THE VALENTINE'S DAY DISASTER

THE VALENTINE'S DAY DISASTER         LORI WILDE
Posted:  March 29, 2014

The Valentine's Day Disaster by Lori Wilde  A Twilight, Texas Novella 

Valentine's Day can be a real disaster … even in a town like Twilight, Texas!
These days, event planner Sesty Snow is no fan of hearts, flowers, or goo-goo eyes over dinner. She's learned to be in control of her life and her emotions. Still, running Twilight's annual Valentine's Day bachelor auction is right up her alley—until her high school sweetheart zooms back into town. He's still heart-stoppingly handsome, but it's clear he hasn't changed the daredevil ways that put the brakes on their first love.
Injured NASCAR driver Josh Langtree isn't up for being anyone's sweetheart these days either. He's just looking for a place to lick his wounds … until a misunderstanding lands him doing community service in Sesty's auction. Soon he finds himself standing in front of hundreds of screaming women—wearing a tux and a smile. And then there's Sesty—looking as tempting as ever.
He says he's changed, and the sparks between them are flying fast and furious, but can Sesty trust Josh to take the wheel and drive her into the future she never dreamed possible?

MY REVIEW:
     Valentine’s Day calls to every young unmarried woman’s heart, I don’t care what they tell you.  Even if they have been dumped like Sesty Snow was by Chad the Cad.  Even with all that she proved my case because all she could think about was her first everything.  Her first kiss, first love, and first sexual love making experience.  No one ever forgets the first one especially if it is great!  And Josh Langtree was the best.  Or so Sesty thought.
     Of course she would never admit that to anyone but especially him if ever asked.  Now she only had two other partners to compare him to but hands down he had them beat.  It was like he was fully engaged just like his driving.  She just couldn’t live with the constant fear of him crashing and him not coming home to her let alone if they ever had a family.
     Josh on the other hand was in it back then for the whole race so to speak.  He was madly and truly in love with Sesty and was crushed when she dumped him.  Now he has been dumped again and like Sesty it doesn’t seem to bother him either.
     The gleam in both of their eyes tells the whole story of the fact that the love never died but the fear is putting up block walls to keep each of their hearts safe.  But is Sesty finally ready to be fearless and not worry what her parents think?  Reaching out to Josh and that brass ring for happiness?
     Is Josh ready to be fearless in a different way by stepping away from the race track and finding out what real life has to offer?  Become a more rounded person allowing and opening his heart and making room for Sesty in there to see if they can love again without hurting each other? 
     He made it okay in the past to take risk and be different, to enjoy the ride and be happy doing.  She showed him that buckling down and setting his mind to something he could achieve it, that his learning disability of dyslexia didn’t have to hold him back.  It just didn’t make the dream of college that most teens had his dream.  Yet, it didn’t mean he wasn’t smart far from it he was that and sexy too.
     And he was back in Twilight to recuperate after his wreck.  But got in a little trouble and is assigned 40 hours community service to be serve with Sesty, working on the bachelor auction.  So let the fun begin.
     This is just one of those stories of when love is right it’s right.  It may happen to soon but there is nothing that says you can’t set it free and if it’s meant to be it won’t ignite again with an even brighter flame than before.  Especially, when it started out as a first love as it did for Josh and Sesty.  Life’s experiences gave them the tools they needed to see what a gift their love was and how to honor it.  Sweet, sweet story.  I gave it 5 stars.  Provided by the author for and honest review.  Follow us on:
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Our First Author Shout Out: Tista Ray (Not all will be singled out just the first)



Our First


Author 


Shout Out


This could have been you but 

this is what we will be 

adding for you on our

Shout Outs: An Author’s Page.

Once a month you can 

submit your name, a pic of 

your book, and a synopsis.

But…



Tista Ray was the 1st!!!


Tista Ray



It is said that people’s lives are tales of two great journeys - the pursuit of happiness and the search for true love.
Edward seems to have achieved one of these ultimate goals by falling in love with Daisy.
But in his quest for true love, will he be willing to let go of his one special friend, and perhaps, sacrifice his chance for happiness?
If there’s a choice between love and friendship, will Edward sacrifice one for the other? Will, he be able to live with his choice and never ask himself what if he chose the other? 

