The List

The List is a standalone novel by Steve Berry. Berry has written nineteen Cotton Malone novels, six stand-alone thrillers, two Luke Daniels adventures, and several works of short fiction. This novel is a murder mystery and I loved it.

The publisher's summary:

After a ten-year self-imposed exile, Brent Walker is returning home to Concord, a quaint town in central Georgia nestled close to the Savannah River. Two years ago his father died and now Brent, hired by Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company as its assistant general counsel, is returning to care for his ailing mother.

For decades Southern Republic has invested heavily in Concord, creating a thriving community where its employees live, work, and retire. But the genteel sheen of this quiet town is deceiving, and when a list of cryptic code surfaces, Brent starts to see the cracks.

Southern Republic’s success is based largely on a highly unorthodox and deadly system to control costs, known only to the three owners of the company. Now, one of them, Christopher Bozin, has had a change of heart. Brent’s return to Concord, a move Bozin personally orchestrated, provides his conscience with a chance at redemption. So a plan is set into motion, one that will not only criminally implicate Bozin’s two partners, but also place Brent Walker square in the crosshairs of men who want him dead—with only one course left available.

Find and reveal the shocking secret of the list.

This story is a page turner. In fact, I believe it has a faster pace than Berry's Cotton Malone books and that is saying something. The book opens with the first murder of the story and then moves to the main character, Brent Walker, returning to his hometown Concord, Georgia from Atlanta. Walker was an attorney working for the Fulton County State's Attorney where he prosecuted murders. His mother's poor health prompted his return. As Walker assimilates back into his rural community, he becomes involved with union negotiations for a new contract at the paper mill. This time, he represents the mill. 

I enjoyed reading about the Middle Georgia setting. Having visited it myself once or twice, I had a trip down memory lane. Even reading the author’s words "middle Georgia" brought a smile. What I didn't know was that author Steve Berry grew up in a similar paper town in Middle Georgia, which is why his descriptions are spot on. 

The characters are complex. The two main protagonists are Brent Walker and his childhood buddy Hank. Hank has been the union president for 20 odd years and always gets what he wants. He was even the mayor if Concord for awhile. There are several villains. It is hard to choose just one as being the baddest. The paper mill's three owners were the masterminds behind the list. However, their security hires are the folks who do the dirty work concerning the list. I am not going to be a spoiler but you may be able to determine what the list is from the review I've given.

The List is spellbinding. You simply must read this book. 5 out of 5 stars.

All The Words We Know

I selected this book for the Key Word Reading Challenge. August has the word "word" as one of the six options in a book title. It is a suspense novel by Bruce Nash who has written three books. Words is the first book of his to be published in the United States.

The publisher's summary:

Rose may be in her eighties and suffering from dementia, but she’s not done with life just yet. Alternately sharp as a tack and spectacularly forgetful, she spends her days roaming the corridors of her assisted living facility, musing on the staff and residents, and enduring visits form her emotionally distant children and granddaughters. But when her friend is found dead after an apparent fall from a window, Rose embarks on an eccentric and determined investigation to discover the truth and uncover all manner of secrets…even some from her own past.

The story is not what I expected.  The publisher's summary indicates that Rose investigates the death of a friend who lives in a nearby room in their assisted living facility. It's not like investigations we see in murder mysteries. Rose has severe dementia. She mispronounces almost every word and understands nothing. However, when her friend who uses a wheelchair dies after jumping out of her window onto the parking lot, she knows that's impossible. Her friend could not walk on her own. A few days later Rose sees a nurse enter another person's room with a pillow. The next morning this person is found to have died in their sleep. She now knows how her friend died. Rose uses the diary given to her to keep track of events to secretly write down the clues she discovers.  It seems that when patients run out of money that the "angry nurse" comes by with a pillow and that patient dies "in their sleep."  That this happens is not surprising to me.

The author did a good job of describing how people with dementia behave and speak. However, he went too far. The book wasn't readable with all of the babbling. It became annoying after a few chapters. The more I have thought about it, the more it seems condescending and not funny as the author intended. On top of that Rose's investigation began more than halfway after the first chapter. That is way too late for a mystery.

Words was a disappointment. The premise of an assisted living resident solving a murder was interesting which is why I picked the book to read. No rating. 

Muybridge

Muybridge is the graphic biography of Eadweard Muybridge. He was one of the earliest pioneers in photography during the nineteenth century. He is famous for his time sequence of a horse galloping. Cartoonist Guy Delisle brings this unknown photographer to life in this book.

The publisher's summary:

Sacramento, California, 1870. Pioneer photographer Eadweard Muybridge becomesentangled in railroad robber baron Leland Stanford’s delusions of grandeur. Tasked withproving Stanford’s belief that a horse’s hooves do not touch the ground while galloping atfull speed, Muybridge gets to work with his camera. In doing so, he inadvertently createsone of the single most important technological advancements of our age―the invention of time-lapse photography and the mechanical ability to capture motion.

