Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The Machine Murders by CJ Abazis Blog Tour Boook Review


The Machine Murders

by CJ Abazis

March 25-April 5, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Desert Balloons

A Dubai balloon festival is attacked by the most lethal social engineering exploit the world has ever seen. Pilots die. Local politics crumble. Is AI to blame?

A prime moment to be working for Interpol.

Manos Manu, Interpol data scientist, arrives in the United Arab Emirates to solve a series of murders that have shaken the Middle East.

Interpol’s Singapore back office has proven world-class, with a machine learning team of the best engineers from around the globe - including Manos’ girlfriend Mei. Tested under pressure in the field, his custom system is nothing short of brilliant.

But this time, his arch-nemesis is not simply a killer. Not even a web of determined developers, scattered across the world.

His enemy is his very own nature.

My Review:

This novel is an immersion in all things advanced technology and AI. I was captured by the idea of using a program to identify murderers by concentrating on negative personality characteristics. I appreciate being taken to a very interesting location for the balloon festival and then a harrowing ride on one.

Abazis' writing style required some extra concentration from me. I wasn't familiar with many of the terms and the technological actions taken. Because of that, I am not sure this septuagenarian understood all that went on. This would be a fine novel for those interested in and knowledgeable of the advancing areas of technology.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense
Published by: Publisto
Publication Date: January 2024
Number of Pages: 284
ISBN: 979-8871582299
Series: The Machine Murders, 2 (stand alone novels)
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

1.

Manos Manu was running his fingertip along the spines of books, as if automatically scanning their contents. He knew his data would be crystal-clear seen below the Singapore sun which grew hotter every day, but for the moment it was as though he could hear it, the data echoing like the descending scales of a piano, every note feeding a neural network. From one shelf to the next, his query never wavered: What is the soul?

“Bye, Baby! Planning on wasting much time there?” Blowing a kiss over her lovely shoulder, Mei was gone.

Leaving what? Artificial intelligence has consciousness, even ingenuity. So what sets machines apart from humans besides the soul?

He turned back to the books. There weren’t that many: Barber’s Bayesian Reasoning, works of Bishop and Hinton, Sutton’s Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction, and a few titles about neural nets. There was also an untouched Michael Crichton mystery, though not Jurassic Park. But such was Mei. If you want history, she’d say, read papers. If you want to learn, read code. If you need to know what people are saying about a piece of code, jump on X. Books were about as useful to AI as military theory was on the battlefield. What you need in the trenches is ammunition. In AI, just code. Just GitHub, the goings-on of which were too big for any conceivable library.

He also couldn’t stop thinking of Lena Sideris. In the two months since his return from Greece he kept remembering her body, cut open on a marble table like a broken porcelain doll being sent back to the factory. Her eyes glassy orbs. Did they hold consciousness? Emotion? They didn’t. A soul? He didn’t trace the spines of books now, but grabbed one of Barber’s works, opened to a random page and ripped it out. He returned it to the shelf, moving on to Sutton and all the others, tearing out a page from each one till he had about fifty. Incomplete, these books would now confront anyone reading them with inconsistency. Making sure the books were replaced perfectly so that Mei would never notice, he shredded the pages in his hands till they looked like ticker-tape confetti and went back out onto the balcony.

Different weather awaited him. Broad heavy clouds skittered across the sun’s rays, leaving traces as if from speeding aircraft. He threw some of the shreds over the glass railing, where the wind swept them past the ceiling, high overhead. He hurled the rest into the air and stared, mesmerized by their flight.

Was this a gesture Artificial General Intelligence would choose to make?

It wasn’t. An AGI would have carefully selected which pages to discard. He’d barely thought to read them.

This was futile, illogical, diabolical. He’d destroyed books from his beloved’s library.

And he felt wonderful.

Was this having a soul? He’d committed a decidedly wicked act. This is what separates us from machines. Evil.

Then he remembered what he’d been trying to forget: And murder.

2.

It was Sunday morning and the first time she’d left him alone at her place. Before long, he received a message to meet up for brunch at Marina Bay. Mei would also swing by the office for the latest build of Mei-Nu, which was the name of their custom-made dating platform. They’d sifted through the crawled data correlating user profiles from sites like Tinder, Bubble, Coffee Meets Bagel, and Lovoo, elaborating a few of their own layers beyond basic personality tests. But both knew Myers-Briggs would only get them so far.

