Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Consultant Author: TJ O'Connor ISBN: 978-1-60809-283-3 Publisher: Oceanview Publishing Type of book: Spying, thrillers, CIA, terrorism, Middle East, family, fragmented relationships, Maryland, government, secrets, operatives, deaths Year it was published: 2018 Summary: When a rogue CIA consultant goes AWOL from his Middle Eastern post in response to his brother’s plea for help, he arrives just in time to witness his brother’s murder. For years, Jonathan Hunter and his brother Kevin Mallory had not spoken―until Kevin’s final words, “… Khalifah … Not Them … Maya.” Pursuing his brother’s killer, Hunter stumbles into a nest of horrifying terrorist activity by Middle Eastern refugees, which sparks a backlash across America. In the shadows, Hunter’s mentor, the omnipotent Oscar LaRue, is playing a dangerous game with Russian Intelligence. Neither Hunter nor LaRue realizes that a new threat―the Iranian threat―has entered the game. Stakes rise as two sh...

Name of Book: Lullaby Road Author: James Anderson ISBN: 978-1-101-90654-5 Publisher: Crown Part of a Series: Never Open Desert Diner is a prequel Type of book: Utah. Highway 117, mysteries, secrets, desert rats, truck driver, thriller, intriguing background, mysterious family members Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Ben Jones, protagonist of the glowingly reviewed Never-Open Desert Diner, returns in a devastatingly powerful literary crime novel about parenthood, loss, and the desert in winter. Winter has come to Highway 117, a remote road through the Utah desert trafficked only by oddballs, fugitives, and those looking to escape the world. So when local truck driver Ben Jones finds an abandoned, mute Hispanic child at a lonely gas station along his route, far from any semblance of proper civilization, he knows something has gone terribly awry. With the help of his eccentric neighbors, Ben sets out to help the kid and learn the truth. In the process he makes...

Name of Book: Murder by Perfection Author: Lauren Carr ISBN: 97891718620230 Publisher: Acorn publishing Part of a Series: Thorny Rose Mystery Type of book: Perfection, marriage, mystery, navy, cooking, relationships, hidden secrets, dark side of organ exchange, family secrets, addiction, nothing is at it seems Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Beware! Perfection has a dark side! Frustrated with their busy schedules, Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday attempt to find togetherness by scheduling a weekly date night. The last thing Jessica expected for her date night was a couple's gourmet cooking course at the Stepford Kitchen Studio, owned by Chef Natalie Stepford--the embodiment of feminine perfection. When Natalie ends up dead and Murphy goes missing, the Thorny Rose detectives must peel back the layers of Natalie Stepford's flawless life to discover that perfection has a very sinister dark side. Characters: Main characters include Jessica an...

Name of Book: The Splendor Before the Dark Author: Margaret George ISBN: 978-0-399-58461-9 Publisher: Berkley Part of a Series: The Confessions of Young Nero is the prequel Type of book: 64-68 ME, The great Roman fire, politics, marriage, survival, artist, glory, building, Emperor Nero, royalty, losing control, Year it was published: 2018 Summary: Ascending to the throne was only the beginning... Now Margaret George, the author of The Confessions of Young Nero, weaves a web of politics and passion, as ancient Rome's most infamous emperor cements his place in history. With the beautiful and cunning Poppaea at his side, Nero Augustus commands the Roman empire, ushering in an unprecedented era of artistic and cultural splendor. Although he has yet to produce an heir, his power is unquestioned. But in the tenth year of his reign, a terrifying prophecy comes to pass and a fire engulfs Rome, reducing entire swaths of the city to rubble. Rumors of Nero's c...

Wow, only two months away from the end of 2018...can't believe it myself. In October I began to read ALVAR THE KINGMAKER by Annie Whitehead, and yes, it's a beautiful book. The last G-d knows how many years, I tend to accrue some patterns that I tend to repeat in my book reading: my first pattern, as I recall, was reading a tragic fantasy tale of a vampire elf named Jander Sunstar by Christie Golden; then THE FOREIGN STUDENT by Susan Choi as well as NORTH CHINESE LOVER by Marguerite Duras. Last month, around the same time, I read and reviewed TO BE A QUEEN by Annie Whitehead. Wonder if anyone else has these types of book habits. Book Spotlights and Tours The Splendor Before the Dark by Margaret George (November 5th 2018) The Consultant by Tj O'Connor (November 13th, 2018) Crimes past by Lauren Carr (November 27th, 2018) Planned Reads: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Tamara Jenkins Reid The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy an...

LULLABY ROAD BY JAMES ANDERSON SR: October 3rd, 2018 FR: November 1st, 2018 A House Divided-Pearl S Buck SR: March 11th, 2016 FR: N/A Crimes Past- Lauren Carr SR: November 9th, 2018 FR: The light house keeper's daughter-Hazel Gaynor SR: November 4th, 2018 FR: November 23rd, 2018 Only killers and thieves by Paul howarth SR: October 9th, 2018 FR: November 13th, 2018 From Across the Room-Gina L Mulligan SR: November 1st, 2018 FR: THE Jinnis last wish- Zenobia Neil SR: November 23rd, 2018 FR: THE consultant- TJ O'Connor SR: October 23rd, 2018 FR: November 19th, 2018 Amnesia nights- QUINTON SKINNER SR: November 13th, 2018 FR: This life or the next-DEMIAN VITANZA SR: October 25th, 2018 FR: November 4th, 2018 Alvar the kingmaker by Annie Whitehead SR: October 13th, 2018 FR: November 10th, 2018 Nonfiction: Tree of Souls-Howard Schwartz SR: February 10th, 2014 FR: N/A Tammy the cat with big attitude- LIANNE CARTER SR: November 19th, 2018 FR: Nove...