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A man has lost his way in life turns to a dog for

Revisado: 02-01-25

When Paul's husband of 5 years announces that he wants a divorce. Paul, who suffers from anxiety and now, heartbreak, is left to make their planned trip to Venice on his own. Going alone is a major event for Paul and puts him way outside his comfort zone. He vacillates between anxiousness and fearlessness - trying to find a happy medium and the self-confidence that he has lost somewhere along the way.

Venice is home to a lot of street dogs. Dogs wandering the city, don’t bother anyone. Paul finds himself identifying with a particular dog who seems, to Paul, to have the instincts for survival that Paul wishes he himself had. After an initial glance, Paul looks again for the dog with little success. An unusual sighting at an even more unusual location helps Paul to see his life more clearly.

A sweet story about the importance of taking care of yourself first. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This short story is made by audible; however, it will be out in kindle format and in hardcover in October 14, 2025. Thanks to Stephen Rowley, Neil Patrick Harris, NetGalley and Audible Originals

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A surprisingly intricate tale of menace

Revisado: 01-22-25

“How easy it was to slide into conspiracies. To mistake misjudgment for deceit. To see treacheries and plots and sedition where none existed.”

There is a life-threatening menace hanging over Quebec and all of Canada. Something ominous and disastrous speaks to their doom. At the moment, knowledge of the threat is top secret, only Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, second in command Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste are in on the details of what they believe is coming their way. They do not know who can be trusted in the Surete du Quebec or the national government, so it must remain their secret.

Odd, seemingly minor things are happening. Gamache’s coat is stolen from inside his locked home then mailed back to him with a stain and a shopping list in a pocket, while out for the evening, his house alarm goes - nothing has been opened or touched, ultimately, and more sinister, a murder. What does it all mean?

The legend of the grey wolf will influence things as well: “…a grey wolf, wanted the old man to be strong and compassionate. Wise and courageous enough to be forgiving. The other, a black wolf, wanted him to be vengeful. To forget no wrong. To forgive no slight. To attack first. To be cruel and cunning and brutal to friends and enemies alike. To spare no one. …Which wolf will win, the grey or the black?...The one that I feed.”

I loved this book! I do agree with some other reviewers that the story felt more intricate than some of the others. Thus, at times, it was confusing. I too, would have liked to have more of the Three Pines regulars in the story, but... writer’s privilege. Also, haven’t we seen this theme before? All that being said, it’s a terrific mystery/suspense novel with a lot going on. I highly recommend The Grey Wolf. Interestingly, this is book one of two. The sequel, The Black Wolf, is set to publish on October 25, 2025. Can’t Wait! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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A fun, unique Agatha Christie mystery

Revisado: 01-19-25

When the centerpiece of the mystery is the author herself. As a young woman in her early twenties Agatha Christie married her husband sweetheart, a pilot in the RAF. With his demanding, self-centered personality & her mother's old-fashioned advice Christie began to lose herself. Until she finally disappeared.
This is the mystery of where, how and why Christie disappeared and how she found her way back.
A unique, multi layered mystery,⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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“Sometimes our questions are better left unanswered.”

Revisado: 10-15-24

Twenty years ago Tracy’s younger sister, Sara, disappeared. All this time Tracy has blamed herself and never a day went by that she didn’t replay the scene of their last time together in her mind. Tracy, quit her job as a high school physics teacher and enrolled in the police academy. Her goal was to become a police detective in order to enable her to further her search for Sara. Over the years, as Tracy has reviewed re-reviewed the police investigation's records, and has found several discrepancies that lead her to question what really happened and whether the man currently in prison for Sara’s presumed death, Edmond House, is really the man responsible.

When Sara’s remains are discovered by a couple of hunters in the mountains near their hometown, Tracy has even more questions. Together with Dan, an old high school friend, now an attorney, they begin to look further into Edmond House’s conviction, his alibi and the witnesses claims. Like Pandora’s box, with her questions and diffing into the past lead to things better left alone as well as unforeseen dangers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is book #1 of the Tracy Crosswhite series.

