From Dawn to Dusk of the 1960s, Hollywood Eden details the stories of famous California beach bands like Jan and Dean and The Mamas and the Papas. It includes their optimistic beginnings through their worst moments. Not exactly California Dreamin’ by the end. Hollywood Eden is a well-researched look backContinue Reading
Deadly Editions is another great addition to the Scottish Bookshop cozy mystery series. This time Delaney is on a scavenger hunt for a signed first edition of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The prize? A bibliophile’s entire book collection in her will. The challenge? A serialContinue Reading
What was causing a horrific smell and strangely common illnesses in a suburb of Los Angeles? Why were sea stars (aka starfish) pulling off their limbs and then liquefying? What was killing animals and people in West Virginia? How are the new “meatless meats” made and why? These are justContinue Reading
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson return in manga form in Moriarty the Patriot Vol 3. Holmes is arrested for murder! Sir Baskerville is playing the Most Dangerous Game! Moriarty is exposing the dark underside of the British nobility! The two stories here are based loosely, very loosely, on the AContinue Reading
Micro Food Gardening is a space-saving way to learn to garden and eat healthier! Plus, it is just fun to get your hands dirty once in a while. No matter the size of your home and yard, you can micro garden. The author cleverly repurposes items many people already haveContinue Reading
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is clearly in the same sub-genre of fictional 1970s music biography as Daisy and the Six. But this book layers on more of the era’s potent political activism and violent tendencies. Unfortunately, many of the issues are still relevant today. The characters withinContinue Reading
Poppy’s 1980s television career plays a major role in the third book in this cozy mystery series, Poppy Harmon and the Pillow Talk Killer. Poppy, Iris, Violet and Matt comprise the Desert Flowers Detective Agency in Palm Springs, California. Today’s case is unusual. Poppy and Matt are asked to provideContinue Reading
It’s time for a wedding! Serena and Zach are getting married but Zach’s new stepmother, Veronica, is the bridezilla. Where the couple just want a casual event, Veronica does not. She decides to hold the wedding on Zach’s father’s luxurious yacht in Under the Cover of Murder. But will theContinue Reading
Vanessa has a problem. Though happily married, she is having an affair with a much younger man. When she dumps her boy toy, he vows revenge. Later, Vanessa receives a call from the hospital. Her husband has been shot by a masked man. At the hospital, she learns of aContinue Reading
What started as a feminist movement to empower females to have the same sexual options as males has turned into The Pornification of America. Raunch culture is everywhere! It’s in advertising, movies, social media, and even music. This book attempts to explain how we got here and why this environmentContinue Reading
Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere (in a whiny Jan Brady voice)… The Lost Village has mega atmosphere but little else happens in the first half of the book. Then, suddenly, the ghosts turn malevolent! What’s happening? I couldn’t wait to find out. Then, the final twist…is laughably absurd! I mean it’s amazinglyContinue Reading
In Evelyn and the Kung Fu Headmaster, it’s 2130. The Internet of Things has expanded exponentially. Even the couch cushions massage, heat and emit perfume. Everything from cars to helicopters are self-driving. But there’s a problem. Recently, self-driving vehicles have been crashing, killing everyone on board. A virus named VictorContinue Reading
OMG, I adore this book! It’s Indiana Jones meets The DaVinci Code! I can’t recommend The Bounty highly enough. Kate and Nick have a new assignment—searching for a long-hidden trove of Nazi gold. They will not only need their own varied skills but also the skills of their fathers. TheContinue Reading
Author Guest Post Inspiration from Movies As any author would tell you, inspiration for stories comes from all sorts of places. Mine began one evening while watching the Cary Grant movie, Arsenic and Old Lace. The Brewster sisters are a bit quirky and dark. Mortimer (Cary Grant) stumbles upon theirContinue Reading
In Dry Foot, four teens decide in 1980s Miami to rob their local drug lord to escape the neighborhood they fear. The art is beautiful and probably worth the price of the book. However, the plot has some serious pacing problems. It started slow as if the author thought heContinue Reading
Lord Hani is called on by his pharaoh king to determine who assassinated the rebel leader, Abdi-ashirta, in Bird in a Snare. What the Lord discovers is much more than just an assassination plot! “Sometimes I wish I were just a happy little bird, not a human being at all.Continue Reading