Lynn's List (January 27, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers by Debra A Shattuck
• Silencer by Campbell Armstrong
• Death's Head by Campbell Armstrong
• Shackled by Ray Garton
• Heart of the Country by Greg Matthews
• Flashbacks by John A. Williams
• The Angry Ones by John A. Williams
• Sissie by John A. Williams
• An Ordinary Woman by Cecelia Holland
• My Father, His Daughter by Yaël Dayan
• Israel Journal by Yaël Dayan
• Three Weeks in October by Yaël Dayan
• A Crowded Heart by Nicholas Papandreou
• Overwatch: A Thriller by Matthew Betley
• 1912 by James Chace
• Love in the Line of Fire by Michael Murphy
• An Ill Wind by Monette Michaels
• Like Judgment Day: The Ruin and Redemption of a Town Called Rosewood by Michael D'Orso
• The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
• The Tumble Inn by William Loizeaux
• Challenger: An American Tragedy by Hugh Harris
• The Signal Flame: A Novel by Andrew Krivak
• The You I've Never Known by Ellen Hopkins
• Stalin's Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan
• Only One Year: A Memoir by Svetlana Alliluyeva
• True South: Henry Hampton and "Eyes on the Prize," the Landmark Television Series That Reframed the Civil Rights Movement by Jon Else
• Blood on the Tracks (Sydney Rose Parnell #1) by Barbara Nickless
• The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
• A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy by Robert Moore
• The Day the Bubble Burst by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts
• The Second Sister by Marie Bostwick
• Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People by Tim Reiterman
• Just Violence: Torture and Human Rights in the Eyes of the Police by Rachel Wahl
• A Thousand Voices by Lisa Wingate
• Before the Fires: An Oral History of African American Life in the Bronx from the 1930s to the 1960s by Mark D. Naison and Bob Gumbs
• Chasing Ghosts: A Memoir of a Father, Gone to War by Louise Desalvo
• Into a Raging Sea: My Life and the Pendleton Rescue by Michael Tougias and Bernie Webber
• Small Town Girl by Lavyrle Spencer
• With All My Love by Patricia Scanlan
• Rescuing Dawn by Nicole Flockton
• The Less-Stress Lifestyle: Regain Control & Rediscover Happiness by Carl Vernon
• The Shipbuilder's Daughter by Emma Fraser
• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• What Comes Naturally: Miscegenation Law And The Making Of Race In America by Peggy Pascoe
• Dark Obsession by Lynette Eason
• Survivor: The Autobiography by Jon E. Lewis

Review: While My Eyes Were Closed by Linda Green

Title: While My Eyes Were Closed
Author: Linda Green
Publisher: Quercus
Publication Date: January 28, 2016
Edition: Kindle (402 pages)
Categories:

• Crime
• Fiction
• Mystery
• Thriller

While My Eyes Were Closed by Linda Green

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


You're in the park playing hide-and-seek with your four-year-old little girl--something you've done many times. But, this time, when you open your eyes, you find her gone. That is what happened to Lisa Dale. And then their is the fear, the recriminations.

I found this book spell-binding and full of the unexpected. I also found it somewhat difficult to read because of the emotionally charged circumstances. I wanted to shake one of the characters until her teeth rattled. If I say more, I'll give too much away.

