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Stolen by Daniel Palmer

5/22/2013

John and Ruby are a couple deeply in love, with everything going for them. Ruby is following her dream career, John has a booming online business and they’re talking about kids. Seems nothing could shatter their bliss. Until news so devastating leaves them scrambling against a ticking time bomb. When Ruby’s life hangs in the balance, John must make decisions he never thought he’d have to make. But how far will he go to save his soulmate? Will he lie? Will he cheat? Will he steal? Will he kill? Stolen is very much the type of thriller that I love to read. There’s a real life, it could happen to you, element that pushes the reader forward, even though you are reading something that might shock and bewilder you. And yet, you continue turning pages…asking yourself, would I do that for the person I love the most? There was not one moment of boredom with this book. Palmer took a real life scenario that happens to millions of people everyday, and turned it into a fight between life and morals. Palmer has yet to disappoint me.

Jeremy Robinson's ISLAND 731 book giveaway!

3/7/2013

"Robinson blends myth, science and terminal velocity action like no one else." –Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Nocturnal The high adventure of James Rollins meets the gripping suspense of Matthew Reilly in Jeremy Robinson's explosive new thriller Mark Hawkins, former park ranger and expert tracker, is out of his element, working on board the Magellan, a research vessel studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But his work is interrupted when, surrounded by thirty miles of refuse, the ship and its high tech systems are plagued by a series of strange malfunctions and the crew is battered by a raging storm. When the storm fades and the sun rises, the beaten crew awakens to find themselves anchored in the protective cove of a tropical island...and no one knows how they got there. Even worse, the ship has been sabotaged, two crewman are dead and a third is missing. Hawkins spots signs of the missing man on shore and leads a small team to bring him back. But they quickly discover evidence of a brutal history left behind by the Island’s former occupants: Unit 731, Japan’s ruthless World War II human experimentation program. Mass graves and military fortifications dot the island, along with a decades old laboratory housing the remains of hideous experiments. As crew members start to disappear, Hawkins realizes that they are not alone. In fact, they were brought to this strange and horrible island. The crew is taken one-by-one and while Hawkins fights to save his friends, he learns the horrible truth: Island 731 was never decommissioned and the person taking his crewmates may not be a person at all—not anymore. Enter for your chance to win a copy here!

Stephen King's DOCTOR SLEEP cover revealed!

3/5/2013

Scribner has revealed the artwork for the hardcover edition of Doctor Sleep! You can view it here!

The Mongol Objective by David Sakmyster

2/14/2013

The Mongol Objective is the adrenaline pumping follow-up The Pharos Objective. This second book in the series takes place 10 years after Caleb conquers his adversaries, marries his “accomplice” and fathers a son named Alexander. But when tragedy strikes, on his quest to find the clues to the lost city of Atlantis and Alexander is kidnapped, Caleb (with the Morpheus Initiative team) must rush to stay one step ahead of the person he thought dead, Nina Osseni. All signs lead him to the burial site of Genghis Khan in Asia, where not only his nemesis would like to see him dead, but centuries of Khan protectors. Beneath Asia’s surface they travel down into an underworld labyrinth filled with traps and hazards carefully devised to decapitate and obliterate. Only the team’s psychic sight can save them certain death. But will they see all they need to in time. Sakmyster does a very nice job of avoiding the curse of “Book 2” with this well researched and smartly plotted storyline. It’s a high-octane race to the finish, with all characters pinned against each other and ancient relics coming to life in order to kill. I’d like to say that there’s almost too much action and that I would have liked to have seen the story slow in certain places, in order for me to identify more with the characters. Perhaps have them in turn feeling a little more, instead of pushing so hard. But I can’t because I liked it too much. A very fun read. Can’t wait for to sink my teeth into Book 3.