Critically-acclaimed cartoonist Guy Delisle (Pyongyang, Hostage) returns with anotherengrossing foray into nonfiction: a biography about Eadweard Muybridge, the man whomade pictures move. Despite career breakthrough after career breakthrough, Muybridgewould only be hampered by betrayal, intrigue, and tragedy. Delisle’s keen eye for detailsthat often go unnoticed in search of a broader emotional truth brings this historical figureand those around him to life through an uncompromising lens.

Translated from the French by Helge Dascher & Rob Aspinall, Muybridge turns a spotlighton what lives in the shadow of an individual’s ambition for greatness, and proves thatEadweard Muybridge deserves to be far more than just another historical footnote.

The biography begins with Muybridge as an adult and continues until his death. He traveled to the U.S. west coast to take the first photos of Yosemite and American Indians and was known nationwide for his feats. He also traveled to Europe in order to obtain more job assignments. He married but was never home, always traveling to a photo shoot. His wife got bored and cheated on him, getting pregnant in the process. Muybridge exploded in rage when he found out. I was surprised by his anger because, after all, he could be away from home for as long as a year. 

The art work was done in black and white drawings in comic strip panels. It was cool to see Muybridge's actual photos throughout the book too. The dialogue was spot on and showed how big Muybridge's ambitions were.

I enjoyed reading about one of our early pioneers in this field. I wish, however, that Delisle would write more travelogues. I loved reading them.  5 out of 5 stars.

An Inside Job

An Inside Job is Dan Silva's 25th Gabriel Allon spy thriller. The hero, Allon, is a retired Israeli spy who now works as an art restorer in Venice. This installment of the series is an art theft thriller. Allon, however, uses associates from his spy career to solve the mystery.

The publisher's summary: 

Sometimes the only way to recover a stolen masterpiece is to steal it back . . .

Gabriel Allon has been awarded a commission to restore one of the most important paintings in Venice. But when he discovers the body of a mysterious woman floating in the waters of the Venetian Lagoon, he finds himself in a desperate race to recover a lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.

The painting, a portrait of a beautiful young girl, has been gathering dust in a storeroom at the Vatican Museums for more than a century, misattributed and hidden beneath a worthless picture by an unknown artist. Because no one knows that the Leonardo is there, no one notices when it disappears one night during a suspicious power outage. No one but the ruthless mobsters and moneymen behind the theft -- and the mysterious woman whom Gabriel found in a watery grave in Venice. A woman without a name. A woman without a face.

The action moves at breakneck speed from the galleries and auction houses of London to an enclave of unimaginable wealth on the French Riviera -- and, finally, to a shocking climax in St. Peter's Square, where the life of a pope hangs in the balance. An elegant and stylish journey through the dark side of the art world and the Vatican's murky finances, An Inside Job proves once again that Daniel Silva is the reigning master of international intrigue and suspense.

Silva writes intense suspense stories and An Inside Job is one of his finest. It is impossible to take a break from reading the book as each chapter ends with suspense. Silva thoroughly researched the politics of the countries involved in the story, historical facts, the art of the old masters, as well as the restoration of oil paintings before beginning to write. I learned alot about the art world from reading the book. The information about the restoration of paintings went over my head because Silva was quite technical in the description of the materials that his character Allon used.

This installment of the series had the most character development. With the spy business put aside, Allon could concentrate on his relationships with his wife and kids. It was cute to see the brash Gabriel Allon playing with his kids and even attempting to cook. He is not domestic but is growing in that regard. Wife Chiara is seen as the main breadwinner which I thought was about time. Chiara manages the art restoration business for Gabriel. 

The pace is fast from the first page but it speeds up during the final third of the book. Resolving the mystery surrounding the stolen artwork seemed similar to Allon's spy escapades. He used his connections from that part of his life to find and return the art.

An Inside Job is a fun and fast read read. Mystery lovers are going to want to read it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Apostle Conspiracy

It's hard to believe that there are now nine books in this series. I have enjoyed them all, including this one.

The publisher's summary:

Amid the grandeur of the Vatican, the bones of Saint Peter-the Church's most sacred relics-hold secrets that could reshape its history. Father Michael Dominic, Prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, uncovers a mysterious, nearly forgotten inscription linking Linus, Saint Peter's first successor, to foundational decisions that shaped the early Church. What begins as a scholarly exploration of Linus's legacy quickly turns into an urgent quest to protect the truth. With the help of Vatican archaeologist Marcus Russo, Michael follows cryptic clues buried deep within the Archives, revealing Linus as a pivotal yet hidden architect of the faith-and uncovering a history the Church may not be ready to face.

But Michael's work draws the attention of Elliot Voss, a shadowy and powerful figure obsessed with the bones of Saint Peter. For Voss, the relics are more than sacred artifacts; they are a path to immortality and ultimate control. His dangerous ambition drives him to manipulate and deceive, drawing Michael into a web of intrigue where every revelation is a potential threat to the sanctity of the Church. Voss's relentless pursuit of power forces Michael to confront the darker side of faith and the fragility of legacy, as the sacred bones become the centerpiece of a deadly game.

As Michael and Marcus uncover Linus's hidden legacy and navigate the peril surrounding Saint Peter's relics, their discoveries bring more questions than answers. Meanwhile, Michael's evolving relationship with Hana Sinclair takes an unexpected turn, challenging his convictions and forcing him to face personal truths as profound as the mysteries he's working to unravel. Set against the shadowy intrigue of the Vatican, this gripping novel explores the tension between history and faith, power and preservation-where even the holiest of relics can become the battleground for humanity's greatest struggles.

All of the books in the series are fast paced. After beginning to read, my next realization is that I have already read 100 pages. I decided to read a few more and take a break but forgot about the time and finished the book in one sitting. The story is that entertaining.

I wouldn't say that there is heart-pounding suspense as most thrillers are known for. The chapters end without cliffhangers but the reader will need to use their intellect in order to decifer the challenges that Father Dominic is facing. Just plain curiosity is also what keeps you reading. The identity of Linus and his relationship to Peter is the biggest challenge. Father Dominic meets with the Vatican's chief archeologist several times to view and discuss the writings on the sarcophagus that Peter's bones were found in. There are several other decisions that he must make as the story evolves such as how best to protect the bones of St. Peter while they are publicly displayed for the 1100th anniversary of their re-intombment in the Vatican. I found myself googling throughout my read to find out the background on every detail of this mystery. I couldn’t wait for the ending to read the Author’s Notes. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this intellectual mystery. I think all mystery lovers will enjoy it and I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Last Patient

I received an advanced review copy of this book from Librarything's Early Reviewer's Club. The book was published in February 2025. It is set both in post WWII Romania and modern day Romania. 

The publisher's summary:  

THE LAST PATIENT is a sweeping historical novel that captures one family’s struggle for love, survival, and identity under the grip of Communism in Romania. Spanning fifty years of political upheaval, this saga explores how ordinary lives are shaped—and sometimes shattered—by extraordinary times.

Kostea and Clara meet and fall in love shortly before World War II. As they get married, build careers, and raise a son, the world around them changes rapidly—and often violently. From the two-bedroom apartment they are “patriotically” forced to share with another family, to Bucharest’s rampant food shortages, Romania’s Cold War history plays out in their day-to-day lives.

Kostea, a charming yet domineering surgeon, craves control in a place where party loyalists hold the reins of power. His pursuit of respect and authority threatens his promising medical career and his relationships at home, risking Clara’s love. While the temptation to break through the Iron Curtain is omnipresent, defection to the West comes with its own uncertainties. Ultimately, The Last Patient is a poignant exploration of the eternal tension between personal aspirations and love.

This book grabbed me from the start and pulled me in. I fell in love with Clara and Kostea's family. Both of them were polite and helpful to each other as a married couple should be. Clara’s mother Ina and their son Alexander, nicknamed Toddy, were adorable as well. They are the type of people who follow all the rules. They obeyed the rules set by their country's communist government and respected societal rules governing relationships between men and women. The only activity the communists were angry with them was over Clara and Kostea having their son Toddy baptized in church. The Party was opposed to all religions. Both Clara and Kostea are doctors so they were held in high esteem by the government and by their local neighbors. 

The communist ideology of Romania was the setting of the novel. While the family lived in Bucharest there wasn't much of a description of the architecture, foods and customs other than the depths to which the characters had to go go in order to get housing and groceries. Lying on housing applications was the norm so that when one family member no longer needed their apartment, another family member could move in without upsetting the communists. Standing in line for hours just to buy bread or other groceries was also a norm. Clara frequently became too tired to cook dinner after a full day at work and then hours in line for food. They were lucky that Clara’s mother Ina lived with them and helped out. Kostea easily did favors for his superiors and received perks in return. He was lucky to travel throughout Europe as he attended medical conferences. Even though the family had to daily deal with new rules set by the communists, they were privileged.

I loved this family saga. They all eventually ended up in the U. S. and the identity of the last patient was a surprise, a sad surprise. Historical fiction fans will enjoy this new setting for the genre. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn

I knew when I picked up this book that it would stretch my reading potential. Here, we have a paranormal investigator who looks into mysteries to solve. I was unprepared, though, for how bizarre this book really is. It is way different than my usual fare of thrillers and historical mysteries but I thought I should stretch my mind. 

The publisher's summary:

Oscar Zahn is just like any other paranormal investigator—he’s working hard to make the world a better place, one exorcism at a time. So what if he’s just a floating skull wearing a trench coat? He’s still got a heart of gold!

In this first installment of the online webcomic sensation The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, join Oscar and his mysterious assistant Agnes as they embark on a terrifying yet heartwarming journey across ethereal realms, rescuing lost souls and solving creepy mysteries. Their travels take them across great distances and even through time, as Oscar sleuths out why the spirits he contends with are restless and malcontent. Yet the more mysteries he solves, the clearer it becomes that there's a greater game afoot, one that involves Oscar's own forgotten origin story.

Readers will love this beautifully illustrated paranormal graphic novel from Tri Vuong, the beloved creator of Webtoon’s The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn.

This volume collects episodes 1–65 of the Webtoon comic The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn.

The book contains eight short graphic stories that feature character Oscar Zahn. Out of the eight stories, the three about WWI were my favorites. All of them were about different characters in the Battle of the Somme. When I say that they were my favorites, I am really saying that I understood them. I knew what was happening. Not so with the other five stories. They were beyond my ability to understand. I cannot fault the author for writing a genre that I don't normally read so there will be no rating of the book. I am sure that there is a market for this kind of book as I have read many positive reviews of it. If you are into paranormal comics, you may enjoy it.

Profane

This 2024 publication of the Profane comic collects releases 1 through 5. It's a well drawn and colored comic in a 8" x 11" softcover book. The main character is Will Profane, a well-dressed African American. He believes that he is a private detective who has been tasked with finding the killer of Spud Coltrane. Profane soon realizes that instead he's actually a fictional character in a story written by Coltrane. 

Profane pursues his investigation into Coltrane's murder but begins having thoughts about where he himself stands as a person given that Coltrane cannot continue to write about his character. Will he die? The main suspects into the murder are Ken Kane, Spud’s professional rival, Lili Macbeth, a beautiful nightclub singer and Red Glove, Profane’s nemesis who is determined to escape his tormented existence of losing to Will again and again. As Profane begins crossing suspects off his list, he worries that  someone from the world of non-fiction can become a suspect.

I thought it was funny that Profane was not a real person but, rather, a fictional character. The author was creative to come up with this idea. Another aspect of Profane's character that I enjoyed was his witty personality. It made reading his dialogue fun. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much the artwork contributed to my enjoyment of the book. The comic strip panels were beautifully colored by Giada Marchisio and I even liked the font. 

All in all, Profane was a fantastic read. 5 out of 5 stars.

Part of the Solution

I received an advanced review copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on July 14, 2025.

The publisher's summary: 

It's 1978, and Jennifer Morgan, a sassy New Yorker, has escaped to the counterculture village of Flanders, Massachusetts. Her peaceful life is disrupted when one of her customers at the Café Galadriel is found dead. Everyone is a suspect—including the gentle artisan woodworker, the Yeats-wannabe poet, the town's anti-war hero, the peace-loving Episcopalian minister, and the local organic farmer who can hold a grudge.

Concern for her community prompts Jennifer to investigate the murder with the sometimes-reluctant help of Ford McDermott, a young police officer. Little does she know that the solution lies in the hidden past.

Part of the Solution blends snappy dialogue, unconventional settings, and a classic oldies soundtrack, capturing the essence of a traditional whodunnit in a counterculture era. ​

I have a rule that I cease reading a book if I am not interested by page fifty. With this book page 50 is where the story took off. This is when the murder occurred. The investigation though was slow, even nonexistent, until page 175. 

While I am over 60 and am familiar with the hippie language and outlook on life, I doubt that younger readers will understand or even care about it. There was too much culture written in to the story and not enough action. Dialogue between the characters on topics unrelated to solving the murder was prominent. In fact, too prominent. There was little action other than the characters talking together and working. A good writing tip would be to use only 2 or 3 hippie idioms and concentrate on solving the crime. A writer can always add more culture in future books. It's best not to go overboard with the culture. It confuses the reader.

Jennifer Morgan is the protagonist. I know this because of the publisher's summary. Her 7 or 8 friends have equal billing in the book though. It's hard to tell who is supposed to be in charge of the investigation. Of course there wasn't much of an investigation either by the police or the characters. 

I was disappointed with this book. It had several problems. There was no main character, no investigation and way too much culture. 2 out of 5 stars.

The Master Jeweller

Weina Dai Randel published the Empress Wu duology in 2016. It was a smash success. My reviews of The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon were chart topping. Her next book was The Last Rose of Shanghai which was published in 2021. She has written another fantastic story of a young Chinese teenager who is on her own at 16 after her mother’s death.

The publisher's summary:

Harbin, China, 1925. Fifteen-year-old Anyu Zhang discovers a priceless Fabergé egg in the snow and returns it to the owner, Isaac Mandelburg, a fugitive and former master jeweler for Russia’s imperial palace. In gratitude, he leaves her his address in Shanghai and a promise of hospitality, forever altering her fate.

A dazzling world of jewelry shrouded in secrecy and greed awaits, when later Anyu arrives at Mandelburg’s jewelry shop as an orphan. Single-minded and relentless, Anyu will stop at nothing until she masters the craft of jewelry making. But she soon finds herself entangled in the treacherous underbelly of the city, where violent gangsters stalk the streets, vicious rivals seek to exploit her, and obsessive collectors conspire to destroy the people she loves.

