Category Archives: Reviews

Review – No Passengers by Elainie La Force #elainielaforce #nopassengers

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Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Innocent until proven guilty? Not so with Anastasia Pestova.

No Passengers by Elainie La Force is a fast paced fugitive thriller novella and I raced through the pages. There was a sense of urgency as Anastasia went on the run.

No Passengers is the introduction to the Displaced series and sets the tone. I do love conspiracies and trying to unravel the intricacies before the author exposes the villains. Because the novella is so short, it’s hard to get lost in the plot with a quick read like No Passengers, though I did ‘enjoy’ my time with Anastasia and would consider spending more time with the series.

 

3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Twenty hours to disappear. One mistake could be fatal.

Anastasia Pestova is a quiet teller at the Bank of Moscow, in a city that doesn’t notice if she breathes. But when millions of rubles vanish through her terminal, she is suddenly the centre of a money laundering conspiracy.

A frantic tip-off offers a harrowing lifeline. But to take it, Anastasia must shed her identity and slip through a dragnet of watchful eyes.

With authorities watching the gates and her passport flagged at every checkpoint, she has less than twenty hours to do the impossible. One mistake, and it will be her last. And even if she succeeds, her ordeal is only beginning.

Note to Readers: No Passengers is the entry book for the series DISPLACED, introducing Anastasia Pestova before her life changes forever. It is an 18,000-word escape on-the-run thriller, designed to be devoured in one sitting.
This edition now includes an additional sequel short story.

  • Genre: Fiction, Novella, Suspense, Thriller
  • 83 pages, Kindle Edition
  • First published February 3, 2026
  • Series: Displaced #1

ABOUT ELAINIE LA FORCE

Elainie La Force is a St. Lucian author whose love for storytelling began at six years old. Her mother, an elementary school teacher, nurtured her imagination early by constantly gifting her fiction books.

Elainie wrote her first short story in first grade; a hilarious confession about how she stole fish from her mother’s pan. The story was pinned to the school board for months and became a running joke among teachers. Using her mother’s teaching supplies at home, she stapled blank sheets together to create her own “toy” books as a child.

As an isolated teenager, writing became both escape and exploration. She filled notebooks with short stories, children’s tales, poetry, and eventually songs. At fifteen, she achieved her first publication with a poem titled “Where We Come From,” featured in a youth magazine subsidiary of The Voice newspaper. Though she later pursued business studies and began working in accounting, her creativity never disappeared.

In her early twenties, she stepped into music, sharing original songs online and collaborating locally, eventually earning songwriter recognition and hearing her work on radio. But despite experimenting with songwriting and co-production, prose remained her first love.

After nearly a decade away from fiction, she returned to her novels in 2023 with renewed clarity. In 2026, she released the novella No Passengers on Amazon Kindle, an “accidental” fugitive escape story born from a simple question about how her protagonist became who she was. Within two days of release, the novella hit two Amazon Best Sellers lists in New Releases.

Today, she balances a multifaceted life as an occasional songwriter and a full-time accountant pursuing her ACCA/Master’s degree, while steadily completing and publishing the stories she once kept to herself. She intends to publish about fifty books in her lifetime, both novellas and full length novels. She describes her writing process as instinctive and free-flowing, guided by the narrative rather than confining herself to genre and excessive plotting.

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Military Romance Review – Buried Scars by Jane Blythe @jblytheauthor #buriedscars #bearspotpublications

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MY REVIEW

I love Jane Blythe’s writing and am always excited to return to her world of strong male and female characters that rise above the danger and pitfalls that rock their world. The characters are damaged, but that makes them love life fiercely, to hold onto and appreciate the moments of love and laughter.

Numerous characters have a back story, which Jane fills in with bits and pieces of past books, so that each book ‘can’ stand alone. Series characters make appearances in other series, because Prey Security will come to the aid of their ‘family’ whenever the need arises.

Elle is in danger and they kidnap her daughter, Ruthie, to force her compliance. She seeks the help of Prey Security, who send Rafe, Panther, Neal to the rescue. He has a young son, Andy, that stole my heart…and I think he will steal yours too.

