‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ has been adapted into a limited time series available on Apple TV+. Photo: Google
Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of “The Last Thing He Told Me,” “Eight Hundred Grapes,” and other novels. Her work has been published in thirty-eight countries. “The Last Thing He Told Me” has been adapted into a limited series starring Jennifer Garner. It is available for streaming on Apple TV+. “The Last Thing He Told Me” is about a woman who thinks she has found the love of her life—until he disappears. (Amazon, 2023)
“The Last Thing He Told Me”– Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband is not who he said he was and that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared. Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth but as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future—one neither of them could have anticipated.
The movie adaptation of the classic coming of age novel will be release April 28, 2023. Photo: Amazon
Judy Blume spent her childhood in Elizabeth, NJ, making up stories inside her head. She has spent her adult years in many places, doing the same thing, only now she writes her stories down on paper. Adults as well as children will recognize such Blume titles as: “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” “Superfudge,” “Blubber,” “Just As Long As We’re Together,” and “Forever.” Judy received a B.S. in education from New York University in 1961, which named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1996, the same year that American Library Association honored her with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her books have sold more than 75 million copies and her work has been translated into twenty-six languages. The beloved coming of age novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” has been adapted into a major movie and will be released in theaters April 28, 2023. (Amazon, 2023)
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” – Margaret Simon, almost twelve, has just moved from New York City to the suburbs, and she is anxious to fit in with her new friends. When she is asked to join a secret club she jumps at the chance. But when the girls start talking about boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret starts to wonder if she is normal. There are some things about growing up that are hard for her to talk about, even with her friends. Lucky for Margaret, she has got someone else to confide in, someone who always listens.
‘Identicality’ is the new technothriller by Jay L. Koppelman. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
How do genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in computer science, medicine and physics engage with ethics and morality? These are themes in “Identicality,” the debut novel from San Francisco Bay Area resident Jay Koppelman. It is a riveting and thought-provoking science fiction novel that will keep you thinking and guessing until the very end – and then beyond. In today’s world, science is quickly catching up to fiction. Will it have gone too far when it comes to replicating human beings? Check out the reviews for this amazing romp of a techno thriller and see what the excitement is all about.
As Adam Braudy, a brilliant inventor-entrepreneur, lies dying following an assassination attempt, he asks Charlie Wood, his lifelong friend, to use Adam’s latest invention—a human replicator to create Adam’s replicant. Despite deep ethical reservations, Charlie sets them aside, and at the risk of spawning a Frankenstein monster, creates Adam’s replicant who then steps into Adam’s role as husband, father, inventor and industrialist, having no reason to doubt that he is the real Adam Braudy. But then the first Adam miraculously survives. How far will Adam go to get his life back?
“Identicality is exhilarating!”
It’s a thriller that takes you to a place where “I is another”, and “identical is actually distinct.” I can’t wait to see the movie. It’ll put The Matrix to shame.
—Patrick Feigelson, author
“Thoroughly human characters grappling wit extraordinary dilemmas”
The technological wonders in Identicality are only just out of our reach, but they have profound implications for our sense of our selves. It’s a sense we feel as we witness thoroughly human characters grappling with the extraordinary dilemmas that animate this thrilling and thoughtful novel.
What a fun combination of page-turning action and real ethical questions about life. Human replication is such a creepy thing to think about. This is a book that will stick in my mind for a long time to come.
In this unique, gripping novel, fleshed out characters live out their lifelong friendships full of mutual dependence, competition, shared ambition, and love. All against a backstory that includes exciting dramatic scenes of chase, explosion, terror, and medical science fiction. This should appeal to readers seeking science fiction that unfolds medical and ethical fictional situations with real human impact. A unique and well written offering. Highly recommended!
“Accepting Truth isn’t always easy, but it’s always necessary. Without hardship, without going through the Trials and Tribulations, strength cannot be gained. No matter how hard and hopeless you feel at times, endure a little longer and keep fighting on. Nothing great comes from taking the easy way out. Nothing permanent that is.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Seeing the Invisible: 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
“God never promised an easy life on earth, but he did promise the temporary battle would be worth it in the end.”