Lynn's List (January 20, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts
• Blizzard Of Glass: The Halifax Explosion Of 1917 by Sally M. Walker
• The Enemy Above: A Novel of World War II by Michael P. Spradlin
• Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence by Jonathan Sacks
• Summer Rain - Back to you by Anna Winter / Anna Faye and Charlotte Forsdick
• The Nazis and Evil: The Annihilation of the Human Being by Ana Rubio-Serrano and Jillian Kostora da Silva
• Unwanted by Kristina Ohlsson
• The Chosen: A Novel by Kristina Ohlsson
• Hostage by Kristina Ohlsson
• Silenced by Kristina Ohlsson
• Punishment and Inequality in America by Bruce Western
• The Cat That God Sent by Jim Kraus
• One Day the Soldiers Came by Charles London
• Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell
• The Search for Grandma Sparkle: A novel About the Mysterious Disappearance of a Rural Senior Citizen by Darlene Miller
• IraqiGirl: Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq by Iraqigirl
• Martin Luther King by Angela Herbert
• The Stairway by Diana Chown and Alice Chown
• Striking Distance by Debra Webb
• Abandon by Carla Neggers
• Never Never by James Patterson and Candice Fox
• Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski by Dave Shors and Chris Waits
• Then and Now: Thirty-six Years in the Rockies, 1864-1900 by Robert Vaughn
• Own It: The Power of Women at Work by Sallie Krawcheck
• First Women by Kate Andersen Brower
• Rowing for My Life: Two Oceans, Two Lives, One Journey by Kathleen Saville
• Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City by Steve Early and Senator Bernie Sanders
• The Fire by Night: A Novel by Teresa Messineo
• Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics and Created a Legacy That Will Prevail by Jonathan Chait
• Soldier Girls in Action by Michael Grant
• The Swimmer by Joakim Zander
• The Believer: A Novel by Joakim Zander
• Tainted Witness: Why We Doubt What Women Say About Their Lives by Leigh Gilmore
• Once We Were Sisters: A Memoir by Sheila Kohler
• Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders by Joe Sharkey
• Deadly Greed: The Riveting True Story of the Stuart Murder Case, Which Rocked Boston and Shocked the Nation by Joe Sharkey
• Above Suspicion by Joe Sharkey
• WHAT WE DO NOW: Standing Up for Your Values in Trump's America by Valerie Merians and Dennis Johnson
• Death at the Little Bighorn: A New Look at Custer - His Tactics and the Tragic Decisions Made at the Last Stand by Ph.D. Phillip Thomas Tucker
• A Deadly Game: The Untold Story of the Scott Peterson Investigation, First Edition by Catherine Crier
• My Side of the Mountain (My Side of the Mountain #1) by Jean Craighead George
• On the Far Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
• Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil: The Life, Legacy, and Love of My Son Michael Brown by Lyah Beth Leflore and Lezley Mcspadden
• All My Daughters by Barbara Delinsky
• No Way Home by Andrew Coburn
• Voices in the Dark by Andrew Coburn
• Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis and Michael D'Orso
• Neverhome by Laird Hunt
• The Midnight Man by David Eric Tomlinson
• I Am a Feminist: Quotes That Empower by Media Adams
• Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany
• Safe with Me: A Novel by Amy Hatvany
• The Language of Sisters by Amy Hatvany
• Heart Like Mine: A Novel by Amy Hatvany
• Outside the Lines: A Novel by Amy Hatvany
• Nic by J. M. Stewart
• Personal Politics: 7 Political Romances by Monica Tillery
• The Boys In Blue: 10 Cop Romances by Tami Lund
• The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker
• The War Within by Alexis Peri
• Muslim Identity in a Turbulent Age: Islamic Extremism and Western Islamophobia by Steve Rose, Sarah Markiewicz and others
• The Valhalla Exchange by Jack Higgins
• The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins
• The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott
• A Friend of Mr. Lincoln: A novel by Stephen Harrigan
• Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning by Timothy Snyder
• Dissent and the Supreme Court: Its Role in the Court's History and the Nation's Constitutional Dialogue by Melvin I. Urofsky
• The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen
• Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer
• The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
• How Will I Know You?: A Novel by Jessica Treadway
• Leningrad: State of Siege by Michael Jones
• While My Eyes Were Closed by Linda Green
• The Path to Hope by Stepnane Hellel and Edgar Morin
• Corporations Are Not People by Jeffrey D. Clements and Bill Moyers
• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
• Alicia: My Story by Alicia Appleman

Review: Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski by Dave Shors and Chris Waits

Title: Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski
Authors: Dave Shors and Chris Waits
Publisher: Farcountry Press
Publication Date: July 1, 1999
Edition: Hardcover (288 pages)
Categories:

• Nonfiction
• Mystery
• Crime

Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski by Chris Waits

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The author, Chris Waits, lived close by Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, for twenty-five years. They were friends. Yet, Chris Waits had no idea about the real secret life of his neighbor,Ted Kaczynski. In this book, the authors detail the life style of some in the rural Montana area. The meeting of Chris Waits and Ted Kaczynski, their interactions, and Chris's involvement with the FBI and the subsequent investigation of Ted Kaczynski and the Unabomber case as it unfolded.

This was a most interesting read. It provided much insight into the life of Ted Kaczynski in terms of his personality, how he lived, and ultimately what he did as the Unabomber. It also exemplified the conflict when one has to choose between loyalty to a friend, and doing what ultimately you believe is right--a difficult choice that Chris Waits had to make, many times, during his involvement in the Unabomber investigation.

