Daily Archives: November 4, 2018

Against The Odds (Anna Dawson Book 1): Anna Dawson Mystery Seriesby Mara Jacobs

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mara Jacobs comes Book 1 in the Anna Dawson Mystery Series.

My name is Anna Dawson, and I'm a gambler.

And like any gambler will tell you, sometimes that's good, and sometimes…not so much. And sometimes it's an outright problem.

I love Vegas, and I love the life I've built, but when one of my friends is murdered, and another one shot at, I know I need to take a serious look at myself. And I need to call in the big guns. Even if that means teaming up with Detective Jack Schiller, a man who's dealing with his own demons.

Right now I'm just trying to juggle protecting my friends, helping Jack while not letting him get too close, and finding a murderer. And, oh yeah, no one can learn about my gambling.

Or this will be the last hand I'm dealt.

Firebird: The Spy Thriller of the 1960sby Noel Hynd

From Publishers Weekly: “Noel Hynd knows the ins and outs of Washington’s agencies both public and secret.”

From Noel Hynd, author of ‘Flowers From Berlin’ comes ‘Firebird,’ an intricate true-to-life spy story that spans half a century.

It is 1968, one of the most tumultuous years of the 20th Century. Frank Cooper, a former star investigative reporter now writes obituaries for a popular New York City tabloid. He hears the confession of a dying man named Leonard Rudawski, a former American diplomat, who bitterly questions the fate of Pavel Lukashenko, a would-be Soviet defector in Paris in 1965. Lukashenko promised to expose the espionage secret of a generation if he could get to the West. But the defector, code named “Firebird,” vanished.

Or did he?

Cooper teams with Lauren Richie, a young NY/Latina reporter from the same tabloid. They prowl into the dying man’s confession. Soon they are onto the story of their lifetimes, reviving a dangerous once-cold trail of back channel/back alley CIA and KGB intrigue and tradeoffs, all of which factor into the 3-way racially tinged American election of that year: Nixon vs. Humphry vs. the segregationist George Wallace. Murder, espionage, romance, betrayal and conspiracy intertwine. Readers will meet and recognize dozens of memorable “real life” characters: reporters, gangsters, diplomats, call girls, spy masters, politicians and assassins. The story is tough, large, sprawling and historically precise. “Russians sabotage and destabilize the west,” says one experienced reporter with KGB knowledge. “It’s not just what they do. It’s what they do best.”

The story straddles the decades from World War Two to 2018, even throwing a cynical light on Russian-American relations of today.

“Hynd is a solid, dependable writer with enough literary flair to move him up a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world. –Booklist

Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipesby Shauna Niequist

As a follow up to her two bestselling books, Bittersweet and Cold Tangerines, author and blogger Shauna Niequist returns with the perfect read for those who love food and value the community and connection of family and friends around the table.
Bread and Wine is a collection of essays about family relationships, friendships, and the meals that bring us together. This mix of Anne Lamott and Barefoot Contessa is a funny, honest, and vulnerable spiritual memoir. Bread and Wine is a celebration of food shared, reminding readers of the joy found in a life around the table. It’s about the ways God teaches and nourishes people as they nourish the people around them. It’s about hunger, both physical and otherwise, and the connections between the two.
With wonderful recipes included, from Bacon-Wrapped Dates to Mango Chicken Curry to Blueberry Crisp, readers will be able to recreate the comforting and satisfying meals that come to life in Bread and Wine.

The Perfect Roommateby Minka Kent

She’s my roommate.

I know how she takes her tea, how she organizes her closet.

I know when she goes to bed each night, what she eats for breakfast, the passcode on her phone.

I know she calls her mother on Mondays, takes barre on Thursdays, and meets her friends for drinks on Fridays.

But more important than any of that … I know what she did.

An Ace and A Pair: A Dead Cold Mystery (Dead Cold Mysteries Book 1)by Blake Banner

Detective John Stone of the NYPD has the best arrest record in the 43rd precinct. But he’s a dinosaur who belongs to another age. Detective Carmen Dehan has such a bad attitude that nobody at the precinct can stomach her. Captain Jennifer Cuevas wants them both out of the way and thinks they make a perfect pair. So she gives them the Cold Cases file – the cases nobody gives a damn about.

She has no idea just how hot a cold case can get.

Ten years back Nelson Hernandez and his four cousins were playing poker in a dive at Hunts Point. Somebody came in, blew them away and beheaded and castrated Nelson, leaving his head and his balls on the table. There was no shortage of suspects, the Jersey Mob, the Triads from Manhattan, or the 43rds own bent cop, Mick Harragan. But nobody was ever charged, and the night of the murder Mick Harragan went missing with Nelson’s wife, Maria.

Now Stone and Dehan plan to find him – whatever the consequences…