Tag Archives: Fiction

Review – Evil by Kevin Bachar @KevinPangolin #evil

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Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Can a place be evil?

How about Play Time Burgers: I know I won’t be jumping into any ball pits.

Bored: Sometimes being bored is a good thing.

Still Waters Run Deep: The lake is hungry and it demands to be fed.

Bus Load Of Trouble: Have you ever played the game where you are trying to guess what the person’s occupation? You never know who you’ll meet.

The Plan: Not every plan is a good plan.

I Dream Of Death: Is it a dream….or is it real?

The Shut In: Who tossed the mannequin onto the front porch?

The Cabin: Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Hello: Is a drabble, a one hundred word story.

Breezy: A Novella: I had an idea of what was going to happen and I know I would never want to be so isolated.

Evil is an anthology that contains nine short stories and one novella. Kevin Bachar can spin a terrifying tale and make you think twice about your preconceived ideas. Sometimes I laughed and sometimes I thought WT….

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Star

GOODREADS BLURB

Ten-year-old Cassie is playing in the ball pit at the local rundown fast-food palace when she feels something bite her leg and doesn’t want to let go.

The passengers on a cross-country bus trip make a stop that will change the lives of everyone on it, and reveal that one of the riders is hiding a horrific secret.

The locals in a remote mountain town know about the wind that supposedly can kill people; they avoid it at all costs. But when a young college meteorologist comes to study it, will he heed their warnings?

From the writer who brought you the best-selling short story collections DREAD, CREEP, and CURSED, comes a new set of tales that will force you to lock the doors and turn on the lights. EVIL forces you to confront the most terrifying element in our world – EVIL. In each story, we see how it manifests and then consumes those who dare to think they can battle it. In this book, GOOD doesn’t triumph over EVIL, it runs away and cowers under the bed and hopes and prays it goes away and never comes back. Can you handle something that is filled with pure EVIL?

  • Genre: Fiction, Horror, Novella, Short Stories
  • 232 pages, Paperback
  • Published September 22, 2025

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.

Complimenting his writing, Kevin has lectured and given presentations at prestigious institutions such as Rutgers University, American University, and the Rubin Museum of Art.
To keep up to date with Kevin’s movies, documentaries, and books –
www.kevinbachar.com
https://twitter.com/KevinPangolin
https://www.instagram.com/kevinbachar/
https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinbachar?l…
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjEKM_m…
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1423190/

MY KEVIN BACHAR REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Millionaires Day by Kit Power #millionairesday #kitpower

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Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it…and who knows the repercussions that come along with it. With the holiday season approaching, people awoke with a million pounds in cash under them, where they lay sleeping. I love how Kit Power shows how the threads are woven, connecting so many characters together. AND, Kit sure isn’t shy about killing off his characters. He did manage to piss me off a time or two, but other times, I was happy with the result.

Millionaires Day by Kit Power is a quick read. I found the concept intriguing and I wasn’t disappointed. As the bodies fell, I wondered how Kit would wrap up the ending. I feel good about it.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

On Sunday, 22nd December, 2019, everyone in the United Kingdom woke up with one million pounds in cash under their beds.

The miracle – or catastrophe – was never adequately explained. In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic the event was largely forgotten or treated as an urban legend.

Until now.

In this explosive volume, investigative journalist/historian Kit Power finally blows the lid off that surreal, impossible morning. Focussing on a few residents of Milton Keynes, a uniquely diverse city northwest of London, Power lays

– the wonder of waking up to a found fortune through the eyes of a neglected child

– the madness and panic of an unprepared public from the perspective of an overworked police officer

– the graphic terror inflicted by a band of reprobate gangsters for whom too much is never enough

– the strangeness of it all through the outlook of man’s best friend

for legal purposes, this book is marketed as fiction. But no one who lived through it could deny the profound impact of…

  • Genre: Fiction, Horror
  • 247 pages, Paperback
  • Published September 23, 2024

ABOUT KIT POWER

Kit Power profile image

Kit Power is an author of horror and dark crime fiction novels, novellas, and short stories; also a reviewer, essayist, and podcaster. The Finite, A Song For The End (BFA finalist, 2021), and Millionaire’s Day (BFA Finalist, 2025) are his most recent fiction works; three novellas with interconnected elements that bring the apocalypse to his home town of Milton Keynes in three very different ways. He encourages you not to read too much into that.

