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Hello fellow bloggers. Not much new and different. Still doing some yard work, but now it’s normal, not storm, cleanup. The weather has been great, cool morning temps to work in and lots of sunshine to get my Vitamin D. Been cleaning shelves in the guest room, trying to organize….stuff…and figure out what I have to have and what can gooooooo…out the door. Too much stuff! Frickin’ arm is still giving me fits and starts. I no sooner get one arm working and the other arm goes out on me. LOL A physical therapist friend of ours told me it is quite common in older women that the shoulder gives us problems. It’s so weird because I woke up one morning and it sucked. I think part of it is too much time on computers and I am trying to take more breaks and do some of the exercises I have from when I messed up my right arm. Oh well, it is what it is.
How about you? Something good to talk about? Something bugging you?
Hope you have a good week. Stay safe and I’ll be seeing you.
If you like smart, fast-paced thrillers with unexpected twists, then you’ll love J.K. Franko’s Eye for Eye Trilogy!
MY REVIEW
The Eye for Eye trilogy by J K Franko kept me reading long into the night….and the next night….and the next. Once I started I didn’t stop until I had finished. Each book brought more surprises and mystery as I wonder how many people’s lives are going to be affected and who will be left standing. I love vigilante scenarios and replays of familiar story lines, especially when it is as chock full of danger and suspense as the Eye For Eye trilogy was. This proves the chaos theory, so be careful about throwing that pebble into the pond. It’s not necessary to read the prequel: Trial of Joe Harlan Jr, though you may find it interesting. It is, however, best to read the trilogy from the beginning, with Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth, and Life for Life. When it comes to the wrapup…fanfrickintastic. Even when I thought the story was pretty much over, J K Franko kept the surprises coming. He even had me feeling sorry for Roy…and most of the other characters. I mean, what do you do when the justice system fails you? Do you take the matter into your own hands? What if it was your child? Your son? Your daughter? Your best friend? How far would you go to protect them? Seek vengeance for them? And is it so wrong?
I highly recommend picking up this series, but be sure and set aside the time. Once I started I didn’t want to stop, and you may feel the same way.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Eye for Eye Trilogy by J K Franko.
When I try to piece together how this whole mess began, a part of me thinks it may have started over thirty years ago. At least the seeds were planted that far back, in the early 1980s. What happened then, at that summer camp in Texas, set the stage for everything that was to come.
Odd, how something so remote in time and geography continues to impact me here, today.
Sometimes I try to imagine her, how she felt—that eleven year-old girl—as she ran, stumbling and tripping through the woods that night. I try to put myself in her shoes. When I do, I wonder if she was frightened.
Did she understand the consequences of what she’d gotten herself into? I imagine it felt otherworldly to her, like a dream. But not a good dream. No, one of the bad ones—the ones that make your heart machine-gun as you try to outrun some dark thing that’s chasing you. But the faster you try to run, the slower you go, your legs feeling leaden, clumsy, useless.
Panic sets in. Tears of frustration form. Fear takes hold and won’t let go. You open your mouth to scream but realize, to your horror, that you’re paralyzed. It’s not that you can’t scream; you can’t even breathe. Not a dream—a nightmare.
Then again, all that may simply be my imagination. It could just be me projecting what I might have felt onto Joan. Maybe she wasn’t scared at all.
True, it was dark out. The night smelled of rain, but there was no lightning, only the far-off rumble of thunder hinting at a distant storm. There were no trail lights, no visibility but for the moon peeking out intermittently from behind a patchwork of clouds. But, Joan had been down this trail before. She was running toward the main cabin.
She had been at Camp Willow for almost two full weeks. She had been up and down that trail at least ten times a day, every day. Of course, that was during the day, and always with her buddy, or a camp counselor (the children called them troop leaders). Joan had never been on the trail at night. And never alone.
Maybe I imagine Joan was scared because, as an adult, I believe that she should have been. I would have been terrified.
J.K. FRANKO was born and raised in Texas. His Cuban-American parents agreed there were only three acceptable options for a male child: doctor, lawyer, and architect. After a disastrous first year of college pre-Med, he ended up getting a BA in philosophy (not acceptable), then he went to law school (salvaging the family name) and spent many years climbing the big law firm ladder. After ten years, he decided that law and family life weren’t compatible. He went back to school where he got an MBA and pursued a Ph.D. He left law for corporate America, with long stints in Europe and Asia.
