COLD BURN.....A CHILLING NEW GLOBAL THREAT FOR OUR TOP U.S. SPECIAL AGENTS. (*****)

 Cold Burn by A.J. Landau (2025)

     Fasten your seatbelts for the second A.J. Landau thriller that unfolds among America's most treasured National Parks. In these books, you're apt to come across something far worse in the parks than a wandering moose, or a stray grizzly. We're talking catastrophic global threats here.......merciless terrorists, Russian commandos and in 'Cold Burn', a scientific, unthawed prehistoric threat that promises to become an extinction level event.

     Luckily for mankind, we have Park Services special agent Michael Walker and FBI Special Investigator Gina Delgado on the case, each of them looking into bizarre deaths and disappearances. In Alaska, Michael's probing the deaths of an entire U. S. submarine crew and the disappearance of a U.S. Geological survey team. In the steamy Floriday Everglades, Gina's probing the baffling murder of a reporter, whose body was found relatively untouched amid the Park's predatory wildlife. What's going on......and why?

     The answers are frightening to behold. as Agents Walker and Delgado separately go up against some powerful adversaries, one of whom may very well be a mole working within Washington's halls of power. The fate of world's at stake - Gina battles assassins in the Florida swamps, while Michael, with the help of a reclusive, combative Alaskan Native American tribe, takes on no less than a small army of invading Russians.

     Yes, the science involved here is questionable (very similar to the James Rollins' 'Sigma Team' thrillers, but once the mysteries are laid bare, the non-stop action commences. As we expect of them, Walker and Delgado are pushed to edge of their physical limits, displaying fearless heroism and resourcefulness despite overwhelming odds.

        This book's simply pure popcorn-beach read fun, designed to get you fast 'n furiously turning pages. Those who keep up on current events will chuckle over whom some of the villains obviously resemble but I'll say no more to spoil any of the thrill ride 'Cold Burn' takes you on. This one's destined to become a beachside/poolside necessity.....and anywhere else at any other time of the year too.

        5 stars (*****).

       

SUCH A GOOD MOM.....A NEW MOM COPES WITH POSTPARTUM AND A HUSBAND CHARGED WITH MURDER....(***)

 Such a Good Mom by Julia Spiro (2025)

     First and foremost, I should point out that while there is a domestic murder mystery to unravel here, this book primarily functions as a deep dive into the agonies of a new mom's Postpartum depression. (Not to mention her severe mid-life crisis, in which current realities don't match up to her hopes and dreams of a valued, rewarding future.

     Brynn Nelson seems blessed in many ways.......a year round resident of beautiful Martha's Vineyard, success as a romance novelist, a new healthy baby boy, and a hard working husband who's part of the island's most prominent family-owned construction business. But the round the clock demands of motherhood have left her overwhelmed and exhausted, with severe, crushing doubts about her ability to become a loving mom to her infant. As if all that isn't enough of a burden, police arrest her husband Ross as the suspected murderer of a popular young girl befriended by his family.

     Despite mounting, conclusive evidence against Ross, Brynn attempts to untangle all of the long hidden secrets, suspects and clues that might lead her to find out what exactly happened.....and why. As enticing as I'm sure that sounds to fans of domestic thrillers, the mystery takes a back-of-the-bus seat to pages and pages of Brynn's constant mental crisis. In that particular area, the book does incisively detail the inner turmoil of Postpartum. But the when the actual mystery's surprises and revelations finally arrive, it's feels perfunctory and laborious, served up with little or no sense of danger and suspense.
   
     For its constant attention and empathy toward Brynn's motherhood ordeal, I'm generously giving 'Such A Good Mom' 3 stars (***).. But I would not recommend this book for those who'd come looking for a full fledged domestic puzzler with lead characters put in dire jeopardy. There's drama aplenty here, but not the kind of melodrama mystery readers would find satisfying.

