Saturday, December 23, 2017

LITTLE BROKEN THINGS BY NICOLE BAART

Image credit: goodreads.com

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Little Broken Things by Nicole Baart was my first book in my Page Habit box subscription, and it did not disappoint. This work of fiction is about two sisters, a little girl, and a whole bunch of unspoken secrets.

The book opens with younger sister, Quinn receiving a cryptic text message from her sister, Nora. Quinn meets Nora late one night, and Nora leaves a young girl named Lucy in Quinn's care without any additional information or resources. Each chapter of the book is written from the perspective of a different character (mainly the sisters and their mother, Liz). As a reader, I found myself devouring each chapter so I could solve the mystery of where the little girl came from and why Nora was trying to hide her. I am quite proud to report about a third into the book I had it all figured out (the book; not anything big like life, world hunger, or peace. Still working on those).

Baart has written a fast-paced thriller that I was able to read in just shy of a week. Her characters are fairly developed, and I found myself thinking of them after I'd finished the book. There were some structural errors and plot holes in the book. (I did reach out to the author regarding a specific issue, but she has not responded as of this writing*.) I think if this was a first book, this would be acceptable; however, this is her eighth novel, making it a little disappointing.

My favorite part of of the book has to do with it being part of the Page Habit box. With this box, you receive bookish goodies, a portion of your fee goes to providing books to countries who don't have access to literary resources, and the book has notations from the author tabbed throughout. These notations give you further insight into why the author wrote certain passages the way she did or why she chose locations or character names. This was my first time ever reading a book with the author's insight available as I turned the pages, and it made for a more in-depth reading.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book for someone who is a mother or who wishes to be one. The author was able to vividly illustrate the love that binds us as families quite beautifully. And as she said in her introductory letter to Page Habit members - "Broken things are loveliest ..." (Sara Teasdale).

Until next time ... Read on!

My box of goodies from #PageHabit

*Update: The author has responded and confirmed the error. She intends to have corrections made in the ebook version. The areas I identified do not affect the outcome of the story.

ABUSE OF DISCRETION BY PAMELA SAMUELS YOUNG

Dre Thomas Series: Book 3

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Goldman House Publishing

Pages: 352

Synopsis | Excerpt | Buy Now | Interview | About the Author

Synopsis:

A Kid’s Curiosity … A Parent’s Nightmare

The award-winning author of "Anybody’s Daughter" is back with an addictive courtroom drama that gives readers a shocking look inside the juvenile criminal justice system.

Graylin Alexander is a model fourteen-year-old. When his adolescent curiosity gets the best of him, Graylin finds himself embroiled in a sexting scandal that threatens to ruin his life. Jenny Ungerman, the attorney hired to defend Graylin, is smart, confident and committed. She isn’t thrilled, however, when ex-prosecutor Angela Evans joins Graylin’s defense team. The two women instantly butt heads. Can they put aside their differences long enough to ensure Graylin gets justice?

Unbeknownst to Angela, her boyfriend Dre is wrestling with his own drama. Someone from his past wants him dead. For Dre, his response is simple—kill or be killed.

Excerpt:

Graylin

“What’s the matter, Mrs. Singletary? Why do I have to go to the principal’s office?”

I’m walking side-by-side down the hallway with my second-period teacher. Students are huddled together staring and pointing at us like we’re zoo animals. When a teacher at Marcus Preparatory Academy escorts you to the principal’s office, it’s a big deal. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I’m a good student. I never get in trouble.

Mrs. Singletary won’t answer my questions or even look at me. I hope she knows she’s only making me more nervous.

“Mrs. Singletary, please tell me what’s wrong?”

“Just follow me. You’ll find out in a minute.”

I’m about to ask her another question when it hits me. Something happened to my mama!

My mama has been on and off drugs for as long as I can remember. I haven’t seen her in months and I don’t even know where she lives. No one does. I act like it doesn’t bother me, but it does. I’ve prayed to God a million times to get her off drugs. Even though my granny says God answers prayers, He hasn’t answered mine, so I stopped asking.