The Imitation of Christ in the Gospel of Luke: Growing in Christlike Love for God and Neighbor

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST                 JIMMY AGAN, CD JIMMY AGAN III        
 Posted:  March 29, 2014

The Imitation of Christ in the Gospel of Luke: Growing in Christlike Love for God and Neighbor This is a good book for any one really that not only wants to study the Bible but to enhance the prayer life. For me it was a little more of a change and a focus into the book of Luke. I had already believed about working on yourself to be as an Intimation of Christ. In the Catholic faith I was introduce to a book many years ago by that very title and have been reading it since I was a teenager and felt it was time to see something new. I must say I enjoyed this book because it gave a new and fresh in sight in the Gospel and gave some new ways to break down the book as well. Anything that will give me a new look at something that I have read over and over must be good. At least for me. I enjoyed the book. I got this book from net galley.


HUBBY'S REVIEW:
There are many brilliant men and women in the world. However, you don't truly know something until you can explain it simply. Jimmy explains Christ as our greatest example, while centering and grounding his findings in the completed work of Christ. The Reformed faith, strong in the completed work of Christ, has shied away from Christ as example in light of the cultural milieu in which we find ourselves. One that sees Christ merely as an example and not as Savior. Jimmy brings these two understandings together, grounds them in the text, and delivers them in a style that is inviting and engaging. His illustrations are wonderful as well.
The true mastery of this book lies in the fact that you could hand this book to any high school freshman and he or she could fully understand all of the findings within. Brilliant men and women write at levels far beneath their own in service to others. Jimmy has shown everyone he is not simply a teacher. He is a master teacher, able to teach at all levels of learning. This book, in my opinion, is a work of incredible insight! I could not recommend it more highly. I would employ this work to teach others.

KILLER

KILLER                                                      JONATHAN KELLERMAN
Posted:  March 29, 2014

KillerNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

After thirty-five riveting, internationally acclaimed novels of psychological suspense, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman returns with his most stunning thriller to date. Killer is a mesmerizing L.A. noir portrayal of the darkest impulses of human nature carried to shocking extremes.
The City of Angels has more than its share of psychopaths, and no one recognizes that more acutely than the brilliant psychologist and police consultant Dr. Alex Delaware. Despite that, Constance Sykes, a sophisticated, successful physician, hardly seems like someone Alex needs to fear. Then, at the behest of the court, he becomes embroiled in a bizarre child custody dispute initiated by Connie against her sister and begins to realize that there is much about the siblings he has failed to comprehend. And when the court battle between the Sykes sisters erupts into cold, calculating murder and a rapidly growing number of victims, Alex knows he’s been snared in a toxic web of pathology.
Nothing would please Alex more than to be free of the ugly spectacle known as Sykes v. Sykes. But then the little girl at the center of the vicious dispute disappears and Alex knows he must work with longtime friend Detective Milo Sturgis, braving an obstacle course of  Hollywood washouts, gangbangers, and self-serving jurists in order to save an innocent life.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This is the first time that I have read this author and I have seen he has written many books with some of the same characters in them. In this book Dr. Delaware is the main character and he does go into some back ground of him if you have not read any of the previous books. I did like that part I felt more in touch with the character. He is called in to look at a custody case between two sisters and of course the one sister that he does not agree with ends up dead. That for me is really when the story starts to take off. He is working with the police and with detective Milo Sturgis. They begin the ins and outs of interviewing people. There are a lot of different characters in this book and they are all well described and thought out. I even like the one gang member that he had been seeing since he was in grade school and how that story was inter twin into this story. Very good writing and a very well thought out story line that you had to keep track of all that was going on or you felt like you missed something. An excellent book. I got this book from net galley.

SILKEN PROMISES

SILKEN PROMISES                                  LISA BINGHAM
Posted:  March 29, 2014

