Friday 56 #109 – Black Water by T Jefferson Parker @TJParkerauthor

Posted on November 25, 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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Black Water by T Jefferson Parker

I am a huge fan of T Jefferson Parker. I used to go to the library, pick an author and clear the shelf, bringing home huge piles of books. Picking up T Jefferson Parker is a no brainer.

This is the fabulous cover I have for my 1st edition hardcover published in 2002. I love the bubbling water.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

She imagined touching him and being touched. Wondered how his cleanly shaven cheek would feel against her neck. Wondered how his wiry arms would feel around her, what his flat boxer’s chest would feel like against hers. Sometimes she’d picture him and herself together and she’d smile inwardly because he was two inches shorter than she was. This amused her and made her think of the famous actors she’s heard about who were shot from heightening angles. In particular Yul Brynner standing on a box in The kIng and I, according to her mother, who saw the movie something like twenty times.

(Page 56 in 1st edition hardcover published in 2002)

Book Beginnings

Archie pushed the gearshift into third and set his hand on her knee. Coast Highway, southbound. Man in the moon big and close, like he was tilting his head for a peek down into the convertible. Archie glanced up, couldn’t tell if the guy was smiling of frowning. didn’t care because Gwen’s skin was warm through the dress, a few degrees warmer than the breeze gusting through the car.

GOODREADS BLURB: Archie Wildcraft, a cop with a great career ahead of him, is found with a bullet in his brain, lying beside his murdered wife, Gwen. It looks like a botched murder-suicide, but Sergeant Merci Rayborn’s gut instincts tell her differently. As Archie holds on by a thread, Merci is drawn further into the Wildcrafts’ private lives and comes to believe that the young couple were deeply in love and that Archie’s been framed. When Archie vanishes from the hospital, it appears he’s on a vendetta, and it’s up to Merci to cover for him until she has a chance to solve the case on her own. Eventually, she’s led to the Russian mob and discovers awful secrets that she isn’t sure she wants to hand over to the heartless district attorney.

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Which cover do you like best?

Friday 56 #108 – The Cabin by Carla Neggers @CarlaNeggers

Posted on November 18, 2016 by fundinmental

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

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The Cabin by Carla Neggers is a thriller that will keep you warm on those cold winter nights.

I love the pastel colors for this ‘cool’ cover.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

When he came home that evening and told her about Alice’s arrest and never mentioned the tape, Susanna assumed the tape was no good, completely irrelevant – and that Alice hadn’t mentioned it to him. Why should she? She was on her way to prison, her career ruined. If there’s been anything useful on the tape, she’d have turned it over, if only to nail Beau McCarrity and prove herself right.

(Page 56 in paperback)

Book Beginnings

Susann Galway sipped her margarita and watched the countdown to midnight on the television above the bar at Jim’s Place, the small, dark pub just down the street from where she lived with her grandmother and twin teenage daughters. It had been a fixture in the neighborhood for as long as Susanna could remember.

GOODREADS BLURB: Vengeance, money and murder are menacing companions when they meet in the quiet stillness of an Adirondack winter.

Texas Ranger Jack Galway knows his wife Susanna loves him, so when their marriage hits a rough patch, he supports her decision to take their teenaged daughters to Boston for a break. But now a couple of weeks has turned into several months and Jack has had enough. He wants his family back.

Ex-convict Alice Parker left a mess back in Texas, and she’ll never forgive Jack Galway for killing her dream of ever becoming a Texas Ranger herself. Now, guided by greed and vengeance, she’s got her sights set on his family.

Packing up the girls and her grandmother, Susanna heads to a cabin in the Adirondacks, trying to escape her fears, her secrets . . . and maybe even the man she loves. Little does she realize they are being followed, only this time by her husband . . . and a murderer.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
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Which cover do you like best?

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Friday 56 #107 – The Trench by Abdelrahman Munif #AbdelrahmanMunif

Posted on November 11, 2016 by fundinmental

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

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I had a hard time finding the info on this book. I did not realize it was the second book in the series when I grabbed this book a long time ago, because of the controversy. It was banned in some Arab countries. I hate when someone tries to tell me what I can and cannot read, so I will do what I can to support the author.

This is the cover I have, but it was difficult to find it.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“He works until dawn – he doesn’t sleep until he hears the morning prayer call.” He smiled. “The light in that office is never even turned off!”

(Page 56 in hardcover, published in 1991)

Book Beginnings

Mooran seemed sunk, early that spring, in a meditative silence, as if the city had nothing on its mind. But a sharp eye saw, in this silence, expectancy and signs of unease. The calm was deceptive and would end abruptly, as if it had never been. With no plan or collusion, the silence was shared by all; their movements were exaggeratedly slow and measured, with a suggestion of secrecy and conspiracy, since any slip, whatever its cause, would give offense and create difficulties not easily dispelled.

Do you ever feel you have to have a book because it has been banned or is controversial?

AMAZON BLURB: Set in 1950, the novel brilliantly evokes the royal court of a fictional monarchy, in all its fatuousness, turpitude, and savagery – an obsenely rich monarchy that presides over artificial boundaries defined by imperialists, that depends on foreign intriguers and masses of migrant workers for its luxury, and that practices severly undemocratic and repressive policies. The book is banned in Saudi Arabia and other Persian gulf countries.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
To see all my reviews, go HERE.
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Which cover do you like best, including the one above? I love the shrouded man with the blue cover.

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Friday 56 #106 – The Saga of Baby Divine by Bette Midler @BetteMidler

Posted on November 4, 2016 by fundinmental

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

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I love Bette Midler. Her talent crosses many boundaries, from music, to movies to the written word.