They needed more and better data: time to start seeing other people.

He arrived at Jypsy, late as usual. Mei was already seated with a couple at a table overlooking the Marina.

“And here’s Manos!” Mei called, with a cheerful smile.

“Sorry. Traffic,” he mumbled, his eyes fixed on his new date.

Her name was Daria, a pretty twenty-seven year old maritime attorney. She was of average build with big Anime eyes. Her psychometrics had indicated she was the enfp type, matching well with Manos’ intj. Creative, funny, a communicator. A handful, like him. He glanced over at Mei’s match, who was clearly regretting he’d come at all.

Mei launched their routine: “Thanks so much for meeting like this. I just wouldn’t feel comfortable by myself. Manos is a faithful friend.”

“Of course!” gushed Daria. “I’m chicken too - on dates, I mean . . .”

Bullshit. She’s fearless.

“It’s a bit strange,” said the young man. “A blind double date. It’s a good idea, but . . .”

His name was Marc, a banker from France. Type infp: diplomatic, introverted, yet apparently open-minded. Manos sensed he was very attracted to Mei and felt a pang of jealousy. Who wouldn’t be crazy about her? He would have to get used to it. Mei read his thoughts with a breezy smile before focusing on her date. They had work to do. For the next half hour, Manos and Mei worked through their mental checklist item by item to examine the people caught for them by the neural network they’d cast. This tête-à-tête had parameters culled from a somewhat small set of their respective right-swipes. Hidden biases lurked. For all. For example, if, as he claimed, Manos preferred the Chinese type to the Mediterranean - say, the actress Sun Li versus a Lena Sideris - then what the hell was Daria doing here, with her cascading black curls, fresh as lemon groves on the Amalfi coast?

With well-preprocessed data, even half an algorithm nails you!

Half an hour of small talk revealed where they were from, where they worked, their favorite movies, where they would love to travel, Like, if you could just leave tomorrow . . . .

It also revealed to Manos they’d made a mistake. Sex was a mistake. Which made Daria a mistake.

They had pulled profiles without timestamp-based clustering. This allowed data from hastily created profiles, like those made by married travelers looking for a quick hookup, which they hadn’t had time to isolate from the training datasets. Classic case of overfitting[1]. The algorithms worked, but with so much noisy data, spontaneity was redefined as fear. Fear’s not attractive. Fear degenerated into aggression and haste. Since we’re here, let’s do it right on the seafood bar, by the open oysters . . .

Another possible issue was voiced by Marc, who was saying:

“I’m not convinced double blind dates work.”

But Mei knew the problem was Manos himself. Always botching things! Attempting to "eliminate system biases” he’d added a stupid line of code actually designed to test the weights of their own Asian-American romance: sorted_data = sorted(data, key=lambda x: x['Asian']). Sweet of him, really.

Daria and Marc, each suspicious of these two nutjobs giving each other flirtatious looks and running the conversation along some shared secret formula, suddenly got up to use the restrooms.

Mei opened her laptop, steam practically coming out of her ears.

“I saw it this morning! I can’t believe you!”

“I don’t think it’s the command,” he murmured.

“The data –”

“Mei, it’s psychology, it’ not smooth world[2]. Anyway,” he smiled, cooling the tension. “I think Marc likes you.”

“You know he’s not my type.”

“Oh, but trust your data.”

“Manos Manu, are you trying to get rid of me?”

“No,” he said. “You’re my ground truth.”

Ground truth. A tech term they’d appropriated, meaning she mattered more to Manos than anything. Mei flushed with a thrill as he pulled her close, kissing her. They were swept up in vertigo, their kisses wet in all the right places. The world disappeared, as if their neurons were drunk and brimming over.

Until Daria reappeared. With Marc.

Neither took their seats. Instead they stood staring.

“I guess blind dates work out after all,” Marc teased.

Daria gave a crooked smile, a few locks of her glossy hair spiraling out wildly. Something had apparently happened in the bathroom.

“Noise!” cried Manos, triumphant.

