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Showing posts from June, 2013

Dark Tater

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Dad went to the doctor a few days ago. As usual the conversation was um, interesting. Something's been causing him to overheat and then have panic attacks. He's been poked, prodded, and scanned and nothing's been found. I have my own theory: "Something's making you overheat. Maybe you're going through menopause.", I said. " Maybe. I might have to get a himarectomy.", Dad said. "Yeah, Dad. You do that." Then talk veered to what children watch these days: " All kids wanna watch these days is some goop about people wearing magic rings and flying around in the sky.", he said. " Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about.", I exclaimed. " Kids need to watch Yodi and Dark Tater. When they get to fighting you can see the fire flying from their life savers." " Uh, Dad. They're light sabers, not life savers." " Yeah, them life savers really do the trick."  " Okaaaa

The Storm Protocol by Iain Cosgrove

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Published: February 2013  436 pages I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Get it at:   Amazon Synopsis: Imagine creating the perfect drug; all of the highs with none of the lows. No side effects, no painful physical withdrawal, no drawbacks. Or are there.... Deep in the Louisiana bayou, Thomas Eugene O’Neill a.k.a The Street, an Irish immigrant mob enforcer, waits patiently with his gun amidst the sweltering heat of a southern storm. His employers, Italian American drug lords Guido and Ernesto Mancini, have a guaranteed formula to create the perfect narcotic and Thomas knows too much. But he is not alone. Detective Charles Roussel, ex hot-shot city lawyer turned small town Louisiana lawman, is investigating a strange case at the old plantation house he used to call home. He gets drawn inexorably to Ireland, as all his research begins to guide him to the same inevitable destination; Cork. Agent Dale Foster, unorthodox New York DE

A Review of The Bat ( Harry Hole # 1) by Jo Nesbo

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Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group ( July 2, 2013) Get it here: amazon b&n Add it on goodreads 384 pages * I received an arc from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Inspector Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad is dispatched to Sydney to observe a murder case.  Harry is free to offer assistance, but he has firm instructions to stay out of trouble. The victim is a twenty-three year old Norwegian woman who is a minor celebrity back home. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Harry befriends one of the lead detectives, and one of the witnesses, as he is drawn deeper into the case.  Together, they discover that this is only the latest in a string of unsolved murders, and the pattern points toward a psychopath working his way across the country. As they circle closer and closer to the killer, Harry begins to fear that no one is safe, least of all those investigating the case.  My Thoughts: Tall, blonde, Scandi

A Review of Poisoned Politics ( A Molly Malone Mystery #2) by Maggie Sefton

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Publisher: Midnight Ink   ( July 2013) 240 pages Formats: Paperback Nook Add it on goodreads * I received an arc from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.   Synopsis:   Molly Malone's friend Samantha Calhoun has a thing or two to teach her younger—often married "students." But when photos appear showing Samantha and her latest fling, U.S. Rep. Quentin Wilson, she calls in Molly for some much-needed support. Before Molly and Samantha can investigate who sent the photos, Quentin is found dead in Samantha's living room in what appears to be a suicide. Meanwhile, the shadowy group behind the death of Molly's niece is crafting an insidious plan, and they'll stop at nothing, even murder, in their rise to power. My Thoughts: Filled with descriptive images of the season and the area, the author's writing style made me want to visit Washington,DC. The characters were interesting and the mystery and po

Be Brave

My Dad had a doctor’s appt. Wednesday. He told the doctor his  concerns and more blood work was ordered. Because of what showed up in the blood work the dr. wanted Dad to have a CT scan to make sure he didn’t have any blood clots. This news didn’t go over well. See Dad doesn’t like closed in places or needles. That’s because he’s normal. Anyone who looks forward to crawling in a MRI hole or getting stuck with needles is a not playing with a full deck. Yay, I get to have blood drawn! Highlight of my life! But the dr. was really concerned to I tried talking to him rationally, then bossily, and then using a guilt trip. Curses! Nothing worked. So… I told my brother to have my niece talk to him. Here is what she said: ” You go to doctor. Be brave. I got shot, it not hurt. It’s Ok. Be brave.” He went and had his test done today.  Being manipulative works. He also took an anti anxiety- med and became a fan of it. ” I like this stuff. I feel woozy and floaty. I should have

Review of The Rocking Chair by Steven Manchester

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Formats: Paperback   Kindle   Nook Add it on Goodreads 272 pages Publisher: The Story Plant (2013) * I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone. Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy Grandpa John calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future. A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad, THE ROCKIN' CHAIR is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and

Interview with Steven Manchester- Author of The Rocking Chair

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1. Could you please tell us a little about your book? The Rockin’ Chair is a heartfelt novel. Think Mitch Albom meets Nicholas Sparks…in heaven on earth. Synopsis : Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days – or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone. Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy – Grandpa John – calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future. A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad, THE ROCKIN' CHAIR is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and emotionally engaging no