When he’s not gleefully visiting (fictional) destruction on his hometown, Kit writes non-fiction, much of which is collected in My Life In Horror Volumes I and II (BFA Finalist, 2023), reviews, blogs, and podcasts on subjects as diverse as Sherlock Holmes, Bruce Springsteen, and short horror fiction (as one half of The Ultimate Horror Anthology with Jasper Bark). Check out his Patreon for the free newsletter.

 

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  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
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  • Product images are linked/I am an Amazon affiliate.
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Creepalicious – Review – Creep by Kevin Bachar@KevinPangolin #creep

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Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Creep by Kevn Bachar is 21 short stories of horror that are based on things in our every day lives. Things like a man that steals a package from someone’s doorstep, a story that will make you think twice about sitting on a toilet, global warning, a green thumb, and so many more. I was drawn into from the opening words Drip, Drip, swish, swish. Does that WHET your appetite? The book is filled with plenty of cringe worthy moments, sure to add a giant T to terror.

Thanks Kevin, for the opportunity to share my thoughts on Creep: 21 Tales Of Terror.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Star

GOODREADS BLURB

A man who steals packages from people’s doorsteps takes a box he should have never stolen or opened.

When a couple goes on a weekend road trip and gets lost, they end up somewhere that isn’t on any map.

Scientists searching for the ‘God Particle’ that started the universe open a portal to a certain type of hell in one suburban neighborhood.

CREEP takes readers on a terrifying tour of our everyday lives. Wicked stories about the people and places we come in contact with each day that harbor terrible secrets and horrors. We walk through the world thinking we know where every step will lead but if the dark stars align, the commonplace can become shocking. It’s the type of horror that can CREEP up on you and leave you shaking with terror.

Kevin Bachar is an EMMY award-winning documentary filmmaker who has swum with sharks, climbed the peaks of mountains, and explored the darkest of forests. In CREEP, he leaves the wilds of the world to expose the twisted horrors of our daily lives.

  • Genre: Fiction, Horror, Short Stories
  • 300 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published December 14, 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.

Complimenting his writing, Kevin has lectured and given presentations at prestigious institutions such as Rutgers University, American University, and the Rubin Museum of Art.
To keep up to date with Kevin’s movies, documentaries, and books –
www.kevinbachar.com
https://twitter.com/KevinPangolin
https://www.instagram.com/kevinbachar/
https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinbachar?l…
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjEKM_m…
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1423190/

MY KEVIN BACHAR REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Review – Muscat And Motorcycles by Sandra Woffington #sandrawoffington #muscatandmotorcycles

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Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Grizzly blew up, literally; Rogue’s world blew up, figuratively, and Hellfire went to prison.

Now she’s out and whoever wanted Grizzly dead finishes the job, knowing she will be the prime suspect. She is determined to prove it wasn’t her that blew up Grizzly the first time and it sure the hell wasn’t her that finished the job.

Hellfire’s family wants nothing to do with her, so we can put them on the list, along with some of the guys from the Alchemists motorcycle club. There are plenty of suspects and I bounced from one to the other.

We have plenty of action from the opening pages, and it doesn’t let up until the story is told. Sandra Woffington did a great job of keeping the mystery alive. Every time I thought I could eliminate one of the suspects, she makes me second guess myself. I do love a mystery that has plenty of villains. Many times they are more interesting to me than the good guy.

My thanks go out to Sandra Woffington for the opportunity to read and review Muscat And Motorcycles: Wine Valley Mystery 14.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Motorcycles. Mayhem. Murder.

This heart-stopping mystery begins at the California Institute for Women, where Hellfire, mid-twenties, strolls out of prison. She slides onto the back seat of a Harley Davidson, wraps her arms around Rogue’s chest, and they head home to Wine Valley.

Hellfire is bent on clearing her name. She starts with Grizzly, the former president of the Alchemists motorcycle club—the man she supposedly maimed by setting off an explosion. But whoever wanted Grizzly dead, now wants Hellfire dead, too, and history repeats itself.

