Stepping in the Write Direction

What Happened to Nina by  Dervla McTiernan deals with a parent’s greatest fear, a missing child. It reads like a gripping police procedural wrapped in a study of family dynamics, which is further wrapped in literary fiction. A young college aged couple, Nina and Simon, who’ve been involved for about four years go off to Stowe Vermont, a short distance from their homes, for a week of hiking, but only Simon returns from this trip, and Nina’s family is unaware he’s home, somewhat reminiscent of Gabby Petito’s disappearance during a summer vacation with boyfriend Brian Laundrie who returns to his family in Gabby’s van, while Gabby’s family, not notified of Brian’s return, grows increasingly alarmed when she fails to respond to repeated attempts at communication with her, ultimately prompting them to contact law enforcement. Themes in the book involve domestic violence’s coersive control, inter-partner violence, dealing with grief and trauma, the lasting effect of social media’s innuend...

If there is a better action thriller than Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr, I have yet to read it. In May 2023 I read two of Carr’s earlier books: Only the Dead and Terminal List, rating both 5 stars. This newest of Carr’s publications is the 7th in his Terminal List book series. The action starts very early, as Carr sets the tone, “…governments will gain new technological powers to increase their control over populations, based on pervasive surveillance systems and the ability to control digital infrastructure. We would be wise to remember that a society’s primary organizing principle is its monopoly on force, its ability to control its populace and export violence in the form of war.” Two different AI intelligence oriented sentient quantum computers are characters in this novel, as each system designer strives to have their creation first to attain the power of global domination. The plot tension is well underway by page 30, and this book is essentially unputdownable ...

Bitch by Lucy Cooke is about finally getting the science right, debunking the male biases in zoological research influenced by the work of Charles Darwin. This early perspective on research embraced, “the widespread notion, popularized by Darwin, that females were generally passive and males active. The theory was embellished by others and labelled the Organizational Concept–the universally accepted model for sexual differentiation not just of bodies, but behaviour too.”  This book leaves readers dazzled by the complex diversity among different species’ reproductive systems as revealed by countless research studies Cooke details. This research done in the last half of the 20th century as well as in the first quarter of the 21st century is cause for astonishment, reverence, and awe as so many new discoveries are made regarding what drives evolution, reproduction, and social development in countless different species’ communities, and puts the Organizational Concept in its prope...

The Great Frontier: In The Beginning (The Reborn) by Ron Jenkins is an answer to the question “What could life be like on Earth and in space hundreds of years from today?” The book is a fascinating, spellbinding, engaging portrayal of future life, almost epic in the sense the characters are working to create the best life possible through their top level scientific research and technological advances, while embracing values of family, love, connection, and community, ultimately defending all they hold dear against what seems like eternal forces of encroachment, disruption and destruction in the form of an Earth based corporate and criminal Cartel, more powerful than any government, seeking control and riches, while co-opting space’s only military force run by the United Nations.  The quality of  the writing and storyline draws readers in.   As scientist Mara emerges from her research facility in the shuttle to check for survivors in a starship on a collision course with h...

One of the first things that drew me into this book is its cover art, which is riveting, unique, compelling, and commanding.  Zealous: A Thriller by Alex Rawecki is a taut, fast paced, stand alone action packed novel, where a scientist and her partner are in a desperate search for answers about a  research project  that may be affecting her, but they keep hitting dead ends, literally, as anyone connected suddenly seems targeted for a violent end, and soon she is as well. “In a modern office building outside of Brussels” a man and woman are speaking frankly, “‘We're facing an issue with the project. We advanced to phase 4 three weeks ago, but the subject isn't responding as anticipated. We've double-checked the input data, and it all seems correct. However, we're concerned about potential malfunctions in the coming days if we proceed with the protocol as planned,’ Mathilde Bariau summarized.” She questions the algorithm, but suspects the subject is the problem’s source, ...

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen is interesting from the beginning, but by page 23, I’m all in. Sixteen years ago retired CIA operative Maggie Bird moves into Blackberry Farm in Purity, Maine to raise chickens. From her farmhouse there’s enough elevation to see anyone coming from all sides, numerous high tech security cameras are installed, but after learning someone asked for directions to the farm, and her cellphone signals someone just entered her home as she’s still driving from town, Maggie’s in high alert. Another former operative, Diana Ward, has abruptly dropped off the radar, and the agency is concerned about anyone once associated with “Operation Cyrano” on the island of Malta. ”The Cyrano file was recently accessed by an unauthorized party, still unidentified. They want to know who did it, and why.” Another way to handle such problems, is eliminating everyone associated with the SpecOp who’s still alive. Maggie has four close friends from her earlier CIA li...

Shakespeare The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea is a wonderful book for Shakespeare lovers. It’s practically a Master Class on Acting, and a memoir of Judi’s acting career in Shakespearean plays. It is fascinating, engaging, and flies by in the blink of an eye. I’m using the Kindle edition with Audible narration, and the audio is top drawer.  In his introduction, Brendan O’Hea notes,   “This was never meant to be a book. My plan was to record Judi Dench talking about all the Shakespeare parts she has played and, with her blessing, to offer it to the archive department at Shakespeare’s Globe. But when a friend of her grandson overheard one of our many discussions at her home in Surrey, and was intrigued to know what all the laughter, passion and arguing was about, it made me wonder if these interviews might have a wider appeal.” The narrative is like an extensive interview, each chapter a different play (20 are covered in this book) or related material wit...