Silken Promises  Fiona McFee had been just a girl when she first saw Jacob Grey --- almostall of Jacob Grey --- naked and tied up in a field of foxtails. Naturally, as an Irish con man's daughter, she refused to release the young deputy --- while he sunburned his backside and swore never to forget her. He never did, though the little minx in the field didn't resemble the sensual, topaz-eyed hellion he tracked to Chicago years later. Jacob had an offer that could change her life --- a full pardon for both her and her father if she posed as a wealthy British widow and played poker like an ace on a tourist train heading West. 
His plan was to catch a counterfeiter; Fiona's scheme was to outfit herself in beautiful clothes, win her father's freedom ... and outwit Jacob Grey. She didn't count on the wild card that sent her reeling --- an instant attraction to the very large, very strong lawman who carried a very big gun. But the game she was entering was deadly, and before she or Jacob realized how high the stakes had soared, they were deeply in jeopardy ... in danger of losing their hearts and their dreams in a battle for their lives.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This story got me from the very beginning. When the two main characters first meet, he is naked and bound in a field of fox tails being out witted by a thief. She shows up over from a ridge from a picnic with her father and starts a conversation with him. When she hears her father call he asks her to untie him. She ask what is it that you do for a living, his reply I am a police man. She very politely says that if he was anything other than a police man she would but since she does not like them and thinks they are deplorable she is sorry and must leave. For the next ten years Jacob Grey, hunts down Fiona McFee and her father making there life harder and harder. Until finding her in Chicago and telling her about a deal he has for her that would pardon her and her father for all their crimes. She does not like it at first but after a while she agrees. He puts her up in a nice hotel and tells that she will need to learn how to talk and act like a widow from Britain who has money. This does not work out so well so he sends a letter to his sister who lives in Chicago and is a famous poet. The letter is intercepted by two sisters who are like there aunts since they have been around them since Jacob and his sister were children. These two help make the story complete and really make a better story. for they are always just getting into something or putting the two of them together even though they don’t know they like each other. As the story goes along he finally sees her as a women and an attractive women at that, she actually likes that he has his ways and is just scared that at the end that they won’t be together. There is a subplot with a man escaping from prison and wanting to kill Jacob since he was the one that put him there but the main story is the love story of two people from two different worlds and how they break down their own ideas and let be. A very good story with a lot of funny moments and l liked the battering between the two main characters. I got this book from net galley.

DUFFY

DUFFY                                                        DAN KAVANAGH
Posted:  March 29, 2014

DuffyThings aren't going so well for Brian McKechnie. His wife was attacked in their home, his cat was brutally killed and now a man with a suspiciously erratic accent is blackmailing him. When the police fail spectacularly at finding out who's after him, McKechnie engages the services of London's most unusual private eye.
Duffy is a detective like no other. A bisexual ex-policeman with a phobia of ticking watches and a penchant for Tupperware. But what he lacks in orthodoxy he makes up for in street-smart savvy and no-nonsense dealings. Intrigued by McKechnie's dilemma and the apparent incompetency of his ex-colleagues, Duffy heads to his old patch, the seedy underbelly of Soho, to begin inquiries of his own.
Helped by some shady characters from his past, Duffy discover that while things have changed in the years since he was working the area, the streets are still mean and the crooks walk arm in arm with the blues.
Full to bursting with sex, violence and dodgy dealings, DUFFY is a gripping and entertaining crime novel with a distinctly different and entirely lovable anti-hero.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
First time I read anything by this author and this book was different for me. It is about a former cop in London who is now working for himself after resigning. It is explained in the story and he his upset over the way it worked out. Because of that he is still having problems with his on and off again girlfriend that was one thing was strange for me. he takes a case and through all the working it leads back to the case that got him to resign off the force now he is at a cross roads because he may not get his job back but he could get back at one of the guys on the force who made him resign. A lot of back and forth with gangsters and such. The writing was good and the story for the most part was good also. I got this book from net galley.

BLACKBERRY PIE MURDER

BLACKBERRY PIE MURDER                 JOANNE FLUKE
Posted:  March 29, 2014

Blackberry Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen, #17)  It's been a sleepy summer for the folks of Lake Eden, Minnesota. In fact, it's been a whole four months since anyone in the Swensen family has come across a dead body. And that means Hannah Swensen can finally focus on her bakery. . .or can she? Life is never really quiet for Hannah. After all, her mother's wedding is a little over a month away and guess who Delores put in charge of the planning? Yet just when Hannah believes her biggest challenge will be whether to use buttercream or fondant for the wedding cake, she accidentally hits a stranger with her truck while driving down a country road in a raging thunderstorm. Hannah is wracked with guilt, and things get even worse when she's arrested. . .for murder! But an autopsy soon reveals the mystery man, his shirt covered in stains from blackberry pie, would have died even if Hannah hadn't hit him. Now, to clear her name, Hannah will have to follow a trail of pie crumbs to track down the identity of the deceased, find a baker who knows more about murder than how to roll out a perfect pie crust--and get herself to the church on time. . .

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
I really did not care for this book so much. The writing was good but for me the story was just something I could not get into even though I tired. It just never made sense to me the way they looked at the main character as a murder and I could not get past that part. But the characters were funny and the description of the town was niece. I am sure other people will rind this book enjoyable. I got this book from net galley.

