The Other Woman by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Published by Forge Fiction

Politicians do make for strange bedfellows...and this may be the strangest yet.

Hank Phillippi Ryan writes power-driven fiction that mimics the high-stakes political and investigative reporting theme that just may be closer to the truth than we want. She knows exactly what she is writing about from her own life experience of investigative reporting. The main character is Jane Ryland, former top reporter for television who has been blackballed for not revealing her source in a high profile murder.

Taken on a six-month trial by a newspaper editor who happens to believe in her, she finds herself whisked away to political rallies, interviews and press releases. She also interviews the Lassiter's wife for background. At the same time, her good friend Jake is investigating a series of deaths that may or may not be connected to each other and just may be vindicating Jane for not revealing her source which got her fired from her last job along with an unbelievable debt.

Non-stop action in this story, don't put it down, you might miss something! This book is fascinating in its tension, thriller action and mystery. Who is the stunning but elusive Mrs. Wilks? Is there a serial killer? Just when you think you have the answers, the story takes a 180 and starts you on a new thread. The final answers are surprising. Will Jake and Jane throw caution to the wind and begin a relationship? Well, that will have to be another story.

Some Day the Sun Will Shine and Have Not Will Be No More by A. Brian Peckford

Published by Flanker Press 

A very well-written memoir of the life of A. Brian Peckford, Newfoundland's third Premier from the time Newfoundland was still separate from the Confederation of Canada (Newfoundland and Labrador became a province of Canada in 1949). He has a humility about him along with empathy, something he was born with but apparently seems to have honed in his work both in teaching and social work. He saw the hardships facing his people and never lost sight of that. But he can also be a force of reckoning and is fearless when it comes to politics. Never losing sight of his main goals, to help his province grow and flourish, bring his people out of their poverty and fight for their rights to their own resources. There are many times his earlier careers prove helpful, aside from the fact that in his earlier positions he made it a point to meet and sincerely assist these people to get the help they needed, one way or another.
  
Once Brian Peckford gets into his Premier years, his passion really shines through. As a social worker in the past, he came to be known throughout Newfoundland and Labrador and easily made the conversion to political door-knocking in every tiny settlement, isolated fisherman's cottage, town, and city. He made it a point to get to know the people personally. I wouldn't hesitate to guess that he has probably been one of the best and most honest Provincial Premiers anywhere in Canada. His foresight, his quick and decisive actions, are the signs of a truly caring man who acts almost as fast as he thinks.

 

Brian's writing is as powerful and clear as his oration. It is not full of convolution, but precise. What he has to say is forthright, clear, and definitive. The latter part of the book, with his multiple attempts at interaction with the federal government and non-action from the federal government, is as suspenseful and full of twists and turns as any piece of fictitious mystery would be. But this is real life, not only the memoir of Brian Peckford, but of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the struggle to truly be a "have" rather than "have-not" province, to have its own say in the management of its own resources. The book contains an Epilogue with documentation and notes, also a copy of the Atlantic Accord Memorandum of Agreement. And the sun did shine. An amazing story of an amazing man and his supporters, I definitely recommend this book.

Divine Intervention by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Published by Trafford Publishing

When Cheryl Kaye Tardif writes a book you know it will grip you right from the beginning and take you on an intense and fascinating ride. This book is no exception, but readers should keep in mind this book was written in 2004 as a futuristic techno-psi-thriller and has now almost caught up with itself. I loved this book, even though it may be a little dated futuristically. In fact, that was part of its allure for me, it takes place in British Columbia and references some of the past I know. I feel connected to this story. It's curious to see what might have been, technically speaking, in 2012 and where we actually are (to the best of our limited knowledge) in 2011. As the average reader knows, when it comes to technology and psychic resources for certain areas of our lives, we are definitely left out of the loop be it governmental, military, or even local policing.

Regardless, this is fun, intense, serious, futuristic fiction done up with great characterizations, full of futuristic tools. I say tools because these are the good guys, no bombs here. They are police, firemen, and secret law enforcement agents under the recently formed CFBI, a Canadian counterpart to the FBI. In "Divine Intervention" this group has just taken charge of two cases from different parts of British Columbia after evidence in both cases points to a serial arsonist murderer. What is different in this group is the covert Psi factor.