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The challenges of adulting and facing your fears

Revisado: 10-15-24

Friends Emily and Liv are in a rut. Emily was once an eco-terrorist but is now a non-tenured, unsatisfied university lecturer teaching about the threat of global warming to students, most of whom are not interested in learning about the environment. Liv is a reall estate agent who has become a people pleaser. She is being walked over by everyone in her life: her sister, her mother and her co-workers - not to mention her clients.

When the 2 women witness a woman fight off an attempted robbery during their yoga class they learn that the woman attributes her success to a class entitled “Fearless, Inc.” Together Emily and Liz sign up for the class hoping to find themselves again and to recognize their fears and overcome them. An assortment of other individuals, each with his or her fears and flaws are also in the class which is taught by a man named Zeus. Through unconventional and sometimes absurd activities and “challenges” each participant is encouraged to recognize and face his or her fears.

A fun, fast moving, humorous tale of the struggles of adulting and facing your fears while being true to yourself. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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The police are trying to frame former Det Snow

Revisado: 09-05-24

Neither time nor politics have been kind to Detroit - especially not to the southwest area known as Mexicantown. Former Detroit Police Detective August Snow lives in Mexicantown, in the same house where he was born and raised. He is considered "Blacksican" because his father, also a Detroit policeman, was Black and his mother was Mexican.

After being wrongly discharged from the force for testifying against the mayor and corrupt city cops, Snow sued. The result was a $12 million dollar cash “settlement” and a lot of bad feelings between the Detroit P.D. and Snow. These days Snow stays busy improving his and other homes on his street, looking out for his neighbors and pining for a woman on the other side of the ocean.

When prominent socialite Eleanor Paget is murdered the day after she summoned him to her home, Snow finds his name at the top of the police department’s suspect list. His only job now is to prove himself innocent before the Detroit Police Department takes their revenge on him by proving him guilty. That, and disproving the D.P.D.’s misguided theory that Paget's death was a suicide.

A fast-moving, fun read with plenty of excitement and unanticipated twists and turns. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my first book by Stephan Mack Jones but it won't be my last!

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A rare look across the aisle at what went wrong

Revisado: 08-25-24

On January 6, 2021 Donald Trump and his enablers betrayed the U.S. Constitution by leading a violent attack on our Capital as republican members of congress looked the other way. Following the attack Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a lifelong republican, was forced to rethink her party's position and her relationship to her party. A free society that abandons the truth, that abandons the rule of law, cannot remain free.”

In Oath and Honor Cheney addresses the refusal of the House Republicans to stand up to Trump. She watched in shock as her party chose to follow Trump instead of condemning him: "The conservative policies and principals that had once defined what it meant to be a republican were being replaced by complete allegiance to one man, who wasn’t actually a conservative. One of the clearest manifestations of this was the lack of any platform for the republican party in 2020. In place of the extensive policy documents that each party normally adopts every 4 years, the Republican party adopted a resolution that simply affirmed “the Republican party has and will continue to support the president’s America First agenda.”

The RNC adopted a resolution aimed at Cheney and Adam Kinzinger regarding the January 6 investigation for "The persecution of ordinary people engaged in legitimate political discourse, behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic”. Which, in Cheney’s words was "Reflecting a "political party that has lost its principals and, frankly, seems to be led by morons”. Implored by her father, Dick Cheney, to “defend the republic”, that is what she attempted to do.

More often than not I have sat on the opposite side of Liz Cheney’s politics. However, in this we stand together. Today’s battle is for the preservation of America’s values and the U.S. Constitution. No one is above the law and no elected official should ever put any one person above their job, or their responsibilities or the American People. “We depend upon our leaders to ensure the survival of our republic."⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Outstanding look at where we were and how things have changed.