Detective Max King and Dr. Joy Burton arrive at what’s left of Grizzly’s house to find Rogue hovering over Hellfire’s inert body. It appears that Hellfire has done it again—and Rogue is her accomplice.

Can Max and Joy find the explosive truth and send the guilty party to prison? Or did Hellfire successfully enact revenge?

Sandra Woffington is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author. Step into the wicked world of Wine Valley. Read Muscat and Motorcycles today.

  • Genre: Fiction, Mystery
  • 170 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Expected publication September 27, 2025 by Red Summit Publishers
  • Series: Wine Valley Mystery Series: #14

ABOUT SANDRA WOFFINGTON

Hi, readers! I love to create stories with pithy dialogue, gritty action, mind-blowing plots and unique characters: flawed, passionate, and sometimes disturbed.

I’m a USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestselling author. I completed the Humanities Honors Program at U.C. Irvine and earned my MFA in Creative Writing and MA in English from Chapman University. I’ve spent 15+ years teaching multiple subjects to middle school students. I love to teach as much as I love to write. My students inspire me!

Wine Valley Mystery series is for adults—Noir Crime/Traditional Detective. The boxed set hit #1 Best Seller on Amazon upon release. The prequels of light and cheery Detective Max King, dark and disturbed Dr. Joy Burton, and tough-guy, Officer Reed Steele are FREE.

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/91qn64o3vc

My debut novel, Unveiling, a stand-alone, takes place in the colorful deserts of Saudi Arabia as well as America. It won Honorable Mention from the Writer’s Digest SP book awards. Evil Speaks, first book in the Warriors and Watchers Saga Series, a middle grade fantasy, was Finalist (4th place) in the Reader’s Favorite 5-star awards (that’s out of all of the 5-star books in that category for the year).

I love to hear from readers! Please email me at sandra@sandrawoffington.com or visit my website at SandraWoffington.com. Join my FB Reading group Woffington’s Reading Warriors: Mystery, Murder, Magic & More for updates and freebies. Or follow me on Amazon. Thanks for spending time with me!

Website / Facebook

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    Review – Three Girls Gone by Carolyn Arnold #ThreeGirlsGone #NetGalley @Carolyn_Arnold

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    Amazon / Goodreads

    MY REVIEW

    I am always happy to be back with Detective Amanda Steele of the Prince William County Police Department and eagerly crack open Three Girls Gone by Carolyn Arnold. We are in the small town of Dumfries, Virginia.

    I love Prologues. I love the tease. I love the hook that gets set from the opening pages.

    They ended up where they were supposed to be, just like destiny had intended.

    Unfortunately, that is not a good thing, seeing the killer is doing the placing of the young girls’ bodies. The murder struck close to home for Amanda. She has an adopted nine year old daughter that she loves to pieces. She has the whole work/life conflict, but Zoe understands how important Amanda’s job is, even though she feels disappointed at times. Amanda could relate to the loss of a child, because she had lost her husband and six year old daughter to a car accident.

    There was a child, Julie Gilbert, twelve years back, and a colleague of Amanda’s, Katherine Graves, was back and determined to find out who killed the child. Secrets will be revealed

    I always wonder when Carolyn Arnold will let Amanda have her happy every after. Her and her partner Trent have a push pull relationship. They already have a great working relationship and I think a personal relationship would work for them as well.

    The detailed descriptions of Zoe’s actions are so sweet and easy to visualize, putting a smile on my face.

    Carolyn Arnold never lets me down. She manages to write stories that grab me and never let me go. I race through the pages, having to know what’s coming next, who is doing what to who and how is Amanda going to catch the bad guy. The mystery is not easily solved and I like an author who can keep me guessing.

    My thanks go out to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Three Girls Gone by Carolyn Arnold.

    Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    The girl in the ballerina dress lies still on the carousel with her face toward the blue sky. In her tutu and slippers, she’s ready for her next performance. But as the morning sun shines down upon her, she no longer feels its warmth on her cheeks. Her bright light is gone forever.

    When the body of Hailey Tanner is found in a local park, Detective Amanda Steele races to the scene. Interviewing her devastated parents, they confirm that Hailey never made it home from her dance class. Searching for clues in the family home, Amanda discovers that some ballet clothing was taken from Hailey’s room. Could the killer have been close to her?

