Sunday, December 28, 2014

Protection Detail, by Shirlee McCoy

I want to thank the publisher for making a copy of this book available in Advance Reader form so that I could give it a read and provide an unbiased review. The book will be available on Amazon on March 15, 2015.

The story is that of the Capitol K-9 unit in our nations Capitol. The unit was designed to provide a police officer and K-9 unit that could respond to crimes or provide protection to our nations leadership. The thought is good and as we know K-9 units across the U.S. provide great services to our communities. They have also been developed for good work with our Military in combat situations.


For a crime novel though I found the book a bit underrated. The author didn’t seem to catch that tense crime scene writing that I have grown to love with other writers. Having been a Police Chaplain and watching K-9 units in work I find them fascinating.

McCoy does a good job of detailing how well a dog can be used to help protect and track down a criminal. That part of the book is done very well.

What I found troublesome is that this was more a romance novel that didn’t quite work. The two main characters just didn’t have a good development of character, as far as I’m concerned. The story also is so short that I think the author could have added another 100 pages, developed the plot and the characters more and she would have had a great novel.

The main plot is that a Senator’s son has been murdered and the Senator shot and wounded. A home that he built and funds for Foster Kids is just next-door. One of those Foster Kids saw what happened and the killer is doing his best to track him down and do away with the witness.

The House Mother confronts the Killer on her porch, by accident, and now he wants to eliminate her as well.  Enter our K-9 and his handler. They will do their best to keep everyone safe and solve the crime.

Again, I think the plot could be developed more and the tension developed further.


It’s not a bad read and very quick (less than a day), but just a bit disappointing to me.

Friday, December 26, 2014

The Doctors Cowboy, by Trish Milburn

First of all I want to thank the publisher for making a copy of this book available to me to read and review before the release date of the book. You can Pre-Order this book on Amazon or wait for it to come to a store near you. The release date is March 2015


Wyatt Kelly is a cowboy who follows the Rodeo Circuit. He is also someone with a secret. He is a wanderer. He doesn't have roots anywhere. He doesn't appear to have any family either. By most accounts he is a down on his luck cowboy who makes no money but loves to ride Bull's in the main events.

Dr. Chloe Brody is a young doctor who loves her job. She has roots that run down deep. She lives with her father and two brothers on the family ranch in Texas. They have a family history and legacy. They have money, they have friends, they have everything. But tragedy did strike their home. Dr. Brody's mother was killed in a car crash when Chloe was just a small girl. Her father never re-married. The grief has been much.

Chloe does not do relationships well, either do her two brothers. Probably this is because of the pain of the loss of their mother and the fact that they have watched their dad grieve and not remarry because he lost the one true love he would ever have. So, don't get close to anyone, they might leave you and cause pain.

Wyatt Kelly rides the bull of a lifetime, and doesn't end well. He gets gored twice by the bull and thrown around the arena. When he is hauled into the Emergency Room at the local hospital it is Chloe who is the physician on duty. The injury is significant and needs immediate surgery. It is life threatening. So, she calls the surgeon on call and prepares the patient.

Wyatt on the other hand, even though in extreme pain, starts to flirt with the pretty doctor, if nothing else to take his mind off the pain.

Both Wyatt and Chloe feel something happening, but what?

The story is well written, the conclusion is pretty obvious, but the getting there is all the fun. You will love the dialogue and the relationship building that goes on. This is a book that you will want to read another time after a while.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

The Homecoming, by Robyn Carr (A Thunder Point Novel)

I really enjoy Robin Carr's Thunder Point Series. I have come to know the characters well and enjoy reading more about their lives and about the little town of Thunder Point.

In this volume Seth Sileski comes back to Thunder Point. He is the former high school football star that actually made it all the way to the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. But after a horrific car accident he was no longer able to play football. He has returned to Thunder Point as the town deputy (the Sargent in charge of the three other deputies). He has also returned to see what might be up with his old "best friend," Iris.