I have always been fascinated by people's life choices and the reasons for them, especially those who are nonconformists, for lack of a more descriptive word. People who do not fit the usual mold interest me because I've always been somewhat of a nonconformist, myself. I also greatly appreciated the authors wonderful descriptions of the mountains and the Montana high country. I could readily see its beauty in my mind's eye.

Review: DAMAGED (The Kate Lange Thriller Series Book 1) by Pamela Callow

Title: DAMAGED (The Kate Lange Thriller Series Book 1)
Author: Pamela Callow
Publisher: Pamela Callow
Publication Date: April 20, 2016
Edition: Kindle (390 pages)
Categories:

• Fiction
• Mystery
• Mystery Thriller
• Suspense
• Romance
• Thriller

Damaged by Pamela Callow

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Kate Lange wants to forget the past she is haunted by and concentrate on her legal career. For her, it is a form of redemption and something she knows she is good at. However, her plans take a murderous and unexpected turn when the granddaughter of one of her clients is murdered, along with other young women in similar circumstances. This leads Kate into very murky waters which ultimately threaten her professional reputation and her very life.

This book is well written, fast-paced, and has many twists and turns. Like a good mystery story, I wasn't always sure of who the "good guys" were. I intend to read more titles in this Series.

Lynn's List (January 13, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Please note that I have included a listing of some Amazon Kindle titles as a separate category, this week. Happy reading!

• Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary
• Washington Square by Henry James
• The Story of the Amistad by Emma Gelders Sterne
• Fire Triangle by Iyana Jenna
• Butcher, Baker: The True Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer by Walter Gilmour and Leland E. Hale
• The Unplowed Sky: A Novel by Jeanne Williams
• I Survived Collection #1 by Lauren Tarshis
• Books for Living by Will Schwalbe
• Blind Submission: A Novel by Debra Ginsberg
• Meant to Be by Jenna Harte
• Lily's Expecting by Susan Mallery
• Wolf and Iron by Gordon R. Dickson
• His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt by Joseph Lelyveld
• The Survivor by Thomas Keneally
• Their Promised Land: My Grandparents in Love and War by Ian Buruma
• The Old Buzzard Had it Coming by Donis Casey
• Lost in the Pacific, 1942: Not a Drop to Drink by Tod Olson
• The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt
• Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen by Philip Dray
• Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story by Kurt Eichenwald
• The Underground Railroad (National Book Award Winner) (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel by Colson Whitehead
• The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West by Peter Cozzens
• Autobiography of a People: Three Centuries of African American History Told by Those Who Lived It by Herb Boyd
• Family History: A Novel by Dani Shapiro
• Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
• 438 Days by Jonathan Franklin
• 33 Men by Jonathan Franklin
• Secrecy by Belva Plain
• The Forgotten Girls by Sara Blaedel
• The Killing Forest by Sara Blaedel
• Quantum Night by Robert J. Sawyer

Amazon Kindle

• A Kiss in Times Square: Broken Vow (Book One) by Richard Ouano
• The Unicorn's Daughter by Norma Beishir, Collin Beishir, and Martin Rus
• Manipulation: How to Recognize and Outwit Emotional Manipulation and Mind Control in Your Relationships by Sarah Nielsen
• From A to Zoe by Marie-Jo Fortis
• Malevolent (Cases of Lieutenant Kane Series Book 1) by E.H. Reinhard
• Taking Your Life to the Next Level: 7 Keys to Living the God Kind of Life by Jimi Akanbi
• DAMAGED (The Kate Lange Thriller Series Book 1) by Pamela Callow
• New World: Nick Smith (Nick Smith Series 1) by Stephen Birch
• A Mother's Choice by Kristin Noel Fischer
• The Slim Habit by John McPhie
• Livia Lone by Barry Eisler

Review: Livia Lone (Livia Lone #1) by Barry Eisler

Title: Livia Lone (Livia Lone #1)
Author: Barry Eisler
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: October 25, 2016
Edition: Kindle (368 pages)
Categories:

• literature and fiction
• adult
• crime fiction
• detective
• mystery
• mystery thriller
• psychological thriller
• suspense

Livia Lone by Barry Eisler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Sold by her parents at the age of thirteen to human trafficers, Livia is taken from her native Thai village along with her younger sister, Mason. She and Mason are abused by the men who traffic them, and when she arrives in America, Mason is no longer with her. She vows to find Mason and avenge what happened to them both. And it becomes a life-long quest.

