Hinton Hollow Death Trip Mysterious Book Report No. 443 by John Dwaine McKenna A novel whose first three words are DON’T READ THIS is unique, cocky and almost irresistible . . . but that’s exactly how Hinton Hollow Death Trip, (Orenda Books, PB, $15.95, 400 pages, ISBN 978-1-913193-30-0) by Will Carver starts out. Those three words are a warning from the yarn’s narrator: Evil. It’s letting the reader know
Animals Mysterious Book Report No. 442 by John Dwaine McKenna Animals, (Blackstone, $27.99, 292 pages, ISBN 978-1-09-406588-5) by Will Staples, is a heart-wrenching and hard to read . . . as well as hard to put down, compelling and fascinating novel if you care at all about the wild creatures of the Earth, their fate, and in turn the fate of the planet they inhabit. It’s about poaching. Specifically
The Ghost Moths Mysterious Book Report No. 440 by John Dwaine McKenna The Ghost Moths, (Blackstone Publishing, $27.99, 368 pages, ISBN 978-1-5384-6923-1) by Harry Farthing, is a painstakingly researched, carefully plotted and well-written issues-driven thriller that takes place among the towering eight thousand meter peaks of South Asia’s Himalayan Mountains. The novel is about the occupied nation of Tibet . . . and it’s long struggle for freedom. It
Never Far Away Mysterious Book Report No. 438 by John Dwaine McKenna Bestselling author Michael Koryta never fails to deliver a thrilling and suspenseful edge-of-your--seat read when he writes a new novel, and the recently released Never Far Away, (Little, Brown, $28.00, 384 pages, ISBN 978-0-316-53593-9) is no exception. It begins with a woman named Nina Morgan faking her own death somewhere down in Florida in order to keep
The Unwilling Mysterious Book Report No. 435 by John Dwaine McKenna John Hart is the absolute master of Southern Gothic or Appalachian Noir—whatever name it’s given—and is the single best practitioner of the genre working in America today. In his newest, and just released novel, The Unwilling, (St. Martin’s Press, $27.99, 384 pages, ISBN 978-1-250-16772-9), he takes an introspective and deeply personal look at the effect of the Viet
Prodigal Son Mysterious Book Report No. 434 by John Dwaine McKenna Best selling author Gregg Hurwitz’s newest installment in his compelling Orphan X series has just been released. Prodigal Son, (Minotaur, $27.99, 416 pages, ISBN 978-1-250-25228-9) begins when Evan Smoak—the legendary government assassin known as X, the tenth orphan, who was recruited in his pre-teen years and trained to kill—is lured out of retirement by the unlikeliest of sources:
Eddie’s Boy Mysterious Book Report No. 428 by John Dwaine McKenna It takes a rare and awesome talent to be able to invert the forces of good and evil—to make a stone cold serial killer into a good guy—but that’s exactly what master wordsmith and Edgar Award-winning author Thomas Perry has done in his newest, and best in our opinion, of the four installments of his Butcher’s Boy series,
The Man In Milan Mysterious Book Report No. 422 by John Dwaine McKenna An execution-style murder of an Italian air force officer and diplomat on Sutton Place —in one of New York City’s most expensive mid-Manhattan neighborhoods—begins author Vito Rancanelli’s electrifying new thriller entitled, The Man in Milan, (Polis Books, $26.99, 336 pages, ISBN 978-1-951709-11-1). As NYPD Detective Paul Rossi and his partner, Detective Hamilton P. Turner investigate however,
Remember My Face Thanksgiving Day 2020 Extra by John Dwaine McKenna Our usual custom here at the Mysterious Book Report is to take some time off on turkey day, spending it with family and friends . . . eating, talking, watching football on TV . . . and giving thanks for the many freedoms and the bounty we all enjoy . . . and often take for granted. But
Kill Chain Mysterious Book Report No. 426 by John Dwaine McKenna A “Kill Chain” is the military description for combat in three phases: One, determining what’s happening, Two, deciding what to do about it, and Three, taking action. It’s also a term that’s now used by electronic security experts to describe, intercept and prevent intrusion and theft from computer systems of information, money, or both. Simply put—the kill chain