Review: Painting Over Cracks by Lee Bukowski

 

Genre: Crime Fiction/Suspense/Thriller/Women’s Fiction

Description:

“Beth Collins lives her life shadowed by a secret, one she believes she can outrun by building a perfect family of her own with her attorney husband, Danny. And for a while, it seems she has—until a freak car accident kills Danny and shatters her world in an instant.

Desperate for a fresh start, Beth quits her job as a mortgage broker and buys a café. As she settles into the rhythm of her new life, she finds unexpected friendships, a sense of purpose, and eventually, even the spark of a new romance.

But when mysterious details about the crash emerge, leading to shocking secrets about her husband, Beth sets off on a search for answers. Every revelation pulls her deeper into a world she could not have imagined and forces her to confront the unthinkable—she’s mourning a man who never existed. When the illusion she’s relied on collapses, Beth must decide what future she wants and who the woman is she’s ready to become.”

Author:

“Lee Bukowski lives in Reading, Pennsylvania. When she’s not writing, she loves reading, traveling, and trying cocktails with creative names. She’s also a self-proclaimed Billy Joel superfan with a live concert count of fifty shows. She is the award-winning fiction author of A Week of Warm Weather, her debut, and Painting Over Cracks.”

Appraisal:

I loved this book. Beth, the protagonist has had her life disrupted in extremely disturbing ways, starting with the car accident that kills her husband and fetus that she hadn’t even told her husband about yet. As she struggles to get her life back on a path that feels right to her, she keeps running into things she couldn’t have anticipated and has to figure out the situation and how to deal with it. You’ve got a few mysteries and a whole lot of suspense through all of these threads, but are pulling for Beth all the way as you wonder what life’s going to throw at her next.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Although the review is based on an advance reviewer version I spotted no issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Reprise Review: Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm by K. S. Brooks (Author, Photographer), and Mr. Pish

 

Genre: Children’s Picture Book/Educational

Description:

“The adventurous traveling terrier, Mr. Pish, takes us on a personally guided tour to show us what goes on at a farm. From playing with a cute lamb to driving a big swathing machine, Mr. Pish explores it all in Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm. In this sixth book in the Mr. Pish Educational Series, full color photographs and engaging text provide us with entertaining insight to teach us where our food comes from! Best viewed on a full color device.”

Author:

K.S. Brooks has written numerous books in multiple genres including romantic suspense, satire, and educationally oriented children’s books. She is administrator of Indies Unlimited (a multi-author blog “celebrating independent authors”), where you can often catch her pontificating on matters of interest to both readers and authors. For more, visit Ms. Brooks’ website, as well as Mr. Pish’s website.

Appraisal:

Who would have thought a trip to the farm could be so entertaining and informative? Mr. Pish explains about the many different types of farms there are. He even included greenhouses growing different types of flowers and vegetables. His engaging dialogue will keep kids interested as Pish shows different animals and farming implements from various eras. Mr. Pish’s enthusiasm springs off the page and into children’s imagination.

This is a fun read to share with your little ones and older children. Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm would be an excellent addition to any home or school library.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm is book 6 in the Mr. Pish Educational Series and is best read on a colored e-reader or tablet.

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues with proofing or formatting

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 26 Pages

Review: Revenge on Ice by Linda LeBlanc

 Genre: Police Procedural/Mystery

Description:

“A frozen corpse. A mystery investigation explodes into an adventure thriller where Detectives Sara and Ryker must survive the most dangerous pursuit of their lives in a race against time.

They’re a razor-sharp duo--equal parts wit, grit, and heart—forced to confront how far they’ll go for justice, each other, and survival.

As they uncover a trail of revenge, every clue leads deeper into a web of lies tied to a tragic Everest expedition led by the victim. Each team member carries a secret and has a motive for murder: a beguiling woman with a jealous husband, a violin maker who lost three fingers, an offbeat sculptor with a temper, a man who fled within hours of the crime. A rival climber benefits from the victim’s death.