ACHIEVEMENT THE RIGHTING OF A GREAT WRONG 1914-1918

ACHIEVEMENT THE RIGHTING OF A GREAT WRONG    IAN W. HALL

Posted:  March 29, 2014


Achievement The Righting of a Great Wrong 1914-1918  Dorset author, Ian Hall, has written a fascinating new book that examines the conditions that allowed one nation, Germany, to justify a war in continental Europe on a scale never before possible, sending more than eighty army divisions to invade its neighbours in what can be described as the first industrial war. Achievement also examines why Britain, at that time one of the world’s greatest industrial and Imperial powers, could only send six divisions to join the party and wonders at the accomplishment of expanding such a force to more than fifty divisions just four years later. 
‘In Achievement I offer a plain man’s guide to the Great War, an opportunity for those new to the subject to learn about events leading up to and during the course of the war. It is a starting point for those who want to know more of this epic war on which the future of Europe hung,’ says Ian. ‘I argue that Britain’s army became the major component of the allied forces that defeated the Germans. An essential aspect of this success, despite contrary claims, was that British casualties were significantly less than other combatant nations,’ he adds. 
The British army, from its most senior commanders down, are scrutinised. The decisions they faced and examples of the courage of the fighting men and the casualties that resulted are all considered in this encompassing monograph on the Great War.
‘The book is a personal tribute based on my assessment of the quality, determination and resolution in the face of enormous odds that was needed, daily and hourly, by the soldiers that fought in the Great War,’ comments Ian.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
Achievement is a book about World War One, but not about any battle or really the reasons behind the war, but about how the country was not prepared for war. The politicians, bean counters as he called them did not think about weapons needed or ammo, food, clothing, horses, and the list of items continued to grow daily. People thinking for some reason the war would be over in months not years. When the war began Britain’s only professional army was really in India. Some were called back for training others were sent to the front along with voluntaries from India numbering over 30,000 these men along with the troops that they already had would all be dead with in the first three months of fighting and with the need for more recruits they also called back men who had left the service. Still this left them short on men and still on materials. America did agree to build machine guns and some other weapons but again it took time to deliver them. One item I found interesting was that there was an inheritance law that the eldest son was entitled to land and Title, so many second and third sons went to war. Later there were even some older men who went. Still no country was prepared really for a war to last that long and to change the entire European region as it did. Still Britain lost over 3 million men to the war, not as many as say France, 5.6 million. One was too many. A good book and a different take and look at things that I had never read about before. I got this book from net galley.

