Monday, September 30, 2013

An Untamed Land - Lauraine Snelling

An Untamed Land is the first novel in the Red River of the North series. This book is free for the kindle. When people these days think of the challenge required to move out of their parent's home, or move to a new state for work or school, it would do them good to reflect on the sacrifice immigrants made to come to this country from across the ocean. This book explores that kind of courage.

Ingeborg Bjorklund is the main character in this novel. Ingeborg was an immigrant from Norway. In 1880 Ingeborg, her step-son Thorliff, her husband Roald, his brother Carl, Carl's wife Kaaren, and Kaaren's newborn daughter Gunny, all arrived at New York city on their trip to the Dakota territory. Their journey across the ocean was grueling. Their trip across America to their new home on the prairie was long and tedious. Life on the prairie was hard and dangerous. In the 1880s people didn't come to America to get things for free. They came here to carve out things for themselves with their hard work and courage. This story is an inspiration to anyone who's ancestors sacrificed to immigrate to America for the freedom it provided then, and still provides today. Very highly recommended.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Big Blind - Nicolette Pierce

The Big Blind is the first novel in the Nadia Wolf series. This book is free for the kindle. This story has poker, mystery, murder, and lots of unrequited lust.

Nadia Wolf is a poker player. Nadia lives in an apartment over a Las Vegas wedding chapel. She helps with weddings in the evenings and plays poker during the day. Nadia's goal in life is to win the world series of poker. Her goal keeps getting sidetracked by men and murder. Hopefully not hers, although someone is working on that. A great tongue in cheek murder mystery. Highly recommended. Warning: there is a cliff hanger of sorts. The next book beckons.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Dance With A Gunfighter - Joanne Pence

Dance With A Gunfighter is $4.99 for the kindle. It was free when I downloaded it. This is another classic western set in the post-civil war era.

Gabriella Devere was a young girl of 16 when she first met the gunslinger Jess McLowry. Gabe danced with Jess at the second annual Jackson City Arizona founding day dance. That was in 1876. They next met in 1880 when Jess stopped Gabe from shooting one of the outlaws who murdered her father and brothers. The adventures that Gabe and Jess share throughout this story cover gunfights, outlaws, Apaches, and more. This book has plenty of action and clearly more than a touch of romance. This is a great western. Very highly recommended.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Florida Heat - Rainy Kirkland, Robyn Maize

Florida Heat is the first novel in the Florida Heat Murder Mystery Series. This book is free for the kindle. Murder, kidnapping, and bird smuggling make an interesting mystery mix.

Jo Cazimer is a probation officer. When one of her clients misses his appointment, she discovers she can skip the warrant because he's dead. Jo's best friend, Kate Snow, is a police detective assigned to the case. Jo and Kate get pulled into a series of crimes that don't appear to be related, but eventually will threaten their lives and converge on one master criminal. Beware, there is a cliff hanger at the end. Some murders are still to be solved, so a killer is still on the loose. Highly recommended.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Sagebrush - William Wayne Dicksion

Sagebrush is free for the kindle. This book is a classic western from start to finish.

Michael McBain was 12 years old when the wagon train his family was traveling with was attacked by Comanches and both his parents were killed. Michael survived because he was trapped under their overturned wagon. Michael was able to escape the Comanches and lived alone on the prairie for years. Michael vowed to avenge is parents death. Eventually Michael joined with some mountain men he rescued from the Comanches, and with their help he began to carryout a promise his father had made to a dying ranch owner. Plenty of adventure and some romance. The writing seems a little stilted, but the story comes through just fine. Highly recommended.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Deadly Blessings - Julie Hyzy

Deadly Blessings is the first book in the Alex St. James Mystery series. This novel is free for the kindle. This story would be good at any price.

Alex St. James is a researcher for the Chicago based Midwest Focus Television News Magazine. Alex is working a story that could be an award winner, but it could also get her killed. If she's not careful, this may be the last story she ever researches. Great suspense, great characters, and a healthy dose of unrequited romance. Very highly recommended.