Every discovery exacts a price. And as the countdown tightens, so does the line between hunter and hunted.”

Author:

An avid world traveler, Linda LeBlanc had visited 74 countries as of 2025. Born in Denver, Colorado she explored the Rocky Mountains and later expanded her explorations to other parts of the world including the Himalayas. She’s written a few other books. This is the second one in the Sara/Ryker Mystery series.

Appraisal:

A frozen body discovered in the freezer at a meat packing plant isn’t quite the same old thing to kick off the day for Sara and Ryker, a team of detectives for the police department. Figuring out how this happened, who was responsible, and hopefully bringing them to justice takes this detective team (with the reader tagging along, of course) down some unexpected roads, both figurative and literal roads. Uncovering the why and who is difficult and takes some strange turns in their path to figuring things out. But it also involves some trips to places many of us (okay, most of us) have never been and I suspect most haven’t even read or otherwise been exposed to what things are like in such places as the area around Mt Everest. If you have no clue what is involved in getting acclimated to the increased elevation near the top of the world’s tallest mountains, you’ll find that kind of thing out along the way with Sara and Ryker.

The author’s unique travel and adventure experiences as detailed in her biography are put to good use, adding to the uniqueness of this story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

While the second book in a series featuring Sara and Ryker, this book stands alone.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of proofing misses.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: Aurora Connect by Keith Dixon

 

Genre: Future fiction

Description:

The world is burning, the seas are rising faster than predicted. Refugees have nowhere to go. So, in the middle of France on the Massif Central, the NEU (New European Union) is building a vast circular city 140 kilometers in diameter that, when finished, will be able to house a billion people. (For comparison, New York currently has a population of 8.6 million: Chongqing, the biggest city in China, has some 32 million.) Already this new venture – Aurora – is attracting businesses (Old Oil and new technology among others), bureaucrats, influencers, altruists, scammers and the power hungry. Into this mix a new natural disaster plops.

Author:

Keith Dixon is a British author who has been writing since he was thirteen. He is a two-time winner of the Chanticleer Reviews CLUE First in Category award for Private Eye/Noir novel. He is well known for his fiction in a number of genres: thriller, espionage, science fiction, literary fiction – his Sam Dyke series now runs to 10 books, his Paul Storey series of thrillers is up to 3. A recent venture preceding this one is his serial killer Porthaven Trilogy. He has also produced a number of standalone fiction and non-fiction books. And he does his own covers! He lives in France.

Access his website here.

Appraisal:

This novel is bang on the current money. It concerns itself with charisma; influencers; AI enabling vastly increased productivity, and deep fakes; communication that is, apparently, everywhere but connects nobody with anything. It considers what happens when (as is happening right now) the old order begins to break down due to political, commodity, population, and climatic shifts. It looks at a world heading for hell in a handcart sooner and faster than even the pessimists predicted. In fact, it is an holistic take on the tidbits we get in our fragmented news bulletins with a kickass plot wrapped around them.

Dixon may just have written our future. I hope not – but if he has, he has done so in wise, crisp, witty prose which this reader just gobbled up.

I recommend this to you unreservedly.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: Almost Almost Famous by Josh Crutchmer

 

Genre: Music Essay

Description:

“(Almost) Almost Famous is a collection of stories, essays and memories showcasing Red Dirt, Americana, roots rock and independent country music through the eyes and notes of journalist Josh Crutchmer. The author says: These are tales from my days in the wings, behind the scenes, and in the crowd. We’ll dodge an Oklahoma summer storm with Wyatt Flores and stumble upon the news of last year’s Cross Canadian Ragweed reunion in the most random way possible. I’ll tell you about how an act of professionalism with Turnpike Troubadours changed everything for me. We’ll assess the bandwagon of Kaitlin Butts and smoke weed with Margo Price. Vandoliers and Jenni Rose will tug at your heartstrings, and we’ll walk through a new record with Ryan Bingham. We’ll go catfish noodling with Koe Wetzel and into the studio with Whiskey Myers. We’ll ride Charley Crockett’s bus after the Houston Rodeo, and we’ll learn how to navigate independent music from American Aquarium. (We may have a word for those who don’t exactly enjoy our work, too). There will be exceptions: The book turns serious by including the final interview given by the late Todd Snider. It also features a catch-up with the iconic Robert Earl Keen at age 70.”