From snow-crowned land to diamond-sparkling showrooms to a pristine island on the brink of war, The Master Jeweler chronicles an exciting journey of a bold prodigy artisan―including her losses and triumphs―in a glamorous yet perilous world of treasure.

At first I thought that the story was slow in the beginning. Anyu did not even know that she wanted to be a jeweler until one third of the way into the story. I was expecting a quicker transition for her and thought that her life story would begin when she was making jewelry. To understand Anyu's decision-making, though, the reader needs to know about her childhood.

I loved reading about the different types of techniques utilized in crafting jewelry from drilling, chasing,  filing metal, cuttlefish casting, enameling, and lost-wax casting. Other techniques included metal using roller printing, reticulation, and etching techniques. Some learning about gemstones was also part of her education. I also enjoyed reading about Anyu learning to handle the tools in order to get the results she wanted.

The ugly part of Anyu's life was the discrimination she experienced from the Chinese warlords and the Japanese soldiers. Anyu has what we Americans call "true grit." Nothing stopped her from achieving her goals. Once Anyu became a jeweler she had to deal with gangsters demanding protection money as well as competitors taking advantage of her. 

The Master Jeweler is a masterpiece of writing that historical fiction fans will love.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Story She Left Behind

I chose this novel for the Key Word Reading Challenge. The book was published on March 18, 2025. Inspired by a true literary mystery, its a story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.

The publisher's summary:

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.

By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.

This was an intriguing story. The mystery to be solved concerns Clara's mother. Clara knows she is dead but hopes that she isn't. Clara also hopes to find the language that Bronwyn created so that she can translate Bronwyn's sequel. The details are revealed slowly. The author builds up the mystery with plenty of suspense that kept me reading until I finished the book in one sitting.

The setting description of London on the 1950s was awful to imagine. The air was polluted from the use of coal that people couldn't see more than 3 feet in front of them. Londoners always had handkerchiefs to cover their mouths so that they would not choke yo death. For our characters, Wynnie almost died twice. Clara had to give her injections of medicine to keep Wynnie's asthma under control. England's bad air is a historical fact and resulted in the Parliament enacting a clean air act in the late 1950s.

The story had a feel-good ending. I am happy that it ended this way because the author could have chosen a number of different endings that would be plausible. I loved the book and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The Holy Roller

I found this newly published comic while browsing at Barnes and Noble. It has an interesting premise. Pro bowler Levi Coen must quit his job and return to his hometown in order to care for his ailing father. He discovers that the town is now run by neo-nazis. Levi becomes a vigilante hero who smashes people's faces with a bowling ball. He only uses balls from his bowling ball collection to defend himself. Levi then battles to liberate the town and becomes the Holy Roller.  This edition, 978-1-5343-9732-3, collects all nine issues of The Holy Roller. It was published in March 2025.

The story begins with Levi as a child, then as a sailor. We don't see him deciding to be a superhero until a third of the way into the story. Levi's father was a pro bowler too and his father is upset that Levi didn't bowl professionally. Levi is Jewish. The nazi town leaders do not like him so they burned down his father's house, leaving them with no where to live. This is when Levi becomes a superhero. 

The artwork was fantastic! However, some of the pages showed violent scenes as well as the victims with their heads bashed in and bleeding. Young readers may not want to see these images. Also, there is alot of salty language that may be inappropriate for young readers. I love how Levi dispensed justice by slamming people with the bowling ball. It was comical. There was alot of humor written into the story too.

I thoroughly enjoyed this comic and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Kill Your Darlings

I discovered Peter Swanson two years ago and love his heart-pounding thrillers. Kill Your Darlings was just recently published on June 10, 2025 and it's a different kind of mystery. It's a murder mystery in reverse, tracing a marriage back in time to uncover the dark secret the couple shares.

The publisher's summary:

Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well…except that Wendy wants to murder her husband.

What happens next has everything to do with what happened before. The story of Wendy and Thom’s marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple’s lives—their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague—all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago.

Eventually we learn the details of what Thom and Wendy did in their early twenties, a secret that has kept them bound together through the length of their marriage. But its power over them is fraying, and each of them begins to wonder if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries their secrets to the grave.

I expected the book to be about a crime and cover up because of the genre the author writes. However, it's really about the end of Thom and Wendy's marriage. The story opens in the year 2023 and is told in reverse until the year 1982, when Thom and Wendy, who share a birthday, met at the age of fourteen. Toward the end we find out what their secret is. Even though the story unravels slowly, I was engaged until the 70% mark. After that I just wanted to be done with the book. As a character study of a marriage it's brilliantly written. However, this author usually writes psychological thrillers so my expectation was that Kill Your Darlings would follow that format. I am disappointed with the book but realize how well the end of the marriage was revealed. 

3 out of 5 stars.

We Called Them Giants

I purchased a hard back of this comic last week. It was satisfying to hold an actual book in my hands. Usually I read ebooks. Turning the pages felt surreal but that matched the dystopian nature of the story.

