The Iris Code is not my first Tracker Novel and I hope it won’t be my last. The men and women that make up the Trackers are highly specialized FBI agents. Anita Dickason supplies them with good looks and great personalities, adding in some thrills and a little romance to spice it up, all the things I look for in suspense and thriller reading.
Riley Phillips is a reporter and photographer for the Fredericksburg Register. She’s using an abandoned farm house as a search and rescue sight for her dog, Milo. At first Riley thinks something has gone wrong and Milo will fail at her SARs training. When she clears the debris, she finds a dead man. I love the connection Milo has with Riley.
The body disappears. All the Ws apply…Who? What? When? Where? Why?
The police force leaves a lot to be desired and Riley is on the wrong side of the law when it comes to needing their support. They are not solution for her, but part of the problem. That changes when Cody, a Tracker, enters the picture.
Ania Dickason creates some intriguing characters with intriguing traits, like Cody with his Native American, Apache, heritage and a photographic memory, and Nicki, a free spirited technological whiz that reminded me of Penelope on Criminal Minds, and, of course, Milo and Riley.
The title, The Iris Code, applies to the technology used as a layer of security for a new drug. The Iris is as unique as a fingerprint and the software creates an algorithm for future comparison.
As the investigation into the dead man grows, danger arises. The body count grows and someone has Riley in their sights. Can Cody protect her? You’ll have to read The Iris Code by Anita Dickason to find out for yourself. I highly recommend any of her work.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Iris Code by Anita Dickason.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A local reporter and photographer’s canine search and rescue training at an abandoned farm outside of Fredericksburg, Texas, takes a bizarre twist. Riley Phillips’ dog, Milo, alerts on the real deal—a corpse with a bullet hole in his head.
Riley’s nose for news is already twitching over the gruesome discovery. When the body turns up missing, her spider senses kick into overdrive. Who doesn’t want the man identified, and why? Are her crime scene photographs the only clue?
What Riley’s camera captured puts the FBI Tracker Unit on high alert, and Riley in a killer’s crosshairs. Learning the identity of the mystery man takes on an ominous urgency.
Can FBI Tracker Cody Lightfoot and Riley find the answer in time to stop a deadly attack? Or will they be the next victims?
Code Name: Trackers: The elite of the elite. FBI agents, each with a secret, an extra edge, that defies reason and logic.
Characters with unexpected skills—that extra edge for overcoming danger and adversity—have always intrigued Anita. Adding an infatuation with ancient myths and legends of Native American Indians, and Scottish and Irish folklore creates the backdrop for her characters.
Anita is a retired Dallas Police Officer. During—what she refers to as an extraordinary career—Anita served as a patrol officer, undercover narcotics officer, advanced accident investigator, and SWAT entry/sniper.
Upon retirement, she became involved in a research project that dealt with the death of a witness to the Kennedy assassination. The research led to her first book, JFK Assassination Eyewitness: Rush to Conspiracy, that details the results of her reconstruction of a 1966 motor vehicle accident that killed Lee Bowers, Jr., a key witness to the assassination.
Once the Bowers book was written, Anita reached the same point many authors ultimately face: I’ve written it, now what do I do? Answering that question has become another career, one she has wholeheartedly embraced. The publishing field is in a constant state of flux, offering unlimited possibilities for an author, but also endless landmines.
Anita started a new company, Mystic Circle Books & Designs LLC, offering cover design and manuscript services. In addition to her works as an author, she enjoys helping other authors see their dream become a reality.
I have read Dread, his collection of short horror stories and have Creep, another collection of short horror stories, hanging around, waiting for me to read. He does come up with some of the most fabulous covers, just like he did here for his first novel, The Visitor. I am suitably impressed with his debut and can hardly wait to see what he will come up with next.
For now, let’s get to The Visitor. Sally and her dog are heading to the Catskill Mountains so she can get some writing on her memoir done. I love her dog’s name, Maureen Bojangles, or MoBo for short. There will be no distractions, such as cell phones and TV.
Isolated. Alone. A blizzard. We have to have a blizzard to add that extra dose of WTF.
It all takes place in one night, but that doesn’t mean Kevin Bachar didn’t have a week’s worth of hair raising terror in store for Sally and MoBo, and her boyfriend walked right into the middle of it all. I didn’t see Kevin taking the story where it went, but I loved it. He caught me offguard and book surprises are always welcome.
I love creature features and for a first novel, Kevin has done a bang up job.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Visitor by Kevin Bachar.