Mei’s smile was as funny as Daria’s as she tumbled back into Manos’ arms. In the confusion, Daria’s much-needed enfp leadership came to the rescue.

“Ok, this started off wrong, but let’s make it right,” she said. “Marc and I want to hit a beach club in Sentosa.”

They all looked at each other, and Daria added, “You guys are super-nerds, but . . . do you want to come?”

________________________________________

[1] Machine learning term. Manos means the models they used were overly complex, resulting in incorporating irrelevant data in order to achieve the desired outcome ("noise"), such as the profiles of married individuals, for example.

[2] “Law of the smooth world” in machine learning refers to real-world data,e.g.audio/speech/images/video

***

Excerpt from The Machine Murders by CJ Abazis. Copyright 2024 by CJ Abazis. Reproduced with permission from CJ Abazis. All rights reserved.

 

Author Bio:

CJ Abazis manages a software company in Athens, Greece.

Catch Up With CJ Abazis:
www.TheMachineMurders.com
Goodreads
BookBub - @abazis
Instagram - @themachinemurders
Twitter/X - @CJAbazis
Facebook - @manosmanuseries

 

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews!

Click here to view The Machine Murders by CJ Abazis Tour Hosts.
  

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Tours


I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Partners in Crime Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Partners in Crime Book Tours.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

Monday, March 25, 2024

Listen Do You Want To Know A Secret by Teresa Trent Blog Tour Book Review



Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret

by Teresa Trent

March 18 - 29, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

A Swinging Sixties Mystery

Everyone has a secret, and in 1964, Dot Morgan’s new job at KDUD Radio is filled with them. Her boss, Holden Ramsey, is a terrible flirt, but he’s also engaged to a beautiful socialite. When Dot finds out he’s hiding involvements with other women, these secrets lead to a grisly murder. Can Dot figure out who is murdering the women in Holden’s life before she finds herself next on the hit parade?
 

My Review

 
This novel is a trip down memory lane. This book in the series focuses on music. So many song titles and artist names bring back wonderful memories. Trent also brings out some of the cultural issues of the day, such as the difficulty Blacks experienced in getting recording contracts. They also faced prejudice like being accused of a crime when there was no evidence. There is also quite a bit about weddings and preparing for one in this novel. Who doesn't remember punch made from 7-Up and lime sherbet?

There is a murder but it really takes a back seat to the romance issues of Dot, her friends and her boss. It is a good novel for readers who would like to be immersed in the radio station and recording scene of 1964 as there is not much of an emphasis on solving the murder. There is a little suspense near the end.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

You can read my review of an earlier book in the series, If I Had a Hammer.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: January 2, 2024
Number of Pages: 230
Series: A Swinging Sixties Mystery, Book 3
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

I've known a secret for a week or two.
Nobody knows,
Just we two
~The Beatles

February 9, 1964

"Hurry, Ellie. It's about to start," Al called out.

"I'm just putting the popcorn in the bowl, Al. Keep your shirt on," Ellie yelled back. The jaunty theme song to "My Favorite Martian" played in the background as it capped off the adventures of everyone's favorite Uncle Martin.

"You're not even married yet," Ben said, "and you already sound like an old married couple."

"Yeah, well," Al said as Ellie squeezed in next to him, reaching for a handful of popcorn. "I don't have to report to prison until June." He gave us a smile, cheeks bulging with popcorn. "Isn't that right, sweetie?" He looked like a mischievous squirrel.

Ellie gave him a sour grin and then playfully hit his shoulder. "You're the luckiest man in the world." She lowered her nose slightly, giving Al a piercing, no-nonsense gaze. "Go on and admit it."

"Yes, dear," Al responded automatically. I loved the way they bantered back and forth. You could tell they loved each other dearly.

Ben reached out and took my hand on the crowded couch, and I lay my head on his shoulder. What we had was different, but that was because we hadn't been dating as long as Al and Ellie had. I tried to keep that in mind. Meanwhile, Ed Sullivan appeared in front of the gray-toned curtains. When they panned the audience, it was filled with women. Young women, and they all looked like they were about to witness the second coming. There were so many expectant looks to the stage. One girl had her fists clenched and held to her chin. I had seen the Ed Sullivan show for years, but never had I witnessed such awe-filled excitement.

