreatic cancer survivor and a retired Alaska State Trooper. Taught by his mother to love books at a young age, he spent his childhood exploring magic, spaceships, and other dimensions. In his writing, he strives to bring those worlds to his readers.
Much of his material is inspired by the ‘Great Land’ of Alaska, which he has called home for over 40 years. He is passionate about technology, faith, and fiction—not necessarily in that order.
When not writing, he enjoys traveling, woodworking, brewing beer and wine, and playing acoustic guitar.
Great cover, title and story is found in the prequel, Life Among The Tombstones by H R Boldwood. I was super excited when I received three more books in the Allie Nighthawk Mysteries series. MMMMMM! Zombies may want brains, but I want more of Allie.
Allie comes home to Cincinnati, Ohio, to murder, mayhem, and zombies. Her past rears its ugly head…wanting revenge. I’m not too worried about her, because she is a kickass womance who runs towards danger, instead of away from it.
Life Among The Tombstones was a pretty quick read. It kept me flipping pages, leaving me wanting more. It’s a good thing I was able to get the next three books in the series. I am eager to share them, so let’s get to it.
In this prequel to The Corpse Whisperer series, financially challenged zombie hunter, Allie Nighthawk, returns to her hometown of Cincinnati and finds herself knee-deep in murder, mayhem, and zombies. Can she solve not one but two murders, and get away unscathed — when the good guys might not be so good, and a presence from her past returns for revenge?
H.R. Boldwood, author of the Corpse Whisperer series, countless short stories, and Imadjinn Award finalist, is a writer of horror and speculative fiction. In another incarnation, Boldwood is a Pushcart Prize nominee and winner of the 2009 Bilbo Award for creative writing by Thomas More College. Boldwood’s characters are often disreputable and not to be trusted. They are kicked to the curb at every conceivable opportunity when some poor unsuspecting publisher welcomes them with open arms. No responsibility is taken by this author for the dastardly and sometimes criminal acts committed by this ragtag group of miscreants.
I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read Mind Games by Nora Roberts. I have been reading her work for decades (oops, showing my age a bit).
The cover of Mind Games looks so adventurous and peaceful, but the story is anything but…and I was pleasantly surprised. I love when an author mixes mystery and suspense with the paranormal and Nora Roberts wove them together seamlessly.
I never used to be so interested in the romance of a story, but that has changed since I have gotten older. I love romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Nora hid the nail on the head…we have all the romance we could want in Mind Games.
The villain is a great villain, sufficiently evil and, even though he is locked up in supermax, he manages to haunt Thea. Thea made the mistake of creating an opening, but she was only twelve years old, so we can understand how her need to make the villain pay would override her need to keep a distance from him. He is more dangerous than she knew.
There’s plenty of fun dialogue, along with the grown up talk. At times, I found myself laughing out loud. Kids are little sponges and pick up those grown up words we wish they would never hear…know what I mean?
I know the book is a stand alone, not a series, but I grew to care so much about the characters, I would love to visit them again. Nora Roberts brought them to life and I don’t want to see their story end.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Identity presents a suspenseful new novel of tragedy and trauma, love and family, and the evil that awaits.
As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.
Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.
The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse―because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them―and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…
Expected publication May 21, 2024 by St Marin’s Press
Setting: Redbud Hollow, Kentucky (US) Fredericksburg, Virginia (US)
ABOUT NORA ROBERTS
Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 — The Becoming — the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
I have gotten on a huge apocalyptic/dystopian reading binge and when I saw In The Doldrums by Simon Dieppe’s cover I got even more curious. Without looking, what do you think is on the cover?
BOOM
Someone pushed the button and hell and chaos was released. Will humanity be able to survive? If you don’t die from the bomb, what about the fallout? Would you want to be one of the survivors? It’s not just the power grid being obliterated, food, water, and medical supplies becoming scarce, but you know it will be survivor against survivor.
Donal O’Brien is one of the 27 survivors on the Thalassa, a container ship with a vast ocean separating them from land. They had parked themselves In The Doldrums, a belt around the Earth that allowed them to tread water, saving their fuel. But, how long can they survive, before they have to find somewhere to replenish heir supplies?
I had also remembered that Kirk, Spock and Bones were always accompanied by at least two junior members of the crew, who were invariably cannon-fodder for humanoid lizards and aggressive robots.
