Island Games: Mystery of the Four Quadrants is an action and adventure fantasy novel for preteens and young adults written by Caleb J. Boyer. How did he end up lying on the edge of an ocean with sand, seaweed and salt water trying to find...

A Quest for a Nest: The Magical Power of Persistence by Michal Y. Noah is a beautiful storybook with good messages for young readers that will motivate and encourage them to handle life in a positive way. Melody wants a place of her own. The...

I, a Squealer: The Insider's Account of the Pied Piper of Tucson Murders by Richard Bruns is a fascinating and disturbing account of his friendship with, and ultimate betrayal of, serial killer Charles Schmid. Bruns wrote the account after the events leading up to Schmid’s...

In Everything We Lose, two young boys are telling us the story of the Civil War. One boy, Adam, is white and living on a small farm with his mom and sister without his dad, who had gone off to fight for the freedom of...

“The past encroaches on the future” in Murder in Madrid: Reality of Illusion by Betty J. Turk. Louise Devereaux is inspired to publish her novel about a woman who was wrongfully hanged seventy-two years ago. She gives it to Allen Kingsley, a publisher who assumes...

Marital Advice To My Grandson, Joel by Peter Davidson is, as its title clearly explains, a list of advice from one man to another. The author’s wife, Beverly, was actually the inspiration for this book, which was given to the author's grandson when he got...

Jasmine, the heroine of Coal Queen Jasmine: And The Creatures of Underground Darkness by Makeen Liel, is an usual girl: she works in a coal mine with her father. Even though she only gets "easy" jobs, life in a coal mine is cruel and without...

To the Metal: A Paris of the South Mystery by Kendric Neal is set in Ashville, NC, a city that has rapidly grown into a mixture of hippies, hipsters, tourists and locals. Mack Eagan, former junior high football coach now turned private detective, mainly exists...

God's Gift Within: The Story of the Joshua Quilt is a nonfiction Christian living/crafts book written by Gail Howard Gibson. Gibson’s interview with Marylee MacDonald forms the framework for this book. Gibson is an artist, homemaker, lifelong quilter and keynote speaker, who also was the...

Hidden with Christ: Breaking Free from the Grip of Your Past by Lisa J. Radcliff is another interesting book I have read about inner freedom and emotional health this year, a story that follows one woman’s experience of childhood abuse and her journey towards real...

An orphaned young mouse, Rue, is saved by a friendly skunk and brought to the delightful little village of Wattle’s Way in Master Blacke by Pete Prown. It doesn’t take long, though, for Rue and her new friend, Doily, to realize that something is not...

Deseré: A Love Story of the American South is written by Maria McKenzie. When Deseré’s kindly owner, Jeremy, dies after a fall from his horse, Deseré’s dreams of marrying William, a slave from a neighboring plantation, are ended by her new owner, a Northerner and...

Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of the Missing Heiress is a sleuthing adventure novel for preteens and young adults written by Carrie Cross. The first day of a new school semester always made Skylar a bit nervous, but this one, the spring semester of her seventh...

The Shawcross Letters: My Journey Into The Mind Of Evil by John Paul Fay and Brian Whitney is a disturbing true crime story, told through a series of letters and interviews. Arthur Shawcross is one of the most evil of all killers and his interviewer,...

Accidental Soldier: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice in the Israel Defense Forces by Dorit Sasson is a fascinating and well-written factual account of an important segment of the author’s life. When we first meet the textual Dorit, she is in her late teens, living...

Hidden: Diary of a Bad Girl is a nonfiction memoir written by Karen Truesdell Riehl. Riehl was one of the six young women currently in residence at the Florence Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers when she was twenty-one years old. Whenever they would go out...

Perhaps you have already thought about taking a trip to Haarlem, even if you have no idea how to plan your visit and what to see. Glynis Ann Cooper’s The Haarlem Walk can be a helpful tool for you. This delightful guide is intended for...

In a story set in a small village near Moscow in 1941, as German troops invade Russia, young Serafima declares her love for Victor, a Soviet Officer, but denies him physically before he is sent to the front to fight. When the German army occupies...

Chinawoman's Chance: Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries, Volume 1 is an historical sleuth mystery written by Jim Musgrave. It was 1884, and San Francisco, even more than the rest of the country, was embroiled in a harsh and racist reaction to the recent flow...

A quick look at the cover of Sister-in-Law by M.R. Morgan does and doesn’t give you the full picture of just what goes on between the covers. Sure, it’s obvious the plot involves the White House and sex, but if you think this is going...