"Just look at them all." Ellie squinted at the television. "Do you see any men?"

Instead of answering her question, Al added, "Do you see anyone over thirty?"

Ed Sullivan looked somewhere between excited and terrified. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles," Ed Sullivan yelled, and the screams rose to a feverish pitch.

I had never witnessed mass hysteria, but was sure I was seeing it on Ellie's new Phillips television set. "This is unbelievable. Those girls are going insane." The camera went from the audience to John, Paul, and George. Ringo was set up on a raised platform with his drums. They knocked out "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and with each measure the crowd screamed even more.

"I can barely hear the song for the caterwauling going on in the background," Al said.

"I wonder if they can hear each other." Ellie popped a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"I told you the Beatles were big news." Ben was the room's professional reporter.

I couldn't get over how excited the fans were. I considered myself a bit of an expert in popular music since I landed my job at KDUD, The Smile on Your Dial. I wasn't spinning records, but I was answering the request line. We were getting more and more requests for the Beatles. Unfortunately, my boss chose Perry Como over John Lennon and Montavoni over Paul McCartney. Sometimes it felt like I was spending my days in a department store, listening to never-ending soulless melodies. Sales were down, and our listenership was too. If my boss would only switch to the popular music of the day, we'd be playing in everyone's kitchen.

It was more than these girls' crazy behavior in the presence of the Beatles. They bought the records. This was a big industry, and these four kids from England were taking America by storm. The rival station across town, KOOL, was playing them nonstop, and that's who people were listening to on their radios. Ellie told me they even made jokes about our station. We were oldies for the oldies. As Charlie Brown would say, "Good grief".

I needed to count my blessings. I had a job I enjoyed. I just hated to see how they were missing an opportunity with their choice of music.

***

Excerpt from Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret by Teresa Trent. Copyright 2024 by Teresa Trent. Reproduced with permission from Teresa Trent. All rights reserved.

 

Author Bio:

Teresa Trent is the author of the Swinging Sixties Mystery Series published by Level Best Books featuring The Twist and Shout Murder (2022), If I Had a Hammer (2023), and Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret (2024). She has been writing and publishing mysteries since 2011 starting with the Pecan Bayou Mystery Series and followed by the Piney Woods Mystery Series. When Teresa isn't writing novels and short stories, she spends her time creating narrated excerpts on her podcast, Books to the Ceiling, where she gets to use all that community theater experience from her teens and twenties along with a little audio editing she learned from her daughter. Teresa is a former English teacher, but also spent many years teaching music to preschoolers working with children of all abilities. Teresa makes her home in Texas with her husband and son.

Catch Up With Teresa Trent:
TeresaTrent.com
Goodreads
BookBub - @TeresaTrent
Instagram - @teresatrent_cozymys
Twitter/X - @ttrent_cozymys
Facebook - @TeresaTrentMysteryWriter

 

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, features, and opportunities to WIN in the giveaway!

Click here to view Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret Tour Hosts.
 

Don't Miss Out! Enter Now for Your Chance to Win!

This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Teresa Trent. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

 

 

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Tours


I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Partners in Crime Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Partners in Crime Book Tours.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Transformative Friendship by Brad Hambrick Book Review

About the Book:

Transformative Friendships shares seven simple questions that will help you be intentional with your relationships and offers a springboard to deepening and strengthening friendships that will enrich your life.

Building meaningful friendships is not as easy as we wish it was. A culture that is lonelier and more disconnected than ever proves how hard it can be. In Transformative Friendships, counselor Brad Hambrick encourages readers to develop new rhythms, habits, and lifestyles that will shape and grow their relationships, both with casual acquaintances and closer friends.

The goal is not to develop perfect friendships, but rather learn to how to cultivate deep connections that grow steadily over time through conversations based on simple questions and common interactions. Hambrick’s biblical vision for friendship calls Christians to engage with one another in the transformational way God intended.

My Review:

Having a good friend is powerful but cultivating such a friendship may be difficult. Hambrick suggests seven questions to help develop meaningful engagement. Each of those seven questions has five levels and Hambrick gives questions to ask to stimulate movement through each deeper level.

