The Introverted Detective

 Coming of Age by Andrew Hall is a devotional, with space to put down your thoughts as you go through it. It's written by a friend of mine (who will also see my review on his Amazon page). Let's get into it.  This book features a word a day, with thoughts about that phrase and questions to consider. This is not a fiction book, which is usually what I review. Today I'll talk about my experience with this devotional.  Andrew Hall starts with proving his credibility as a public speaker. He's using this book for his public speaking, in fact, so you might find him motivational speaking before you find this book. He's charismatic, smart, and gives good advice.  My review is not in the same format as my other reviews, mostly because I review fiction primarily (sometimes nonfiction). I will rate it in stars, as usual, but those stars will be based on how inspired I was. This is not my normal way of rating a book. I don't usually review journals and devotionals on my blo...

 I have to rave about this one, both as an Alfred Hitchcock fan and as a thriller/suspense fan. The Hitchcock Hotel is the easiest five star read of this year. I bought it on a whim because I read the plot synopsis. I finished reading faster than I expected to, and I have thoughts - so many thoughts! Courtesy of Audible.com Warning, this blog will have some spoilers in it. Read it yourself and wait to read my review if you want a spoiler-free experience. You've been warned. Don't spoil it for yourself! This book is a fantastic tribute to Alfred Hitchcock. The main storyline, without giving too much of the plot away, is one man, Alfred Smettle, inviting college friends into his Hitchcock-themed hotel for a free stay. From there things are already tense. Odd things are happening, people are getting hurt, secrets are being spilled- that haven't been spilled in years- from senior year at Reville (the university just across the way). You're waiting for the first body to fall...

 This is my review of Ration of Lies by M. Ruth Myers. This is mystery #8 in the Maggie Sullivan series. Maggie Sullivan is a private investigator in the 1940s, navigating a world before and during World War II.  Courtesy of bol.com I love this series. I don't often find female private investigators. This is one of a few books that feature such things. In Ration of Lies, Maggie Sullivan takes the case of a Nisei (Japanese American) family when their son is accused of arson. It starts as a simple case (with some hesitation to take the case), but becomes more complicated as she finds more and more evidence of the boy's innocence. She also has to locate him as part of her agreement and nobody knows where he is.  Amongst all this, we see WWII and its effects around Maggie. You see people sign up too young (a newspaper boy) and someone come back from the war injured. On top of that, the boarding house she lives in is now a little more populated and will take anyone in - when t...

 "Audiobooks aren't really reading" is an opinion I've run into at least once, despite the fact that audiobooks are everywhere on the Libby app and offline. Let's talk about the pros and cons of audiobooks, and why they are absolutely reading.  I once told one of my Bible study people that I listened to my morning Bible passage. The look I got back was a face of "well, that's not really reading" -despite her not saying those words. What she actually verbally responded with was close to that, but not exactly that. Why do people think audiobooks or listening to a book isn't reading? Let's look at that for minute.  Psychology Today has an article on this. According to them, it depends on what you are reading. Fiction is comprehended equally in audiobook and word form. Textbooks and books with complex ideas, not so much. If you are studying something, it might be better to read it physically with your eyes, rather than just with your ears (especi...

 I've been editing my next novella Morrow for a long time. The editing journey has now ended. Let's talk about my next published book and what it's about. It's not released yet, but it will be by Christmas.  I am not giving a date just yet. I have some commissions to wait on before I release Morrow. The release will be months away. I will shout it to the rooftops when it releases. I only promise before Christmas. This cover art was made by Eric Baker (who can be found at  this link on Instagram ). I am so happy with the covers he made. It's far better than I could do on my own. Eric, if you're reading this, thank you! To anyone interested in his work, go find him on Instagram and give him some attention and likes. He deserves it.  Now, onto the main plot summary. This book is a thriller/suspense novella about two young women who stay with the Morrow family for a summer internship. The internship itself is writing a family history of the Morrow family line. (I di...

 Today I did a one-shelf challenge. That means I pick a random shelf and choose a book from only that shelf. This type of challenge will have me picking up books I forgot about, and also mood reading what I want.  Courtesy of labirint.ru This one-shelf challenge is a new thing for me. I saw Emily Fox do it and I liked the idea. I like a lot of her ideas. She's awesome. Look her up and you'll see her cats, too. I want to give credit where it is due. This was not an original idea. Onto the actual book, I spun a wheel and picked a bookcase with one shelf on it. No extra spins were necessary. In my case, the only unread books on the shelf were a few mysteries, my Jules Verne set (only some unread), and some Peter Pan adaptations. I picked out From The Earth To The Moon by Jules Verne. It was short. That was part of the appeal. His stuff isn't actually that long (unless you read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea). They come across like travel journals. I highly recommend his...

 I picked up the book Hawk (the Hawk Series, technically), which is a continuation of the Maximum Ride series. I loved the Maximum Ride series, lived and breathed it as a kid. I looked up reviews before I opened my audiobook, though, and discovered it had mixed reviews from both lovers of the series and people who didn't grow up with the series. Today I make up my own mind on whether I continue. Onward! Courtesy of pangobooks.com Plot-wise, we start with Hawk's narration. She was a kid left at a street corner and she continues to return there. The setting is brutal, a loud noise playing occasionally and an obnoxious governor running a city called "the city of the dead". It was called that because a disease wiped it out and people took the free space (as long as you were okay with throwing a body out of it before you moved in). We see incredible levels of violence in this city, as well. Gangs are everywhere. Gangs run everything. From there we meet all the weird kids a...