A Review ( And Giveaway, Too) of Gaijin Cowgirl by Jame DiBiasio

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Publisher: Crime Wave Press  (March 8, 2013) Formats: Print & eBook  380 pages * I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.     Synopsis:  Working Tokyo nightclubs is easy money for beautiful and troubled American Val Benson - until a client with a rather unusual hobby - painting the private parts of his female liaisons - reluctantly gives up a map to a stash of Japanese war loot and tempts his favourite girl into a dangerous treasure hunt.  The Congressman's daughter is not the only one interested in the map: yakuza, bent cops, human traffickers, rogue CIA agents and her father are hot on her trail, snapping at her high heels.  So begins the dark, epic journey of a new anti-hero of Asian Noir, a protagonist both ambiguous and courageous, and utterly unreliable. From comfort women and tomb-raiding in Japanese-occupied Burma to the murderous echoes of the Vietnam War, long forgotten crimes come roaring back to life, a

Dead Cow Germs

They're laughing at me, I can hear the little buggers. Yes, it's dead cow germs from the raw hamburger that's been left on the counter.  I can see them multiplying as I stand in the kitchen wondering where to begin. " What are you doing?", my husband asks. " Having a nervous breakdown. I'll be ok in a few minutes." My grandfather has cooked again. He's still able and likes to cook for himself at times and I think that's a very good thing. If only he believed in hand washing and not leaving moo cow juice on the counters.  I've tried to talk to him about  the merits of cleanliness, but for now it's hit and miss. So, I fight my genetic inclination to nag and go  tackle cleaning up e-coli and friends.  I can hear them mocking me, but I shall prevail

A Review of Last Train To Omaha by Ann Whitely-Gillen

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* I received an e-book copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. 278 pages Book Developer :Wild Element ( March 2013)   Synopsis: What happens when a bright young man’s promising future is tragically derailed at the age of eighteen? Thirty-five-year-old James Milligan, the solitary and impenetrable chief architect at one of Chicago’s leading design firms, has never recovered from the gruesome death of his best friend nearly two decades before. He’s learned that a distant heart is the only way to shut out the nagging guilt and pain that threatens to capsize him at any moment. Only the dying veterans at the Aaron Milligan Palliative Care Center know the depth of the overwhelming compassion that James harbors within himself, and he is determined never to let anyone else into his heart — or his future — again. However, when caring and patient palliative care nurse Rebecca Doyle enters his world, his hardened exterior begins to crack against

Hold On Loosely, But Don't Let Go

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Yesterday I was sitting on the front porch thinking DEEP THOUGHTS, pondering which nail polish complments my skin tone best when all of  sudden my Mom shouted, " LISA!" "What?", I asked. "Come here." "Where you at?" " In here, I'm stuck." "Huh?" " I got over here and I can't move my foot." " Ok, I've got you. Try to move your leg." " I can't, I'm afraid I'll fall." " I won't let you, I have a good grip on you." This is where Dad comes in and takes her arm. "Don't pull me"., she said. " He's not", I told her. " He just holding you. Can you move your foot?" "No." " I'm going to try to move it for you." "NO! I might fall on my face." " I've got you." " Here, let me grab hold of your pants", she told Dad. " No, you'll pull down my britches.&q

A Review of Relatively Dead by Sheila Connolly

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* I received a copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing ( May 21, 2013) Formats: Kindle   Nook   Synopsis:   Abby Kimball has just moved to New England with her boyfriend and is trying to settle in, but the experience is proving to be quite unsettling , to say the least. While on a tour of local historic homes, Abby witnesses a family scene that leaves her gasping for breath—because the family has been dead for nearly a century. Another haunting episode follows, and another, until it seems to Abby that everything she touches is drawing her in, calling to her from the past. Abby would doubt her sanity if it weren’t for Ned Newhall, the kind and knowledgeable guide on that disturbing house tour. Rather than telling her she’s hallucinating, Ned takes an interest in Abby’s strange encounters and encourages her to figure out what’s going on, starting with investigating the story of the family she s

Lye Soap Brasion

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Philosophical discussions for today: At the doctor's office- Me: There goes a time waster. Dad: What? Me: Drug rep. Dad: He's got a bandage on his arm, reckon it's tennis elbow? Scott: Yeah. Dad: He's walking funny. Me: That's where they sucked the soul out his a**. And... Scott: Ooh that sign says they do microdermabrasion. Dad: Is that where they put something on your face or under your arms and rub it? Scott: Yeah, they do. They put something on your skin to peel the upper layer off and it makes you shiny and bootiful. Dad: Shoot, get a rough rag and some lye soap. It does the same thing, call it lyesoapbrasion. It's got grit from the ashes, some pig lard. That works.

Moonlight Dancer by Deb Atwood

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283 pages Publisher: New Potato Press (2012) Formats: Kindle   Nook   * I was given a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Kendra JinJu MacGregor can resist neither the antique Korean doll in the dusty warehouse nor the handsome Hiro Peretti who sells it to her. Once she brings the doll home, Kendra pays little attention to misplaced objects or her beloved dog’s fear. That is, until one terrifying night forces her to question her very sanity. Soon, the ethereal, brooding NanJu manifests herself, and Kendra begins her travels through time to 16th century Korea into a history of conflict and intrigue. For Kendra is about to discover the dark past of her ghostly visitor. Now it’s up to Kendra, with Hiro by her side, to interpret the past and prevent murder. Everything depends upon Kendra’s success, even—she discovers to her horror—her own life. My Thoughts: An interesting paranormal romance that weaves back and forth between present