“Shed Girl”

 

Runaway children are disappearing.

What if you’re a runaway yourself…would you jump into the fray to save a runaway child? Would you protect yourself at all costs? What about the adults in your life - both past and present. Who can you trust?

It’s hard to imagine the life of a runaway, whether it is a child or a teen. How do you survive from day to day? How do you cover your basic needs of food and shelter? What does your future hold? Who can you trust?

What if someone came along and offered you a hot meal and a warm bed…would you take it? What if there were strings attached? Who can you trust?

There must be someone out there looking for you, right? Where is the family in all this? Broken? Unavailable? Dead? When your life experience shows you there is no one that has your back…who can you trust?

Dear Senator Rosen

Dear Senator Rosen,

I am writing to you today out of sheer panic. I watch the news. I see what’s happening in Washington, and what it’s doing to our country. Please help me understand.

What is going on?

Life around me continues as if nothing is happening. But that’s not true, is it? People are worried. Scared. Frustrated. We’ve been thrown into chaos. Yet, for the most part our daily lives have not changed. I fear the other shoe will drop…soon.

How can I help to alleviate some of this stress that I am feeling? Where should I look for answers? Solutions? When should I start to worry that my parents will have to move in with me when their Social Security is cut? How will I pay for medical care when there is no Medicare? Are these things really on the chopping block?

I spent over 20 years in education, my mother taught at Head Start. We nurtured hundreds of students, telling them that their futures were full of possibilities. Is that still true?

I want to see the silver lining in all this. I want to go to sleep each night knowing that tomorrow will be better than today. I want a country that respects ALL of its people, not just a select, entitled few.

So, please tell me that you have all the tools you need to get our country back on track, to be the great nation it once was. Tell me you’ve got my back. Tell me it’s all going to be okay. And, tell me, what can I do to help you?

Thank you for your time,

Lori McMullen

Reno, Nevada

“How Not To Murder Your Ex”

 

What wouldn’t you do to protect your child? What wouldn’t you do to prove your “bestie” isn’t a murderer? What wouldn’t you do if your life depended on paying off a loan shark? What wouldn’t you do to save your family’s name?

How would you navigate through all the lies? The blackmail? The chaos?

We want to believe that people are intrinsically good…but what happens when they’re not? You must find the courage to save those you love. You must own your truth. And, never give up, even when the odds are stacked against you.

Surround yourself with people who love you and support you. People who always have your back. Keep your head high. Fight like hell. And maybe, keep your fingers crossed, you know, just in case.

“Seams Like Murder”

Post World War I. New Zealand. Cozy Mystery.

Murder. Secrets. Ambition. Lies. Money.

When you make a deal with the devil, you never really know what you’ll get. But what if you don’t know that’s exactly what you’re doing? What if your heart is in the right place? That you believe in human goodness. That things always have a way of working themselves out? What if you find yourself on the wrong side of a murder investigation? 

Perhaps, you should take matters into your own hands…

I have so many questions AND I’m hoping for some romance (but NOT with Frank) for our protagonist. I suppose I will have to continue with the series.

“Bookish People”

 

I know I’ve said it before…my state of mind affects how a book “hits” me. That being said, and given the state of our country at this moment, there is only one word that describes this novel; CHAOS.

Overworked. Underpaid. Disorganized. Scatterbrained boss. High maintenance authors. Confusion. Secrets. Chaos.

I know others found the book quirky and funny. I felt overwhelmed and frustrated. Part of me even wanted to reach into the book and organize the bookstore, slap the owner, and give the events manager a spine.

Saving grace: Qwerk III and Kurt Vonnegut Jr riding the roomba.

“The Book of Goose”

 

I’m confused…two teenage girls growing up in a small village in France in the 1950s. Both peasants. One is able to continue her education, the other not. Simple lives. What could go wrong?

Boredom.

What if these two create an alternate world for themselves? Pushing reality to the limit. Using their imaginations to find happiness where none may exist.

Selfish.

Finding a way to enhance their lives, but at the expense of others in their village. Ultimately pushing one of them out of the “nest” they created for themselves.

Opportunity. Jealousy. Comeuppance. Change. Friendship lost.

I suppose it was a matter of time before the girls' experiences changed their relationship. What they wanted in life no longer mirrored their teenage desires.

Separation.

I’m still confused…

“Silver Nitrate”

I know that reading Moreno-Garcia’s novels will take me on an adventure. I know that she will stretch my imagination. I know she will suck me in, chew me up, and spit me back out wondering the whole time; what the hell just happened?

Horror films. Occultists. Runes. Magic as technology. Murder(s). Spells. Nitrate film.

What could possibly go wrong? To believe or not believe. Take it all at face value? Study it? Dig deeper? Fear where your research may take you? Become a believer? Put your life on the line?

Not your everyday sleight-of-hand magic. Moreno-Garcia goes for the shadowy dark, evil, not to be trusted magic. Still wondering…what the hell just happened?

“Mother-Daughter Murder Night”

 

What happens when life lands you in a situation you have no control over? How do you make sense of all the chaos? How do you limit the damage? What do you do when you feel you’re not needed?

Pride. Control. Love. Family. 

How do you solve a murder and not end up a fatality yourself? When do you realize that everything you thought you needed is right in front of you? How do you mend relationships and not lose yourself in the process? How will the future you thought you wanted differ from the new one you’re creating? Will it lead to a “happily-ever-after” ending?

“The Fugitive Pigeon”

 

It’s never what you think it’s going to be.  A romp. A cop. A gangster or two. A love interest. A weird uncle. A friend.

Organized crime…murder. Spies and informants. I’M BEING FRAMED! This is all a big misunderstanding. 

Where this all started to where it ended was rather circuitous; but well worth it. Colorful characters. Interesting plot. Satisfactory resolution.