I jump in front of my teacher, forcing her to stop. “Was there a death in my family, Mrs. Singletary? Did something happen to my mama?”

“No, there wasn’t a death.”

She swerves around me and keeps going. I have to take giant steps to keep up with her.

Once we’re inside the main office, Mrs. Singletary points at a wooden chair outside Principal Keller’s office. “Have a seat and don’t move.”

She goes into the principal’s office and closes the door. My head begins to throb like somebody’s banging on it from the inside. I close my eyes and try to calm down. I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s probably just—Oh snap! The picture!

I slide down in the chair and pull my iPhone from my right pocket. My hands are trembling so bad I have to concentrate to keep from dropping it. I open the photos app and delete the last picture on my camera roll. If anyone saw that picture, I’d be screwed.

Loud voices seep through the closed door. I lean forward, straining to hear. It almost sounds like Mrs. Singletary and Principal Keller are arguing.

“It’s only an allegation. We don’t even know if it’s true.”

“I don’t care. We have to follow protocol.”

“Can’t you at least check his phone first?”

“I’m not putting myself in the middle of this mess. I've already made the call.”

The call? I can’t believe Principal Keller called my dad without even giving me a chance to defend myself. How’d she even find out about the picture?

The door swings open and I almost jump out of my skin. The principal crooks her finger at me. “Come in here, son.”

Trudging into her office, I sit down on a red cloth chair that’s way more comfortable than the hard one outside. My heart is beating so fast it feels like it might jump out of my chest.

The only time I’ve ever been in Principal Keller’s office was the day my dad enrolled me in school. Mrs. Singletary is standing in front of the principal’s desk with her arms folded. I hope she’s going to stay here with me, but a second later, she walks out and closes the door.

Principal Keller sits on the edge of her desk, looking down at me. “Graylin, do you have any inappropriate pictures on your cell phone?”

“Huh?” I try to keep a straight face. “No, ma’am.”

“It’s been brought to my attention that you have an inappropriate picture—a naked picture—of Kennedy Carlyle on your phone. Is that true?”

“No…uh…No, ma’am.” Thank God I deleted it!

“This is a very serious matter, young man. So, I need you to tell me the truth.”

“No, ma’am.” I shake my head so hard my cheeks vibrate. “I don’t have anything like that on my phone.”

“I pray to God you’re telling me the truth.”

I don’t want to ask this next question, but I have to know. “Um, so you called my dad?”

“Yes, I did. He’s on his way down here now.”

I hug myself and start rocking back and forth. Even though I deleted the picture, my dad is still going to kill me for having to leave work in the middle of the day.

“I also made another call.”

At first I’m confused. Then I realize Mrs. Keller must’ve called my granny too. At least she’ll keep my dad from going ballistic.

“So you called my granny?”

“No.” The principal’s cheeks puff up like she’s about to blow something away. “I called the police.”

Buy Now:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Interview:

1. How long have you been writing?

My first legal thriller, Every Reasonable Doubt, was published in 2006, eleven years ago. Boy does time fly.

2. Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?

After finishing law school, I became an avid reader of legal thrillers—especially books by John Grisham. But I was increasingly disappointed by the lack of diversity in the genre. I never saw any lawyers who were women or African-American in the legal thrillers I read. That void was what prompted me to take a stab at writing a legal thriller myself. In the process, I discovered my passion.

3. What was the hardest part about writing Abuse of Discretion?

Making sure I got the law write. I practiced criminal law and knew nothing about the juvenile justice system. It was eye opening to find out how different it was.

4. What are some day jobs that you have held? Have any of them impacted your writing?

My work as a television news writer and later a lawyer turned out to be the perfect combination for writing legal thrillers. As a result of years of writing under the gun in a TV newsroom, I’m a pretty fast writer. After practicing law for twenty-six years, I have a zillion great story lines.