Jane Blythe delivers blow after blow to her characters. Think you can figure out when and what the next twist will be? Good luck with that. There was a stumble or two, for me, but I get it. And, we still have to find out what happened to Beth for the eight months she had been missing. Stay tuned for Wicked Scars.

Thanks Jane, for the opportunity to review Buried Scars.

 

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

He’s her only chance at saving her daughter’s life.

Becoming a mother was the best thing to ever happen to Elle Cavey. It was her first time experiencing unconditional love and her seven-year-old daughter is the center of her world. Which makes knowing she’s responsible for her daughter’s abduction that much worse. When the cops and FBI tell her there’s nothing else to do she only has one last shot at getting her child back.

Rafe “Panther” Neal is a father, if anyone can save Elle’s daughter it’s him. At least he prays he can because each moment he spends with the strong yet fragile mother he falls a little further. But he has scars, and when they rear their ugly heads it threatens his chance at building the family he’s always longed for.

Failure means losing the woman he’s falling for, her daughter, and his own son.

  • Genre: Fiction, Military, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Thriller
  • 240 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published June 11, 2024 by Bear Spots Publications
  • Series: Prey Security: Bravo Team #5

ABOUT JANE BLYTHE

USA Today bestselling author Jane Blythe writes action-packed romantic suspense and military romance featuring protective heroes and heroines who are survivors. One of Jane’s most popular series includes Saving SEALs, part of Susan Stoker’s OPERATION ALPHA world! Writing in that world alongside authors such as Janie Crouch and Riley Edwards has been a blast, and she looks forward to bringing more books to this genre, both within and outside of Stoker’s world. When Jane isn’t binge-reading she’s counting down to Christmas and adding to her 200+ teddy bear collection!

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

MY REVIEWS FOR JANE BLYTHE’S BOOKS

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5 Star Review – A Shadow In The Ember by Jennifer L Armentrout @JLArmentrout #blueboxpress #ashadowintheember

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A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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MY REVIEW

In this whacked out world we live in, I can sure use a break, an escape, and I can think of no better way than to enter a fantasy world. A world of riveting, engrossing Flesh And Fire in A Shadow In The Ember by Jennifer L Armentrout. I spent two unforgettable days in Seraphena’s world, an enemies to lovers, spicy fantasy romance.

Serephena is a Princess, but she isn’t treated like one. Her life is not her own. She is the Chosen. A Consort. An assassin. A weapon. In her own eyes she considers herself a monster, willing to sacrifice herself to save others. Of course there is a prophecy, but who knows what kind of games the gods are playing.

She is promised to the Primal of Death, Ash if you are close to him. When he denied her, Serephena thought all was lost. She had been touched by Life and Death. She is reckless, but mighty with the Shadowblade she always carries. She is fearless and I love their lively banter.

I will warn you. Make sure you have plenty of time before you crack open A Shadow In The Ember, because, if you are like me, once you start you won’t want to stop. Sure, some things are predictable, but there is plenty of fresh and original twists and turns.

My thanks go out to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for the opportunity to review A Shadow In The Ember by Jennifer L Armentrout.

 

5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort.   

However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot. 

Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.

  • Genre: Enemires To Lovers, Fantasy, Fiction, Fantasy Romance, New Adult, Romantasy, Spicy
  • 647 pages, Kindle Edition
  • First published October 19, 2021 by Blue Box Press
  • Series: Flesh & Fire #1, Blood & Ash #4

ABOUT JENNIFER L ARMENTROUT

Hey Guys! Please note: I don’t send out ARCs for review. If you’re interested in reviewing a book of mine before release date, please contact the appropriate publisher. I also do NOT check my Goodreads email.

To email me, please use the below addy.
jenniferlarmentrout@live.com

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Charles Town, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more.

Website

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Review – The Handyman By Britney King @britneyking_ #thehandyman #hotbananapress

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The Handyman: A Psychological Thriller by Britney King

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The excellent cover of The Handyman by Britney King sure fits the story inside. I have read a lot of Britney King’s work and she can spin a psychological tale that makes your head spin, wondering who is who and what is what. I gladly hopped onto the crazy train.

