Cuyahoga by Paul Beatty: A New Kind of Folklore

 

 

 

“Cuyahoga” by Paul Beatty is an unusual book not, I think, to be kept to oneself.  I often wished that I had a receptive audience, even one of two people, in front of me so that I could read this book aloud instead of to myself. Failing to find an audience, I’d probably need this story several times over for fear of missing something.

“Cuyahoga” reminded me of all the rollicking and joyous literary versions of “Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.” However, “Big Son” and all the places, events, and personalities in “Cuyahoga “did not meld as folklore over the decades but arise from Beatty’s imagination! Kudo
s to Paul Beatty!

I recommend Beatty’s book to readers liking tall tails and folklore. It probably would not hurt prospective readers to have familiarity with the history of Cuyahoga County and Cleveland, Ohio, or a large present-day map of Cuyahoga County and Cleveland.  

I chose to review this book because I was born and grew up in Cleveland where my hobby was pursuing my love of local history and lore. Although no longer living in Ohio, I still manage to keep up, however inadequately, with current happening in the Buckeye State. However, as I read “Cuyahoga,” I constantly compared Beatty’s descriptions of places and activities to my own mental images.  This was probably a disservice to Beatty from whom I would welcome more books.

I received an ARC copy of this book via NetGalley for a fair review.

"It's Not Over" (Eva Rae Thomas Book #6) by Willow Rose

 https://images.app.goo.gl/MUsbGEgFAm8gkF2f8

 

  “It’s Not Over” by Willow Rose brings red-headed former FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas (Book #6) back into action. Inexperienced FBI agent Brad Shearer shows up on her doorstep in the middle of the night, seeking her help in solving a kidnapping.   “It’s Not Over” is one of the best, clearly written and well-plotted thrillers available.

Cole, the vulnerable elementary-school-age son of Peter and Mary Marshall, has disappeared from their Orlando, FL resort hotel rooms.  Ten years previously in Key West, FL twins Maggie and Blake vanished from their hotel rooms while parents Peter and Mary dined at a nearby restaurant.  The FBI called in on cases involving children of  “tender age,” twelve and under, assigned Eva Rae to work on Blake and Maggie’s vanishing.  

The case finally closed with the arrest and conviction of Mike Odell, previously convicted of child molestation and staying in the same hotel. Searchers found Blake’s drowned body,   but the only trace of Maggie was a butterfly hairclip near Blake. Because Eva Rae had worked Blake and Maggie’s case and knew the Marshalls Brad was able to persuade her to work on Cole’s kidnapping. 

Eva Rae torments herself by questioning the past. If Odell is in prison awaiting execution, did they arrest the wrong person the first time, or was the arrest correct, and Cole’s disappearance is a copycat occurrence.  Unknown to Blake and Eva Rae is that Cole’s abduction and Mary’s agony are just the tips of icebergs that others have set in motion.

Willow Rose plots this story carefully to keep readers interested and turning pages.  She lets readers into the mind of an unidentified person early in the story.  It is not a gentle or loving mind, but it continues to sneak into the plot when readers are least prepared.  Also, readers are introduced to Roy and his Dad early in the story.  They appear to have nothing to do with the main plot, but threads of their lives keep weaving in and out of “It’s Not Over.”  

  Eva Rae and her sister Sydney share an activity introduced to readers in Chapter one.   They own and run House of Freedom, which shelters trafficked girls in the CoCo Beach, FL.  Sometimes, they pick girls up off the streets.  Readers ride with the sisters as they recover Amber.    We meet Jessica in Chapter eight as she prepares to run away from home. Her mission is to hand on to her backpack and find a red-headed policewoman.  

The strands of the plot start to come together in Chapter 60, and by Chapter 66, Eva Rae can begin putting the strands together. She is invigorated and rebounds to finish up what she considers will be the end of the case.  The law enforcement part of the story ends with Eva Rae standing amid flashing blue, lights, EMTs, and local law enforcement.

The private part of Eva Rae’s story has to do with her love interest Matt, a detective with the local Coco Beach Police Department. She ties all the threads of the ten-year-old and the present-day case together for Matt. Their relationship ends “It’s Not Over” on a loving but mature note.

Despite all the various characters interwoven throughout the story, “It’s Not Over” is a compelling novel.  It is not a police procedural.  Willow Rose concentrates on the emotions of the characters tied into the story. It will be difficult for readers to interrupt the adventures of Eva Rae and put their e-readers down to attend to daily life.  

