Study of Secrets
A book club’s evening is shattered when one member is found strangled on the study floor. The motive evolves into the Study of Secrets of the remaining three members of the club. Good thing that the college professor, intrepid researcher and part-time sleuth, Lila, is on the scene. Lila isContinue Reading
All of Us
All of Us combines the complex plot of Split and Sybil with a standard thriller. Did one of Carolyn’s personalities kill her sexual predator father? Or is her therapist manipulating her memories to get her to confess even though she is innocent? If so, why? Carolyn was sexually abused asContinue Reading
Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows
Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows is a good example of the atmospheric horror of the 1800s despite being published in 1907. Think of the books (not the movies) Dracula and Frankenstein. I thought the pen and ink drawings were effective in depicting the plot. However, a bit of color would haveContinue Reading
Spy x Family Vol 1
It takes more than DNA to make a family. See how this is purely evident in the excellent manga, Spy x Family Vol 1. “Everyone has a secret self they don’t show to other people. Not to friends…not to lovers…not even to family. They hide who they are and whatContinue Reading
Burn-In
Burn-In is a new type of tale. It’s almost like a future docudrama. It combines a fictional story with existing technology in new and exciting ways. Special Agent Lara Keegan finds a terrorist hidden in plain sight. As a “reward”, she is given a Tactical Autonomous Mobility System robot, orContinue Reading
COVID-19
Well-researched scientific, but without science jargon, study on how COVID-19 started, what warnings were ignored, and how we can do better in the future. Because, unfortunately, there are more pandemics in humanity’s future. Questions and Answers from the Book When did Chinese scientists first talk online about the mysterious pneumoniaContinue Reading
Sister Dear
Sister Dear is a wronged daughter’s ultimate revenge tale. After all, what does Eleanor have to lose? Eleanor’s father lay in a hospice bed dying of cancer. On the last day of his life, she finds out she is not his biological daughter. Unfortunately, there is no one left inContinue Reading
Marshmallow Malice
“You’re not going to believe this, but I found another dead body.”—from Marshmallow Malice, the fifth entry in excellent Amish Candy Shop Mystery series. Bailey is a busy woman. She is the co-owner, with her Amish grandmother, of Swissmen Sweets in rural Harvest, Ohio. Bailey is also the host ofContinue Reading
Touch of Evil
The 1958 Orson Welles film, Touch of Evil, is analyzed from a filmmaker’s perspective. Unfortunately, there is little new information here. It reads like a master’s thesis regarding other’s writers’ analyses of the film. 10% of the book is the Notes section referencing other sources. Another 5% of the bookContinue Reading
Killing Time
My Review By day, Dodie is the manager of the Windjammer restaurant in Etonville, New Jersey. By night (or anytime really), she helps her fiancé, Police Chief Bill, solve crimes. It’s the day before Halloween. And it’s almost Killing Time in Etonville Little Theater’s production of Dracula. Will life imitateContinue Reading
Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Math & Logic Games
Most of us have a few minutes here and there to stretch our brains. Sherlock Holmes Puzzles: Math & Logic Games is the perfect book to pick up occasionally for a few minutes. With 104 puzzles testing various thinking skills, it is perfect to keep your mind active. There areContinue Reading
Doing Agile Right
There is definitely a way of Doing Agile Right and, unfortunately, a way to do agile completely wrong. This book describes both so you can quickly see what your agile team is doing correctly and incorrectly. Agile sounds so good. Faster results. Quick setup. Self-management. More innovative solutions. So whatContinue Reading
Rosemary’s Baby
What is Rosemary’s Baby? The answer is surprisingly much more complicated than a 1969 horror film directed by Roman Polanski. The movie has a gothic woman-in-danger who-can-help-her plot. Newlyweds Rosemary and struggling actor, Guy, find the perfect apartment in New York City. And the neighbors seem so friendly. But thenContinue Reading
Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse Review, Interview and Giveaway
Character Interview with Marygene In your last book, Southern Sass and Killer Cravings, Heather offered the use of her large brood of brothers to beat up your estranged husband, Peter. Based on the bruise on your neck, Peter had recently beat you up. Plus he had just repossessed your carContinue Reading
Learn to Draw (Almost) Anything in 6 Easy Steps
By using simple shapes as a base, you can Learn to Draw (Almost) Anything in 6 Easy Steps by reading this book. If you, or more likely your children, can barely doodle a flower, this is the perfect book to up your drawing game. It assumes no prior knowledge ofContinue Reading
Murder with Clotted Cream
Daisy and her Aunt Iris own Daisy’s Tea Garden in rural Willow’s Creek, Pennsylvania. They do catering jobs on the side. Little do they know that, instead of Apple Gingerbread, they would soon be serving up Murder with Clotted Cream. Former actress Margaret has returned to her home town withContinue Reading