Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court took a break from wrecking our rights to hear oral arguments in a case about a series of Andy Warhol silkscreen prints of Prince. It was an unusually raucous affair. Justice Kagan ribbed Justice Thomas when he confessed to liking Prince’s music in the 1980s. “No longer?” she asked. […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2022/10/25/warhol-prince-controversy/
Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin takes us to Cuervo, Texas, a sleepy town that is witnessing a boom thanks to Big Bend National Park and surrounding parks that draw visitors. When Ava and her search-and-rescue dog Huck discover an abandoned campsite, it stirs up a cold case.
Vanishing Hour
by Laura Griffin
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Rating: 
Heat Level: 
When a cold case in Texas leads to a sinister string of disappearances, a newcomer to the small town helps a detective piece together the clues in this new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.
Corporate lawyer Ava Burch has had enough of the big city and the daily grind. She grew up with her father, who raised search-and-rescue dogs, in rural Texas and has moved to the small town of Cuervo to spend time in the dry, rugged wilderness near Big Bend National Park. When she and her dog, Huck, discover an abandoned campsite on a volunteer search-and-rescue mission, she’s perplexed, but she carefully photographs it all the same.
All Grant Wycoff can see when he looks at Ava is a city slicker—with her designer jeans and shiny car—who has no business on a serious team made of seasoned outdoorsmen and retired cops. But when she tells him of her findings on the trail, he sees there’s more to her than meets the eye.
Ava’s discovery reminds Grant of the unsolved case of a young woman who went missing two years ago. As they look into the campsite further, another woman disappears under odd circumstances. With time running out, Ava and Grant must work against the brutal heat from both the Texas sun and their own electric chemistry to solve the case.
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After the death of her father, corporate lawyer Ava Burch has had enough of city life. She has moved to the small-town of Cuervo to spend time in the dry, rugged wilderness near Big Bend National Park with her father’s search and rescue dog. When she is called out for a missing person alert, she and Huck find the missing man, but also find an abandoned campsite. She takes pictures, but the chief of police seems uninterested.
When Deputy Sheriff Grant Wycoff gets a look at the photos, he thinks it might be linked to a two-year-old missing person’s case. The tale that unfolds as Grant and Ava investigate was suspenseful and addressed the sizzling chemistry between them.
This was an interesting case with three seemingly unrelated missing person cases. All women lost in the national parks. These parks can be deadly if you walk off the trails, go in unprepared or when the sun is most brutal. But slowly Ava makes a connection between them.
When they discover one of the woman murdered, Ava cannot help but investigate despite Grant’s protests. She is tenacious and the suspense builds as someone doesn’t like that she is snooping.
The romance moved quickly, but hit stumbling blocks because of some personal baggage on Ava’s end. I felt both characters were genuine, and we got some laughs from Huck’s shenanigans.
Vanishing Hour offers a complete romance and mystery, with hints of a second romance to be continued in another book. I hope we revisit Cuervo.
Fans of romantic suspense and murder-mysteries will find themselves at home curling up with Vanishing Hour.
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Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin delivered suspense and romance as women turn up murdered in Big Bend National Park #NewRelease #RomanticSuspense
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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Laura Griffin started her career in journalism before venturing into the world of writing romantic suspense. Her books have won numerous awards, including a RITA Award (Whisper of Warning) and a Daphne du Maurier Award (Untraceable). Laura currently lives in Austin where she is working on her next book.
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Original source: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2022/10/vanishing-hour-by-laura-griffin.html
In the year 2045, mankind has depleted the resources of Earth, and humans are looking to move off the planet in hopes of a fresh start. This is the setting for this thrilling young adult novel. The chosen five are Brian, Jamal, Alex, Kev, and Cecilia in Janet Kravetz’s titular series. Cecilia Miller is a teenage female protagonist in this dystopian future book. Titan is regarded as humanity’s last hope, but everyone can’t afford to travel there. Even more so, not everyone desires to. Duncan Macdougall, a Localist, wants Cecilia and the other four chosen candidates to stop the fulfillment of an old Mayan prophecy and save Earth and its inhabitants. Five Mayan crystals that contain the technology to save the planet are sought after by the chosen five who journey to Mexico in their search.
Sky Curse has a slow-burn beginning, but that gave me time to adjust to the world-building presented by Kravetz. It is futuristic hard science fiction, but it also contains aspects of fantasy and has a measure of reality mixed in. This teen novel is an exceptionally well-written, imaginative, and wholly original work. Along with Cecilia, I was transported to an unfortunate Earth. Cecilia is portrayed as a blonde with blue eyes, which is a little cliché. However, she still has her imperfections and is intelligent, and contributes well to the authenticity needed to make a protagonist come to life. And not to forget, Tony provides the humor and is Cecilia’s go-to companion.