5. Who would you cast to play your characters in a movie version of Abuse of Discretion?

I’d love for Taraji P. Henson to play Angela and Jennifer Lawrence to play Julie. LL Cool J would make a great Dre.

6. What is something you'd like your readers to know about you?

I just learned to crochet and I love it! So far, the only thing I can make is a neck scarf.

About the Author:

Pamela Samuels Young has always abided by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. She set giant-sized goals and used her talent, tenacity and positive outlook to accomplish them. Pamela consequently achieved success in both the corporate arena and literary world simultaneously.

An author, attorney and motivational speaker, Pamela spent fifteen years as Managing Counsel for Toyota, specializing in labor and employment law. While still practicing law, Pamela began moonlighting as a mystery writer because of the absence of women and people of color depicted in the legal thrillers she read. She is now an award-winning author of multiple legal thrillers, including Anybody’s Daughter, which won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Fiction, and her new release, Abuse of Discretion, a shocking look at the juvenile justice system in the context of a troubling teen sexting case.

Prior to her legal career, spent several years as a television news writer and associate producer. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from USC and earned a master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University and a law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law. She is a frequent speaker on the topics of teen sexting, child sex trafficking, self-empowerment and fiction writing.

Connect with Pamela: Website | Twitter | Facebook

BAUGH TO BRADY BY LEW FREEDMAN

Baugh to Brady: The Evolution of the Forward Pass

Genre: Sports History / Football

Publisher: Texas Tech University Press

on Twitter | on Facebook

Date of Publication: December 15, 2017

Pages: 296

Synopsis | Buy Now | About the Author | More Blogs

Synopsis:

There are three things that can happen when you throw a pass, and two of them are bad. ~Woody Hayes

The quarterback pass is one of the leading offensive components of today's National Football League and college football's top level of play. This was not always the case. In early American football, the strategy focused entirely on advancing the ball one running play at a time, with the player tucking the then-roundish ball on his hip and sprinting ahead until tackled by a swarm of defenders. The revolution that transformed the sport began in 1906, when passing was first legalized. The passing weapon made the game safer, altered strategy, turned the quarterback into a key offensive player, and made possible the high-scoring games of today.

Lew Freedman traces football's passing game from its inception to the present, telling the tale through the stories of the quarterbacks whose arms carried (and threw) the changes forward. Freedman relies especially on the biography of "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh--who hailed from Sweetwater, Texas--as a framework. Baugh, perhaps the greatest all-around football player in history, came along at just the right time to elevate the passing game to unprecedented importance in the eyes of the sports world.

Buy Now:

Click to Purchase on TTU Press.org

About the Author:

Lew Freedman is a veteran newspaper sportswriter and experienced author of more than seventy-five books about sports as well as about Alaska. He spent seventeen years at the Anchorage Daily News in Alaska and has also worked for the Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Inquirer. Freedman is recipient of more than 250 journalism awards.

More Blogs on this Tour:

11-Dec	Promo	Forgotten Winds
12-Dec	Author Interview	The Page Unbound
13-Dec	Review	Margie's Must Reads
15-Dec	Review	Texan Girl Reads
16-Dec	Excerpt	Books in the Garden
17-Dec	Promo	A Novel in Reality
18-Dec	Review	Reading by Moonlight
19-Dec	Author Interview	Chapter Break Book Blog
20-Dec	Review	Syd Savvy

A TANGLED MERCY BY JOY JORDAN-LAKE

Image credit: Melyssa

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I purchased A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan-Lake through Amazon's Kindle First program for Prime members in October of this year. Each month, Amazon offers one free e-book download from a selection of newly- (or soon-to-be) released novels. This particular month, a hard copy was offered at a discounted price.

The synopsis of this story intrigued me. The protagonist, young graduate student Kate Drayton, is in the midst of what some might call a quarter-life crisis. Her mother has recently died. She's never had a solid relationship with her father. And she experiences a bit of an emotional breakdown while teaching at Harvard. All of this compels her to travel to Charleston, South Carolina, where her now-divorced parents met. While there, she works feverishly to finish her mother's research on the failed slave revolve of 1822 in Charleston, in hopes of saving her own academic career.

