In 1979, fresh out of college, I moved to West Africa, thinking I might live there for a year before returning to school, and stayed for six. I took up residence in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, a fast-growing, impressively sleek, and well-functioning city whose skyline reminded me of Miami’s. I soon began […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/12/22/naipauls-unreal-africa-a-bend-in-the-river-vs-naipaul/
In You Can Hide by Rebecca Zanetti, we are back in the rural Pacific Northwest with FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow as she investigates a serial killer along with Captain Huck Rivers of the Fish & Wildlife Unit. Suspense, a touch of romance and the quaint rural area will have you curling up by the fire as you devour their story.
You Can Hide
by Rebecca Zanetti
Series: Laurel Snow #2
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Rating: 
Heat Level: 
Set against the atmospheric backdrop of rural Pacific Northwest, New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti’s thrilling suspense series follows FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow as she strives to navigate her complicated family life when her newly discovered sociopathic half-sister becomes the target of a dangerous killer. The Blacklist meets The Profiler meets Justified in this fast, page-turning thriller that will have readers guessing until the very end!
What do you do when a sociopath loves you? Rising star FBI profiler Laurel Snow is about to find out …
Calling Laurel Snow’s relationship with her newly discovered half-sister challenging is an understatement. Not only does Laurel suspect Abigail is behind the mysterious disappearance of their father, but her erratic behavior also makes life in Laurel’s small hometown interesting, to say the least. Still, when Abigail claims someone is now out to kill her, Laurel’s instinct to protect her sister goes into overdrive. Then things get even more dicey as dead bodies start turning up in the icy waters of the Sauk River and there’s only one connection among them: Abigail . . .
Having Fish and Wildlife Captain Huck Rivers bringing in those bodies with his dive team only complicates matters. Huck is as impulsive and fiery as Laurel is coolly analytical, which makes their alliance risky at best. But standing up to such a demonically brilliant killer is going to take all the help Laurel can get. Because Laurel’s attempt to save her troubled sister’s life might cost her own . . .
{
“@context”:”https://schema.org”,
“@type”:”Review”,
“datePublished”: “2022-11-29T05:00:00+00:00”,
“description”: “In You Can Hide by Rebecca Zanetti, we are back in the rural Pacific Northwest with FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow as she investigates a serial killer along with Captain Huck Rivers of the Fish & “,
“publisher”: {
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “Caffeinated Reviewer” },
“url”: “https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2022/11/you-can-hide-laurel-snow-2-by-rebecca-zanetti.html”,
“itemReviewed”: {
“@type”: “Book”,
“name”: “You Can Hide”,
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Rebecca Zanetti”,
“sameAs”: “http://rebeccazanetti.com/” },
“isbn”: “” },
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Kimberly”,
“sameAs”: “https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/” },
“reviewRating”: {
“@type”: “Rating”,
“ratingValue”: 4.5,
“bestRating”: “5”
}
}
In the previous novel, You Can Run, special FBI agent Laurel Snow returned home and set up a temporary field office to catch a serial killer. She hasn’t packed up yet when the body of a young woman is discovered. She is partially dismembered and flowers are scattered near the scene. So much violence. Snow and Rivers are soon on the case, and her temporary office is looking more permanent.
First, I love Laurel Snow. My guess is she is on the spectrum. She isn’t good with people, but has an incredible mind. For example, if you ask her, she can tell you how many people she saw wearing hats in the past week and how many of those were red. She is methodical and tenacious when catching a killer.
She is slowly building a team and working alongside Rivers, who some might call a hermit. He lives alone and prefers the company of his dog. However, Snow gets under his skin. The two had a one-night stand that ended awkwardly and I loved seeing them address it. We see some development in their relationship and I am enjoying the slow burn, banter, and growth.
The murder-mystery was intense with plenty of suspects and victims. It kept me guessing, felt grounded and had moments of intensity that will get your heart pumping. Fans of suspenseful FBI thrillers with a side of romance and small-town charm will find this series exciting.
The case is wrapped up, and we are left in a good place with our characters. I am looking forward to the next novel. While each book has its own case to solve, I recommend beginning with You Can Run.
Amazon
You Can Hide by Rebecca Zanetti offers the perfect blend of suspense, romance and small-town living. #LaurelSnow #romanticsuspense #FBI #crimethriller #NewRelease #bookreview
Click To Tweet
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Rebecca Zanetti has worked as an art curator, Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner – only to culminate it all in stories about Alpha males and the women who claim them. She writes dark paranormals, romantic suspense, and sexy contemporary romances.