Author:

Josh Crutchmer is the print planning editor for The New York Times as well as writing for them along with Rolling Stone and write for several other newspapers in the past. He has a long history in music journalism, mostly focused on the Red Dirt music scene of his native Oklahoma. This is his fifth book, all of them focused on roots music, most on various aspects of the red dirt music scene.

For more, check out his website.

Appraisal:

Near the end of this book the author says “Whatever you call this, it was not a memoir.” Okay. Amazon lists it in a couple genres involving music history and music essays. Hmm. Well, if a memoir and a musical history had a baby … you’d get something like this. I’ve read all of Josh Crutchmer’s books, but this is my favorite one, at least so far. All of them talk about music acts from the music scenes Josh focuses on, and while a music journalist, Josh is also a fan. That comes through and as a fan of the kind of music he focuses on, both the stories of the artists and the experience from a fan’s point of view made the read that much better. That I was on my way halfway across the country to see a concert with multiple acts that get mentioned in this book as I was reading the last part of it just amped things up that much more. While that addition is unique to me, I guarantee that readers who are fans of the music from the Red Dirt and Texas music scenes will love the new insights this book will give them.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Star

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Areta by Daniel Rirdan

 

Genre: Science Fiction

Description:

A small, isolated community – in some ways idyllic, in others quite the opposite – discovers things about itself which it has suppressed for millennia. The exciting story concerns what they do about what they find out.

Mention of ‘the Shoah’ early in the book gives a good clue that this society is rooted in a fictionalised, ancient Judaism. Other Middle Eastern elements are in the mix, as is a bit of Ancient Greece. There is also mention of African and Aboriginal music. But the Sanhedrin controls Areta, under the aegis of Their Wisdoms, the Iskandars.

The book has echoes of work like Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke, and Persephone by Kevin J Anderson & Jeffrey Morris (which I reviewed for Big Al and Pals in 2025).

Author:

Daniel Rirdan has returned to speculative, world-building, fiction in his fifties and this year is releasing two books he has been working on for a decade. The first,  Republic of Forge and Grace (325pp) was released in January. This one will be available from 28 April. (It is always nice to be favoured with pre-release material.) Already he is deep into the writing of more novels.

Rirdan’s life has taken him from Israel to the south west USA via Australia, and military service (among other life events). From hand-writing novels as a teenager (and publishing several) he has returned to his early love of writing.

Appraisal:

This is a big book, in length and in ideas. There is much to enjoy here. The plotting is complex and braids satisfactorily together, to increase intrigue and pace as matters develop.

The book is long. That is partly because of those several, braided, plots which are introduced sequentially.

The reader is shown a small, agrarian, society in detail. It is a refreshing change from our own hurry-scurry world. The ruling council takes care to keep the world in balance, putting back as much as is taken out: pollution appears unknown. The population is not permitted to fluctuate: 50,000 souls only inhabit Areta. It has been so for millennia. This is Areta before Stuff happens.

The characters are a logical product of their formal society and culture. Innovation and spontaneity are punished. Flouting the rules is punished. Because of this it took almost half the book for this reader to warm to the main characters. Indeed, even during the denouement, when I understood why certain important characters had behaved in what I felt was a truly reprehensible way, I could not warm to them. An element of this is, of course, not unusual in fiction. But perhaps finding so few of the major players agreeable as companions on one’s reading journey is.

There is some repetition, and (later on) explanations of things the reader maybe doesn’t need to know in the level of detail provided. The first 20% of the book is, frankly, slow. Its purpose appears to be twofold: to get the two primary characters to meet, and to show how hidebound their society is. There is a quantity of coy flirting and inevitable misunderstandings before the primary relationship stabilises. Thereafter the book begins to take off.

