Thursday, June 1, 2017

Books Read - May 2017

Berry, Steve
- The 14th Colony *****
Fiction.  15th book in the Cotton Malone series.  Cotton is sent to Siberia to find a man with secrets that could affect the American government.  What he finds it a lot of gunfire being aimed his way.  While it’s known that the Founding Fathers had wanted to make Canada the 14th colony, Cotton’s surprised to learn that those thoughts were reprised much more recently.

The Columbus Affair *****
Fiction.  Was Christopher Columbus a Jew?  In 1492 Columbus sailed to the New World thinking that it was Asia.  He carried three mysterious crates onboard his ship, and when the ship was damaged at Jamaica, those crates disappeared.  Tom Sagan rejected his Jewish heritage, but in trying to save his daughter’s life, he embarks on a quest that leads him back to a Jewish mystery that he alone can solve.

The Devil’s Bones ***
Fiction.  Cotton is on vacation with Cassiopeia in Brazil, when Stephanie contacts him to find a man carrying vials of a virulent poison.  He teams up with Grey Pierce to find the man and destroy the toxin.

The Lincoln Myth ****
Fiction.  13th book in the Cotton Malone series.  Stephanie contact Cotton to ask for a favor.  She need him to travel to Sweden to pick up a man and deliver him to another agent who has been delayed.  The seemingly simple assignment turns deadly, as the contact comes under fire.

The Lost Order *****
Fiction.  16th book in the Cotton Malone series.  Cotton and Cassiopeia have been hired to follow the trail of a treasure hunt that has personal interest to Cotton, as it involves his namesake forebear.  Thinking this would be a simple assignment, they’re shocked when someone starts shooting at them.

The Patriot Threat ****
Fiction.  14th book in the Cotton Malone series.  Cotton is called in as a contractor again for the Magellan Billet.  His job is to obtain some documents tied to the 16th Amendment that might prove the amendment was never legally ratified, which would send the U.S. government into a tailspin.

Shadow Tag ***
Fiction.  Steve Berry and Raymond Khoury have been kidnapped and are being forced to devise a deadly plot for their kidnapper.  He wants to kill as many people as possible.  Cotton Malone and Sean Reilly rush to save them.

Galenorn, Yasmine 
Moon Shimmers *****
Fiction.  19th book in the Otherworld urban fantasy series set in Seattle.  Camille is set to take her throne as Queen of Dusk and Twilight, but before she can, she must find the final spirit seal and claim the Keraastar Diamond.

Herr, Michael A.
The Old Queen and the Maui Maiden ***
Fiction.  Fifth in the Kohala mystery series.  Teri travels to Mau’i to reclaim the mummified body of one of Queen Ka’ahumanu’s maidens, before it is stolen and sold for cash.

The Old Queen and the King ***
Fiction.  Sixth in the Kohala mystery series.  Maile has a rendezvous with the King resulting in a  daughter.  When that daughter is grown and found murdered, Maile is determined to make the killer pay.

The Old Queen’s Guardians **
Fiction.  Fourth book in the Kohala mystery series.  A drug dealer also works as the chef at Lori’s hotel, and when she sees him attacking a man with a cleaver, she runs for her life.

Neal, Toby
Burnt Road *****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Scorch apocalyptic series.  Dante is autistic and not used to dealing with much external stimuli.  But when he promises to ferry Melody to JT’s compound in Idaho, he finds himself opening up to her.  She has spent many years trying to overcome the horror of being raped and has no plans of entering into a serious relationship.  Their journey throws them together in ways that neither is prepared for, but slowly their mutual walls are coming down.

Cinder Road *****
Fiction.  Second in the Scorch series.  Avital’s husband Nando has just died from the flu, and his identical twin, Dolf, is at her side to care for her.  Her work at the hospital keeps her busy during the day, but she dreads going home to the house she shared with her husband and is now sharing with her brother-in-law.  When Dolf makes the decision to take Avi to Idaho to meet up with the rest of the family, they have a long journey to make.  Along the way, love blossoms..  

