Leap into Books Giveaway Hop February 29th - March 5th

          

Thanks to the publishers of Zondervan for offering one lucky reader a copy of Downfall

by Terri Blackstock.

All you need to do is follow this blog...GFC, Networked, or Twittter.

Leave a comment with how you follow and an email for contact purposes.

1 extra entries for visiting Terri Blackstocks FB page and liking it.

There is also a giveaway there to enter.

2 extra entries for visiting her webpage and telling me one thing you

found interesting there.

Thanks and good-luck!

Book Review - Downfall - Terri Blackstock

The publisher is giving one copy to a lucky reader at the Leap into Books Blog Hop - starting tomorrow.

 

Title:  Downfall

Author: Terri Blackstock 

Review:  This is a fast paced murder mystery that starts with a bang.  Poor Emily and her family are caught in the middle of something they have no idea about.  Past experiences shade the way the family response to Emily and this crisis.  In life we all shade our experience from what we know about the person or events.  It’s hard to give someone a second chance, I mean a real second chance with no prejudice or shading of any kind.  Most of us learn from our mistakes and expect that from those around us.  The saying ‘Slap me once shame on you…slap me twice shame on me.’  I think that is why seeing someone as a new person after poor past choice is difficult.

This book is well written and fast paced.  I read it in a few hours while home one day sick.  I enjoyed the characters and even the idea of having to let your child go, if necessary.  The religious aspect of the book was on repentance and becoming a better ‘New’ person.  The book is not preachy or overly religious in any way.  We all face challenges and the challenge of a child abusing drugs is huge….I think most mystery fans would love this book.  Give it a try….this author can weave a good yarn.

Publisher: Published February 16th 2012 by Zondervan

Copyright: 2012 

Pages: 352 

ISBN: 9780310250685

Quick Review:  4 Stars out of 5. 

Where I Obtained the Book: Sent by the publisher for review.

Synopsis:    Despite Emily Covington's sobriety, she can't escape her past. Her years of active drug addiction have made her the scapegoat for everything, including a murder. Now she has to identify the real killer to clear her name and protect her family.

Author Biography: Terri Blackstock’s books have sold six million copies worldwide. Her suspense novels often debut at number one on the Christian fiction best-seller lists, and True Light, published in 2007, was number one of all Christian books—fiction and non-fiction. Known for her “Up All Night Fiction,” Terri has had over twenty-five years of success as a novelist.

In 1994 Terri was writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin and Silhouette, when a spiritual awakening drew her into the Christian market. As she was praying about her transition, she went on a cruise and noticed that almost everyone on the boat (including her) had a John Grisham novel. It occurred to her that some of Grisham’s readers were Christians, and that if she wrote a fast-paced thriller with an added element—a strong Christian message—she might just find her niche. As God would have it, Christian publishers were just getting interested in the suspense genre, so she quickly sold a four-book series to Zondervan. Since that time, she’s written over thirty Christian titles, most of them suspense novels.  

Other Reviews: 
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

For Such a Time as This

The Friendly Book Nook

FYI: 

Monday Musing - Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing!

This is what are Too Read Pile looks like...this doesn't include any of the Kindle books we have either.

We are reading and reviewing as quick as we can and still do a good job.

We will be a bit behind for awhile(please be patient with us) so we will be saying 'No' to new book review requests until we can catch up even a little bit.

Thanks for understanding and have a great week.

Book Review - Killing Time: An Eliza Gordon Mystery - Amy Beth Arkawy

Title:  Killing Time:  An Eliza Gordon Mystery

Author: AmyBeth Arkawy

Review:  I enjoyed this mystery and meeting the quirky characters that live in the little town of Goodship.  Eliza is likeable and you really feel for her with the loss of her husband of only 3 years.  The business they built is going strong and she is really finding her home and where she belongs in this little town.  Her friends and acquaintances are a good mix of strange yet quite real in their personalities and idiosyncrasies.  You know you have met people just like the ones in this book; you may even be one of them.