The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper

2/13/2013

Professor David Ullman’s reputation as an expert on all things demonic precedes him. He soon finds this to be true when a beautiful waif-like woman shows up at his office and has an offer he simply can’t refuse. Go to Venice, Italy, all expenses paid and simply give an opinion on some strange phenomena that has taken hold. Even though he’s immersed himself and dedicated his entire career to understanding and the lecturing of Milton’s Paradise Lost, Ullman remains unconvinced that evil, or as some people call it, Satan, has a hold of the world and its people. In the midst of a devastating separation from his wife, Ullman decides to take the strange woman up on her offer, and thinks it ideal to bring his twelve year old daughter Tess along for the weekend. Quickly, however, tragedy happens when Tess falls from the rooftop of their hotel right before his eyes, her death ruled a suicide by police. But after witnessing what looked like a satanic possession and strange creatures masked as other things, everything Ullman has believed to be true his entire life, begins to unravel. He’s soon negotiating with the other side, for his daughter’s release and perhaps even his own soul. But can he convince evil to let go? Will it consume everything he’s ever loved? Or has he simply lost himself in the midst of his daughter’s death? Having previously read Pyper’s, The Guardians and been completely blown away by it, I was excited to dig into The Demonologist. I have to say I was not disappointed. There was a deep knowledge of Milton’s Paradise Lost, that surface quickly, along with direct quotes from the epic poem that not only put story into perspective but also educated. I was very compelled to pick up Milton’s masterpiece after reading this thriller. (It’s now on my list of must-reads this year, surprised I haven’t picked it up before.)The way that Pyper sets up the storyline drew me in and kept my hook right up until the last page. Goosebumps and late night hours were a constant, as I could not put the book down...with the only downfall being, the creeps, keeping me awake. So if you like your sleep, read this during daylight hours.

Jeremy Robinson's PROJECT NEMESIS

12/24/2012

If I may quote J.M. Barrie’s tale about a boy who didn’t want to grow up: “To live will be an awfully big adventure.” With seventeen novels, countless novelettes and an undying love for science fiction, one could argue that Barrie spoke of Jeremy in his tale about a young boy who could fly. Of course there’s the little matter of Jeremy being born in 1974 and the first introduction of Peter Pan in 1902, but hey, who’s counting? If there was any question about Jeremy refusing to grow up, he removes any doubt and drills it home with passionate homage and personal love for the “Saturday Morning” monsters, the likes of Godzilla, in PROJECT NEMESIS. Let’s make one thing really clear up front: This is die-hard Kaiju story for the fans, by a fan. If you don’t know the word Kaiju, then chances are this one isn’t for you. Having said that, if you’re a fan of giant monsters crushing cities—do not miss this one! “Jon Hudson, lead investigator for the Department of Homeland Security’s Fusion Center-P, thinks his job is a joke. While other Fusion Centers focus on thwarting terrorist activity, Hudson's division is tasked with handling paranormal threats to national security, of which there have been zero during his years at the DHS. When yet another Sasquatch sighting leads to a research facility disguised as an abandoned Nike missile site in the back woods of Maine, Hudson's job becomes deadly serious.” Not content to just unleash rampaging monsters to thrash around inside your puny skull, Jeremy enlists the talented Matt Frank (Godzilla, Transformers), to create custom artwork of NEMESIS’s different stages—further fueling the author's rabid direction as the Kaiju runs about in a path of destruction. I once read a bumper sticker that stated “The hardest thing about a Zombie Apocalypse will be pretending I’m not excited.” (I still love that!) After reading PROJECT NEMESIS I have to believe that the same can be said of Robinson if giant monsters were to suddenly invade the world (*cough* Pacific Rim *cough*). While there would be genuine concern over the safety of others, underneath that adult-hardened exterior would be some part of that little kid spending his Saturday morning’s watching in awe as Godzilla battled the likes of Mothra and Mechagodzilla from the safety of his TV.

Edge of Black by JT Ellison

12/8/2012

When a deadly pathogen is released into the Washington subway and kills three, Dr. Samantha Owens is called on for her expertise as a forensic pathologist. Though she’s recently relocated from Nashville in order to start her life over, after losing her entire family, she readily throws herself into this terrorist’s path with the help of her boyfriend, Xander Whitifield. A former Army Ranger who seems to know the individual that would have the means and inclination to cause such devastation, takes Owens to the dark depths of a survivalist commune, where hacktivism and a deep seeded resentment towards society grows daily. Fast and furious, is how I read this book. As a thriller, I found that it had the perfect amount of dead congressmen (one), weird off beat characters (a handful) and an interesting way all the victims (were they victims) were connected. Considering I didn’t read the first novel of the series, which explained Dr. Owen’s past, I would have liked a little more depth regarding the lead and her beau. Ellison seemed to just skim the surface of what made them tick, and reading this as a stand-alone (I just might have to go find the first book, A Deeper Darkness, of the series) I found it hard to identify with them. But the twists and thrills were more than enough to keep me turning pages. I very much look forward to the next installment.