His passion was always to be a writer. After publishing a number of non-fiction works, thousands of hours writing, and seven or eight abandoned fictional works over the course of eighteen years, EYE FOR EYE became his first published novel.
J.K. Franko now lives with his wife and children in Florida.
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews and giveaways!
Enter To Win!
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for JK Franko. There will be Six (6) winners for this tour. Two (2) winners will each receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card; Two (2) winners will each receive 1 print edition of Eye for Eye, book 1 of the Talion series, by JK Franko (US and Canada Only); and Two (2) winners will each receive 1 ebook edition of Eye for Eye, book 1 of the Talion series, by JK Franko. The giveaway begins on October 19, 2020 and runs through December 21, 2020. Void where prohibited.
Strong From The Heart by Jon Land is the eleventh book in the Caitlin Strong Texas Ranger series and I have been loving spending time with her. I usually receive an ARC, but this time I received a beautiful, signed, hardcover and I am so excited to add it to my collection of Jon Land books.
Many of us are aware of the opiod epidemic and Caitlin Strong will be facing it in Strong From The Heart by Jon Land. I wouldn’t want to be the culprits that she is seeking.
The Prologue reeled me in and my mind was whirling with the possibilities.
We start out with a wayward mailman who is on a mission, but it’s not to deliver his mail.
WTH…happened in Camino Pass? Caitlin Strong is on the case and will get to the bottom of it.
She has stepped into a snake pit and I am rooting for her, as she defuses a volatile situation at the Canyon Ridge Elementary School, where ICE attempts to pick up six children. We have the usual posturing between law enforcement divisions for control of the situation. She will not allow that, and her trusty friend Guillermo Paz is by her side. I love Caitlin’s attitude and the humor that Jon Land adds to his thrillers.
“Kids are safe and I didn’t even have to shoot anybody.”
Cort, her outlaw boyfriend is at the hospital after a call telling him his son ODed on opiates. Caitlin would stop at nothing to trace who was providing the drugs to him and the other kids at school. I love that Jon Land tosses in current events.
“Just one Texas Ranger, son?”
“You ever hear the motto, one riot, one Ranger? Because it’s damn near true.”
“You are like human flypaper Ranger, and wherever you go, the worst of the worse just sticks to you.” An apt description of Caitlin Strong, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Jon Land’s writing makes the story flow smoothly, increasing the danger and suspense over the course of the story. We have more than one story line going on and the past creeps into the present. Jon Land always gives us tidbits of Texas Ranger history and I love that.
I worry for some of my favorite characters, because they do not run from trouble and danger, they run towards it.
I had been waiting to read Strong From The Heart by Jon Land for when I really needed a pick me up, a get lost for hours book. I started reading during College Game Day (and anybody that knows me, knows I don’t want to be disturbed during football) and figured I would read during those dull moments, commercials, and half time. I finished it shortly after the Alabama vs Ole Miss game. I got so involved that I couldn’t put it down..
I needed some distraction from current events and I want to thank you, Jon, for helping me to get lost and escape through your words.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Strong From The Heart by Jon Land.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In what Brad Meltzer
calls a “savory Tex-Mex tale, seasoned with all the ingredients of a
great thriller,” Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong digs for the truth behind
the Opioid Crisis in the next installment of Jon Land’s critically
acclaimed series
Mexico, 1898: Texas Ranger William Ray
Strong arrives in the border town of Camino Pass to transport a young
Pancho Villa to stand trial, but his plans are waylaid when he learns
all of the town’s children have been kidnapped.
The Present:
The drug crisis hits home for fifth generation Texas Ranger Caitlin
Strong when the son of her outlaw lover, Cort Wesley Masters, nearly
dies from an opioid overdose.
Determined to make those
responsible pay, Caitlin sets out to track down the dealer and pusher,
while trying to solve the inexplicable tragedy of a small Texas town
where all the residents died in a single night. When she realizes these
two pursuits are connected, she finds herself following a trail to the
truth of the crisis nestled hard in the center of America’s power base.
That
power base, comprised of politicians, Big Pharma, along with corrupt
doctors and drug distributors, has successfully beaten back all threats
in the past. But they have no idea what’s in store when the guns of
Texas come calling.