One thing I found disquieting has happened to the society on Areta. Relationships and breeding have become divorced. The catalyst for this appears to have been ‘The Shoah’, when unspeakable cruelties were visited upon women by men. The solution (as you will quickly discover) is that the society has bred for giantesses who undergo martial arts training from a young age and now completely control sex. The way the men still think about these, now enormous, voluptuous women makes it clear why matters needed to change. But the solution, of having such women roaming the streets after dark and taking their pleasure from men, doesn’t seem (to this reader) to have solved the problem. There is nothing in the plot which seems to require this. As a result, a lot of people’s soft-porn fantasies may be gratified within the pages of this book. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing I leave to other readers to decide.

The reader learns what various bastardised and misunderstood rituals and festivals practiced by the society may actually mean at the same time as these realisations occur to the characters. Discoveries are made which I wouldn’t dream of giving away here. But they add up to a fascinating discovery. And a terrible problem in the offing. The bulk of this 450pp or so book is taken up with solving this problem – and when the denouement finally approaches, the pages do just turn themselves. This is a clever book.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reviewer copy, so we can’t gauge the final product.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 110-115,000 words

Reprise Review: The Field Where I Died by Melissa Bowersock

 Genre: Historical

Description:

“Devon Muir has always been fascinated with the Civil War. When he discovers that his fourth great-grandfather fought at pivotal battles like Antietam and Gettysburg, he is compelled to follow in his ancestor’s footsteps and experience the battlefields on his own. What he doesn’t count on is dreaming about a battle every night—and being killed every time. Now his exploration of battlefields becomes a different kind of quest as he struggles to understand who is the soldier he becomes in his dream, and who is the woman whose face he sees as he lays dying.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: biography, contemporary, western, action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and spiritual. She has been both traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. She lives in a small community in northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier. She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”

Appraisal:

A story with an interesting and unique mix of contemporary, historical, and supernatural genres. (It might feel a bit like time-travel figures in this as well.) This was a quick, fast moving, and entertaining read. I liked the characters, both the protagonist Devin, and the other supporting cast. Where the story was going was never clear as the mystery of why Devin was dreaming what he did every night slowly unfolded. If the story appeals at all, this is well worth your time.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI: 

A small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on a pre-release copy and I’m unable to judge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Review: Small Problems: 17 Twisted Tales of the Macabre and Existential Dread by J.D. Haakenson

 

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“Small Problems presents 17 bite-sized tales guaranteed to make you shiver at night -- but with a dark sense of humor.”

Author:

J.D. Haakenson was the co-author of a book 30 years ago that was slated to be published by a traditional publisher, but then cancelled leaving him with his advance, but no book. This is his first to make it out into the world. He is a former journalist as well as having worked as a journalist and editor of books and magazines. He writes at The Grouchy Editor.

Appraisal:

These stories deliver on exactly what is promised. Bizarre, off-the-wall stories that are by turns funny, a bit scary at times, definitely twisted (not to mention ending with strange twists a lot of the time which I guess is the same as twisted, yet feels different to me). Even the introduction has a twist which you might catch early on, or possibly not until the end. Just when you think you’ve figured out where a story is going, you’ll usually discover how wrong you were. Or were you?

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and mildly adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Review: Where Nobody Knows Her Name by Lynn M. Dannheisser

 

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Beneath the turquoise waters of the Florida Keys, something sinister waits…

When the body of Bonita Key’s former attorney washes ashore in Pine Cay, Layla Leslie’s new job as the village attorney takes a chilling turn. Drawn in by the village’s charm, sun drenched beaches, and a magnetic county sheriff—Layla thought she’d found her dream escape from the scandal she’d left behind in Miami.

But Bonita Key hides more than just tropical secrets.