4 Star
GOODREADS BLURB
Sally and her dog, Maureen Bojangles, MoBo for short, make the slog from Brooklyn to the family cabin upstate. It’s a 2-hour drive from the city, but it might as well be another planet. Twenty-four pharmacies and bass-thumping clubs, are replaced by tiny hamlets and shoddy cell phone service. But the remoteness is what Sally needs to write her memoir and reconnect with the painful memories of her abusive father.
A major blizzard has made the journey to the cabin an adventure in itself, and on their trek to her writer’s hideaway, Sally and MoBo notice strange tracks in the snow and mysterious sounds echoing in the surrounding forest. Sally wants to tell her boyfriend not to come up because of the treacherous conditions, but he’s already on his way.
Then The Visitor arrives, and Sally, her boyfriend, and MoBo are in for a night of terror and a battle for survival. Will they be able to withstand the horrors unleashed by The Visitor?
Genre: Creature Feature, Fiction, Horror
230 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 26, 2024
ABOUT KEVIN BACHAR
Kevin Bachar is a national EMMY award-winning natural history documentary filmmaker and WGA writer. The elevated horror film he wrote – The Inhabitant – https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/the-inh… – was released through Lionsgate and is available on most streaming services.
If you’ve watched National Geographic, PBS, or The Discovery Channel over the years you’ve seen his work. He’s the idiot in the water filming sharks or crawling into caves to photograph vampire bats. You can see Kevin at work filming sharks here – https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2703407897/…
The natural world has always captured his imagination and the supernatural world inspires his stories. Through his journeys, he’s interviewed scientists who’ve enlightened him, heard folk tales that have frightened him, and seen quite a few things that have challenged his skeptical mind.
His collection of short stories that weaves together the natural world and the supernatural world entitled, DREAD, is available on Amazon. He’s currently working on his second collection entitled – CREEP.
I love an author that loves their research and Elena Taylor’s research shows in her writing. She lives her life surrounded by horses and dogs and her character, Sheriff Bet Rivers, will need to be a dog whisperer to win over Schweitzer, her father’s dog, a dog that picks her person.
Sheriff Bet Rivers has come back to the small town of Collier after her father falls ill and calls her home. She comes from a long line of policeman. She hasn’t reached the 30 years old mark and has one foot out the door. Will Collier become her home? I hope so because I plan on making a return visit.
When she starts investigating the caves, I had shivers going up and down my spine. Better her than me, that’s for sure. You wouldn’t catch me going underground with a killer hanging around.
Long buried secrets will be exposed. A nightmare comes to life. On top of that, it’s an election year. Complex mysteries will need to be solved and Elena Taylor keeps the mystery alive until the last pages are read.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of All We Buried by Elena Taylor.
4 Star
GOODREADS BLURB
An amateur sheriff confronts the long-sleeping secrets of her small Washington State mountain town in this dark, twisty mystery for fans of Julia Keller and Sheena KamalInterim sheriff Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers has always had one repeat a shadowy figure throwing a suspicious object into her hometown lake in Collier, Washington. For the longest time, she chalked it up to an overactive imagination as a kid. Then the report arrives. In the woods of the Cascade mountain range, right in her jurisdiction, a body floats to the surface of Lake Collier. When the body is extricated and revealed, no one can identify Jane Doe. But someone must know the woman, so why aren’t they coming forward?Bet has been sitting as the interim sheriff of this tiny town in the ill-fitting shoes of her late father and predecessor. With the nightmare on her heels, Bet decided to build a life for herself in Los Angeles, but now it’s time to confront the tragic history of Collier. The more she learns, the more Bet realizes she doesn’t know the townspeople of Collier as well as she thought, and nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
301 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2020 by Crooked Lane Books
Series: Sheriff Bet Rivers #1
ABOUT ELENA TAYLOR
CREDIT MARK PERLSTEIN
Mystery writer, avid reader, animal mom.
Elena Taylor started out her storytelling career in the theater. She worked for several years as a playwright, director, designer, technician, and educator before becoming a novelist.
Elena has more than twenty years of teaching experience and now works one-on-one with writers as a manuscript consultant and writing coach.
She lives in North Bend, Washington, with her husband, two cats, and the greatest dog in the world. When she’s not writing, teaching writing, or talking about writing, she can be found at a nearby stables, playing with her horses.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by James Patterson and Confessions Of The Dead is an example why. He puts his name on all kinds of books and I am curious how much input he has in the writing. Either way, Confessions Of The Dead peaked my interest and I was not disappointed.