ABOUT JON LAND
Jon
Land is the award-winning, critically acclaimed author of 36 books,
including the bestselling Caitlin Strong Texas Ranger series that
includes Strong Enough to Die, Strong Justice, Strong at the Break,
Strong Vengeance and, most recently, Strong Rain Falling. The Tenth
Circle marks the second return engagement of his longtime series hero
Blaine McCracken on the heels of last year’s Pandora’s Temple which was
nominated for a Thriller Award and received the 2013 International Book
Award for Best Adventure Thriller. Jon’s first nonfiction book,
Betrayal, meanwhile, was named Best True Crime Book of 2012 by Suspense
Magazine and won a 2012 International Book Award for Best True Crime
Book. He is currently working on Strong Darkness, the next entry in the
Caitlin Strong to be published in September of 2014. He graduated Phi
Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from Brown University, where he continues
to maintain a strong volunteer presence, in 1979.
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Hello fellow bloggers. It happened…Mr Wonderful was given administrative leave and will not be returning to work due to a reduction in force. We had planned for this, but had hoped he would make it a couple more years, at least. I am not unhappy about it, though we are having to make some tough decisions. He has some freelance worked planned, so we won’t feel any adverse affects before next year. They will continue his pay through mid December. Isn’t it ‘funny’ how so many people lose their jobs around the holidays? He is not one to sit still, so the main thing will be keeping him busy so I have blogging time. 🙂
We were lucky that Zeta blew through with no damage to our property. Myself, I have had enough of that to last me for the rest of my life. BUT, living here in Florida, I am sure that will not be the case. Right now, there is a crispness in the air and the sun is shining.
Sometimes I review each story in an anthology and other times I review it as a whole. Seeing I would use a lot of the same words to describe each short story of the twelve included in Welcome to the Splatter Club, I will be doing it as a whole.
The gruesome cover and descriptive title make it easy to know what’s inside this splatterpunk horror anthology. Plenty of blood and guts, some delicious snacks, a has been Las Vegas comedienne, bullies, trophies, outer space, the penguin, and so much more had me cringing, feeling like I want to cover my eyes.
If you are looking for something that is spook worthy, Welcome to the Splatter Club has all you could ask for. The short stories can fill in those moments when you are waiting in line at the drug store, sitting in the doctor’s office, or any time you have a couple of spare minutes.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Welcome to the Splatter Club.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Splatter (adj.) – characterized by extreme or excessive gore or violence
Punk (adj.) –
often referring to a musical genre of short, fast-paced songs with
hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation,
and often containing subversive lyrics and social and political
commentary.
Welcome to the Splatter Club is thirteen stories of hyperintensive horror with no limits!
Editor K. Trap Jones guides this initiation into our favorite genre of dark fiction: Splatterpunk
The
ceremony includes black magick curses, encounters of the fourth kind,
and bizarre office politics. Story settings range from a dystopic United
Kingdom down to the a convenience store stocking a very malicious
product.
I was really excited about Midnight Blue Over Mexico by D S Land because it seemed to be a bit different than the usual technothriller, you know, greed, conspiracy, technology…used for good and evil… characters that kept me reading, caring, hating…and I have to ask, could you do without your cell phone…for a minute, an hour, a day, to save your life and those of others?
I had added Midnight Blue Over Mexico by D S Land to my TBR on 10.9.12 and The Timekeeper by Jordana Baker on 10.12.12
I saw the cover…and the title…and thought The Timekeeper by Jordana Barber would be filled with awesome characters…IT WAS…a lot of danger and action…THERE WAS…some hot romance…CAN’T DO WITHOUT THAT.. a satisfying ending…GOT THAT…and a desire to read more…I DO.
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Hello fellow bloggers. Not much new and different. Been working in the yard. Now that it has cooled down…a little bit…it is a great time to be doing yardwork. I even jumped in the pool. It is very refreshing. What have you been up to?
Hope you have a good week. Stay safe and I’ll be seeing you.
Jane Blythe is one of my must read authors. Her romantic suspense does everything you want it to do and she covers dark and disturbing events, which draw me in like flies to honey.
I have been anticipating Emerald’s story and finally…I have it. I let the book linger on my Kindle for a little while because I knew this was the last sister to be found after their parents had sold them to human sex traffickers. It is fifteen years later….and this book sure took a turn I wasn’t expecting. Jane Blythe is good at that, so don’t get too comfortable. I am sure this is going to be a very bumpy ride.
“Ooh, she’s a pretty one.”
“How old?”
“Fifteen.”
“She’s not to be touched…she’ll either be sent to training or sent off with her new owner.”
Emerald is only fifteen, the baby of the family. It had only been a year since she quit sleeping with a night lite, even though she shared a bedroom with her sister, Sapphire. Her name matches her emerald green eyes.