As Layla digs deeper, she stumbles into a tangled web of vanishing locals, offshore accounts, and a criminal network hiding in plain sight. With whispers of trafficking and corruption echoing through the village’s charming façade, trust becomes a luxury she can’t afford. Even with a relentless Miami Herald reporter by her side, the truth stays just out of reach—and someone is watching her every move.

The last attorney tried to expose the truth. Layla may not live long enough to finish the job.”

Author:

A retired attorney who had previously written a non-fiction book, Lynn M Dannheisser splits her time between the mountains of western Massachusetts and Miami, Florida. For more from Ms Dannheisser check out her website and follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

A disclaimer prior to the beginning of the story makes it clear that the specific location where most of the events take place in this book and the characters are fictional and that if “you find any such resemblance, it is in your imagination, as it was in mine.” Given the opinion many have of some Floridian politicians and since the author is an attorney making that clear was obviously a good idea. That said, if your opinion of politics in that piece of the US hanging off the southeastern part of the country is less than ideal, it makes the events in this book that much easier to believe.

When she’s hired as the village attorney for a small town in the Florida Keys, Layla Leslie (yes, she gets plenty of jokes based on the song) thinks she’s escaping to a more laidback and scenic environment than what she is leaving behind in Miami. What she finds is disconcerting, hard to figure out, and puts her in a position where there doesn’t seem to be any good way out. How, or if, this story resolves keeps the reader guessing to the very end. An intense, fascinating, and all-too-credible (in spite of being complete fiction) tale that once you get into it is hard to put down.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advance reviewer copy), so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Review: Empty Your Cup by c. martins

 

Genre: Poetry

Description:

“Poems that will change the way you think. This collection of poetry by c. martins includes reflections on the impact of our memories in our lives that can cause us to think and act in limiting ways. These reflections help identify biases that influence the way we experience events in our lives. The poems provide a positive perspective on relatable topics that can shift habitual negative thinking patterns.”

Author:

“c. martins is the author of Empty Your Cup and Hourglass. She holds degrees in Psychology, Biology and Medicine.”

For more from Ms Martins, visit her website and follow her Facebookpage.

Appraisal:

I would claim to not be into poetry that much, but I’m very much into music and tend to focus a lot more on the lyrics and what they’re saying or mean to me than many people. Ultimately poetry is just a song without the instrumentation and this collection drove that home for me. This was described to me as “nonfiction poetry” and for good reason. Each of the roughly 30 poems in this collection speak to life, its experiences and lessons, and should get you thinking about such subjects. I’d call that inspirational. That’s a good thing.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 3-4,000 words

Review: The Barbie Killer by Julia McDermott

 Genre: Thriller

Description:

“When Dolly Garner’s husband is transferred to the small town of Huntington, Kansas, she hates the thought of uprooting their young family and starting over a thousand miles away. But after a year of living on savings and credit cards after Tim’s previous lay-off, refusing to move is out of the question. So they sell their home, pack their bags, and focus on the positives: wholesome Midwestern values, a lower cost of living, and less crime.

But Dolly’s first impressions are not good. The people seem standoffish, unfriendly, and tight-lipped. The women she meets are materialistic and obsessed with status. More unsettling, Dolly learns that years ago, a brutal murder took place on the property where her family’s home now stands, and the case was never solved.

When a violent crime shocks the community, the town secret is out: A serial killer is on the loose and preying on the women of Huntington. As paranoia surges and the line between neighbor and predator blurs, Dolly realizes she can’t trust anyone in this town.

Inspired by true events, this twist-filled thriller will leave you breathless until the final page.”

Author:

“Julia McDermott was born in Dallas, raised in Atlanta, and earned a degree in Economics and French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including a junior year in France. Afterward, she moved to Texas, married her college sweetheart, and worked in finance and technology. While raising four children, she pivoted to full-time writing and has participated in literary festivals and writers’ conferences across the U.S. and Canada.”