In The Doldrums was a bit different from my usual apocalyptic/dystopian reading, considering it takes place on a ship at sea. We all know that sooner or later they are going to have to seek out other survivors. Will they be hostile?
Simon Dieppe didn’t waste any time getting into the crisis. He supplied food for thought, seeing we are living with so much instability all across the globe. Are you of the ilk that no one would be cruel enough to push the button? Myself, I go back and forth on the subject. We have so many volatile leaders, it’s hard to not think about it.
The pacing kept me involved and I loved the ending. After all, we need hope to keep us putting one foot in front of the other. So….if you are looking an intriguing read that is sure to keep you guessing, it would be hard to go wrong with In The Doldrums.
Thanks Simon, for the opportunity to read and review a free copy of In The Doldrums.
4 Stars
GOODREAD BLURB
A strategic, manmade global pandemic. A nuclear response. A new, dark age for humanity.
Two weeks before, washed-up writer, Donal O’Brien, boards the container ship Thalassa. In a last-ditch attempt to gain literary immortality, he has left his life behind to immerse himself in a new world – a world he hopes will inspire him to create his masterpiece. He is to tell the story of those who live at sea, those whose work invisibly greases the cogs of modern consumerism. It is a world of ingrained inequality, a melting pot of nations, a soup of stories.
Then, as the ship reaches the quiet of the Mid-Atlantic Doldrums, humanity implodes.
Unsure of what remains of the world they left behind, the crew of twenty-two must find a way to survive – not only from the catastrophe that surrounds them, but from each other.
In the Doldrums is a speculative psychological thriller, murder mystery and examination of the human condition all rolled up into one.
For lovers of literary dystopian, post-apocalyptic fiction who enjoyed novels such as Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven and Hannah Jameson’s The Last.
★★★★★“A beautifully written post-apocalyptic tale. The juxtaposing themes of hope, despair, loneliness, fear, paranoia and friendship are all explored and navigated expertly. The geographically, scientifically and historically accurate facts grounds the story in realism and allows you to truly picture the settings and places from the story.” John Athan
★★★★★”Clever writing in a future that is entirely believable.” S.Bowsher
★★★★★”Really good, chillingly appropriate for the times.” N.J. Blake
Simon Dieppe lives near Worcester in the UK. He has been a lawyer, worked in the international conference industry and was a Director in a UK PLC, but has now settled down as an English and History teacher – a career that he loves. Simon started writing in the first lockdown, and hasn’t stopped. In the Doldrums is his third novel, but the first that he has published. He is currently re-working the first two books with the aim of publishing them later this year. He has an eclectic taste in literature, but has always been drawn towards dystopian fiction. He lives with his wife, two children and dog, Bernie.
I felt like I was visiting worlds like Grimm (the TV show), Harry Potter (that speaks for itself), and Stephen Henning’s Class Heroes series. So much fun for me, so I feel middle graders would love to go on fantasy adventures with the twins, Willow and Jake. And, how about that amazing cover created by Alexander Jansson. I have an affinity to trees, so it speaks to me.
I am very familiar with Michaelbrent Collings’ thrillers, and I am a huge fan of his. This is a step outside his normal genre, but all I had to do was read the blurb to put a smile on my face. With his ability to spin fantastic stories, I anticipate an entertaining read. Good writing is good writing, so the fact this is middle grade fantasy instead of a dark and dangerous thriller, doesn’t put me off in the slightest. I feel Grimmworld will be easy to read, so I can relax and enjoy the fun.
Willow and Jack Grimm are twins, living in Los Angeles and they are happy with their lives. Their parents tell them they will be moving to New Marburg, Idaho. What? From glitzy glamorous Los Angeles, their friends, the beach, the library, to a town only a select few have ever heard of, will be a huge adjustment.
Their parents are scientists and will be working at the Tank. It’s all very hush hush.
I love that Willow and Jack are friends as well as siblings. They are opposites, that complement their abilities, which they will need when they enter their new world. The combination of their skills will allow them to overcome the obstacles put in their path. Their teacher seems to have it out for them. What a way to start their new life.
Things and people are not always what they appear to be and first impressions and assumptions can be misleading, as with Mr Eli.
Of course, we have the age old question, just because you can do it, should you?