The main character is Lori. She is a recently adopted teenager who awakens one morning to a mysteriously depopulated world. Lori had heard about the rapture from friends and neighbors but doesn't believe that is why everyone disappeared. She calls it the not-rapture event. Lori ventures outside and finds storefronts and other businesses devoid of employees. Most of the food shelves are bare. A few days later, while rummaging for food, Lori comes across her best friend Annette. They decide to stay together in a cave and forage for food daily. There are gangs, monsters and aliens that they must avoid in order to stay alive. Along the way they meet an elderly lady in the same circumstances and join forces with her. She knows the red giant and the green giant and how they operate. The red giant is benevolent while the green giant exudes evil. You can probably see where this story is going.

We Called Them Giants was a finalist for the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic. I am rating it five out of five stars.

Bad Lands

I selected this book for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. It was published on June 3, 2025 and is the 5th Nora Kelly mystery by the authors.When I began reading the book this afternoon, I was planning on reading just 3 or 4 chapters. That plan became impossible. I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the story. It's a gripping thriller with plenty of setting references to the climate of New Mexico and Indian artifacts. 

The publisher's summary:

In the New Mexico badlands, the skeleton of a woman is found—and the case is assigned to FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. The victim walked into the desert, shedding clothes as she went, and died in agony of heatstroke and thirst. Two rare artifacts are found clutched in her bony hands—lightning stones used by the ancient Chaco people to summon the gods. 

Is it suicide or… sacrifice? 

Agent Swanson brings in archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate. When a second body is found—exactly like the other—the two realize the case runs deeper than they imagined. As Corrie and Nora pursue their investigation into remote canyons, haunted ruins, and long-lost rituals, they find themselves confronting a dark power that, disturbed from its long slumber, threatens to exact an unspeakable price. 

I didn't have huge expectations for the novel as I felt earlier books in the Nora Kelly series were OK, not great. Badlands is the exception. The plot doesn't just center on the Nora character but significantly includes her younger brother Skip and his newfound buddy Edison Nash, FBI Agent Corrie Swanson, University of New Mexico professor Carlos Oskarbi and his adoring female students. A few secondary characters added salt to this brew. Emma Bluebird was my favorite. She is a gun-toting, elderly Navajo Indian woman who distrusts white people. When Nora and Corrie knock on her door, they are greeted with a shotgun. She doesn't speak much English but is able to give them a clue for their investigation. They are looking into the deaths of two women, both doctors in archeology. Both women had been walking through a wilderness area, took of all their clothes, and collapsed into the hot sands of the Gallina Canyon to die. Emma is always in control of the conversation and uses that shotgun to tell the ladies when their meeting is over.

The artifacts that are used in the plot are called lightening stones. When they are rubbed together, a soft light emerges. The stones are rare. Only two pair of them are known to exist but it is presumed that there are many in the wilderness areas of the state. As the story progresses, we learn more and more about them. The Gallina people, who existed up to 1200 BC, used them in religious rituals. 

The plot was complex. While the story opened with the death of an unknown woman in the wilderness, it quickly moves to identify her and another body as well as what connected them. Both were professors at the University of New Mexico and while still studying were known to be groupies of Dr. Carlos Oskarbi. Here the plot takes off in several different arcs.

Badlands may be my favorite Preston and Childs novel. It's the most thrilling tale I've read from them to date and I am happy to give it high marks. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Fourth Turning

This book was published about 25 years ago. There is a recent update that came out earlier this year. I wanted to read the initial book first to prepare me for the second. The author has been interviewed on several You Tube channels so I was familiar beforehand with his viewpoint.

The publisher's summary:

First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history.

William Strauss and Neil Howe will change the way you see the world—and your place in it. With blazing originality, The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future. Most remarkably, it offers an utterly persuasive prophecy about how America’s past will predict what comes next.

Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.

Unfortunately, I was bored reading the book. The introduction would have been sufficient for me to understand the cycles. However, 25 years ago this information must have been mind blowing. In contrast, today I didn't find much more information about each cycle as they were presented. I must admit, though, that the categorization of time into these cycles is brilliant. The prediction about our current time of chaos lasting until 2030 was sobering. I am not looking forward to 5 more years of chaos. 

Next month I plan on reading The Fourth Turning is Here. It will be interesting to see what the authors say about our current place in time. While I was bored with the book I am rating it 3 out of 5 stars for the ideas presented.

Plan Red: China’s Project to Destroy America

I have enjoyed listening to Gordon Chang on cable news networks. He is an expert on China and speaks well. Chang has lived in Shanghai and Hong Kong for over twenty years. He is a columnist for Newsweek and a regular contributor to The Hill. This is a short book with just 108 pages, perhaps resembling an essay. Chang makes his points succinctly and does not waste words. At the back of the book is a sixteen page bibliography with hyperlinks and a ten page index.