The book felt a bit like Murder She Wrote, I Love Lucy, and Rosemary and Thyme(BBC).  Solving a crime with just a bit of information and a mind that wouldn’t let Eliza rest, all the while pulling in a good friend or two to help her.  If you enjoy light mysteries (like a cozy) with a bit of comedy and hopefully in the next few a bit more romance then I think you will find this book to your likein’.

I look forward to the next one in this series.

Publisher: Hen House Press (November 2, 2011)

Copyright: 2011 
Pages: ebook 
ISBN: 9781937890

Quick Review:  4 Stars out of 5. 
Where I Obtained the Book: Sent by the publisher for review. 

Synopsis: Welcome to Goodship, New York. The sleepy suburban hamlet harbors a terrible secret. A secret that may be at the heart of two murders.  Twenty-five years after the “big game” and the requisite homecoming party, Goodship's secret begins to haunt its otherwise comfortable residents. When the first murder is reported, the townsfolk are warned, but take no action. When town landmarks are vandalized, residents are aghast. And, when an attempt is made on a local hero's life, the town mobilizes, especially former soap star(and now proprietor of the favorite lunch spot) Eliza Gordon and her pal and local radio personality Midge Sumner. When the prime suspect turns up dead, Eliza and Midge mobilize to solve the murders and catch the real perpetrator. The clues are all there. Fans of "Murder She Wrote," Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone mysteries and Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan series will enjoy following the clues and taking their best shot at helping Eliza Gordon figure out: “Who is doing more in Goodship than just Killing Time?”

Author Biography:  Amy Beth Arkawy is the author of several plays including: Psychic Chicken Soup; Full Moon, Saturday Night; Listening to Insomnia: Rage Amongst Yourselves; Crazy Vivian Doesn’t Shop at Bloomie’s Anymore; The Lost Mertz and The Postman Always Writes Twice. Her work has been produced in New York City and across the country and featured in several anthologies.

She is also a creativity coach/writing teacher, freelance journalist and radio talk show host. Her story “Dangerous Appetites” is featured in the collection, "Fiction Noir:Thirteen Stories" also by Hen House Press. "Killing Time" is the first in the Eliza Gordon mystery series. She is at work on the second.

Other Reviews: 
Joey Pinkey
Amazon

Book Review - Unwanted - Kristina Ohlsson

Title:  Unwanted 

Author: Kristina Ohlsson 

Review: How quickly do we think we have someone all figured out?  How does this deduction affect our behavior?  What are we missing from life based on these quick assessments?  Unwanted features young children kidnapped from their parents only later to turn up dead in meaningful places with the word unwanted written on their foreheads.  A competent detective team consisting of grizzled veteran, the bull in a china shop overachiever, and the contemplative thinker begin digging into the sparse clues to uncover the villain.

They are sidetracked by their own prejudices and exploring the notion that if you look at anyone closely enough you will find something.  They take many wrong turns in the investigation, even solving crimes they didn’t even know existed. Of course as they tear apart their crime, their own lives become exposed to us the listener.  Suffering through adultery and betrayal, their skeletons are as incriminating as they people they are set to investigate. The juxtaposition of the hero lying to his wife to cheat, while one of the villain’s stands up for her son at all cost turns our preconceived notions upside down.

This book makes you realize the flaw of judging others too quickly.  Like I said, if you look closely enough you will find fault with everyone, even those same faults we forgive in ourselves.  We need to look beyond this because the next thing you know we are rejecting people for minor indiscretions and missing the truly evil we encounter.  This is the brilliance of good crime fiction.  It acts like a mirror reflecting back the depth of our own souls, our character.

Read this book for a great example of Swedish mystery, a police procedural that delivers.  But also read it to understand this mystery called humanity a little better; it just might make you a better person. 

Thanks to T Stevens for this review.

Publisher: Atria 
Copyright: 2009 (translated 2012) 
Pages: 353 
ISBN: 978-1-4391-9889-6 
Quick Review: 4 Stars out of 5. 
Why I Read it: My favorite genre, and a new author I was not familiar with. 
Where I Obtained the Book: Sent to me by the publisher for review. 