The group we follow is part of the PSI division, Psychic Skills Investigators, secreted in an underground complex under the direction of Matthew Divine. Very specialized in different areas, this close-knit group is comprised of Agent Jasmine McLellan, leader, profiler Ben Roberts, and Natassia Prushenko. Jasmine, Jasi to her friends, is a Pyro-Psychic who "reads" fires, her psychic ability to see through a killer's eyes and mind is drawn out by the smell of fires. Ben is a Psychometric Empath, able to read thoughts and emotions by touch. Natassia is a Victim Empath, touching a cadaver, she "relives" the victim's last sights and thoughts. Is the high profile but insufferable Premier of B.C. a suspect or a victim? What is the real reason his father was murdered? Who would have any reason to kill a foster mother and 4 year old child? How do these all fit together? These are the questions they must find answers to, and there is every reason to believe the murderer will claim another victim very quickly. There is one clue only when the team starts its investigation.

This book is exceptionally well-written, interesting in its handling of unusual circumstances, and equally unusual characters. It is taut, cohesive, yet personal. I enjoyed the thoughts going through Jasi's mind when she wasn't working, and "hearing" her read seems like a jolt of reality, this girl is definitely seeing through the killer's eyes and speaking his/her thoughts and words. The author has a way of creating reality from paranormal or psychic abilities and puts the words in her characters' mouths. I was completely glued to the book. I heartily recommend Cheryl Kaye's books, no matter the subject. I have the feeling she could write about any subject and makes us want more.

Green Books Campaign: Future Babble - Why Expert Predictions Fail - and Why We Believe Them Anyway by Dan Gardner

Reviewed for Eco-Libris Greenbooks Campaign
Published by McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
This book is printed on acid-free paper that is 100% recycled, ancient-forest friendly (100% post-consumer waste)

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco-friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

My Review for Future Babble: Why Expert Predictions Fail - and Why We Believe Them Anyway by Dan Gardner:

One of the first things I've learned from this fascinating book is that the more you know, the less you know. You can not base the future on the past. The reason for this is that there are too many variables, the future is not linear. Too many things can cause hiccups in the reasoning. I learned that the economic and political experts who make forecasts for the future are rarely right, which leaves me to wonder if half of them predict something positive for the future, and the other half predict something negative, does that mean man would never progress? Nothing would ever happen? The section on randomness I thought was particularly interesting, I learned how the subconscious often overrides the conscious in making decision, but the conscious eventually gets there, it's just slower than the subconscious. In other words, the idea that is your first automatic thought is probably the right one, as in hunches or intuition. I've found that in my own life, if I am writing a letter, a story, or a comment to the newspaper, if I think about it after it's written, I start to overthink it and eventually go back to my original (if I haven't lost it, because that overthinking often messes up my clarity).

Foxes and Hedgehogs, Dan Gardner's names for the experts we place our faith on. The Foxes are the popular (right or wrong), confident, and probably entertaining; Hedgehogs, quieter, more careful and technical in their precision and declaration. Yet few predictions of the future based on the past and the present can come to pass. Hedged in wording that is not on a timeline or precise, but full of confidence and great presentation, the Foxes seem to do no wrong in their predictions, yet they are rarely right. When they are, because of their popularity, they are only remembered for their hits and their misses disappear in the human mindset. In Garner's words, "Be simple, clear, and confident. Be extreme. Be a good storyteller. Think and talk like a hedgehog." The author has chosen a few experts from each type of thinking for his examples. In his findings, though, there appear to be too many examples of misses and too few hits, exactly his point. Surprisingly, they almost all think they were right. Somewhat like proofreading your own words, you see what you thought you wrote, they, too, see their own predictions the way they think they presented them.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the section on experiments performed to learn how people are influenced in their decisions of what or who to believe. A wide variety of these experiments will no doubt amaze the reader as to how the mind can be manipulated or simply change sides by what they perceive in the first examples. An unusual book for a mostly economic, environmental, and/or political evaluation of future predictions, but the second part of the title tells it all: Why Expert Predictions Fail - and Why We Believe Them Anyway. Based on no more information than what has been predicted by experts, I have decided, thanks to reading this book, I will no longer worry about the world in 2012.

