Unbalanced by D. P. Lyle

 

Jake Longly and super-hot Nicole are back with a new mystery.  While I like the Sam Cody character in Lyle’s other series, this series has its moments.   Jake’s enormous sidekick, Pancake, continues to stretch the bottom line of Jake’s restaurant with his apparent insatiability for food.  Clara, his restaurant manager, keeps Jake afloat.  A retired major league pitcher, Jake doesn’t present a picture of respectability.  He does as little work as possible and I’m guessing that is why I struggle to like his character.  In this book, he finally demonstrates some empathy and ambition regarding the plot.

 

A successful realtor is shot while Pancake and Ray are investigating a possible embezzlement for said client..

 

Although Jake does not work for his dad, Nicole, and Pancake do and where they go he goes. This leads to some action and a lot of investigation.  Jake and Nicole continue to indulge in frequent amorous indulgences while Pancake discovers a new love.  

At the risk of redundancy, I enjoyed the book but not as much as the previous books.  I think Lyle’s  Sam Cody books are considerably better.

Nicole is a fast driver and Pancake is an insatiable eater, which has been established in previous books.   Those two facts seemed to be overdone in this book.   Over and over again it was mentioned how much Pancake eats and how fast Nicole drives.  Perhaps a first-time reader would miss the redundancy but as a consistent reader. I just got tired of it.

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Spotllight on The Northern Pacific Railroad by Tim Piper

Hotly-anticipated standalone in award-winning historical fiction series takes readers to Western Frontier 

A thrilling adventure for fans of the show “1883”

BLOOMINGTON, IL – In 1872, six hundred miles between Bismarck and Bozeman were to be surveyed for the Northern Pacific Railroad. But Sitting Bull is gathering strength to resist this incursion into the tribes’ hunting grounds. Citizens and politicians question the need for the rail line and doubt that it can ever be guaranteed safe from Indian raids. But financier Jay Cooke is willing to risk his financial empire to build it.

When Cooke summons Jubilee Walker to his mansion and presents a proposition for completing the survey, Jubil finds it impossible to resist. But the stakes are high, both financially and personally. How much will Jubil risk to turn his adventure travel tours into a major business? Can he do it without losing the respect of the people he loves? And will he even survive the attempt to complete the survey?

 

Book 3 in the Jubilee Walker series is based on actual events of the 1872 and 1873 railroad surveys, and the ensuing financial turmoil as investors lose faith in Cooke’s vision.

 

TIM PIPER is retired from a long career in Information Technology and has been a lifelong hobbyist musician. In his earlier days he was an avid hiker and backcountry camper, but his adventures these days are less strenuous and more comfortable. He began his education at Illinois State University as an English major, but life circumstances put him on a more pragmatic path, and he graduated with a BS in Business Admin, a degree he finds appropriately named. He lives in Bloomington, Illinois. 

 

Learn more at www.timpiper-author.com or follow him on Facebook.

 

2024 BookFest First Place Award for Young Adult Historical Fiction for “The Powell Expeditions”

 

2024 Goethe Book Awards Long List for Late Historical Fiction for "The Powell Expeditions"

 

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To Die For by David Baldacci

Travis Devine is a secret agent, or a former Army Ranger or perhaps both.  He is assigned bodyguard duty which seems counterintuitive to what he things his rule might be.   His boss and handler, purportedly from DHS, General Campbell, differs with him as to his job description.   The body he is to guard is a feisty 12-year-old girl.

Devine is left in the dark regarding why Betsey needs protection.  Adding to the mix is the “girl on the train” who tried to kill him in the previous book.  Stir, don’t shake, some domestic terrorists, some garden variety thugs, a couple of recovering drug addicts, the FBI and the CIA and you have mayhem and confusion blossom.

The plot was just shy of Machiavellian and there was plenty of action, treachery, and intrigue.

I enjoyed it, recommend it, and look forward to the next Baldacci book regardless of the protagonist's identity. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Out in the Cold by Steve Urszenyi

Alex, a medic turned sniper is back.  Alex has trouble playing with others and an aversion to taking orders.  After being pushed out of the FBI and then loaned Interpol she ends up on Caleb’s anti-terrorist group.  A working vacation on a super yacht with her old boss and her boss’s billionaire boyfriend ends up as another typical Alex explosion.

The plot centers around a cabal promoting world war for financial gain.  The action is nearly continuous and makes it very difficult to put the book down at bedtime.  Street, a private security agent, interacts with Alex and Caleb, not without some friction.  

An old adversary turns up unexpectantly and with surprising behavior. 

Urszenyi has crafted a winning protagonist in Alex.   There is more than sufficient intrigue, action, and deceit, although this plot is not quite as byzantine as the first book.

I recommend the book and look forward to reading more from this author. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Spotlight on Sleeping in the Sun by Joanne Howard

Unlikely friends uncover cruel reality of British-led India

Loyalty and identity go to war in historical fiction debut inspired by author’s true family history

Santa Rosa, CA– Whisk away to India in this compulsive novel of two unlikely people who discover hidden truths about a high-ranking British official set against the backdrop of  colonial rule. Sleeping in the Sun (October 22, 2024, She Writes Press) transports readers to the past where a young American and his Indian servant must face the reality behind a faithful family friend and the consequences of knowing this truth. A must-read for fans of The Poisonwood Bible and The Inheritance of Loss.

While originally a part of her MFA thesis at Pacific University, this explosive novel dives into the author’s own grandfather’s story of living as a Christian missionary in British India. Through her extensive research on the British Raj, the work of her grandfather’s missionary group, the effects of colonization in India, and the rich descriptions of India in the early 20th century, Joanne’s story weaves a cinematic tale of discrimination and privilege showcasing the enduring impact of imperialism and the spark of revolution.

In the last years of the British Raj, an American missionary family stays on in Midnapore, India. Though the Hintons enjoy white privileges, they have never been accepted by British society and instead run a boarding house on the outskirts of town where wayward native Indians come to find relief. Young Gene Hinton can’t get out from under the thumb of his three older brothers, and the only person he can really relate to is Arthur, his family’s Indian servant. But when Uncle Ellis, a high-ranking British judge, suddenly arrives and announces he’ll be staying indefinitely in their humble house, far from his prestigious post in Himalayan foothills, life as Gene knows it is interrupted. While his brothers are excited at the judge’s arrival, he is skeptical as to why this important man is hiding out with them in the backwaters of Bengal.

Also skeptical is Arthur. Then an Indian woman appears on their doorstep—and, after growing close to her, he learns the sinister truth about the judge. Torn between a family that has provided him shelter, work, and purpose his whole life and the escalating outrage of his countrymen, Arthur must decide where his loyalties lie—and the Hintons must decide if they can still call India home.

“Sleeping in the Sun”

Joanne Howard | October 22, 2024 | She Writes Press | Historical Fiction 

Paperback | 9781647427986 | $17.99 

Joanne Howard is an Asian American writer from California. She holds an MFA in writing from Pacific University. Her poetry received an honorable mention from Stanford University’s 2019 Paul Kalanithi Writing Award. Her fiction has been published in The Catalyst by UC Santa Barbara, The Metaworker Literary Magazine and the Marin Independent Journal and her nonfiction has been published in Another New Calligraphy and The Santa Barbara Independent. She lives in Santa Rosa, CA. Find out more at her website.

Follow Joanne Howard on social media:

Instagram: @joannesbooks

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned