I love
a good mystery, and this first in the series from Tammy L. Grace is a favorite of
mine. Full of twists and turns, with suspects around every corner, it also has
characters who pulled me in and made me care about them.
The main character is
a lawyer-turned-private detective named Coop, who has a humorous snark about
him. Coop’s loyal golden retriever is always by his side. His Aunt Camille
provides a roof over his head on her huge estate and keeps him well-fed with
all her southern cooking.
The food descriptions will have your mouth watering. The
quirky supporting cast of characters gets involved in Coop’s cases (whether he
wants them to or not), and together, they solve what seems to be an unsolvable
murder.
This is a fast-paced mystery that kept me
guessing until the end and made me want to continue the series.
A murdered music mogul. A high-and-mighty widow. To take down a killer, he’ll shake Nashville to its knees.
***Gold Medal Mystery Winner in the Global eBook Awards***
When private detective Cooper “Coop” Harrington meets record label mogul Grayson Taylor at a swank gathering of country music artists and politicians he never imagines he’ll be investigating his brutal murder less than twenty-four hours later.
The suspects are plentiful. More than a handful of people could have wanted him dead. Retained by Taylor’s widow, Coop works alongside his best friend and Chief of Detectives, Ben Mason. The investigation leads Coop and Ben…
I'm a writer with a passion for telling a story. My passions for characters in a novel are anything that circumvents my ADD, and holds my attention. I don’t consider myself to be a very complex person, however, since my retirement from retail management I now not only have more time to enjoy the works of other authors, but pursue my own works as well. As an author of a sci/fi-fantasy, I’ve discovered that I not only enjoy works in my own genre, but favor those that have an air of mystery about them as well. I've thoroughly enjoyed the Avery Nolan Adventure series, Game of Thrones, and the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.
The Avery Nolan Adventures series was recommended to me by my cousin, who said that she really enjoyed reading them. I believe this author to be extremely talented. I found her stories to be adventurous, mind-provoking fantasies, very much to my liking. Her characters are well defined, her stories well developed, and I find them totally relatable to my kind of genre. Hamilton’s stories reminded me of a cross between Game of Thrones and an old Irish or Scottish fairy tale set in Northern California's modern-day Lake Tahoe area. They are filled not only with adventure, but intrigue, laughter, romance, and heart-filled compassion. I loved the series and am truly looking forward to finding out if she plans to continue Avery Nolan’s adventures. Hamilton has also written a series of mysteries that are worth taking a look at.
Avery Nolan has a secret. A secret she guards fiercely.
But everyone has secrets. Her mother who draws pictures of nightmarish creatures. Her grandmother with her padlocked shed. Her student with the pale eyes and brooding father.
Leaving Sacramento after her divorce, Avery retreats to Tahoe with her golden retriever, Basil, looking for change, but as her grandmother always told her, “Be careful what you wish for.” After Basil discovers a hidden clearing with three standing stones, everything that Avery thinks she knows is suddenly upended.
Each move she makes brings her closer to a world imagined only in fairytales…
Although I’ve worked in many professions and industries, a common theme in all my jobs is that I love helping people succeed in their careers. I’ve started or sponsored employee networks that focused on professional development, I’m a certified coach that focuses on propelling a client’s career, and I am a conference keynote speaker on the topics of careers and leadership. Everyone deserves to have a great career that makes them want to jump out of bed on Monday morning and that provides a good living and lifestyle. I love to make that happen!
You hear the word “talent” used in organizations all the time, with the idea that great workers are talented in ways that others lack.
But is that true? Are all good workers “talented?”
In this book, Geoff Colvin dispels the idea that specific natural talents make great performers at work and instead shows us how the secrets and principles of extraordinary performance that can be used to excel in your career.
Since its publication ten years ago, businesspeople, investors, doctors, parents, students, athletes, and musicians at every level have adopted the maxims of Talent Is Overrated to get better at what they’re passionate about. Now this classic has been updated and revised with new research and takeaways to help anyone achieve even greater performance.
Why are certain people so incredibly great at what they do? Most of us think we know the answer—but we’re almost always wrong. That’s important, because if we’re wrong on this crucial question, then we have zero chance of getting significantly better at…
As a painfully shy child, I found friendship and ultimately my own voice reading about, and spending time with, animals—especially dogs. Dogs didn’t judge, didn’t expect anything from me, and I never had to worry about what to say to them. They gave me the gift of their presence and time to practice communication—gifts that ultimately led me to obtain a master’s degree in counseling and work as a children’s grief counselor. Thankfully I overcame my extreme shyness. And there is no denying the role that dogs—and books about dogs—have played in my life. I hope this list helps you find that same comfort and inspiration.
