Running From the Devil

On 02.02.12, In Action, Fiction, Medical, Thriller, By admin

by Jamie Freveletti



Running From the Devil

Running From the Devil is Jamie Freveletti’s first book, published in 2009.

Emma Caldridge is a biochemist who works as a researcher for a cosmetic company. Flying from Miami to Bogota her plane is hijacked and crashes in a jungle landing strip near the Venezuelan border. Thrown clear from the wreckage she watches guerrillas take the other survivors hostage.

After looting the plane the insurgents booby trap the road leading to the airstrip with landmines and leave to march the hostages off through the jungle. Emma is left to salvage what she can from the wreckage in order to survive.

The story starts sixty seconds before impact and is fast paced to the end. I enjoy Jamie Freveletti’s writing style; unlike many action writers she uses complete sentences of more than three words. The pace and excitement are generated by her plot, command of language and smooth believable dialog.

A good read. Ms Freveletti has joined my list of authors to watch for.

Click on the image or the link to find Running From the Devil
in print and for Kindle

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The Rule of Nine

On 01.29.12, In Action, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, By admin

by Steve Martini



The Rule of Nine

The Rule of Nine is eleventh in Steve Martini’s Paul Madriani novels, published in 2010, paperback edition in 2011. It is a direct sequel to Guardian of Lies.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a gripping read which held my attention from start to finish. The plot is complex and twisty, the finish – I am not going to spoil it but was extremely glad that I had already purchased the next in the series. The idea of having to wait a year for the sequel to be published would have driven me mad!

Paul Madriani is a San Diego attorney who spends very little time practicing the law in recent books. He, his partner Harry Hinds and daughter Sarah are the target of a deadly contract killer known only as Muerte Liquida, out for revenge.

Meanwhile a terrorist plot against the USA is under way and there is evidence Madriani is involved. There is considerable fumbling and lack of co-operation between branches of law enforcement, sound familar? Exotic locations are visited at breakneck speed and the action is non stop. The book is politically topical without being partisan. An excellent read.

Click on the image or the link to find The Rule of Nine in print and for Kindle

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The Ninth Day

On 01.24.12, In Fiction, Medical, Thriller, By admin

by Jamie Freveletti



The Ninth Day

The Ninth Day is Jamie Freveletti’s third book, published in 2011. I really enjoyed this book, I enjoyed it so much I ordered the other two books written by Freveletti before I was finished with this one.

Emma Caldridge is a biochemist who works as a researcher for a cosmetic company. Hiking in the Arizona desert looking for night blooming plants she runs into a group of illegal immigrants and is caught by their drug running cartel escorts after falling into a border crossing tunnel.

She is forced to investigate a disease which is killing both the marijuana plants and the workers who handle the crop. A disease which progresses inexorably until the victim dies on the ninth day, and Emma is infected . . .

Ms Freveletti writes very well, her story line is credible and her dialog is natural.

Click on the image or the link to find The Ninth Day
in print and for Kindle

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Every Which Way But Dead

On 01.20.12, In Action, Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Sci-Fi, By admin

The Hollows Book 3 by Kim Harrison



Every Which Way But Dead is the third book in author Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series of paranormal action romance novels, published in 2008.

This book does not quite stand alone. If you have not read the two previous volumes in the series you may find yourself confused by not knowing the rules of the author’s fictional world. I don’t know why publishers don’t put a brief introductory synopsis is later volumes of a series as standard courtesy.

In the late 60′s the world had been infected by a mutated virus spread by a bio-engineered tomato which wiped out most human people. Most Inderlanders, the witches, warlocks, vamps, fairies, pixies etc survived. Upon realizing that they were no longer a persecutable minority but in fact a majority they ‘came out’ en mass, known as the Turn. When the dust settled a system of government was agreed, this is the world this book introduces.

