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I will confess I am a fan of Carl Rackman’s books but somehow missed the first book in this series, Voyager.  Nevertheless, I plowed ahead and discovered that the author covered enough of the high points from Voyager that I could hit the ground running. Sentinal did not disappoint me. Four years have passed since Voyager One sent back chilling photos of a spaceship from deep in interstellar space. However, with terrorism, pandemics and political turmoil consuming the news, the story faded to the back page and the public has accepted it as a hoax. All but the Triumvirate, a global and powerful conspiracy that has inserted itself into the highest levels of various governments. They have created a wall of subterfuge so they themselves can welcome the Visitors, the occupants of the spaceship, who are coming with sinister plans. Countering the Triumvirate are the strong characters typical of Rackman’s writing: Matt Ramprakash, former airline pilot and now an officer of the British intelligence agency MI5; his wife, Callie Woolf, who once headed the Voyager One mission and who believes that the spaceship is not a hoax; former FBI agent Brad Barnes who now leads Sentinel, a private intelligence and counter-terrorism operation founded to counter the Triumvirate; and Alex Ephraim, a superhuman soldier, thought to be genetically engineered, and a former Triumvirate assassin who has switched sides to join Sentinel. The story opens a little slowly, which is where I think it could have been improved, but then starts to pick up speed until by the end, the reader is reading and flipping pages as fast as possible. The action scenes are meticulously plotted and easy to visualize and employ incredible technology. From a diversionary airplane hijacking to action on the icy cold and barren reaches of Antarctica, this suspense thriller pulls you in and then delivers a solid punch with a science fiction twist, leading directly to a third book in this series. Which I await. This is a cracking good read. About the author Carl Rackman is a former airline pilot with interests in seafaring and mysteries and lives in Surrey, UK. Since he spent his working life travelling the world, he has developed a keen interest in other people and cultures. And he’s drawn on his many experiences for his writing. He primarily writes suspense thrillers with a grounded science-fiction theme. He tries to create immersive worlds for the reader to explore, and characters who are more than just vehicles for the story. He also comes a naval military background and have held a lifelong interest in military history and seafaring – all his books usually contain some of these elements. His reading is multi-genre – historical, sci-fi, fantasy and techno – but psychological thrillers are prime.  He started writing in 2016 and is picking up steam! You can reach him on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/rackmanbooks/ and at https://carlrackman.com Sentinel is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sentinel-Voyager-Book-Carl-Rackman-ebook/dp/B08JCMBW2B/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Carl+rackman&qid=1605795269&s=books&sr=1-3 0 0

D. Wallace Peach is, as far as I’m concerned, the master of world creation. In Liars and Thieves, she blends goblins, elves, and changelings against a vivid backdrop that transports you with its gorgeous descriptions. In the world of Liars and Thieves, there is the Veil, a shimmering wall behind which a malevolent presence, Kalann Il Draak, dwells. He cannot penetrate the wall but unravels its material for seeds of chaos to slip through. And chaos is beginning to spread, beginning with the inexplicable disappearance of members of all three races. Three individuals find themselves placed squarely in the path of the oncoming storm: Elanalue Windthorn (Alue), an elf and a soldier who can’t seem to stop herself from acting without thinking; Talin Raska, a changeling who lives with Alue in the form of her pet martin, but who is actually is a talented liar, thief, and spy for the Changeling Queen; and Naj’ar, a half-breed goblin and a loner, with a talent he cannot control. These characters are so well-limned that the reader finds themself in their heads. Goblins consider themselves to be superior. They have brilliant minds when it comes to engineering skills. Furthermore, they mine crystals which are the main source of power for the rest of the Borderlands, selling them in a rationing system to the Elves and Changelings. Elves need them to power their world, including weapons, while changelings need their power to be able to morph. The elves are arrogant, competitive, and dismissive of treaties and laws in their pursuit of ways to steal the crystals.  Changelings are just plain devious. It’s no wonder these three characters are enemies for a good part of the story, but fate, calamity, and the powers governing each of these races forces them together to determine just what is happening and why. If you like elves or goblins or changelings – or just a darned good yarn, this is the book for you. About the author from Amazon): Wallace Peach started writing later in life after the kids were grown and a move left her with hours to fill. Years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books, and when she started writing, she was instantly hooked. Diana lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two dogs, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes. The author can be found On twitter: @Dwallacepeach On her blog: http://mythsofthemirror.com On her website: dwallacepeachbooks.com Liars and Thieves can be found on Amazon: 0 0

Well, we did it! We are moved in, amidst boxes, chaos, spotty (1-2 hours a day) internet, and phones with one bar. Communication is difficult. It took a week for the towel racks to arrive and be installed (they came with the house), and this morning our new washer wouldn’t start. I think the electrician explained what was going on with the trip switch, but I’m still fuzzy. Garfield was ecstatic to be out of the vet’s boarding cage and spent the first night exploring the new house and walking all over me in bed, head butting for attention, purring in my ear, and licking any exposed skin. Thankfully, he’s calmed down a lot and seems to be at home – sitting on his cat tree by my office sliding glass door, looking around. We got the bird feeder up in the hopes of attracting some birds to amuse him. Finding things is a continual task. “Do you know where x,y z is, honey?” “No, but I thought I might have seen it in a box in the hall…or was it the garage?” FedEx now has THREE claims from us for things they said they delivered but didn’t. Problem with the address, they said. It’s a new development, we replied. Get with the program. They never located the packages so someone somewhere has some nice new stuff. All of the appliances are new, so call me a Luddite. I want my old ones back. THOSE I knew how to use. These have minds of their own, plus more buttons and switches to push than the International Space Station. Let me tell you about our back yard. Planted with squares of sod, with brown lines in between, the whole thing was flooded two weeks ago in a heavy rain. Before we had moved in. The water was up over our ankles and the sod was floating away. Apparently whoever is in charge of drainage for the community didn’t take that course in landscaping school. All of the water from our uphill neighbors plus the streets came barreling down into our yard due to blocked drains and no other barriers or water run-off pipes, seeking the one drain that was open – a honking big monstrosity in our backyard, not indicated on our survey plat. The sod, what was left of it, died. They replaced the sod and deepened the swale leading to our very own drain, and the construction manager said they’d made changes so it wouldn’t happen again. It’s supposed to rain this week. We have our dinghy all ready to go. With help from my daughter and her husband, the move was less horrific than we had imagined. They packed and kept a lot of stuff for us, and the movers didn’t break anything – well, one bed, but it’s fixed. We are eternally grateful for all the hard work they put in for us, while working and taking care of our none-month-old grandson. They call themselves the midnight elves. Our new place does not feel like home – maybe when we have some pictures up? It’s still like living in a hotel. But after 35 or so years in one house, with all its memories, this is a jolt. It was a move we had to make, though – the care of our big house with the pool and four acres was too much and too expensive. I’m just not used to being anywhere else yet. Pictures next time. Wait, where is my phone? 0 0

I believe Out of the London Mist may be the first steampunk novel I’ve read. The book was purchased for review by Rosie’s Book Review Team. The story opens with the visit of John Farnley to the East End of London to the shop of a metal worker who has frequently made parts for Farnley’s aether-powered plane. The shop was the last place John’s brother, Sir Nicholas Farnley, visited before being killed in a nearby street. This area of London was one which Sir Nicholas would never visit, and John is determined to trace his last steps and find his murderer. John is faced with now being a nobleman, Sir John Farnley, and all that entails, plus having to sort out family business and holdings, which entail the mining of aether crystals, a source of power in Victorian England. He must also comfort his sister-in-law, who was a decorative wife to his brother but proves to be a competent household manager of the little-used London home. A dense London fog is blanketing London, and it becomes a character unto itself, well drawn by the author. She also creates the world of the East End slums, a deadly place where life is cheap and people walking alone are preyed upon. John discovers that his brother was helping the father of the metal worker, a rabbi involved in creating something monstrous which now lurks in the mist-shrouded corners of the East End. People are dying from being beaten with inhuman force, and John suspects his brother was one of the victims. Aiding him in his investigation is the resourceful Miss Sylvia Armley, brave and fearless. John has an intimate understanding of the aether lines that flow above London and of the advantages and disadvantages of using aether crystals as a power source, and he is helped to understand why his brother was collaborating with the rabbi by the erudite advice of Professor Entwistle, a close friend of the rabbi. Together with Miss Armley, John finds travels though the darkest part of London to determine exactly what his brother was doing and to stop the aether-powered monster that killed him. The ending was not at all what I expected, and I can see another book to follow this one. The author does an excellent job limning her characters and creating a steampunk world. I enjoyed the detail and the dialogue moved crisply along. The most compelling aspect was the way in which she created the foggy world, at once opaque and frightening. The mystery compels you to read on. For my first adventure into steampunk, this book is a winner. The author tells a good story, and I am going to download some of her other books.  About the author: Lyssa Medana is a wife and mother Yorkshire, UK. She loves telling stories and feels privileged to be able to share them. She is fascinated by the odd, the quirky and the unusual and enjoys dipping in to old folklore and English social history, which she shamelessly uses for her writing. Her hobbies include knitting, reading and heckling history documentaries. Lyssa is the author of a number of other books, among them The Forgotten Village, Digging Up the Past, Tales from the White Hart, and Dinner at Dark. You can find her on Twitter: @LMedana On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LMedana/ And on her blog: https://alwaysanotherchapter.co.uk/ Out of the London Mist can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089DHTDDG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 0 0

Avast, all you fans of Tony Riches! The author has gone to sea, introducing us to Sir Francis Drake. Having confined himself to land with the Tudor series and other wonderful stories of men and women peopling the Tudor era, the author has found his sea legs. I am, probably like many, cognizant of the name Francis Drake but know little about him except for a vague colorful impression. Born in Devonshire, England, Drake was the son of a tenant farmer on the estate of the earl of Bedford, but was brought up in Plymouth by his relatives, the Hawkins family. The Hawkins worked as merchants and privateers (pirates) and introduced Drake to sailing. The book opens with Drake’s first posting as crew on the Tiger, a slave ship in the flotilla of Hawkins ships. Drake’s thirst for adventure is satisfied as the flotilla is sails to seek fortune and trade goods in the Caribbean after visiting Africa for a cargo of slaves. Riches handles this distasteful aspect of Drake’s life in a straightforward fashion with tact. He follows Drake through his early voyages and his rise through the ranks to become captain of his own ship. Skirting death and capture by the Spanish during these voyages, he learns of routes used to transport Spanish silver and gold, and risks his life to return to England more than once with a large amount of Spanish treasure, an accomplishment that earned him a substantial reputation along with a fortune. Queen Elizabeth is intrigued by Drake and secretly encourages his piracy. In 1577, she commissions Drake to lead an expedition around South America through the Straits of  Magellan. Sailing the Golden Hind, he becomes the first to complete circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, returning with enough Spanish treasure to force the Spanish to assemble an armada to attack England.   Writing in first person, the author explores Drake’s motives, audacity, personal disappointments, successes and failures with an objective eye. Riches is terse in detail – something I’ve noticed sets him apart from many of the female writers of the Tudor era – but gives us enough of Drake’s world to put us en scene. As a sailor, I especially liked being at sea with him, feeling the deck roll beneath my feet, the force of a good wind, and the swelling and snapping of the sails. It was a surprise to discover that Drake was not the swashbuckling, flamboyant figure I thought he was, but a practical man, certainly drawn into Elizabethan court intrigue but not really of it. Riches creates a real person, one whose main pleasure in life is being the captain of a ship, with a purpose for his voyage. If there is one criticism I would make, it is my frustration with not knowing what the different types of ships mentioned, or on which Drake sailed, look like. A chart or some line drawings at the beginning would have been lovely, along with a map of the Caribbean and the places Drake explored. Notwithstanding that, I think Tony Riches’ first sea voyage is a successful one that will please not on his usual readers but also anyone drawn to sea adventures. About the author: Tony Riches was born in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, and spent part of his childhood in Kenya. He gained a BA degree in Psychology and an MBA from Cardiff University and worked as a Management Consultant, followed by senior roles in the Welsh NHS and Local Government. After writing several successful non-fiction books, Tony decided to turn to novel writing. His real interest is in the history of the fifteenth century, and now his focus is on writing historical fiction about the lives of key figures of the period. His novels Warwick, The Man Behind the Wars of the Roses and The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham have both become Amazon best sellers. Today Tony has returned to Pembrokeshire, an area full of inspiration for his writing, where he lives with his wife. In his spare time he enjoys sailing and sea kayaking. Visit Tony online at www.tonyriches.co.uk, You can find Drake – Tudor Corsair on Amazon at: 0 0

