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Two of the most powerful families in the Empire are just steps away from going to war with one another. Such a war would be devastating to the Empire as it would draw in legions of families and potentially bring about chaos then mass starvation. Detective Ana Dolabra is tasked, her assistant Din are sent to investigate. At the root of the dispute is the eldest son of one of the families, accused of a gruesome, heinous murder. The evidence against him is overwhelming. Ana and Din must prove him innocent or find a way to calm the families.  Although the evidence would appear uncontroversial, Ana sees a pattern behind the crime. A pattern that, if what she suspects is true, would suggest a danger far greater than at first anticipated. But each time they have a suspect in mind, that person ends up dead, and the tension between the families heats up. And if this wasn't enough to put the pair of investigators on edge, Din's loyalty will be tested by a surprise encounter. I just loved...

I grew up in a small town on the shore of the Upper Mississippi River (in fact, the city was built on an island in the river) It's always been a 'presence' and its flood stage is always monitored every spring. I have boated, canoed, fished, and swum in the river. Of course the river has fascinated me and books about the river can be found on bookshelves so this definitely caught my eye. As much fun as the river can be, I'm also aware that it can never be taken for granted and to always be cautious of its unforgiving power. Tragedies along the river occur with sad regularity. I don't think there's a year that goes by without news of some loss of life on the river with 25 miles of my hometown. A book of Mississippi River tragedies must include some pretty horrific or unique incidents. Except... This book isn't really about Mississippi River tragedies.  It's about Mississippi River disasters (which of course can be - almost certainly are - tragic). Even mor...

Picking up from where the first book in the North Falls series left off, Sheriff Emmy Clifton and her sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, are near the Vickery family home when they hear shots ring out.  They are quick to action - maybe too quick as a bullet barely misses Jude who is approaching from the backyard. Entering the home, they find that Allison Vickery has been murdered in her own kitchen, and her teenage daughter, Mandy, is bleeding upstairs, left for dead. But there's no sign of the killer other than one glove on the roof. It's a small town and everyone's got a theory as to what happened, including Emmy. But a good cop needs more than a theory ... she needs hard evidence. And she needs to remind herself that she shouldn't try to make the evidence fit her theory. The suspect list grows longer, and more dangerous, when Emmy and Jude learn that Allison was trying to make a deal with the FBI to inform them of a whole lot of bad cops in the area... maybe cops t...

I suppose that as long as there are people like me, people interested learning anything and everything they can about the Beatles, there will be books like this. It seems that I read one or two a year and I'm sure I miss a few. Stuart Maconie's book, With a Little Help From Their Friends , has a clever hook. It is less about the Beatles themselves, directly, and about the 100 people around them, individually and/or as the group, who had an affect on them in some way.  In some cases these people are well known and entire books have been written about these individuals (such as Brian Epstein, George Martin, Bob Dylan, Mal Evans, and Yoko Ono) while others seem incredibly obscure. It is the latter group that I found most interesting. For instance, while I've recognized that in addition to their music, the Beatles brought about a lot of different social change, from haircuts to clothing to lifestyle choices. But while we credit the Beatles with many of these changes, there were...

Toussaint "Touie" Moore is a Black private investigator from New York in the 1950's. Moore has been framed, back in New York City, for the murder of a White man and must now investigate who's actually behind the murder and why he's the one being framed. His investigation brings him to a small town in Ohio, right on the border of Kentucky. This is not a particularly welcoming area to a Black man in the late 1950's, and doubly so for one accused of killing a White man, but if there's any chance of finding the real killer, Touie knows he's going to have to find the responsible party himself. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it's never crossed my mind that we don't see many Black detectives, either in literature or on the screen. People of color would likely note "of course you don't - that's part of the problem." Though I'd like to honestly believe that had there not been an introduction to this book which talked ab...

Bear Company (five stuffed bears who are now armored and aggressively protect their charges (children) are helping Timmy, who is looking for his father. Timmy's father is a scientist who created the Bear Company. But it isn't as easy as just searching ... an evil alien force of shape-shifters, known as the Dark, are looking to capture Timmy and other children. The search for Timmy's dad brings Timmy and Bear Squad into the city where they soon find themselves out-numbered by the Dark.  Fortunately for Timmy and the bears, Timmy's father also created an urban squad of warriors - Wolf Squad, a team of armored wolves.  The wolves are only too happy to take on the Dark - relishing a chance for some serious action and the ability to show their thanks to Timmy's dad. I picked up this book as part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription. It looked like a quick, fun, middle-school read, which is exactly what it was. This is the second book in a series but it wasn't too hard...