The crime rate in Hollows Bend, New Hampshire was zero….until she came.
Confessions Of The Dead by James Patterson and J D Barker was action packed and unpredictable. The cast of characters covered the gamut and their actions were unpredictable, more often than not culminating in a brutal ending. The ending of the book was as unpredictable as the characters actions. All in all, I would highly recommend the horror filled book.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Confessions Of The Dead by James Patterson & J D Barker.
4 Stars
GOODREADS
In this chilling mystery from a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a small New England town is hit with a wave of crimes after the arrival of a mysterious stranger who brings more questions than answers.
Hollows Bend, New Hampshire, is a picture-perfect New England town where weekend tourists flock to see fall leaves and eat breakfast at the Stairway Diner. The crime rate—zero–is a point of pride for Sheriff Ellie Pritchett.
The day the stranger shows up is when the trouble starts. The sheriff and her deputy investigate the mysterious teenage girl. None of the locals can place her. She can’t—or won’t¾answer any questions. She won’t even tell them her name.
While the girl is in protective custody, the officers are called to multiple crime scenes leading them closer and closer to a lake outside of town that doesn’t appear on any map…
Genre: Fiction, Horror
457 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 9, 2024 by Grand Central Publishing
ABOUT JAMES PATTERSON
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, and collaborated most recently with Michael Crichton on the blockbuster Eruption. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
J.D. Barker is the New York Times and international best-selling author of numerous novels, including DRACUL and THE FOURTH MONKEY. His latest, A CALLER’S GAME, released February 22. He is currently collaborating with James Patterson. His books have been translated into two dozen languages, sold in more than 150 countries, and optioned for both film and television. Barker resides in coastal New Hampshire with his wife, Dayna, and their daughter, Ember.
I was quickly caught up in the characters and story line. I do love apocalyptic and dystopian fiction novels and Nissa Harlorw has written a good one in Nothing Close To Home.
The Rift blew through Kenyonville, giving young people the ability to shoot pink energy from their fingertips. They were quarantined and all the adults abandoned them, leaving them to their own devices.
Lea has teamed up with Niesha, Viktor, Click and Buddy. There is safety in numbers, but how long can they last? It’s been 3 years since the Rift and scavenging is depleting Kenyonville’s resources.
Nothing Close To Home by Nissa Harlow has all the things I love in an apocalyptic and dystopian novel…hunger, thirst, and danger. I didn’t think of it being a series when I first picked it up, but I quickly realized the story is far from over.
I can hardly wait to see what comes next.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Nothing Close To Home by Nissa Harlow.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Don’t get caught.
Twenty-year-old Léa Young is hungry. In the three years since the Rift tore through her hometown of Kenyonville, gifting the young people with strange powers and causing most of the mature adults to flee, she’s learned to depend on nobody but herself. It’s hard to trust anyone when each interaction could be her last. Desperate for food, she takes a job ripping off a rival boss on the far side of town. The last thing she plans on is getting caught.
Besides the ability to shoot pink energy from his fingertips, Viktor has another superpower: being annoying. But he’s also close with Niesha, the boss who runs the territory on the northeast side of town. Léa’s not about to be picky; if making a fake alliance gets her something to eat, she’s not going to let a little thing like Mr. Tall, Dark, and Infuriating stand in her way.
Léa thinks she’s got everything figured out. She knows she doesn’t want an alliance.
But maybe what she needs is more important than what she wants.
Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fiction
176 pages, ebook
Expected publication July 23, 2024 by Nimble Hope Publishing
ABOUT NISSA HARLOW
Nissa Harlow wanted to be a writer from the time she was a small child, but it took a while before she finally did anything about it. In the meantime, she worked as a volunteer day-camp counsellor, a movie extra, and a digital-photo editor. She even once worked on a conveyor belt in a chocolate factory (which was as stressful—and delicious—as it sounds).
These days, she lives in British Columbia, Canada and writes stories about friendship, love, and healing, all embellished with a touch of the fantastic.
OMG! I am blown away. Sue Coletta has taken ecothrillers and vigilante justice to a new level. Every time I think she can’t surpass herself, she goes and writes an excellent story such as Savage Mayhem. I know my words will not be able to express how much I enjoyed the book, but I will do my best.