FIREBALL: CAROLE LOMBARD AND THE MYSTERY OF FLIGHT 3

FIREBALL: CAROLE LOMBARD            ROBERT MATZEN
Posted:  March 29, 2014

Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3  At 5:00 A.M. on January 16, 1942, actress Carole Lombard, Hollywood's "Queen of Screwball" and the wife of the king of the movies, Clark Gable, stepped onto a Transcontinental & Western Airlines DC-3, designated as Flight 3 in Indianapolis, Indiana with her mother, Elizabeth Peters, and MGM publicity man Otto Winkler. Lombard had just completed the first sale of war bonds and stamps in the nation following its entry into World War II. Exhausted from five days on the road, Carole intended to return to her husband and Encino, California home and by the fastest means possible. Fourteen hours later, Flight 3 lay a flaming pile of debris strewn across the side of Potosi Mountain, Nevada.Fireball provides a fresh look at Carole Lombard's life, with plenty of focus on her list of lovers that included Howard Hughes and Clark Gable, and presents a first-ever examination of the events that led to that final flight and her death. The book also provides a day-by-day look at the struggles of Clark Gable and Lombard's family, friends, and fans, to cope with the tragedy. Lombard became the first Hollywood star to sacrifice her life in World War II. The War Department offered Gable a funeral service with full military honors but he refused it knowing that his wife would not approve of such spectacle.But Fireball goes much further and explores the lives of the 21 others on the plane, including 15 members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, and addresses one of the most enduring mysteries of World War II: On a clear night full of stars, with TWA's most experienced pilot at the controls of a 10-month-old aircraft under the power of two fully functioning engines, why did Flight 3 crash into that Nevada mountainside?Author Robert Matzen digs deep into never-before-explored corners of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences Library to offer fresh new perspectives on Carole Lombard, “the Queen of Screwball.” He also explored 2,000 pages of federal government and TWA records on the crash and spoke to friends of Carole Lombard and Clark Gable as well as crash experts and family members of the passengers on Flight 3 to tell not one but 22 heartbreaking stories, one for each of the souls aboard the doomed airliner.The gripping page-turner Fireball presents the story of the people on the plane, the friends and families left behind, and the heroic first responders who struggled up a mountain hoping to perform a miracle rescue. From the first page to the last, Fireball tells a story of accomplishment, bravery, sacrifice, and loss.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
The author opens the book by talking about his climb to the wreckage and how steep it is and that still to this day there is no trail to the top of the mountain. Once at the crash site he describes that even after all of these years there are still pieces of the plane on the mountain, scattered about along with other objects that he found along with the guide who took him there. From there he begins the story with Carole Lombard, born Jane Alice Peters, from Fort Wayne Indiana. After her father was injured in an accident the mother took her and her two older brothers to California for vacation but they ended up staying. While in high school she got a job at fox studio as a contract actor and it looked like she was on her way. Out with a boyfriend Harry Copper, his car was struck by another car and the brakes failed sending the car crashing down a Hollywood hill. With glass slicing through her left eyebrow to the bone and nearly severed her lip. She though remained calm and Harry seeing what had happened tried to slow the bleeding and rushed her to an emergency room. Bess her mom after seeing her and them talking called a few friends and got in touch with a plastic surgeon. He did not promise that there could be no scarring but that he would do all he could. He had to do the surgery without any anesthetic, for the fully awake and alert patient had to keep facial muscles in proper position. Then she could not move her head for 6 months. She would end up with a scare one inch long on her eyebrow and an inch and half long scar across her upper lip. From there he talks about how she fought to get back in front of the camera, her first marriage and that divorced and a boyfriend who killed himself. Until she was a fairly big star and then Clark Gable. How they got together and then got married and how she was a very opinionated and how they argued about certain things, this all added to their chemistry. When the war started many stars signed for war bond tour and she was one of the first. They planned for her to go Indiana round trip by train. After her time there and ready to go home she decided she wanted to try going in a plane saying it would be faster, because before she left her and gable got into an argument and she left before he got up that morning. The flit was good in Texas they had a layover and some people got bumped for military men then they took off for Las Vegas. After changing pilots refueling, checking oil, they took off again and it was not to long after that, that they knew or thought they knew there was a problem. Once they realized there was a crash they had to wait until first light to really make an effort up the mountain once there at the crash site they had to leave some men there overnight so others could go back and bring more materials’ and animals to carry the remains down the mountain know knew just how steep or rocky that terrain was. The author does go into the lives of the pilots, stewardess and other military personal aboard the flight which I thought was very nice and had never read about before. Mt. Potosi, in Nevada is 8,200 elevation and Miss Lombard was projected to raise 500,000. On her trip when she actually raised 2 million dollars. Through all of the paper work and files he searched they stilled blamed pilot error. But on a moonless night November 8, 2007, a flight took off from North Las Vegas Airport at 7:05 at the controls a NASA pilot Col. Ed. Lewis and his co- pilot Dion DeCamp they had 60,000 hours of flight time between them. Having a relatively new plane with 300 hours and with a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit tracked by sophisticated radar in Vegas and Daggett control center. 13 minutes after takeoff Col. Ed Lewis aircraft slammed into the vertical cliff wall of Mt. Potosi Mountain. The FAA made almost the same finding as 1942, the pilot flew into the side of the mountain. Just makes you wonder? A very good story and I am glad he talks about all the people that were on the plane. I got this book from net galley. 