Marin makes a drastic and dark decision when she finds out her boyfriend doesn’t love her any more and has been cheating on her. She believes she can change his mind. She kidnaps him, taking him out to the country and locking him in her basement, telling everyone he is ill.

Luke, a fixer, caught me off guard. He uses his hammer for more than hitting a nail on the head.

Alternately between Marin and Luke’s points of view, the story unfolds at a rapid pace.

If you are like me, once you get lost in The Handyman by Britney King, you won’t be able to stop reading. Gripping. Riveting. Jaw dropping surprises that are sure to leave you guessing….how will the story end. Mind officially blown.

I want to thank Britney King and Hot Banana Press for the opportunity to review The Handyman.

 

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

    From bestselling author Britney King comes a hypnotic and terrifying psychological thriller about a man held hostage in a remote location by the “love of his life”—aka the woman he refuses to marry.

    She only wants one thing:
 for him to love her the way he used to.

    When her boyfriend hesitates to propose—and then cheats instead of leaving—she decides the relationship needs structure. Space. Consequences. A reset. Retreating to an isolated house in the countryside feels like the responsible choice. A place where distractions disappear and commitment can finally take root.

    He doesn’t see it that way.

    At least not at first.

    To the outside world, the man in her basement is her ill husband—too fragile for one of those homes, she explains. She’s devoted. Patient. Doing the work. No one asks too many questions.

    Enter Luke.

    Luke fixes problems.

    Not the kind you call the police about.

    The kind people quietly hope someone else will handle.

    When he takes a job renovating an isolated country house, he knows something is wrong immediately. The work requests are about privacy, sound, containment. The woman who hired him is calm, polite, and lying badly.

    He doesn’t intervene.

    As Luke works, he watches her devotion harden into something stranger—and far more interesting. When he realizes her plan is flawed, he doesn’t stop it. He improves it. Suggests a way to make her boyfriend jealous. Engaged. Afraid of losing her.

    It works.

    What begins as an experiment turns into alignment. What looks like obsession becomes efficiency. And as lines are crossed—quietly, rationally—Luke understands the truth before she does:

    Some relationships aren’t meant to be saved.

    They’re meant to be replaced.

    Darkly funny, unsettling, and compulsively readable, The Handyman is a psychological thriller about love, control, and what happens when the wrong person decides to help. Perfect for fans of You, Misery, and The Housemaid, this is a story that dares you to root for the solution—even when you know it’s wrong.

    • Genre: Fiction, Noir Crime, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller
    • 308 pages, Kindle Edition
    • Published March 19, 2026 by Hot Banana Press

    ABOUT BRITNEY KING

    Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, a dog named Gatsby, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a peach tree.

    When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.

    Without a doubt, she thinks connecting with readers is the best part of this gig. You can find Britney online here:

    MY BRITNEY KING REVIEWS

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    A Cut Above by Rebekah Dodson @authorrdodson #acutabove

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    MY REVIEW

    Between the cover and the title, I knew I had to grab me a copy of A Cut Above by Rebekah Dodson. It’s a fast read and an interesting plot line. Allison Chase has a condition known as Fatal Familial Insomnia, with the emphasis on FATAL. Since her failure on SuperChefs her life has fallen apart. As her grip on reality falters and chefs start dying, detective Lucas Gray becomes an ally. The more I read, the darker the story became and the more I loved it. The shifting points of view help to see the thoughts and actions of both main characters. There were a couple of bumps along the way, but I would recommed A Cut Above by Rebekah Dodson.

    My thanks go out to Rebekah Dodson for the opportunity to read A Cut Above.

     

    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    Allison Chase was on the verge of her dream of winning SuperChefs. A half-million-dollar prize and culinary stardom were finally within her grasp. But when a devastating third-place loss leaves her life in ruins, she’s forced to pick up the pieces in a world that suddenly feels cold and dangerous.

    The disaster doesn’t end when the cameras stop rolling. When her former castmates fall victim to a series of tragedies, Allison realizes someone is settling a score. The only person who seems to believe her is Lucas Gray, a rugged, sharp-eyed detective with a reputation for playing by his own rules. As they team up to uncover who’s “cutting” the competition, the heat between them becomes impossible to ignore.