    As Amanda and Trent question potential suspects, they’re painfully reminded of a similar case. Julie Gilbert, another gifted performer, was murdered in exactly the same way twelve years ago. Amanda’s former colleague, Katherine Graves, never gave up hope of bringing the killer to justice and now with a clear link between the two victims, she steps back into the investigation.

    But she’s soon warned off when a threatening note is found in the hem of Hailey’s dress. “This girl’s your fault. Stop looking or there will be more.”

    With boxes of evidence files and potential leads, Amanda knows that Katherine must have been getting close, but when a third girl is taken soon after, the clock starts ticking again. There’s no way Amanda will let another child suffer at the hands of this twisted killer. But how much will the team be prepared to sacrifice, and can they save this girl before it’s too late?

    • Genre: Fiction, Mystery
    • 356 pages, Kindle Edition
    • Expected publication August 27, 2025 by Bookouture
    • Series: Detective Amanda Steele #14

    ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD

    CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from police procedurals, hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures. Her crime fiction series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining. This led to her adopting the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

    Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

    She currently lives near London, Ontario, Canada with her husband and two beagles.

    MY REVIEWS FOR CAROLYN ARNOLD

    • You can see my Giveaways HERE.no
    • You can see my Reviews HERE.
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    $10 GC – Curse Of Ashmedei by Michael Snaerravn @goddessfish #curseofashmedei #michalsnaerravn

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    CURSE OF ASHMEDEI by Michal Snaerravn

    GENRE:  Epic fantasy

    MY REVIEW

    I am always up for a good fantasy story to get lost in and Curse Of Ashmedei by Michal Snaerravn provided me one. There are also some cool illustrations.

    Curse Of Ashmedei is one of those stories I find it hard to review without spoilers.

    Curse Of Asmedei is filled with battles, betrayals and death. I felt the loss as Michal killed off some characters I had grown to care about. We have Druids, Demonsblood, Lycans, Trollbloods and Ogrebloods, plus creatures that fly and hide in the sand, so be careful crossing over those dunes.

    I was quickly drawn in by Amnon, a young Demonblood that vows revenge on those who killed his parents. The action is nonstop. I couldn’t figure out who he should trust and who he should kill outright. There is a price to be paid for letting the bad guy live. Strange alliances are made, because he is not the only one that has a price on his head. A Blood War is coming.

    My thanks go out to Michael Snaerravn for the opportunity to read and review Curse Of Ashmedei. The real downside I came across is I need the next book, Golems Of Beithir to find out what happens next.

    Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
    4 Stars

    BLURB

    The Black Star approaches, heralding the cataclysm of Hell’s Gate. The pawns on the chessboard have played the opening gambits as the Races vie for its power. Amnon, a young Demonblood consumed by revenge, finds himself drawn into a maelstrom of treacherous alliances and primeval magic. With a price on his head and outmanoeuvred by Druids and Trollbloods at every turn, he can’t survive alone. An ancient Lycan who has lost his humanity is the only one he can trust.

    EXCERPT

    The sun began to slip behind the ragged slope, staining the wisps of clouds surrounding the peak in blood red.

    It was late summer, and the bitter katabatic wind was making its way down the slope, rustling a few dying leaves, and chilling my bones. A lone peregrine falcon drew lazy spirals high above the erratic maze of rocks and boulders, looking for the unwary marmot that enjoyed the evening sun just a bit too long. Crouched, I carefully studied nearly invisible tracks. It was the same company I had been trailing for weeks now, consisting of an armored party of more than a dozen men and women. The tracks wound along the steep slope and entered the open scree. Soon their trail would be lost in the jumble of jagged rocks and Troll-sized boulders. I hesitated, my tail twitching as it usually did when I was annoyed. The path they were on faced directly against the sun as it dipped into the glacial valley. I knew the valley well, and it was perfect for an all-too-easy ambush. I suspected the company had already detected my presence, and it would be foolish to tempt fate, especially when facing a dozen armed men … headed by a Druid, no less.