Revisado: 08-25-24

Some 50 years ago I was near the end of my undergraduate life and at the beginning of my days as an advocate for women's issues, equal rights for all races and genders, protesting the war and fighting corrupt politicians. Happily this all happened at the beginning of Ms. Magazine. Today we can look back at the first 50 years of Ms. and appreciate “The best of the pathfinding magazine that ignited a revolution." A book that should be required reading!

Ms. Magazine was perfect for me, the daughter of a woman who called herself a feminist long before the word was common parlance. Ms. Magazine's articles spoke up, spoke out and told it like it was - it did not hold back. Topics of sexuality, sexism, family, education, reproductive rights, marriage, domestic violence and the Equal Rights Amendment were brought into the open. So influential was Ms. that many famous women, actresses, singers, politicians and business leaders openly signed a letter, printed by Ms, entitled: "I have had an abortion". Many things that were not spoken of in polite company were, through Ms., open for all to read and learn about on its pages. Ms. Magazine’s pages were open, honest, educational and refreshing.

From the blurb: A celebration of Ms.—the most startling, most audacious, most norm-breaking of the magazine's groundbreaking pieces on women, men, politics (sexual and otherwise), marriage, family, education, work, motherhood, and reproductive rights, as well as the best of the magazine’s fiction, poetry, and letters.

Inside this 50 year anthology you can read how Ms. came to be. You’ll find copies of the beautiful artwork that served as the magazine's covers as we as letters to the editor and many, many articles some of which are, sadly, as relevant today as they were then. Organized by decade, the book is easy to find your way around. Read a page at a time, whole sections or the entire book cover-to-cover, you’ll be delighted to learn (or remember) this history. A fascinating read, not just for those of us who lived through it but for anyone interested in the history of the struggles of women, the women’s movement, and what we are still facing today. "For the past five decades

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The Civil War, slavery & interracial relations are topics covered in this historical fiction.

Revisado: 08-25-24

“March” is a historical fiction story around the time of the Civil War. It is inspired by the book 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott and, specifically, the father in that story, Mr March. There are many similarities between the real Mr. Alcott and the fictional Mr. March. Mr March was an educator and, although he was not a religious minister, he did serve in the war as a Union Champlain to minister to the troops. He was considered quite radical for his time.

Mr March and his wife, Marmee were both abolitionists and the story is centered around issues surrounding slavery and emancipation. The Marches helped with the underground railroad. The authos says that the intent of her story is to focus upon the changes experienced by each of the characters in 'Little Women' over the year Mr. March is away with the troops as the country grows closer and closer to full on war.

Written from Mr. March’s point of view, the story addresses the loathsome issues surrounding slavery and war, the near break up of our country, family, faith, interracial relations and some romance. I have loved all of Geraldine Brooks’ books; sadly, I didn’t care as much for this one. If I’d been a fan of “Little Women” would it have helped? I think not. The book is full of stereotypes, it felt slow and repetitive while, at times, contradicting itself. By the end I didn’t especially care for Mr March or Marmee. It’s not a bad book, just not one of my favorites.⭐️⭐️⭐️

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The challenges (& resolutions) for Michigan's Gov Whitmer

Revisado: 07-20-24

Gretchen Whitmer has served two terms as the Governor of Michigan. (Michigan’s term limits prevent her from running for a third term.) She has proven herself to be an honest, hardworking governor who sincerely has the best interests of the State of Michigan and its residents at heart. She has also become a rising star in the Democratic Party.

With humor, honesty and sincerity Whitmer shares with us the challenges she has faced personally, and as Governor and the lessons that she has learned. She has been verbally attacked by the then President of the United States, guided Michigan through the worst pandemic in history and faced a kidnapping and assassination plot with style and grace. Through it all she has remained focused on her responsibilities to the state and dealt with trials and tribulations with humor and determination.

In True Gretchen: What I’ve Learned about Life, Leadership and Everything in Between, Whitmer shares with us how she navigated her challenges and kept her head above water. She’s included plenty of photos, her playlist for challenging times as well as some of her favorite family recipes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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