Rachel Morgan, sexy green eyed, red haired white witch and independent bounty hunter has boyfriend problems and an unwanted hot new vamp suitor. Her business partners, a non practicing vampire and a pixie Is a career change in her future? Will she find romance? Will she survive the experience?

Ms Harrison is a good writer with a sense of humor, her dialog is believable and her story lines are credible. Her books are not as heavily sexual as many paranormal romance genre books making for pleasant reading. Strong plots with plenty of twists and no predictability, likable main characters and a fascinating new world to explore make this a good read.

Click on the image or the link to find
Every Which Way But Dead in print and for Kindle

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The Good The Bad and The Undead

On 01.18.12, In Action, Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, By admin

The Hollows Book 2 by Kim Harrison



The Good The Bad and The Undead is the second book in Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series of paranormal action romance novels, published in 2005.

In the late 60′s the world had been infected by a mutated virus spread by a bio-engineered tomato which wiped out most human people. Most Inderlanders, the witches, warlocks, vamps, fairies, pixies etc survived. Upon realizing that they were no longer a persecutable minority but in fact a majority they ‘came out’ en mass, known as the Turn. When the dust settled a system of government was agreed, this is the world this book introduces.

Rachel Morgan, sexy green eyed, red haired white witch and independent bounty hunter, prowls the darkest shadows of downtown Cincinnati with her partners, a non practicing vampire and a pixie in search of a brutal serial killer. In this book Rachel discovers some answers to mysteries in her own past, and of course the identity of the killer.

Ms Harrison is a good writer with a sense of humor, her dialog is believable and her story lines are credible. Her books are not as heavily sexual as many paranormal romance genre books making for pleasant reading. Strong plots with plenty of twists and no predictability, likable main characters and a fascinating new world to explore make this a good read.

Click on the image or the link to find The Good, the Bad, and the Undead it is available both in print and for Kindle

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Dead Witch Walking

On 01.13.12, In Action, Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Sci-Fi, By admin

by Kim Harrison

(The Hollows Book 1)

Dead Witch Walking is the first in Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series of paranormal action romance novels, published in 2004.

In the late 60′s the world had been infected by a mutated virus spread by a bio-engineered tomato which wiped out most human people. Most Inderlanders, the witches, warlocks, vamps, fairies, pixies etc survived. Upon realizing that they were no longer a persecutable minority but in fact a majority they ‘came out’ en mass, known as the Turn. When the dust settled a system of government was agreed, this is the world this book introduces.

Rachel Mariana Morgan is a green eyed red haired white witch unhappily employed by Inderland Security, the supernatural equivalent of the FBI. When she quits she finds herself broke and with a price on her head. She and her partners, a non practicing vampire and a pixie set up their own bounty hunting service “Vampire Charms”.

Ms Harrison is a good writer with a sense of humor, her dialog is believable and the storyline is credible. It is not as heavily sexual as many paranormal romance genre books, making for pleasant reading. A strong plot line with plenty of twists and no predictability, likable main character and fascinating new word to explore make this a good read.

Click on the image or the link to find Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1) it is available both in print and for Kindle

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Standing In The Rainbow

On 07.13.10, In Southern Literature, By admin

by Fannie Flagg

Standing in the Rainbow Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg is perhaps best known for writing Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

Standing in the Rainbow follows a group of characters from the small town of Elmwood Springs in southern Missouri, meandering from the 1940′s just post World War II, through the 90′s. It is uplifting, warm, sometimes funny and sometimes sad.

“Fannie Flagg takes us back to a time when everyone in a small town knew everyone else, people sat on the front porch in the evenings, every drugstore had a soda-fountain, and screen doors had springs that made them slam when little boys weren’t careful.”

Beautifully written, the story is not only a nostalgic look at mid 20th century small town southern America without rose tinted glasses or being maudlin but also chronicles the historic changes which many of us have lived through in our own lifetimes.

Click on the image or the link to find
Standing in the Rainbow it is available both new and used.