Appraisal:

Moving from a big city, specifically Atlanta, to a small town in Kansas, the reasonable assumption is that odds of you being murdered are going to decrease. And they would, unless that small town has a serial killer who the townspeople don’t like to talk about, so new people don’t find out until they’re already moved to town. That’s what happens to Dolly Garner and her husband. Now what should they do? None of the potential answers are very good and the more they find out about what’s going on, the scarier it becomes. How this all resolves and the pieces to the mystery behind the killer make for an intense and interesting read that readers who enjoy thrillers should love.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reviewer copy, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review: My Life as a Bench: Jaq Hazell

 

Genre: Young adult

Description:

“Ren Miller has died aged seventeen and yet her consciousness lives on, inhabiting her memorial bench by the River Thames in London. Ren longs to be reunited with her boyfriend Gabe, but soon discovers why he has failed to visit. Devastated, she must learn to break through and talk to the living so she can reveal the truth about her untimely end.”

Author:

Jaq Hazell won the Rubery Award (for indie and self-published books) in 2017 for this book. She has been knocking on the awards door for some time now, and this award is well deserved. She is a British writer, now living in London, who has an MA in Creative Writing.

Appraisal:

What a cracking title! It would be a pity indeed if such a funkily titled book should not prove to be fully funky throughout. So, let me assure you at once that it is excellent.

Like so much YA fiction, it can be enjoyed by adult readers as well as teenagers. (I’m 65 and I was blown away by it.)

The tension is ratchetted up constantly by the reveal happening like a striptease. It is two thirds of the way into the book when the reader discovers why Ren is now a bench. By that point I was wild to know what had happened!

Grownups might imagine that the concerns of a teenager could prove facile: I did not find that the case at all. The high-octane heartache over trivialities which might cause the world to end (I remember those) is so believable, and the pace of the book so good, that you tumble along with the protagonists as they fall in and out of love on Facebook and over fried chicken lunches.

The author draws older characters beautifully too – and gives them plausible things to do which are nicely observed, sometimes poignant and sometimes very funny. Getting inside the head of a teenager isn’t easy (I can hear parents sighing from here), but Hazell makes a lovely job of it. Ren’s take on the adults in her world feels fresh and accurate.

This oldster didn’t need the ‘slang definitions’ aid at the back. Which is not to say that I am down wiv da yoof, more than said slang, most of it, isn’t as ‘now’ as the author seems to think.

One of the puffs on Amazon (‘Nudge’) says of the book “This would be a good discussion aid to issues raised in schools and colleges, but equally book clubs would find it fascinating”. Couldn’t have put it better myself. Nag your book club to read this. Or just get on and read it yourself. It’s my best read of 2018 to date.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: A Real Collusion by Stu Strumwasser

Genre: Political Thriller

Description:

“A Real Collusion is a David Vs. Goliath(s) story about a man who accidentally becomes the leader of an independent political movement that nearly takes down the two-party system in America, while exposing a conspiracy that affects the results of the 2016 election. It explores universal and deeply human themes of loss, and the tension between justice and power. In the opening sentence the narrator points out that, “Ordinary people often do extraordinary things.” The characters in the book do, and the action is driven by the fantastic events of a unique political satire. It is also the heartfelt story of regular people struggling with lost love, alienation and nearly universal disaffection who find strength in enduring loyalty and friendship

This is the story of John Campbell (a regular guy from the lower east side of Manhattan) as recounted by his friend Skip Winters. Skip becomes John’s campaign manager and later, a congressman in his own right. He narrates the stunning-but-plausible story of how John Campbell and The American Coalition race to popularity, raising over a hundred million dollars from grassroots contributors—and become a threat to the political duopoly of the Democratic and Republican parties. The book sprinkles in references to real events from recent history, and real political leaders including Trump, John McCain, and more. This imbues the novel with a sense of realism, albeit one of an alternate reality. Skip discovers a deep-seated conspiracy within our political system whose leaders orchestrate a murder, destroy his friend and tip the scales of the election. The novel turns out to be Skip’s exposé of the secret collaboration between the two major political parties in our country—a cooperation to protect the duopoly that is, in part, real.”