Synopsis: International crime’s newest publishing star Kristina Ohlsson makes her American debut with Unwanted, the first installment of the Frederika Bergman crime series and winner of Sweden’s prestigious Gold Pocket Book Award.Winner of the 2010 Stabilo Prize for Best Crime Writer of Southern Sweden, Ohlsson creates a suspenseful and gripping tale of murder in the first installment of her enormously successful crime series.

In the middle of a rainy Swedish summer, a little girl is abducted from a crowded train. Despite hundreds of potential witnesses, no one noticed when the girl was taken, and, in what seems to be merely a coincidence, her mother has been left behind at the previous station. Inspector Frederika Bergman and her team of federal investigators are called in and assigned to what at first seems to be a classic custody dispute. 

But when the child is found dead in the far north of Sweden with the word “unwanted” scribbled on her forehead, the case soon turns into the investigation team’s worst nightmare—the pursuit of a brilliant and ruthless killer.

Kristina Ohlsson’s Unwanted is a refreshing debut, a creepy page-turner full of life and presence that will keep readers captivated with suspense until its powerful conclusion.

Author Biography: Kristina Ohlsson is a political scientist and works as a security policy analyst for the National Swedish Police Board. She has previously worked at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish National Defence, where she was a junior expert on the Middle East conflict and the foreign policy of the EU. Kristina lives in Stockholm.

Other Reviews: 

Euro-Crime

Publishers Weekly

Genre Go Around

Book Review - Drowned in the Grenadine - Dan Gilvezan

Title:  Drowned in the Grenadine

Author: Dan Gilvezan 

Review: This book is funny, cover made me laugh a bit with the line above the title that read, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Literature.  Reading closer I saw the tiny print above that read, No way this book will ever be…The books is a story about an actor that finds what is important in life.  The story is well paced and keeps you reading.  I enjoyed the characters and found myself cheering for Nathan.  Finding what matters most is never easy and Nathans journey is one most of us go through at sometime in our lives.

I laughed and I cried as I journeyed my way through this book.  It is well written and fast paced making it easy to keep reading while I ignored my kids.  (Maybe I need to read this again and rediscover what is most important in life.)  I never realized what a wild unpredictable world acting can be.

If you enjoy humor and someone that can laugh at themselves you will enjoy this book.  Check it out and I think you will be surprised by what you discover about your life.

Publisher: Published June 3rd 2011 by Createspace

Copyright: 2011
Pages: 258
ISBN: 9781461012306
Quick Review: 4 Stars out of 5. 
Why I Read it: Looked Funny
Where I Obtained the Book: Sent to me by the author.

Synopsis: Fancy cars, a loving wife, a designer home in the Hollywood Hills. Nathan Lindeman had it all, lost it all, and now he’s desperate to get it back. They say there are no second acts in show business, but they just may be wrong. There’s a new TV series being cast that’s virtually guaranteed to be a success, and Nathan has a shot at snagging one of the lead roles. If, that is, he can survive the perils and pitfalls that threaten to derail him along the way. Follow along on Nathan’s journey, as he deals with teenage casting directors, soulless network execs, egomaniacal fellow performers, hucksters and thieves, a cast of characters so bizarre and unbelievable they could only be based in reality. By turns, funny, sad, heartbreaking and heartfelt, Drowned in the Grenadine explores America’s fascination with celebrity, the nature of success and what it means to be both a father and a son.

Author Biography: Born in St. Louis, Dan Gilvezan graduated with a B.A. in drama from Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri. Upon graduating he joined the National Players touring company in Washington D.C., bringing the classics to colleges and civic centers across the country. Following his time on the road he spent several years performing in summer stock, dinner theater, childrens’ theater and repertory theater throughout the Middle Atlantic states.

Upon moving to Los Angeles, one of his first jobs was as the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man on NBC’s “Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends.” After this auspicious beginning other roles in animation followed, including: Jet pilot Slipstream in “G.I. Joe,” Dirk Courage in “Spiral Zone,” Sean Harrison in “Jem,” Henry Mitchell in “The All-New Dennis Menace,” Dargon in “Sectaurs,” Cooler in “The Pound Puppies,” and everyones favorite yellow Volkswagon, Bumblebee, on “The Transformers.”