Iris is the High School Counselor and loves helping the kids. Her family are the 350 high school students and the teachers at Thunder Point. Her mother, who was Seth's mothers best friend, has died and left a void in Iris' life.

Seth is hoping to restore their friendship and maybe take it to a new level.  But Iris wants nothing to do with him because of a very deep past hurt that he doesn't even remember.

The story is sweet. It is wholesome and true to real life. There will be lessons for everyone to learn, such as, can there be true forgiveness for past hurts? Can we set aside the past High School days of pain and become mature adults? Can love be more than a physical attraction? Can a man truly learn to change his ways and become more loving and caring?

Robyn Carr does a wonderful job of developing her stories and her characters. She also does well in incorporating past characters into the new story as well as bring along a few new ones.

Thunder Point becomes your home away from home and reminds you of everything that you miss about your old hometown.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Finding Hope, by Stacy Finz

Emily and Drew Mathews have had a terrible tragedy in their life, their daughter Hope was abducted from their backyard and has never been found. Emily blames herself because she left Hope outside alone for a few minutes to take a phone call. She and Drew could not take the pressure this brought and they have divorced. Now Emily is lost and alone.

Joe McCreedy and his boys, Justin and Cody, have had tragedy in their lives as well. Joe’s wife and the boys mother has died in a car accident, she was driving while intoxicated. But there is more to the story than just that.

What will happen when Emily and Joe meet? Can healing come for the both of them?


Emily is a food book editor and moves to Nugget, California to escape the past. Joe is a cattle rancher who happens to have been a Navy pilot and war hero who has come home to Nugget to take over the family business, a successful cattle ranch.

A friend of Emily’s is also a friend of Joe’s and arranges for Emily to rent a place to live on Joe’s ranch. The two will bring healing to each other from their past hurts. But it will take a good bit of time.

Emily tries her best to keep her secret about her past, but it follows her even to Nugget. But the people of this small community are much more inclined to be her friend and stay loyal to her than those that lived in the big city.

Stacy Finz writes a very compelling novel that is well developed, well detailed and one that builds up a multitude of characters that you want to embrace and learn even more about their lives.

Even though Joe and Emily are the main characters there are other relationships that develop that add to the story, there are back stories that bring history and intrigue, there is the Nugget Mafia (a bunch of old men who play cards at the barber shop) and the cooking clutch of women, The Baker’s Dozen, who give Emily a new lease on life.

You will fall in love with Stacy Finz’s writing style and will be left wanting more. I know that I was.

For my Religious Readers I will give a disclaimer here, the book has some scenes in it regarding love making that you might want to just skip over, it won’t detract from the book too much as it is just the development of intimacy that you can construe from what happens. This is the new reality of Romance Books, sex sells, but even if you skip it the story is great.


Enjoy!

Monday, December 22, 2014

Teach Yourself Visually iPad, by Gary Hart-Davis

I love this little book. I showed it to my son and he laughed, but frankly I thought it was a great idea and good for someone like myself and my wife who really wanted to get to know our iPads better.

I have had an iPad for four years, so I was pretty sure that I knew it well. But going through this visual self help book was a great tool for me. I knew a bunch of the stuff that was laid out here, but there were nagging things that I was frustrated with that were answered in the pages of this guide book.

I found the tools to open up more uses for me on my iPad. I found that the directions were easy to follow and the ton of screen shots in the book were highly helpful.

If you are getting your parents or grandparents an iPad for Christmas or another occasion this is a great book to purchase and give to them with their iPad. I guarantee that it will save you all kinds of hassle in having to explain things to them like how to have face time, how to open a dialogue box, where to go to change your settings and what the "app store" is and why there is something that keeps saying, "UPDATE."

Frankly I was frustrated that I had to keep updating my wife's iPad. She would let it go for weeks or months without doing an update on the apps. She would have like 45 updates that were needed. She would complain that her iPad was slow and acting up. But as soon as updates were done she quit complaining. Well, now with this book she understands the need for updates and where to go to make sure she is getting what she wants and why she needs the updates.

