Bandit Country by Andrew Turpin

Joe Johnson is embroiled in Ireland and its troubles.  Joe is hired to find a republican sniper who is impeding the Irish reconciliation.

Joe brings his friend, Jayne, the former MI6 agent in to assist him in tracking down a killer.   All is not what it seems as motives for both sides of the conflict are called into question.

The plot was good and had enough mystery to keep you reading. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Spotlight on SOLDIERS OF FREEDOM by Samuel Marquis

 This book tells the  true  story  of  the  1944-1945  War  in  Western  Europe  and  the  final  Allied  struggle  to  conquer  Nazi  Germany.  The  story  is  told  through  the  eyes  of  William  McBurney,  a  tank  gunner  in  the  761st  Tank  Battalion,  the  first  African-American  tank  unit  in  U.S.  history;  dynamic  General  George  S.  Patton,  Jr.,  commander  of  the  U.S.  Third  Army;  and  Angela

Lange,  a  sixteen-year-old  German  resistance  fighter  with  the  anti-Nazi  Edelweiss  Pirates  in  Cologne.  The  real-life  heroism  of  the  761st  Black  Panthers  and  legendary  “Old  Blood  and  Guts”  Patton  to  liberate  Europe,  and  the  Edelweiss  Pirates  to  combat  Nazism,  are  brought  to  life  in  this  historically  accurate  tale  of  the  final  epic  struggle  in  WWII  Western Europe.

ABOUT  THE  AUTHOR:  

The   ninth   great-grandson   of   legendary   privateer   Captain  William   Kidd,   Samuel   Marquis   is   the   bestselling,  award-winning   author   of   a   WWII   Series,   the   Nick  Lassiter-Skyler   International   Espionage   Series,   The   Joe  Higheagle   Environmental   Sleuth   Series,   and   a   historical  fiction   novel   centered   on   the   infamous   pirate,  Blackbeard.   His   novels   have   been   #1   Denver   Post  bestsellers,   received   multiple   national   book   awards  (Foreword   INDIES,   American   Book   Fest’s   Best   Book Awards,   Beverly   Hills   Book   Awards,   IPPY,   Next  Generation   Indie   Awards,   Colorado   Book   Awards),   and garnered   glowing   reviews   from   #1   bestseller   James   Patterson,   Kirkus,   and   Foreword   Reviews.  Book   reviewers   have   compared   Marquis’s   WWII   thrillers   “Bodyguard   of   Deception,”   “Altar  of   Resistance,”   and   “Spies   of   the   Midnight   Sun”   to   the   epic   historical   novels   of   Tom   Clancy,  John   le   Carré,   Ken   Follett,   Herman   Wouk,   Daniel   Silva,   Len   Deighton,   and   Alan   Furst.   For  more  information  on  Marquis’s  life  and  work,  visit  www.samuelmarquisbooks.com.   

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Ariel’s Island by Pat McKee

This is an interesting book.   At the beginning you are sure it is going to be a courtroom drama.  After a few pages you think it is going to be human interest and eventually you realize it is a complex mystery with a bit of a twist at the end.

As accomplished an attorney as Paul McDaniel seemed to be, he was beyond naive.   Romance has made many a man lose sight of his goals and McDaniel seems to epitomize that fact.

The plot is complex with a cast of characters sprawling across the spectrum up to and including an AI.

I enjoyed the story and the conclusion. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Spotlight on My One True North by Milly Johnson

Milly Johnson, the bestselling author of The Magnificent Mrs. Mayhew, brings us her newest novel at just the right time. MY ONE TRUE NORTH  is a warm-hearted tale about two people brought together by fate, delivering much-needed light, warmth, humor, and compassion.

Earlier this month, Johnson was awarded the 2020 Romantic Novelists Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award, and MY ONE TRUE NORTH is already a Sunday Times bestseller in the U.K. in hardcover. Now, her newest work, “full of the heartfelt optimism we need at this time of year” (Yahoo Book of the Month) is available to U.S. readers.