    In a game where the stakes are life and death, Allison must decide whether she can trust the cop who’s captured her heart or if he’s just another player in a deadly recipe.

    Fans of You by Caroline Kepnes, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides will enjoy this story of competition gone cutthroat… literally.

    • Genre: Dark Romance, Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Thriller
    • 200 pages, Kindle Edition
    • Expected publication March 20, 2026 by Thorned Heart Press

    ABOUT REBEKAH DODSON

    Rebekah Dodson is a prolific word weaver of romance, fantasy, and science fiction novels. Her works include the series Postcards from Paris, The Surrogate, The Curse of Lanval series, several stand alone novels, and her upcoming YA novel, Clock City. She has been writing her whole life, with her first published work of historical fiction with 4H Clubs of America at the age of 12, and poetry at the age of 16 with the National Poetry Society. With an extensive academic background including education, history, psychology and English, she currently works as a college professor by day and a writer by night.

    Website

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    Review – Heiress Of Nowhere by Stacy Lee @staceyleeauthor #heiressofnowhere #netgalley

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    MY REVIEW

    It’s 1918. We’re on Orcas Island in Washington state with Lucy Nowhere. We have a seal head here, a seal head there, and a human head that adds to the mystery. There are so many suspects, I need a murder board to flush out the killer. I love when an author throws red herrings into the mystery. It makes my mind work overtime trying to find the killer myself, before the author does the reveal.

    I love the connection Lucy had with the orcas. Many townfolk thought they were to blame for the seal heads and murders.

    When Lucy’s benefactor dies, she finds she has inherited the island. Is she in danger? She has two romantic interests that are keeping their eye on her.

    All things considered, I did enjoy my time on Orcas Island and feel you might too.

    My thanks go out to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Heiress To Nowhere.

    3 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    An orphan races to uncover a killer—who may have come from the sea—when she and her beloved orcas fall under suspicion in this “atmospheric…beguiling” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) historical gothic mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl, Stacey Lee.

    1918. Orcas Island, Washington.

    Lucy Nowhere has spent her eighteen years working on the vast estate of the eccentric shipbuilder who took her in after she washed ashore in a green canoe as a baby. But she has long wished for a life off the island, and in a matter of days, she is set to leave for college—and, for the first time, choose her own future.

    Then she finds her employer’s severed head on the beach. Rumors swirl that a mischievous spirit and its minions, the sea wolves, have struck again. Lucy doesn’t believe in myths. She knows that a human—a human murderer—killed him. And when she is unexpectedly named heiress to the estate, she understands the next target is her.

    Her closest friend, the estate’s vigilant young guard, begs her to escape while she can. But Lucy knows the only way she can discover who she is, and free the island of its curse, is to find the real killer—before she becomes the next victim.

    • Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Historical Fiction, Gothic, Mystery
    • 400 pages, Kindle Edition
    • Expected publication March 17, 2026 by Sarah Barley Books / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

    ABOUT STACY LEE

    Stacey Lee is the New York Times and Indie bestselling author of historical and contemporary young adult fiction, including THE DOWNSTAIRS GIRL, Reese’s Book Club Late Summer 2021 YA pick, and her most recent, LUCK OF THE TITANIC which received five starred reviews. A native of southern California and fourth-generation Chinese American, she is a founder of the We Need Diverse Books movement and writes stories for all kids (even the ones who look like adults). Find her
    @staceyleeauthor on Instagram and Twitter, and @staceylee.author on Facebook.

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    Review – The Loura Lure by James McMahon #jamesmcmahon #thelouralure #AustinMacauleyPublishers

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    MY REVIEW

    The Loura Lure by James McMahon appealed to me because of the elements included in the blurb. Dr Shamus Bergin gets work as a Staff Psychologist in the Secure Treatment Unit of a mental hospital. He is drawn to an amnesiac patient that others have written off. Dr Shamus Bergin had his doubts about whether he should even be there.

    As he investigates the patient’s background, he finds he is blocked at every turn. The patient tells him that he has time traveled from a forgotten Age of Loura looking for members of The Sacred Order Of Keepers to help him locate the last living angel. Once I read about the last living angel, I knew I had to find out more.

