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The world is different. Texoma is its own country and wizarding magic is a known ability (though not a very well trusted one). Lizbeth "Gunnie Rose is young but she's already gotten herself quite a reputation for fierceness and fairness. When she commits to a job she'll see it through no matter what the cost. Things will go south (so to speak) when she takes a job escorting a couple of Russian wizards who are looking for a man - the only man on earth whose blood can save their tzar. But there are others out there determined to stop the wizards from reaching their goal. Young Lizbeth will be tested to see her mission through. Author Charlaine Harris is an accomplished storyteller.  She showed us that with her Sookie Stackhouse series. Here she latches on to another young, strong female in a familiar paranormal-accepting world. The adventure in this particular volume isn't the most interesting of Harris's stories I've read, and, having just recently read book fiv

Harry Adams is a single mother raising a teenage boy in the post-COVID world.  She's willing to do anything to provide a better world for her son and she takes whatever job she can get, currently it's cleaning houses.  Being a fan of horror movies, when horror film director Javier Castillo is looking for a new cleaner, Harry goes for the job.  The house is practically a museum to the genre films she has grown up with and she likes having the opportunity to clean for Javier.  He has just one rule for Harry - to never enter a specific room. When Harry hears what sounds like human voices behind the door she must never enter, she wonders what might be going on, but keeps her head down and goes on with her work.  When she's sure she not only hears voices but someone actually calling for help ... she keeps her head down and continues her work. She needs to support her son, Gabe, after all, and it's best not to get involved. But there are things here that Harry, a regular in t

Riley Diaz is a fighter. When she is picked up and prosecuted for part in an 'illegal' protest, she is given the option of a prison sentence or time spent in an  American Renewal Center for re-education. The centers are a relatively new concept, based on the Emergency Detention Act of 1950 which has never been removed. There is little to no oversight to what happens in the Center and the sadistic doctor tasked with rehabilitating the criminals has an inordinate amount of leeway to do as he pleases.  And he pleases to do quite a lot. But Diaz does not bend or break to the doctor's outrageous methods and the other patients in the center slowly come to see Riley worthy of following. She even manages to befriend the loner nicknamed 'Frankenstein'.  Riley has connections on the outside, but for various reasons those connections are waning and if there's any chance of shutting down the questionably legal program from the inside, time is running out. Author J. Michael

Liz Paxton, head of a London Murder Squad, and her friend Lou Brighouse, a top-notch journalist, are trying to find the murderer of a reporter who had been in the middle of investigating a phone hacking scandal. Could a simple hacking story really be worth killing over? The deeper Liz gets in her investigation the more terrifying the reporter's death becomes (she learns he was tortured before being killed) and she finds herself with formidable enemies on both sides of the law. Liz will need to fall back on her natural talent and carefully honed skills to stay one step ahead of those trying to kill her while uncovering and exposing the criminal activity. I've started, and stopped, this book a few times over the years and finally decided I was just going to read it. The mystery in this story is fine.  A decade ago it would have seemed really relevant seeing as how the story seems to be pulled from an event in England in 2011 involving Rupert Murdock and phone hacking. What slows

Rushmore "Mac" McKenzie and his wife, Nina,  are visiting friends at a local marina when a woman comes to them, begging for help. Her husband is missing. It is Nina who finds the man, dead, and clinging to a step under the water.  McKenzie does his best to not get involved and enjoy the retired life but the dead man’s daughter begs him to help her find out how her father died. Neveah is convinced her father was murdered but no one else seems to believe her. With the insurance agencies and the police officers investigating, no one is trying to determine why someone would kill E.J. Woods- except for McKenzie and one concerned beat cop. I've really come to enjoy these Mac McKenzie books.  Set in Minnesota (my home territory) with a P.I. who takes on jobs because he can. He's no saint - he retired from the police force in order to receive an insurance pay-out (something he couldn't do as a law officer) in the millions. He's still got contacts on the force and his

 There has been a devastating clash between the Titans and the Olympians and now Poseidon is on a quest, riding on a majestic Hippocampus. He rides, not just through space, but through time and meets with Cleito, a woman with whom he shares a family connection, but it is with Poseidon's help that she will learn more about her parents and the role they'll play in Poseidon's future. Meeting with space travelers, the Kyrie, Poseidon learns about the genetic engineering advanced alien races played in creating advanced humans and human hybrids. Then Poseidon meets up with Lucas, a mystical traveler who follows a spiritual path of love and serenity. Mythical gods, especially Greek gods, are still hugely popular and it's no surprise that authors and publishers are still pumping out fiction for eager readers. And school-aged kids still are eager readers for modern tellings of classic myths. I do have a couple of issues with this particular book, however.  First, it's a lit