Never miss a post by adding Caffeinated to your Inbox
Source
Original source: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2022/11/you-can-hide-laurel-snow-2-by-rebecca-zanetti.html
Once There Was a Child is a fun and touching account of your time as a special education teacher. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I wanted readers to realize how difficult my kids’ lives were and that they worked hard to do things that most people take for granted. They blossomed in the school environment because the staff, and especially the principal, stressed a “go for it” attitude. Sometimes my kids succeeded, and sometimes they didn’t, but they never stopped trying. They attempted things that no one had ever given them the opportunity to try—joining clubs, going on Outdoor Education, climbing a tree, rolling down a steep grassy hill, joining a lunch table with “regular kids” or going to a school dance when they couldn’t hear the music. I want my readers to give people who are “different”, disabled, handicapped, or whatever you want to call them, a chance, to accept them and respect them. They will be thankful for what THEY have learned.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to work with special needs children?
Have a great sense of humor. It will get you through the times when you wonder if McDonald’s hires burned out teachers. (They do). But then one of my kids would look at me and ask, “Teacher OK? Teacher sad?” and would give me a hug. I realized that they had shown concern, and an awareness of someone’s feelings. Maybe they couldn’t multiply or divide or understand a story they were reading, but they had shown that they understood and demonstrated kindness and compassion, and I loved them for that.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
It is important to first think of handicapped and disabled people as PEOPLE who need to feel friendship, acceptance, and tolerance. Regular education teachers, family members, community organizations, etc. are grateful to learn how to interact with special needs people. My kids wanted to feel that it was THEIR school too, and were grateful and happy when they were given that chance.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your book?
What special kids and adults have to offer a “regular” person. Give them a chance to do so. You might just make yourself a good friend.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
As a child, Darlene always felt like an outsider and was drawn to others like herself. She learned sign language from her deaf neighbor, Joe, and was the only person in the neighborhood who could communicate with him. The Helen Keller story inspired Darlene. So did the movie Teacher Teacher, which is about a teacher with many demons who works with a severely autistic, lonely young boy. Those teachers brought both of these children into a world they might never have known or become a part of. That’s what Darlene wanted to do. In her first book, ONCE THERE WAS A CHILD, Darlene Kwarta chronicles her journey with children who were often forgotten.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/11/29/i-loved-them-for-that/
For Tristan Hart, conflict means one thing: money. Raised and trained as an elite mercenary by Institute VI, nothing else has ever mattered. Emotions were for the weak, not the successful. One job too many, and Tristan finds himself treading a dangerous line between the Federation and the United Separatist Coalition – a revolutionary group looking to protect the people. Buried neck-deep in politics, forced to see the world for how it really is, Tristan is forced to find his place in the impending uprising and decide which side is worth fighting for. Whether he likes it or not, there’s no place for the impartial. Not anymore. New World Order by Robert Slaughter and Jerry Brown is an action-packed, sci-fi adventure filled with politics, betrayal, and just a splash of romance.
In this book, Slaughter and Brown do a masterful job of creating an exciting and vast world filled with many different characters with conflicting needs and ideals. In a provocative and clever story, the authors know how to hold their audience’s attention with every word. I found myself holding onto the edge of my seat, unsure about what would happen next but excited.
The world-building is extensive and detailed, transporting readers into the action and giving them a complete understanding of what the characters are up against. The story is a breath of fresh air adding new twists to traditional sci-fi tropes. Readers won’t know what to expect next or who to trust. The pacing is wonderfully done, the story is interesting, and the characters are diverse and fun.
New World Order is a thrilling science fiction novel that has non-stop action. The adventure that the readers are taken on is filled with suspense as they wait to see what the next twist in the plotline is. I recommend this book to someone with a deep love of complex science fiction novels. As a long-time sci-fi fan, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I can’t wait for more from Slaughter and Brown.
Pages: 454 | ASIN : B09X6PTPTV
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/11/29/new-world-order/
Going Dry: My Path to Overcoming Habitual Drinking by Sean Robinson is a personal development book that anyone struggling with drinking in their lives will find great use of. Although Sean Robinson primarily detailed his experience staying committed to his new goal to stay away from drinking and resisting the pull of a generational drinking habit, the lessons and challenge protocol gleaned from his struggles can be applied to any area where one experiences difficulty rising above a limitation.
This 12-chapter book leads with a chapter on the legendary new year’s resolution, where everyone promises to lead a better life and improve their undesirable habits. However, this book soon spiraled into the narration of how he navigated his relationship with friends and family, many of whom he had a culture of drinking with and could not come to terms with his new resolve to quit drinking.
One particular thing that Sean Robinson pointed out was that he didn’t necessarily need to have had a traumatic or life-changing experience to know he had to confront his relationship with alcohol. In expressing this vulnerability, he was able to start on his path to going dry.
“The expectation and disappointment in his voice would pierce me and my anxiety about it harder than it should have.”
The peer pressure and the anxiety of having to explain to old friends and acquaintances why you would not want to join in that bottle clink are firmly captured in this sentence excerpt. It was shortly after Mr. Robinson told his friend about his stand on drinking in anticipation of the friend’s wedding.
In perhaps what seems to be the biggest challenge to his new goal, Mr. Robinson offered tips on how to set boundaries with friends who do not understand one’s need to not drink alcohol. However, many would have benefited from his insights if he had delved deeper into how he coped with all that pressure.
Regardless, this book has practical challenges that can help you stay accountable to your goals while navigating the emotions that can sometimes overwhelm you when you suffer a temporary lapse in your journey.
Going Dry: My Path to Overcoming Habitual Drinking is a heartfelt memoir that shares the difficult journey of making changes in one’s life. The honest and direct narrative will help those struggling with addiction to feel they are not alone in their battles. So often, we hear about people hitting rock bottom before making life changes; Sean Robinson shares his story, so others know they don’t have to hit bottom before they can make a positive change in their own lives.
Pages: 122 | ASIN : B0BCQRFK3X
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/11/29/going-dry/
The Unbelievable Truth: My Personal Walk With God, by Elder Emerson D. Broadnax, is the encounter of a man that went from being a drug-addicted alcoholic to a member of the Church, thanks to a sudden and lucky encounter. It follows his path as he starts hearing God’s voice, anticipating seeing God in his life events, and guiding him through his faith.
Broadnax writes straightforwardly, not spending much time on each episode but clearly narrating all of them, helping the reader understand the miracle the Lord had realized for him. I appreciated the multiple quotes from the Bible, which gave more depth to the different stories and might inspire readers. The choice of verses underlines the attention to detail as the quotes all refer to the chapter in question or at least to one of the episodes narrated.
The Unbelievable Truth: My Personal Walk With God, by Elder Emerson D. Broadnax, is an inspiring story. It will guide people who might be looking for their own way or who might need a new perspective on life, just like the author did. I recommend this novel to any reader keen on religious and spiritual themes. Lastly, I would like to end this review with a quote from the author: “This book is about how God delivered me out of a twenty-three-year drug habit and how I have been free for twenty-four years.”
Pages: 52 | ASIN : B0BKNS5Z5L
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/11/29/the-unbelievable-truth/
White Sands Gold by Mike Torreano is a classic Western story set in the late 18th century in New Mexico, America. The story starts with Yancy, who is searching Victoria mountain for the pile of gold his father died trying to find. He discovers a hidden entrance but is buried beneath stone rubble before he can finish exploring the cave. Back at home, his twin sister Lottie waits for him, knowing full well that people come back from the mountain empty-handed or they don’t come back at all.
The story does one thing and does it well – it’s a Western. There are dry plains, guns, plenty of horse-riding, and some shoot-outs, and the scene wouldn’t be complete without a failing ranch in the middle of nowhere that no one visits without a purpose. While the story sticks to its roots, it nonetheless shows that it was written recently. There are several protagonists sharing the spotlight, and one of them is a strong woman who never relies on a man if she doesn’t have to. There are men who are cool but are open about their feelings at the same time. And there’s also a matriarch who doesn’t need to raise her voice to assert dominance in a room of rowdy boys.
The plot is thrilling, the characters are lively, and even the romantic subplot is slow and steady, making it seem more believable than a rushed romance just to include romance. Both pairs are on equal footing in the relationship, which is also very nice to see, especially since the story is set in a time when women had much less power than men. It is a great intro to western literature for anyone interested in these kinds of stories but not knowing where to start.
White Sands Gold is a captivating historical Western mystery that gives readers everything they love about the old west. With characters that are relatable, readers will be engaged and invested in the story’s outcome. This is a novel readers will think about after the story is done.
Pages: 313| ASIN : B0B3714RXS
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/11/29/white-sands-gold/