Our much-loved Sally Cronin has posted a wonderful review of my latest book, The Last Pilgrim, on her web site: Smorgasbord Book Reviews – #Historical – The Last Pilgrim by Noelle Granger. I am so honored that she liked it! That book was a labor of love. If you plan to read, are reading, are or have read my book, I’d be so grateful if you’d post a review on Amazon and Goodreads! 0 0

The Covenant is a powerful novel, which gobsmacked me with the fierce emotions of its characters and the immutable future of unending work and forced acceptance of their fate by women in the period of this story. This is a prequel to the author’s best-selling A Time for Silence and is a must-read. Written in first person, the author has created in Leah Owen, the middle daughter of a farmer in Wales at the close of the 19th century, a woman burdened by both love and duty. Her father, Tom Owen, is a tenant farmer on twenty-four acres, one rood and eight perches of stony, hilly land, and together with his oldest son, barely ekes out a subsistence for his family. The farm – Cwmderwen (and I wish I could pronounce it!) – and its house are very real characters in the story, setting a grim, rundown background as the result of debt and poor harvest. Leah has hopes. As the middle daughter, she will be able to marry and leave Cwmderwen to lead her own life. Her oldest sister, a strangely quiet and dour woman, will remain behind to care for her parents. When the oldest son Tom dies, largely because of the ignorance of his father, the father, always pious, becomes a religious zealot. He drives his lazy youngest son, Frank, away. When both the oldest and youngest daughter marry and her mother dies, Leah is left to take care of her increasingly maniacal father, even when love comes her way. She is forced to follow a path of servitude and disappointments to a grim future. Tom Owen’s grandson, John – son of the wastrel Frank – becomes a miniature of his grandfather, claiming his covenant with God in keeping the farm and determined to keep the increasingly unproductive farm. What possible future does Leah have? Can she remain dutiful, even to Frank and her nephew, bound as she is by the community, church and custom? And how can she survive when her every dream is crushed by her family. The author does an impressive job creating a background of isolated and rural Pembrokeshire, the changing seasons and vicissitudes of farming. The detail never becomes heavy but is integral to the story. Her ability to create depth in her characters, their beliefs and piety, and the changes and occasional joys in their lives is exceptional. The reader lives in Leah’s being and the feelings are at times overwhelming. This is a book with a wallop, and I recommend it as an exceptional read. About the author: Thorne Moore grew up in Luton, near London, but has lived in Pembrokeshire in West Wales for the last 35 years. She writes psychological crime, or domestic noir, with a historical twist, focusing on the cause and consequences of crimes rather than on the details of the crimes themselves. A Time For Silence, set in Pembrokeshire, was published by Honno in 2012. It was followed by Motherlove and The Unravelling, set partly in a fictional version of Luton. Shadows, published by Endeavour in 2017, is set in an old house in Pembrokeshire, and is paired with Long Shadows, which explained the history and mysteries of the same house from Medieval times to the late Victorian period. She belongs to a group of female Welsh writers who founded Honno Welsh Women’s Press with a goal of seeing see that women in Wales have a wider opportunity to see their writing in print. You can find Thorne Moore: On Twitter: @ThorneMoore On her website:  https://thornemoore.com/ On Facebook videos: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=608140386514466 And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thorne.moore.7/ You can find The Covenant on Amazon: 0 0

Tufts of fluffy pink and gray Float in stately fashion Over the blue surface Reminding us that We share our  pool With other living creatures 0 0

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