Stepping in the Write Direction

After reading the book blurb for The Last One by Will Dean, I started the Kindle, hoping, in the early stages of Caz and Pete’s boarding of the ocean liner, that she suffers some kind of stroke or other episode that causes her to imagine all the things she experienced in the blurb. It sounds like such a bad dream, worse than the kind where you’re naked in the elementary school cafeteria at lunchtime, or it’s the end of the college semester, and you forgot to attend classes for one of the ones you registered for. Perhaps she’s even dreamed the boarding itself, along with the boyfriend, as she hadn’t had a relationship in months, and her refusal to enter the ship’s gambling entertainment room brought up a deep seeded trauma from earlier years.    Once it became clear what was happening, it felt like the characters were trapped inside  “Christine” on crack, “The Truman Show“ on meth, and “Runaway Train” on steroids, all rolled into one. Caz later bemoans they are  “Held...

Code Red is the first Vince Flynn/Kyle Mills book I’ve read, but won’t be my last. This book deals with an asymmetrical warfare threat, the development of a highly addictive and lucrative drug for purposes of facilitating conquest of perceived enemies, and the direct military response to thwart it in the form of a complex, unsanctioned, covert operation.  The main idea of developing a highly addictive drug that causes permanent brain damage is seen as being an effective way to  trigger societal collapse, greasing the skids before machines of war move in for an easier takeover.  I was unaware, before reading this book, of the concept of asymmetrical warfare, but found it similar to “unrestricted warfare” as presented in a 1999 book (Unrestricted Warfare: Two Air Force Senior Colonels on Scenarios for War and the Operational Art in an Era of Globalization written by two colonels  in the People’s Liberation Army , Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui). The Russians call it...

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knowles is powerful literary  fiction  about real events at its best.  The book’s title is a reference to remarks made by the judge presiding over the serial killer’s trial in Miami. In an interview author Jessica Knoll states, “He lamented the tragedy of this case as being the loss of the serial killer’s future, and that he showed great talent and promise at the law, and he could have done all these amazing things with his life, but he went another way, and he was a bright young man, and from the moment I heard those words, I knew I had to take them and give them back to the women.”  She accomplishes this through the use of engaging, relatable characters, a plot line that compels readers to turn pages, and a gift for creative writing. In the book one of her characters observes, “‘I’ve tried to make sense of how someone who didn’t stalk his victims in advance ended up going after the best and the brightest. And I think that’s it, th...

It’s very enjoyable to read a book like Grown Up Second Chance by Casey Dawes, involving people who’ve been around the horn, so to speak. I remember reading, a few decades ago, the demographics aspiring romance writers needed to heed in order to get their books published: main characters needed to be mid thirties, or not far from that age.  Thank goodness that’s changed. I always enjoyed Miss Marple mysteries by Agatha Christie, and that famous sleuth was no spring chicken. I’ve enjoyed Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, and love books, movies, and tv series with leading characters of all ages.  My current library ebooks and audio books from various digital platforms number 15, and return dates figure prominently in my reading priority. After I had read the Kindle free sample of Grown Up Second Chance, I immediately bought that edition and continued reading it. I did stop long enough to finish Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, but after a long day of doing everything...

Giovanni’s Room By James Baldwin, originally published in 1956, is a powerful, poignant book about being torn between doing what’s expected of you, while your passions pull you in opposite and sometimes socially untenable directions. David, an American, is living with his fiancé Hella in Paris and going through the motions of being in love, something he feels or wants to feel. She has left town to visit with her family, and during her absence he becomes friends with a young man, Giovanni. David has written his father for more money and has been living the life of a young student in Europe, minus the classes, his father is weary of what he suspects is a charade, and money becomes tight. To economize the two young men begin spending more time together. When David learns his fiancé is returning, tension and conflict arise between Giovanni and David. David and Hella are later seen by Giovanni, and the three main characters are all experiencing mixed emotions. Giovanni connects with an olde...