“You're never alone when you're reading a book.”
― Susan Wiggs

My family thinks it is a bit strange that I carry my iPad mini EVERYWHERE I go, because I need constant access to my books.  It is not that I have to read at all times, it is that I have to know that I CAN read whenever I feel the need. I also love to discuss the books that I am reading. Sometimes other people see things so differently than I do, and that gives me an entirely new way to approach a book.  That would make you think that I am a prime candidate for a book club, but alas, my schedule and my frequent bouts with isolationism make that difficult.  I am actually hoping to get a book club of sorts started on this site. We can get a group together to pick a book and discuss away.

I am getting ahead of myself as usual.  For now I want to say how excited I am with the response to this blog.  We have had lots of hits but not enough participation on your part.  I need you all to tell me what books are going to be great companions. Even one or two lines will send me in the right direction.  I am hoping to add reviews, mine and yours, every few days, and change Thru My Looking Glass every two weeks.  I will feature a new author each month and promise you will love them. April's author is James Grippando, an author who caught my attention years ago, with The Pardon and has followed that winner with many more great novels. His latest book, Black Horizon, mixes politics and the law in a way that he does so well.


To make things easier for you, I am setting up an area for people to subscribe to this site. I will then email out a link each time there is an update.  To entice you, I will pick an entered name at random, on May 15. The winner will receive a $25.00 Amazon gift card.

Hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holidays and has a chance to catch up on all of the great new books that have been published.

- Beverly

Genre: Legal Thriller

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It is always fun to discover the first book in what will assuredly become a much loved new series.  The Professor introduces us to a lawyer, Thomas Jackson McMurtrie, who answered the call of his beloved coach,  "Bear" Bryant and became a law professor at University of Alabama forty years ago.  Politics have changed, and he is forced out of his position.  In poor health, McMurtrie retires to his farm until an old friend seeks his help. She believes that there is more to the "accident" that killed her family and needs a lawyer to prove it.  Unwilling to take on the case himself,  the former ace lawyer sends her to his former student, Rick Drake.  Drake is young, inexperienced and not a fan of the professor. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the relationship of these two will grow into one of respect, but it is fun watching it happen.

Bailey writes with the little traces of wit that many in this genre use, but unlike many, it never feels forced. He wrote a book that is rich in description and detail.  I experienced the Deep South along with the novel's characters. Watching the case build and the two men slowly start to build a relationship, makes this an exciting and comfortable read that I hope will become the first of a series. While I read this book in ebook form, it is also available in paperback.

- Beverly

Publisher - Exhibit A
Date of Publication - January 28, 2014

Genre: Historical Thriller

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Sam Bourne (pseudonym for British journalist Jonathan Freedland) writes his novels showing a journalist's love for research and history.  This is his third novel, and it was published in 2008.  He had another published in 2010 and one in 2012, but the reviews were not good, and I never was able to find them. I did read the two he wrote before and thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

Freedland has spent over twenty years covering the struggles in the Middle East, and this novel deals with Judaism as well as any I have read.

The story begins with the death of seventy-seven year old Gerald Merton. He is an elderly British citizen who is shot by a United Nations' security guard on alert after a tip about an alleged terrorist attack. Fearing that they were in for a major international incident after killing a seemingly innocent tourist, Henning Munchau, primary legal counsel for the U.N.,asks attorney Tom Byrne to help.  Byrne has had a bit of career trouble, but he owes Munchau a favor and takes on the task of meeting with Merton's daughter Rebecca, in England.

While talking with Rebecca, Tom picks up a notebook he mistakes as his own.  Before returning it, he reads it and finds it belonged to Gerald Merton.  It contains details of his parent's murder suicide and the capture of him and his sisters by the nazis.  The more that Byrne searches (with Rebecca's help) into the past, the more confused they become. Merton was the sole survivor of a nazi massacre, escaped and joined a resistance group determined to extract vengeance.

There are many complications in the United States, but I don't want to give any more of the story away.  I recommend this to anyone with an interest in a well written historical novel that will keep you up at night trying to understand how human beings can rationalize committing acts of horror and still go home at night with smiles on their faces.

- Beverly

Publisher - Harper
Date of Publication - December 2008

Genre: Political Thriller

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I am drawn to well written politically relevant thrillers, and Deep Deception definitely falls in that category.  James North, former political analyst and U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer,  did his research on climate change and the politics surrounding it.  He introduced a protagonist, Caroline Dupre, who has personal reasons to expose a diabolical plan.