    Shamus decides he will take a leap of faith and do what he can to help the patient, Erladok.

    The Loura Lure by James McMahon starts out a bit slow and fills the pages with many details, laying a foundation for future books. The more I learned about Erladok, the more curious I became. I can hardly wait to see what is to come in the next book.

    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    Dr. Shamus Bergin lands a coveted position of Staff Psychologist in the Secure Treatment Unit of a mental hospital right out of school. He is soon vexed by an amnesiac patient who defies clinical diagnosis and whom every other doctor has written off. Inconsistencies about the man’s origins intersect with Shamus’s own doubts that the patient even belongs in an institution.

    As his own investigation continues to be met with redacted files and evasion from governmental agencies, the doctor-patient relationship suddenly undergoes a radical shift. The patient discloses that he has time travelled from a forgotten Age of Loura to seek help from modern day members of The Sacred Order of Keepers to find the last living angel. Only the angel can turn the tide in the ultimate struggle between good and evil in this deliberately erased timeline 20,000 years in the past. With his parents tragically lost in a boating accident a decade earlier, Shamus must turn to his one true friend, Dr. John Browse, to make sense of the voices within which are calling him to action.

    With career and grip on sanity at stake, Shamus must decide whether he has succumbed to the delusions of a sick mind or whether he should take a leap of faith and help the man achieve his mission.

    • Genre: Angels, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Supernatural
    • 358 pages, Paperback
    • Published February 2, 2024 by Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

    ABOUT JAMES MCMAHON

    James is a lawyer, inventor, musician and life-long student of the Martial Arts. He and his family travel extensively and share a love for all things ancient. This first book in the series is inspired by an enduring curiosity about the lives lived, and the struggles overcome by ancient societies whose legacies continue to defy modern understanding.ames is a lawyer, inventor, musician and lifelong student of the martial arts.

    Walk amidst the dolmens and stone circles of old and hear the whispers of those who lived there. Magic was everywhere!

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    Review – Harmed And Dangerous by Jasper Bark #jasperbark #crystallakepublishing #harmedanddangerous

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    MY REVIEW

    I am a sucker for a great cover, often grabbing a book for that reason alone, so take a look at Harmed And Dangerous by Jasper Bark. The girl is in shadows, walking into the light. Is that going to be a good thing? The spin Jasper put on the title, Harmed And Dangerous, made me even more curious. He even added an opening illustration. I love when an author goes the extra mile.

    Harmed And Dangerous by Jasper Park is the eighth book in the Bark Bites Horror series, but don’t worry if you haven’t read the previous books. Harmed And Dangerous is a stand alone story.

    How about a location? A remote town in Louisiana. I’m sure nothing can go wrong there.
    How about a young girl, Kyra, on her own, looking for answers to her past?
    How about a little paranormal action going on, Kyra seeing through the eyes of the serial killer that murdered her mother?

    Oh yeah. It checks a lot of boxes for me and I was quickly drawn into the world Jasper Bark created. Delilah was a wonderful surprise and an awesome character. Like Kyra, I saw through the eyes of Billy Ray, the serial killer who had been put to death by lethal injection more than ten years ago.

    Things are not always as they seem and Jasper Bark kept me on my toes, trying to see what was coming before it arrived. I don’t believe I have ever time traveled, like Kyra will. She has one foot in the past and the other in the present. It raises questions like…if you could change the past, would you?

    My thanks go out to Jasper Bark and Crystal Lake Publishing for the opportunity to read Harmed And Dangerous.

    4 Stars

    AMAZON SYNOPSIS

    A Paranormal Thriller for readers of Stephen Graham Jones, Tananarive Due and Grady Hendrix

    Put yourself in Kyra’s place.

    You’re seventeen years old, lost and alone in a remote town in Louisiana. You’re searching for the birth parents you never knew. The heat is crippling. The river often floods, washing houses away and lifting corpses from the ground.

    The locals treat you with suspicion. You don’t belong here. They’re hiding something. All over town, in nooks and hidden alcoves, there’s evidence of a forbidden faith. They keep the old ways here, but no one will tell you what they are.