IN THE SECRET SERVICE

IN THE SECRET SERVICE                     JERRY PARR & CAROLYN PARR
Posted:  March 29, 2014

In the Secret Service PB  Meet Jerry Parr. In 1981, he was the agent standing next to Ronald Reagan when John Hinckley, Jr., stepped out of the crowd, intent on killing the president. "In the Secret Service" is an adrenaline-filled ride through the life of the agent who saved Ronald Reagan's life. Jerry spent much of his life as a silent eyewitness to history, with a gun at his fingertips. What motivates a man who is ready at a moment's notice to step into the path of a bullet? In "In the Secret Service, " you'll also follow Jerry's inner journey. That journey led him from the halls of the powerful to the streets of the poor in Washington, D.C., to the mountain passes of war-torn El Salvador to help orphans.You won't want to miss this insider's perspective on the Secret Service and a look into the heart of a man who was--and is--ready to sacrifice himself for another. At times heart-pounding, at times heartrending, this richly textured memoir of a Secret Service Agent will first move you to the edge of your seat, then to the depths of your soul.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
I found this book to be very interesting about all of the different duties that the Secret Service are in charge of besides the counterfeiting which I knew about. They now have many more duties and some have come from that tragic day when President Kennedy was assassinated. Mr. Parr starts off with how he got into the Service and the duties that he started out doing at the very beginning. Hired maybe a year before President Kennedy death he was in store for a first hand at the rapid growth of the Secret Service. Also for much critique by the public, congress and the new man they were protecting Johnson. Changes were made some good like an increase in personal, more training hours etc. some were not so go and over time discarded. Because of this time he is promoted a little faster than normal but you still have to your job and his given an assignment of guarding foreign dignitaries’ when they come to this country and then he would also at times travel with the President depending on the country. There were some funny and interesting stories in this part. Sometimes he would be pulled for a campaign detail and then after Nixon left office he was on protection detail for President Ford and for President Carter just for a little while. By the time President Reagan was in office he was now a supervisor and he was one of the agents in charge. He would go over schedules and make every agent was up to date training wise and if an event was happening they would run scenarios multiple times days before the event. The day President Reagan was shot they had just ran through another scenario a few days before of if there was a shooting and going to the very same hospital they went. When the shooting happened he got his body around the President and pushed him the car. After they were in the they noticed he was having trouble breathing and that he was bleeding, he ordered the driver to go to the hospital where from there he got with hospital staff and then they made sure that know you was not authorized came into the er. He did mention that one of the doctors was from the service and he was able to find the wound in the lung. He did not find out about the other people being shot until a few hours later. This was a good book at a life of a Secret Service Agent and what they go through on a day to day basis. I got this book from net galley. 

BLOOD FEUD

BLOOD FEUD                                           DANIEL HARRIS
Posted:  March 29, 2014

Blood Feud This is a simple story. It begins with an immigrant grocer selling vegetables from a pushcart and ends in a court case with two billion dollars at risk. Two brothers, sons of the founder, inherit equal shares of a burgeoning food chain. One dies, and his widow, suspecting that she is being short-changed from profits earned, sues to recover. 

Now it becomes complicated. The author, an insider with over thirty years working in the food industry, spins a yarn of a twisting, turning labyrinth that features a love tryst, intrigue, betrayal, and greed. The characters and dialogue are real, authentic, and they draw you from the printed page into the middle of this fast-moving action. 

Russell Riley is the highest-ranking non-family member of this company and it's his job to protect and grow the business while the two families duke it out in court. But even he can't stay entirely above the fray because he owns stock that could provide the swing vote for control. 

If you are in the mood for an insider's take on a nasty and vitriolic family food fight that ended in a celebrated court case, Blood Feud is it.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
Here is a story that is one of sadness because at the end the family is no longer speaking to one another. A family like so many that were close and they all worked together to build the family business. Started by their father. It is told by a third person who practically grew up in the store himself after his father passed away and the owner gave him a job at the age of 13. From there he worked his way up doing the different jobs in the store. He was also in the same class as the youngest son so they all knew each other and over time he would be invited to Sunday dinner at their house. When the two sons graduated from college and started running more of the business they wanted to expand. Which they did slowly making sure each store was paid off and running smoothly until opening the next one. After a few stores they offered Russell Riley, who is telling the story an opportunity to go to college that the company would pay for but he would need to still work for them for so many years. He agreed. A few years later after more stores were open and the company was really growing they decided to offer him part owner ship in the company about 12 shares the rest being split up between the two brothers families. By this time the father and mother had passed on. They were at somewhere like 13 stores when the oldest died unexpectedly of a heart attack. His wife who was already working for the company took over his position and things were going smoothing. After a few years there was more building of stores and then the two oldest sons from each family after finishing school started working for the company. It look like everything was the way it was supposed to be. Then the wife of (widow) of the oldest son got a tax bill for 5 million dollars, saying stock had been sold and she owed the IRS. Going to her brother in law he told some story and then got mad so she left and hired a lawyer. He tried to fire her from the company but could not. Then the court battle started and they tried to bring him into the middle but for the most part he stayed out of it as much as he could. When they went to court the brother in law said he sold the stock at the time of his brother’s death because his family needed money and he was the executor of the will. He also tried to explain that he felt that they only owned the shares up to his death. Not since they added another 20 or more stores. She countered by saying that she was still working for the company and that by never remarrying her family (his children ) were entitled to equal shares as per the agreement that was signed that night so many years ago. The jury agreed with her plus found him guilty of misappropriation of funds. Mr. Riley decided to sell his shares back to the family equally and walked away from a place that was more than a job but a life. And he unfortunately saw a family that once got together for Sunday dinner now not talk to one another. A sad story. I got this book from net galley.

