The Medici Legacy; Curse or Crime?

     Sometimes when I read a book, I know just the one person the book was meant for. We all have them, don't we? Aunt Sally loves any kind of book about foreign lands, Cousin Tom loves space opera, Mama loves romance with a capital R. Sometimes when I read a book, I simply want everyone else to read it. Sometimes I find books which are both a book to share with everyone because it is exceptionally good and a book I know just that certain someone who will especially enjoy it. Finding such a book is a treasure. So today I bring you a little treasure for your reading pleasure.


The Medici Legacy
By Greg Ahlgren                                                                

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (October 15, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 161434485X
• ISBN-13: 978-1614344858

From Greg Ahlgren's website:

     When Antonio Ferrara of the Italian Polizia di Stato discovers that the seemingly random victims of a Tuscan serial killer are all illegitimate descendants of one Giovanni de Medici, a 15th century Florentine banker, his superior scoffs at his theory while the Italian military police caution him to leave the case alone on the basis of "national security." Undeterred, Antonio enlists Medici scholar Rachel Fuller and, together, they travel to America to unlock the secret.

For the love of Lust, Money & Murder

      Sometimes we read books that just suck us in like a gentle whirlpool, pulling us along, deeper and deeper. Before we know it, we have read the whole book and long to read even more. Often the book doesn't have to be the best book ever written. Indeed, while the Twilight series capture millions and certainly pulled me in, it wasn't Shakespeare or Stephen King. So what makes a book hard to put down?
 For me, it is being vested in the characters or in some piece of the story line. I read Startide Rising by David Brin and while I don't remember the story, I remember reading 'just one more chapter" until four in the morning when I had class at seven! It is the ability of the writer to leave a chapter hanging with the promise of an answer soon, and delivering on the promise only to leave you with another hanging problem.
     With Mike Wells' book, Lust, Money & Murder, I believe the answer to what captures his audience lies in the building of his main character.


Lust, Money & Murder Book 1 Lust
By Mike Wells
Publisher Mike Wells
Pages: approximately 106


From Amazon:
     This book begins with a young and naive Elaine Brogan as she initially pursues her dream of a career as a photomodel. After becoming entangled with a sleazy modeling agency, she decides to become a Secret Service agent, struggling through the arduous training academy. After her first disastrous assignment, she is transferred to Bulgaria. There, she meets Nick LaGrange, the love of her life.

Sometimes We Need a Little Divine Intervention

 
   Did you ever know something, just know something when there was really no way for you to know? Have you ever answered a question you thought you heard only to find out the question was never spoken aloud? For some people these sorts of things happen all the time but for others it never happens. Is it just that we tend to remember when we are 'right' and not when we are wrong or is it something more? What would happen if a government group took advantage of people who seem to have this special ability and how would they go about solving crimes?
    Curious? I was too, so I read Divine Intervention by Cheryl Kaye Tardif. Her take on the way certain abilities might be used in criminal investigations and what limitation such abilities might have was fascinating.

Divine Intervention 

By Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Published by Imajin Books

Pages 220

Life Beyond Diagnosis: "A Hidden Madness"

A Hidden Madness

James T. R. Jones

ISBN: 978-0615571546

Publisher: James T.R. Jones

Date of publish: Dec 29, 2011

Pages: 336

Available at Amazon

There's an old traditional saying that to know someone you have to walk a mile in their shoes. James T. R. Jones, in his autobiography, “A Hidden Madness” takes us on precisely such a journey, lasting from his high school days through becoming a tenured law professor.

Most of us understand that being a law student is one of the most demanding of academic tracks (the old TV show “Paper Chase” did a fair job of showing the pressures), academically, socially, and, for those lawyers who qualify to teach, politically, challenging. Focus, self-confidence, long hours, and good social skills are critical.

But what if a student had a secret? What if he had an illness that was so stigmatized that simply letting anyone know he had it would jeopardize his chances for a successful career? If he had a broken arm, or was in a car accident, or developed cancer, there would be some degree of understanding, but this was different.