Labyrinth of the Dolls by Craig Wallwork @craigwallwork

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Labyrinth of the Dolls is book two in Craig Wallwork’s Tom Nolan series. I loved the first one, so it was a no brainer grabbing this one when Craig asked me if I would like a copy.

Labyrinth of the Dolls (Tom Nolan #2)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I loved the first book of the Tom Nolan series, Bad People, by Craig Wallwork, so when I got the chance to get my hands on Labyrinth of the Dolls, Book II, there was no hesitation.

Pam Bollen was in a great mood as she set off to work. Every Wednesday, at 6:00 AM, she headed to the home of Joanna Harcourt to clean her house. The grisly sight awaiting her was the macabre body of Joanna.

Enter MIT, the Murder Investigation Team, and Tom Nolan. He had joined the team with the specific purpose of chasing down his nemesis.

The past converges with the present as Tom Nolan hunts for what the media has labeled the Dollmaker. Tom has a knack for finding serial killers and it will take all his resources to put the past to bed once and for all.

I love that Tom is not a GQ kind of guy, though there is nothing wrong with that. LOL In fact, I love them too. But Tom feels like a realistic character. He’s a bit on the chunky side with an overbite, but there is someone for everyone, isn’t there? Will we have a little romance on the side?

The Ragman is his boogieman, that comes in the dark doing evil things. Only he knows why he does what he does, but Tom is pretty darn good at getting into his head.

The Tom Nolan series is one of those that keeps on giving. In fact, I think it got better with Labyrinth of the Dolls. As I sit, watching Criminal Minds, I feel as if Craig Wallwork could have been one of the writers. His books are filled with human evils, frailties, weaknesses and strength.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Labyrinth of the Dolls by Craig Wallwork.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

EVIL HAS A NEW FACE

It’s been one year since the horrific murders of Stormer Hill, and the events of that time continue to resonate with Detective Constable Tom Nolan. In an attempt to find the second killer, known only as the Ragman, Nolan joins West Yorkshire’s Murder Investigation Team.

Partnered with Jennifer Morrison, a straight-talking detective with her eye on promotion, the two officers are assigned to track down a new killer whose victims are all found dressed like human dolls. As the investigation progresses, Nolan becomes an intricate piece in the killer’s grand vision that puts his life in danger.

But with the body count rising daily and the pressure to find who the media is labelling the Doll Maker increasing, Nolan discovers more than just a series of grisly murders…

Within the human dolls, the answers he has sought for nearly a year may finally be found.

ABOUT CRAIG WALLWORK

Craig Wallwork is the author of the novels, Bad People, and The Sound of Loneliness, as well as the short story collections, Quintessence of Dust, and Gory Hole. His stories have been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize, many of which feature in various anthologies and magazines both in the U.K. and U.S. He currently lives in England.

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MY CRAIG WALLWORK REVIEWS

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Books From The Backlog – Torn by Christine Hughes @HughesWriter #booksfromthebacklog

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Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

Torn by Christine Hughes has an updated cover (the below one). I really like the first one. The covers pop and the wings make me think of angels. Which appeals to you most?

Torn (Torn Series, #1)
Torn

Amazon / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

TORN With the sudden, mysterious death of her father, Samantha discovers her life isn’t what it seems. Not only isn’t she the normal teenage girl she thought she was, Sam must now take her father’s place in the fight between two groups of fallen angels, the Faithful and the Exiled, in a race to save humanity. In addition to dealing with a devastating betrayal—and having feelings for someone she’s forbidden to love—Sam must also fight the growing darkness within her as she struggles to make a choice between fighting alongside the Faithful or succumbing to the temptation of the Exiled. Both sides require sacrifices Sam isn’t sure she can make.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.93  ·  299 ratings  ·  115 reviews

I added Torn by Christine Hughes to my Goodreads TBR on 10.30.12. I probably won the book, because I don’t see where I downloaded it from a retailer. Torn has so many elements I love in books, angels/demons, apocalyptic/dystopian, paranormal/supernatural, forbidden love…and the author being a Jets fan (like Mr Wonderful) caught my eye.

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Gingerman: In Search of the Toymaker by Tony Bertauski @tonybertauski

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I have been reading the Claus series by Tony Bertauski since the first one, Claus, Legend of the Fat Man. I have missed one or two, and hope to catch up on them. The series is unique and fun to read.

Gingerman: In Search of the Toymaker (Claus #8)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Gingerman is not my first foray into the world of Claus by Tony Bertauski and it won’t be my last. I have been loving this quirky series since the beginning, with Claus, Legend of the Fat Man.

Christmas White Blizzard, better known as Chris, is off to school. His mother loved Christmas so much, she names him and his sister, Yuletide. He is terrified of going off to school, but his desire to learn overrides his fears.

