Brad Meltzer is a master of the political intrigue thriller. Looking at his Amazon page, he also writes biographies for children that look quite interesting! I am loving Zig in The Escape Artist, underdog, mortician for fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base, still in mourning over the death of his young daughter years before. He is an artist and a someone who believes deeply in making things right. Not a lot of writers can pull off main characters who are broken or depressed, but Meltzer does it well ...

I thought that Christmas mysteries would be a great topic for today's blog! There are a lot of great ones out there.  I don't have any books that are specifically Christmas mysteries, but both She Wore Mourning and He was Walking Alone are mysteries that take place during the Christmas season, and I have a short Christmas mystery in the Auntie Clem's Bakery series, Dog-Free Dinner.  Here are some others that I have pulled up today ...

Who could be behind this cat-astrophic crime? Follow Reg Rawlins on her journey to solve the mystery of the missing emerald necklace! ...

This is no ordinary teen runaway - something strange is going on and time is running out for the teen! ...

A con artist posing as a psychic is pulled into a dangerous mystery when a man thought dead may still be alive. What the Cat Knew is a paranormal cozy mystery with humor, suspense, and a psychic cat in the small town of Black Sands ...

I haven't posted about a young adult book lately, so I am pleased to bring you an excerpt from Gayle Forman's If I Stay. I hadn't read the blurb before starting, I just knew it was Gayle Forman and a popular book. It's definitely a little more interesting if you pick it up without knowing the premise, so decide whether you want to know or not before reading the blurb at the bottom! Gayle Forman is such a great writer of impactful YA ...

I was trying to decide what to write about in my blog today, and I thought, what better subject than Christmas books? Your favourite Christmas book can set the tone for the season, and it seems like there are endless movie adaptations of some of the classics ...

I've read a number of Alex Cross books before, and was a little disappointed with Merry Christmas, Alex Cross. Rather than a cohesive plot, it was as if three or four different stories had been stitched together, none of them with anything to do with the others. It is still a thrilling read, just not to James Patterson's usual standards ...

My sweetie Randy has put up a review of Stirring Up Murder on his blog,  Erin has always felt something was missing when it comes to her family. Now, out of the blue, she has found out she has a half-sister. Does Erin dare look for her? Or does she decide that she is happy and her life is complete? Her life is progressing, her business is growing, and she has a wonderful man in her life in Terry Piper. Why should she make an effort to look for this half-sister? ...

I am currently reading a Lisa Scottoline novel, Betrayed. It is part of the Rosato & DiNunzio series. I'm a sucker for murder mysteries and legal thrillers, and Lisa Scottoline almost always hits it out of the park for me. Betrayed does not disappoint. Scottoline's characters are well-developed and I am eager to find out what sort of scheme it was that the victim was involved in. Hopefully, Judy Carrier will find out that her Aunt Barb's trust was not misplaced ...

US Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday—a great time of year to buy new books! I have gathered together a stack of free and $0.99 books (and book bundles for $2.99 or less.) ...

I recently read Orbs, by Nicholas Sansbury Smith, the first book in this post-apocalyptic sci-fi series. There was lots of tension and action for the thriller lover, but if you are someone who expects the science and logic to be sound, you might want to give this one a pass. There are some major failings in both. If you can overlook it to enjoy the action, have at it! ...