I love that Willow and Jack are Grimmwalkers. I have been watching Grimm on TV and it allowed me to let Michaelbrent Collings stretch my imagination and travel to Grimmworld with him and the kids. We have monsters of every persuasion, fairies and witches and more.
“The Brothers Grimm weren’t ‘fairy tale guys.’ They were Grimmwalkers like me…People who see the truth…”
You will never look at mushrooms the same way.
Instead of a chip on her shoulder, Willow has a cricket. LOL
I love a book that allows me to let my imagination run wild and be there in the moment. I love to let an author take me wherever they want me to go, see what they want me to see and Michaelbrent Collings has that ability. I loved being in his magical world as he brought it and the characters to life with his mad writing skills. The impossible becomes possible in The Witch in the Woods of Grimmworld.
The first adventure into Grimmworld, The Witch In The Woods by Michaelbrent Collings, may be over, but Willow and Jack have a new reason to return…….
At the end of the book is a Reading Guide and Discussion Questions.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Twins Willow and Jake Grimm are not prepared for the bizarre gadgets and scary changes in their new home of New Marburg, the location of the top-secret Think Tank where their parents now have jobs as scientists. In this town, people jetpack to work, robots direct traffic, and senior citizens duel with laser swords.
Yet nothing compares to what happens the day after lightning strikes the twins’ house. Their school building transforms around them, becoming a medieval castle—complete with moat, drawbridge, and a dangerous giant who looks strangely like the school’s overly aggressive hall monitor.
Barely managing to escape before a massive beanstalk lifts the castle above the clouds, Willow and Jake learn that their ancestors, the original Brothers Grimm, were more than storytellers. They were Grimmwalkers, able to travel from our universe to the universe where all fairy tales dare born.
Somehow, Willow and Jake have been transported to Grimmworld as well. But before the twins can figure out how to get back to their own universe, they discover that their best friends, Hank and Pearl, have morphed into the fairy tale characters Hansel and Gretel and been captured by a candy-obsessed witch deep in the Cursed Forest.
Now, aided by a mysterious wizard with shimmering golden eyes and a befuddled, talking naked mole-rat named Chet, the twins must trust in each other, believe in themselves, and find the courage to face their darkest fears in order to save their friends, return to their family, and maybe—just maybe—save the world.
Published: March 6, 2024 by Shadow Mountain Publishing
ABOUT MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS
Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally-bestselling novelist, multiple Bram Stoker Award nominee, produced screenwriter, and one of the top indie horror writers in the United States.
He hopes someday to develop superpowers, or, if that is out of the question, then at least to get a cool robot arm.
Michaelbrent has a wife and several kids, all of whom are much better looking than he is (though he admits that’s a low bar to set), and also cooler than he is.
Michaelbrent also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MichaelbrentC… and can be followed on Twitter through his username @mbcollings. Follow him for cool news, updates, and advance notice of sales. You will also be kept safe when the Glorious Revolution begins!
Keeping Janie is the sequel to Call Her Janie by S R Fabrico. It takes place in Southport, North Carolina. Lizzie Levine has just been reunited with her daughter, Janie. Her relationship with Gray Stone is riddled with problems. Will they get married or are their problems insurmountable? I’m not telling.
The past tends to follow you everywhere you go, and that is no different for Lizzie. I swing back and forth on whether she will end up with Gray, or if her ex husband can lure her away, claiming he is a different guy than he used to be. The danger lurking in the background has me on edge, so I hope they are staying alert.
I never saw the ending coming and I love when an author can surprise me. I was shocked, not sure how to feel. I had to think about it for a while.
Keeping Janie is filled with danger, mystery, love, secrets, lies, deception, and so much more.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Keeping Janie by S R Fabrico.
4 Stars
BLURB
Embark on an exhilarating journey with Lizzie Levine, the beloved character from the award-winning novel Call Her Janie. In this riveting sequel by S.R. Fabrico, set against the picturesque backdrop of Southport, North Carolina, the stakes soar, twists abound, and the drama intensifies.
Reuniting with her daughter, Janie, should be the start of Lizzie’s picture-perfect life. Behind the scenes, however, is a different matter. The happiness of having her daughter back is overshadowed by the fear and distrust of her ex-boyfriend, billionaire Gray Stone.