BAD GUYS

BAD GUYS                                                 ANTHONY BRUNO
Posted:  March 29, 2014

Bad Guys: A Gibbons and Tozzi Novel (Book 1)  Bad Guys, the first book in the Gibbons and Tozzi thriller series, introduces FBI agents Mike Tozzi and Cuthbert Gibbons, odd-couple partners and dedicated mob-busters. Hot-headed Tozzi goes renegade, and Gibbons is pulled out of retirement to stop him. Together they uncover a secret crime family headed by Richie Varga, a convicted mobster pulling the strings from the safety of the witness protection program. When Tozzi gets involved with Varga’s sexy ex, the fur really starts to fly.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This story starts out like a normal mob book but then after a few chapters into it you realize that something is not right. Then the author introduces a retired FBI agent Gibbons who is now supposed to find his former partner who was the only man that could work with Gibbons throughout his 40 plus years in the FBI. What I enjoyed was the running dialog going in his head as the last boss he had was the one calling him back and he really had stopped listen minutes ago. After about 14 days he finds his former partner and after they talk he realizes that he might be on to something. This story was fascinating because it still had the man who everyone thought to be the stool pigeon and in witness protection still running everything and them also found a mole in the FBI and how they got to that point was very exciting and he thought it though. Not just coming up with an ending which I liked. A very good book. I got this book from net galley.

DUKE CITY SPLIT

DUKE CITY SPLIT                                     MAX AUSTIN
Posted:  March 29, 2014

Duke City Split  A cool, calm, and collected bank robber—with two kids at home—heads a fascinating cast of characters in Duke City Split, the first in a trilogy of white-knuckle thrillers from Max Austin.
  
Bud Knox isn’t your average bank robber. He’s happiest fixing a nice lunch for his wife on her lunch break or watching his two young daughters play soccer. He leaves the boldness and brawn to his partner, Mick Wyman. In the past fourteen years, they’ve hit nearly thirty banks all over the West—everywhere but “Duke City,” their hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. 
 
So when Mick calls him about the perfect job, Bud is less than convinced, because the target is on their own turf. But with the potential to haul in millions, Bud simply can’t say no. If they do this job right, Bud may never have to work again.
 
As it turns out, the heist is the easy part. Holding onto the money while evading everyone from the FBI to the Mafia to the low-life criminals who want a cut will be the hardest thing Bud Knox has ever done—and it might just cost him his life.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This book is about two bank robbers who have been robbing banks for over 14 years. One Bud, is married with two little girls who he takes to school and picks them up and takes them to soccer practice and dance class. His partner Max moves around a lot and does not like to give out his name he tries to under the radar. Max meets a young man in a bar with an idea about a job tells him that it is easy and that he wants to be in on it. Max tells him there are no easy jobs and that they well get back to him. After talking to Bud and going against their rule of not doing a job in their home town they case the bank and come up with a plan. Getting back with the young guy and letting him helping on the job still does not fell right to Bud but he goes along with it. The robbery is easy they are in and out no one is hurt. They get away with their biggest score yet but the money was from an Indian casino with ties to the mob in Chicago and the FBI are also on the case. From there the story takes on a whole different life and the beast of the criminal comes out chasing them for the money. This all leads to a big shoot out at the end and along the way before then there are bodies hidden as well. A very well written book and the characters were all believable. I really enjoyed this book. I got this book from net galley.

THE BUFFALO JOB

THE BUFFALO JOB                                 MIKE KNOWLES
Posted:  March 29, 2014

The Buffalo Job: A Wilson Mystery  Wilson should have just walked away when three men came looking for a way to boost a valuable piece of art. But the heist was more than just a job for Wilson; it was a chance to get off the sidelines and back in the game.

The art came off the wall, the alarm screamed thief, and Wilson walked away clean. But it turned out that job was an interview for an even bigger heist. A dangerous man wants Wilson to get him something more valuable than a painting. Problem is Wilson only has a week.

Wilson and his crew crosses the border to Buffalo to steal a 200-year-old violin. Four men cross, but four don’t come back. A lot of people are interested in getting their hands on the instrument and none of them are shy about killing to get it.

The job starts like a bad joke — a thief, a conman, a wheel man, and a gangster get in line to cross the border — but the Buffalo job doesn’t end with a punch-line. It ends with blood.