The Institute of Creative Minds is the ultimate dichotomy:

“Be creative and free. But follow the rules or go home.”

The Institute is unlike any school I have ever heard of before. It is Christmas all the time.

When he meets Joli, she decides to be his introduction to the school. I love her feisty, independent personality. She’s a rebel.

Gingerman….well, I don’t want to spoil your introduction to him, so you will need to discover everything about him yourself. I will tell you…he is…unusual. Whether he is good or bad, we will have to wait and see. The verdict is still out, but I do have my thoughts.

The magic of Christmas comes alive through Tony Bertauski’s descriptive words. So, come along with me, Chris, and the Gingerman to solve the mystery of the Institute. It is a wild ride and I think you may enjoy it. It is delightful, unique and mysterious.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Gingerman by Tony Bertauski.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

His real name is Christmas. It’s embarrassing.

He’s been accepted into the Institute of Creative Mind, a prestigious institute for eccentrics, outliers, and gifted students. A school located in the middle of nowhere with two-hundred-year-old castles and a formidable stone wall. A school where Christmas is celebrated the entire year.

Christmas trees, ornaments, and lights decorate the castles. Presents are given out every month, and students are pitted against each other in creative challenges. Chris soon finds out, however, the stakes are high.

The losers are expelled.

He spends sleepless nights keeping up with his homework to not disappoint his parents and to keep a cruel guidance counsellor off his back. But this place is more than a demanding school for gifted students. Chris finds a clue in a textbook his first night, written in code.

Run, run as fast as you can.

When he’s presented with an impossibility that defies all laws of physics and biology, anything becomes possible. Chris discovers students aren’t chosen for their artistic abilities but because of a DNA test. He doesn’t know what the school is really after. If he doesn’t stop them, Christmas will end forever. Everything depends on his courage.

And a strange little friend.

ABOUT TONY BERTAUSKI

Tony Bertauski

Get my books FREE. Tell me where to send them at http://bertauski.com

My grandpa never graduated high school. He retired from a steel mill in the mid-70s. He was uneducated, but he was a voracious reader. I remember going through his bookshelves of paperback sci-fi novels, smelling musty old paper, pulling Piers Anthony and Isaac Asimov off shelf and promising to bring them back. I was fascinated by robots that could think and act like people. What happened when they died?

I’ve written textbooks on landscape design, but that was straightforward, informational writing; the kind of stuff that helps most people get to sleep. I’ve also been writing a gardening column with a humorous slant. That takes a little more finesse, but still informational for the most part.

I’m a cynical reader. I demand the writer sweep me into his/her story and carry me to the end. I’d rather sail a boat than climb a mountain. That’s the sort of stuff I wanted to write, not the assigned reading we used to get in high school. I wanted to create stories that kept you up late.

Fiction, GOOD fiction, is hard to write. Having a story unfold inside your head is an experience different than reading. You connect with characters in a deeper, more meaningful way. You feel them, empathize with them, cheer for them and even mourn. The challenge is to get the reader to experience the same thing, even if it’s only a fraction of what the writer feels. Not so easy.

MY TONY BERTAUSKI REVIEWS

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Technothriller – The Trapdoor by Hal Glatzer #HalGlatzer @thomaspr

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The Trapdoor

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The Trapdoor by Hal Glatzer was originally published in the 80s and I think it would have been a realistic, frightening look at the computer world. I still enjoyed the book and remember those early years of computers and see how this would have people believing it could really happen….because it has.

Hackers put in trapdoors, so they can easily access a forbidden computer system and do what they will.

The Lightning is a hacker and his name is Joe. Of course, he is a nerd. 🙂 Anyone seeing him would recognize that about him. He loved his pocket protector and wore it everywhere, carefully choosing the pens. Even before he ever touched a computer, he loved to tinker with electronics, whether it was his electric train or the family’s television.

He makes his living taking from others, but gets in way over his head. There is a heart stopping moment or two, as his life is put on the line.

The Trapdoor is a great introduction into the world of computer hacking. It took half the book for me to get involved, but I would recommend meeting Joe and seeing what the repercussions are for crossing the line.

