SEASONABLE DOUBT

SEASONABLE DOUBT

A Cass Leary Legal Thriller

ROBIN JAMES

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

This novel is a courtroom drama to prove that Santa did not do it. Cass is hoodwinked into a case to free a small town's favorite Santa Claus from spending years behind bars.

Santa is captured on video leaving the crime; he is fighting with the victim a few minutes prior, and the victim's government committee will take away his life's enjoyment.

Lastly, the case is tried two weeks before Christmas, with only those weeks for Cass to prepare a defense. Everything happens so fast that the reader will not put down the book.

The ending surprises Cass, the authorities, the client, the town, and the reader.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/4bGupwd

Hope in Hot Chocolate

The HOPE in HOT CHOCOLATE

Poppy Creek Novel

RACHEL BLOOME

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

CHOCOLATE is a typical romance - boy and girl do not initially like each other's lifestyle or philosophy. Sadie makes chocolate candies and loves the process.  Landon is a wealthy young man who is an anti-sugar crusader for personal and business reasons - his mother is ill, and he is starting a new sugar-free food venture.

He is opening a business next door to Sadie's shop. They compete in a town food fair and must share a booth directed by the mayor. 

The battles begin and end unusually. It is meant to be.

Each story stands alone in this Poppy Creek series, as this cute one does. The banter between Sadie and Landon is well-written and sometimes funny.

In one sitting, a romance lover will read.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3SKqypu

MELUSINE

MELUSINE

Book two of

The Heirs of Anarchy

 

G. LAWRENCE

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

"It mattered not my birth, experience, or my intelligence. What mattered was that I was less than them because I was a woman, not a man." Matilda, Lady of the English, 1135 AD. The Lady's Journey continues from Book One, which I read in 2020.

G. Lawrence's prose flows with these little nuggets throughout this novel of King Henry the First Daughter's battle to be Queen of England. In her mid-twenties, her father directs her to marry a newly knighted fifteen-year-old for political reasons - she is property, and her son is heir.

Matilda's fictional words include historical drama. Her psychological development moves into philosophy, which is sometimes wordy.

The novel is long but worth the historical adventure read.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3SQ5wXy

Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder

Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder

A Main Street Book Club Mystery

Amy Lillard

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

I have read many cozy mysteries, and this one hit some of the right buttons. However, the Book Club concept members will not continue in my readings.

Arlo owns a bookstore and receives a call that a man died in front of her establishment. The man committed suicide, or was it murdered, says the local police.

Chloe, Arlo's friend and partner in the bookstore, is arrested - all clues lead to her being the killer, says the police chief. Arlo and the club members go about investigating the crime.

Small-town relations go amuck and conflict with the dead man's wife and assistant. These quarrels and investigations lead to a tongue slip, revealing the unlikely killer to Arlo.

Ms. Lillard's writing is good, but I needed a timeline I could follow. Also, the characters of the book club needed more depth for Book #1 in the series.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/49nGbdf

Great Delusion

THE GREAT DELUSION

Liberal Dreams and

International Realities

JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

Mr. Mearsheimer gives a clear and fluid explanation of Liberalism, Nationalism, and Realism in this thesis on how countries use them to place themself in the world hierarchy. The United States has been promoting liberal homogeny for years as its foreign policy, and it's not working.

Mearsheimer's arguments against liberal foreign policies are compelling. Reality needs to change how a unipolar power like the United States involves itself in other countries' business, which is how I read his hypothesis.

This dissertation goes into multipolar examples, which include China's and Russia's participation in global power struggles. The reader can decide whether the status quo of the United States's spreading liberal homogeny should remain.

Lastly, Obama and Trump bucked the foreign elites on the matter, but Hilary Clinton and Biden followed the elites' playbook. Obama gave in. Trump is still fighting for Nationalism in the country and Realism in foreign policy.