Author Mike Black. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
‘Iowa Trouble’ is a politics centered memoir by Tyler Granger, a lifetime Iowan who was heavily involved in the area’s politics. Photo: Tyler Granger, used with permission.
Tyler Granger is a lifelong Iowan who wanted to share his life’s journey and began writing his memoir in 2020 for his infant daughter so she would have a book about her father and her family’s history. He shares his journey in this memoir, which includes stories ranging from football to Warped Tour to working for the Obama campaign. He has a degree in political science from Northwestern College and has worked on a variety of political campaigns and non-profits across Iowa. “Iowa Trouble” is a memoir of political violence across Iowa mixed with a variety of horror stories from punk sub-culture to Iowa gangsters to the politics of the Iowa Caucus. (Tyler Granger, 2023)
“Iowa Trouble”– while it is not for everyone, it includes something for everyone. It is a coming of age/gangster novel/political thriller/horror memoir with the target audience being punks and political junkies.
* Disclaimer: This self-published memoir includes stories of murder, rape, drugs and alcohol, political corruption, and other violent crimes that could be potentially emotionally distressing for some readers.
Author Tyler Granger. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
‘The Purpose Of Life: To Love And To Create’ is Dave Dale’s new book about the search for the meaning of life. Photo: Amazon
Dave Dale was born the son of a minister in Dawson Creek B.C (northern Canada) and was exposed to religion, hockey, and cold weather at an early age. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, he received a business degree. He worked as an airport manager and business consultant and was the founder of a tech company, a member of the board of governors of a university, and a policy advisor to government cabinet members for science, technology, and transportation. Those experiences included successes and failures and provided him with insight into how many elements in our society actually work, including business, education, religion, government, transportation, technology, and marketing. He is grateful for his life and some of the hard lessons he has learned along the way, which have made him a better person. Those lessons are a catalyst for his desire to help people. He is a skeptical optimist who values the micro-moments of connections with others. His new book “The Purpose Of Life: To Love And To Create: The Meaning of Life Is Found By Expressing Love Through Creativity” is an exploration into the purpose and meaning of life. (Dave Dale, 2023)
“The Purpose of Life: To Love and To Create”– the author includes various quotes from religious leaders, physicists, astronomers, philosophers, artists, and everyday people who opened his eyes to possibilities and answers. This book is an attempt to connect the dots on many of the big questions of life itself with insights from accomplished thinkers. Everyone can acknowledge that love and creativity are important, but for the most part, we just skim the surface of their power and potential. This is why he challenges readers to explore love and creativity.
Throughout his life, he wanted answers to the big questions. Why are we here? What are we supposed to do here? How do we make life more meaningful? He searched for years and did not find answers that were remotely satisfying. He refused to accept the statement that life is ‘absurd’ or ‘meaningless’ and set out to get answers. Like many of us, he would wake up in the middle of the night and these questions weighed on him and made him restless. He lost sleep. He was frustrated and scared as death came closer every day.
His humble goal was to get answers regarding the purpose and meaning of life. What he found exceeded his wildest hopes and expectations. The beauty of the Universe is staggering and each of our roles can be especially important. Every time he got stuck on an issue while writing the book, synchronicity came to his rescue. He would stumble upon a quote, a YouTube video, a book, or a lecture that would unlock it. This book is the chronicle of what he found.
It is simple and even a little cliché to say life is about love. Even though most of us say ‘I love you’ to people in our daily lives, we do not fully appreciate its magnificence, its subtleties, its nuances or really how powerful it is. In one of the chapters, ‘Love Is Not An Emotion,’ he explores and explains why defining love as an emotion is wrong because it minimizes love. It is so much more than that. Looking at love in new ways is the cornerstone of the book and if you are open doing so, it will have a profound impact on your life. Love is and can be so much more than how we usually think about it.
This book is an exploration of the two most important activities we can undertake with our lives: Love and Creativity. What the world needs to solve its problems is what we need to give meaning to our lives: Love and Creativity.
A serial killer is on the loose in CJ Wheeler’s crime thriller ‘Harvesting Evil.’ Courtesy photo, used with permission.
CJ Wheeler is a new author of crime thrillers for adults, starting with her first release “Harvesting Evil.” She was born in West Michigan and has lived most of her life along the Lake Michigan shoreline. She lives with her wife, her gorgeous English Crème retriever Hemingway, and her three naughty kitties, Indianajoan, Rizzoli, and Taylor. When not writing you will probably find her reading. She is an avid fan of JD Robb, Tess Gerritsen, Alex Kava, and Val McDermid. In her debut novel “Harvesting Evil,” the idyllic shores of Lake Michigan, in the quiet resort town of Port Orion, Michigan, have become prime hunting ground for a serial killer. (CJ Wheeler, 2023)
“Harvesting Evil: Murder on the Lakeshore” – One by one, young, beautiful women’s corpses continue to surface, while the timeline between each victim is shrinking. The story begins with a Prologue set in 1990 as a seven year old boy is about to have the worst birthday ever. Next, in the present, Sheriff Parker Anderson gets a phone call in the middle of the night about another young woman found dead. She must now pull her inexperienced team together to find the madman terrorizing her community. With the Port Orion Sheriff’s department’s resources stretched to the limit and with pressure mounting, Parker reaches out to the FBI for assistance. Enter Special Agent Oliver Locke, who has seen more than his fair share of serial homicide cases, though even he has not encountered a psychopath with this level of violence. Working a serial case against a cunning criminal mind who leaves no evidence will test his expertise and determination. As the window of opportunity to prevent another victim closes, Sheriff Anderson and Agent Locke will need to set aside their personal differences to catch this maniac.
Since the days of Jack the Ripper, stories about serial killers have fascinated readers. While the motivations behind this killer’s rampage may not be an original concept, “Harvesting Evil” is a strong debut crime novel by CJ Wheeler. Narrated in the third person point of view, it switches back and forth between the police and the serial killer, giving the reader a glimpse into the killer’s unstable and cold psyche and the police’s investigation, which includes giving a profile of the ‘unsub.’ The author’s detailed description of morgues and autopsies is impressive but it might put off more sensitive readers. Due to extensive character development and descriptions: “Mike’s 6’ 2” lanky frame rose from the chair, black straight hair hanging over one of his deep blue eyes,” they come alive within the pages and become relatable. The language is down to earth and easy to understand, in spite of the medical jargon, so it is technically an easy read. With its superb attention to detail, applications of criminal psychology, and just enough romance to make it well rounded, “Harvesting Evil” makes for a fascinating and suspenseful crime thriller. It should appeal to fans of Kathy Reichs and James Patterson as well as crime shows like Criminal Minds and CSI. Hopefully this will become a series with more crime solving adventures by Sheriff Parker Anderson, a strong female lead, and Special Agent Oliver Locke.
“He hoped the Sheriff would be pleased with the gift he had left her. It had taken cunning and exquisite timing to set it up exactly as he wanted. He knew this would show her he could do what he wanted, whenever he wanted. At the very least, he would impress her. At most he hoped it would frighten her to her core.”
* The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
TJ Buchanan’s new romance novel ‘Her Greek Adonis’ will be out March 15 and is available for pre-order now through Amazon. Photo: TJ Buchanan, used with permission.
Book news!! If you love romance novels, I have exciting news for you. Here is a new novel that will be released next month and best of all, it is available for pre-order.
