Single by K>L>Slater

Found this great twister novel, mystery, thriller at the Friends of Library book sale.  Have never before  read this author, K.L.Slater, British but what a great read.  I will look for more of her books.  It was published in 2019, 338 pages.  I was in suspense until the end and truly was surprised at the outcome.  I have no quotes from the book but hated to put it down without  finding out what would happen next, 

Very briefly Darcy is a young widow with two small boys, Kane and Harrison.  When Joel dies she learns that her beloved husband, Joel,  had been cheating on her, living with another woman Daniela Frost  part of the week while she thought he was away on business.  Darcy suffers a clinical mental  breakdown  and Joel's  parents Leonard and Brenda and his sister, Steph are lifesavers for her,  taking custody of the boys while she recovers and returning them to her after she is discharged.  Darcy is a yoga instructor. Her in-laws are her support system, Steph is like a sister to her.  The other woman, Daniella stays in touch with Joel's parents as well.  Darcy doesn't like that but there is nothing she can do.  

Then she learns that Daniella will be moving back to their town. Kane the youngest boy suffers an almost fatal  asthma attack at a park and a handsome off duty surgeon George Mortimer steps in and saves his life.  Darcy is grateful.

 

Back Cover

 The next day she takes a thank you card to him at the hospital where he works with an invitation to coffee trying to thank him somehow.  He calls her and accepts and then begins what will be for Darcy the answer to what she could not have imagined.  They fall in love .  Darcy is smitten, swept off her feet.  George is a widower wit h a young daughter, Romy  and a housekeeper, Maria.  Daniela is not only moving back to the town but is buying the townhouse where Darcy has been living.  She knows she has to move and of course the in-laws would be thrilled to have her and the boys move in with them.  But the relationship with George has continued and he asks her and the boys to move in with him after all 5 of them spend Christmas Days away at a lodge.  This does not go over well wit  the in-laws where they have always spent Christmas and where Brenda goes all out.  Darcy breaks the news that she and the boys will be living with George to the in-laws next.  George seems to have a stalker, Opal whom he says is an ex girlfriend.  Opal begins  to shadow Darcy and the boys and send flowers of condolence. Darcy wants George to call the police but he tells her the police can do nothing, without proof.  Darcy learns that is true when she tries to get police help herself.  m  Meanwhile Darcy has been following Daniella on social media using a fake identity, stalking of her own.  Things escalate when Harrison is kidnapped after school football practice.  The way things turn out was very unpredictable to me.  I did not know  who was telling the truth.  Turns out George was twisted and planning to kill Harrison, blame Opal and then have Darcy done away with. He is involved with Daniella.    Maria the housekeeper whom he fired after she had harsh words with Darcy turns out to be Opal's mother.  That is why she was so attached to Romy. Opal is Romy's mother not his dead wife.  In a confrontation to get Harrison back  Opal kills George in self defense.  The novel closes, George is dead, the child Romy inherits his property and is restored to her mother and Maria. Opal and Maria invite Darcy and the boys to live with them.  And the in-laws arrive at the end, bereft of all that has happened and deeply regretful of their part in the saga.  Fences are mended with them and it appears Darcy will now have a better life a normal one with the boys and her new true friends.  

A real 5 ***** fast paced thriller.  

Blue Moon by Lee Child

Appropriate that I post this finally as it has  been moons ago I read this,   in March,2020...but this has been an awful year, besides COVID the plague of US all,  Jerry's cancer diagnosis and being a caretaker since June redirects my efforts.  Diminishing my time from all else...But I do want to send this book on its way to friends so finally posting...Another Reacher thriller.   He is on his way to....on a bus.. when action is about to begin.  “This is a random universe,” Reacher says. “Once in a blue moon things turn out just right.”  This isn’t one of those times.

This excerpt from Good Reads, "Reacher is on a Greyhound bus, minding his own business, with no particular place to go, and all the time in the world to get there. Then he steps off the bus to help an old man who is obviously just a victim waiting to happen..."  and this from another online review which was not as complimentary of this one as others, "Jack Reacher lends a hand to an elderly couple under threat from loan sharks and winds up in the midst of an underworld war in the 24th entry in this series (Past Tense, 2018, etc.).  