The Indigo Pheasant (Vol 2 of Longing for Yount) by Daniel A. Rabuzzi

12/6/2012

In 1817 a young slave, Maggie Collins, is born with a mathematical genius rivalled by no other mind. Her fate is to build the world`s most sophisticated machine in order to free the lost land of Yount from a dark angel, name Strix Tender Strum...a powerful force that Sally McDoon knows all too well. Both must choose to either help or hinder the other in the hopes of achieving independence for those that have been trapped in Yount since their ill-fated journey in The Choir Boats. Much pain and darkness befall the House of McDoon, yet all the eyes of London and some from other worlds, are watching...waiting. I was very excited to put my nose into The Indigo Pheasant as I`ve been waiting since 2010 for part 2 of The Choir Boats adventure. I have to say, however, that this second instalment didn`t entertain or fascinate me as much. Though Rabuzzi has a way of writing that`s so lyrical in nature it captivates you, and even through the story itself is slow moving, you still feel as though it`s rushing by and before you know it, you`re closing the book cover and wishing you had one more page. But the plot itself left me a bit underwhelmed. Many of the characters that I fell in love before with were simply mentioned and had no major role, certain storylines especially that of Sally`s, were darker than I would have like, especially for YA fair. The story crawled by which frustrated me. Only in the last couple chapters did the story really pick up and give me some entertainment and the old characters that I was used to seeing all the way through The Choir Boats. I could tell that Rabuzzi struggled to keep up the complexity of story and aside from a couple jaw-dropping moments, the only thing that kept me going was the amazing writing.

Blindspots by David Sakmyster

11/25/2012

After years of living in a world without the ability to ever see the faces of the people they come in contact with; those they pass on the street, work with, love and have killed, six strangers from around the world, suddenly see one another. With the urgency to discover why, all of them are strangely lead to an old Gothic Vermont chateau that houses the world’s leading experts in Prosopagnosia. But before they can rejoice in the hope of some miraculous recovery, they all realize that there’s something sinister about the experts at this institute. As they try to survive a seemingly supernatural killer, only one of them holds the answer to their conditions, and he’s trying to cover his tracks. I have to say that the more I read of David Sakmyster the more he’s becoming a favorite of mine. Blindspots is such a breath of fresh air in the preconceived idea of a successful thriller. At no point did I skip ahead, or lay the book aside for later. They story was original (which is rare to say the least), powerful and with a clever spin on what we all think of as supernatural these days (vampires and werewolves). Blindspots is the perfect thriller to take you on a nail-biting journey that actually makes you think…what if?

Hidden by Kendra Elliot

11/19/2012

When Lacey Campbell is called to a crime scene for her expertise as a forensic odontologist, she shockingly identifies the remains of her college friend who was kidnapped and believed murdered by a serial killer over a decade before. A killer she narrowly escaped. The remains are discovered on the land of Jack Harper, a quasi mogul in town, and as the investigation moves forward evidence begins to build against Jack, Lacey just can’t seem to control the feelings that boil over whenever he is near. ?When witnesses for the prosecution of the 11-year-old case start to turn up dead and Lacey’s life is threatened again, Jack makes it a priority to protect her. But is he just being nice or is he too close for comfort. For someone who NEVER reads romance novels, I must admit that I went in somewhat jaded; with the bitter taste of those raunchy paperbacks I used to read from the grocery aisle. But Hidden was nothing like those. The mystery at hand had me quite engrossed and flipping pages at lightning speed. Although, I would have liked a bit more character development for Lacey and Jack. At times I felt that their “sudden romance” in the book wasn’t built up enough, the longing looks and hot flashes they both experienced when standing next to each other, didn’t really build enough momentum for me. Overall however, there was a hook that kept me reading. A little something that Elliot threw in, that I just couldn't put my finger on, but it promised an entertaining read and that’s just what I got.