 It's big news in the state of Minnesota when a politician's daughter goes missing. A major manhunt is put forth to find the missing girl. In the search, Cork O'Connor's grandson stumbles over the shallow grave of an Ojibwe woman. No one seems to think twice about it or even care. Well, almost no one. Cork takes an interest, as does the Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police - a still relatively new department. Cork is keenly aware that Indigenous women go missing at an alarming rate and that other than immediate family members and maybe ... maybe ... the Tribal Police, it tends to go unnoticed or unreported. Cork wonders which missing Ojibwe woman this was and hopes to use his skills identifying the woman. Meanwhile, Cork's grandson is spirit-gifted, but at age 7 is still not always fully understanding what it is he sees or feels. Though he understands the feeling of danger, which is what he senses the more Cork investigates. But the investigation is also showing that the

I'd heard about this book (probably on NPR) and I rushed to get a copy.  The first female rock band? Got their start at The Cavern Club about the same time as the Beatles? Like the Beatles, also from Liverpool? Like the Beatles, played the Star-Club in Hamburg? Hung out with the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix? How did I not know about this band?! Well, the answer to that becomes pretty obvious through the course of the book (they rose to fame and stayed mostly in Germany, and they were primarily a cover band), but the journey that these Birds took was quite extraordinary. This memoir/biography is told by the two surviving members of the group, the bass player and drummer (Mary McGlory and Sylvia Saunders, respectively) (ironically, the surviving Beatles are also the drummer and bass player). The chapters alternate between Mary and Sylvia, taking us through the start of the band, the early years, the success, and the eventual break-up of the group.  We ge

Pippa Allsbrook is a 50+ year old, unmarried, crossword puzzle enthusiast.  She she feels a bit empty in her life, and would like to socialize with others who share her interest in puzzles. She starts a club and recruits a number of other puzzle enthusiasts with diverse interests and talents. Still, though, Pippa doesn't quite feel fulfilled. That all changes one day when a black, leather hatbox is left on the steps of the home that the puzzle club members share and in that hatbox is a baby boy, only a couple of days old. Pippa becomes the boy's guardian. He is named Clayton Stumper and the entire club helps to raise him. He leads a pleasant enough life, but he wants to know more about his background. Who were his parents? Why was he left, abandoned the way he was? He is never able to get any answers. When Clayton is about 25, Pippa passes away, leaving a series of puzzles for Clayton. The puzzles appear to lead Clayton to getting some of the answers he's been looking for,

Allie is being kidnapped. She's handcuffed and in the back of an SUV, driven by the kidnapper, Desiree. But Allie is just as confused as she is scared.  She's a middle school teacher and she was just enjoying a day at the park with her infant daughter when she was abducted and rendered unconscious. An accident provides Allie with the opportunity to escape and get to a hospital where, to more surprise and fear, it is discovered that an odd device - some kind of portacath - has been implanted. It doesn't look like anything the local ER has seen before and they call in Grace who works for the FDA in a special branch that works with medical implants. Grace isn't familiar with the device but digs into researching it, to discover it was produced by a company, now defunct, that was trying to 'extract time'. A thrilling adventure follows as Desiree looks to complete her mission and Grace tries to understand and save Allie. Well ... almost a thrilling adventure. The open

WARNING: THIS BOOK AND REVIEW CONTAIN WORDS AND THEMES OF A SEXUAL NATURE I debated, a LOT, over whether or not I would even publicly post a review of this book. I mean, it's kind of embarrassing to admit to reading erotica. And yet the genre is one of the best selling subjects these days (thanks, in part, I'd guess, due to the anonymity that digital books afford) so why not read it (and, to be very honest, I was equally embarrassed to admit to reading Louis L'Amour westerns the first time I posted one of those reviews). I am not familiar with author Rachel Kramer Bussel so I'll trust Goodreads' quote that she is "one of the biggest names in the literary world of erotica." With nearly 200 works attributed to her name (many as editor) she's certainly got some experience with the genre. Overall I was impressed with the quality of the writing.  I have to admit to going into this expecting some really cheesy writing with the sole goal of getting the reader

Sloan McPherson and her partner, former navy diver Scott Hughes, were once part of the Underwater Investigation Unit. The unit disbanded, but Scott and Sloan have found themselves working together again. This time, though, it hits close to home as Fred Stafford, a family friend of Sloane's, is missing. Finding Stafford will be a challenge as he was notorious for going off alone, often diving and exploring new places. But finding Stafford will turn out to be the easier job. Finding out who Stafford really is will not only prove to be a daunting task, but it will unsettle Sloan as she's known Fred for many, many years. A simple search and rescue turns into a high-stakes thriller. This is my first experience with an Andrew Mayne novel (it was recommended by another author whose books I have enjoyed) and I was slightly surprised to see that this was the fifth book in a series. Thinking back on it, it makes sense that this is part of an on-going series - I can see that there's h