Hal Glatzer used his knowledge of computers to take us into his world and I enjoyed visiting it with him.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Trapdoor by Hal Glatzer.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

Originally published as a paperback in 1986, The Trapdoor was one of the first novels to be set in the underground digital world of cyber-thievery and online pornography. In the book, a hacker gets into trouble with organized crime, and has to hack his way out. The title refers to a sinister technique for theft; but it also alludes to the risk of falling into one’s own trap!
A forerunner to today’s notorious hackers, such as “Anonymous,” the protagonist of The Trapdoor is Joe (alias “The Lightning”), a techie nerd who lives quietly in a small apartment, surrounded by computers. Secretly stealing money online – as much for the thrill as for the money – is a flirtation with danger to which many of the earliest hackers were addicted. But Joe is drawn into a wider digital underworld until he’s not safe anymore. Suddenly he has enemies. And it’s bad enough when they try to kill him; but it’s worse when they steal his secret hacker identity.
Progress in computer technology was once front-page news. In 1983, TIME magazine – for the first time ever – didn’t name a “Man of the Year.” Instead, the editors named the personal computer “Machine of the Year.” Computer entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were just getting noticed; and magazines were launched to help people use those new “machines”. At first, noisy modems slowly dialed computers over telephone lines; data storage was limited to mere kilobytes, on easily-damaged floppy disks. But technologies were constantly surging forward, and illegal computing activities surged right along with them.
Readers of The Trapdoor will get a glimpse of that early time, when anything seemed possible, and the shadowy side of high-technology was just coming into view. And readers of a certain age, who were intrigued by computers in the ’80s, will enjoy The Trapdoor as a fond nostalgic trip back in time. So The Trapdoor has now been re-issued in the most up-to-date form for a novel: the e-book.

ABOUT HAL GLATZER

Hal Glatzer wrote his first piece of fiction in elementary school. He submitted The Mysterious Island to his third-grade teacher, who handed it back with this critique: “Great imagination. Terrible handwriting.” Perhaps that is what led, years later, to his embrace of computerized word processing! Visit his WEBSITE to learn more.

Conserving the Radio Spectrum (Sams, 1984). Glatzer was one of the founders of the Computer Press Association, a virtual press club for fellow writers and editors in the field. He served as its vice president, and for six years chaired the committee that created and presented the annual Computer Press Awards for excellence in high-tech journalism.

Glatzer has subsequently had more mystery novels published; but his first was The Trapdoor. “Considering how far information technology has progressed since the early ‘80s,” he says, “I want to give the computer users of today a good idea of what life was like when the computer revolution began, and give people like me, who were there, then, a trip into the past. And the best way to bring that vintage paperback to today’s tech-savvy readers is to turn it into an e-book.”

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Music Monday – Black Magic Woman by Santana #musicmonday

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Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let’s share some songs we’ve been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play, and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below HERE

Santana was an ear opener for me and made me appreciate the depth of music so much more than I had used to…or maybe that was the Marijuana I was smoking. Santana was the first concert I ever went to and did partake of the joints that were being passed around. Someone would light it and it would be passed from person to person, row to row, until another one came around. I was quite the novice and could hardly walk out when it was over. LOL

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Lyrics

Got a black magic woman
Got a black magic womanI got a black magic woman
Got me so blind I can’t see
That she’s a black magic woman
She’s tryin’ to make a devil out of meDon’t turn your back on me baby
Don’t turn your back on me babyYes, don’t turn your back on me baby
Stop messin’ around with your tricks
Don’t turn your back on me baby
You just might pick up my magic sticksGot your spell on me baby
Got your spell on me babyYes you got your spell on me baby
Turning my heart into stone
I need you so bad magic woman
I can’t leave you alone

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Sherry’s Shelves 11.22 – 11.28.20 #sundaymemes

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Sunday Post #431 August

Hello fellow bloggers. A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate the holiday.

I will be getting up in the attic in the next day or two to start decorating for Christmas. I feel the world needs some sparkle and there are never enough twinkles to light up the house. We are thinking of an artificial tree this year, at least I am. I think it is time. I’m getting older and it seems every time I turn around I have an issue with some ache or pain. It gets harder to crawl around in the attic, yet I will continue to do so… How about you? Have you started decorating? Finished? Don’t celebrate?

LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

COMING UP ON fundinmental

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Music Monday – Black Magic Woman by Santana
  • Books From The Backlog
  • Giveaway – I Will Always Love You by Ashley Lee London
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Tackling The TBR – 11.22 – 11.28.20 #tacklingthetbr

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I got the idea and the motivation to start doing Tackling The TBR from All The Book Blog Names Are Taken. It has helped me to keep track of my reading shelf as far as current events and I also started doing a post for Books From The Backlog, from Carole’s Random Life in Books, to tidy up my shelves. I feel better about my out of control TBR and have even knocked off a couple of those old ones that had been hanging around for years.

COME ON….JOIN IN.

Previous Total: 2440

Currently Reading

Books Read

Books Added

Books DNF-ed: 0

Books Deleted: 0

Duplicates Removed: 0

New TBR Total: 2440

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Giveaway – Prospector’s Run Kevin W Bates @IReadBookTours @KWBatesauthor

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Join us for this tour from Nov 23 to Dec 11, 2020!


Book Details:

Book Title:  Prospector’s Run by Kevin W. Bates
Category:  Adult Fiction (18 yrs +),  277 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher:  Kevin W. Bates
Release date:   April 2019
Tour dates: Nov 23 to Dec 11, 2020
Content Rating:  PG for mild profanity and some depictions of violence.