Amidst the tapestry of wedding preparations, the custody fight looms. The story unfolds in a battleground of secrets, lies, and deception. In this gripping narrative, love and lies entwine, danger lurks in the shadows, and the courage to confront one’s past becomes paramount. Can Lizzie gain custody of her daughter, marry the man she loves, and have her happily-ever-after, or will the mistakes of their past destroy them all?
S.R. Fabrico is a 16-time award-winning author. Her debut novel The Secrets We Conceal was published in March 2022. She has also written a series of sports journals for athletes, including the Amazon best-selling My Dance Journal.
A 25-plus-year professional in the business, marketing, and sports world has taken her to numerous places throughout the course of her life and provided countless life experiences. She is a World Champion Dance Coach, coach of the year recipient, and speaker and various conferences across the United States.
S.R. Fabrico works and writes from her home in Knoxville, TN, where she lives with her husband and two children. She appreciates the beauty of the mountains, but her favorite place to visit is the beach. She is a lifelong math nerd and enjoys good puns. When she isn’t writing, she likes to read books, wife hard, and mom hard.
Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception – Carl Sagan
I remember watching Carl Sagan’s TV program, and I am not even a science nerd. His sultry voice made the information he shared entertaining, yet educational. So, let’s dive into some science…fiction.
What do you think? How much genetic engineering is going on? And how much is too much? Do you believe…just because we can do it we should? I sure don’t. And when I read Extinction by Douglas Preston, we can see a fictional version of why sometimes, playing God, is going to backfire.
Olivia and Mark were on the honeymoon of a lifetime, visiting Erebus Resort, where woolly mammoths and other megafauna from the Pleistocene Age have been de-extincted. BUT, they will get much more than they bargained for and it will be a bummer for them. Someone has to be sacrificed and I love an author that has no problem killing off a character or two.
Douglas Preston has created a multilayered mystery that was not easily solved. There were many moving parts and it was hard to decide who was the villain, or villains. Entering into caves, with thousands of tons of rocks overhead doesn’t appeal to me and added an extra layer of fear and creepiness, leaving shivers running up and down my spine. There is more in those caves than rocks.
Cannibalism:
Survival cannibalism
Ritual cannibalism
Sacrificial cannabalism
A tool of terror
Have I totally creeped you out yet? Are dinosaurs not scary enough?
The characters are many and run the gamut. Heroes, villains, cowards, sacrificial lambs, animal and human, weak and strong, those who take credit for the work of others, those who play God, movie stars, egotists, and the innocent.
Could this be a cautionary tale for us and our future? I mean think about it. Dinosaurs had their moment and are extinct for a reason. Evolution is a fact of nature. Is the clock ticking on humanity?
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
With Extinction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston has written an epic thriller in the Michael Crichton mode that explores the very real effort to resurrect the woolly mammoth and other extinct megafauna from the Pleistocene Age.
Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire’s son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.
As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolent presence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection—but extinction.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Expected publication April 24, 2024 by Forge Books
ABOUT DOUGLAS PRESTON (from amazon)
Douglas Preston is the author of thirty-six books, both fiction and nonfiction, twenty-nine of which have been New York Times bestsellers, with several reaching the number 1 position. He has worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. His first novel, RELIC, co-authored with Lincoln Child, was made into a movie by Paramount Pictures, which launched the famed Pendergast series of novels. His recent nonfiction book, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, is also in production as a film. His latest book, THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD, tells the true story of the discovery of a prehistoric city in an unexplored valley deep in the Honduran jungle. In addition to books, Preston writes about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. He is the recipient of numerous writing awards in the US and Europe, including an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Pomona College. He currently serves as president of the Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest association of authors and journalists.
I read another book by Sulari Gentill that didn’t work for me, but that doesn’t mean I write the author off…and I’m glad I gave her another chance with The Mystery Writer. I love a good conspiracy novel and the mystery grew the more I read. Books about books add another level of interest.
Theodosia Benton left her career path as an attorney behind and came to the United States, showing up on her brother’s doorstep. She wants to be a writer, but she never anticipated the path she would travel to become successful…and neither did I. I knew there was a conspiracy, but those behind it and the way it unraveled, took me by surprise.
The characters came from colorful backgrounds and I fell in love with Mac’s wacko family. Sure, they were off the charts, but when it comes to family, they have their backs.