After Reacher saves an old man from a mugging, he finds out the man and his wife went into hock to get money for their daughter's lifesaving medical treatment. Meanwhile, in the unnamed city where the novel is set, the Albanian and Ukrainian crime bosses who have divvied up the territory are vying to see who can take over for good before the appointment of a new police commissioner. The sudden appearance of Reacher makes each suspect he's an agent for outside forces and accelerates the body count between them. That this is the best premise for a Reacher novel in some time, ..."  And so it begins.  Another Reacher read that I could not put down until the end. and another alliance with an unlikely person a random waitress in this town.    

 I found some of the dialogue amusing, such as the banter about  nuances of who is a better soldier, tougher, etc Marines or Army pages 164-165, including the ex Marine who tells Reacher, Army=aren't really Marines yet." and Reacher's reply, "Marines=muscles are requested intelligence no expected."  This continues along through the novel,  pages 302 where the Marines rescue Army guys and 313 where"If I wanted easy I'd have joined the Marines."    

Another 5***** 

The Jack Reacher Novels by Lee Child Running Blind

Read Running Blind, my first one in July and have a new favorite to read through entire series.  Through a friend who sent me this first book, Running Blind and introduced me thereby to author, Lee Child,  and this series of action, thriller, mystery, etc genre featuring the Jack Reacher character.  I have not been this excited to read an entire collection since back long ago in the 1960's when I first discovered Ian Fleming's James Bond novels.   Running Blind is a paperback, but first published in 2000, by Jove Books of New York, 550 pages

Jack Reacher is an ex U.S. Army Major, Military Police and then some, who is now a civilian and who travels the country very lightly, with toothbrush only, some cash,  going wherever he takes a notion and dealing with bad guys.  In this novel women are being murdered across the country," victims of a disciplined and clever killer who leaves no trace evidence, no fatal wounds, no signs of struggle and no clues to an apparent motive."    taken from the back cover, picture to the right.  

From the first page, the novel grabbed me and I could not put it down.  I do not know how I missed this author and this character, a tough guy who takes no guff and does things his way.  Page 1--" People say that knowledge is power.  The more knowledge, the more power..  Suppose you knew the winning numbers for the lowery?  All of them?  Not guessed them, not dreamed them but really knew them?  What would you do?" ..

.Page 2, "Life is full of decisions and judgments and guesses and it gets to the point where you're so accustomed to making them you keep right on making them even when you don't strictly need to.  You get into a what if thing, and you start speculating about what would you do if some problem was yours instead of somebody else's.  It gets to be a habit.  It was a habit Jack Reacher had in spades."  Page 9,  "The dynamics of the city.  The strong terrorize the weak.  They keep on at it, like they always have, until they come up against somebody stronger with some arbitrary humane reason for stopping them.  Somebody like Reacher."  And page 59, the description of Reacher, from hyper sensitive,  Agent in charge, Nelson Blake, Quantico, Serial Crimes Unit, with Special Agent Julia  Lamar,  "No there are millions, you conceited son of a bitch, she said.  But then we started narrowing it down some.  A smart guy, a loner, Army, knew both victims, movements unaccounted for, a brutal vigilante personality.  That narrowed it down from millions to thousandths to hundreds to tens maybe all the way down to you."  Page 69, some background on a house Reacher inherits from his late friend, commander, mentor Leon Garber, Jodie's (his current girlfriend) father.  Leon had been a prince among men, rough and ready and Reacher loved him like a father.  "  It was a half million dollar house, slice of prime real estate standing proudly on the Hudson opposite West Point, and it was a comfortable bldg. but it represented a big problem.  It anchored him in a way which made him profoundly uncomfortable.  .Page 70, ".And the idea of property worried him.  His whole life he had never owned more than would fit into his pockets. ......He had a wristwatch it was Army issue, so it started out theirs and became his when they didn't ask for it back.   And that was it.  Shoes for his feet, clothes on his back, small bills in his pants, big bills in his wallet, a toothbrush in his pocket, and a watch on his wrist."  