Let’s start with the cast of characters. We have Mayhem,an Apache Warrior and serial killer. Then, we have Shawnee, a cat burglar and his partner. They will stop at nothing to protect those who cannot protect themselves from the Killzme Corporation…and this time it is the American Buffalo. Just a little note…I had seen a documentary on TV about the American Buffalo and I mentioned it to Sue. She was already writing about it in Savage Mayhem.
We have their feathered friends, Poe, who has a sibling rivalry going on with Shawnee. We have White Crow, who is the spirit animal of Mayhem’s wife. Sue has introduced a new crow, Odin, who has become enamored with White Crow. She makes them seem so real and they have their part to play in the battle. There are moments of sadness and laughter.
I have wondered, in the last couple of books, if there could be a romance between Mayhem and Shawnee. Savage Mayhem had some smokin’ hot moments and I loved it…and that’s all I’m saying about that.
I do want to say that it is best to read the series from the beginning. Mayhem and Shawnee are very different people. I love that Sue Coletta turned them into ecowarriors, determined to put the poaching KillzMe Corporation out of business, one villain at a time. She seamlessly weaves Indian folklore and tradition with danger and death.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Savage Mayhem by Sue Coletta.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Amidst the wild and unforgiving landscapes of Yellowstone Park, join Mayhem, a fearless Apache warrior and champion of the Natural World, and his partner and protégé, Shawnee, as they race against the clock to protect an American Buffalo herd from the ruthless Killzme Corporation.With a massive bounty on their heads and an army of killers on their trail, Mayhem and Shawnee must use all their cunning and survival skills to outsmart their enemies. They will risk it all to preserve the sacred lineage of the Innocent Ones.
There is no line Shawnee and Mayhem won’t cross.
Even murder.
As the danger intensifies and the clock winds down, will they be able to save the herd? Or will this be the mission that finally breaks them?
Published April 11, 2024 by Crow Talons Publishing
Series: The Mayhem Series #9
ABOUT SUE COLETTA
Sue Coletta is an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as one of the “Top 100 Crime Blogs on the Net” (Murder Blog sits at #5) for four years in a row. And recently, she appeared on an Emmy award-winning true crime show.
Sue also blogs at the Kill Zone, a multi-award-winning writing blog, and writes two serial killer thriller series (Tirgearr Publishing) and narrative nonfiction/true crime for Globe Pequot, trade division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.
For readers, she has the Crime Lover’s Lounge, where members will be the first to know about free giveaways, contests, and have inside access to deleted scenes (if available). As an added bonus, members get to play in the lounge. Your secret code will unlock the virtual door.
BONUS: When you join Sue’s community you’ll receive two free killer reads!
Sue lives in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire with her husband, and begins each by feeding all the wildlife in her yard. Her favorite “pets” are a murder of crows who live free but come when called by name.
It is fabulous to be back with the Prey Security Alphas. They are still hunting down the weapons traffickers they believe are plotting to overthrow the government, and Julia Garamond, an investigative reporter, is a problem Dominick “Domino” Tanner can do without. Too bad for him, because she is going to stick to him like glue.
Jane Blythe’s books generally start out with a bang or a boom and don’t stop until you reach the end. I do love that each of the books in the series spotlight a couple and allow them to have a happy ever after, though she will put them through hell first.
The back and forth banter of the characters puts a smile on my face.
Dominick knows Mikhailov Bratva, the head of the Russian Mafia all too well. He is savage, brutal, ruthless and quick to kill. There are things about him that Dominick doesn’t know, but he will surely find out when they come face to face.
Of course they have their moments of angst as they struggle to survive attack after attack, but I know there will be a happy ever after.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Fatal Risk by Jane Blythe.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
He doesn’t do emotion, she lives by her emotions, how can they ever work as a couple?
Julia Garamond is a reporter who won’t let go once she catches a hint of a story, and this one is personal to her. When she crosses paths with one of Prey Security’s teams she knows together they can take down the powerful Mikhailov Bratva who she believes is involved in a plot to overthrow the government. The last thing she expected was to meet a man who stirs up new feelings. Feelings she won’t run from no matter how much he wants her to.
Dominick “Domino” Tanner doesn’t trust anyone. Especially not the fiery redheaded reporter who pushes his every button. He learned as a young child to lock down his emotions and that’s how he lives his life, only sweet, stubborn, crazy Julia is ripping through those barriers without even trying.
But his past is about to come back to haunt not just him but the woman who somehow managed to creep inside his heart.