Caroline's husband, a political activist, is killed during a protest he organized in Malaysia. She finds out that he was killed to keep him from revealing a plot by corrupt politicians and industrialists. Global Warming has become such a hot button topic, and it is good to see it handled well here.  These same assassins believe she has information that is also dangerous to their intended outcome.

Although I found the dialogue a bit drawn out in parts, the book was exciting to follow, as Caroline tries to save herself, her son and  millions of others.  It was fast moving and topical, and I am looking forward to North's next book

- Beverly


Publisher - Crooked Cat Publishing Ltd
Date of Publication - November 3, 2013

Genre: Legal Thriller

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Although I am seemingly reviewing the novel Open and Shut, I am really hoping to introduce you to a wonderful series of books (the 12th one due out in July), about a defense attorney who captured my heart several years ago.  Andy Carpenter is a charmer. His sense of humor is often sarcastic but never mean. His literary illusions keep the English teacher in me happy, and his discussions with his golden retriever, Tara, keep the whimsical part of me well satisfied.
 
Open and Shut is probably the weakest of his books, but it is still quite entertaining and introduces us to several of the characters.  Much like Harlan Coben's series featuring Myron Bolitar, the supporting characters often steal the show, but also like Myron, Andy knows how to bring the spotlight back on him.
 
This book introduces us to Andy's dad, Nelson, who is a straight laced District Attorney.  Andy and his dad are close, and when Nelson asks him to defend a death row rapist/murderer who is seeking a new trial, Andy agrees.  Nelson had originally prosecuted the case, and something seems a little off to Andy.  Unfortunately, Nelson dies during a Yankees game the two attend, and Andy is left on his own to solve the puzzle.  He is also left an unexpected 22 million dollar estate.  Andy never had much respect for wealth or power, but this money allows him to take only cases that he believes in and builds a great foundation for the books that follow. He is also left a very old photograph that leads him to question how involved his dad was in that case so many years ago.
 
Andy lives in suburban New Jersey, and I enjoy his descriptions of the area.  He is also an ex-athlete and major sports nut, and this brings another dimension to his stories.
Last, but certainly not least, I loved following his attempts to romance different women throughout the series.  I suggest that you buy the first few books because you won't want to stop once you get involved with this group of characters.

- Beverly


Publisher - Grand Central Publishing
Date of Publication - November 2008

Genre: Political Thriller

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This is a story of intrigue, suspense, disaster and possible terrorism, but make no mistake, this is first and foremost a love story.

I have been following the adventures of Jack Swyteck for twenty years.  I have watched him develop over the years and was thrilled to see this one open with a wedding.  In Attorney Jack Swyteck's world it would be unusual to actually make it through a honeymoon though.

This story takes us to Cuba and a drilling explosion in Cuban waters.  The oil is flowing towards Florida shores, and the United States is helpless. Politically we are not allowed to even help with the clean-up.

Jack represents an American woman whose Cuban husband was killed on the rig.  As in all Grippando novels, Jack gets much more involved in the politics of the disaster than most lawyers would.  His new wife, Andie, is an FBI agent on an undercover mission that is also involved with this crisis.

The involvement of Jack's sidekick, Theo, gives the reader the lighter moments in this exciting novel.

Black Horizon should definitely be the next book you pick up.

 -Beverly
 

Publisher - HarperCollins
Date of Publication - March 4, 2014

Genre: Political Thriller

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Darla Cavanagh is a captivating protagonist for this topical story.  She left Philadelphia with her local football hero husband and moved to his home town of Jackson, Mississippi. She begins working as a detective for the sheriff's department but takes a leave of absence when her husband is suddenly killed in an automobile accident.
 
Reverend Jimmy Aldridge spends his days protesting in front of a women's clinic. It is there that he is shot dead one day, and though the list of suspects is long (and interesting), all eyes turn to the clinic's doctor, Stephen Nicoletti.  The sheriff convinces Darla to come back and work on the case.  I had trouble dealing with her Elvis impersonating partner but admit he added to the story.
 
Although there is nothing startling about the storyline, Gusick handles it well.  He makes the reader want to find out more about each character while shining a light on an uncomfortably controversial topic. I really enjoyed how well he portrayed the southern culture without focusing on stereotypical characterization.
 
I am hoping Gusick is working on a second book with these characters and recommend this one as a great first in a series.

- Beverly


Publisher - Alibi
Date of Publication - November 18, 2013