    AUTHOR Bio and Links

    Michal Snaerravn is an outdoor enthusiast, an aficionado of the martial arts, and, above all, a sci-fi/fantasy nerd. A fan of all the timeless fantasy classics, he is eager to share his imagination: “Living in seven distinct cultures and reading hundreds of novels in four languages inspired a fantasy world that had to be revealed.” He considers novel writing not for the timid, or for selling a million copies; it is for those who have a vision to share. “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

    Curse of Ashmedei: Book 1: https://amzn.to/3IxIO41

    Golems of Beithir: Book 2: https://a.co/d/hW1YFT7

    Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Michal-Snaerravn/author/B0DHDBSC55

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amnonofhadur/

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    Review – Sanctuary by Michael J Stiehl #michaeljstiehl #sanctuary #blackharepress

    Posted on by

    Amazon / Goodreads

    MY REVIEW

    Sanctuary by Michael J Stiehl is a fantasy, horror, novella. I hesitated with the rating, bouncing between a 3 and a 4. When that happens, I round up. I know it’s hard to grab someone’s attention and hold them til the end when the story is so short, but I feel Sanctuary warrants that extra star.

    Theobard is training to be a monk and has lived a quiet life among the Silent Brotherhood. Everything changes when Dellia arrives. She opens Theobard’s eyes to what is really going on at the Sanctuary. Michael J Stiehl did a great job of increasing the anticipation of what was coming, making me feel that life can be very dangerous at the Sanctuary if you don’t toe the line. The ending caught me offguard and, Michael, you kinda pissed me off…but that’s a good thing.

    My thanks go out to Michael J Stiehl and Black Hare Press for the opportunity to read and review Sanctuary.

    Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    Deep in an impenetrable swamp, lies the Sanctuary. Abandoned there as a child, Theobard has lived a quiet life among the Silent Brotherhood, a monastic sect that never speaks.

    The arrival of Dellia, a beautiful golden-eyed girl with a secret, will change everything.

    Her secret will expose Theobard’s true nature, and that of the Sanctuary, pulling apart the only world he has ever known, leaving nothing the same.

    • Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Novella and Short Stories
    • 93 pages, Kindle Edition
    • Published October 18, 2022 by Black Hare Press

    ABOUT MICHAEL J STIEHL

    Michael J. Stiehl has had a lifelong passion for fiction, in particular horror, comics, adventure and science fiction, and is thrilled to finally be writing some of his own. Michael lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife, two kids and his very silly poodle Jack. When not writing fiction, Michael spends his time riding bikes, camping, reading books, obsessively listening to music and playing D&D with his friends. In short, he hasn’t changed a bit since junior high.

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    Review – Dead West (The Endings #3) by Linda L Richards @lindalrichards #deadwest

    Posted on by
    Dead West
    Dead West
    Dead West

     

    Amazon / Goodreads

    MY REVIEW

    I have read a couple of books in the Endings series by Linda L Richards and loved them, so when I found I had Dead West hanging around from a free book day, I had to read it. I love assassins and I think she is one of the most mysterious assassins I have met in a while. It doesn’t matter what her name is because it is as fictional as her life story, but I like the twist Linda L Richards incorporates into her story.

    I have read another book recently that dealt with the wild horses out west and the struggles they have to survive in the political climate. I love horses and so much of the problems in Dead West ring true.

    It doesn’t take much and she is ready to switch sides. How can she get out of killing Cameron Walker, a rancher in Arizona. He’s a good man and she is torn between what she has been paid to do and what she feels is right. If she reneges on the deal, it could mean the end of her.

    We have a lot of twists and turns in Dead West. The mystery is not easy to figure out and I was surprised when I learned who the biggest villain was. As we approach the end, I wonder how she will make herself and everyone else happy. Dead West is one of my favorite books in the Endings series.

    There are book club questions at the end of the book and they prove thought provoking whether you are part of a book club or an individual, like me. I love a book that makes me think and sticks with me after the reading.

    Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    Rule #1 of being a hired never get to know your target . . . and definitely don’ t fall in love with them

    Taking lives has taken its toll. Her moral justifications have faltered. Do any of the the people she has killed — some of them heinous, but all of them human — deserve to die?

    Her next target is Cameron Walker, a rancher in Arizona. When she arrives at his remote desert estate to carry out her orders, she discovers that he is a kind and beautiful man. After a lengthy tour of the ranch, not only has she not killed him, she’s wondering who might want him dead. 