The thought-provoking plot lines will get readers to consider climate change from beginning to end. Although it is hypothetical, nothing seems out of the ordinary or overly complicated. The reader starts to believe that what they are reading might very well be the kind of world we are leaving for future generations, which has a dramatic effect. The novel is written for older teens and younger adults, but Kravetz’s insightful developments and topics are broad enough to appeal to readers with more demanding tastes in literary nuances.
Sky Curse is the exciting start of a new young adult science fiction series, The Chosen Five. Filled with action, drama, paranormal, and fantasy elements there is something for all readers in this novel. Follow the chosen five as they try to save Earth and prevent the apocalyptic destruction of humanity. I can’t wait to see what the series has in store!
Pages: 395 | ASIN : B0B9638NC7
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/10/25/sky-curse/
Nails is a haunting piece of political fiction based on what would happen if viewpoints of certain political factions were to be driven to the extreme. We follow three different protagonists, who all consider themselves to be the hammers that strike down the nails; the weak people, and guide them toward the way they need to be going or bend them and discard them for being useless to the cause. They represent the three levels of involvement and control they have within the organizations they serve: the foot soldier, the propagandist, and the boss.
This is not a dystopian book in itself, I think it’s more of an introduction into a dystopia. This book does a fantastic job of increasing your anxiety concerning politics or potential dystopias with how well it utilizes contemporary worries to ground the story and create an authentic atmosphere. The ending to this riveting novel is fantastically distressing with how probable it could be… or maybe the author just does a great job of making it all feel possible?
I enjoyed the well-conceived narrative driving this story forward. The plot is fast paced and intriguing. There are time skips that keep the reader guessing, but instead of feeling like a fault, they feel like a feature, as they happen more often when the characters start dissociating from the work they were once so interested in. The characters are compelling and unique. I felt like the characters come off as undecided about whether they are against the big plan or for it, and that adds a layer of intrigue to the story. I would have enjoyed a bit more worldbuilding to the story, because what is given is so fascinating and I wanted to know more about the overall world.
Nails is a a thrilling read that is immensely entertaining. This captivating psychological thriller is for anyone interested in how political regimes may develop and how they ensnare different people into believing what they want them to believe. If you’re a reader looking for a political thriller with a unique cast then this is a novel that you’ll certainly enjoy.
Pages: 279 | ASIN: B0BDXRTCPB
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/10/25/nails/
Time Terminus is a novella that could easily be expanded into a full-length novel. This sci-fi action story is about Isaac Templeton, a high-powered lawyer whose puzzling nightmares foreshadow the need for him to eventually travel back in time to save the life of his girlfriend.
Through a series of complex plots and subplots, dipping in and out of time travel that is made possible by alien life, author David Gittlin tells the stories of Isaac and his complicated girlfriend, an inventor and a serial killer with a taste for disguise. The idea at the heart of this compelling story is a good one. There are twists and turns in the plot and plenty of action interspersed through lengthy passages of dialogue that propel the plot forward. The flashback technique Gittlin uses is handled quite well, although there are times it feels like some ideas could benefit from further exploration. The author gives his characters a great sense of depth and range and I wish that the novel was longer so that we can stay with the characters and learn more about them.
The best part of Time Terminus is the skill with which the author handles the complications and paradoxes inherent in any story that deals with time travel. It’s clear he has thoroughly considered the effects on the present if you could go back to the past and do things differently. However, I would have liked to see him explore this in more depth.
Time Terminus: Expect the Unexpected is a quick and entertaining crime and mystery novel that uses interesting time travel elements to really liven up the story overall. The many subplots hint at a much more complicated story than Gittlin gives us, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
ASIN : B0BBSFHRYZ
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/10/25/time-terminus/
At the auditorium in Dreamdale, Mr. Theater Thing wants to put on a show that will really knock the audience dead off their feet! Putting on showstopping performances will be powerful enough to give Mr. Theater Thing great, valuable magic to feed on their souls and dreams. However, Arden and his friends get suspicious that they might not be authentic entertainers, to begin with. Can Arden stop the director from haunting the auditorium before the play gets a chance to amuse the consultation? Before Arden discovers he’s the one who’s actually disturbing the Dreamer’s Theater with his unique talent, he has yet to unleash within himself.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/10/25/dreamdale-a-new-musical-book-trailer/
A cat with a divine mission, Sula has an uncanny ability to sense which parishioners at Old Mission San Juan Bautista (California) need her attention at any given Mass. But…is it really uncanny, or does St. Francis give Sula tasks during her daily conversations with him? Or is she led by God? Sula has developed a special bond with cancer survivors like herself. The bond between her and the Old Mission parishioners saw her through two bouts of cancer, flooding her with gifts: money for surgery, a home for recovery, prayers, and love. In these pages, you will find charming, endearing, and inspiring stories, shared by parishioners and told from the point of view of a lovable and amazingly insightful cat. Once you open this book, you will not close it!
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/10/25/surviving-cancer-healing-people-book-trailer/