John J. Mearsheimer has written an engrossing description of how the modern-day political world evolves. GREAT DELUSION is a vital read you should notice if you care about the USA.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3OFQzVR

 

AMNESIA on NANTUCKET

AMNESIA on NANTUCKET

TARYN DANIELS

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

Melanie and Adam go on their honeymoon to Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Pleasant is their love feast until Melanie has a life-changing accident that sends her mind back five years.

Who is this man, Adam? She asks this and many other questions that she cannot answer without faith and love. The story between them goes back and forth with little twists and turns of humor.

When Melanie comes to terms with her fate, the story turns for the best. AMNESTIA is a cute love story.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3O9pvh8

Madame Pommery

MADAME POMMERY:

Creator of Brut Champagne

Rebecca Rosenberg

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

Ms. Rosenberg does an excellent job of using facts and fiction to bring a remarkable woman to life. Pommery crossed into a world in the 1850s that few had - male domination in war, peace, and wine development.

The male world placed conflict after conflict before Pommery, but she found the strength to reach her vision. Ultimately, her beliefs and desire to produce the Brut brand, a dryer, less sweet champagne, succeeded.

This story, written by Rebecca Rosenberg, is inspiring and well-developed. The twists and turns keep the pages moving.

I recommend it to everyone, especially young college and high-school-age women.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/48NdjL2

Poppy Perkins in BOOKED for MURDER

BOOKED for MURDER

Jasmine Webb

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

This is a Poppy Perkins Mystery book #1, where we learn the background story for her next adventures. Her famous legal family has disowned her, and she learns something about her best friend. A man dies after Poppy fights with him, and she loses her job in a donut shop.

The video of Poppy fighting with the man went viral, and the police believe this was the motive. In walks Ophelia to save the day, she and Poppy begin their investigation.

The duo's search goes around in circles, looking into the victim's background until one gets an epiphany. The finality leads to many changes in Poppy's life, which is the pull-in to read book #2.

MURDER was a fun read with extended conversations, which the lady readers will enjoy.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3TLJTbO

WALDEN

WALDEN and

Civil Disobedience

Henry David Thoreau

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

According to Henry David Thoreau, Confucius said, "To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge." Readers, think about this statement for a moment.

I read Thoreau's words in a Massachusetts High School, in an American Lit college class, and now at seventy-five years old. They resonate more now because one gets wiser with age.

However, you must read his words at any age. The simplicity of Thoreau's living philosophy at WALDEN, Massachusetts, in the 1850s, applies to many complicated situations in modern society.

The prose is uncomplicated to a reader who takes his time - a Thoreau axiom. Walden is an important story that every High School or college student should read, including us older adults.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3veLzR0

 

SEX TRAFFICKING

SEX TRAFFICKING

Inside the Business of Modern Slavery

SIDDHARTH KARA

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

The book SEX TRAFFICKING story ends earlier than its published date, 2017, and before the open border in the USA. Note: Eastern Europe problems and open EU borders enhance traffic.

According to the author, the global economy is one of the main reasons human trafficking has expanded. This book is not a thesis but written as a personal fact-finding journey.

The author adds individual narratives of young women's horrific lives as sex providers for drama - they are compelling, destroying faith in humans.

However, his solution crosses too many boundaries controlled by men who use those services. It is pathetic, but it is changing the world's individual countries' insurmountable economies.

Mr. Kara's detailed fact-finding is well-written, but he does not crucify the stupidity of some religions and cultures that help feed the trafficking. In his writing, I understood that governments are at fault, but religions run many.

SEX TRAFFICKING is an interesting read that needs updating but is a start.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/479uvck

SUPER GUT

SUPER GUT

William Davis, MD

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

I am less than a layperson when it comes to doctoring. I do not like or take medical pills unless I am forced to - like gummies.

Doctor Davis’s gut microbiome solutions, self-made yogurts, and fermented foods improve your SIBO/SIFO (Intestinal Overgrowths). These explanations are complicated diets, i.e., one item must reach 106F to be used.

If he titled the book DIET FOR A SUPER GUT, it would not sell. He gives the diet at the end of the book after an extended eight-chapter analog of how our stomach and intestines function, which only a medical student can understand.

