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Thru My Looking Glass

2/29/2020

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
—-Dr. Seuss

Today my gift to you is information. People keep asking me where they can find all the books that I review, and I did some exploring. Of course the new books are in all of your favorite bookstores, but there are so many older books that are not to be missed. Reading can become an expensive hobby, because if you are like me libraries aren’t always the best solution. I tend to collect late fees like teens collect “likes,” so I am always searching for alternatives.

If you google the following sites and register, you will be surprised at the number of books that are offered free or at a very low cost, every day. Enjoy!

BookBub

Book Sends

Robin Reads Team

Freebooksy

Readers Alley

Ereader News Today

Of course I also work with publishers and get current books to review. When I started this blog five years ago, I asked if any of you would like to contribute reviews to this site. Several people did that for the first year or so, and of course the offer is still up. I will gladly post your reviews, and you will be able to work with some publishers too. Just drop me a line at [email protected] and I can get you started. I have loved my relationship with books (and you all) for many years and would enjoy sharing it with you.

The review I will share this week is A Gambler’s Jury by Victor Methos. This book is two years old but definitely worth reading today. Methos has a current book that comes out March 1. I will be reviewing that soon.

As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly

Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog

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A Gambler's Jury by Victor Methos

2/29/2020

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Genre: Legal Thriller

Click book cover for Amazon.com

Victor Methos is an attorney, so it doesn’t surprise me that he can tell the legal stories that he does so well. His frame of reference is his own practice, and his obvious talent with the written word draws his readers into a world in which he is quite familiar. What does surprise me in A Gambler’s Jury is how successful he is in inhabiting the persona of a female protagonist.

Most men who write legal thrillers do so through the voice of male protagonists. Methos introduces us to Attorney Dani Rollins, a woman fighting her own demons as she fights for her clients. His ability to capture her emotions and speak through her voice is a testament to a truly talented author.

Dani’s latest client is a mentally challenged teenage boy who supposedly masterminded a drug deal that was way beyond his abilities. Someone is setting him up, and the system just might be a part of it. With help from Will, her investigator, Dani does all she can to set Teddy Thorne free from a justice system that is using him to make a point. It is a solid story that keeps the reader rooting for Teddy as the deck is stacked against him.

My only complaint about the book is a general one. Why do authors feel the need to paint all defense attorneys as barely functioning alcoholics? I don’t like to spend a great deal of time around people who are inebriated at parties, so why would I want to spend time with them when I am enjoying a good book? I realize it adds a dimension to a character, but I believe a good author can add a dimension in a more creative way. Methos surely qualifies as a talented author, and I hope he brings a sober Dani back to help fight the bad guys in another book.

- Beverly

Publisher - Thomas & Mercer
Date of Publication - February 27, 2018

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Thru My Looking Glass

2/7/2020

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“Kindness makes a fellow feel good whether it’s being done to him or by him.”
—-Frank A. Clark

I have a positive story today, rather than the depressing news that has been filling our various forms of media. One of the many horrible aspects of our political arena and the coronavirus is our feeling of helplessness. What can we do after all, to make a difference? Well there is always voting...for the love of our country PLEASE VOTE...and we can stock up on hand sanitizers, but in the end we can’t do much.

There is a bigger problem than those two things though, and we can make a difference there. Our society has become so self involved, that being nice seems to be too much trouble. Offering your seat to an elderly person, holding the door for someone with a hand filled with packages, just offering a smile to a stranger seems to be as antiquated as a rotary phone. We need to teach our future generations that kindness is a necessary component to a life well spent.

I always believed that my job as a teacher didn’t end with gerunds and adjectives. Yes, my students needed to learn how to construct sentences and read the classics, but they also needed to learn how to appreciate nature and the people they encountered daily. They needed to learn the joy of giving. Several times a year my students brought in towels/blankets and class would take place on the grass around our campus. What better way to study Thoreau and Emerson than surrounded by the nature that they loved.

Then there was the year that my final exam for my speech class required no studying at all. Instead the students were told to perform a random act of kindness for a friend, relative or stranger during the weeks preceding exam day. They then presented speeches describing what they did, the reaction of the recipient of this act and how it made them feel while they performed this act. The results were astounding. They each put their heart into the assignment and made me proud.

I recalled this today,when I read about a school in Ireland that did a similar thing. They had no formal homework for the month of December. Instead they were asked to carry out acts of kindness and record these acts in a journal of sorts to be signed by their parents. They were given general suggestions but were on their own when spreading sunshine through their neighborhoods. These children were being schooled on the true meaning of the holiday spirit. Families got involved, and the project was a major success.

No matter how old we might be, it is always the perfect time to show kindness. Sometimes a phone call to a lonely relative means more than any material gift you might send. How about spending an entire “family day” untethered to your electronics. Leave the phones at home and go on a picnic with your kids, parents or friends. Take your elderly relative out for the day. Shovel snow for your housebound neighbor. Lead by example. Make the world a kinder place.

Well, speaking of kinder, I am being kind to myself next week. My birthday is coming up soon, and my son, Michael, is coming in on Monday to spend the week with me. I intend to take full advantage of some “me” time, so I will not clean, work or write all week. I will spend quality mother/son time, eat great food and read a lot, but it will all be on my own time. I will be back to reality in two weeks. See you then.

As for this week’s book, I read A Reasonable Doubt by Phillip Margolin. It is a really captivating book, as most of his books are, and I highly recommend it as your March read.

As always a complete review of this book follows my blog,

Happy reading,

- Beverly

Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog

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A Reasonable Doubt by Phillip Margolin

2/7/2020

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Genre: Legal Thriller

Click book cover for Amazon.com

I have been a Margolin fan since I first picked up Gone But Not Forgotten many years ago. He pulls you in on the first page and never lets you go. Most of his books are stand alone, and his plots are always fascinating. He does have one series that I thoroughly enjoy, and A Reasonable Doubt is the third in the series that follows the exploits of attorney Robin Lockwood.

Margolin created such an interesting character in Lockwood that I understand why he doesn’t want to let her go. Aside from being an extremely bright defense attorney, she is a former MMA fighter which adds depth to her character. She is surrounded by several interesting secondary characters, but there is never a doubt as to who is the star of this series.

In A Reasonable Doubt magician Robert Chesterfield requests her help in obtaining patent protection for an illusion that he is about to present. As a criminal attorney Robin explains that she would not be the right choice, but Chesterfield insists. He had been defended in a murder trial several years before by Regina Barrister, former partner of the firm and a legal legend. Regina, suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s, retired from the firm after mentoring Robin to follow in her footsteps. Chesterfield is somewhat mysterious as he gives her a retainer and asks her to please look into his patent protection.

Shortly after the meeting, Robin is invited to the unveiling of his illusion. Chesterfield disappears, as expected, but he never reappears. Robin isn’t sure whether he is in hiding from his many enemies or whether one of those enemies actually harmed him. Following her, as she tries to track him, makes for some very exciting reading.

Margolin does such a good job with his characterization of the despicable magician, that you can easily see any number of people wishing to make him disappear. His characters are always multifaceted though, and the reader continues wondering if perhaps Chesterfield is more than just a con man.

A Reasonable Doubt is a wonderfully plot driven story that will have the reader wondering until the very end.

- Beverly

Publisher - Minotaur Books
Date of Publication - March 10, 2020

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Thru My Looking Glass

A Gambler's Jury by Victor Methos

Thru My Looking Glass

A Reasonable Doubt by Phillip Margolin

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