My favorite part of the book dealt with the question about what is hard. While there is much a friend can do, Hambrick clarifies that a friend cannot be a substitute for God's perfect compassion. His section on what's bad is thought provoking in that we must be willing to talk about sin. That is challenging.

We are reminded that transparency may be the most “powerful, yet most neglected, tool for character formation." (995/2072) “In friendship, we must take the risk of being known if we are going to know the joy of being loved.” (1887/2072)

Friendships are so important and I really appreciate Hambrick's suggestions for developing transformative ones, ones that help us become more the people God wants us to be. I found this book to also be valuable for personal learning and development. I recommend this book to those willing to take a journey of self-awareness and friendship intentionality.

My rating: 5/5 stars.


About the Author:

Brad Hambrick, ThM, EdD, serves as the Pastor of Counseling at The Summit Church in Durham, NC. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Biblical Counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a council member of the Biblical Counseling Coalition

He has authored several books, including God's Attributes: Rest for Life Struggles, Making Sense of Forgiveness, Angry with God, and the Church Based-Counseling series. Hambrick also served as general editor for the Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused curriculum.

Hambrick, his wife, Sallie, and two sons live in Raleigh, NC. You can find out more at  bradhambrick.com.

NewGrowth Press, 160 pages.

I received an egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Offshore Ambush by Sherri Wilson Johnson Blog Tour Book Review

About the Book

Book: Offshore Ambush

Author: Sherri Wilson Johnson

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense (contemporary)

Release Date: January 9, 2024

Sometimes people aren’t who you think they are.

Gretchen Overton’s world is shattered when someone murders her brother on a remote offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. As medicolegal death investigator for Baldwin County, Alabama, she vows to uncover the truth and bring the killer to justice. But little does she know, her path to finding answers requires the help of Everett Forrester, the rig’s Drilling Foreman and her ex-boyfriend.

While tensions rise and the body count increases, danger lurks around every corner…and it becomes clear that someone is determined to eliminate Gretchen and Everett before they uncover the truth.

Can they untangle the web of deception and expose the killer before everything rips them apart again?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

I like the unusual setting of an offshore platform, making the murder a sort of locked room situation. A potential storm heightens the suspense. The characters were interesting. There is a history to the relationship between Gretchen and Everett and I thought perhaps I had missed a previous book featuring them. There is enough back story to make sense of their actions, however. Gretchen did seem to be a bit over reactive to me as I do prefer a strong female as a heroine.

The plot is also interesting with lots of twists, people not being who they seem. It all works out in the end but lots needed to be revealed in the denouement. Wilson's writing style is not complex so the novel is easy to read. This is a good romantic suspense with a subtle faith message.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

 

About the Author

Sherri Wilson Johnson is a Christian romantic suspense author and lover of all things book related. She’s always been a sucker for a good love story—whether it’s in real life or fiction (both historical and contemporary). Completing her first novel at the age of eighteen, and later burning the only copy in the fireplace, she continued learning the craft of writing and now writes Contemporary Romantic Suspense and Historical Romance with a splash of suspense and/or mystery. When not writing, she’s usually assisting other publishing professionals or helping authors realize their dreams of becoming published. Sherri and her husband are empty-nesters and live in Georgia with their two dogs. She loves spending time with family, vacationing at the beach, curling up with a good book or working on her current work-in-progress. She dreams of a second home on some beach somewhere someday, where she can plot and write romantically suspenseful novels.

More from Sherri

The idea for Offshore Ambush came from my annual visits to the Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan, Alabama area. Just like how the idea for Desolate Escape (book one in my Jeopardized Reunions series) came about while sitting on the deserted beach at the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge where I imagined someone discovering a dead body on the beach, discovering the oil and gas platforms out in the Gulf but not knowing what they were sparked my creative juices. So I began researching what these were while eating dinner on the screened-in porch that viewed Mobile Bay where we were staying (across the street from the beach). When I discovered that they were drilling platforms, my husband and I started brainstorming. Yes, Dan is one of my biggest brainstorming resources, for lack of a better word. He always titles my books for me, always listens daily as I fill him in on what I’ve written, and never fails to cheer me on when I’m dreaming up the next book or series idea.