Published April 11, 2023 by Bear Sports Publications
Series: Prey Security: Alpha Team (#4)
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!
I saw the cover and title and knew I wanted to read The City Of Magicians: Threat by Peter Gribble. I will preface my review by saying, “Sometimes fantasy works for me, other times not so much.”
Threat was a long read, filled with details. Peter Gribble created a complex world. Was it too detailed? I remember trying to read A Game Of Thrones. I quit after the second book. There was too much going on for me and I don’t want it to read like a school book, having to take notes to keep track of the players. Threat wasn’t as bad to me as Game of Thrones, but it still got bogged down at times.
Peter Gribble laid a solid foundation for the series.
I didn’t get lost in the characters, but Sas and Layla would have me reading more so I can find out what happens to them.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The City Of Magicians: Threat by Peter Gribble.
3 Stars
BLURB
“A Journey Without Departure” is the traditional term for a telepathic sending. It is a talent few can perform yet this is the strategy the City of the Magicians—non-violent pacifists, without army or weapons—hopes will mitigate the barbarian invasion coming in six months. The plan could work, but then maybe not. Sas, the young man chosen to “educate the barbarian,” can only think, Me? Sendings? They’ve made a mistake!
Lalya, a City librarian searching for her dead lover’s vanished manuscript, is ensnared by a secret society planning to collaborate with the same barbarians. Attempts to extricate herself from the blackmail, double-dealing, seduction and betrayal force her to realize her final treachery could very well destroy her.
Shoan, the Council strategist, is fully aware a shadowy opposition lurks behind the scenes but is stymied how to lure it out into the open. He should remember one of the basic axioms of tactics is, “Methodology is seldom prepared for surprises.”
Both Sas and Lalya are pawns in the strategies of others… yet it only takes a pawn to change the game.
Threat, the first book in The City of the Magicians series, reveals all the preparations for a barbarian arrival, but when strategies collide, will anyone be ready? Will anyone be safe?
EXCERPT
“Approach and be attentive!” intoned the priest and priestess choruses. “All existent worlds bubble from the froth and foam, but the loving ocean of the One is the ultimate reality …”
Attentiveness, devoted reflection or his stance of solemn focus which, on less eventful days, disguised the reveries he slipped into … Impossible.
There was no warning this morning’s meeting would be so …
The Council expects me, Sas, to educate the barbarian invasion?
Because of citations for talent under Adjudicator Kesrin? With telepathic sendings? Something’s wrong. Why am I here? The Temple’s not the best place to think. What a quandary! And I’m the solution to it? They’ve made a mistake! Sendings means they expect more than one. From me? I’m no telepath! It makes no sense!
A young priestess moving to the center altar fount drew his eye.
She’s got the good voice but never recites anything interesting from the Liturgia. To think I might’ve been stuck up there, a lector reciting to the assembled … the Family wanted it; Adjudicators expected it. Competition with Sirna demanded it. Could’ve had any position in the Bureautica but, thank the One, never that! But educating barbarians with sendings?
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Peter Gribble studied art at Sheridan and psychology at U of T. He has written for NUVO and other publications in British Columbia, including gardening columns for two journals for over ten years.
To find out more about Peter’s exciting book series visit www.petergribble.com
I love critters of all types and sizes. I love adventurous travels through my reading. When I saw the title, Elephant Safari and the cool cover, I had to grab a copy. This is Book Four, but my first book of Peter Riva’s won’t be my last.
The details make me feel as if I am walking with them. I live in Florida, so I can feel the sun beating down on me and the thickness of the humidity making it hard to take a breath. Peter Riva blends facts and fiction into an adventurous walking safari as they follow the elephants.
I have watched TV shows and read other books about poachers and trafficking in the things that endangered animals can provide, the value of them making it impossible for some to resist. How far will they go to get what they are searching for? They will slay them all, including the humans who try and stop them.
I enjoyed the adventure and will have my eye on Peter Riva.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Elephant Safari by Peter Riva.
3 Stars
Synopsis:
A MBUNO & PERO THRILLER
A documentary team hiking through East Africa collides with a gang of deadly poachers, in this gripping adventure by the author of Kidnapped on Safari.
Years of filming, extreme dangers, and daring rescues have taken their toll on documentary producer Pero Baltazar and his team. To relax and reconnect with the East African wildlife they love, Pero organizes a walking safari for him, his camerawoman Nancy Breiton, and their elite guide Mbuno Waliangulu. Still, Pero has trouble truly disconnecting from work. When the team comes across a herd of elephants making their annual migration north of Lake Rudolf, Pero decides the team will film their journey from Kenya into Ethiopia along the Omo River.