    She procrastinates long enough that a vibe grows between them. At the same time, she learns that he’s passionate about wild horses and has been fighting a losing political battle to save the mustangs that live on protected land near his property. He’s even received death threats from those who oppose him.

    She finds herself trying to protect the man she was sent to kill, following a trail that leads from the desert, to the Phoenix cognoscenti, to the highest offices in Washington, DC. Along the way she encounters kidnappers and killers, horse thieves and even human traffickers. Hopefully she can figure out who ordered the hit before they hire someone else to execute the assignment.

    Perfect for fans of Dean Koontz and Tana French

    While the novels in The Endings Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is as:

    Endings
    Exit Strategy
    Dead West

    • Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
    • 306 pages, Kindle Edition
    • Published September 5, 2023 by Oceanview Publishing

    ABOUT LINDA L RICHARDS

    Linda L. Richards is the award-winning author of over a dozen books. The founder and publisher of January Magazine and a contributing editor to the crime fiction blog The Rap Sheet, she is best known for her strong female protagonists in the thriller genre. Richards is from Vancouver, Canada and currently makes her home in Phoenix, Arizona. New for 2024: INSENSIBLE LOSS, the fourth book in the Endings series featuring a reluctant hit woman struggling towards the light. Linda’s 2021 novel, the first in this series, ENDINGS, was recently optioned by a major studio for series production. Richards is an accomplished horsewoman and an avid tennis player, and is on the National Board of Sisters in Crime.

    Catch Up With Linda L. Richards:
    LindaLRichards.com
    Goodreads – @lindalrichards
    BookBub – @linda1841
    Instagram – @lindalrichards
    Threads – @lindalrichards
    Twitter/X – @lindalrichards
    Facebook – @lindalrichardsauthor

     

    MY LINDA L RICHARDS REVIEWS

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    Review – Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino #katiesturino #netgalley

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    GOODREADS

    MY REVIEW

    Sunny Side Up is Katie Sturino’s debut novel and she knocked it out of the park.

    I don’t read a lot of chick lit, but there was something about Sunny Side Up that spoke to me. The main character, Sunny Greene, is not a slim and trim damsel in distress. She is a plus size business owner with a new goal. She’s planning a vacation, but she can’t find a bathing suit that she likes, so she, along with her best friends, create a line for plus sizes, which quickly becomes a success.

    She has a newsletter that becomes hugely popular. Kinda reminds me of Carey Bradshaw of Sex and the City (like the blurb says), only plus size. Sunny has a fun sense of humor. I laughed out loud at:

    Were there new dating rules she didn’t know about? Moves to practice? How much hair were people working with down there nowadays, anyway?

    Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino has some predictable moments but I enjoyed spending time with Sunny. I loved watching her become all she can be and finding a love interest. So, if you are looking for a light, entertaining read for the beach season, you can’t go wrong with Sunny Side Up.

    Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    “A clever and stylish ride.”
    —New York Times, The Summer’s Best Beach Reads

    “Escape into a world of designer clothes and trendy NYC restaurants, where career dreams come true at the drop of a hat, preferably by the pool in a flattering swimsuit.”
    —Oprah Daily, 26 Best Summer Reads of 2025

    From body-acceptance advocate and MEGABABE founder Katie Sturino comes a heartwarming and hilarious debut.

    Sunny Greene is thirty-five, recently divorced, facing the looming prospect of going solo to her little brother’s wedding, and currently trying to find anything plus-sized in the Bergdorf Goodman swimsuit department that doesn’t make her want to cry. It’s not going well. But isn’t rock bottom the perfect place to start a climb?

    She decides it’s now or never. Sunny has her PR empire, her gorgeous Chelsea apartment, her two dogs, and her loyal best friends. Maybe it’s time to just love her body and accept herself for who she is. With a new commitment to confidence, her journey begins. Who says a plus-sized divorcee can’t put herself first, feel beautiful, and date up a storm?

    Of course things are never straightforward in the dating world. Is fate knocking at her door with Dennis, the charming and down-to-earth mailman, or should she be with Ted, the business tycoon who seems ready to make her size-inclusive swimsuit brand a reality? And what should she do about her ex, who shows up unexpectedly, eager to reconnect?