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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

On 07.12.10, In Fiction, Suspense, By admin

by Stieg Larsson


tattoo

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, originally published as “Men Who Hate Women” is the first of a trilogy by Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson. Sadly, Larsson died suddenly before the novel was published. Although it is part of a series, it stands alone.

It is a challenging and intellectual crime thriller. The story starts slowly, translation from Swedish to English is sometimes awkward and the writing style is naturally European; demanding more attention than usual for one who is accustomed to the faster more superficial American style of writing. Having said that, the book is more than worth the effort and offers fascinating glimpses into a different culture.

The book has been criticized as having extreme violence and graphic sexual scenes. The criticism is in my opinion overblown, there are far more explicit sexual scenes in the majority of romance potboilers, and equally graphic violence on TV every day. If you are looking for Little House on the Prairie you probably should not read this book.

Here is a good review and synopsis at Bookpage.com.

Click on the image or this link to find The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at Amazon, it is available both new and used.

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Loyalty Myths

On 07.08.10, In Business, Marketing, By admin

by Timothy L. Keining

loyalty
Hyped Strategies That Will Put You Out of Business — and Proven Tactics That Really Work

Loyalty Myths identifies and examines the most common beliefs about customer loyalty, disproving most of them.

It is an easy read offering fresh insight into customer experience management for business of all sizes.

Selected as one of the Best Business Books of 2006 by Soundview.

Summary from the Publisher

Does it really cost five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an old customer? Do loyal customers really promote the businesses they like? Are long-term customers more desirable than short-term customers? Do companies need happy employees to create satisfied customers? According to the authors of Loyalty Myths, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding “no”.

“Virtually everything we have been told about the relationship between customer loyalty and financial outcomes is bunk,” write the authors. “The difficult truth regarding customer loyalty is that how it links to growth and profitability is far more complex than we have been led to believe. An improperly directed program can result in keeping the wrong customers and ironically deflating an organization’s profitability. A blind pursuit of customer loyalty is at best a case of misallocated resources. But at worst it is a recipe for financial disaster.”

In their new book, Loyalty Myths: Hyped Strategies That Will Put You Out of Business and Proven Tactics That Really Work, Timothy Keiningham, Terry Vavra and their co-authors examine the most popular maxims of customer retention, revealing why these strategies fail, while showing how they poison management practices and affect the bottom line.

Click on the image or the link to find Loyalty Myths on Amazon. It is available both new and used.

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The Perfect Poison

On 05.02.10, In Fiction, Paranormal, Suspense, By admin

An Arcane Society novel by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Amanda Quick


poison

This is the sixth of the ‘Arcane Society’ paranormal/mystery/romance stories. Although ‘Perfect Poison’ is a series book, each book stands alone.

Perfect Poison is probably not the author’s best in this series, or my favorite but it is a good read with a surprising and unexpected (to me) twist at the end.

From Booklist

If Lucinda Bromley doesn’t discover who stole her fern, she could end up being charged with murder. Lucinda frequently used her unusual psychic gift to discern death by poisoning to help the London police, but when a nobleman is poisoned by a compound containing elements of a rare fern, one that can only be found in her conservatory, Lucinda knows she better act quickly. To help her find the real murderer, she hires Caleb Jones, a “psychical investigator.” Believing there is a connection between Lucinda’s fern thief and a deadly dangerous secret society, Caleb agrees to take the case, but he never expected to become so distracted by his new partner in detection or to find himself flummoxed on so many fronts. New York Times best-seller Quick delivers another fascinating addition to her original and spellbinding Victorian-era series about the Arcane Society, a 200-year-old secret organization founded by an alchemist and devoted to paranormal research. Once again, Quick (one of Jayne Ann Krentz’s alternative identities) expertly, even magically, dispenses delectably witty dialogue, simmering sexual chemistry, and a plot laced with secrets, dangers, and surprises.

Click on the image or this link to find The Perfect Poison at Amazon, it is available both new and used.

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