The story is told in alternating time periods, 1822 and 2015, both set in Charleston. It is part historic (There was really a failed slave revolt in 1822, and some of the characters the author references are real people from the 1800s.), part mystery, and part drama. The hard copy is about 430 pages, but it doesn't feel like that at all. The pace is good. I often found myself racing through chapters as Jordan-Lake would leave a cliff hanger at the end of one time period then switch to the other time period and leave yet another cliff hanger in the very next chapter, motivating me to read much more than a page before bedtime.

While some have criticized how the author concluded the story (no spoilers) and merged the two time periods together, I quite enjoyed it. The book does end with everything tied neatly in a bow and all the big questions answered. Usually this seems trite to me. But for whatever reason - the author's talent, the time of year, personal things going on in my life - I appreciated the ending. It was complete and hopeful, and we all could use a lot more of that right now.

Recommendation: This historical fiction novel is a great read for any time of year. I finished it in about a week. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries and would also like to expand their knowledge of the oppressive American institution of slavery.

Until next time ... Read on!

UP NEAR DALLAS BY GINA HOOTEN POPP

Winds of Change - Book III

Genre: Texas Historical Fiction / Romance

Date of Publication: November 12, 2017

Pages: 307

Synopsis:

The year is 1934. Economic turbulence rocks the country. And record drought dries up crops, along with the spirits of every farmer south of the Mason-Dixon. Yet for sixteen-year-old Mick McLaren, life is good as he takes to the open road to chase his dream of being a musician. Riding boxcars, hitchhiking, walking and driving his way across Depression Era Texas, he finds not only himself, but the love of a girl from Dallas named Margaret. Along the way, they befriend Cowboy Larson, a Delta Blues guitarist. Together the three teens, from three very different worlds, come-of-age as their life-changing journey carries them through killer dust storms, extreme poverty, and the unprecedented gangster activity of the Dirty Thirties.

Buy Now:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

Notable Quotable:

About the Author:

A native Texan, Gina Hooten Popp was born in Greenville and now lives in Dallas with her husband and son. Along with writing novels, Gina has enjoyed a long career as a professional writer in advertising. Her debut novel THE STORM AFTER was a finalist in the 2014 RONE Awards, and her just-released book CHICO BOY: A NOVEL was a 2016 Medalist Winner in the New Apple Annual Book Awards. Recently, her novel LUCKY'S WAY, about a young fighter pilot from Houston, was endorsed by the United States World War One Centennial Commission.

Giveaway:

December 5-13, 2017

(U.S. Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More Blogs on this Tour:

04-Dec	Guest Post	Books and Broomsticks
05-Dec	Review	Hall Ways Blog
06-Dec	Excerpt	Texas Book Lover
07-Dec	Playlist	The Clueless Gent
08-Dec	Review	Storeybook Reviews
10-Dec	Excerpt	Texan Girl Reads
11-Dec	Review	Missus Gonzo
12-Dec	Author Interview	The Librarian Talks
13-Dec	Review	Reading by Moonlight

YONDERINGS BY BEN H. ENGLISH

Yonderings: Trails and Memories of the Big Bend
Genre: Memoir / Travel / Texas

Publisher: TCU Press

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Date of Publication: November 17, 2017

Pages: 221

Synopsis | Buy Now | Top Ten | About the Author | More Blogs

Synopsis:

It was a time before Terlingua Ranch, chili cook-offs, and when you could drive a hundred miles without seeing another vehicle or another person. The year was 1961, and the tides of humanity that ebbed and flowed into the lower reaches of the Big Bend were at their historical nadir. It was a vast, empty land spotted by isolated ranch headquarters, a national park with few visitors, and the many ruins of a past shrouded in legend, lore, and improbable truths. Six generations of Ben H. English’s family have called this enigmatic region home. With his family headquartered at the old Lajitas Trading Post, he worked and lived on ranches and in places now little more than forgotten dots on yellowing maps. He attended the one-room schoolhouse at Terlingua, prowled the banks of the Rio Grande, and crisscrossed the surrounding areas time and again on horseback and on foot.