Chang gives the U. S. many warnings that China plans to take over the U. S. He states that Chinese Premier Xi Jinping wants to shape the world in China’s image where there is no place for the United States. Xi Jinping believes he must destroy America in order for China to survive. Xi has not been trying hard to hide his intentions, talking alot about the “Chinese dream.” The “Chinese dream,” is the vision of China’s emperors, who believed they had both the right and the obligation to rule what they called tianxia, “all under heaven.” 

Some of the main points in the book include:

• Xi is implementing the largest military buildup since the Second World War;

• He is trying to sanctions-proof the Chinese regime;

• He is stockpiling grain and other commodities;

• He is surveying America for strikes and sabotage;

• He is mobilizing China’s civilians for battle;

• He is purging China’s military of officers opposed to going to war;

• China’s  Communist Party leaders has been able to kill Americans with impunity. Xi turned an in-country epidemic into a once-in-a-century pandemic and the peddling of fentanyl through the American southern border. Many Chinese are entering the U. S. at the southern border and are here as terrorist cells;

• The Chinese Communist Party is using all its resources to support criminal activity in America by exporting drugs, and Americans are dying as a direct result of those activities;

• The Chinese regime uses every point of contact against America, and at the moment the regime is overwhelming American institutions such as the FBI and state and local governments;

• The regime encourages it's citizens to discuss the mass murder of Americans. It's a frequent topic among the Chinese people;

• Chinese officials now consider outer space as part of the People’s Republic;

• The Communist Party of China, the CCP, views the United States as an existential threat not because of anything Americans have ever said or done but because of who they are and what they stand for. China is afraid of the inspirational impact of America’s ideals and form of governance on the Chinese people.

• China’s rulers, beginning with Mao Zedong, have plans to avenge a century of humiliation and aspired to replace the United States as the economic, military, and political leader of the world by the year 2049 (the one hundredth anniversary of the Communist Party). This plan became known as the Hundred-Year Marathon. 

• The Communist Party’s subversion is not so public. In August 2020, Radio Free Asia reported that a People’s Liberation Army intelligence unit, working out of the now-closed Houston consulate, was using big data to identify Americans likely to participate in Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests and then created and sent them “tailor-made” videos on how to organize riots. Related reporting reveals that the videos were distributed by TikTok;

• The CCP operates “Overseas Chinese Service Centers," also known as prisons, in major cities. They are located in San Francisco, Houston, Omaha, St. Paul, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, and Charlotte. The New York Post believes there are other Chinese police stations in New York and Los Angelas;

• The 2017 edition of the Science of Military Strategy, mentioned a new kind of biological warfare of “specific ethnic genetic attacks." American officials are concerned that China's relentless efforts to collect the genetic profiles of foreigners while preventing the transfer from China of the profiles of Chinese are indications of sinister intentions. If Chinese scientists succeed in designing pathogens that leave Chinese people alone but sicken only foreigners, the next disease from China;

• Chinese war doctrine is to hit the United States on the first day of the war with nukes but only after weakening people with a virus;

• China cannot attack America without American money and technology. America should stop supplying them. 

Chang's recommendation to America is to cut all ties with China. The president can exercise authority under either the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 or the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917. 

I enjoyed reading this book. It is a fast read despite the seriousness of the topic. Chang's writing is quite straightforward. However, much of the information I already knew about from reading news reports. That said, I am not sure if this information was widely known at the time of publication in August 2024.

4 out of 5 stars.

Lincoln's Lady Spymaster

Lincoln's Lady Spymaster was published two days ago. I pre-ordered a copy of it after reading an interview the author gave online. I love the history included in the book. Her story is about real life Southern belle Elizabeth Van Lew. Elizabeth was an abolitionist who lived in the best mansion in Richmond, Virginia. She supported the Union even though she lived in a Confederate state. She put everything she had at risk in order to assist the Union Army.

The publisher's summary: 

Why would Southern belle Elizabeth Van Lew risk everything in order to spy for the Union Army?  The answer was simple: freedom. Right in the heart of the Confederate capital, Elizabeth played the society lady while building a secret espionage network of slaves, Unionists, and prisoners of war.

It would cost her almost everything. Flouting society’s expectations for women, Elizabeth infiltrated prisons and defied public opinion. Her story is filled with vivid personalities, including:

Assassin John Wilkes Booth

Washington socialite and Southern spy Rose Greenhow

Prison escape artist Thomas Rose

Cavalry hero Ulrich Dahlgren

Cross-dressing intelligence agent Frank Stringfellow

From grave robbery to a bold voyage across enemy lines, Elizabeth’s escapades only grew more daring. But it paid off.

By the war’s end, she had agents in both the Confederate War Department and the Richmond White House, and her couriers provided General Ulysses S. Grant with crucial, daily intelligence for his final assault.

With extensive and fresh research, Gerri Willis uncovers the Southern abolitionist heroine that the Lost Cause buried—an unbelievable tale of one woman’s courage, resistance, and liberation. Heartfelt, thrilling, and inspiring, Lincoln’s Lady Spymaster restores a forgotten hero to her rightful place as an American icon.