Author:

Stu Stumwasser wrote a book that came out more than 10 years ago that was published by Simon and Schuster as well as spending some time as a member of a band that had a lot of air play on college radio stations. But his biggest focus has been spent working for Wall Street companies before founding and running his own financial investments company. Apparently some time spent observing and participating in politics inspired another book.

Appraisal:

The cover of this book calls it a “Novel & Exposé.” One implies fiction and the other implies exposing the truth. Like all good fiction, there is some truth to the story, even if what is chronicled didn’t really happen. This should, like good fiction tends to do, get you thinking about the real world, especially the two-party political system in the US and how it sometimes prevents needed change. No matter where you are on the political spectrum and no matter how much of what is laid out you believe, it should get you thinking. (Lots of it, I’m sure is fiction, at least I hope so, but there is a lot that we all will recognize as reality too.) I highly recommend reading this book and pondering what it means to you.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

The review is based on an advance reviewer copy so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: Our Better Nature by James C Porter

 

Genre: Magical Realism

Description:

“What if Mother Nature got angry? What if she got angry at all the factories and power plants and other man-made sources of climate change? What if she made it clear just how angry she was?

What if she had help?

Mary Aimsir can control the weather. So can hundreds of women like her around the world. Maybe Mother Nature is just a myth. These women aren’t.”

Author:

A bit of a nomad, James C. Porter has lived in many places in three different countries, but is currently a resident of Colorado. He’s been writing fiction almost since he learned to write, but finally in his 60s has published his first novel for the world to see.

Appraisal:

Have you ever read a book that starts with the real world and adds an element into the mix (probably something fantasy, science fiction, or some other form of speculative fiction genre) that you wish was reality. I’m not sure it has happened to me before this book. The description gives you a good take on the premise. It feels like an adult version of those fairy tales we were read when we were kids where the good guys and their magical powers overcome the bad guys. I only wish it was true.

While I love the story and the overall flow, it does have some issues in that it wasn’t proofread as well as I’d have liked. It was borderline for the point at which I’d start knocking stars off for proofing issues. I didn’t, but it was a close call. If you’re sensitive to this kind of thing you’ll spot lots of minor issues that should have been caught and fixed in the proofreading process that snuck through like missing or extra words, a wrong word, and the like. Other than that, it was definitely a fun read that I only wish was real and not fiction.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

This book needs better proofreading which I discuss in the appraisal section above.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 105-110,000 words

Review: Death Walk by Melissa Bowersock

 

Genre: Paranormal Mystery

Description:

“Lacey and Sam had heard of doulas, but hadn’t given them much thought. Similar to a midwife, a birth doula provides emotional and physical support for a woman during pregnancy, helping to ease the process and ensure the smooth birth of a new life. But a death doula? That was a new one. When Sam is asked to come out to the reservation and help a family friend, he’s not at all sure he’s up to the task. After all, this is not help with a haunting, and not with a spirit that has already crossed over. This is helping a man who is still alive—but dying.

How does one birth a soul through death and into the next world? Sam has no idea.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: paranormal, biography, western, action, romance, fantasy, spiritual, and satire.”

For more visit Ms.Bowersock’s website and follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

This is the 49^th book in this series and while I haven’t read close to all of them, I have read more than just a few, and they all fit a certain high-level pattern. Or at least they did before this book. Prior books all involved Sam Firecloud, one of the two main characters, communicating with ghosts who are stuck in this world unable to move on to the next world due to some unresolved issues. In this case, they’re asked to help a family friend who has a member of their family who is still alive, although on the verge of death, wanting Sam to help ease the transition. Sam and his partner Lacey, just like those of us who are regular readers of the series, weren’t sure quite what to expect. It made for an interesting twist to the pattern. I’ll hint that in this case Sam uses some of his normal skills to help him figure some useful things out, and he also gets some new experiences in dealing with a real live human. How it all turns out I’ll le you discover yourself when you read the book. It’s a good one that ended up fitting the series better than it felt like it might in the beginning.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advance reviewer copy) so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: Unbroken: Life Outside The Lines by Adriene Caldwell