What begins as a peaceful trip quickly turns into a chaotic nightmare as the trio crosses paths with a crew of poachers whose ivory sales are financing terrorists. The three are determined to protect the endangered herd from slaughter, and Mbuno enlists the help of local tribesmen. But the corruption of ivory poachers has deep roots that stretch to UN refugee camps, Chinese gangs, and the Iranian elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Faced with overwhelming odds, the trio must now rely on Pero’s contacts in the CIA, as well as Mbuno’s skills in the bush, if they hope to ever return from this excursion alive . . .
Praise for Elephant Safari:
“If you’re in the mood for an African thriller series to add to your summer reading pile, Peter Riva has got you covered. Riva’s impressive career has provided him with plenty of inspiration for his novels, which he writes as a form of relaxation.” ~ The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News
“Many readers will enjoy this story for its fast pace, engaging characters, and insights into world politic. I particularly loved the depth of knowledge about the natural history and ecology of the East African landscape. This may be a thriller but it’s also an important book about the killing of elephants for their ivory tusks.” ~ Sharman Apt Russel- John Burroughs Medal winner
ELEPHANT SAFARI Trailer:
Book Details:
Genre: Action and Adventure Thriller Published by: Open Road Media Publication Date: January 30, 2024 Number of Pages: 302 ISBN: 9781504085335 (ISBN10: 1504085337) Series: The Mbuno & Pero Thrillers, 4 | Each is a Stand-Alone Novel Book Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | BookaMillion | Goodreads | Open Road Media
Read an excerpt:
In modern Kenya and most of East Africa, elephant were dying out, Mbuno knew this and lamented. His chest ached for them. Gone were the innumerable small herds of his youth, mostly replaced by farms, settlements, human sprawl, and tourist attractions. What elephant remained had their age-old pathways and migration routes blocked, stopped, fenced, and constantly monitored. White men came and collared them, watched them on scopes, darted them, sampled them, and even shot them when they became a nuisance to farmers with cash. What elephants modern man did not manage in parks were easy prey for poachers. The days of the Liangulu hunter were over. Mbuno knew this, accepted this, and did not mind even half as much as he mourned the passing of the realm of the elephant.
All of Africa had once been the realm of the elephant. As the largest beast, immune to the normal prey and hunter battles going on all around, the elephant set the pace of the land, fertilized the forests, cropped the prairies, and paved the migration routes that all the migratory species followed. In times of drought, their superior intelligence showed where water could be found and even taught man to dig in dry riverbeds for a boundary layer of precious liquid. They created mud holes for mud baths to keep the insects at bay, used also by Cape buffalo and rhino. Over the millennia, they brushed aside acacia thorns and baobab saplings with equal ease creating the open plains. And, in time, Africa’s rhythm resounded to the beat of their feet and their migratory timekeeping. Without the elephant ruling the land, the land fell into the discordant rhythm of the upright apes and began to fracture. Mbuno had known the last best years of the elephant’s realm and, sadly, was now witnessing the fall of Africa’s harnessing stability. Without the elephant to freely roam, the balance of nature would be broken, herds would grow to enormous size in protected parks and, outside that protection, devoid of traditional hunters, herds could be led by weak leaders who would fail to protect them from ivory hunters. Mbuno had heard this had happened before. At the end of the slave and ivory trade, in 1911 there were fewer elephants than now and the herds were only brought back from extinction by White Hunters—led by Teddy Roosevelt—using farm and ranch husbandry methods – culling every senile cow and bull. Young, vibrant, herds repopulated the migration routes. But now the elephant and Mbuno’s tribal way of life were both threatened once again.
Mbuno looked back to make sure Pero and Nancy were crouched, waiting a few hundred yards away as he instructed. He then inched closer to the worrying herd, prone again, a sharp stone rolling under his hip painfully. He dared not move quickly, the bush above him would vibrate. He stopped any forward movement as he spotted feet, the small grey feet of a baby elephant, a mtoto.