HUBBY'S REVIEWS:
I have never read a Mike Knowles book before, and I am glad I took the time to read this one. The story is about a man named Wilson who fixes things or helps other criminals get what they need. He does not do the job himself. But after listening to three young men he decides he could do the job in one afternoon. After breaking his own rule and doing the job in less than a day. He is offered a job with more money but also more risk. He takes the job but he also has to work with three other guys and none of them trust each other. This sets up for a very entertaining story with many shoot outs and one problem after the other. After half way through the book this is a fast paced story and a well thought out story line. I enjoyed reading it and will look forward to reading another one of his books again. I got this book from net galley.

THE VENETIANS

THE VENETIANS                                        PAUL STRATHERN
Posted:  March 29, 2014

The Venetians: A New History: From Marco Polo to Casanova  The Republic of Venice was the first great economic, cultural, and naval power of the modern Western world. After winning the struggle for ascendency in the late 13th century, the Republic enjoyed centuries of unprecedented glory and built a trading empire which at its apogee reached as far afield as China, Syria and West Africa. This golden period only drew to an end with the Republic s eventual surrender to Napoleon.
The Venetians illuminates the character of the Republic during these illustrious years by shining a light on some of the most celebrated personalities of European history Petrarch, Marco Polo, Galileo, Titian, Vivaldi, Casanova. Frequently, though, these emblems of the city found themselves at odds with the Venetian authorities who prized stability above all else, and were notoriously suspicious of any "cult of personality." Was this very tension perhaps the engine for the Republic s unprecedented rise?
Rich with biographies of some of the most exalted characters who have ever lived, The Venetians is a refreshing and authoritative new look at the history of the most evocative of city states.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This book for me was harder to get into than I thought it would be. I like history but for some reason I could stay with this book. At the beginning you see how the Venetians are very successful in banking and in controlling the sea around them. They also had established trade with China and other countries. Marco Polo and his family are from there. But when Marco Polo and his father return they are first stop by the Genoese, who take most of their goods and when a battle starts between the two Marco is held captive by them for years. This war between them last for decades and the Venetian leadership when they have the upper hand let the Genoese take control. There is even a time when they hire other people to fight for them but this fails as well. It seems though that they are highly intelligent in banking, commerce, music and such not fighting. So for me there were parts of the book interesting and other parts just hard to get through. Well written and a lot of information. I got this book from net galley.

THE VANQUISHED

THE VANQUISHED                                  BRIAN GARFIELD
Posted:  March 29, 2014

The Vanquished  A California politician goes to Mexico to make himself king

The Sonorans hire Henry Crabb to protect them from Apaches. In the lawless days that followed the Mexican-American War, bands of Indians roamed the countryside, preying on the hard-working peasants of northern Mexico. Desperate for help, a farming community offers Crabb land to establish a colony in exchange for a year’s protection from the marauders. The Sonorans do not recognize that Crabb—a Californian with frustrated political ambition—is the greatest threat of all. Although their deal was for peaceful settlement, Crabb’s thoughts turn quickly to conquest. In the tradition of American filibusters like William Walker, Crabb attempts to establish Sonora as an independent country—with him as the dictator. Based on a true story, this is a stunning narrative of conquest, adventure, and the shocking lengths to which ambition can drive men.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This western story is based on true events that the author describes in the beginning of the book. The story mainly follows a young man by the name of Charlie Evans and his decision on whether to join with the group of men that were going to ride to Arizona and fight. Hired by a man in northern California who wanted to take over that part of the territory in Sonora. Norval Douglas was the man signing up and promising payment on behalf of the man from northern Ca. it took Charlie up to the time they were getting ready to leave to finally decide to go with the group he was being pulled to stay in town by a young women but got lead by older men. The story was a little boring on the ride through the desert to Sonora. When they were about a few days away a group of men got sick so they had to stay back while the rest of the men went into the town. Meanwhile the Mexican government sent troops to the town and when the first time the groups meet the Americans got the better of them that first day. Then there was a stand off until more troops could come from the Mexican side and after about 4 days of fighting thinking more men were going to show up as promised and knowing that they were fooled. Fighting until food and ammo were gone. Taking a vote they decided to surrender all agreed accept two Douglas, being one of them. After the surrender all were killed by Mexican General accept for Charley him being the youngest. He was released in September of 1857 six months after the execution at Caborca. No one saw or heard from him for forty years one day in 1897 in walked Yuma with a burro saying he had prospecting, after that day he was never seen again. This was an interesting story about really a group of mercenaries who were looking for adventure. The author at the end of the book has more records showing that our Government was wanting to put this behind them. A very interesting story. I got this book from net galley. 

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