Showing results by narrator "Randy McCarten" in All Categories

The word ‘Independence’ is, quite frankly, a very common word today – celebrated, venerated, and metaphorically worn as a badge by every citizen of a democracy, such as the United States. And it has a deep association with the word ‘Freedom.’ For any American today, these two form the basis of their fundamental rights – you were born with them, and you will die with them. But have you ever thought about the weight that these two words carry? Or the toll they left in their wake within the bloodied pages of the history of the United States?

Joey Mancuso’s world is turned upside down when a young man walks into his life, claiming to be his son from a relationship twenty years ago. Desperate for help, the boy tells Mancuso he’s facing a murder charge for a crime he insists he didn’t commit. Uncertain if the young man is truly his son, but intrigued by the striking resemblance, Mancuso reluctantly agrees to investigate. As Mancuso delves into the boy’s troubling circumstances, he uncovers deeper layers of deception. Adriana, the boy’s mother and Mancuso's past love is uncovered by him in spite of the boy claiming his mother is dead.

In ChatGPT and the Future of AI, the sequel to The Deep Learning Revolution, Terrence Sejnowski offers a nuanced exploration of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and what their future holds. How should we go about understanding LLMs? Do these language models truly understand what they are saying? Or is it possible that what appears to be intelligence in LLMs may be a mirror that merely reflects the intelligence of the interviewer? In this book, Sejnowski answers all our urgent questions about this astonishing new technology.

Dieter Webber, a former Jump Armor pilot, lost his war. Years later as a broken ex-pat, half a galaxy away, the former combat pilot is haunted by the ghosts of the war and looming debts to organized crime. An encounter with an Android, Reis, serves as an invitation from his former commander to a reluctant escape: Mercenary work in her company, Valkyrie LLC.

The Valkyries find themselves against the wall, their contract forcing them into an all-or-nothing gambit. Their lives and livelihoods on the line, only the combined guile and grit of Valkyrie LLC and their new RSDF allies might see them through.

"In the Shadows of the Game" follows the gripping tale of Randy Goldstein, a talented student athlete accused of a brutal murder that shakes the foundations of a prestigious university in Miami, Florida. As the investigation unfolds, Joey Mancuso and his team discover a sinister underbelly: a crime syndicate exploiting female student athletes for explicit videos and orchestrating a clandestine network involving illegal young females forced into prostitution.

A presumed Russian spy is found tortured and shot in the face in his high-rise condominium in South Beach, Florida. Incredibly, the perpetrators of the gruesome murder correctly copied the manner in which the victim was killed, as described in best-selling author, Jack Ryder’s last novel. Jack is a 40-year-old divorcee, and a Wall Street retired financial analyst turned crime mystery writer. His new lifestyle does not include alarm clocks, suits, or ties. Plus two more novellas!

In the tight-knit community of Lorain, Ohio, a whirlwind of horror swept through as unsettling allegations surfaced - a trusted bus driver and her alleged companion were accused of shattering the innocence of preschoolers in the respected Head Start program. The verdict? Life-long prison sentences that would cast a shadow over a community, and initiate an untiring quest for truth.

The vic Oscar Stanton (name etched into his designer trousers) was gunned down in Washington Square Park in broad daylight, just after a lunchtime rendezvous with a business associate. A quick and dirty ID reveals the real Oscar Stanton was working in cybersecurities for the DO and, perhaps unsurprisingly, was KIA in Afghanistan. And Mancuso’s antics tend to weave a winding yarn as intricately connected as a satisfying Sherlock Holmes.

Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian, and the rest of the team are back for their ninth hard-boiled tale. Consistently working out of their Lower Manhattan Irish pub and office. This time, there is no client. Instead, Mancuso has been sucked into this series of senseless murders by personal invitation. A text with the location and an invite to come over. It appears like random killings of homeless people at subway stations. But there is nothing unexpected about the texts.

Incorporated into the mighty Jakarien Empire, Earths endless wars, hunger, and disease faded into historical footnotes. But peace and prosperity came with a cost. The Imperiums aggressive expansion requiring an inexhaustible supply of pilots, aliens from the furthest reaches of the galaxy, having endured the brutality of Star Corps' orbiting officer evaluation school, gather at SCB Slatereach vying for the right to be called a Hunter of the Imperium. Sam Becket, a human, is one such alien.

The former British soldier's wife has rejected him. Desperate and suicidal, he gets just the distraction he needs when the American who saved his life in the Gulf War calls in a favor. But shortly after arriving on Florida's sun-soaked coast, a simple search and rescue mission gets tangled up with lowlifes and murderers. Joined by a loyal stray dog, Frankie races to stay one step ahead of the police, a rival PI, and a bunch of ruthless mafia henchmen.

This is the story of a battle that changed the course of the Civil War and called upon two men—Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln—to summon every ounce of their courage, intelligence, and bravery. The Battle of Gettysburg is known as one of the defining moments of the American Civil War. It was the bloodiest battle of this conflict, resulting in over 50,000 combined casualties over three fierce days. In early July 1863, two great armies converged at the small town of Gettysburg.

Inspired by the explosive events of our polarized political climate, Burner is an all-too plausible contemporary thriller that examines the social and personal consequences of the lost sense of identity, trust, and truth itself that characterizes our technology-obsessed culture.

In his seventh hard-boiled tale, New York-based Private Eye Joey Mancuso travels to the lush, verdant shores of Miami Beach. But this is no vacation - Joey’s wading knee deep into a gritty cesspool of corruption, using his street smarts and industry connections to investigate a vast financial conspiracy. A young hedge-fund employee - a kid right out of college, green as can be - was killed by an anonymous sedan while on a motorcycle ride after hitting the South Beach clubs. Miami Beach police don’t seem interested, but Joey does - the kid’s dad is a friend of a friend.

Enter the world of Leslie, a young girl thrust into the clutches of an ominous storm as her life spirals into an abyss of uncertainty. A single knock on the door changes everything, setting in motion a series of events that will test her courage and resilience. In this captivating narrative, Leslie finds herself entangled in a world of fear, anger, darkness and mystery. Her journey becomes a battle as she reaches the inescapable truth, her life will never be the same.

A Seed for Murder delves into the timely and gripping subject of genetically modified crops, exposing a tangled web of deceit and greed that is ripped straight from today's headlines. As with all of Parr's works, the truth may not be apparent at first glance, making for yet another thriller.

The widower says his wife was killed by gangs - but now he’s running for Mayor of New York City. Just to be sure (or else to portray himself as a properly mourning husband), he hires PIs Joey Mancuso and Father Dom to solve the murder. Only they can’t help noticing he’s pushing them to come to the gang conclusion as well. Hey, is something fishy here?

When a man, partially disguised with a medical mask and large sunglasses, approaches Joey Mancuso and asks him to solve his murder, Mancuso is skeptical. But when a series of murders begin to happen, Joey and his wife, former FBI Special Agent Marcy, find themselves embroiled in a dangerous web of deceit, smuggling, and theft.

Based on a true story, HANGTOWN is a historical western about the hangings in a placer mining town that once went by that moniker, one of the first established diggings during the chaos of the Gold Rush. Set from 1848 to 1850, the unlawful were punished and hanged swiftly for crimes of theft and violence, haunting forever what is now Placerville, California.