        

     

BAD INFLUENCE.....A TEEN INFLUENCER'S ROMANCES, FAMILY DRAMA AND THOSE ALL IMPORTANT 'LIKES'.....(***)

 Bad Influence by Claire Ahn (2025)

     Author Claire Ahn has given us something I didn't think possible......a teen influencer we can empathize with and cheer on in her quest for "likes" and followers. (It seems lately such characters only hang out in horror of murder mysteries....)

     Korean-American Charlotte is by no means your standard vapid fashionista living out a click bait life on social media. Her family has fallen on hard times making ends meet, and Charlotte's secretly helping them out with money she's earned from her site's first sponsorship, (Her family has no clue about her media life, so she makes up a series of lies about where the money came from.)

     Charlotte's ups and down as an influencer take her on quite an emotional ride. Decrying the anti-Asian bigotry of some of her fellow influencers gains her a growing fan base, but she suffers derision and scorn by a taking a sponsorship from a company accused of that exact misdeed. To complicate things even more, she catches the attention of a rising, devil-may-care young movie star at the very same time she realizes she's been in love with that always familiar standby, the combo lifelong friend/boy next door.

      But it's none of those usual, typical and predictable YA tropes that attracted to me to this book. The beating heart of "Bad Influence" lies in Charlotte's relationship with her loving, close-knit Korean family. (including, of course, mouth-watering descriptions of Korean cooking at the dinner table.) She and her parents dote upon Jojo, her irrepressible toddler sister, with Charlotte often assuming co-parenting duties of the little girl. But she harbors a long simmering deep resentment of her mother, whom she feels never raised Charlotte with the love and care she now lavishes on Jojo.

     While I realize that a lot of readers will, unlike me, find the social media stuff fascinating and compelling., along with the questionable choices Charlotte makes, it's her family dramas and their resolution that kept me glued to the book. (Sorry, but the rising amounts a character's 'likes' doesn't pump out much adrenalin for me....)

     A pleasant, satisfying read, that manages enough heart to overcome the self-absorbed superficial world of influencing.

       3 stars (***).

ALL THE STARS ALIGN.....A DISABLED TEEN STRUGGLES WITH HER FAMILY'S TRUE LOVE 'BLESSING'....(***)

 All The Stars Align by Gretchen Schreiber (2025)

     The stars do indeed align here........meaning that a reader can see the finale of this book coming from its description alone and without having to read a single page of it. Which begs the question - well then, why would we?

     Why in the world would we pick up another "girl-enlists-her-lifelong-childhood=friend-to-help-her-win-the-boy-she's-in-love-with-when-she-can't-see-her-true-love's-right-in-front-of-her' story?

     The simple answer (and challenge for any author who attempts such a book).......you gotta have a gimmick .

     It's not enough to make your characters sympathetic, cute, handsome likeable and altogether adorable and worthy of us rooting for them. Because pretty much ALL the books in this genre capably accomplish that goal. And 'All The Stars Align' is no exception.

     An author has to find some sort of suitable, formidable roadblock to throw into the path of our eventual lovey-doveys. In this case, it's literally Fate with a capital F.......in the form of 'The Blessing', a magical moment of soulmate revelations that strike the women of 18 year old Piper's family. But Piper worries her path to that bibbity-bobby-boo moment will elude her for two major reasons. First, her mother has committed the blasphemous act of divorcing her father, an outrageous repudiation of the 'Blessing'. Secondly, a painful childhood of spinal fusion operations has left her with physical disabilities, fostering her feeling that she's an oddball anomaly not just among her peers, but in the perfect romantic history of her family.

     Piper's determined to achieve the expected goals of her mom's sisters, the meddling aunts who run the jewelry store where Piper works part time. #1. snag the One, when the B word finally hits her like a ton of bricks. #2 - help her aunts bring her mom and dad back together. #3 - take over running her aunts' store even though her talents lie in science rather than business.