One foot had an encircling, red, puss-oozing sore. Behind the mtoto’s feet stood the mother. Mbuno could see the way the weight was shifting on both mother and child that the mother was soothing the young one who would be in pain. Silent pain, the sign of a strong herd leader. Or a very frightened herd, one that is being hunted. The mtoto’s sore had been caused by a wire snare that had probably dropped off. Mbuno had seen this far too often. Now Mbuno felt compelled to do something, not just observe. It was now a matter of honor, duty, and common ancestry, not to mention his responsibility for the safety of his safari charges.
Mbuno’s mind made decisions quickly. In the bush, life and death were often just moments apart. Soundlessly, moving no bush or twig, he retreated the way he had come, donned his pants only, and set himself into a running crouch. It was his usual hunter’s pace, swift, determined, and ready for a change in direction. Circling the place where he knew the herd to be, he stayed four hundred yards away at least. Starting downwind and determinedly coming full half circle until he announced his presence to their sensitive noses, he tested their resolve. When he was sure they had smelled him, he knew there was real danger here because there was no charge, no bellowing threat, no foot stomp. The elephants could smell that he was only one man and also that he was a man of the bush. As Mbuno had feared, they clearly had a more dangerous enemy threat nearby, for they did not give themselves away. He continued his crouching circling run, sweating from adrenaline and the jini of the hunt. For he was hunting, but not elephant.
When he was three-quarters the way around his circle, he sensed, and then diving behind a fallen log on his stomach, he saw the men just outside the forest’s edge. One was sitting on a pickup truck’s hood and two stood in the flatbed. They wore no uniform. The man sitting was dressed as an Arab with a face scarf and camouflage trousers and bush shirt. He had binoculars but no gun. And two standing tribesmen looked like Pokot, Mbuno thought–northern, violent Maasai cousins. Hunters, not cattlemen. The two tribesmen had black rifles with yellow wood stocks and foregrips. Mbuno knew AK-47s when he saw them. Mbuno had seen these types of poachers before. They snared a baby and, in its squeals, it attracted the herd; close and closer until the slaughter would be efficient, deadly, machine gun rapid.
Standing behind a tree trunk on tiptoe, peeking out, Mbuno saw the panga (machete) on the flatbed tailgate, unsheathed, its 12-inch blade glistening, freshly sharpened. The back of the truck held two freshly drawn tusks; the brown blood still not yet black. The herd had been running and not just because of the mtoto.
Mbuno did not hesitate, did not reason, did not moralize. In the bush, the law of the land was kill or be killed. These men had killed, wasted the life of elephant, wanted to slaughter the rest, and were dishonorable. He saw them as little more than wanyama—vermin—to be stopped. Without altering his run, he circled behind the pickup and approached them from behind, soundlessly, before the men could even know he was coming.
***
Excerpt from Elephant Safari by Peter Riva. Copyright 2024 by Peter Riva. Reproduced with permission from Peter Riva. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Peter Riva has traveled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, spending many months spanning thirty years with legendary guides for East African adventurers. He created the Wild Things television series in 1995 and has worked for more than forty years as a literary agent. Riva writes science fiction and African adventure books, including the Mbuno & Pero thrillers. He lives in Gila, New Mexico.
I love to read books that I can relate to real current events and An End To Kings by Ryan Schuette does that in a fantastical way. He includes things like political upheaval, civil liberty and climate change. Ryan Schuette’s master storytelling makes this an epic fantasy you won’t want to miss and I am excited to pick up where we left off in A Seat For The Rabble.
I love the illustrations. Illustrations always add something extra for me.
Political intrigue arises around every turn. No one can be trusted and some of the betrayals broke my heart for the characters that it happened to. One sticks out in a big way…
Sara is one of my favorite characters and her tragic life breaks my heart. She is a good person and too young for the horrors brought to her life. She is a child, struggling, facing things beyond her years. I have feared for her since I met her, especially when she lost the one person she could count on.
Zur had been kidnapped and Lorana was determined to find him. I thought there might be more to him than we see in the beginning. The same goes for Sara and the Mad Lady. I feel they will play a prominent role in what is to come for the Kingdom. What that role will be is yet to be determined.
Eden, what the hell?
Anyway, let’s get into the conflict that rages, as the rebels unite to get their Seat, but how can you band together when you can’t get along? When people are pushed into a corner with nothing to lose, they will fight back.
Because the king died without naming his successor.Jason must prove his right to wear the crown for the Kingdom of Loran and will have to face the Kingstrials. I love that the king’s daughter, Lorana was ruling the kingdom, though no one ever acknowledged it. After all, they cannot have a Queen as a leader…can they? For now, she is tasked with keeping the wolves at bay until a king is crowned.