Quick Take: Six months ago, on the same night, Laurie and Pete both lost their partners. Overwhelmed by grief, they join the same counselling group… and change their lives forever. From their profound sadness, Pete and Laurie begin to find happiness and healing. Except, the more they get to know one another, the more Laurie begins to spot the strange parallels in their stories. Then, Pete discovers a truth that changes everything—one which threatens to reverse everything they’ve worked towards. But, as surely as a compass points north, some people cannot be kept apart. With Milly Johnson’s signature “warm, optimistic, and romantic” (bestselling author Katie Forde) style, MY ONE TRUE NORTH is an unforgettable exploration of the power of love, friendship, and hope.

A Sunday Times bestseller, Milly Johnson is one of the Top 10 Female Fiction authors in the UK with millions of copies of her books sold across the world. MY ONE TRUE NORTH is her seventeenth novel.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Girl Jacked by Christopher Greyson

This is a mystery set in a small college town that features Jack Stratton, a veteran turned cop.   Jack finds his roots reaching up and strangling him with guilt and responsibility.  His foster sister’s death drags him back into a past he abandoned.

Greyson does a good job developing his characters.   You can feel Jack’s motivation and his guilt.  Replacement is both poignant and funny, she adds a lot of color to the book.

This is a good mystery and it shows the lengths that may be taken to prove a point.

I recommend it. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Spotlight on: Copy Boy by Shelley Blanton-Stroud

Spotlight on: 

Copy Boy

Author pulls from family history, challenges gender norms and explores inherited trauma in noir historical fiction

Sacramento, CA – In Copy Boy (June 23, 2020, She Writes Press), a story of escape, disguise, and coming of age, lecturer and author Shelley Blanton-Stroud follows Jane, a desperate girl seeking work in the Great Depression. Repeatedly turned away from employment, she disguises herself as a boy to get hired, raising questions on women’s struggles in the workplace and how gender norms influence social expectations, then and now.

Jane leaves her messy family life behind to find work as a newspaper copy boy in San Francisco. Creating a new identity as a man opens new opportunities for her, and Jane uses her disguise to escape crimes she may or may not have committed. Things are looking up...until her father’s picture appears in the paper and threatens her safety and new way of life.  

Pulling from her own family’s Dust Bowl history, Blanton-Stroud exposes the need and the cost of ambition and competition through a proactive female protagonist fighting for what she wants. Throughout her career, she has amplified the writing of countless others through teaching college writing in Northern California, consulting with writers in the energy industry, serving on the advisory board of 916 Ink, and co-directing Stories on Stage Sacramento — all leading up to her own electric debut.

More about Shelley Blanton-Stroud

SHELLEY BLANTON-STROUD grew up in California’s Central Valley, the daughter of Dust Bowl immigrants who made good on their ambition to get out of the field. She teaches college writing in Northern California and consults with writers in the energy industry. She co-directs Stories on Stage Sacramento, where actors perform the stories of established and emerging authors, and serves on the advisory board of 916 Ink, an arts-based creative writing nonprofit for children. She has also served on the Writers’ Advisory Board for the Belize Writers’ Conference. Copy Boy is her first novel, and she’s currently working on her second. She also writes and publishes flash fiction and non-fiction, which you can find at such journals as Brevity and Cleaver. She and her husband live in Sacramento with an aging beagle and many photos of their out-of-state sons. To get to know Shelley Blanton-Stroud and her writing better, visit her at https://shelleyblantonstroud.com. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Bad karma by Douglas Clegg

This is a book in the criminally insane series. An institution, Darden State,  is the home for a variety of criminally insane inmates with one in particular truly frightening Trey. Tray, a psychological administrator, is trying to help these people but Agnes, an inmate with reincarnation fantasies,  is apparently beyond help .

Trey is with his family on Catalina island for a long-needed vacation. What happens next is stuff out of nightmares as problems at Darden impact  Trey while on vacation.

The author makes it clear that Trey is someone who has tried diligently to help people and finally coming to the recognition that there are some people beyond help.

The book wasn't particularly enjoyable, but it was a fast read that kept your interest. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.