    There’s an intangible presence following you. Hiding in your peripheral vision. You can’t see, hear or touch it, but you know it’s there, waiting for its chance to claim you. Then the episodes start.

    Your vision goes and when it returns you’re seeing the world as it was fifteen years ago. Physically you’re in the present, but everything you see happened a decade and a half ago.
    Suddenly you realize…

    You’re seeing through the eyes of the serial killer who murdered your birth mother. He takes control of you, forcing you to watch as he stalks and brutally murders her.

    And there’s nothing you can do to stop him. Because he died by lethal injection more than a decade ago.

    ***

    Harmed and Dangerous is the eighth book in the Bark Bites Horror series. A stand-alone story that you can start right away!
    Bark Bites Horror is a spine-tingling series of stand-alone books that take the horror genre to a whole new level. Get ready for a Goosebumps for grown-ups and a sexed-up Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark! This is your favorite new obsession. These are the terror tales you’ve been waiting your whole life to read. The Draw You In trilogy forms books 5 to 7 of Bark Bites Horror.

    This is Horror 2.0, re-gened, re-tooled and recreated for a fearless new audience! Think you’ve seen everything in horror? Think again. Bark Bites takes you places you’ve never been and shows you sights few mortal eyes would dare behold.

    Don’t be the only weird kid on your block to miss out!

    ABOUT JASPER BARK

    Jasper Bark is infectious – and there’s no known cure. If you’re reading this then you’re already at risk of contamination. The symptoms will begin to manifest any moment now. There’s nothing you can do about it. There’s no itching or unfortunate rashes, but you’ll become obsessed with his books, from the award winning collections ‘Dead Air’ and ‘Stuck on You and Other Prime Cuts’, to cult novels like ‘The Final Cut’ and acclaimed graphic novels such as ‘Bloodfellas’ and ‘Beyond Lovecraft’.

    Soon you’ll want to tweet, post and blog about his work until thousands of others fall under its viral spell. We’re afraid there’s no way to avoid this, these words contain a power you are hopeless to resist. You’re already in their thrall and have been since you began reading this bio. Even now you find yourself itching to read the whole of his work. Don’t fight it, embrace the urge and wear your obsession with pride!

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    Review – Patient’s Privilege by Rich Morvillo #richmorvillo #patientsprivilege

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    Amazon / Goodreads

    MY REVIEW

    Well..I’m kinda in shock right now. I thought Patient’s Privilege by Rich Morvillo would be an interesting and mysterious book, and it was. BUT, when I got to the ending, my mind was blown. I fell for all the red herrings that Rich threw my way. Yeah, it could be him. Oh yeah, it could be her. Or him. Or him….

    It begins with Timothy Shea working at a psychiatric clinic in New York. He had been recommended employment by a respected psychiatrist, Abner Reese, the man who, more or less, ran the place. Abner was the only psychiatrist, the rest were psychologists. When Abner’s wife is murdered and he is attacked, the mystery begins. The deeper into the investigation we go, the more muddy the water.

    The biggest hurdle is patient privilege.

    Tim is accused of the murder. Timothy says he has information that could exonerate him, or at least make Abner the target of the investigation, but patient privilege prevents him from sharing the information with the authorities. He encourages the patients to come forward, but blackmail and threats stop them.

    The plot thickens. There’s another murder. A pedophile ring is exposed.

    Tim created a murder board. In my mind I am looking at all the suspects. Is there a conspiracy? I am collecting all the clues, whether still hidden from the police because of patient privilege, or whether Tim was able to find a work around. There is so much I want to say, but in this case, less is more.

    Richard Morvillo offered me a copy. I checked it out, thought it would be a good fit, and I told him to count me in. Want a book with moral and ethical food for thought? How about a mystery that becomes more convoluted the more you read? Sound intriguing? Patient’s Privilege may be for you.

     

    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    When Timothy Shea, a clinical psychologist at an elite clinic in New York, is thrust into the middle of a criminal investigation where the circumstantial evidence against him is compelling, he sets out to prove that not only is he innocent, but also that he is being framed. A dark secret involving patients at the clinic, one that implicates well-known psychiatrist Abner Reeves, might be the path to his exoneration, but the patient’s privilege prevents him from disclosing this confidential information. As Timothy tries to work around the privilege, Reeves reveals information to the police that all but seals Timothy’s fate. What unfolds is a roller-coaster ride that pits two strong-willed professionals against one another in a battle to see whose version of the truth will prevail.