So, many problems will be solved quickly and easily. For all the money you spend on your iPad you should spend the extra money to get this book as it will guide you through so many areas that will give you full use of your iPad.

This book is a must for first time iPad users or those who need visual help to learn.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Twice in a Blue Moon, by Cate Masters

Melanie Michaels has lost the love of her life, Pete. Buck Wright has lost the love of his life, Poppy. Both are lost in the state of heartbrokenness. Melanie has run away from her pain by becoming the host of a reality TV show that shows her being a dare devil in every out of the way place in the world. Buck has run away from his pain by moving to Sweden to the frozen tundra to be a sled dog guide and live where there are few people.


What happens next is that the Reality TV show decides to come to Sweden, take a sled dog team and visit the Ice Castle Hotel that is built each year out of only Ice. Melanie’s team hires Artic Adventures to guide their trip, that means that Buck Wright becomes their trip guide.

What happens with a cold withdrawn Diva meets the cold withdrawn Mountain Man? Well, that’s the gist of the story. The sparks will fly or maybe they won’t. Buck will learn that Melanie is not the cold hearted Diva he thinks she is. She will learn that the Mountain Man is a Mountain Man, but with a soft inner core that just needs to thaw out a bit.

If I didn’t know any better I would think this is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with the twist being that Elizabeth is the Prideful one and Darcy is the down to earth outdoorsy one.

Either way the story is a great read. It is predictable, but who cares, it is fun, it is romantic, it is moving. I’m just sorry that it was so short, I would have loved to have been lost in it for another couple of days.

I believe you will enjoy it.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Dreaming Spies, by Laurie King

This adventure of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes is set upon a ship headed towards the Far East from India. As usual there is a cast of characters that provide entertainment for Holmes and Russell in the way of speculating about who they are and why they are traveling.

Haruki Sato is one of those travelers. She is a Japanese woman headed for home. She will become a friend of Mary Russell and provide language training for her and Holmes on their trip.

There are others aboard who as it turns out Holmes knows something about. A Lord Darley is there and Holmes knows that he is a crook. Thus the questions arise why he is on the ship.

I must say that the book is not necessarily lengthy, but it felt that way as I was reading. There is so much time spent on talking about Shipboard classes that Haruki Sato teaches and the different people involved. There is so much discussion on writers and their poems and other such things that the book becomes a bit of a bore.

Rather than focusing on the plot of something great for Holmes to discover we have a kind of long build up of boring ship board issues that eventually just get to tedious to wade through.

I found myself losing interest as there was nothing to engage the mind in the way of intrigue.

If you are a Mary Russell fan I am sure you will like the book, but if you are wanting a fast paced, intrigued filled, who is the spy type book then this is not for you.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Too Bad to Die, By Francine Mathews

Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin are planning to get together in Iran to discuss what needs to happen to resolve WWII and defeat Germany. The Germans know that this summit is happening and it is their desire to see all three world leaders assassinated.

The Fencer and his accomplice, the Kitten, are set to fulfill Hitler's desire to see the three men terminated. Those are the code names for the spies that the Germans have in place to do their best to kill off the opposition leadership.

The Fencer turns out to be a highly placed representative with one of the three government groups. It is up to Ian Fleming, the British Naval Commander traveling with Churchill's group to find and defeat the plans of the Fencer. Yes, Ian Fleming. The same Ian Fleming who is going to bring to us British Special Agent, James Bond, 007.

Flemings task is to write scenario's and then paperwork that are fiction and are used as disinformation for the Germans to find. But now he finds himself in possession of information that is accurate and true (at least so he says) and the problem he has is trying to convince others that it is not fiction.

The story is well written and the intrigue is good. There are so many characters involved that you will find it difficult to unearth who the spy truly is.

The book is a fun read and one that would make a great gift for the reader in your home.

Enjoy!