I love her song, The Rose. It brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it.

Check out this cute illustrated story of The Saga of Baby Divine.

This is the cover for my 1st edition hardcover published in 1983.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“I am Anxiety, friend to Despair!

I appear when your Courage departs.

‘I find you whenever your Confidence fails you

And Fear makes a Home in you Heart!”

(Page 36 in hardcover, published in 1983)

Book Beginnings

The skies were ablaze with Disorder that Night,

The Planets, aghast and aquiver;

The Delirious Moon had the Brass to be Full

When it should have been only a sliver.

Do you have a favorite Bette Midler song, movie or book?

GOODREADS BLURB: This book is divine, it’s simply sublime, As Baby Divine’s tale’s related in rhyme. Bette Midler inspires with her words full of charm. As she tells us how Baby Divine escapes harm. How so much talent could be in one girl? To fathom it makes my poor brain start to whirl. She not only acts, sings, dances and writes! She’s the brightest of stars in a world full of nights …

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
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Friday 56 #105 – Caribbean by James A Michener #JamesAMichener

Posted on October 28, 2016 by fundinmental

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

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I have a few James A Michener novels, but seeing I am a love of the Caribbean, my favorite area to visit, I chose Caribbean, a historical fiction novel.

James’ death is a huge loss to the writing world.

This is the cover for my 1st edition hardcover published in 1989.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“That afternoon the captain general summoned all hands to the afterdeck, very nervous he was, and he said: “What did I promise yesterday when you were near mutiny?” and a man near me bellows: “That if we don’t see land in three days, back we go safe to our homes in Spain.” And he said: “That’s still the promise,” and we cheered

(Page 56 in hardcover, published in 1989)

If you like Witches and magic, check out the fabulous new Tag Team Event and enter to win an ebook or audiobook for your very own. Multiple chances to win. HERE

Book Beginnings

The first chapter is the Hedge of Croton and if you know these plants, they paint a vivid and colorful picture right off the bat. Too bad they die back in winter here in the Florida Panhandle.

The chief character in this narrative is the Caribbean Sea, one of the world’s most alluring bodies of water, a rare gem among the oceans, defined by the islands that form a chain of lovely jewels to the north and east. Although bounded on the south and west by continental land masses, it is the islands that give the Caribbean its Unique charm. On the north lies the large and important trio: Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Domincan Republic) and great Cuba. On the east are those heavenly small islands that so artistically dot the blue waves: Antigua, Guadeloupe, Martinique, All Saints,Trinidad and remote Barbados among them. The southern shore is formed by the South American countries of Venezula and Colombia and the Central American nation of Panama The western shore is often overlooked, but it contains both the exciting republics of Central America – Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras – and the wonderful, mysterious peninsula of Yucatan where the ancient Maya flourished

GOODREADS BLURB: In this acclaimed classic novel, James A. Michener sweeps readers off to the Caribbean, bringing to life the eternal allure and tumultuous history of this glittering string of islands. From the 1310 conquest of the Arawaks by cannibals to the decline of the Mayan empire, from Columbus’s arrival to buccaneer Henry Morgan’s notorious reign, from the bloody slave revolt on Haiti to the rise of Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Caribbean packs seven hundred dramatic years into a tale teeming with revolution and romance, authentic characters and thunderous destinies. Through absorbing, magnificent prose, Michener captures the essence of the islands in all of their awe-inspiring scope and wonder.

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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

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Friday 56 #102 – Double Tap by Steve Martini @StevenPMartini

Posted on October 7, 2016 by fundinmental

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

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Double Tap by Steve Martini is an action adventure thriller.

This is the cover I have for my 1st edition hardcover publilshed in 2005.

The cover was done by Stephanie Huntwork.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“At least according to the cops,” says Harry. “Could be whoever did it just panicked. Think about it: You just get in the place, getting ready to do your burglary. She walks in. You freak out. You pop her It’s happened before.”

“Hell of a shooter for a panicky burglar.” I am talking about the two shots to the head. “Less than an inch apart.”

(Page 56 in hardcover, published in 2005)

Book Beginnings

Mist off the ocean was already beginning to drift over the pavement as he cruised along the beach in the rented Chevy. The house stood out like a gem, the last piece of private real estate before the public steps leading down to the beach. With chocolate-brown siding and white trim, the house sported rustic gables going in every direction beneath a river rock chimney.

GOODREADS BLURB: The Arraignment, Steve Martini’s most recent bestseller featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani, has proved his most popular yet. Now Madriani is faced with daunting ballistics evidence: a so-called “double tap”-two bullet wounds tightly grouped in the victim’s head, shots that could have been made only by a crack marksman. Paul’s client, Emiliano Ruiz, is an enigma-a career soldier who refuses to discuss his past though it is clear that he is a battle-tested pro. Ruiz is accused of killing a beautiful businesswoman and guru of a high-tech software empire catering to the military. A key to the case: the murder weapon is one used solely in special operations, where the “double tap” has become the signature of the most skilled assassins.

Ruiz is sitting on secrets-there’s a seven-year gap on his military risumi, for which Madriani can find no details. And, more troubling, he discovers that the victim and her company were involved in a controversial government computer program designed to combat terrorists. Madriani finds himself in a deadly legal quagmire-with a client who is unwilling to cooperate and prosecutors who stonewall his every question about the victim’s shadowy business and his client’s past. Justice, and the unvarnished truth, has never been so elusive-or so dangerous.

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

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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.
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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE, Including the one above?

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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.
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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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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?