    • Genre: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Psychological
    • 296 pages, Paperback
    • Expected publication March 3, 2026 by Subplot

    ABOUT RICH MORVILLO (from Amazon)

    Rich Morvillo resides in Washington, DC with his wife, two children and two dogs. He is the co-head of the White-Collar Defense and Investigations Group at a large international law firm and is nationally recognized in his field. A graduate of Colgate University and Fordham University School of Law, he is a frequent speaker at professional programs and has published various articles on ethics and the law. He also taught a course on professional ethics at Georgetown University School of Law,

    Website

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    Review – The Cyber Sanction by Nicholas Gretener #nicholasgretener #thecybersanctuin

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    MY REVIEW

    I read Nicholas Gretener’s first book and debut novel in the LawForce series, Bending The Arc, and loved the idea of a legal team standing up for the little guy, so I was eager to see where he would take The Cyber Sanction, the second book in the series.

    Law Force is a team of elite lawyers with the full backing of the United States government.

    “They don’t take passengers; they take fighters.”

    “…I wasn’t blindsided because I was careless-I was attacked because I was a threat.”

    I think a lot of our future wars will be held in the cyber world. The world we live in is small. Taking down one country’s financial system can have a domino affect that could spread all over the world.

    We’ll travel from Zurich to Washington to Switzerland to China and back again.

    Listen to that voice in your head. Knock, knock, intuition calling.

    Nicholas Gretener writes novels that are easy to follow, though they deal with the law, banking, and other complicated institutions. Sometimes books are over my head, not so with Nicholas’ novels. He writes in a way that makes everything easy to follow. I will warn you, though, the tension, suspense and pacing can keep you flipping pages, unable to stop reading. There’s danger and betrayal. The scenario reads like a true crime novel. Could this be our future?

    My thanks go out to Nicholas Gretener and Qualitas Publishing.

    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    “Sunshine is the best disinfectant.”
    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

    A legal thriller at the confluence of law, banking, and cybercrime.

    In a world where power no longer lies in armies or arsenals, but in algorithms and access, the next great war will be fought across digital frontiers.

    When BostonFirst Bank implodes in a mysterious cyberattack, the financial aftershocks threaten to upend the global economy. The evidence leads to Helvex Financial, a Swiss banking giant—yet deeper still to Zhonghua Capital, a covert Chinese state holding company intent on reshaping the world’s financial order.

    Enter LawForce, a task force of elite lawyers with full U.S. governmental support created to defend justice where traditional systems fail. At its helm stands Steve Shane, a lawyer driven by conscience, and Jonathan Hendrix, the U.S. Attorney General, whose vision for LawForce blurs the line between legality and warfare.

    From Zurich war rooms to Washington boardrooms, from the shadowed servers of Helvex Financial to the mountain passes of Switzerland, The Cyber Sanction hurtles toward a reckoning where truth, technology, and justice collide.

    Blending the tension of a legal thriller with the precision of a geopolitical espionage novel, The Cyber Sanction is a searing exploration of digital warfare, accountability, and the moral cost of justice in an interconnected cyber world.

    The Cyber Sanction—where justice goes global, and every byte can kill.

    • Genre: Fiction, Legal, Suspense, Thriller
    • 406 pages, Kindle Edition
    • Published December 4, 2025 by Qualitas Publishing
    • Series: A LawForce Novel #2

    ABOUT NICHOLAS GRETENER

    Nick is a retired lawyer and engineer, based out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He splits his time between Calgary, Canada; Wengen, Switzerland; and Maui, USA.

    He can usually be found writing on a laptop somewhere, skiing down a piste, hiking up a mountain, or rafting down a river in canyon country.

    He is convinced that if people read more, the world would be a better place. It doesn’t always have to be heavy. Read something that will stretch your mind, then enjoy a beach read. Rinse and repeat.

    Website

    MY NICHOLAS GRETENER REVIEWS

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