March 2020 – Looking For a Good Book

March 30, 2020

BLACKOUT – Ragnar Jónasson

It is summer in northern Iceland, but the 24 hour sunlight is blotted out of the sky by an ash cloud from a recent volcanic eruption. The darkness is a constant reminder of the darkness of the human heart. A man is found in a peaceful fjord, brutally beaten to death. Who is the dead Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews, Thriller

March 27, 2020

NATURE’S BEST HOPE – Douglas W. Tallamay

I’ve read a few books that bring to light environmental concerns with proposals for how to turn things around. But usually those plans are larger than I’m comfortable taking on, or, I’m sad to admit, more time-consuming than I’m really willing to give. In Douglas W. Tallamy’s Nature’s Best Hope, the answers to to restoring Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Nature, non-fiction, Reviews

March 25, 2020

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE TAVERN STAYS AT THE TAVERN – Jennifer Levine, editor

Erotica. Epic fantasy (ala Robert E. Howard, or Lin Carter, or J.R.R. Tolkein). Encounters in a tavern. What’s not to like? I’ve only read a little bit of erotica and most of it has not been very memorable. This caught my eye because of the fantasy element. I’ve been a fan of this kind of Continue reading

OTHER, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Sex

March 23, 2020

MICROPHONES AND MURDER – Erin Huss

Liv Olsen, and her stepsister, Camry Lewis, start their own podcast, Missing or Murdered, and for their first episode, they investigate the ten-year-old case of Amelia Clark, who went disappeared after an embarrassing video of her went viral a decade ago. Money for a first episode is pretty tight and they don’t have a lot Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews

March 20, 2020

LIKE TO DIE – David Housewright

If you like hard-boiled detective fiction…. If you like the Spenser books of Robert B. Parker…. If you like good mysteries…. If you like good, solid storytelling…. Then you really should read David Housewright’s Like To Die. Rushmore “Mac” McKenzie is a former St. Paul police detective who retired early after collecting the reward money Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews

March 18, 2020

THE PARISIANS – Marius Gabriel

The Parisians by Marius Gabriel is one of those books that really took me by surprise. Taking advantage of the Kindle Unlimited program, I often look for books that I am not sure if I would enjoy or not, but for one reason or another catch my eye. With the Kindle Unlimited program I feel Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, ROMANCE, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Reviews, Romance

March 16, 2020

FOUNDRYSIDE – Robert Jackson Bennett

Anyone who wants to write fantasy really should read this book. Study this book. This is how you capture a reader’s attention, and hold on to it by building a dynamic story. Sancia Grado is a young, tough, very talented thief. She is on a job to steal a scribed device. ‘Scribing’ is a cross Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

March 13, 2020

A VOICE IN THE NIGHT – Jack McDevitt

I am only somewhat familiar with author Jack McDevitt through his Alex Benedict series, which I have really been enjoying. When I saw the opportunity to read a collection of McDevitt’s short stories, I was eager to take advantage of it. Most of the stories here have been published previously in a variety of magazines, Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Short Stories

March 11, 2020

THE CLEARING – Dan Newman

Dan Newman’s The Clearing is billed as an eerie thriller, and the book opens with a murder, which definitely has a strong, eerie overtone and was perfect for pulling me into this story. Unfortunately, the rest of the book was quite flat. Nate, a young man, travels back to the island of St. Lucia, where Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Thriller

March 9, 2020

LOUIS L’AMOUR’S LOST TREASURES VOLUME 2 – Louis L’Amour and Beau L’Amour

I’m the type of reader who is always fascinated by the writing process, so looking at early and unfinished works by a prolific author is something that really interests me. This is the second volume of “Lost Treasures” from the Louis L’Amour and much like the first volume, this contains a wide selection of works Continue reading

SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized, WESTERN

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Western

March 6, 2020

MISS ICELAND – Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

So many of the books I have read lately have been written in a best-seller style … written with the intention of capturing attention and holding on to the reader with lots of exciting action and intrigue. And by reading so much of this, I gotten into a bit of a flow – a reading Continue reading

OTHER, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews

March 4, 2020

DOROTHY MUST DIE – Danielle Paige

Amy Gumm is a young girl from Kansas who finds herself swept up in a tornado and dropped into the land of Oz. Of course she’s familiar with the famous story of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz … who doesn’t know it? But Oz looks different. There’s still a yellow brick road, and Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, YA

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, Young Adult