I had planned to end the series (for now) with one final book that reached beyond what I’d written before. Since this series has been set on Mobile Bay and the beaches surrounding the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge plus some of the rivers that flow into the bay, I felt like it would only be fitting to venture out into the ocean. So the first half is set on the Lapis Lazuli oil platform, then the rest is set in Gulf Shores.

Now for an interesting story about how I named the Lapis Lazuli…

I’ve been reading the Bible all the way through this year, this time in chronological order. Because I’m a slow reader, I use a Bible app and let the British narrator read it to me. I follow along in my Bible and make notes or underline verses that touch me. Well, in at least two handfuls of places in the Old Testament the stone lapis lazuli is mentioned, and every time the British narrator pronounced it, it made me smile. I don’t know why, but it did. So when I did a search on what it was and found out that it was this gorgeous deep blue (which happens to be one of my favorite colors), I suddenly felt compelled to name the oil platform the Lapis Lazuli.

Exodus 24 talks about Moses and Aaron and the elders going up the mountain where they saw the God of Israel. Verse 10 says: “Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.” Can’t you just see it?!

It’s mentioned that the priestly garments had lapis lazuli in the breastpiece. And in Song of Songs chapter five, the woman describes her beloved as this:

His arms are rods of gold
set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with lapis lazuli.

Okay, so now I’m in the mood for a good love story. How about you? 😉

Offshore Ambush is another one of my second chance romantic suspense stories that reminds me of how God is the God of second chances, forgiveness, and unconditional love. I hope you will find this story to be as inspiring to read—and yet thrilling due to all the danger our hero and heroine find themselves in—as I did while writing it.

Blog Stops

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 22

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 23

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 24 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 24

Texas Book-aholic, March 25

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 26

Fiction Book Lover, March 27 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol, March 28

Betti Mace, March 29

Back Porch Reads, March 30 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 31

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, April 1

Blossoms and Blessings, April 2 (Author Interview)

An Author’s Take, April 2

For Him and My Family, April 3

Life on Chickadee Lane, April 4

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sherri is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a paperback of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a8f6/offshore-ambush-celebration-tour-giveaway

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Celebrate Lit.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

Friday, March 22, 2024

Murder in Moscow by Kelly Oliver Book Review

About the Book

1918 Moscow

Will following her heart mean losing her head? It could mean losing her job.

Fiona Figg trails her nemesis Fredrick Fredricks to Moscow. But when she arrives at the grand Metropol Hotel, the bounder has vanished.

After Fiona doesn't show up for work at the War Office, Kitty Lane raises a red flag and tracks her to Russia. Seeking haven at the British Embassy, Kitty and Fiona become embroiled in a plot to overthrow the Bolshevik government.

But the plot turns deadly when Fiona goes undercover as a governess in the household of Iron Viktor, the Bolsheviks' Head of Secret Police. And when Viktor turns up dead in his study, Fiona finds herself wanted for murder and on the lam.

Can Fiona and Kitty find the real killer and escape the Kremlin before it's too late? Or will this dangerous game of Russian roulette be their last?

 

My Review

I have enjoyed this historical series. Although this one is down the line in the collection of novels, it reads rather well on its own. I like Oliver taking readers to different locations in this series, now to Moscow. We are immersed in the tension between the Bolsheviks and those still loyal to the Czar. Additional tension is added as some are trying to make peace between the Bolshevik government and the Germans.

I appreciate the possibility of British female spies during WW I. I like Kitty and her scientific abilities to investigate evidence. I was getting a bit tired of Fiona's inability to choose ultimate romance between Archie and Frederick but it seems she may have done so here. Or has she? It looks like there will be additional adventures for Kitty and Fiona so I will be watching for them.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

You can read my reviews of earlier books in this series: Chaos at Carnegie Hall, Covert in Cairo, Mayhem in the Mountains, and Arsenic at Ascot.

About the Author

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning and bestselling author of three mystery series: the seven-book suspense series, The Jessica James Mysteries; the three-book middle grade kids’ series, Pet Detective Mysteries; and the four-book historical cozy series, The Fiona Figg Mysteries, inspired by those trips to the Green Hills Library.