Although Dr. Davis writes clearly and sometimes funny, he takes too long to get to the book's main point: selling his distinct yogurt and diet. If you have one of the SIBO or SIFO illnesses, I recommend his fixes. If not, save the dime.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/41qePjU

SCREWTAPE LETTERS

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS

C.S. LEWIS

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

People say, "The Devil made me do it," as a joke referring to demons controlling the actions of a human. Some have used this state of mind to defect from their actions in murder trials.

SCREWTAPE, a teacher demon to Wormwood, explains how The Father-From-Below wants Wormwood to trick his human (Patient) out of his soul. Each letter chapter instructs the novice demon on how to sway his patient against the ENEMY (God and Christian religious norms).

The prose is hilarious, profound, and thoughtfully written. C.S Lewis's understanding of human nature comes alive in the letters.

These conflicts in behavior will enlighten the reader. The reader's mind will reflect on their life's progress.

SCREWTAPE LETTERS are a must-read for the Inquisitive Mind. You will read each letter numerous times, as I will.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3Ru6KY0

BOOKED FOR MURDER

BOOKED FOR MURDER

C. M. SUTTON

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

BOOKED reminded me of the TV's DRAGNET (1967 to 1970), a police procedural series. Yes, I am that old. Look up Jack Webb's work.

Chicago's Detective McCord is put in a position to find the killer of his friend's mother. This one murder turns into a tailspin, with the executioner going wild and leading the homicide department around in circles.

McCord follows procedures, informing the reader, and has a hunch leading to a deadly conclusion. Reading the events will keep the reader engaged.

The prose is as snapping as Webb's DRAGNET. The pages will keep changing to a satisfying end.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/47TuSZt

Review of UNLOCKING WELLNESS

UNLOCKING WELLNESS

The Transformative Power of

Psychosomatic Healing

SARA LEGAULT (Author)

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

UNLOCKING WELLNESS is not a book to read and forget. The reader needs to be open-minded and curious, reviewing chapters to get clarity.

Although Ms. Legault promotes Yoga as a cure-all, most of her dissertation revolves around the mind to physical control of one's health. She delves into affirmation, exercise, and nutrition that leads to a healthy life.

"So, what is the mind-body link? Simply put, it is an incredible bridge between your emotions, thoughts, and physical health." Ms. Legault believes each person can develop a way to reach that goal.

Sara Legault outlines many ways to reach wellness, using her facts and stories of people who have. This book may be an essential, well-written read if you care about your life.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3SYpMHc

Review of A HOLIDAY SET-UP

A Holiday Set-up

Green Valley, Book 1

NOELLE ADAMS

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

Rafe is Julianna's nemesis, according to her. She pleads her case. However, their parents believe otherwise, particularly her grandmother.

Unbeknownst to Julia, Rafe and his family are invited to her grandmother's mansion for the holidays. In her mind, Julia is trying to escape from her week-to-week meetings with Rafe.

When the mansion's events begin, the games between her and him start more Julia. You know how the games end; it is a romance novel.

Set-up is a well-written novel that leads into an excellent series with few characters.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/47vAPMj

Review of MURDER by THE CUP

Murder by the Cup

LeDoux Mystery, Book 1

ABIGAIL LYNN THORNTON

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

CUP is a cozy mystery where the characters shine. The main character, Wynona LeDoux, is a witch with no powers and has a purple mouse as a sidekick - she reads tea leaves.

The police chief is a vampire who needs his blood coffee to get him going in the morning. His deputy is a wolf shifter and one of Wynona's suitors. The Chef is a gnome, and other strange people live in Hex Haven.

The Pastry Chef, who is hired to fill Wynona's Tea Shop with delights, is killed in her shop while she is home in bed. It was another gnome, but they all think it is the Chef.

The police chief puts the crime on Wynona, and from this point, she becomes an investigator at the disdain of the chief. Their battle to find the truth is in her favor because she has powers unknown to her and her Rich Presidential Witch Family.

CUP ends in a flaming battle with the murderer, who is known only to Wynona.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3G6lENG