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“Born into a military family bound by loyalty and silence, Adriene grows up beneath the shadow of her mother's untreated schizophrenia and violent instability. Her early years in Houston are marked by physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as deep poverty and neglect. Through a child's eyes, the world becomes a labyrinth of danger and yearning - a place where love and terror are indistinguishable and where survival depends on invisibility.

As her mother's delusions intensify, Adriene and her younger brother are swept into a cycle of instability: temporary relatives' homes, decrepit apartments, shelters, and the bureaucratic indifference of Child Protective Services. Her life becomes a study in adaptation. Teachers, social workers, and therapists appear as both saviors and spectators, their well-meaning interventions undercut by a system that cannot see the full truth.

Amid this chaos, Adriene discovers a sanctuary in learning. Books become her escape and her mirror, a means of constructing identity from fragments. Her intelligence and resilience earn her entry into gifted programs and, later, a transformative scholarship through the Duke University Talent Identification Program's ADVANCE Camp - a rare space of belonging and recognition. Yet even moments of promise are shadowed by trauma's lingering grasp; her mind remains both brilliant and haunted.

Foster care, meant to save her, instead subjects Adriene to new forms of cruelty. The ‘Bitch from Hell,’ her abusive foster mother, wields authority with sadism cloaked in righteousness. Still, Adriene's intellect and adaptability allow her to navigate this world - and, in small acts of defiance, reclaim pieces of her agency.

College becomes both a milestone and a reckoning. Having survived the unimaginable, Adriene graduates with honors in International Business, only to find herself unprepared for the invisible toll of trauma in adulthood. Depression, self-sabotage, and a string of hollow relationships bring her to the brink of despair once more. The memoir crescendos with a raw confrontation of suicidality - and the awakening that follows.

In one of the book's most powerful sections, Adriene revisits her own CPS case files, psychiatric evaluations, and therapy notes. Reading herself through the cold lens of institutional language, she confronts the staggering disconnect between documented ‘stability’ and lived abuse. This duality - the official record versus the inner truth - forms the heart of Unbroken. The narrative closes with a reclamation: survival not as triumph over pain, but as the deliberate act of continuing to live and love despite it.”

Author:

“While her childhood and early adult life might have been tumultuous, Adriene is now happily married to a wonderful man and living a life she could only dream of when she was young. Adriene’s daughter, currently at university, was, is, and will always be a handful and Adriene wouldn’t have it any other way. She is blessed to now live a rather bland life filled with family and friends and is a firm believer in the idea that ‘boring is underrated.’”

Appraisal:

My normal take on memoirs is that they can work two ways. Some probably have aspects of both. One is to recognize aspects of myself or my own life experience in the story. Comparing, contrasting, and sometimes seeing your comparable experiences in a different light are some of the appeal of those that fall in this category. The other way it can go is for the life being chronicled to be nothing like yours. Sometimes that is too bad (like that person becoming a millionaire which you’re still shy of making) and sometimes you’re incredibly grateful that you haven’t gone through anything close to what this person has. For me this book is solidly in that last category and hopefully that’s the case for most of you.

I think understanding the kind of situations that some kids find themselves in, the difficulty they have and the ways government entities that are supposed to help when the issue is discovered can sometimes fall short are all things that are valuable for all of us to understand.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Quoting from the book:

“Trigger Warnings: Emotional and physical abuse, the sexual assault of a child, the drowning death of a child, extreme poverty, mental illness, homelessness, abusive foster care, pedophilia, graphic sexual descriptions, violence, bulimia, incest, death, and suicide.

Please proceed with caution.”

Format/Typo Issues:

The review is based on an ARC version (advance reviewer copy) and I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words