Around the time of Spider-Man, Dan was hired to perform  in a TV commercial for Jack in the Box restaurants. That one commercial became a three year run as on-camera spokesman, during which time the company enjoyed an unprecedented increase in sales. Since that time, Dan has lent his talents to hundreds of television and radio commercials hawking everything from corn flakes to outboard motors.

No stranger to episodic television, Dan has guest-starred on many popular TV series: in addition to his work on Desperate Housewives, Bones, Boston Legal, NYPD Blue, The Bernie Mac Show, Miss Match, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Third Rock From the Sun, Bette, Murphy Brown, Moonlighting, and many others, he has had recurring roles on Diagnosis Murder and the cult favorite She-Wolf of London/Love and Curses.

Theater has always been Dan's first love. His work has encompassed regional theater, summer stock, children's theater, improv, national touring companies and dinner theater. Most recently he appeared in the inaugural production of Richard Martin Hirsh's comedy, "The Concept of Remainers" at the Chandler Studio Theater. In addition to enjoying an extended run, the production was nominated as best ensemble comedy by Stage Scene LA.

Dan currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Joselle, his daughter, Allison, and several houseplants.

Other Reviews: 

Work Day Reads

Alaskan Bookie

FYI: 

Book Review - Everblossom: A Short Story and Poetry Anthology - Larissa Hilton

 

Title:  Everblossom: A Short Story and Poetry Anthology

Author: Larissa Hilton

Review:   I enjoy short stories from time to time and this is a good grouping of stories that will have you thinking.  Not horror, but psychological in nature.  Did they really happen or only in the heads of the characters?  I liked reading one and than going off and doing something else and returning to read another. 

If you enjoy short stories you will like this collection.  The poetry was a nice change.  I found her lists of words interesting.  I think maybe if you have a moment than pick this short book up.

Publisher:  Published August 12th 2011

ISBN: B005H5GKIY

Copyright: 2011

Pages: Kindle Edition

Quick Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It:  Sent by the author for review.

Synopsis: An anthology that will quench your thirst for more than the ordinary.

Everblossom is a journey through poems and short stories that may seem ordinary on the surface but dig a little deeper and the world not only shifts. It changes.

From the author who brought you Iwishacana/Acanawishi, she now brings you a dash of everything from dark fantasy to the paranormal to even romance. So prepare yourself to delve into the three stages of the flower from bud to blossom then back to seed, you'll go through them all with a whole new perspective on what it all truly means.

 

Author Biography: Hello, my name is Larissa Hinton. I'm a grad student at Hampton University and hopefully by next year, I'll be a full time secondary English teacher. In the morning, I'll be a teacher but at night I'll become an author. Reference isn't working for you?

Lol, anyway, most of the fiction I write really comes from a life of reading of what I love to read. Some of it, comes from a dark place which I never knew existed until college. Ah, gotta love college. Always discovering new sides of yourself.

Other Reviews:
Fantasy Book Chick
Goodreads

Book Review - Eve - Quinn and Bonnie - Iris Johansen

               

Title:  Eve, Quinn and Bonnie

Author: Iris Johansen

Review:   I found that this author is a bit hit and miss with her books.  Some have been great and others have floundered.  This was not bad, but it seemed longer than necessary.  I would have liked the back story to have progressed just a bit faster.  I think all the love between Eve and Bonnie’s father could have been shorter…we get it they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other…what teenagers can? 

The mystery keeps progressing towards finding Bonnie’s killer.  I cannot imagine losing a child and not knowing what happen to them.  I found that the book Eve had lots of sex...teenagers and the like I guess.  The book ends with a cliff hanger so I immediately picked up Quinn.  Who wouldn't want to know more about him?


It was fun to go back and learn about how they met and what brought the two together, Eve and Quinn seem to have a long lasting type of patient love and I wondered how that came about.  This is a great history lesson on the two of them until the action starts.  This one also ends with a 'WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT FEELING.'  A bit of romance seems to spring between a few characters(Ling and Gallo), but no sex only lots of action than on to Bonnie.


Bonnie keeps the action going with the chase for her killer, I have to say that the ending is bitter-sweet...you do find out what happen and in some ways it is better that it happened that way than how I could have imagined.  I loved the end and I cried...for Eve and for Bonnie...even a bit for Quinn and Gallo who never really had the chance to get to know her.  I think everyone will have empathy for what the family has gone through with the loss of Bonnie.