    With the same candor and confidence her followers love, Sturino brings us Sunny Greene, a Carrie Bradshaw for the next generation, and her journey through the trials and triumphs of dating, friendship, and finding yourself.

    • Genre: Beach Reads, Chick Lit, Comedy and Humor, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Plus Size, Romance
    • Kindle Edition
    • Expected publication June 24, 2025 by Celadon Books

    ABOUT KATIE STURINO (from Amazon)

    Katie Sturino is an entrepreneur, author and body acceptance advocate. Through her personal platform @katiesturino, she lends her voice and personal style to raise awareness for size inclusivity, empowering women of all sizes to find their confidence and celebrate their style. Her regular content series, #SuperSizeTheLook and #MakeMySize, have gone viral, reaching millions of people and attracting global media attention.

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    Review – The Great Decay by Steven Jenkins #thegreatdecay @Author_Jenkins

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    GOODREADS

    MY REVIEW

    Zombies are not your friend!

    Ruby and her friends find what may be the last zombie on earth, and they make him their friend. They hang out at the cave with him, until…

    The group of friends are too young to remember The Great Decay, a zombie apocalypse that nearly wiped out the human race.

    Of course, I know what’s coming. I mean, look at that cover. Is there anything good about it?

    The towering walls that had been built fifteen years ago during The Great Decay…Are they there to keep the zombies or the humans, in or out?

    The short chapters and shifting points of view make The Great Decay an easy, fast paced read.

    I’ve read enough zombie stories to be on the lookout for one that I can’t predict who will live and who will die. I want to be surprised. AND, I don’t mind if it’s one that has me wanting to throw my ereader at the wall. In fact, that gets my emotions riled up and makes if even better. Then I know, I have to be on my toes, and so do they.

    My thanks go out to Steven Jenkins for the opportunity to share The Great Decay with you.

    Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
    4 Stars

    GOODREADS BLURB

    “Stand By Me meets World War Z.”

    Like so many towns and cities, the giant walls around Camberwood stand as silent reminders of humanity’s darkest hour—The Great Decay: a zombie invasion that nearly wiped-out mankind.

    For seventeen-year-old Ruby and her friends, these walls are nothing more than relics of a history they’re too young to remember, monuments to their parents’ trauma.

    Ruby dreams of a better life away from this small, soul-crushing town. Away from her alcoholic mother who still grieves the loss of her husband.

    But boredom suddenly lifts when Ruby and her friends discover what seems impossible: a lone, emaciated zombie, perhaps the last of its kind, trapped in an abandoned coal mine. The creature appears docile, almost pitiful—a living artifact begging to be studied. Against all reason, they keep it secret, drawn to this rotting piece of forbidden history.

    But their dangerous game of friendship with the undead is about to shatter their safe, uneventful world.

    As a new wave of infection erupts within Camberwood’s walls, Ruby faces a devastating realization: she and her friends haven’t just unearthed a scientific curiosity—they’ve unleashed the very nightmare the last generation barely survived.

    As the shadows of the past rise again, Ruby must fight to prevent a second Great Decay—or watch everything she loves crumble into ruin.

    • Genre: Fiction, Horror, Zombies

    ABOUT STEVEN JENKINS

    Born in the small Welsh town of Llanelli, Steven began writing stories at the age of eight. His inspiration came from his love for ‘80s horror movies, and novels by Stephen King and the late Richard Matheson.

    During Steven’s teenage years, as well as being a black-belt kickboxer, he became a great lover of writing dark and twisted poems – six of which gained him publications with Poetry Now, Brownstone Books, and Strong Words.

    Over the next few years, and after becoming a father and a husband, Steven’s passion drove him towards writing short stories, gaining him further publication with Dark Moon Digest: an American horror magazine. His terrifying tales of the afterlife and zombies gained him positive reviews, particularly his story, Burning Ambition, which also came runner up in a Five-stop-story contest.

    Finally, in 2013, after years of hard work (and countless rejection letters), Steven got his debut novel, Fourteen Days, published by Barking Rain Press.

    Website / Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / Instagram

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