Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich

Book of the Week: Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel
Janet Evanovich (Author)

After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton’s premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it’s on Stephanie to track down the con man. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape . . . or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff’s lips seem to be tighter than the security, and it’s hard for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing from the same hospital, Stephanie is forced into working side by side with Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, in order to crack the case.

The real problem is, no Cubbin also means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money—or maybe just desperate—Stephanie accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly Special Forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again—a little food poisoning, some threatening notes, and a bridesmaid’s dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone . . . or did they? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she’ll have to remember: No guts, no glory. . . .

Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel
Janet Evanovich (Author)

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Doomsday Diaries I by Aaron Powell

Featured Book Review: Doomsday Diaries I
Aaron Powell (Author)

Aaron Powell’s Doomsday Diaries I is about Luke, a 13 year old boy who flees to a bomb shelter with his parents after a large scale nuclear attack has annihilated the Earth. Luke and his parents stay down there for four years, during which he learns weaponry usage, physical exercise, physics and other subjects that Lukes father feels his son needs to survive in the post-apocalyptic wilderness that is the Earth. Luke’s father had no idea how right he would be. Powell’s book will appeal to both science fiction fans and lovers of action-adventure stories.

In the year 2024, Luke was just your average home schooled thirteen year old. When his father gets wind of a worldwide nuclear attack, he has his wife come home, where the whole family quickly prepares to have their lives turned upside down in the midst of world annihilation. They arrive at their bomb shelter, where Luke and his parents quickly adapt to life in an underground bunker. When radios in the bunker pick up the frequency of some soldiers on a mission, the curiosity gets the better of Lukes family. They soon meet up with a Mr. Winthrop, who tells them about a New World Order that has been pulling the strings of the Earths most powerful figures for centuries. Luke and his parents are then separated. It is when Luke goes to a shelter for kids his own age that he meets Kara, a beautiful young woman who is sticking to her morals despite the sexually charged mission of the department to which they’ve been assigned.

Luke eventually escapes, but vows to come back for his love Kara and to find his parents. An interesting theme that runs throughout the book is adolescent sexuality, specifically societys role in shaping the sexual maturity of its young people. This takes place as Luke’s parents teach him to be a loving and sexually responsible adult and goes all the way to the shelter/prison, where sex is in the face of its occupants 24/7. This theme is at times treated with a light, humorous touch, and then develops into something more dystopian.

Powell’s book is in a diary format, which really brings the reader deep into the recesses of Luke’s mind as he lives life underground, fights armed soldiers and emotionally connects with a young woman for the first time. The depth of the characters are such that you will end up rooting for either the bad guys to get their comeuppance or for Luke, Kara and his parents to all have their happy endings. If you’re looking for a thrill ride of a book that gives a haunting portrait of a post-apocalyptic world and has all the action and adventure that you crave in your movies, then Doomsday Diaries I should be the next book on your must read list! Aaron Powell is an author to be watched, as his exciting, entertaining books should be in the hands of more readers.

Doomsday Diaries I
Aaron Powell (Author)
ISBN: 1478101741

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The Last Man: A Novel by Vince Flynn

Book of the Week: The Last Man: A Novel

Vince Flynn (Author)

An invaluable CIA asset has gone missing, and with him, secrets that in the wrong hands could prove disastrous. The only question is: Can Mitch Rapp find him first?

Joe Rickman, head of CIA clandestine operations in Afghanistan, has been kidnapped and his four bodyguards executed in cold blood. But Mitch Rapp’s experience and nose for the truth make him wonder if something even more sinister isn’t afoot. Irene Kennedy, director of the CIA, has dispatched him to Afghanistan to find Rickman at all costs.

Rapp, however, isn’t the only one looking for Rickman. The FBI is too, and it quickly becomes apparent that they’re less concerned with finding Rickman than placing the blame on Rapp.

With CIA operations in crisis, Rapp must be as ruthless and deceitful as his enemies if he has any hope of finding Rickman and completing his mission. But with elements within his own government working against both him and American interests, will Rapp be stopped dead before he can succeed?

The Last Man: A Novel
Vince Flynn (Author)
ISBN: 141659521X

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Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle FamilyWhether one has a love for digital reading devices or old fashioned books, any avid reader will want to check out the new Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Paperwhite. The Kindle Fire HD comes in both a 7” version and an 8.9” version. They are priced at $199 and $299 respectively, with the Kindle Fire HD 4G going at $499.

With special offers, the Kindle Paperwhite is only $119, and without those offers, it is still only $139. The Kindle Paperwhite 3G is $179. This is a great deal, given all of the great, innovative features that come with this product. They are all sleek, slender products, which are easy to hold. The screen of the Kindle Fire HD is slightly larger at 7”, as opposed to the Paperwhite at 6”, and is also heavier, but still not cumbersome.

  Kindle Paperwhite Patented Built-in Light Technology

For the Paperwhite, the light is built-in, so everything read is illuminated evenly across the screen, and 62% more pixels means better resolution, regardless of the readers actual lighting condition. The brightness is fully adjustable. Everything is illuminated and clear, with no glare. This edition has a contrast 25% better than other versions, which lends for sharper, darker text, and is thus easier on the eyes in that way as well. The fonts are hand-tuned and have a feature that allows for adjustable font sizes.

 

 The Kindle Fire sports LCD for display technology, and the Kindle Fire HD is thus HD LCD. The Kindle Fire HD works with a ten point multi-touch, and the Paperwhite responds to a two point multi-touch.

These gadgets are great for on the go reading, at the beach, or even just in bed. With no glare and no harsh backlight, this soft, even glow is easy to take around. No plug around will not be a problem because the Kindle Paperwhite has a battery life of 8 weeks. The reader won’t need to worry about running out of space either, as this holds up to 1,100 books, and new titles can be downloaded in under a minute with built-in Wi-Fi. 180,000 titles are Kindle-exclusives, including works by classic, best selling authors.

There is a Kindle Owners’ Lending Library available with Amazon Prime, for those readers who wish to borrow a title for free with no due dates. A smart new feature processes the reader’s general speed, in order to calculate when the reader will be done reading a chapter. Also, there are no parental controls, and children’s books are supported. The “special offers” are an interesting feature for the Kindle Paperwhite version. The offers appear as part of the screensaver, and thus do not interrupt the reading experience.

The 8.9” Kindle Fire HD is about $200 less expensive than the Apple iPad, when only with Wi-Fi, it has the same amount of storage, it’s a bit lighter, and only a slightly lower amount of pixels per inch. Both sport Bluetooth. The Kindle Fire HD is simply a lower cost alternative for the essentially the same product. The 7.0” Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Paperwhite are now on sale at Amazon. The 8.9” Kindle HD is available for pre-order at Amazon and the expected ship date is November 20th. – GoodbooksToday.com