I requested and received a digital Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and the author through book funnel in exchange for an honest review. 

Sideswiped by JC Ryan: A Modern Hero Avoids Inevitable Collisions

Sideswiped

 by JC Ryan

“Sideswiped” is another winner for thriller author JC Ryan. This page-turner is book four of five in the Rex Dalton Series. What keeps me turning pages in this series is my wanting to keep on top and even feel part of the action. Although most exploits here may be believable, the smallest bits are far-fetched but still keep my interest aroused. Though “Sideswiped” is the fourth book in this series, I still feel compelled to do some fact checking on whether certain scenarios might be possible. I've discovered that Ryan uses facts to move his plots along realistically, rather than as extraneous page fillers.
Readers first met protagonist Rex Dalton as a garden-variety college graduate who looks forward to an ordinary-enough life with a government career and his long-time girlfriend as wife and mother of his children. Rather than read the series out-of-order as stand-alone-novels, readers may gain more pleasure by reading in sequence and enjoying Dalton’s character development. I received a review copy of “Sideswiped” from the author, and my review here is unbiased.
A random extremist act flat-out changes Dalton’s career and personal life plans to one of retribution. The desire for cups of coffee safely drew Dalton and his girlfriend away from the Spanish train station where a terrorist bloodbath massacred his waiting mom, dad, and siblings. Dalton begins a career of revenge, killing terrorists.
Ryan’s writing is looser here than in the first book. Dalton is also more open and relaxed. He pursues his interest in visiting historic locations and even takes time to begin thinking about romance. Dalton works with his military-trained dog “Digger,” bequeathed to him by a buddy in book one. Slowly, “Digger” begin to assume an emotional as well as working place in Dalton’s life. He spends enjoyable parts of his day with ‘Digger” who goes almost everywhere with Dalton. Dalton even “swears” that “Digger” can read his mind.
If Ryan’s books had not hooked me with Dalton’s quasi-military exploits, Dalton’s developing relationship with “Digger” would have. The bonding relationship between a military working dog (MWD) and its handler is stronger than that found among most human relationships. Ryan’s bringing this human-canine bonding in as a fundamental part of the series is at the heart of Dalton regaining his humanity. I become fascinated by reading about the developing relationship between Dalton and “Digger,” and Dalton’s exploits in this book, as well as the others, continue to fascinate me.
Action in “Sideswiped” is less pronounced than in Ryan’s preceding books. Dalton enjoys his time in India but precipitously leaves for Thailand after noticing a former dark ops colleague and a woman companion waiting to enter the Taj Mahal. What are the chances for this being a coincidence? Dalton figures the coincidence as near zero and speculates that someone back in the U.S. is still looking for him.
In Thailand, Dalton adds to his life as a tourist by learning the Thai language. He develops a relationship with Sunstra a female language instructor as she guides him through local restaurants and sights. Dalton begins plans for plastic surgery to lose his facial identity. Trouble for Dalton and “Digger” develops as a tsunami hits regional coastline where Sunstra’s parents have a home.
Ryan does a great job of pumping up the reader’s adrenaline as he describes Dalton’s and Digger’s actions during the Tsunami and afterward searches for survivors. Dalton rushes to rescue Sunstra and her parents but is too late to enter the tsunami area. They volunteer to be part of search parties.
Dalton catches up with Kraisee, one of Sunstra’s brothers, and finds her kidnapped. The ransom is that her parents sign over valuable land that they own or Sunstra will die. Dalton meets a second older brother Narong, a medical doctor but formerly a medic on a Thai Seal team, and the reception from him is glacial.
Each of these former military men, Dalton and Narong, wants to call the shots in rescuing Sunstra and apprehending her abductors. Dalton does not want to give up information about his former profession, so he takes the attitude that “if the brothers weren’t going to be of any help, he would do (the operation to rescue Sunstra) it on his own.” Dalton continues to try to change Narong’s rudeness and intrapersonal dynamics.
Dalton begins to work on what he knows best – long shots and painstaking attention to detail. He continues to placate Narong while working out rescue details. Ultimately, Dalton and “Digger” effect Sunstra’s rescue, manage to keep Narong placated, and the three round up the extortionist kidnappers. Dalton, while still contemplating his love life, decides to forgo cosmetic surgery and makes plans to leave Bangkok and Thailand. He prepares for his last restaurant dinner with Sunstra believing he has some surprises for her. However, it is Sunstra that is full of surprises.