“…genetic predispostion to lunacy…”
Theo’s instincts are correct when it comes to Veronica and Day Delos and Associates. To save her brother from being charged with murder, she takes drastic action. The pacing creates a tension that had me racing through the pages
I want to tell you so much, but I don’t want to spoil the twists and turns hinted at in the synopsis. I will tell you…if you love a conspiracy, a mystery that has you scratching your head, and some danger to keep the thrills coming, you might want to give The Mystery Writer by Suleri Gentill a read.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
There’s nothing easier to dismiss than a conspiracy theory―until it turns out to be true When Theodosia Benton abandons her career path as an attorney and shows up on her brother’s doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, she expects to face a few challenges. Will her brother support her ambition or send her back to finish her degree? What will her parents say when they learn of her decision? Does she even have what it takes to be a successful writer? What Theo never expects is to be drawn into a hidden literary world in which identity is something that can be lost and remade for the sake of an audience. When her mentor, a highly successful author, is brutally murdered, Theo wants the killer to be found and justice to be served. Then the police begin looking at her brother, Gus, as their prime suspect, and Theo does the unthinkable in order to protect him. But the writer has left a trail, a thread out of the labyrinth in the form of a story. Gus finds that thread and follows it, and in his attempt to save his sister he inadvertently threatens the foundations of the labyrinth itself. To protect the carefully constructed narrative, Theo Benton, and everyone looking for her, will have to die. USA Today bestselling author Sulari Gentill takes readers on a rollercoaster ride in The Mystery Writer , a literary thriller that turns the world of books and authors upside down and where a writer’s voice is a thing to be controlled and weaponized, to the peril of everyone who loves a good story.
Expected publication March 19, 2024 by Poisoned Pen Press
ABOUT SULARI GENTILL
Once upon a time, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, ten historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist, the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world, and the Ned Kelly Award winning Crossing the Lines (published in the US as After She Wrote Hime). In 2014 she collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short story which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV. IN 2019 Sulari was part of a 4-member delegation of Australian crime writers sponsored by the Australia Council to tour the US as ambassadors of Australian Crime Writing.
Sulari lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in Batlow where she grows French Black Truffles and refers to her writing as “work” so that no one will suggest she get a real job.
I don’t read a lot of historical fiction that deals with war and politics and more, but every once in a while one slips in, such as The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen. There were elements about the story that struck me personally and it helped me to see the possibilities.
I loved Anne Lemire, because she does not back down. She puts herself front and center, digging and investigating, making herself a target. She writes for The Rumor Clinic, disproving harmful rumors. I thought for sure she was going to get her or someone close to her killed.
FBI Special Agent Devon Mulvey,….caught between a rock and a hard place. His job is to find those working against the government and sabotaging the war effort. I tried not to be judgmental, but….and I didn’t see the choice he would make, but I saw the reason why he made it.
I had to keep telling myself that this is 1943. Things were different then, yet current events prove that history repeats itself, over and over again. I find it puzzling, how those who were treated so badly when they immigrated to the United States could turn around and do the same thing to others. Why are they not more empathetic, seeing they can relate?
Everything felt so real. Whether it’s the Irish chasing and beating Jews or underground organizations printing hat sheet pamphlets inflaming the populace against those different from them and against the war in general, ration stamps, chauvinism, sexism, the union meetings, discrimination and threats in the factories, the USO dances, even religious leaders contributed to the discontent, police corruption, custodial detention, fascism, communism, murder…
….entrenched economic system forced people into roles….Negroes are lazy. Irish are drunks. Italians are criminals. Jews are bloodsuckers.
I found The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen very disturbing…because it felt so real and made me think….too much…making my brain hurt, or at least giving me a headache. AND…that is why I don’t read a lot of historical fictional war and politics stories.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A determined reporter and a reluctant FBI agent face off against fascist elements in World War II-era Boston.
June, 1943. Wartime tensions are running high, and an atmosphere of distrust and unease is dividing friends and neighbors. The two protagonists of Thomas Mullen’s gripping historical thriller find themselves at the center of a dangerous tinderbox, trying to douse the sparks before flames engulf the city.
Reporter Anne Lemire writes the Rumor Clinic, a newspaper column that disproves the many harmful rumors floating around town, some of them spread by Axis actors and others just gossip mixed with fear and ignorance. She’s getting tired of chasing rumors about Rosie Riveters’ safety on the job, or whether the Nazis have poisoned lobsters off the coast of Maine. She wants to write about something bigger.