Flame Road ****
Fiction.  Fifth book in the Scorch series.  A woman alone and scared has no memory of who she is.  Lost in the wilderness, she stops at a stream to drink.  A low growl startles her, and she looks up to see a large wolf stalking her.  Just as it attacks, an equally large dog bursts out of the trees to save her.  When she turns to run, she crashes into a man’s arms that tighten around her.  Csh has no idea who she is, but he knows a woman in trouble when he sees her.

Island Fire *****
Fiction.  First in the YA dystopian series set in Hawai’i after an event has knocked out all technology.  Three Hawaiian youths and a haole teenager from a downed plane survive together on Lana’i, before they rebuild a catamaran and sale to Moloka’i.

Scorch Road ****
Fiction.  First in the Scorch romantic thriller series.  Elizabeth is a scientist working on the West Coast, when a devastating virus breaks out across the country.  She flies toward Washington, D.C. with a canister of vials of a vaccine that might cure the virus, but when her plane goes down in a potato field in Idaho. a reluctant JT comes to her aid.

Smoke Road *****
Fiction.  Third in the Scorch romantic thriller series.  Luca Luciano is an ex-Special Forces soldier currently with the Texas National Guard  after suffering a shrapnel injury that forced him out of the Army.  He and his crew are assigned to assist Dr. Nani Kagawa in locating the leader of the skinhead group responsible for creating and dispersing the deadly virus.  Luca is tough and doesn’t trust women, but Nani is just as tough and doesn’t trust men.  But they find themselves thrown together when the rest of their crew dies of the flue.  Luca and Nani are determined to continue with their mission.

Somewhere on Maui ***
Fiction.  Zoe moves to Mau’i to become a freelance journalist.  She’s also trying to get over her divorce.  Adam has also recently been divorced and is missing his step-children.  Zoe plots an article on Internet dating, and she and Adam find each other on the site.

Wired In *****
Fiction.  First in the Paradise Crime series starring Sophie Ang, tech agent for the FBI.  Sophie is finally letting her feelings known to her mentor and MMA coach, Alika.  She is investigating Security Solutions for possibly connections to a kidnapping she helped solve, and is confronted by a man known only as The Ghost, who comes to her aid, though she has promised to hunt him down.

Wired Hard ****
Fiction.  Third in the Paradise Crime series starring Sophie Ang, security specialist with Security Solutions.  She’s providing security for an archaeological dig at the site of King Kamehameha II’s one-time residence.  When the dig site is looted, she must bring the culprit to justice.

Wired Rogue *****
Fiction.  Second in the Paradise Crime series.  Sophie has quit the FBI and joined Security Solutions, where her new partner, Jake Dunn, keeps her on her toes.  Their new case is to rescue two children from a cult living in the Waipio Valley, and Sophie is up for the challenge.

Robinson, Steve
Dying Games *****
Fiction.  Sixth in the genealogy mystery series starring Jefferson Tayte, an American genealogist.  While Jean is off to a seminar in Scotland, Tayte has been called back to the States to help the FBI assist on a case.  A mysterious game with a genealogical bent is afoot, and Tayte must solve each puzzle to prevent murders.

Kindred *****
Fiction.  Fifth in the genealogy mystery series.  Tayte is finally on the search for his own family tree.  He’s desperate to learn who his parents are, and his search leads him to Munich, Germany and into the past of WWII.

The Last Queen of England ****
Fiction.  Third in the genealogy mystery series.  Tayte is once again in England, this time attending a genealogical seminar and visiting with his old friend and mentor, Marcus.  Marcus is close-mouthed when it comes to telling what case he’s working on, but Tayte is determined to finish it after he witnesses his friend’s murder.

The Lost Empress *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the genealogy mystery series.  Tayte is off to England again for another case.  He’s trying to prove that his client’s grandmother left her former life behind in England and faked her own death at sea.  When someone tries to run him off the road, he suspects that the search he’s on could prove to be dangerous.