Page 79 has the source of the title of this novel, as Blake and Lamar ask Reacher for help catching the killer who preys on ex US Army gals.  "So help us catch her killer.   No.   Without somebody like you, we're just running blind.  No...I'm asking for you help here"  

Back cover

I got a kick out of the reference to granite kitchen counter tops in a civilized world, Page 236, where Reacher is talking with Jodie. It demonstrates how this author plants interesting diversions in the midst of action.  I related it to our now year old upgrade, remodel of our kitchen with the new granite counter tops and new multi surface back splash that took far too long on back order but does look elegant. "He sat on her kitchen stool and leaned his forearms on her counter top, spread his finger wide and placed his palms down flat.  The counter top was cold.  It was some kind of granite, gray and shiny, milled to reveal tiny quartz speckles, throughout its surface.  The corners and angles were radiused into perfect quarter circles.  It was an inch thick and probably very expensive.  it was a civilized product.  It belonged right there in a world where people agree to labor forty hours or a hundred or two hundred and then exchange the remuneration they get for installations they hope will make their kitchens look nice inside their expensive remodeled buildings high above Broadway. "

And besides the action and intrigue, the author adds tidbits here and there of historical interest, like page 371 references about why Eisenhower built the US Interstates.  " "Why do you think interstates were built?  Not so the Harper family could drive from Aspen to Yellowstone Park on vacation.  So the Army could move troops and weapons around, fast and easy.>     They were?  Reacher nodded, "Sure they were.  Eisenhower built them in the fifties, height of the Cold War thing, and Eisenhower was a West Pointer, first and last."

I give this book  5 ***** and recommend Jack Reacher novels to anyone who relishes action, intrigue, suspense.  I have accumulated several others now and will be reading them all. 

UPATE JUNE 2025 This was another I didi not keep and have yet to fin a copy to replace and add to my collection.  It was a dumb thing to do, should have kept all the copioes,  

The Collectors by David Baldacci

I posted this on my other blog in February 2010 and copied it here, one other very good Baldacci novel.  The Camel Club characters in action. 


"The Collectors"  by David Baldacci published in 2006, was my latest Baldacci read, completed on our RV trip west.  How Baldacci twists and melds  divergent plots so that the interwoven interesting characters keep me on the edge of the pages, always amazes me. In this dual different tales, the first centered on deaths in the Library of Congress' antique book section involving librarians and collectors of  famous old antique  books and  the second a very upscale con artist, Amanda Conroy and her troupe of merry men who avenge her con-father's death on one of Atlantic  cities top dogs by bilking him out of  more than $40 million.  It's a fascinating read how these two settings with unique  characters meet and become responsible  for unraveling a plot of selling top US secrets to unfriendlies. Oliver Stone, alias of a man who has been with special forces and intrigue services internationally for America  but who now works as a caretaker in  a cemetery although still maintaining his skills in security and resolution and who with Milton Farb, Reuben Rhodes and Caleb Shaw  forms the Camel club, an informal watchdog organization to keep the US government accountable to the people.  When Caleb, who's a librarian at the  Library of Congress discovers his mentor dead and is named  by the will to assess and oversee sale of the dead man's antique priceless book collection, the Camel Club becomes involved.  It's a must read  for those who like mystery, intrigue and characters, all Baldacci traits.  This novel though has one of those endings that assure purchase of the next novel, as the wronged Atlantic city mobster is left coming after Amanda who has now partnered with the Camels.  Gotta see what happens in that novel which is likely already published by this prolific author.  Baldacci books never disappoint me.

Divine Justice by David Baldacci

Read this novel in February and will be passing along to Library sale, but another as always excellent Baldacci read.  It is an old one from 2008, 387 pages,  recently acquired at a sale and like all Baldacci can be read out of order, although his one continues with the characters of the Camel Club and Oliver Stone.  This could very well have been written or be applied today.  It high lights coal mining, the lives, hills and folks who live there and  the timely horror of rampant prescription drug abuse, opiods of today.  

From page 150, " There was right and wrong.  Although those lines got blurred all the time.  Justice and injustice too were often all over the place, he knew.  There were no easy answers and whatever road you took, be it the high, low or more likely somewhere in between, half the people  would hate the result and half would applaud.  And the hell of the thing was in a way they'd both be right."

Page 213, " Experience without cynicism was a sure sign your brain had dry rotted and you hadn't bothered to notice.  He went into every high level meeting these days knowing there were at least three agendas and also knowing he'd only be told one of them."  Sounds like bureaucracy and governmental politics of today, some things do no change. 

This is another 5 *****.  A page turner that I read to get a break from another book that I have been struggling to finish and needed a break in reading.  Sometimes I do that, set one aside and  pick up diversion.  Baldacci never disappoints.  