This book proves rough beginnings can produce beautiful endings.
I read Marley and Me a few years before losing our first golden retriever, Sunny. I had waited twenty-three years to have a dog of my own. My husband and I had looked at more than a dozen puppies before deciding on our perfect little princess.
The first day, our puppy slept like the sweet princess we knew she was! But on day two, she woke up a tyrant. She was the golden retriever version of Marley—and like Marley, Sunny won our hearts and became a beloved member of our family.
She lay in my lap while I read Marley and Me—a good thing because I had to stop reading and hug her a lot while reading the book!
I made so many mistakes with my first German shepherd, Isis, that I wrote a book about her in hopes of saving other people from the same heartbreak and frustration. Then I wound up living with two more German shepherds with similar challenges. Our current dog, Bailey, was undersocialized before we met her, but our past experience showed us how to help her live her best life anyway. My dogs have enriched my life so much that my favorite books are about the ways they save us as much as we save them.
I debated whether to include this book because the author, Iraq war veteran Luis Carlos Montalván, apparently took his own life a few years after it was written, just before the sequel was published. Does that mean Tuesday didn’t “save” Montalván as the title says?
I finished this book wishing that every returning service member could be given a service animal to help navigate their lives after experiencing psychological and often physical trauma. I didn’t warm up to the story right away, because it begins with a description of Tuesday’s training before the author knew him. Tuesday comes alive as a character when Montalván describes their strengthening relationship. Regardless of how the story ended, the healing power of their bond is miraculous and Tuesday did enrich Montalván’s life for the years they were together.
A heartwarming dog story like no other: Tuesday, a lovable golden retriever, changes a former soldier's life forever.
A highly decorated captain in the U.S. Army, Luis Montalvan never backed down from a challenge during his two tours of duty in Iraq. After returning home from combat, however, his physical wounds and crippling post-traumatic stress disorder began to take their toll. He wondered if he would ever recover.
Then Luis met Tuesday, a sensitive golden retriever trained to assist the disabled. Tuesday had lived among prisoners and at a home for troubled boys, and he found it difficult to trust…
Michael Konik is the author of 13 books of fiction, poetry, and journalism, including Ella in Europe: An American Dog's International Adventure, an LA Times best-seller and the inspiration for the Animal Planet series Ella & Me. Surrounded by dogs since toddler age, Konik is currently the owner of Benji, a Golden Doodle, and Billie, a magnificent mutt.
No matter how dark and hopeless we sometimes feel, dogs are always there to lick away our tears. This poignant memoir highlights the salutary power in a dog's unconditional love, offering heartfelt insights into why dogs, of all the animals, have so much to teach, and so much to give, even when all seems lost.
Why do dogs speak so profoundly to our inner lives?
When Mark Doty decides to adopt a dog as a companion for his dying partner, he finds himself bringing home Beau, a large golden retriever, malnourished and in need of loving care, to join Arden, the black retriever. As Beau bounds back to life, the two dogs become Mark Doty's companions, his solace, and eventually the very life force that keeps him from abandoning all hope during the darkest days - their tenacity, loyalty and love inspiring him when all else fails.
I’m an award-winning British singer/songwriter who you have probably never heard of. Since completing my first novel I’ve also titled many other multi-genre works. My passion is based on anything and everything that has never been done before. I say this; “If you wish to feel happy, take a pill - if you seek a cure, then face the truth.” I’ve written songs about 9/11, The Holocaust, Execution by hanging in Iran – all themes that many would say are ‘unapproachable’. I am a Neurodiverse writer who won the Principal’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Education – let me share that success with you. My disability is a gift, not a curse.
I had never heard of Koontz until my wife said to me that my work had huge similarities. She is an avid horror reader, I am not – and to be honest I had always preferred films.
If I was going to have my first novel pigeon-holed then this is where she felt it would sit. It was her finding of the onslaught of vulgarity in my own text (of my killer’s rantings) that drew these similarities. I asked her which book was best to start with and she suggested the title: The Darkest Evening of the Year.
I did see similarities in style – a suspense thriller that incorporates the elements of graphic horror, of sexual fantasy, a good dose of science fiction, and of course; suspense and mystery. It was interesting to see how a reader would separate the text of the creator - from them as the…
A fast-paced and emotionally devastating suspense novel from the bestselling author of Velocity,The Husband and The Good Guy
Amy Redwing recklessly risks everything in her chosen field of dog rescue. When she confronts a violent drunk in order to rescue Nickie, a beautiful golden retriever, Amy has no misgivings. Dogs always do their best, and so will she. Whatever it takes.