Thursday, December 11, 2014

The Reaper, by Nicholas Irving

Very interesting first person story of the life of an Army Ranger Sniper and is time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nicholas Irving will give you a view of his young life and his desire to join the Military. He will not reveal any major earth shattering secrets, but he will give you a good look at the mindset of a young man who grows up to become one of the deadliest snipers the U.S. Military has trained.

What I found so interesting was the honesty of Irving. He shares some of his deep fears, things that most warriors probably would never share with others. Thus he shares them and you see how human he truly is. I appreciated his honesty about a fear of heights, a fear of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. But what is so true is that a man can put his fears behind him and do things that show courage in the overcoming of those fears.

I learned some good things from Irving's book, I learned how they could go from sound asleep to out on a mission within just a few moments. I learned how you can never fully know what you are walking into. I learned that just because you are a sniper doesn't mean that you sit far back from the action and take shots from a safe distance. No, sometimes you are right on top of the action and in the thick of things.

His deployment coincided with a build up of Taliban efforts in the Kandahar province. Thus each time they left the base they were almost assured of walking into a firefight. But most of their action was the aspect of trying to capture their target alive, this would provide further intel for further actions.

The story is well written and I would attribute that to Gary Brozek. But the action is all about what Nicholas Irving and his unit and the action they faced. The story is done in a humble manner. Irving isn't the only sniper in the unit and he gives good credit to the other men that he served with. I found the book educational and inspiring.

Enjoy!

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Full Force and Effect, by Mark Greaney - A Tom Clancy Syndicate Novel

I have become a fan of Mark Greaney and enjoy reading the books that he has written under the Tom Clancy syndicate. Most of his books up to this point have been middle range books that have had good intrigue and lots of action. This is what I would consider a more daunting longer read epic in the style that Clancy made famous.

The story is well conceived and well written. It has that overarching epic feel of a huge political situation that has multiple fronts and threats that have to be analyzed an dealt with. The main gist of the story is that North Korea has a new leader, the son of the previous dictator. This son wants to accomplish what his father started by getting ICBM missiles with nuclear warheads that can reach the west coast of the United States and thus push the U.S. to listen up to North Korea and consider them a world power.

To do this they need cash. To get cash they have to find a new way to produce income. Lucky for them the worlds largest deposit of rare earth minerals is found in their own back yard. This mining operation could produce 12 trillion dollars of income for the regime. That is enough money to buy everything they need to go nuclear.

Thus the Campus is on the trail of what is going on as well as the CIA and DNI Mary Foley. All the characters are coming together to try and determine the best way to stop North Korea from getting this funding online. President Ryan wants this stopped. Thus he is willing to step out on a limb and handle sanctions against North Korea even against the wishes of other nations.

This epic tale is current to todays political climate. It is ripped right from our front pages. Maybe the only stretch is the rare earth mining issue, but that just adds to the intrigue of the book.

Greaney does a masterful job of weaving this story together and providing plenty of little sub-plots to help you learn more about the characters involved and the dynamics of how espionage works in todays corporate and political world.

You will enjoy every once of the book. So, why did I only give it four stars you ask? Well, because I think that as a larger epic piece under the Clancy name it still didn't have the gripping power of the Clancy style for this longer work. It's close and with more time of development Greaney will get there, just not completely this time. BUT, that doesn't detract from a great story.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Forbidden, by Kimberley Griffiths Little

This first book in the Forbidden series is a dangerous book. Why is it dangerous? Because once you start reading you are going to want to continue reading to find out what happens, but you are going to have to wait for the next installment of the series. But that doesn't mean you should put off reading this first book.

Kimberley Griffiths Little does a fantastic job with this first book. She brings you back in time to early Mesopotamia and the Nomad Tribes that wandered the desert areas. These tribes with their families and flocks of camels made it their livelihood to travel from desert to mountain to desert. They were always in search of food, water and safety. But life was not always safe. Each tribe had their enemies and they needed to work hard to avoid them and to build alliances with others.

Jayden is a young teen girl who is part of a tribe that is struggling to survive in these harsh times. As part of the alliance of their tribe her father has made a contract with the leader of the tribe to marry her off to his son. This marriage will eventually bring her into the position of Queen of the tribe, a very coveted position.

The only problem is that to get this position she has to marry Horeb, and Horeb is a horrible person. He is young, egotistical, maniacal, and vulgar. He has no sense of loyalty or honor. He even has been involved with the death of his order brother which has put him in line to become the next King of the tribe.

Jayden doesn't want to marry Horeb, but she has no choice. BUT, then young Kadesh comes into her life. A young man who has been wounded by bandits and walks into her fathers camp needing help. They give him medical attention as well as provide protection and food.

While with the family Jayden and Kadesh start to develop feelings for each other. But she can not have Kadesh, he is a stranger and doesn't belong to their tribe. Besides because of family honor she must marry Horeb.

The story will weave around this plot line of which to follow, love or duty. Thus the title Forbidden, because Kadesh is not someone Jayden should fall in love with.

The book is well written, easy to dive into yet complicated enough to make you think while reading. The true life adventures of this "Tent Girl" who is part of a Nomad tribe is well researched, documented and then woven into a story that will captivate young and old alike.

I believe that teenagers will enjoy the story as much as adults. It is evident that Kimberley Griffiths Little is an accomplished writer who knows her audience and her subject well.

Enjoy!

Friday, November 28, 2014

The Kill List, by Nichole Christoff

Jaime Sinclair, the daughter of a U.S. Senator and former Army General has taken on a life vocation of being a Private Investigator who specializes in Security Issues. As the book starts out she is helping to catch a 'stalker' who is going after a Television Personality. In the process she almost looses her life, but she catches the stalker.

As soon as this situation seems to have resolved itself she is called by her former husband, an Army Colonel whose daughter has been kidnapped. Jaime will rush to the Army base to help in the process of finding the little girl. She will come in contact with a former friend, FBI agent Kev Jaeger. She will also meet a new friend, Lt. Colonel Adam Barrett who happens to be the head of the MP's at Leeds Army Base.

Together with Lt. Colonel Barrett Ms. Sinclair will help to uncover several different illegal situations as well as find our what happened to Little Brooke, the three year old diabetic who was kidnapped. And, if that is not enough she will face the issue of developing feelings for Lt. Colonel Barrett. 

But she and Lt. Colonel Barrett have past life issues that will make it impossible for them to develop a relationship, unless of course they can each come to the point of revealing past hurts and seeking the healing that they need.

The story is well written. The characters are developed in an amazing way for such a short book. There are plenty of plot twists and yet the whole thing is very realistic and believable. I love the way that Christoff develop's her story and ties several issues together from stalking to PTSD to illegal activity and kidnapping to family bullying and abuse issues. There are many talking points for this book and they are all easy to get into.

I enjoyed the book tremendously and would love for friends to read it so that we could sit down in a book club and dialogue about all the different issues that are raised.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Friday, November 14, 2014

The Other Mr. Darcy, by Monica Fairview

For a Pride and Prejudice sequel this one is very well thought out and well written. The main character's of the story will be Caroline Bingley and Mr. Robert Darcy, the cousin of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.


The story starts with Caroline having an emotional breakdown at the celebration of the Lizzy and Darcy's wedding. She goes to the library to console herself by having a good cry. What she doesn't know is that Mr. Robert Darcy is in the Library, in the shadows, looking for a book and having a drink. He is witness to Caroline's meltdown.

As the story develops we will watch as Caroline Bingley has to deal with learning to let herself go emotionally and that it will not mean that she gives up being a Lady. For Robert Darcy he must contend with Caroline's feelings that he is not gentlemanly enough. It seems like Pride and Prejudice all over again, but with different characters.

For me I grew to dislike Caroline and Louisa Bingley in the original book. I did not like their high brow ways and the constant banter about the Bennett's and country society. So, I needed to have some real tenacity to keep reading. But Monica Fairview drew me in and had me watching Caroline blossom into a Lady that was someone you could actually like and cheer for, hoping that God would bless her life with a man to love. The only question being is Mr. Robert Darcy that man.