Though this book has some graphic content, I could not put it down. It kept my interest and my empathy in high gear from beginning to end. It was an excellent read. However, it is definitely adult in nature, and I would not recommend it for anyone who is bothered by crime violence or graphic descriptions.

Lynn's List (January 6, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Tribute by Nora Roberts
• Love By Degree by Debbie Macomber
• Big Sky Showdown by Sharon Dunn
• Law and Disorder by Heather Graham
• Jimmy Stewart: A Wonderful Life by Jonathan Coe
• Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
• Martha: A Novel by Diana Wallis Taylor
• Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women Who Are Transforming the Arab World by Katherine Zoepf
• Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs #1) by Jacqueline Winspear
• Seasons of Love by Christie Shary, Lorna Collins, Luanna Rugh, and Sherry Derr-Wille
• The Beach House: A Novel by Jane Green
• Such Good Girls by R. D. Rosen
• The Tiger Whisperer by Belea T. Keeney
• Out of Joint by Belea T. Keeney

Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Title: The Woman in Cabin 10
Author: Ruth Ware
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: July 19, 2016
Edition: ebook (352 pages)
Categories:

• literature and fiction
• mystery
• thriller
• adult

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Woman in Cabin 10 takes place mostly at sea, aboard a luxury cruise ship. Lo Blacklock is a journalist hoping to move up the ladder to more interesting assignments as a travel writer. She is thrilled to fill in for a co-worker as a passenger on a small luxury cruise ship on a north sea cruise. Her experience, however, is far from relaxing and enjoyable as she witnesses events that could ultimately result in her death.

I found this book to be well written and fast-paced with rather interesting characters. However, through no fault of the author, I found it difficult to relate to Lo Blacklock as a person. And I also felt that some of the police procedural aspects of this story were lacking. Again, this may be due to differences between US jurisdictional procedures and those of other countries of which my knowledge is limited.

Review: One Year After (After, #2) by William R. Forstchen

Title: One Year After (After, #2)
Author: William R. Forstchen
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication Date: September 15, 2015
Edition: Kindle (303 pages)
Categories: Literature and Fiction, Apocalyptic, Post Apocalyptic, and Science Fiction.

One Year After by William R. Forstchen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


ONE YEAR AFTER is the sequel to ONE SECOND AFTER and continues where ONE SECOND AFTER ended. After struggling to rebuild the town of Black Mountain, North Carolina after an EMP strike devastates most of America, John Matherson, the community leader there, is once again faced with a battle for his town, and for his very life, by forces who are out of control.

I didn't think a sequel could be anymore exciting than the first book, but I was wrong. ONE YEAR AFTER is even more thrilling, if that is possible. Once I began reading, I continued, nearly nonstop, until I finished this book. It is truly terrifying to know the events portrayed here are entirely possible. And I am even more certain of this after the election of 2016.

Review: Love So Deep by Kathleen Ball

Title: Love So Deep
Author: Kathleen Ball
Publisher: Forever Home
Publication Date: November 16, 2015
Edition: Kindle (155 pages)
Categories: Literature and Fiction, Historical Romance, and Western Romance.

Love So Deep by Kathleen Ball

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Patrick McCrery lives in the mountains of Colorado by choice. He makes his living as a fur trapper and enjoys his solitude--that is until he comes upon Samantha Foley who has been banished from a wagon train and is wandering in the wilderness without shelter. Not long after rescuing her, Patrick comes upon a small boy, and, suddenly, the three are together in his cabin for the winter. There is every reason they should not build a life together, yet they fall in love.

This was a great story with some interesting twists and turns and a reflection of prejudices that still haunt us today, unfortunately.

Review: The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley

Title: The Good Goodbye
Author: Carla Buckley
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: January 12, 2016
Edition: ebook (369 pages)
Categories: Literature and Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense.

The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Two mothers. Two fathers. Two girls, as close as sisters? And what if, as a mother, you suddenly realize that things are not as they seem? And how do you, as a mother reconcile all this while your daughter and niece are fighting for their lives?

Carla Buckley addresses these complexities and family dynamics with such detail that I often forgot this book is a work of fiction. There is so much intensity and heart and soul in these characters. Mystery, romance, suspense, and drama are wrapped up in one package, just waiting for you to reveal the layers, one-by-one. This book will grip your emotions and won't let go.