This is an engaging history of abolitionist Elizabeth Van Lew. Most history books are academic but Willis wrote this book in a historical fiction style. It reads fast. I enjoyed reading about this unknown American heroine. I had no idea that women could be spies. Van Lew lost all her wealth from her advocacy on behalf of slaves and Union soldiers. Her political views were more important to her than money and a position in society. She lived forty more years after the end of the Civil War in near poverty but never regretted her actions during the war.

It was eye opening that women served as soldiers if they wore men's clothing. Women also collected charitable donations for the care of Union soldiers in the amount of $400 million. Very impressive. "Phoebe Pember served as a matron at the nation’s largest military medical center at the time, Richmond’s Chimborazo Hospital. It treated 75,000 patients over the course of the war. Women physicians were rare, but Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a surgeon who treated soldiers on the front lines."

So how did Van Lew become a spy? She learned information about troop advances from attending balls and dances. The prisoners of war that she attended to left her written messages inside borrowed books with information also. Van Lew was bold enough to visit the wife of Jefferson Davis after hearing Mrs. Davis was seeking a maid. Van Lew offered her one of her servants, which was another way to obtain information. Using servants  she forwarded her information to General Ulysses S Grant.

Lincoln's Lady Spymaster is a fantastic history of women during the Civil War, or as some say the War of Northern Aggression.  5 out of 5 stars.

Feral Volume 1

Feral is a cute graphic novel about a group of cats who are friends. When the government evacuated their neighborhood due to a new strain of rabies, they are picked up by animal control for euthanasia. When the truck they are inside crashes the cats escape and try to find their way home. All of them are indoor catswho are lost outdoors. Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches, and Patch encounter threats from foxes and wolves as they rush to find their way home and their usual food. The cats are smart enough to notice that the creatures they encounter have an illness of some sort and they have to stay in the trees as they travel home to avoid getting bit or scratched by them.

I loved this story from the first page to the last. It reminded me of 2024's Animal Pound comic. It's definitely kid friendly with no foul language, sexual content or graphic drawings. The comic was drawn by Trish Forster and Tone Rodriguez with coloring by Brad Simpson. Simpson used a muted pallette of blues and purples and reds. It's gorgeous. 

Volume 1 collects issues 1 through 5 of the series. It was published in March 2024. There are currently 10 volumes available. I hope that they all are eventually published in an omnibus edition. It would be nice to them all contained in one big book.

5 out of 5 stars.

Save Her Life

Save Her Life is my choice for the Key Word Reading Challenge for June. Hostage negotiator Sandra Vos is the protagonist of a new police procedural series with Save Her Life being the first installment of the series. Sandra chose law enforcement as a career because her brother was murdered when they were young. When her teenage daughter disappears, Sandra feels like life is repeating itself. The book was published on May 27, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

The tears fall down the girl’s pale face as she desperately tries to struggle free from the ties around her wrists. The only sound in the room other than her muffled cries is the ticking of a clock. Her mother has less than one hour to find her alive.

It’s been more than thirty years since Special Agent Sandra Vos’s twin brother was shot dead, an innocent victim caught in a kidnap gone wrong. It devastated Sandra’s family, but it made her who she is today, one of the FBI’s most successful negotiators.

After dropping her teenage daughter, Olivia, at school, Sandra is alerted to a potential hostage situation at her local grocery store and races to the scene. A man has pulled out a gun and is refusing to talk or let anyone out of the building until his demands are met. The fate of dozens of lives rests in Sandra’s hands.

But as Sandra starts to make a breakthrough with the hostage taker, she receives a call that makes her blood run cold. Someone has taken Olivia, and their demand will push Sandra to her absolute limit. If it’s not met within twenty-four hours, she will never see her daughter again.

Sandra knows she should step aside, letting her team take over, but she doesn’t trust anyone else to bring Olivia home alive. Breaking every rule in the book, Sandra is ready to go into her most personal negotiation yet. But how much will she have to sacrifice to save her daughter?

The story opened with Sandra attending a parole hearing for the man who killed her brother over thirty years ago. The man was denied parole. The story then moved to a hostage negotiation that Sandra lead. I don’t think I needed to read 80 pages of Sandra negotiating with a hostage taker to understand her job. It was overkill. Also, her daughter wasn't kidnapped until 40% of the way into the story. Since saving daughter Olivia's life is what the book is supposed to be about, I think the kidnapping should have occurred early on in the story.  

The book concentrates more on procedure than relationships and I was somewhat bored. I did not connect with Sandra as a character. I felt more for the criminals instead. After reading other reviews of the book I am aware that my opinion is a minority opinion. Given that these criminals are not going to be involved in future stories, I don’t see much to entice me to continue to read the series. There aren't any secondary characters that were drawn upon either. We basically only read what their names are.

The plot was interesting but I had a few issues with the writing. I am rating the book 3 out of 5 stars.