The battles are savage, a brutal and bloody slaughter. The betrayals and cowardice allow tragic injustices to occur and more than one leaves me speechless. Ryan Schuette’s ability to pump up my emotions to a point where I want to throw my ereader against the wall makes me hesitate, putting the book down to pull myself together, then picking it up again….because I HAVE to know what happens next. On and on I read, wondering who will live and who will die.
An End To Kings by Ryan Schuette is intense. It has everything you can possibly want in an epic fantasy. And that ending, I can hardly wait to see what will become of my favorite characters in the next book. It is sure to be an amazing adventure.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of An End To Kings by Ryan Schuette.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In the highly anticipated conclusion to A Seat for the Rabble, former NPR reporter Ryan Schuette returns to Odma, a richly detailed world not unlike our own. Riven by social injustice, wealth inequality, and ancient magic, the Kingdom of Loran stands on the brink of war . . . and the bastard prince, Jason Warchild, means to save it.
With an army of Cloudlanders at his back, Jason marches to the Kingstrials, where he must kill his rivals—including his zealot uncle, Shaddon—to claim his father’s crown and return peasants to power. But winning this deadly game will take more than martial skill and an army. If he fails to win all three Trials, he’ll need the fractious Worthy Assembly to crown him directly—or he’ll lose the kingdom, along with his head.
As class anger festers, Jason’s allies find themselves embattled. At the capital, Princess Lorana Eddenhold navigates her realm’s troubled politics to stamp out plots against her half-brother, even as she dreads Prieslenne Edenia’s return. In the west, Rathos Robswell risks his life to persuade the Loyal Company’s firebrands to cease their infighting and see the bastard prince—along with the dream of a just realm—through a crucible of swords, dragons, and griffons.
Only supernatural forces seem to see all ends. Accompanied by a sorcerer, Zuran races against time to confront the real evil . . . the one exploiting chaos in a kingless land.
Praise for A Seat for the Rabble and An End to Kings
“From its electric first pages, Schuette’s epic adult fantasy debut grips with a rich, tense, multi-perspective story of a kingdom in unrest. . . . A journalist, [he] writes crisp, compelling scenes that demonstrate an understanding of power, conflicted loyalties, and the ways that history—both ancient and recent, true and made up—powers contemporary conflicts.” —BookLife by Publishers Weekly (Grade: A)
“Schuette’s extensive world is an enticing one. Religion, class systems, and past events play large parts in the conflict. . . . Griffins fly; swords cleave; and the unsuspecting are sometimes slaughtered. . . . Yet the fighting and feuding are matched in such a way to keep the intriguing plot moving swiftly. The competing interests make for a curious, highly detailed, engrossing fantasy.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Masterful storytelling and epic worldbuilding make this a must-read for fans of political fantasy. Ryan Schuette weaves a complex world of political intrigue, class conflict, and the pursuit of power in this enthralling epic fantasy.” —ALEXANDRIA DUCKSWORTH, Independent Book Review
“If you like getting marooned in a book, so far removed from real life that there’s no need for rescue, then A Seat for the Rabble was made for you! . . . [It’s] a sumptuous feast for the mind.” —NICKY FLOWERS, Indies Today (Rating: ★★★★★)
Genre: Dragons, Fantasy, Fiction, Mythical Creatures, Sword and Sorcery
554 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2024
Series: A King Without A Crown, Book II
ABOUT RYAN SHUETTE (from his website)
Schuette:Pronounced SHOO-tee
Hi there. I’m a writer, editor, illustrator, and resume consultant with past lives in politics, foreign aid, nonprofit management, and the lingerie industry. I’m also a reporter who’s written for National Public Radio, Al Jazeera America, and numerous other media outlets. In 2015, PBS’s NOVA recognized a feature of mine for NPR as one of its top 10 stories in science education that year.
Fun facts about me: I’ve met three presidents (including the one in the photo), written a novel, and lived and worked for a year in Uganda as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. While in Uganda, I freelanced as a reporter, bounced around several countries, and got malaria a few times (wouldn’t recommend it). I also took a short course in international law at the University of Oxford.
I’ve started and run both a nonprofit and company, and just recently decided to make good on a few life goals by writing an original fantasy fiction novel and drawing cartoons professionally. I’ve lived and worked in Washington, D.C., and hold a master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University.
Life is short, so make sure you spend it doing something you love. Bonus points if it improves our species.