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To Redeem A Bear (Lumberjack Bears Book 5) by Emilia Hartley

Girl Bear Shifter Meets Boy Bear Shifter

And, they lean on and learn to love each other as they work through both human and bear problems. I have not read any other of the books in the Lumberjack Bears series, but Book 5 flowed nicely as a stand-alone paranormal novel. 
The characters are well developed and realistic for bear shifters. The author’s words efficiently move the plot along. My four-star rating is based on the presence of some spelling errors (probably due to the spell-check program used) which led to misused words and grammatical errors.
All-in-all, reading this book is a delightful way to escape to another and imaginary way of life.

Ella Maud by Nicholas Nicastro: A Gripping Mystery Snatched from 19th-20th Century Life

     Ella Maude by Nicholas Nicastro is a mystery thriller that gripped me from the first page until the last.  This book contained subtle plot twists which kept the mystery moving, and me as reader immersed and trying to figure out where it was all going.  Characterization and scene settings are well drawn.  Whether it was an author oversight, intended or my lack of comprehension, not until well into the book that did I realize exactly who Ella Maude was.
     Nell Copsey disappeared around midnight on November 1901.  The scenarios around her disappearance and subsequently realized death make the mystery.  The Prologue sets the tone and draws the reader in by describing what Nell’s sister  Ollie becomes at the culmination of the action.         Nell’s disappearance and death are like tossing a pebble into water; none of the main characters escape misery and havoc in their lives. Nell was her mother’s favorite and in the North Carolina town of Elizabeth, she was perceived as being an ideal of womanhood, sort of a will ‘o the wisp.  Readers find in the last chapter that Nell really was an amusing tease and flirt.

"I Need To Get Over You" by K. D. Black: Short, Sweet, and Spirited

     

Adopt a Puppy

     "I Need To Get Over You"  by K. D. Black is a perfect book to curl up with on a rainy weekend. It shows that initial appearances are not everything. The action is on romance and not so much on character development. Well written except for a few items misspellings here and there. 
     Three characters - Brooke, Hayden, and Darren (Dad) form a triangle - in which Brooke has a hard time dealing mentally and physically with the two men. Hayden’s sister and niece, plus Ashley, director of an animal rescue center play supporting roles. The shelter and Hayden’s Fortune 500 office are the main action sites with Hayden’s luxurious apartment as an ancillary site.     Author Black cheerfully answers for me, the proverbial question “what if” we put a seemingly uptight businessman together with an intelligent, charmingly sexy, but eccentric woman?

Fred's Funeral by Sandy Day: A Simple Tale of Familial Love and Emotion

Fred's Funeral 

by
Sandy Day 

Kindle Edition

        “Fred’s Funeral” tells the story of Fred Sadler ricocheting through eight decades of life. Fred dies in 1986 and hovers like a ghost to eavesdrop at his own funeral and the family gathering afterward. His tyrannical sister-in-law Viola, deceased Thomas’ wife, presides over the funeral gathering. Fred’s great-niece Dawn asks questions that Viola would rather not hear or answer.

           Did Uncle Fred really suffer from “shell shock? What was he like? Why was he locked away in Institutions?
Fred, still hovering like a ghost, tries to set the record straight but, of course, he can not. Dawn is tenacious at her questions, and shortly out comes a suitcase of Fred’s letters written during his WWI military experience and memorabilia to flesh out her questions.

           The young relatives cannot, of course, get a full understanding of Fred from the contents of the box he left.
But readers who hover along with Fred can gain understanding from being privy to Fred’s thoughts as well as the suitcase’s contents. Fred probably suffered from what today is termed PTSD. And it might be that Fred as a mental hospital inmate and resident in a nursing home/assisted living facility was subject to modern treatments like heavy mind-altering drugs and electric shock therapy which exacerbated his condition.

           “Fred’s Funeral” is very well-written, concise, to the point is apparently based on real facts. This novella would make a good book club read. Readers gain an exciting interpretation of Fred’s family as the book progresses. We readers also learn about Fred as he recalls times, places and events relevant to him. Some might come to sympathize with Fred; others might not.

Remembrance Day, originally called Armistice Day, is celebrated in British Commonwealth Countries and Veterans' Day in the United States as a national day of remembering and mourning members of all Armed Forces that lost lives for their countries.  Poppy Day is the informal name for This national holiday  in the U.S. and most Commonwealth Countries  started at the end of World War I.  Poppy Day arises from the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields" written by Canadian military doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. This solemn holiday is on a fixed date, November 11 set to commemorate the end of WW I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.