     When the thing-we-shall-not-name strikes her lovelorn at a party, Piper enlists the aid of her lifelong boy pal Leo to instruct her in the nurturing of her love for Forest, who's apparently the Designated-Forever-Whatever. She takes on this Mission Impossible, despite her.........(wonder I'm going to write next).....lifelong, suppressed feelings for Leo.

     Come on, now. Do I really need to describe what transpires through the rest of this book to the end? Didn't think so.

     I kid a lot but truth be told, I'm no different from thousands of other readers who can't resist this genre. And no I couldn't stop reading until that satisfying ending gets duly delivered. The magical stuff doesn't really come off too well. (Instead of warm 'n cozy comic relief, the aunts seem more like an annoying religious cult.). As much I'm cheering on Piper, her path to common sense began to test my patience after a while.

           With a plot this familiar and done so many times, you're either all in or doing upward eye-rolls. But if you're addicted to love stories you'll have to decide if the whole Blessing/Fate thing was worth throwing into the mix. And I'm not sorry I stuck with it. Cause, you know, they're all sympathetic, cute handsome, adorable etc, etc. etc...........

           3 stars (***).

DEADSTREAM.......A CREEPY, HAUNTING ENTITY SIGNS OFF POPULAR STREAMERS.....FOREVER. (***)

 Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore (2025)

     Here's a thoroughly unnerving cautionary tale for social media streamers and everyone who's addicted to them worse than opioids. What happens when you come across a literal Ghost In The Machine.......and you end up with a site whose only 'live' part is the equipment still trained on your dead body.

     By the time the dust, clicks and corpses settle, you're thinking a whole bunch of these people would've been better off if they slammed their laptops shut and stuck to reading a good book.

      Probably not this book, though, since it would give them Deja Views all over again......and once again put them in the cross hairs of the entity who uses click bait as live bait........

     Since there's already been a host of movies using this very same premise, I understand what author Rom Romasco-Moore was trying to accomplish here. In book form, our lead character could be rendered with far more nuance and depth than we'd ever find in a 90 minute horror movie

     And that in fact is what 'Deadstream' does for teen Teresa.. She's been deeply traumatized by a car accident that left her with severe injuries and killed her best friend. Now terrified of the world outside her room, she's self-imprisoned herself there, spending her days on her own streaming site and following others who've achieved cyber-superstardom..

    But what's going with 'Brick' the most followed and admired of those stars? What's that shadowy dark figure sneaking up behind him? What happened and why does Brick now spend endless hours staring out at everyone with an eyes wide open catatonic state? An elaborate prank? Or something way too scary to think about......

     As other streamers fall victim to the same otherworldly phenomenon, Teresa soon finds herself in a desperate battle with a horrific entity whose predatory stalkings show up clearly on the livestreams, but not in the real eyesight of its prey. The stuff of nightmares for sure.

     For me, there were equal amounts of 'likes' and 'dislikes' here. As you would expect in this story, the author laboriously replicates all the online chatter surrounding the catastrophic events unfolding in real time. I guess this would count as a plus for people who think the online chats shown in movies go by too fast to read..........but after pages and pages of that dross you may find yourself skimming through it like I did.

     What gripped me far more - when book gives the stream comments a rest and goes back to the plain old fashioned telling of Teresa's dangerous duels with the world-wide-web wraith.

     A perfectly suitable choice, if you'd rather spend a cozy Friday night home instead of rushing out to the multi-plex to see this week's new horror movie.......(which you could probably stream a few weeks later with your own home-cooked popcorn......)

       3 stars (***). Wait a sec....I think I just heard someone come into the room........

TO CATCH A SPY.....THE FRENCH RIVIERA'S MASTER THIEF IS BACK IN ACTION....(*****)

 To Catch A Spy by Mark ONeill (2025)

     While this fun, terrific thriller works fine as a stand alone, I'd recommend everyone treat themselves to either the original book or a viewing of the classic 1955 Alfred Hitchcock film with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (even if you've seen it before). Trust me it will make the experience of reading this book even more entertaining.