She knew it was easiest to obey, though she wished the floor would swallow her up. She felt her dreams would never come true. She would not live a wonderful life, dying at an old age. Would she even make it to twenty? She didn’t care. She is afraid to live. Afraid to die.
Emerald gets to her owner, and I thought OMG, but she felt relieved. When you read Splintered Emerald, you’ll understand why we had conflicting thoughts, though I do see why she felt that way.
Ten days. Ten days until her eighteenth birthday. What then? She still held a tiny sliver of hope…hope that she would be rescued.
Eleven years have gone by…OMG…I would have lost all hope.
WOW! Fifteen years have gone by and Jane has gone off the rails with this one. My mind would never get to where she took me on my own. I am stunned and unable to see how we are going to reach a happy ending. Jane’s imagination knows no bounds and I love it!
I am trying to be careful about what I share with you, because this dark and evil story you need to read for yourself. And it kept getting worse. The physical torture may be surpassed by the mental torture, the innocence stripped away. The abuse, rape and beatings aren’t enough for Jane, she has gone even darker. AND I LOVE IT!
I don’t know what to think of Emerald. She is so lost, I don’t know if she can find herself, when she learns the truth. But, what is the truth?
There is an underlying story that I haven’t figured out. I thought of…but it doesn’t fit. I was curious how Jane Blythe would wrap up the book and the Hatcher sisters stories. She nailed it.
The Epilogue…I love Prologues and Epilogues. It is sweet, but I felt some pieces were missing. It doesn’t affect my rating THOUGH…5 well earned STARS it is!
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Splintered Emerald by Jane Blythe.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Fifteen years is a long time to be missing.
Emerald Hatcher was the baby of the Hatcher family. Sweet, kind, compassionate, a dreamer who would give the shirt off her back to someone who needed it more than her.
But that was then.
What have fifteen years away from her family, tortured and abused, done to her?
The Hatcher sisters have been desperate to find the last sister and bring her home, but what they get is not what they bargained for.
Is anyone really ready for Emerald Hatcher to return home?
ABOUT JANE BLYTHE
Jane
has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark
and disturbing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in
because, well, who doesn’t love romance? She has one completed series,
Detective Parker Bell, and one new series, Count to Ten.
When she’s not writing Jane loves to
read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies.
She has a black belt in Taekwondo, and a 200+ collection of teddy bears.
She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and
Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!
Operation Navajo by Anita Dickason is not my first book by the author and it will not be my last. She has the ability to hook me from the beginning and keep me going until the final page has been read.
Anita Dickason is just as interesting as her novels, so be sure and check out her bio.
Anita Dickason gets right to the heart of the matter…a death threat against the life of the Federal Reserve Chairman, Frank Littleton. He seeks the help of the FBI’s elite Tracker Unit. The team makes me think of the Criminal MInds team and the BAU. This is a series, but each book can stand alone.
The Navajo Code was used during WWII. The Lakota, the Comanche, the Hopi, the Crow and other Native Americans served as code talkers. The Navajo Code was the only code never to have been broken.
Blake, one of Scott’s agents, received a package containing a Navajo Code, among other things. He received it because of a blast from the past and I do wonder how it will fit in with what I know. Intriguing. What is so important that it has to be secretly passed in Code? And seeing the Code has never been broken, how will he ever figure it out?
We have plenty of arrogance from the corrupt people who are greedy and conspire to have more. I am a huge fan of conspiracies. I feel I have an open mind, a cynical attitude, and enough doubt to keep from falling off the sane world.
I love authors that do their research and we get an inside glimpse and history of the Federal Reserve.
Books like Operation Navajo scare me, because they sound all too true. In this wacky world we are living in right now, it does make me wonder….could this happen? Is it happening now? Wouldn’t surprise me and that is definitely something to fear.
Anita Dickason’s biography reads like a suspense thriller character and I can imagine where her inspiration for her wonderful stories comes from. Keep up the great work!
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Operation Navajo by Anita Dickason
4 Stars
AMAZON TEASE
“Whoever controls the flow of the money supply, irrespective of whether it is fiat or gold currency, is the one to fear.”
ABOUT ANITA DICKASON
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.
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Hello fellow bloggers. Not much new and different. As I write this, I am binging on Twilight for the umpteenth time. How about you? Do you have a favorite movie that you can’t help watching over and over?
Want to see what’s happening on my TBR, click HERE.
Hope you have a good week. Stay safe and I’ll be seeing you.