Credible Threat
J. A. Jance
Another Ali Reynolds Mystery
Archbishop Francis Gillespie hire Noon Enterprises to find a person who has threatened him before the person can assassinate the Archbishop. The Archbishop hopes to ‘save’ the assassin’s soul.
The local police have been notified of these anonymous threats, but the police dismiss them as inconsequential.
Soon, it becomes apparent, that the threats are real!
A great read!
Written for The New York Times Best Sellers.
The Beverly Hillbillies (1962)
A Classic!
Jed Clampett, a widowed mountaineer, suddenly finds himself an oil tycoon. Jed moves his family, Granny, Elly May, and Jethro) to Beverly Hills.
Their ‘country’ style of ‘city’ life is the source of sideslappin’ adventures.
If you didn’t see it as a kid- you have to see it now!
Written for Movie Critiques.
Poetry in Devotion: Be Still and Know That I Am God
(and)
The Valley
Elliot Sexton Fuller
These two poetry/devotional books were written by the father of a very close friend.
The poems are captivating: The accompanying devotionals, passionately revealing.
A privately moving read.
Written for (not a) The New York Times Best Sellers (but might be soon).
A Good Neighborhood
Therese Anne Fowler
Valerie Alston-Holt and her biracial son, Xavier, live in a small, quiet neighborhood of North Carolina.
Mr. Alston-Holt has passed leaving Valerie, a professor of forestry and ecology, alone to raise their musically-gifted son.
Enter a new family and a new house- The Whitman’s. The Whitman’s are very-well-to-do for the standards of this small community. Mr. Whitman is used to buying whatever he desires- and he desires the best- no holds barred- no rules above his purview.
The main character that causes the conflict in this story is the old oak tree in the backyard of the Alston-Holts. Because for the heavy-handed construction of the Whitman’s residence, the tree has been damaged.
Soon, Xavier’s life is at stake because of a fight for the rights of a tree.
An all-to-true read.
Written for The New York Times Best Sellers.
Dolby and Son
Charles Dickens
A BBC Masterpiece
Paul Dombey, a wealthy shipping merchant, has a strong and vivacious six-year-old daughter (Florence), but he dreams of having a son to continue the legacy of his shipping empire.
A son is born, but his wife never recovers from the trauma and dies shorty after.
Mr. Dombey hires a wet nurse, Mrs. Richards.
Kidnapping, embezzlements, sea trips, and local hooligans all drive this great classic.
A fun watch!
Written for Movie Critques.
Flat Again
Flat Again.
A slow leak.
The story of my life.
I needed the bike.
Of course, I could walk…
But it took more than twice the time.
Sticking my head back inside, I hollered that I was off on foot.
Before I was two blocks from home there was a honking.
Mom had come, again, to save the day.
I stepped into Food Mart with minutes to spare.
It was busy.
Price check upon price check.
Cracked eggs. Leaking cartons.
Ten minutes to closing. “… and all is well.”
But then across the public address system,
“Clean up on Aisle Two. Clean up on Aisle Two.
Randolph, you’ll need the mop.”
Aisle Two.
Jars and jars of vinegar.
The air being released from an early night off.
Written for The Fabulous Free Versers Club @ FanStory.
Dethroning an Champ
The Ragin’ Cajun had swept me from my feet after repeatedly pummeling my left calf.
I only had moments to turn this match back into some semblance of equal standing or the referee would call it.
Slowing spinning to my right, I used my leverage from the wall of the cage to allow myself to become up upright.
The crowd was in a frenzy. The Cajun was a favorite in Atlanta. It didn’t matter that the entirety of the stadium was against me; my body responded to the jeers as easily as the cheers.
Once on my feet, my arms could again block the continuous jabs and uppercuts that were assaulting me.
He was smiling.
He thought he had my number.
I knew if I waited long enough, he would try to clock me with his signature move. I had watched every match this clown had posted on YouTube. This cocky imbecile had his own channel. And in the studying, I had found his ‘tick’.
Just before he would do his patented spin-kick butterfly to down his opponent, he would always glance to his corner.
If I could wait, his eyes would turn to acknowledge his upcoming triumph, I only had to hold on.
Exhausted on my feet, I decided to encourage his victory. I lowered my hands, just a little, and allowed the Cajun to fully connect a fierce jab to my solar plexus.
I doubled over. It looked as if I had been crippled. I seemed to be gasping for air.
The deception worked.
The Cajun instantly turned and smiled to his corner.
From my hip, I threw all my weight for a right-handed uppercut straight to his left jaw.
The Cajun went down.
I stepped back.
The referee looked at me.
I just motioned for him to begin his count.
This had been written as a prompt for The Fabulous Free Versers Club @ FanStory. Then I realized, this was far more a flash story than free verse.
Hush
The Detective Harriet Blue Series
James Patterson
Former Detective Harriet Blue, an inmate at the local federal prison, is once again the victim of an inmate assault. At least Harriet Blue can usually give as good as she gets.
While incarcerated, the Police Commissioner’s daughter, a trying-to-recover addict is found missing- both she and her baby daughter.
The Commissioner visits the prison to try to enlist former Detective Blue’s assist in finding his daughter. He promises her a lifting of her suspension from the police department, and freed from incarceration, if she finds his daughter.
While at the prison, there is a major lock-down incident. The physician for the women’s wing of the prison is murdered.
Detective Blue accepts the offer of release and decides to not only try to find the missing daughter of the Commissioner, but to solve the murder of the doctor at the prison. The prison’s doctor was one of the only people that befriended Blue during her incarceration.
A quick read. You won’t put it down until the end!
Written for The New York Times Best Sellers.
One by One
Ruth Ware
The CEO and all the major associates have rented a beautiful ski chalet in the French Alps for a team-bonding convention.
The chalet’s staff, a full-service chef and a jack-of-all-trades housekeeper/ambassador are the only two coordinating the business retreat.
A fierce winter storm hits the Alp’s valley and an avalanche cripples all the small villages in the surroundings.
One-by-one, each of the member of the high-tech entrepreneurs are disappearing, or being killed.
A GREAT READ.
(The format of the book was a little different to delve into and understand, but once you knew what the author was doing … FANTASTIC!)
Written for The New York Times Best Sellers.
The Last Trial
Scott Turow
Dr. Kirir Pafko, a Nobel Prize winner in Medicine and innovator/ scientist/ creator of a new break-through drug to cure cancer, is charged with fraud, insider trading, and murder.
Alejandro Stern, an eighty-five year old lawyer, steps from retirement, takes his case. The new cancer drug has saved the lawyer’s life.
Legal twists, moral ambiguities, and marital infidelities take this story on a roller-coaster ride.
You won’t want to put down this read until it over!
Written for The New York Times Best Sellers.