Riding shotgun nervously is her friend and lover, Brian, an architect who would marry her if only she were not so committed to these crazy ... heroics! He blames her work for her refusal to marry him. But everything…
I’ve always loved mysteries and puzzles and have been an avid mystery reader since devouring all the Nancy Drew books at our library. There’s such satisfaction that comes from solving a mystery. When I started writing, my faithful golden retriever was always resting at my feet. She was the inspiration and the reason I chose to include dogs in all my books. Having a dog alongside my character allows me to show more depth in the humans in my stories and reveal weaknesses and vulnerabilities they may not be able to show others. I hope you enjoy my top picks as much as I have.
I love this series that features Andy Carpenter, a defense attorney, and his golden retriever Tara. I enjoy the realistic and procedural portions of the book concerning the legal case, this one involving Andy’s father from years ago. Andy’s dad was the District Attorney on Andy’s current death row appeals case, which creates an interesting conflict—the first of many in this exciting case. I think I’m drawn to it because of Andy’s connection to his dad. My dad and I bat around ideas when I’m writing my mysteries, since he’s been in law enforcement for decades.
I also like the subplot of learning more about Andy, his history, and family, since it makes his character feel more realistic and the addition of his golden retriever makes it a must-read for me.
Defense attorney Andy Carpenter manages to sail through any tough situation, whether inside the courtroom or in his personal life. But this all changes when his marriage breaks up and his father suddenly dies, leaving him distraught - and 22 million dollars richer. Andy doesn't know how his father accumulated this fortune or why his father begged him to take on the appeal of a death row prisoner. With the help of his newfound love, P.I. Laurie Collins, and the support of his golden retriever companion, Tara, he discovers a link between three of the most prominent men in New…
I love writing historical fiction. I enjoy the research and creating long-lost worlds filled with little-known historical accuracies that intrigue my readers. It is no surprise then that I enjoy reading about the future - the other side of the coin. I always find it interesting to see how writers create a post-apocalyptic society. What was the catastrophic event? (TCE) What caused it and how do the different characters react to adversity when their old world is taken away from them? Inevitably they have to survive in the new system but will they have learned their lesson or will they return to their old ways?
TCE here is a virus that leaves just one woman alive. I found this quite irritating at first because the law of averages would say there HAD to be at least a handful of other survivors. The story features a woman who would take to her bed for the day if she broke a fingernail. I enjoyed seeing a female character in this role although she has a tendency to be a bit wet. She spends the first few weeks post-TCE breaking into nightclubs, drug dens, and museums and getting smashed. Set in London, it’s a great travelogue for this brilliant city. I started to warm towards her when she finally pulls herself together and we watch as she learns the skills needed to survive.
It's December 2023 and the world as we know it has ended.
The human race has been wiped out by a virus called 6DM ('Six Days Maximum' - the longest you've got before your body destroys itself).
But somehow, in London, one woman is still alive. A woman who has spent her whole life compromising what she wants, hiding how she feels and desperately trying to fit in. A woman who is entirely unprepared to face a future on her own.
Now, with only an abandoned golden retriever for company,…
I am a historian of biology and biomedicine who has always been an outsider. Most of my colleagues have worked on ‘Darwin to DNA’ – evolution, physiology, genetics, and molecular biology. My interests have been in applied biology – parasites, insects, fungi, bacteria, biomedicine, animal diseases, and latterly dogs. It was a book on rabies, that I wrote with Neil Pemberton, that got me into dogs. In our research and writing we explored the wider social history of dog ownership and then, encouraged by the new interest in Animal History, researched how, and by whom, dogs’ bodies and behaviour had been shaped and reshaped, beginning in the Victorian period.
Michael Brandow has an agenda. He wants to change radically how pedigree dogs are bred and valued.
He argues that the preference for standardized fancy forms and coiffured coats should be replaced with a priority for dogs’ health and well-being. Dogs should be valued as companions, not commodities.
Brandow develops his argument historically, starting with the Victorian invention of multiple breeds and the very idea of Dogdom as composed of discrete, standardized, physically uniform breeds.
Not everyone will agree with Brandow, but his strength of feeling and the thoroughness of research makes for an engaging, often witty, and thought-provoking read. The narrative combines social and animal history, psychology and ethics, and stories, most entertaining but some shocking.
A provocative look at the ‘cult of pedigree’ and an entertaining social history of purebred dogs—“a must-read for all dog lovers” (Booklist).
So-called “purebreds” are the mainstay of the dog industry. Expert Michael Brandow argues these aren’t time-honored traditions—but rather commercial inventions of the 19th century that were marketed as status symbols to a growing middle class.
Combining social history and consumer studies with sharp commentary, this reveals the sordid history of the dog industry and shows how our brand-name pets pay the price with devastatingly poor health. It includes chapters devoted to popular breeds such as:
