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by kate
Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “House. tree. person: a novel of suspense” by Catriona McPherson
Kate’s 2¢: “House. tree. person: a novel of suspense” by Catriona McPherson
“House. tree. person: a novel of suspense” by Catriona McPherson
Oh, what a wonderful story. I fell in love with some of the characters and thought some others were real jerks. I really like the justification of the ending.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Catriona McPherson (born October 22, 1965)[1] is a Scottish writer. She is best known for her Dandy Gilver series. Her novels have won an Agatha Award (2012),[2] two Macavity Awards (2012, 2015),[3] seven Lefty Awards (2013),[4] and two Anthony Awards (2014).[5]
Biography[edit]
McPherson was born October 22, 1965 in South Queensferry, Scotland[1] and remained in Scotland until 2010 when she moved to California.[6]
She received a Master of Arts degree in English Language and Linguistics and Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics, both from the University of Edinburgh.[1][6]
Before committing herself to writing full-time in 2005, McPherson worked in banking, libraries, and academia.[6]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
House. tree. person: a novel of suspense DB109511
McPherson, Catriona. Reading time: 9 hours, 36 minutes.
Read by Kate Kylie.
Suspense Fiction
Mystery and Detective Stories
Psychological Fiction
“The body found in a muddy grave across the street is just the latest horror threatening to tear Ali McGovern’s life apart seam by seam. She knows Angelo, her brooding teenage son, is keeping secrets. She fears he’s in danger, too. But her new job at the psychiatric hospital, the job her husband pushed her into, is using up everything she’s got every day. She can try to ignore the sounds that surely can’t really be there. And she can try to trust the doctors, who can’t be as dark as they seem. But can Ali hold herself, her life, and her family together without getting blood on her hands?” — Dust jacket. Strong language and some violence.
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “All Is Not Forgotten” by Wendy Walker
Kate’s 2¢: “All Is Not Forgotten” by Wendy Walker
“All Is Not Forgotten” by Wendy Walker
Well, to start with, although, Nancy Sklar, did a good job of narrating this story, the main psychiatrist telling the story is male, I’d have preferred a male reader. It would have been easier to know who was saying what. Maybe, in the print copy, it is easier to identify when the patient is speaking.
It would appear that the good psychiatrist didn’t adhere to high ethical standars within or without his practice.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the apparently random mentioning of the prisoner who obsessed on the doctor, made sense in the end.
www.wendywalkerbooks.com/about-the-author/
Wendy Walker is the author of the psychological suspense novels All Is Not Forgotten , Emma In the Night , The Night Before , Don’t Look For Me and American Girl. Her novels have been translated into 23 foreign languages, topped bestseller lists both nationally and abroad, and have been optioned for both television and film.
Walker became a published author in 2016 when her first novel All Is Not Forgotten was published which became an international bestseller and also optioned for adaptation for film by Warner Brothers.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
All is not forgotten DBC06236
Walker, Wendy. Reading time: 8 hours, 53 minutes.
Read by Nancy Sklar.
Suspense Fiction
Psychological Fiction
Everything seems picture-perfect in the small affluent town of Fairview, Connecticut until one night when a young girl is attacked at a local party. As she struggles to heal from the violent attack after being given a new controversial drug, the ordeal reveals fault lines in her parents’ marriage and shadows emerge from the community that had been hidden for years. The quest to find the monster who invaded this idyllic setting or who perhaps lives among them brings this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.
Downloaded: July 6, 2023
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Kate’s 2¢: “Dark Angel” by John Sandford
“Dark Angel” by John Sandford
This story has a lot of subtle humor amidst a lot of sharp shooting and killing. Interesting thoughts, about just what are the Feds up to.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Sandford, born John Roswell Camp (born February 23, 1944), is an American New York Times best-selling author, novelist, former journalist, and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize.[1][2][3]
Early life[edit]
Camp was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of Anne Agnes (Barron) and Roswell Sandford Camp.[4][5] His mother’s family was German and Lithuanian.[6] He received a bachelor’s degree in American history and literature[7] and a master’s in journalism, both from the University of Iowa.[8]
From 1971 to 1978, Camp wrote for The Miami Herald. In 1978, he moved to Minneapolis and started writing for The Saint Paul Pioneer Press as a features reporter; in 1980 he became a daily columnist. That year, he was a Pulitzer finalist for a series of stories on Native American culture.[9] In 1985, during the Midwest farm crisis, he wrote a series titled “Life on the Land: an American Farm Family,” which followed a typical southwest Minnesota farm family through the course of a full year. For that work, he won the annual Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing[9] and the American Society of Newspaper Editors award for Non-Deadline Feature Writing. He worked part-time at the Pioneer Press in 1989[10] and left the following year.
Camp is an avid fiction reader himself. When asked in 2018, “What’s your favorite book of all time?” by the New York Times, he responded, “An impossible question. If you put a gun to my head—say a .40-caliber Walther PPQ, or maybe a .45 ACP Colt Gold Cup—I’d say The Once and Future King by T. H. White.”[11] Both weapons he mentioned make appearances in many of his novels.
Camp is a personal friend and hunting companion of fellow Minnesota author Chuck Logan.[12]
Fiction writer[edit]
In 1989, Camp wrote two novels that would each spawn a popular series. The Fool’s Run (Kidd series) was published under his own name, but the publisher asked him to provide a pseudonym for Rules of Prey (“Prey” series), so it was published under the name John Sandford. After the “Prey” series proved to be more popular, with its charismatic protagonist Lucas Davenport, The Fool’s Run and all of its sequels were published under John Sandford.
In 2007, Camp started a third series (also under the name John Sandford), featuring Virgil Flowers, who is a supporting character in some of the “Prey” novels, including Invisible Prey and Storm Prey.
A fourth series, featuring Letty Davenport, daughter of Lucas Davenport of the “Prey” series, was launched in 2022.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Dark angel DB113848
Sandford, John. Reading time: 11 hours, 10 minutes.
Read by Robert Petkoff.
Suspense Fiction
Mystery and Detective Stories
“Letty Davenport’s days working at a desk job are behind her. Her previous actions at a gunfight in Texas—and her incredible skills with firearms—draw the attention of several branches of the US government, and make her a perfect fit for even more dangerous work. The Department of Homeland Security and the NSA have tasked her with infiltrating a hacker group, known only as Ordinary People, that is intent on wreaking havoc. Letty and her reluctant partner from the NSA pose as free-spirited programmers for hire and embark on a cross country road trip to the group’s California headquarters. While the two work to make inroads with Ordinary People and uncover their plans, they begin to suspect that the hackers are not their only enemy. Someone within their own circle may have betrayed them, and has ulterior motives that place their mission—and their lives—in grave danger.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
Downloaded: July 6, 2023
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Fast, feast, repeat: the comprehensive guide to delay, don’t deny intermittent fasting–including the 28-day fast start” by Gin Stephens
Kate’s 2¢: “Fast, feast, repeat: the comprehensive guide to delay, don’t deny intermittent fasting–including the 28-day fast start” by Gin Stephens
“Fast, feast, repeat: the comprehensive guide to delay, don’t deny intermittent fasting–including the 28-day fast start” by Gin Stephens
Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read. I’m just saying…
I have completed my 28-day feast, Fast, and Repeat part of my new life-style.
Now, several months later, I’ve settled into a 6-hour feast and 18-hour clean fast. There have been a few exceptions to this schedule, but, it really seems to be working. Even my husband doesn’t object to this, although, he’s more apt to have a light snack making his fast ‘dirty’.
Here’s a helpful guide:
Clean fast – yes
Water unflavored
Black coffee unflavored
Tea brewed from dried leaves, black green, unflavored
Mineral water, club soda sparkling water or selser water
minerals/electrolytes no additives or flavor
Medications as prescribed
Maybe:
Peppermint oil, breath freshener
Herbal tea with bitter flavor
Vitamins and supplements
No-no:
Food
Flavored water
Flavored coffee
Fruity, sweet or teas
Diet sodas
Natural or artificial flavors
Natural or artivicial sweetners
Gum or mints
Food-like flavors of any type
Fruit juices, flavors, etc
Bone broth, broth or boullion
Fat, including coconut oil, butter, etc.
Cream, creamers, milk or milk substitutes
From https://www.ginstephens.com
Gin Stephens lives in Augusta, Georgia, where she has been following an intermittent fasting lifestyle consistently since 2014. Gin earned a Doctor of Education degree in Gifted and Talented Education from Northcentral University in 2009, an Interdisciplinary Master of Arts degree in Natural Sciences from the University of South Carolina in 1997, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Wake Forest University in 1990.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Fast, feast, repeat: the comprehensive guide to delay, don’t deny intermittent fasting–including the 28-day fast start DB99414
Stephens, Gin. Reading time: 11 hours, 22 minutes.
Read by Gin Stephens.
Diet and Nutrition
The author, who lost eighty pounds with intermittent fasting, explains how it is a lifestyle, not a diet, and discusses how to work a variety of IF approaches into your life. Highlights academic research supporting intermittent fasting as the health plan with a side effect of weight loss. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.
Downloaded: April 9, 2021
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “A Royal Murder” by Verity Bright
Kate’s 2¢: “A Royal Murder” by Verity Bright
“A Royal Murder” by Verity Bright
I enjoyed this light-hearted and spirited story with its twist ending.
From the WEB:
Verity Bright is a pen name for a husband-and-wife writing team who write cozy mystery novels. They write the Lady Eleanor Swift Mysteries series. The duo has written together for over a quarter century, writing everything from high-end travel articles to self-improvement and humour books before beginning the Verity Bright pen name.
They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s. The first book in the series is “A very English Murder”.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
A royal murder DB109184
Bright, Verity Reading time: 10 hours, 9 minutes.
Madelyn Buzzard
Mystery and Detective Stories
“At the royal boat race there are beautiful barges, plenty of bunting, a handsome prince and…is that a body in the water? Lady Swift is on the case! Spring, 1923. One-time adventurer and now amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is attending the annual royal regatta with her new pal Tipsy Fitzroy. Tipsy has Eleanor trussed up like a debutante in a new dress, determined to turn her into a proper society lady. Even Eleanor’s favourite companion, Gladstone the bulldog, has a new outfit for the occasion. But the sparkling prize-giving ceremony is interrupted when the devilishly handsome host gulps his glass of champagne on stage and collapses to the floor. The victim is none other than the king’s cousin, Lord Xander Taylor-Howard. He was rumoured to be entangled in a rather dubious gambling ring, but did someone kill him instead of collecting his debt? Or was this simply an ill-timed tragic accident? Either way, a right royal scandal is afoot…. Sir Percival, the head of the royal police, asks Eleanor for her help investigating. He’d do anything to keep the story under wraps. She knows it will get her into hot water with a certain dapper Detective Seldon, but she’s determined to see justice done. However, as she digs deeper, she learns Lord Taylor-Howard was hiding more than one murky secret. It isn’t until she takes a closer look at the unfortunate royal’s shattered champagne flute that she stumbles upon just the clue she needs. But can she reel in the killer before her ship is sunk too?” — Provided by publisher. Some strong language.
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Kate’s 2¢: “Disgraced: by Ayad Akhtar
“Disgraced: by Ayad Akhtar
Well, I don’t appreciate listening to adults arguing about religion and yelling at each other like children, plus the immoral behavior of those adults. I did not enjoy this story.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ayad Akhtar (born October 28, 1970) is an American playwright, novelist, and screenwriter of Pakistani heritage, awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His work has received two Tony Award nominations for Best Play, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters[1] and the Edith Wharton Citation for Merit in Fiction.[2] Akhtar’s writing covers various themes including the American-Muslim experience, religion and economics, immigration, and identity. In 2015, The Economist wrote that Akhtar’s tales of assimilation “are as essential today as the work of Saul Bellow, James Farrell, and Vladimir Nabokov were in the 20th century in capturing the drama of the immigrant experience.”[3]
Background and career[edit]
Akhtar was born in Staten Island, New York City, and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His interest in literature was initially sparked in high school.[4] Akhtar attended Brown University, where he majored in theater and religion and began acting and directing student plays.[5] After graduation he moved to Italy to work with Jerzy Grotowski, eventually becoming his assistant.[6] Upon returning to the United States, Akhtar taught acting alongside Andre Gregory and earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in film directing from Columbia University School of the Arts.[7]
In 2012, Akhtar published his first novel American Dervish, a coming-of-age story about a Pakistani-American boy growing up in Milwaukee. The book was met with critical acclaim, described by The New York Times as “self-assured and effortlessly told.”[8][9] American Dervish has been published in over 20 languages and was a Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. Akhtar’s narration of the audio book was nominated for an Audie Award in 2013.[10]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Disgraced DB107354
Akhtar, Ayad Reading time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Geoffrey Arend
Drama
Amir has left his Pakistani heritage behind in an attempt to make partner at his corporate law firm, but his wife encourages Amir to help with the case of a controversial imam. A dinner party leads to the unraveling of their carefully constructed lives. Live recording of full-cast dramatic performance. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2012.
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Huck Out West” by Robert Coover
Kate’s 2¢: “Huck Out West” by Robert Coover
“Huck Out West” by Robert Coover
I think authors should leave the classics alone. The reason they are classics is because they have passed the test of time. Let authors use their creative muse to develop their own voice and story.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Lowell Coover (born February 4, 1932) is an American novelist, short story writer, and T.B. Stowell Professor Emeritus in Literary Arts at Brown University.[1] He is generally considered a writer of fabulation and metafiction.
Background[edit]
Coover was born in Charles City, Iowa.[2] He attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale, received his B.A. in Slavic Studies from Indiana University Bloomington in 1953,[3] then served in the United States Navy from 1953 to 1957, where he became a lieutenant.[4] He received an M.A. in General Studies in the Humanities from the University of Chicago in 1965. In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.[5] Coover has served as a teacher or writer in residence at many universities. He taught at Brown University from 1981 to 2012.[6][7][8]
Coover’s wife is the noted needlepoint artist Pilar Sans Coover.[9][10][11] They have three children, including Sara Caldwell.[12]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Huck out west DB108429
Coover, Robert Reading time: 9 hours, 30 minutes.
Eric Michael Summerer
Adventure
“At the end of Huckleberry Finn, on the eve of the Civil War, Huck and his pal Tom Sawyer “light out for the Territory” to avoid “sivilization.” In Robert Coover’s vision of their Western adventures, Huck and Tom start by joining the famous but short-lived Pony Express. Tom becomes something of a hero and decides he’d rather own civilization than escape it, returning east to get a wife and a law degree. But Huck stays alone in the Territory; he guides wagon trains, scouts for both sides in the war, wrangles horses on a Chisholm Trail cattle drive, joins a bandit gang, finds an ill-fated pal in an army fort and another in a Lakota Sioux tribe, and eventually finds himself in the Black Hills just ahead of the 1876 Gold Rush. In the course of his adventures, Huck reunites with Tom, Jim, and Becky Thatcher and faces some hard truths and harder choices.” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2017.
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Out of the Dark” by David Weber
Kate’s 2¢: “Out of the Dark” by David Weber
“Out of the Dark” by David Weber
This genre isn’t usually one I would choose, but, it was included in the NLS cartridge of seven stories. I was surprised at how much I did enjoy this story.
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 24, 1952,[1] Weber began writing while in fifth grade.[2] Some of Weber’s first jobs within the writing/advertising world began after high school when he worked as copywriter, typesetter, proofreader, and paste-up artist. He later earned an undergraduate degree from Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina and a M.A. in history from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.[3]
Weber’s first published novels grew out of his work as a wargame designer for the Task Force board wargame Starfire.[4] Weber used the Starfire universe as a setting for short stories that he wrote for the company’s Nexus magazine, and he also wrote the Starfire novel Insurrection (1990) with Stephen White after Nexus was canceled; this book was the first in a tetralogy that concluded with their final collaboration, The Shiva Option (2002), which was included in The New York Times Best Seller List.[5]
Weber was influenced by C. S. Forester, Patrick O’Brian, Keith Laumer, H. Beam Piper, Robert A. Heinlein, Roger Zelazny, Christopher Anvil and Anne McCaffrey[2][6][7]
Weber’s novels range from epic fantasy (Oath of Swords, The War God’s Own) to space opera (Path of the Fury, The Armageddon Inheritance) to alternate history (1632 series with Eric Flint) and military science fiction with in-depth characterization.[8]
A lifetime military history buff, David Weber has carried his interest of history into his fiction. He is said to be interested in most periods of history, with a strong emphasis on the military and diplomatic aspects.[9]
Weber prefers to write about strong characters. He develops a character’s background story in advance in considerable detail because he wants to achieve that degree of comfort level with the character.[2] Weber has said he writes primarily in the evenings and at night.[9]
Weber says he makes an effort to accept as many invitations to science fiction conferences and conventions as he can, because he finds the direct feedback from readers that he gets at conventions extremely useful. He makes a habit of Tuckerizing people from fandom, particularly in the Honor Harrington books (see, e.g., Jordin Kare).[9]
In 2008, Weber donated his archive to the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.[10]
Weber and his wife, Sharon, live in Greenville, South Carolina with their three children and “a passel of dogs”.[4]
Weber is a United Methodist lay preacher, and tries to explore in his writing how religions (both real-life and fictional) can be forces for good on the one hand, and misused to defend evil causes on the other.[11][12]
Weber belongs to the American Small Business Administration, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), and the NRA.[13][14]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Out of the dark DB108433
Weber, David Reading time: 16 hours, 50 minutes.
Charles Keating
Science Fiction
Fantasy Fiction
When the Galactic Hegemony discovered a world of aggressive sentients called humans it seemed reasonable to neutralize them. With Earth conquered, individuals like Master Sergeant Stephen Buchevsky struggle to form a new life. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2010.
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by kate
Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “All Fall Down” by Jennifer Weiner
Kate’s 2¢: “All Fall Down” by Jennifer Weiner
“All Fall Down” by Jennifer Weiner
Martha Harmon Pardee is my all-time favorite narrator. She makes the author’s sense of humor and ending drama pop.
This story’s child resonated with me, as the author might have used my daughter as the prototype for Elly. I will admit, though, that now that my daughter is 43-years old, she is a wonderful, well-adjusted adult and mother of three boys.
I enjoyed this story and it carries a good message about how a little drug can very easily get out of hand.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
jenniferweiner.com
Jennifer Weiner (born March 28, 1970)[1] is an American writer, television producer, and journalist. She is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her debut novel, published in 2001, was Good in Bed. Her novel In Her Shoes (2002) was made into a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine.
Background and education[edit]
Weiner was born to a Jewish family[2] in DeRidder, Louisiana, where her father was stationed as an army physician. The next year, her family (including a younger sister and two brothers) moved to Simsbury, Connecticut, where Weiner spent her childhood.
When Weiner was 16, her father abandoned the family. He died of a crack cocaine overdose in 2008.[3]
Her first novel, Good in Bed, is loosely based on her young-adult life: like the main character, Cannie Shapiro, Weiner’s parents divorced when she was 16, and her mother came out as a lesbian at age 55.
Weiner has said that she was “one of only nine Jewish kids in her high school class of 400” at Simsbury High School.[4] She entered Princeton University at the age of 17 and graduated summa cum laude with an A.B. in English in 1991 after completing an 86-page-long senior thesis titled “‘Never Far From Mother –‘ On the Uses of Essentialism in Novels and Films.”[4][5]
At Princeton, Weiner studied with J. D. McClatchy, Ann Lauterbach, John McPhee, Toni Morrison, and Joyce Carol Oates.[1] Her first published story, “Tour of Duty,” appeared in Seventeen in 1992.[1]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
All fall down: a novel DB79561
Weiner, Jennifer. Reading time: 11 hours, 41 minutes.
Read by Martha Harmon Pardee.
Human Relations
Bestsellers
Psychological Fiction
Hard-working mother Allison Weiss tries to balance a business, a rocky marriage, her aging parents, and a demanding daughter. As she struggles to hold her life together, Allison finds that the painkillers she was prescribed for a back injury help her deal with more than just physical discomfort. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2014.
Downloaded: July 6, 2023
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Kate’s 2¢: “The Splinter” by Saul Herzog
“The Splinter” by Saul Herzog
Well, this is certainly an action packed story. Ithas multiple layers of intrigue and dastardliness.
From the web:
Saul Herzog is the pseudonym of one of the publishing industry’s most sought after and successful thriller writers. His plots focus on realistic and timely scenarios, and mix military tactics, espionage, and high-octane action. His characters are compelling and deep, just the sort of people that stick with you long after you turn the last page.
The Lance Spector series is a private passion project, but it is also more than that. It is the culmination of years of research, working in the trenches of the thriller genre, both in publishing and in film.
If you are new to my work, I recommend starting with my book The Asset.
WebSaul Herzog is the author of the Lance Spector Thriller series of books. The series began in 2020 with the release of The Asset. The name of Saul Herzog is actually a pen name. The actual author is unknown at this time, but they are one of the publishing industry’s most …
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The splinter DB111574
Herzog, Saul. Reading time: 13 hours, 17 minutes.
Read by Joe Avellar.
Suspense Fiction
Spy Stories
“Prague, Czech Republic. A Russian assassin is activated to kill seemingly unconnected female staffers at the US embassy. What emerges is a plot as complex as it is terrifying. Against a backdrop of escalating Russian invasion preparations, a Romanian kill squad, a Kremlin honeytrap, and a Soviet-era biological weapons victim converge on an unsuspecting city, and an unprotected embassy with deadly intent. The Splinter by Saul Herzog is the stunning fifth instalment in the series that has taken the publishing industry, and Hollywood rights departments, by storm. This dazzling tour de force is a full standalone novel. From the mind of one of the most creative and versatile writers working in America today, this book will surely go down as a classic of the spy thriller genre. If you read only one book this year, this is it. Action, adventure, rebellion, provocative foreign agents, characters you can sink your teeth into. If you’re looking for a new spy thriller series that will stay with
Downloaded: April 25, 2023
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