The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis

Originally posted Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Carolina de Robertis writes with a passion as deep and intense as the tango, the thread that holds so much of South America together. The Invisible Mountain is a lyrical narrative on the tides of life in Uruguay throughout the twentieth century. As symbolic as the traditional shared cup or gourd of mate, Ms. de Robertis has a unique talent that embraces everything within the lives of three generations of women and their families. She conveys imagination and imagery exquisitely.

The novel begins with the introduction of the main characters' origins prior to 1900 to set the background for the story to come. A young man escaping a brutal life in Italy, and an infant girl whose mother dies in childbirth and is blamed by her father for the death. A miracle happens New Years Eve at the turn of the century which saves her life. From this point on the real story begins. This is the first generation, and the baby, Pajarita, will become the glue that binds the generations.

The book is divided in three sections: Pajarita, Eva, and Salome. Separate yet intertwined, these three women, grandmother, mother, and daughter, live through the turbulence of coups, revolutions, despair, hope, passion, and always the rhythm of life and country. Three very distinct women. Pajarita keeps her family fed when her husband disappears by selling the herbs and treatments she has learned at the local butcher shop, along with her personality and advice. Though set primarily in Montevideo, Uruguay, Eva, a poet, moves and marries in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the regime of Peron, before fleeing with her husband and family in the night back to Uruguay. Salome, in her teens, wants nothing more than to save her country and becomes a Tupamaro, a revolutionist.

This book is inspirational, historical, powerful and passionate. I became deeply invested in it, even feeling the music running through the background as if to say I am here, I will not be forgotten. Listen. Feel.

Ultimatum by Matthew Glass

Originally posted Sunday, August 30, 2009

Matthew Glass has given us a thriller that is all too possible, drawing the reader in from page one. The book begins innocuously enough in the year 2032 in a mood of energy and optimism for rebuilding the nation’s basic foundation. The bright and popular newly-elected U.S. president has won his seat with an unprecedented majority on a platform of honesty, decisiveness, and trust. The excitement is contagious as the population celebrates their president-elect, but hidden clouds are on the horizon when he learns that the agreements he has inherited will challenge his government’s integrity..

Engrossing, tense, and tightly knit, Ultimatum is written with a strong sense of political process, heart-stopping decision-making, and intrigue. Although a work of fiction, it bestows a feeling of stark realism and drama as crises build. How these crises are approached by the president and the many people who form his government are quite fascinating to this Canadian reader. The characterizations are full-on, the plot development plausible, even perhaps ultimately probable. This book is a strong and shocking wake-up call involving the whole world.

Previous policies on global emissions have done nothing to prevent the looming disaster that had escalated to extreme proportions but the severity had been downplayed. This is where the president finds himself as he takes office. President Benton is a strong presence throughout the book and the author has smoothly if urgently demonstrated the transitions in rapid succession. His torment is felt as he wrestles to keep the honesty and trust promised in his platform. The world turns upside down and inside out within the first several days of his presidency as he becomes more aware of deals made by the previous government.

The story begins within the U.S. but the pace of global warming is overwhelming in its path of destruction. The horror is the speed and loss of land worldwide. Coastlines have disappeared and relocation of populations is in the millions.

Matthew Glass has set a momentum that does not let up but constantly accelerates. He definitely keeps the tension building. This novel is indeed a roller-coaster of a thriller. The action keeps the reader involved from start to finish, second-guessing outcomes, trying to predict responses, and what the final horror will be. This book will definitely bring some new thoughts on how much the world is really one; how things must be tackled worldwide, parts played by arrogance and greed. Very spellbinding and thought-provoking. Great writing, Matthew, I really enjoyed my adventure into the world of politics.