Term Limits by Vince Flynn

Before 2018 gets along much farther, here is another book I read in 2017, but just now posting a review.  The late Vince Flynn has been one of my favorite political/espionage/thriller authors.  "Term Limits" published in 1997 by Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, although I find that comical as my copy picked up at a book sale somewhere the past year or so, is a hardback, hardly pocketbook size and 403 pages of another excellent read.  I saw on the front page another reader, initial "B" read it January 2016.  I will also initial and then donate along  to the local Goodwill or Salvation Army because the local library doesn't have the where-with-all nor space to maintain and offer much selection of decent older books for their monthly sales.  Pity as this is a good read and rather timely today as much as when written.  That is a phenomena of Vince Flynn, sometimes his novels were predictive. But you can research him yourself.  This book came without a cover so there is no scan photo. 

 As with every Vince novel I give this 5 stars *****.

I scanned three pages to share here, the first, page 91 deals with the difference between politicians and commandos, or the military especially Special Forces and politicians.  The discord is understandable, the distinction between these two professions is an understatement.  "Commandos live by a warrior's code honor and integrity and politicians say whatever will keep them in office. ."  

To give a better brief idea of the story line in Term Limits, I copied this paragraph, review from the Goodreads site, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/85392.Term_Limits
 TAKING AMERICA BACK ... ONE POLITICIAN AT A TIME 

"In one bloody night, three of Washington's most powerful politicians are executed with surgical precision. Their assassins then deliver a shocking ultimatum to the American government: set aside partisan politics and restore power to the people. No one, they warn, is out of their reach—not even the president."

A joint FBI-CIA task force reveals the killers are elite military commandos, but no one knows exactly who they are or when they will strike next. Only Michael O'Rourke, a former U.S. Marine and freshman congressman, holds a clue to the violence: a haunting incident in his own past with explosive implications for his country's future ..

And copied this from the Vince Flynn site.https://www.vinceflynn.com/term-limits/  

"What if America's leaders were held accountable for their broken promises -- and made to pay for their corruption?   Vince Flynn brings to life a chilling scenario of Washington under siege -- in the provocative, edge-of-your-seat political thriller that stormed onto national bestseller lists..."

Pg 197 reflects interesting thoughts  about the complicated corrupt political system system we have endured.  And I believe this is why men and women with good intentions, honor, integrity do not make it in today's politics, in fact they avoid it like the plague. 

And the last page I scanned pg 222 below has a very true statement that is useful in many areas of life and could be remembered.  The through that it is easy to say you understand something but the truth is you cannot really understand unless you have experienced it.  

The Survivor by Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills

Published in 2015, this was the last Mitch Rapp book that  author, late Vince Flynn had underway before his untimely death in 2013.  Kyle Mills continued it to  produce  another Rapp thriller.  Kyle melded this with characters from his own thriller novels apparently.  It was just as good as the Flynn created Rapp series bringing the Afghanis and that rugged country along with Pakistanis  and nuclear powers head to head.  In this thriller packed with action and intrigue, Rapp, CIA operative will face an old long time nemesis, lose his mentor Stan Hurley and battle cyber threats while fighting on the ground in the same rough physical pace this character portrays best.  Irene Kennedy may face the end of her career in humiliating circumstances. 

Some of my favorite passages are as follows. Page 69, "Rapp was the pinnacle.  Most people had become resigned to the fact that he was unkillable.  Gould was one of the few people on the planet who had tried and lived to tell the tale and even he had to admit that he'd been lucky.  Twice.....Rapp wasn't just unkillable, he was in many ways unstoppable..."    Page 264, reveals a chilling consideration, likely more truth than fiction,  "It was shortly thereafter that he had joined with Mitch Rapp and the Americans.   Not because he believed in their futile and unwelcome efforts to turn Afghanistan into a modern democracy.  No, he'd simply seen them as a powerful ally in his quest to kill the men responsible for taking away his life.....The Americans were a confused and naive people, but generally the champions of peace and stability.  Occupations were not in their nature.  Unlike the fanatics who had converged on his country, the Americans could be counted on to leave." 

Page 275 rings true especially with this current inept cowardly federal regime aka administration.  " The problem was that unimaginably stupid had become a job requirement in Washington.

It's a 5 ***** read and  hopefully Kyle Mills will continue this Rapp series, a character ala Jack Bauer of the former TV show 24, something of a marvel in this time of political correctness and wussiness.  .  

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