Some fifty years later he writes about those years, revealing along the way the history and legends of the singular land he knows so well, separating fact from fiction, and bringing the reader into a world that few have experienced. He also explores the lower Big Bend as it is found now, and the extraordinary vistas one can still discover just over the next rise.

Buy Now:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Texas Book Consortium

Top Ten:

TOP ~~TEN~~ FIFTEEN CLASSIC WESTERN MOVIES FOR THE BIG BEND
(Because there was no way I could keep it at ten…)
By Ben H. English

1. The Rounders: (1965) This is one of two ‘modern’ westerns on my list; starring Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda, along with a superb cast of supporting actors and one old blaze-faced outlaw roan, who steals the show. Adapted from the novel written by West Texas born and bred Max Evans, this movie is a hoot for both young and old.

2. The Good Old Boys: (1995) The great Elmer Kelton from Crane, Texas wrote this novel; adapted to the screen by none other than Texas-born Tommy Lee Jones who also heads up the cast. Filmed mostly in the Big Bend area, it portrays true-to-life characters that only a real West Texan could ever fully understand. A poignant turn-of-the-century tale of changing times and those having to cope with those changes.

3. Lonely Are The Brave: (1962) A little known and less appreciated black and white film starring Kirk Douglas, this is the other ‘modern western’ on my list. The theme of the one individual from another era trying to fit into modern society has seldom ever been better done. This is a story for the ages and perhaps even more timely now than when made over fifty years ago.

4. Ride the High Country: (1962) Director Sam Peckinpah’s first movie and partly penned by him and to me, his very finest. Everyone in this movie was or ended up being an easily-recognizable Hollywood commodity, and none of them were ever in better form than in this film. Headlined by an aging Joel McCrae and Randolph Scott, it is a memorable story of true integrity, courage, and friendship. In my opinion, it is an absolute masterpiece.

5. The Professionals: (1966) Starring Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Woody Strode, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance, and Ralph Bellamy; this is a wide-open Mexican Revolution era film that has more than one surprise along the way and a host of one liners that are part of movie history. The weapons are authentic, the stunts and special effects first rate, the mountains and desert in the background well selected, and the story is explosively on-edge from beginning to end. Two thumbs up!

6. The Unforgiven: (1960) Not the overblown, overhyped, and overrated Eastwood movie of some years ago, but rather a hidden classic telling the tale of love, prejudice and the clash of warrior -like civilizations. Headlined by such notables as Burt Lancaster, Audie Murphy, John Saxon, a very young Doug McClure as well as a stunningly beautiful Audrey Hepburn, this was one of the earlier films that strived hard at authenticity in dress, weapons, structures, and the hard, sometimes brutal life found on the Texas frontier of the 1870s.

7. The Outlaw Josey Wales: (1976) In general, I am not a huge fan of Clint Eastwood westerns and consider some of his best work in the genre was in the old TV series, Rawhide. But this was by far his ‘Magnum’ (couldn’t resist myself there) Opus in a very big way, no matter what he did before or afterwards. From the novel Gone To Texas by Forrest Carter and set against the bloody viciousness enshrouding the Kansas-Missouri border immediately prior and during The War Between The States, it trails from that locale to its final scenes supposedly placed in the Davis Mountains. A great story, great acting, and a great finale.

8. Monte Walsh: (2003) There were two versions of this film made; one in 1970 with Lee Marvin in the lead role and later a remake in 2003 starring Tom Selleck. This is actually a rare case where I give the nod to the remake. Another story of the rugged individual who is trying to find his way through a world changing before his very eyes, Monte Walsh is certainly a story worth the retelling time and again. A final word; if you possibly can watch both versions. The bronc ride in the Lee Marvin film is pure poetry in the saddle.