Six from Greeley - Josh Langston

Six from Greeley is free for the kindle. This is a book of western related short stories that all tie together. They're quite good short stories.

Greeley is a town in Texas. It started out as the town respectable folks would avoid. It eventually got better, but not much. These short stories start in the time of the civil war and stretch to 1975. Read them in order, because the threads that bind them together make the collection a great read. Very highly recommended.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

A Witness Above - Andy Straka

A Witness Above is book one in the Frank Pavlicek Mystery Series. This book is free for the kindle. If you like a good murder mystery this has plenty of murders and mystery.

Frank Pavlicek was a homicide detective in New York city. Frank and his partner Jake Toronto left the police department under a cloud, but they settled in Virginia and Frank became a P.I. Thirteen years after NY, Frank discovers a dead body while flying his hawk, and the past comes back to hit him hard. Frank's daughter knows the deceased, and the tangled mess this causes is going to take hard work and some luck to unravel. This is a great story with plenty of dead bodies and lots of twists and turns. Very highly recommended.

The Krone Experiment - J. Craig Wheeler

The Krone Experiment is free for the kindle. This is a great hard science fiction read, and the price is right.

Robert Issacs is the Deputy Director of Scientific Intelligence for the CIA. When a Russian aircraft carrier is damaged by some unknown projectile, the culprit is assumed to be the USA. Tensions mount as Issacs pulls together a team to try and figure out what caused the damage to the aircraft carrier, as well as what the Russians are going to do next. What appears to be a separate issue is also taking some of Issacs attention, and it's a good thing. The real cause of the damage may be the USA after all. This is some great science fiction. Be aware the kindle formatting leaves much to be desired. Sometimes it's really hard to detect the change of threads except by context. In spite of the formatting, this story is well told and completely engrossing. Very highly recommended.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Out of Time - Monique Martin

Out of Time is book one in the Out of Time series. This book is free for the kindle. It's a time travel, romance, vampire, mystery novel. I know that sounds confusing, but this mix of genres works just fine for this story.

Simon Cross is the professor of occult studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. Elizabeth West is Simon's graduate teaching assistant. Lizzy is working toward her Masters in Occult Studies. When Simon receives a box of his grandfather's possessions, after his aunt's death, he discovers his grandfather's old pocket watch. Turns out this watch doesn't just display the time, it can change it. Simon and Lizzy accidentally embark on an adventure that takes them through time and space. Plenty of surprises, danger, mystery, and yes, romance. Very highly recommended.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Battle of Verril - Joseph Lallo

The Battle of Verril is the third and final novel in The Book of Deacon trilogy. This book is $2.99 for the kindle. I great finish to an epic trilogy.

Myranda and the rest of the Chosen are aided by Deacon and the Undermine in their final battle to throw the D'karon off their world and establish a lasting peace. The stakes are high and not all the Chosen will survive the last battle. I great ending for the book and the trilogy. Very highly recommended.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Great Convergence - Joseph Lallo

The Great Convergence is the second novel in The Book of Deacon trilogy. This book is $2.99 for the kindle.

Myranda pursues Lain out into the world beyond Entwell. Her goal is to convince him to join with the other Chosen for the great convergence. Can Myranda find Lain, and more importantly, can she find the other Chosen before the D'karon capture or kill them? More epic battles and new characters keep the tale moving at a rapid pace. Very highly recommended.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Redliners - David Drake

Redliners is free for the kindle. This is an amazing work of science fiction. You get more aliens and action in one novel than in some whole series.

The Unity has been at war with the Kalendru for a long time. Company C41 was dropped on Maxus 377 in operation Active Cloak, which was supposed to be a surprise attack. The surprise didn't go the way it was planned. Now everyone in C41, from Major Farrell to the lowest striker, is redlined. What does the Unity do with them? How about use them for security for a colonization project on Bezant 459. It turns out nothing is ever that straightforward for C41. Aliens and action abound. The jungle is alive takes on a whole new meaning for the Bezant colonists and C41. I could not put this book down. Every page, if not every paragraph, has a new threat and more action. Some of the best science fiction I've read in a long time. Very highly recommended.