Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

Growing up in a small steel town, July 4th was celebrated with gusto.  Picnics and parades were standard fare.  At the time, I knew it was to celebrate independence from the British Empire.  Frankly, that knowledge was frequently lost in the reveling accompanying the holiday.   It may be more important today than in many decades that all citizens recognize that independence can be curtailed by political events.   Listen to the candidates and base your vote on which one will enhance your independence and which one may curtail it.   Your vote is important to maintain our way of life!   July 4th is the perfect time to remember brave souls who gave their lives to give us independence.  Don't squander it, learn about your candidates and vote in the fall!

My writing is most often a result of conversations about issues.  Whenever I’ve been in a social situation and the fact that I’m an author comes up, people inevitably ask, “You should write a book about..”.  Almost everyone has a loved one who has some sort of issue they are facing. Myriad issues lead to the 52 books I’ve written so far. No doubt more are coming. I will be back here with what inspired other books I’ve written. Mommy’s Black Eye was inspired by my work as a school counselor.  Jack’s Diabetes was inspired by Jay, a 12-year-old I met shortly after his insulin pump was installed.  He was frustrated by his peer’s lack of diabetes knowledge. Short or Tall, Doesn’t Matter at All was inspired by Rachel, an extremely self-conscious young lady who was the shortest in her school classes. If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you

It appears the announcement of my website’s demise was premature. It is still up, as I quit paying for hosting, I’m not sure why. It can no longer be updated so please click on the link to my author page at Amazon for any updates to my books. Thanks for reading this. 

This book started slow but gradually grabbed me.  The translator, not an interpreter is a British national, he is sent to substitute for the regular translator who had suffered an accident.   Experienced but  semi-retired, he has dragged back into the fray.   The British Government is going to Moscow to scold the Russians for their recent behavior.  The plot becomes more complex when Clive, the translator, discovers an old flame is the translator for the Russian Premier.   Emotions run high and Russian paranoia runs deep.   There is a great deal of cynicism over the oligarchs reaping obscene profits.   Struck me as amusing as they are so similar to the robber barons of old and the tech giants today.   There was a lot of tension and paranoia, fear, anger and a touch of action.   This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking book rather than an action adventure. I enjoyed it.  This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a b

This is the second in the Variety Palace Mystery series that I’ve read.   Minnie and Albert, a mismatched detective team, find themselves facing multiple homicides.  All the homicides seem to relate to either a Ponzi scheme or a dreadful theatrical tragedy.   Walsh does a good job setting the late 1890s scene in London.   The aromas of the time jump off the page resulting in a twitching nose and a squeamish reaction to many of the settings. The impact of privilege regarding justice seems unchanged over the ensuing years with the obvious comparison to today’s country club prisons. The interaction of Minnie and Albert once again is the sub-plot.   In the foreground, are a series of seemingly unrelated homicides and dog-fighting villains.  I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

This book is about the coming of age of a troubled child who becomes a troubled adult.  Jonas, a hard-to-love kid, finds soulmates at Lafayette, a school for kids who are alone. Jonas ends up as a quintmate. He and four other troubled kids are bound together through trials and tribulations.   They experience a life-altering event that separates them forever, except it doesn’t. As a successful adult Jonas is approached by Dugie, a long-lost quintmate.  Together, the experience is anything but positive for Jonas. Jonas’s ex-wife and children provide a sense of normalcy for Jonas, staying with him through manic and depressed periods.   Their loyalty is startling.