9. The Shootist: (1976) John Wayne in his final role as a dying gunfighter who has lived life the way he saw fit and now plans to meet Death on his own terms also. With a superbly written story line, an absolutely fantastic cast, and a bittersweet insight that perhaps had more to do with the man rather than the actor, this is a memorable Western in so many different ways. I do believe that everyone, including the Duke, knew this was the final time around. They took extra care in making it one for the books.

10. Barbarosa: (1982) Though hardly known these days and heavily panned by some when released, Willie Nelson turns in his best acting performance ever as a bandit/gunfighter incessantly pursued by a large Mexican family due to a long ago occurrence. Almost entirely filmed in the lower Big Bend Country, the scenery backdrop is well worth the admission itself. Gary Busey backs up Nelson as a young farm boy trying to escape his own past. A rollicking yet poignant story, this is one of the biggest ‘sleeper’ westerns ever.

( read bonus five here ... )

About the Author:

An eighth-generation Texan, Ben H. English was raised mostly in the Lajitas-Terlingua area. An honors graduate of Angelo State University, he served in the United States Marine Corps for seven years, was a high school teacher, and retired after twenty-two years in the Texas Highway Patrol.

More Blogs on this Tour:

05-Dec	Playlist	Reading by Moonlight
06-Dec	Review	Texan Girl Reads
08-Dec	Author Video 1	Books and Broomsticks
09-Dec	Review	Forgotten Winds
10-Dec	Excerpt	Texas Book Lover
11-Dec	Author Video 2	Storeybook Reviews
12-Dec	Review	Syd Savvy
13-Dec	Scrapbook Page	Chapter Break Book Blog
14-Dec	Review	Hall Ways Blog

BOSSYPANTS BY TINA FEY

Image Credit: goodreads.com

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

So, Ms. Fey, about that scar? ... If you think that's what this book is going to be about, it's not. Bossypants is the autobiographical account of Tina Fey's rise to fame from humble, middle class beginnings. And it's much more than her physical appearance. In the book, Fey takes us on her journey from childhood to college to her gig as a receptionist at the YMCA before getting her big break. We learn about her as a talented writer, actor, performer and loving daughter, wife, and mother. What I took from her story is that she's more than the jokes she tells, she is, indeed, a multi-faceted woman.

In my quest to consume more audiobooks, I had the pleasure of listening to Fey tell her stories and the benefit of her tone, technique, and delivery. She was just as funny in performing the personal stories of her life as she was delivering those unforgettable Sarah Palin impressions on Saturday Night Live.

I truly enjoyed some of the motivational messages Fey provided about success, motherhood, and surviving as a working woman in America. One of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Don't be fooled. You're not in competition with other women. You're in competition with everyone."

I appreciated Fey's quick-wit and sarcasm. I think she's an excellent actress and improvisationalist. I liked that we, as readers, get to know more about her private life. (My favorite chapter is the tribute to her dad, That's Don Fey.) Having said this, I didn't quite enjoy the book as much as I thought I would, hence the rating. Maybe my expectations were too high. I can't really put my foot on it exactly, but it wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as some other audiobooks I've enjoyed. However, I still think it's worth a listen. I mean, it is a multi-year bestselling book.

My main critique of this book would be that at times, Fey would seem to lose her place and repeat an opening line twice. I'm not sure if that was a delivery or editing flaw. Several times throughout the book she references a PDF. I wasn't really sure how to access the file until I Google'd it. (On a side note: How did we ever manage before search engines?). Here's a tip if you use Audible.com for listening, log on to your audible.com account from the desktop site, go to your book library, then the book in question, there are all kinds of goodies there including the PDF with photos. I took a look at these after I finished listening to the book as it was nearly impossible to do so while listening as I most often listen while driving or running.

Recommendation: This book was selected by my book club, Richly Read, for a lighthearted comedic read in December. If you've followed Fey's career or enjoyed any of her skits on Saturday Night Live or 30 Rock, you will probably enjoy this hilarious behind-the-scenes peek into her life. I recommend partaking the audiobook, which is read and performed by the author herself.