TJ Buchanan, an author and lover of books and action movies, currently resides in Virginia with her daughter. When not reading or writing she enjoys spending time with her daughter, friends and family, cooking and baking. She loves the outdoors even though it does not love her (allergies!) and traveling. Her new book in the The Life You Want series, “Her Greek Adonis” will be out March 15, 2023 and is available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle. It is a romance novel featuring Sophia, a strong black woman. (Amazon, 2023)
“Her Greek Adonis”– Sophia finally feels like her life is on track. She is mastering being a single parent and her vivacious daughter is thriving. Her career is on point and she has amazing friends beside her. Now she is ready to tackle being a surrogate. A dream she has carried for years, now is the time to move forward. Just when she thinks all is perfect, enter Kristos Kostas, a Greek businessman with a penchant for to getting what he wants. His attraction to the curvaceous black woman is instantaneous. Never believing a man would be interested in a pregnant single mother, Kristos Kostas surprises her. A Greek billionaire running the family business, he is sincere and dedicated, going after what he wants. Can these two navigate pregnancy as a surrogate, parenthood, the walls of Sophia’s past, and all the other twists life throws their way. A BBW BWWM romance between a full-figured single mother and the Greek man who loves her.
‘Unnatural History’ is the new novel in the Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman. Photo: Amazon
In the Alex Delaware novels, Alex Delaware is a child psychologist who consults with the Los Angeles Police Department. He works alongside Detective Milo Sturgis to solve crimes. I have read most of Jonathan Kellerman’s novels in this series and I am so excited a new one is out.
Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than forty crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, “The Butcher’s Theater,” “Billy Straight,” “The Conspiracy Club,” “Twisted,” “True Detectives,” and “The Murderer’s Daughter.” With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored “Double Homicide” and “Capital Crimes.” With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored “The Burning,” “Half Moon Bay,” “A Measure of Darkness,” “Crime Scene,” “The Golem of Hollywood,” and “The Golem of Paris.” He is the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including “Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children” and “With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars.” In his new book “Unnatural History: An Alex Delaware Novel,” the most enduring detectives in American crime fiction are back in an electrifying thriller of art and brutality. (Amazon, 2023)
“Unnatural History” – Los Angeles is a city of stark contrast, the palaces of the affluent coexisting uneasily with the hellholes of the mad and the needy. That shadow world and the violence it breeds draw brilliant psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis into an unsettling case of altruism gone wrong.
On a superficially lovely morning, a woman shows up for work with her usual enthusiasm. She is the newly hired personal assistant to a handsome, wealthy photographer and is ready to greet her boss with coffee and good cheer. Instead, she finds him slumped in bed, shot to death. The victim had recently received rave media attention for his latest project: images of homeless people in their personal “dream” situations, elaborately costumed and enacting unfulfilled fantasies. There are some, however, who view the whole thing as nothing more than crass exploitation, citing token payments and the victim’s avoidance of any long-term relationships with his subjects. Has disgruntlement blossomed into homicidal rage? Or do the roots of violence reach down to the victim’s family—a clan, sired by an elusive billionaire, that is bizarre in its own right? Then new murders arise, and Alex and Milo begin peeling back layer after layer of intrigue and complexity, culminating in one of the deadliest threats they have ever faced.
‘The Cabin at the End of the World’ is the inspiration for the new M. Night Shyamalan movie Knock at the Cabin, now in theaters. Photo: Amazon
Paul Tremblay is the author of the Bram Stoker Award and Locus Award winning “The Cabin at the End of the World,” winner of the British Fantasy Award “Disappearance at Devil’s Rock,” and Bram Stoker Award/Massachusetts Book Award winning “A Head Full of Ghosts.” He is also the author of the novels “The Little Sleep,” “No Sleep till Wonderland,” “Swallowing a Donkey’s Eye,” and “Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn’t Fly” (co-written with Stephen Graham Jones). His essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and numerous “year’s best” anthologies. He is the co-editor of four anthologies including “Creatures: Thirty Years of Monster Stories” (with John Langan). “The Cabin at the End of the World” is a terrifying twist to the home invasion novel and the
inspiration for the upcoming major motion picture from Universal Pictures. Knock at the Cabin is an apocalyptic psychological horror movie written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki-Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint. (Amazon, 2023)
“The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel”– Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road. One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen, but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, “None of what’s going to happen is your fault.” Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: “Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world.” Thus begins an unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse, and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are entwined. “The Cabin at the End of the World” is a masterpiece of terror and suspense from the fantastically fertile imagination of Paul Tremblay.
SA Examiner 