Special Agent Devon Mulvey, one of the few Catholics at the FBI, spends his weekdays preventing sabotage in the war industries and his Sundays spying on clerics with divided loyalties—and he spends his evenings wooing the many lonely women whose husbands are off at war.
When Anne’s story about Nazi propaganda being handed out by local businesses intersects with Devon’s investigation into the death of an immigrant factory worker, the two are led down a dangerous trail of espionage, organized crime, and domestic fascism—one that implicates their own tangled pasts and threatens to expose a larger pattern of conspiracy than either of them could have imagined.
With incredible attention to detail, vibrant historical atmosphere, and a riveting mystery that illuminates still-timely issues about disinformation, power, and influence in a society plagued by division, Thomas Mullen delivers another powerful thriller.
Expected publication February 27, 2024 by Minotaur
ABOUT THOMAS MULLEN
Thomas Mullen is the author of Darktown, an NPR Best Book of the Year, which has been shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Southern Book Prize, the Indies Choice Book Award, has been nominated for two Crime Writers Assocation Dagger Awards, and is being developed for television by Sony Pictures with executive producer Jamie Foxx; The Last Town on Earth, which was named Best Debut Novel of 2006 by USA Today and was awarded the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for excellence in historical fiction; The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers; and The Revisionists. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and sons.
Leah adjusted her reindeer antlers in the domed mirror that was nestled in the far corner of the store.
Her day ended in bloodshed and the race is on to find her killer. It is very sad that she was murdered, and it wiped the smile off my face. It’s one of those things, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
5:15 AM and Amanda is running out the door. Her and her partner, Trent, are on the case.
Amanda has an adopted daughter, Zoe, who is the sweetest thing, older than her years. She has a lover, Logan. Their relationship has advanced to the moving in together phase, but he is not a member of law enforcement and I foresee huge problems on the horizon. After all, it is not a 9 to 5 job. It would make more sense, to me, that her and Trent hook up. I think they are a match made in heaven. Will they? Are you just teasing me, Carolyn?
They discover that Katherine Graves, an ex police officer, was in the store and had been kidnapped. She has many enemies and it will be their job to figure out who has taken her.
Amanda yanked Lowell’s hair back, and pressed the nose of her gun to his skull, “I said, hands up!”
That is why I love Amanda Steele. She is fierce.
As the story unfolds, the past comes back to haunt Katherine, the pace picks up, the danger rises, and I am rapidly flipping pages. Carolyn Arnold does not make it easy to figure things out, leading me here and leading me there, at times fearing for Amanda’s life. Of course, I worry for the other characters, but, you know…she’s my favorite. 🙂 She does give me a satisfying ending and I always look forward to the next story.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Missing Before Daylight by Carolyn Arnold.
4 Stars
GOODREADS
She wakes surrounded by an inky black darkness and can barely breathe. A sack is covering her head, and her hands are tied behind her back. She desperately tries to struggle free as she hears footsteps walking toward her. She silently starts to cry as a chilling voice whispers “It’s time to pay for what you did…”
When Detective Amanda Steele is called to the murder scene of a young gas station clerk just before dawn, she assumes it must be a robbery gone tragically wrong. But when she discovers nothing has been stolen, she knows the motive must be far more personal.
Watching the security footage, Amanda is shocked to witness the cold-blooded killer not only shoot the clerk dead but abduct a customer. And her heart stops when she recognizes the customer as her former colleague, Katherine Graves . As Amanda breaks the news to Katherine’s heartbroken Aunt May , she vows to do whatever it takes to bring her niece home alive.
Desperate for a lead, Amanda and her partner, Trent, search Katherine’s home. Soon, they discover that despite no longer being with the police department, Katherine has a long list of very dangerous enemies. Enemies who have been sending her anonymous letters promising revenge.
The more Amanda digs into Katherine’s past, the longer her list of suspects becomes. But when May is sent a ransom demand and a picture of Katherine close to death, Amanda knows time is running out. With only hours left to find Katherine alive, Amanda is prepared to risk everything to keep her promise to May, even her own life…
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Organized Crime, Serial Killers
369 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication February 22, 2024 by Bookouture
Series: Detective Amanda Steele, #10
ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from police procedurals, hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures. Her crime fiction series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining. This led to her adopting the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She currently lives near London, Ontario, Canada with her husband and two beagles.