Until next time ... Read on!

Synopsis | Buy Now | About the Author | Giveaway | More Blogs

Nomad on the Run

Category: Adult Fiction

Pages: 290

Genre: Thriller / Mystery / Suspense

Publisher: Bookstand Publishing

Release Date: April 15, 2011

Content Rating: PG (No swear words, some violence and minimal/clean sex scene)

The Nomad's Premonition

Category: Adult Fiction

Pages: 240

Genre: Thriller / Mystery / Suspense

Publisher: Story Merchant Books

Release Date: April 28, 2017

Content Rating: PG-13 (Some violence, Minimal swear words)

Synopsis:

Beneath greed, deceit and coercion hides the truth.

Enticed by an investment firm in Morocco, Eric Martin is caught in a world where no one can be trusted.

Beneath the golden desert and azure seas of Morocco lurks a hidden world of greed, deceit and financial terrorism. But the players are not who you might think. Lured away from his seemingly idyllic life as a managing director for a major international bank in Toronto, Eric Martin returns to his ancestral roots in Morocco.

Tempted by a mysterious offer from a boutique financial firm, Eric soon discovers he has walked into the middle of a whirlwind where everyone has their own secret agenda, and he unwittingly has become the key to unlocking them all. From the broad avenues of Toronto to the mean streets of Casablanca, Eric rushes to discover the truth before time runs out. But who can he trust?

The power and attraction of money is strong. In the midst of a dangerous cast of characters, Jeff Offenbach, bank president, knows more than he lets on. But how much does he know? Is he a key player in a scheme to terrorize the global economy, or is he just trying to save his firm from becoming another victim of the global economic collapse? Valerie is the unknown factor. Is she involved in the partners' machinations, or is she as guileless as Eric? Can he trust her? And more importantly, will he survive long enough to find out?

A new mystery waiting to be unraveled.

Eric Martin has a gut feeling that his worst nightmare is about to make a comeback the moment the electronic record of the stock market trade flashes across his monitor.

Eric Martin is desperate to forget his past, one that almost cost him his future.

Working in Paris as deputy head of a bank's internal security department, Eric notices a high-speed trader's uncanny ability to predict extremely profitable trades. Even though there's nothing illegal about the activity, he knows the trader's success is more than just luck.

But, no one believes him. Armed only with a handful of data and a powerful instinct, Eric searches for the mysterious trader on his own. He suspects that a predictive algorithm has fallen into the wrong hands.

Eric sets off for Istanbul to find answers promised to him by an informant. He finds an unlikely ally in Interpol agent Stephanie Brule. With Interpol wanting him back in Paris and out of the way, Eric's quest is also hampered by the sudden appearance of his ex-lover, a boss he's not sure he can trust, and a terrorist who always seems one step ahead.

Will Eric put an end, once and for all, to the nightmare that began when he accepted a job that was too good to be true? Or will his need for revenge and justice lead him deeper into a treacherous world he has no way of escaping?

Buy Now:

Amazon | Add to your Goodreads Shelf

About the Author:

Georges Benay is a former international banker who is now working as a Toronto-based writer and award-winning photographer. He is the author of two novels, including The Nomad's Premonition and a collection of short stories. His award winning pictures have been featured in several magazines and book covers.

Connect with Georges: Website | Photography Website | Twitter

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More Blogs on this Tour:

20-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	Library of Clean Reads
21-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	Books, Dreams, Life
22-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	411 on Books, Authors, and Publishing News
23-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	My Reading Journeys
24-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	T's Stuff
27-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	100 Pages a Day
28-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	A Mama's Corner of the World
29-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	Bound 2 Escape
30-Nov	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	#redhead.with.book
01-Dec	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	Cheryl's Book Nook
06-Dec	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	Brooke Blogs
08-Dec	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	Writers and Authors
08-Dec	Book Spotlight/Giveaway	Adventurous Jessy