When she’s not writing novels, Kelly is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

Boldwood Books, 234 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review. 

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Trapped in Yosemite by Dana Mentink Blog Tour Book Review


About the Book

Book: Trapped in Yosemite

Author: Dana Mentink

Genre: Christian Fiction

Release Date: February 27, 2024

When a massive earthquake levels the region, secrets and unknown dangers are exposed…

The ground in still-icy Yosemite National Park isn’t stable, and K-9 handler Von Sharpe fears the worst. But his worries are pushed aside when he sees an SUV viciously forced off the road…with his ex-fiancée at the wheel. It’s only when Stella Rivers steps out of the vehicle that the very ground under their feet cracks and breaks with the onslaught of a terrifying earthquake.

When her meeting with a mysterious client is ambushed, Stella witnesses the man being gunned down by a sniper and becomes a target herself. With the threat of aftershocks triggering landslides and floods, the new mom has no choice but to run to save her baby girl—even if it means teaming up with the man who has no idea he fathered her child.

Trapped in a dangerously unstable wilderness with a killer closing in, Von and Stella are running out of time to get to safety. And every fissure reveals a new secret that will shake them to their foundation…

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

This inspirational romantic suspense starts off with deadly action. The continuation of the story revolves around an earthquake and those trapped in a remote location because of it. Overall, the novel has an emphasis on romance and character interaction. There is periodic suspense but most of the novel contains character thought. The main characters have a history so much of the character thought is about the past and remembering decisions made. I was disappointed there was a tacit acceptance of premarital sex with no remorse on the part of the characters.

This is a novel for readers who like mostly character thought and interaction with periodic suspense. The location is fun and readers who have visited Yosemite will recognize many locations. There is a vague inspirational aspect to the novel with mentions of God and a relationship to Him.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

 

About the Author

Dana Mentink is a USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author as well as a two-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, and the recipient of a Holt Medallion. She’s written over fifty titles in the suspense, lighthearted romance and mystery genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense and Poisoned Pen Press.

More from Dana

I won’t ever forget October 17th, 1989. I was finished with my student teaching duties, chatting with my mother while we watched the World Series. It was an epic matchup of two Bay Area teams. As we watched, the floor lurched and the entire house began to rattle and pitch. We ran outside and watched the street undulate like ocean waves. We’d later come to learn it was a 6.9 earthquake on the Loma Prieta fault. The shaking only lasted 20 seconds but 63 people were killed, 3,757 were reported injured and 12,053 displaced. The damage estimates reached as high as $10 billion, with 18,306 houses leveled. Approximately 2,575 businesses were impacted and 147 were destroyed. The part I will remember most was the collapse of a section of the freeway in Oakland which trapped people in the pancaked structure. I remember watching the close space rescue teams work night and day to find survivors.

Little did I know that memorable event would someday lead to a book! This novel combines the iconic California setting of Yosemite and the big fear buried deep in every California’s mind…the big one, the massive earthquake we know will be coming someday. Of course you know there will be a happy ending in the novel, but I hope you will feel the edge of your seat suspense that keeps you turning pages. God bless you, dear readers!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 21

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 21

Bigreadersite, March 21

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 22 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 22

Texas Book-aholic, March 23

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 23

Lakesidelivingsite, March 24

Pause for Tales, March 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 24

Betti Mace, March 25

The Sacred Line, March 25

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 26

Daysong Reflections, March 26

EmpowerMoms, March 27

Life, Love, Writing, March 27

Cover Lover Book Review, March 28

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, March 28

Blogging With Carol, March 28

Tell Tale Book reviews, March 29

Simple Harvest Reads, March 29 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

For Him and My Family, March 30

Splashes of Joy, March 30

Blossoms and Blessings, March 31

To Everything There Is A Season , March 31

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, March 31

Holly’s Book Corner, April 1

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, April 1

Life on Chickadee Lane, April 2

Labor Not in Vain , April 2

Lily’s Corner, April 3

Lights in a Dark World, April 3

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, April 3

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Dana is giving away the grand prize package of a $100 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a8f5/trapped-in-yosemite-celebration-tour-giveaway

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Celebrate Lit.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)