     With permission from original author David Dodge's estate, Mark O' Neill effectively continues the adventures of John Robie - former American, circus acrobat, former French Resistance fighter, former master jewel thief and former romancer of the beautiful, audacious heiress Francie Stevens.

     Francie's broken up with John, whose less-than-legal past previously landed him in dangerous trouble, but she and her sardonic widowed mom are back on the dazzling French Riviera just in time for the swirl and glamour of Fashion Week. John's itching to rekindle his once fireworks-worthy romance with Francie, but all new troubles and threats envelop him.......and may very well also involve Francie. too.

     In helping out a long time friend from French Intelligence, John's stumbled upon a Russian spy ring whose masterminds are a lethal bunch with an inexhaustible supply of minion thugs. Even worse, this nefarious cabal may have something to do with Francie's recruitment as a stunning new fashion model for a famous designer's new creations. But now Francie's not only a freshly minted fashion superstar, she's also acquired a new protective boyfriend as well, So John has his hands full.....slugging it out with the thugs out to kill him, somehow relighting the fire between him and Francie while trying to untangle her possible involvement in the spy plot.

     Loved every single minute of this, which plays out among all the same gorgeous locations everyone will remember from the movie. Yet author O'Neill does make this new book his very own, which is more of a non-stop, breathless James Bond-ish adventure as opposed to Hitchcock's more leisurely romantic suspense. I devoured it in one sitting and certainly wouldn't mind if John and Francie, both born adventurers, embark on an all new captivating caper. One of the best beach reads you'll find this year.

        5 stars (*****).

A DROP OF CORRUPTION.....A THRILLING, MASTERFUL SERIES CONTINUES....(*****)

 A Drop Of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (2025)

     Once again I stand in complete gaping jaw awe of Robert Jackon Bennett. I speak of his ability to combine the complex intricate fantasy universe he's created with an infinitely complex mystery thriller (and its one-of-kind infinitely memorable sleuthing team.

     The oddest crime solving duo imaginable has a new perplexing (and gruesome) case to unravel. As if the crimes aren't grisly enough, they're committed amid The Empire and its surrounding city-kingdoms. It's a world fraught with the cruelty, corruption and dangers of Medieval-like autocracies and dependent on harvesting the precious blood of Lovecraft-ian Titans, monsters who swarm the Empire's sea.

     Investigator Ana Dolabra possesses the instinctual sensitivities of Sherlock Holmes and swears like Popeye Doyle. She prefers to put her powerful intuitions into play while blindfolded, so it's up to her stalwart, sword-wielding assistant Dinios Kol to do her legwork - seeking out and questioning suspects and informing Ana of everything gleaned from his enhanced memory abilities. Only when Ana's taken in as much information as Kol can supply her with can she snap the puzzle pieces together.

     A treasury official's disappearance turns into a ghastly murder and Ana and Din face their most formidable and diabolical foe......a remorseless killer who easily bypasses every security measure designed to stop him. Whoever he is he's also devised an infernal method of mass slaughter and his killing spree extends from jungles to royal castles. While Ana's mental talents are put to seemingly impossible challenges, Dinios searches for answers at the 'Shroud' , the vast ominous structure where Titans are eviscerated for their all powerful blood.


     I'll admit that this book series is not some kind of easy peasy breezy read. The worlds of Ana and Dinios are a vast mosaic of cultures, customs, politics and geography to absorb. But once you enter and fully immerse yourself in this universe, it takes hold of you and keeps you turning the pages. And once Ana finally lays out every revealed twist, the heartbreak and horror of the crimes committed speak volumes about the values of an autocratic empire. Not just a swashbuckling adventure but a lot of food for thought about how author Bennett's world mirrors our own.

     If I'm making this sound all too grim, I don't want to forget to mention you'll also find plenty of unexpected moments of ribald, laugh out loud humor.....also guaranteed to take you by surprise....)

     Can't recommend this highly enough. Take the ride, it's more than worth it.

       5 stars (*****).