Book Description:

Five thousand years ago in a savage assault, someone tried to annihilate humanity. They almost succeeded. Now, millennia after the First Stellar Civilization’s cataclysmic destruction, humans have clawed their way back from the brink of extinction and returned to the stars. Massive riches in the form of forgotten tech lie hidden in the ruins of the First Civ’s dead, shattered worlds. For a prospector with luck and the right coordinates, they are ripe for the taking. Holtz Mitsumi has neither. Down and out from a failed expedition, Mitsumi allows an enigmatic stranger to talk him into one more prospecting run. After scraping together a crew, Mitsumi embarks with high hopes. But nothing is as it seems and this run may be his last.

BUY THE BOOK:
AMAZON
Add to Goodreads

Meet the Author:

Kevin W. Bates was born in Berkeley, California and, with the exception of a couple year stint in Sydney Australia and a study abroad program in Japan, was raised there. In his Martin Luther King Jr. High and Berkeley High School years, Kevin developed a life-long fascination with science fiction (and, oddly, nuclear weapons) and a tendency to day dream. He discovered early that among the greatest joys in life is the thrill of losing yourself in a gripping space adventure soaring across the galaxy. Raised on classic science fiction authors such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury, Kevin took up writing science fiction to provide the same mind expanding thrills he enjoyed from those authors and more contemporary ones like Alastair Reynolds, Iain M. Banks, David Brin and Neal Stephenson.

connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ twitter ~ instagram ~ goodreads
 
Tour Schedule:
Nov 23 – Splashes of Joy – book review / guest post / author interview / giveaway
Nov 24 – Sadie’s Spotlight – book spotlight
Nov 25 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Nov 26 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 27 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 30 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Dec 1 – Library of Clean Reads – book review / giveaway
Dec 2 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Dec 3 – Stephanie Jane – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 3 – The Review Crew – book review / giveaway
Dec 8 – Literary Flits – book review / giveaway
Dec 8 – My Fictional Oasis – book review / giveaway
Dec 9 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – book review / giveaway
Dec 10 – Books and Zebras @jypsylynn – book review / giveaway
Dec 11 – Blooming with Books – book review / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

 a Rafflecopter giveaway


 

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Books From The Backlog – Neverlove by Angela Brown #angelabrown #booksfromthebacklog

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Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

The cover below is from Goodreads. I didn’t find a website, twitter…for her, but I didn’t look REAL hard. I like the second cover from Amazon better. How about you?

Neverlove (Shadow Jumpers, #1)
Neverlove (Shadow Jumpers Book 1) by [Angela Brown]

Amazon / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

For seventeen-year-old Abigail, one rash decision leads to an unexpected chance for redemption. At V’Salicus Academy, a unique institute where she trains to become an agent of heaven, she struggles with the pain of her past, the changes of the present and accepts a loveless future until her path – and heart – crosses with Basil’s.

Basil’s off-chance slip of the tongue binds him to a life of servitude to the Devourer, the master of hell. His existence has no upside until a chance meeting with Abigail brings new perspective.

Keeping the truth of their present lives from each other brings disaster when secrets are brought to light and the life of Abigail’s mentor is put on the line.

Can Abigail and Basil save her mentor and salvage their love amid the chaos? Or will they lose it all, destined forever to NEVERLOVE?

Goodreads Ratings: 3.91  · 126 ratings  ·  61 reviews

Well, it looks like in my click happy days I grabbed a lot of YA. But, what are Shadow Jumpers? I added this to my TBR on 10.25.12, but didn’t pick it up from Amazon until 12.27.12. I am looking forward to finding out what Shadow Jumpers are in this mutiracial culture with a interracial romance. Sounds different from a lot of my reads and I am always on the lookout for that. How about it? Does it appeal to you?

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One Sentence Review – City of Ghosts by J H Moncrieff @JH_Moncrieff

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City of Ghosts

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

City of Ghosts by J H Moncrieff is a predictable, at times realistic, horror story that had me rapidly flipping the pages as Jackson Stone was chosen to tell a ghostly tale of pain, anger and vengeance.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Winner of the 2018 Kindle Book Review Award for best Horror/Suspense.

On the day the villagers were forced to flee Hensu, not everyone got out alive.

Jackson Stone is touring the abandoned Chinese city when he slips away from the group to spend the night, determined to publish an account of his ghostly experiences there.

Then he meets Yuèhai, a strange, soft-spoken woman who can tell him the city’s secrets—secrets the Chinese government would kill to keep hidden.

As Jackson uncovers the truth about Yuèhai and the ghost city, he’s drawn into a web of conspiracy, betrayal, and murder. He must risk everything to save himself and bring honor back to Yuèhai and her family.

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