I think Eve was interesting, but if could have been shorter and more to the point.   Quinn was a bit faster and Bonnie kept me reading to the bitter end.  I'm glad I know what happened to Bonnie and now Eve can truly put her to rest.

Publisher:  Published  2011 by St. Martin's Press

Copyright: 2011

Pages: 378, 416, 374

Quick Review: 31/2  stars (out of 5) for the whole trilogy

Why I Read It:  I have read several novels from this author and this was suggested by my aunt.

Where did I get it:  Our local library.

Synopsis: The #1 bestselling author delivers the first in a trilogy that will begin to answer questions that have haunted her legion of fans for over a decade, in her newest novel of breathtaking suspense.

Eve

Eve Duncan’s mission in life is to bring closure to the families who have experienced the agony of a missing child. As a forensic sculptor, she is able to piece together bones, create a face, and bring an identity to a child who would have otherwise gone unidentified…maybe forever. Eve is brilliant, and driven, and tormented--because her own daughter, Bonnie, was taken from her years ago. And Eve has never discovered what happened to her. But now a name from the past resurfaces, thanks to CIA agent Catherine Ling who knows all too well what it’s like to lose a child.

After teaming up with Agent Ling to find her missing son, Eve and Catherine share a bond forged by their mutual pain. Now, Catherine challenges Eve with a name: John Gallo. A man from Eve’s past. A man, seemingly raised from the dead, whose whereabouts are unknown. Could Gallo be the missing piece to the puzzle that has haunted Eve for years? Why was he in Atlanta just before Bonnie’s disappearance? With a brilliant narrative that goes back to Eve Duncan’s early life, exploring her history and motivations like no other novel before, Eve reveals long-guarded secrets and is guaranteed to leave Johansen fans panting for more—soon to come in Quinn (October 2011).

Quinn 

As a former Navy SEAL turned cop, Joe Quinn has seen the face of evil and knows just how deadly it can be. When he first met Eve Duncan, he never expected to fall in love with a woman whose life would be defined by her dual desires to bring home her missing daughter and discover the truth behind her disappearance---no matter how devastating. With the help of CIA agent Catherine Ling, they make a shocking discovery that sheds new light on young Bonnie’s abduction and puts Quinn squarely in the crosshairs of danger. Eve’s first love, John Gallo, a soldier supposedly killed in the line of duty, is very much alive---and very much a threat.

 Bonnie

Emotionally charged, with one shock after another, Quinn reveals the electricity of Joe and Eve’s first connection, and how they fell in love in the midst of haunting tragedy. As their search takes them deeper and deeper into a web of murder and madness, Joe and Eve must confront their most primal fears . . . and test their resolve to uncover the ultimate bone-chilling truth.

When Eve Duncan gave birth to her daughter, she experienced a love she never knew existed. Nothing would stand in the way of giving Bonnie a wonderful life—until the unthinkable happened and the seven-year-old vanished into thin air. Eve found herself in the throes of a nightmare from which there was no escape. But a new Eve emerged: a woman who would use her remarkable talent as a forensic sculptor to help others find closure in the face of tragedy. Now, with the help of her beloved Joe Quinn and CIA Agent Catherine Ling, Eve has come closer than ever to the truth. But the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that Bonnie’s father is a key player in solving this monstrous puzzle. And that Bonnie’s disappearance was not as random as everyone had always believed…

Author Biography: Johansen began writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels, starting with the publication of The Wind Dancer. In 1996 Johansen switched genres, turning to crime fiction, with which she has had great success. She had seventeen consecutive New York Times bestsellers as of November 2006.

Johansen is an American author of crime fiction and romance novels who lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.

  

Other Reviews:

Bee's Knees Reviews

Bookerella

Monday in my Mailbox

What was in your mailbox this week?  We also got a few from the local library to read.
Nicholas Watson craves a little mystery and excitement in his life. After all, he is an undercover agent working for a US counterterrorism unitâwhich is not exactly the kind of lifestyle that one should have when searching for someone to settle down with. He yearns for love and intimacy but feels that he will never find it, especially since he has already experienced one failed marriage. His life goes into a tizzy when Kalyna, a beautiful and mysterious European, walks into his life. Nick discovers she also works for her respective government's counterterrorism unit. When Nick and Kalyna are thrown together in a work-related encounter, they fall deeply in loveâwhich is not part of their assignment. Because of their line of work, they can never make their relationship known. They continue to be placed together in professional situations, only to be separated again when the work is done.
'I do not want to hear another word about your crazy American Dream!'
International crime's newest publishing star Kristina Ohlsson makes her American debut with "Unwanted," the first installment of the Frederika Bergman crime series and winner of Sweden's prestigious Gold Pocket Book Award.Winner of the 2010 Stabilo Prize for Best Crime Writer of Southern Sweden, Ohlsson creates a suspenseful and gripping tale of murder in the first installment of her enormously successful crime series.""

In the middle of a rainy Swedish summer, a little girl is abducted from a crowded train. Despite hundreds of potential witnesses, no one noticed when the girl was taken, and, in what seems to be merely a coincidence, her mother has been left behind at the previous station. Inspector Frederika Bergman and her team of federal investigators are called in and assigned to what at first seems to be a classic custody dispute.

But when the child is found dead in the far north of Sweden with the word "unwanted" scribbled on her forehead, the case soon turns into the investigation team's worst nightmare--the pursuit of a brilliant and ruthless killer.

Kristina Ohlsson's "Unwanted" is a refreshing debut, a creepy page-turner full of life and presence that will keep readers captivated with suspense until its powerful conclusion.  Sent for review.

Eve, Quinn and Bonnie at my local library to see what really happened to Bonnie.

The internationally bestselling author of The Rose Labyrinthreturns with a love story of magic and healing that takes readers from the heartache of a young human rights lawyer in present-day San Francisco to the lives of a courageous trio of women in medieval Tuscany.A legendary ruin. An ancient mystery. Will unveiling the past transform the future? 

San Francisco, 2007. Madeline Moretti is grieving after her fiancÉ's death. Nothing brings her joy any more, and Maddie’s grandmother, a fiery Italian, sends her to Tuscany to heal. Here, Maddie is immersed in the mystery of a ruined villa. Destroyed centuries ago in a legendary storm on the Eve of St. Agnes, it has been known ever since as the Casa al Vento—the House of the Wind.

Tuscany, 1347. Mia hasn’t spoken since her mother’s death and lives in silence with her beloved aunt. One dark night, a couple seeks refuge in their villa. Accustomed to welcoming passing pilgrims, Mia is entranced by the young bride’s radiance and compassion but mystified by her reluctance to reveal even her name. Where has she come from, and why must her presence be a secret?

Centuries apart, each searching for a way to step into her future, both Mia and Maddie will be haunted by the myth of the young woman who walked unscathed from the ruins of the House of the Wind.
The bestselling author of "See Jane Run" delivers a new thriller about a newly divorced woman who embarks on a desperate search for her daughter, believed to have drowned two years earlier.  From the local library.
Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, 
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. 

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring and bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth 

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem - when the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for and evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams. 

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery - although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely - enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart. 

Beginning at the "other" camp for half-bloods and extending as far as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment of the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all destined to play a part in the Prophesy of Seven.  From the local library.

An Offer From The Book Of Lost Fragrances - M J Rose

Pre-order this book to receive a sample of the fragrance  Âmes Sœurs.

How does it work?  1. Just click on the preferred website and pre-order THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES       from the links below.  2. Email the receipt or a scan of it to LostFragrances@gmail.com along with your name      and  your Snail mail address for fragrance delivery.      Your sample of Âmes Sœurs will be shipped to you on or before March 13th.       The book will arrive separately, from the store of your choice, at the sametime      so you can enjoy both together.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Your favorite Independent Bookstore

Books A Million

*Offer ends March 1st, is limited numbers of supplies available and only to readers in the US and Canada.

Book Review - Kill Shot - Vince Flynn

Title:  Kill Shot 

Author: Vince Flynn 

Review: This is the book I was looking for when I read the latest James Bond book (and was disappointed).  Vince Flynn has captured perfectly the ramped up modern movie spy better than I have seen anywhere else (think the Craig’s Bond or the Bourne movies).  You have a super tough and intelligent action hero fighting the world’s evils one bad guy at a time.   

The make reference several times in the book that the hero, Mitch Rapp, is a very linear guy.  In that he doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about the past. He has a task to achieve and he pursues it relentlessly.  Crap happens and he just adapts and continues on.   This book was a movie with words, it was fun.  The pacing of the story just sped along without any speed bumps to slow the action down.  And Flynn avoided the trap of making the hero infallible, but he did use the action hero cliché and give him a bullet to his shoulder (the only place an action hero can get shot and still keep going). 

The only downside is the solving of all problems with a well placed bullet.  The concept that America is awesome and the bad guys are just wrong can be a little hard to swallow for some – but you guys shouldn’t read this book.  This is a thrill ride to be enjoyed and not a political handbook to solve the world’s problem.  So you negative nabobs can just lighten up and get a life.  You missed the point of this book. 

Thanks to T Stevens for this review.


Publisher: Atria Published February 7th 2012

Copyright: 2012 

Pages: 448 

ISBN: 978-1-4165-9520-5 

Quick Review: 4.5 Stars out of 5. 

Why I Read it: Spies, action, Minnesota author – what’s not to love? 

Where I Obtained the Book: Sent to me by the publisher for review 

Synopsis: Flynn is back with another nail-biting political thriller that follows the young Mitch Rapp on a deadly mission to hunt down the men responsible for the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist attack. Rapp has become a liability, and he absolutely cannot be allowed to be taken alive by the French authorities. But it will soon become clear that nothing is more dangerous than a wounded and cornered Mitch Rapp.

Author Biography: The Vince Flynn Story

The fifth of seven children, Vince Flynn was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1966. He graduated from the St. Thomas Academy in 1984, and the University of St. Thomas with a degree in economics in 1988. After college he went to work for Kraft General Foods where he was an account and sales marketing specialist. In 1990 he left Kraft to accept an aviation candidate slot with the United States Marine Corps. One week before leaving for Officers Candidate School, he was medically disqualified from the Marine Aviation Program, due to several concussions and convulsive seizures he suffered growing up. While trying to obtain a medical waiver for his condition, he started thinking about writing a book. This was a very unusual choice for Flynn since he had been diagnosed with dyslexia in grade school and had struggled with reading and writing all his life.

Having been stymied by the Marine Corps, Flynn returned to the nine-to-five grind and took a job with United Properties, a commercial real estate company in the Twin Cities. During his spare time he worked on an idea he had for a book. After two years with United Properties he decided to take a big gamble. He quit his job, moved to Colorado, and began working full time on what would eventually become Term Limits . Like many struggling artists before him, he was a bartender at night and wrote during the day. Five years and more than sixty rejection letters later he took the unusual step of self-publishing his first novel. The book went to number one in the Twin Cities, and within a week had a new agent and two-book deal with Pocket Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint.

Term Limits hit the New York Times bestseller list in paperback and started a trend for all of Flynn's novels. Since then, his books have become perennial bestsellers in both paperback and hardcover, and he has become known for his research and prescient warnings about the rise of Islamic Radical Fundamentalism and terrorism. Read by current and former presidents, foreign heads of state, and intelligence professionals around the world, Flynn's novels are taken so seriously one high-ranking CIA official told his people, “I want you to read Flynn's books and start thinking about how we can more effectively wage this war on terror.”

October 2007 marked another milestone in Flynn’s career when his ninth political thriller, Protect and Defend, became a #1 New York Times bestseller. A few months later, CBS Films optioned the rights for Flynn’s Mitch Rapp character with the intention of creating a character-based, action-thriller movie franchise. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who previously launched the Harry Potter and Matrix films as head of production at Warner Bros., and Nick Wechsler (We Own the Night, Reservation Road) will produce the films.

Flynn lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and three children.

Other Reviews: 
USA Today - great author info here.
The Book Reporter
National Review Online