Tag Archives: Oregon
Book Review: The Clincher by Lisa Preston
The Clincher
A Horseshoer Mystery #1
Lisa Preston
Skyhorse Publishing, November 2018
ISBN 978-1-5107-3272-8
Hardcover
Apparently the last person to see her client alive, horseshoer Rainy Dale is on the police’s short list of suspects when Patsy-Lynn Harper is murdered on the afternoon Rainy shoes Patsy’s prize stud. Considering she’s a comparative newcomer to her small Oregon town, Rainy is an easy mark. Especially since someone seems determined to set her up, with clues pointing right at her.
But Rainy has her friends, too. Her boyfriend, Guy, who’s taken in Rainy, her dog, and even her horse, Red. There’s a young girl, Abby, who has her own secrets and is as horse-crazy as Rainy was at that age, who turns out to play a big part of the plot. And even a local vet takes her at face value.
Rainy is put in great danger by the end, and Guy, a gourmet chef on the cusp of owning his own upscale restaurant, is willing to give up everything to save her.
The plot touches on many subjects, all put forward in a logical and organic manner. Adoption, teen-age waywardness and angst, bullying, drug use–in this case steroids. And, of course, the shoeing of horses, one aspect of which fuels the title of the book.
The Clincher has some of the most interesting and unique characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. The plot is fast-paced, the characters are sympathetic and come alive under Preston’s sure hand. As a plus, the writing is excellent over-all. I can’t wait to read the sequel.
Reviewed by Carol Crigger, July 2018.
Author of Three Seconds to Thunder, Four Furlongs and Hometown Homicide.
Teeny Reviews: Rattus New Yorkus by Hunter Shea and Burglars & Blintzes by Morgan C. Talbot
Rattus New Yorkus
Hunter Shea: One Size Eats All #2
Hunter Shea
Lyrical Underground/Kensington, August 2018
ISBN 978-1-5161-0794-0
Ebook
TONIGHT’S DINNER SPECIAL: US
They were either some kind of rat council of elders, or the rodent world’s version of a repugnant Moe, Larry, and Curly.
Benny and Chris—divorcing but still working together—are exterminators but even they are overwhelmed by what they’re seeing in the rat population, ever since they distributed a new kind of poison a few weeks earlier. Suddenly, the horrible creatures are much bigger and way more aggressive. Worse, they seem to be reproducing like crazy and working together, planning, strategizing.
And then they disappear but we know they haven’t really disappeared.
I’d yet to meet a man more intimidating than five-foot Sister Veronica.
I confess, I love creepy horror stories that are full of black humor and this one has it in spades. One liners abound and I just couldn’t resist chuckling even while I was reading about nasty rats:
I never said I wasn’t a world-class dumb-ass.
I’m beginning to think that Hunter Shea is a master of high camp as well as “normal” horror and Rattus New Yorkus was every bit as entertaining as the first of the One Size Eats All series. The third story, The Devil’s Fingers, will be released in October but, in the meantime, I’m happy to say there are plenty of older books to romp through and a new novel, Creature, coming in September.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, August 2018.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Burglars & Blintzes
Moorehaven Mysteries Book 2
Morgan C. Talbot
Red Adept Publishing, July 2018
ISBN 978-1-948051-14-9
Trade Paperback
When treasure is discovered on a construction site in Seacrest, Oregon, word spreads fast and treasure hunters soon descend on the beach town followed by a marine salvage company. Unfortunately, the treasure came with a dead body and it turns out to be a long-missing man who Pippa’s uncle Hilt knew well.
Pippa Winterbourne loves her B&B, Moorehaven, and all the work that goes with it but she still has time to pull her friends and guests (mystery authors) together to find out what’s going on when accidents begin to happen and old secrets come to light. She’s also a bit distracted when her boyfriend, Lake, is hired as a boat pilot by the salvage company and one of the crew takes a special interest in Lake.
Any mystery reader will be intrigued by the collection of mystery authors who are staying at Moorehaven and the townspeople are equally as interesting and vividly drawn. To add a little drama, Lake’s ex-wife, Mallory, is the police chief and she and Pippa have a strained relationship at best. Needless to say, Mallory would just as soon Pippa stayed out of the investigation but Pippa can’t help herself.
That investigation is two-fold with the old case of the dead man and his pocket full of Spanish doubloons and a present-day murder so Pippa and her cohorts are kept busy. I have to say I didn’t figure it out till near the end, the best kind of mystery, and I enjoyed the investigation a lot. I’ll look forward to the third entry in the series.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, August 2018.
Book Review: All Systems Down by Sam Boush
************
Title: All Systems Down
Series: The Cyber War #1
Author: Sam Boush
Publisher: Lakewater Press
Publication Date: February 8, 2018
Genre: Science Fiction, Cyberthriller
************
Purchase Links:
Barnes & Noble // Kobo // Amazon // Indiebound
************
All Systems Down
The Cyber War #1
Sam Boush
Lakewater Press, February 2018
ISBN 978-0-9944512-7-9
Trade Paperback
From the publisher—
24 hours.
That’s all it takes.
A new kind of war has begun.
Pak Han-Yong’s day is here. An elite hacker with Unit 101 of the North Korean military, he’s labored for years to launch Project Sonnimne: a series of deadly viruses set to cripple Imperialist infrastructure.
And with one tap of his keyboard, the rewards are immediate.
Brendan Chogan isn’t a hero. He’s an out-of-work parking enforcement officer and one-time collegiate boxer trying to support his wife and children. But now there’s a foreign enemy on the shore, a blackout that extends across America, and an unseen menace targeting him.
Brendan will do whatever it takes to keep his family safe.
In the wake of the cyber attacks, electrical grids fail, satellites crash to earth, and the destinies of nine strangers collide.
Strangers whose survival depends upon each other’s skills and courage.
I can’t help wondering when Mr. Boush conceived the idea for his novel or when he started writing it but it certainly is reflective of our current (and ongoing, apparently) situation with both North Korea and Russia and is very timely indeed. We’ve also had years of experience with hackers installing viruses into the internet so, all in all, the concept here is quite credible.
I don’t have enough knowledge of internet workings to say whether the technical aspects in this story are accurate but that lack of knowledge has a beneficial side effect—if I don’t know better, I’m not going to be concerned with those details. That, in turn, makes for a more comfortable read and I don’t have to bother with focusing on those matters, allowing me to just enjoy the ride and enjoy it I did.
The blackout that hits the US nationwide has strong elements of post-apocalyptic fiction, a plus for me, and this revolves pretty equally around our survival without electricity and other things we’ve learned to assume will always be there and on how we actually got in such a state. Placing the tale in contemporary times was a good move on the author’s part because anybody with half an ear to current events has to be aware that this is something that could happen.
Mr. Boush has a good feel for his characters and they’re quite believable, normal yet imperfect. I certainly didn’t like them all but I’m quite sure many people will be very annoying, oblivious, self-centered, ugly-tempered, cruel, etc., should we find ourselves in such a situation. On the other hand, there will be many who remember their humanity and such is the case with Brendan, Lorenzo, Vailea and others.
For a debut novel, All Systems Down is a nifty story with a lot going for it, although it’s not perfect, and I’m anticipating another good tale with the next book in the series.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, August 2018.
About the Author
Sam Boush is a novelist and award-winning journalist.
He has worked as a wildland firefighter, journalist, and owner of a mid-sized marketing agency. Though he’s lived in France and Spain, his heart belongs to Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife, Tehra, two wonderful children, and a messy cat that keeps them from owning anything nice.
He is a member of the Center for Internet Security, International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, and Cloud Security Alliance.
ALL SYSTEMS DOWN is his first novel, with more to come.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Amazon * Goodreads
************
Follow the tour here.
************
Giveaway
$25 Amazon gift card
Enter here.
************
Book Review: Pre-Meditated Murder by Tracy Weber
Pre-Meditated Murder
A Downward Dog Mystery #5
Tracy Weber
Midnight Ink, January 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7387-5068-2
Trade Paperback
Kate Davidson and her trusty canine companion Bella return in Pre-Meditated Murder. As the book opens, Kate and her boyfriend are celebrating Kate’s birthday at the fancy restaurant atop the Seattle Space Needle. SkyCity was the perfect place for what Kate assumed was going to be a moment of her lifetime. After avoiding any thought of “commitment, marriage or children,” Kate is ready. She is sure tonight is the night that Michael is going to pop the big question and Kate is ready to say yes. In fact, she can hardly wait to say yes. They are at the restaurant, he pulls out her gift, she opens it and-it’s a necklace. Stunned for sure, but her evening is going to get much worse.
Michael professes his love for Kate, but then proceeds to tell her that he can’t marry her, at least not yet because there is this little detail he has failed to mention before. He is already married, wants a divorce but Gabriella won’t budge without a big pay out.
Kate and Michael decide to go to Oregon to try to talk Gabriella into giving Michael the divorce. I was right with the book up until this point but then things get a little strange even for a “cozy” mystery series. They take Bella with them, BUT, here is where it goes a little wonky for me. Kate’s best friend Rene, her husband, their twins and their dogs also make the trip. Really?
Skipping ahead and overlooking that fact that entirely too many people have made the trip, Kate and Michael meet with Gabriella and the meeting goes poorly. The next day, things take an even worse turn when Kate and Bella are out for a walk and Bella digs up Gabriella’s body. Things get worse still when the police turn up at Michael’s sister’s house and Michael has no alibi for the time of the death. Obviously Michael is suspect number one on the police’s list. In keeping with the cozy mystery genre, Kate then jumps in to solve the crime and clear Michael. What Kate uncovers surprises her and changes how she thinks of Michael.
From there the book takes a few interesting twists which might well push it off the “cozy” shelf for subject matter.
The book gives readers a chance to learn more of Michael’s background while certainly wondering what is next for Kate and Michael.
Reviewed by guest reviewer Caryn St. Clair, January 2018.
A Passel of Teeny Reviews, Part 2
Once again, big surprise, I find myself with
an overload of books read but not yet reviewed
so I think it’s time for a roundup or two…
All the Little Liars
An Aurora Teagarden Mystery #9
Charlaine Harris
Minotaur Books, October 2016
ISBN 978-1-250-09003-4
Hardcover
Charlaine Harris has to work really hard to make me not like any of her books and this one is no exception. Aurora Teagarden is her fluffiest series and I was SO excited when she brought it back with this book, 13 years after the last one.
Roe is a librarian—now married and pregnant—in a small town in Georgia and, as librarians are wont to do, falls over dead bodies on a regular basis. This time, a bunch of kids have gone missing and her teenaged brother is somehow involved. I enjoyed this story even though I thought it was just a little weak but I chalk it up to the difficulties of rebooting a series and fully expect the upcoming Sleep Like a Baby to be back on top.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, September 2017.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gizelle’s Bucket List
My Life with a Very Large Dog
Lauren Fern Watt
Simon & Schuster, March 2017
ISBN 978-1-5011-2365-8
Hardcover
Simon & Schuster Audio, March 2017
Narrated by Lauren Fern Watt
Downloaded Unabridged Audiobook
I both read and listened to this one and was glad I did because the audio edition added a strong connection between me and the author. This is a true story and, as you can guess from the title, it’s all about this wonderful dog’s last days. Get out a box of tissues because you’re going to need them. Yes, it’s terribly sad but also joyful and uplifting as Lauren helps Gizelle do the things she loves best and those Lauren is sure she’ll enjoy before it’s too late. The love and devotion between Lauren and Gizelle are as real as it gets and I appreciate the time I spent with them.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, September 2017.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smugglers & Scones
Moorehaven Mysteries, Book 1
Morgan C. Talbot
Red Adept Publishing, January 2017
ISBN 978-1-940215-87-7
Trade Paperback
Moorehaven is a bed and breakfast in Oregon that caters to crime fiction writers—what a great setting for murder and mayhem, right? Pippa Winterbourne, manager, gets pulled into the investigation when a local is killed and a boat mysteriously crashes on the rocks, leaving her to house an intriguing injured man who just might be guilty of murder. This is a delightful tale full of the history of coastal Oregon and a beautiful setting and featuring some very appealing folks. The setup with the B&B is unusual in that a trust is actually in charge so this is not the typical scenario in which the innkeeper has to scrimp and save to keep things going. That frees Pippa to do some sleuthing on her own while she rides herd on her crochety great-uncle and the current group of author guests. This is a clever, charming series debut and I’m looking forward to the next one, Burglars & Blintzes.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, September 2017.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Still Life
A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery #1
Louise Penny
Narrated by Ralph Cosham
Blackstone Audio, August 2006
Downloaded Unabridged Audiobook
When murder is done in a small town in the Quebec province, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called in to investigate. Most of the villagers think it must have been a hunting accident but Gamache is quite sure something else is going on.
I’m hanging my head in shame, I think, because I’m apparently at odds with the mystery reading world. I’d always avoided this series ( now up to #13) for no particular reason other than I have a bit of distrust when everybody raves about the first book, then the second, the third… But, I finally started feeling kind of silly about it and bit the bullet and, well, I’m kind of underwhelmed. The narrator was quite good (I understand fans were devastated when he passed away a few years ago, after recording the tenth book) and the story was good but I just didn’t connect with it. Still, a gazillion readers can’t all be wrong so I’m going to try the second book.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, September 2017.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Introvert
Michael Paul Michaud
Black Opal Books, November 2016
ISBN 978-1-626945-47-0
Trade Paperback
He’s a vacuum salesman, a quiet individual, kind of a loner but only because solitude is usually easier. He’s Everyman. He also has moments of inner rage so intense he imagines the other person “red and open” but he’s perfectly normal. Right? Well, there was that incident a couple of years ago…
{{Shudder }}
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, September 2017.
More Teeny Reviews
Lost in Wonderland
The Twisted and the Brave #1
Nicky Peacock
Evernight Teen, May 2016
ISBN 978-1-77233-867-6
Trade Paperback
From the publisher—
Monsters, serial killers, and imaginary friends—being a Wonderlander can be murder… Once upon a time, Kayla was lost. Then she found Wonderland, but not the one you know. Run by ex-government agents and funded by an eccentric Silicon Valley billionaire, this Wonderland is the name of a collective of highly trained vigilantes who hunt serial killers. Now Kayla, aka Mouse, works tirelessly alongside her fellow Wonderlanders, Rabbit and Cheshire, baiting dangerous murderers. But even her extensive training hasn’t prepared her for the return of her older brother…
Shilo has spent most of his life in an insane asylum, convinced his mother was abducted by a sinister Alaskan monster who lures the lost away to feast upon their flesh. And now he’s certain that his sister is in the same monster’s crosshairs. But if Shilo is going to save what’s left of his family, he’ll have to convince his sister that maybe, just maybe, we’re all a little mad.
The retelling of fairy tales has become almost a cottage industry but, for me, the fun is in discovering how a particular author approaches the task. Now, Wonderland is not, precisely speaking, a fairy tale but, hey, it’s close enough and I quite simply loved all the oddities and eccentricities, the madness, to be found in any Wonderland, even one that involves vigilantes and serial killers. That does mean there’s a certain amount of violence and the tale is quite dark so the squeamish may want to think before reading Lost in Wonderland. Still, I believe many will like Kayla a great deal and appreciate the story as much as I did.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, January 2017.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
House of Silence
Sarah Barthel
Kensington Books, January 2017
ISBN 978-1-4967-0608-9
Trade Paperback
From the publisher—
Oak Park, Illinois, 1875. Isabelle Larkin’s future—like that of every young woman—hinges upon her choice of husband. She delights her mother by becoming engaged to Gregory Gallagher, who is charismatic, politically ambitious, and publicly devoted. But Isabelle’s visions of a happy, profitable match come to a halt when she witnesses her fiancé commit a horrific crime—and no one believes her.
Gregory denies all, and Isabelle’s mother insists she marry as planned rather than drag them into scandal. Fearing for her life, Isabelle can think of only one escape: she feigns a mental breakdown that renders her mute, and is brought to Bellevue sanitarium. There she finds a friend in fellow patient Mary Todd Lincoln, committed after her husband’s assassination.
In this unlikely refuge, the women become allies, even as Isabelle maintains a veneer of madness for her own protection. But sooner or later, she must reclaim her voice. And if she uses it to expose the truth, Isabelle risks far more than she could ever imagine.
Desperation sometimes leads to dire measures and none is more dire than pretending mental illness and landing in an asylum. In the days when treatment of mental patients was something close to horrific, such an escape would have been even riskier but Isabelle certainly couldn’t have expected to find friendship with such a woman. That in itself leads to some interesting conversations and behaviors but the overall tone wasn’t as ominous as it should have been considering the setting and the times. The appeal of the story was further lessened for me by somewhat stilted language that could have been “softened” just a little to make it more amenable to the modern reader and yet there were also occasional anachronisms that simply didn’t work. Overall, while I don’t really consider this to be one of the better historical fiction novels I’ve read, I do see potential for future works from Ms. Barthel.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, January 2017.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Purloined Poodle
Oberon’s Meaty Mysteries
Kevin Hearne
Narrated by Luke Daniels
Audible, September 2016
Downloaded Unabridged Audio Book
From the publisher—
Thanks to his relationship with the ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan, Oberon the Irish wolfhound knows trouble when he smells it – and furthermore, he knows he can handle it.
When he discovers that a prizewinning poodle has been abducted in Eugene, Oregon, he learns that it’s part of a rash of hound abductions all over the Pacific Northwest. Since the police aren’t too worried about dogs they assume have run away, Oberon knows it’s up to him to track down those hounds and reunite them with their humans. For justice! And gravy!
Engaging the services of his faithful Druid, Oberon must travel throughout Oregon and Washington to question a man with a huge salami, thwart the plans of diabolical squirrels, and avoid, at all costs, a fight with a great big bear.
But if he’s going to solve the case of the Purloined Poodle, Oberon will have to recruit the help of a Boston terrier named Starbuck, survive the vegetables in a hipster pot pie, and firmly refuse to be distracted by fire hydrants and rabbits hiding in the rose bushes.
At the end of the day, will it be a sad bowl of dry kibble for the world’s finest hound detective, or will everything be coming up sirloins?
There are a handful of series that I always read by listening because I’m so entranced with the narrator and the Iron Druid Chronicles is one of those. Further, I also always get the ebooks because there are foreign and/or mythological names and terms that I can’t always pick up by listening so I play the audio books and then use the ebook to verify those words.
Besides the delights of Luke Daniels‘ narration, Oberon, a goofy Irish wolfhound, is one of my all-time favorite characters. Oberon talks to his druid pal, Atticus, and is totally charming while being very dog-like, focused largely on his next meal, and he has an eye for the ladies, particularly of the French poodle variety. When he finds out that a nefarious ring of dognappers is operating in the Northwest, he naturally feels it’s his duty to sniff out these bad guys so off he goes, with a little help from his friends. What ensues is an entertaining story with a satisfying resolution and I smiled all the way to the end. As always, Oberon’s voice alone had me going and I highly recommend readers who haven’t tried the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne listen to this tale for a taste of the joy you’ll get from these audio books.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, January 2017.
Buried Under Books 