I really did love the book and thought it a great sequel to the original work by Jane Austen. I think if you are an Austen fan you will enjoy reading about how Caroline can change, how she can grow, how she can come to discover that marriage is about love and not about society and upbringing and what you will gain financially.

Now the only question is, will Louisa Bingley Hurst ever change?

Enjoy!

Friday, November 7, 2014

The Job, by Janet Evanovich

What a fun little read. Nick Fox is an international thief that has been on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. But the truth is that Kate captured him years before but the FBI kept it quiet as Nick helped them to find and put behind bars many other crooks. In the mean time Nick has had lots of fun living the good life and spending some of the spoils of his previous life.

One problem, he really likes Kate and she, well, she really likes him. But her task is to keep him out of trouble and to use him to help capture other criminals. So, when the call comes that Nick was caught on video tape stealing some pricey artwork the FBI is not pleased. Then he is caught in the act of another crime. Kate is sent to try and capture him, but before she can leave he contacts her to tell her that it is a set up and not him.

The story will unfold to bring about the Con Job of the century as Nick and Kate work together to capture the head of a drug cartel through an elaborate con that they devise. The FBI knows what they are doing, but still they are off grid and will be disavowed if caught. Forget that, if caught by the drug cartel no one will ever find the bodies.

The writing is really good. The cast of characters are very well developed and the story line is plausible and down right ingenious.

This is a great little read that everyone will enjoy.

From the FBI to Scotland Yard to the world's largest Drug Cartel the world will just get busy and fun.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Crossroads, by Barbara Cameron

This is a good story about two young Amish people who have "loved" each other since grade school. Emma loves her Amish life and is looking forward to getting married and raising children. Isaac is not so sure he loves the Amish life. He has moved out of his parents home and rented a small cottage and is enjoying his running around stage of life. He has taken to living like the English to the point of even drinking alcohol.

Emma is not sure she likes what Isaac is doing but she is tolerating his experimenting. But then he suddenly asks her to move in with him, before they get married. She is shocked and angered by his request. How could he think such a thing. They would be shunned by the community. She says no and their relationship seems to end.

The story will be about Isaac learning what is valuable to him. He will learn what life without Emma is like and will have to decide what he will do about joining the church. His friend Davy is working with him as a roofer and they seem to be headed the wrong way.

An accident on the job will jar Isaac into looking at life a bit different once again. What will the outcome be.

The story is nicely written and enjoyable to read. For my first time reading a Barbara Cameron novel I did enjoy it very much. I'm sure you will as well.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

A Love Undone, by Cindy Woodsmall

Van Beiler and Jolene Keim are engaged to be married, but one week before the wedding Jolene's parents are swept away in a flash flood at the river crossing and they both drown. Jolene has a decision to make, as the oldest of six children what should she do? She tells Van that she wants to marry but then stay and take care of her siblings. Van isn't so sure he wants that. As a matter of face he calls off the marriage and Jolene is left with her siblings to raise on her own.

To make matters worse in a year or so Van will marry Jolene's rival from school who always had her eyes set on Van. Things just seem to go from bad to worse.

Then a new man with a son shows up to provide training for 22 abused horses that the humane society asks him to take. He comes to his uncle Lester's farm to do the work. Jolene happens to provide house cleaning and meals for Old Man Lester. She meets Andy Fisher and has an immediate attraction. It is her understanding that Andy is a widower.

As her heart develops longings for Andy she is going to come to find out that he is actually not a widower but that he is still married, his wife has left him, but he is still married. Thus her heart again is being crushed.

The story is sad yet very heart warming. The additional heart warming part has to do with the animals that Andy is tasked with taking care of. It will give him a chance to find a woman who knows how to care for animals. It will also give him the opportunity to help a young man find a new calling.

But for him the hardest part will be loosing his heart to a woman that he can't have.

This is a great story and written very well.

Enjoy!