Jim Dawkins left home at the age of sixteen to pursue his dream of joining the army, and subsequently served with the Royal Green Jackets, including tours of Canada and Northern Ireland. During that time he learnt many important lessons in the ‘University of Life’ that would serve him well in the future, such as discipline, respect, pride and honour, but which, at the same time, would lead to insufferable stress as he constantly battled with his conscience and struggled to swim against the tide. Once back in Civvy Street, and with a new house and a baby to support, Jim decided to join the Prison Service. But what faced him in this new career, which centred on Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs and Belmarsh prisons, shocked him to the core. For this ex-squaddie, who believed in establishing good working relationships with inmates, including notorious long-termer, Charles Bronson, the cancerous environment of staff bully-boy tactics and prisoner victimization was sickening. Jim tells his story, which, although peppered with humorous anecdotes of often lager-induced incidents from both his army and prison days, bears witness to the stark reality of what actually goes on behind prison doors, and exposes both the glaring flaws in the prison system and the atrocities perpetrated in the name of justice, which ultimately forced his decision to leave the Prison Service seven years later. Views: 70
When a startling number of Americans prominent in the fields of science, math or technology mysteriously vanish, two NSA field agents, Ruthanne Carter and Larry Tracker, investigate the disappearances. Unknown to them, Caden Jordan, a highly competent detective, generates strong doubts that certain missing persons vanished of their own accord. The two agents and the detective compile an array of intriguing information that leads them, in company with other specialists within the NSA, to conclude that an alien “Entity,” for some enigmatic reason of his own, is surreptitiously abducting persons with certain abilities and transporting them to an alternate Earth in a parallel universe. When Ruthanne Carter vanishes, Larry realizes that she has been abducted by the Entity. Desperate, owing to his love for Ruthanne, he voluntarily puts himself in a position that increases his chance of being abducted himself. He becomes the next person to vanish. Ryan Bigelow, a geneticist who was the first person to disappear, awakens within a mysterious, shimmering dome. He emerges to find himself in a wild, unpopulated land that he suspects to be the American West, even though it contains an old, abandoned stone city that does not resemble any ancient site in America. Bigelow, who finds artifacts in the city that enable him to survive, exercises a remarkable talent for leadership as new arrivals emerge daily from the dome. When Ruthanne Carter appears, she finds that Dr. Saul Steiglitz, a renowned physicist, agrees with the NSA’s conclusion that an alien “Entity” has teleported the MPs to a parallel universe. Dr. Arthur McConnell, a youthful mathematical genius, concurs in that belief. The final abductee to emerge from the dome is Larry Tracker. When the Entity contacts the group, he succeeds in speaking through Ruthanne Carter, who alone of all those snatched has a mind that can withstand the trauma caused by the Entity’s invasion. The horrified listeners learn just what the Entity is and discover what he wants. Assuming right from the start that the Entity can’t be trusted, they assert themselves, despite knowing that the ruthless alien can kill them instantly. Refusing to let themselves be intimidated, they find weaknesses they can exploit in his mental makeup. The tension escalates as the abductees negotiate with the Entity, struggle against him, and finally devise a means by which they hope they can outwit the murderous alien. Views: 70
From Publishers WeeklyIn this entertaining if predictable sequel to Executive Privilege (2008) from Margolin, policewoman Sarah Woodruff, who's on death row in Oregon, has been tried twice for murdering her lover, John Finley. Sarah's life depends on an appeal to the Supreme Court, but her appeal, if heard, could expose a criminal plot within the CIA. An unexpected vacancy in the court provides one opportunity to quash Woodruff's attempted appeal. For the man at the center of the plot, however, this isn't enough, and a Supreme Court justice becomes a target for assassination. Once again PI Dana Cutler and law clerk Brad Miller find themselves investigating dastardly doings in Washington, D.C., involving a host of conventional characters, from scheming Beltway sachems to a ghetto-raised African-American justice. Thriller fans who like to see the villains receive their just rewards and the good guys come to no harm will find this a comforting read. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromMargolin is usually a sure thing, but this sequel to Executive Privilege (2008) is surprisingly weak. Brad Miller, the lawyer who played a key role in bringing down the U.S. president, is now a clerk for a Supreme Court justice. When seemingly unprovoked attacks on two justices appear to be connected to a pending death-row appeal, Brad and several other characters from the preceding novel race against time to get to the truth. For a debut novelist, this would be an adequate first effort. For a genre veteran like Margolin, it reads like a rough draft: thin characters, dialogue that is frequently stilted, and major structural problems (including a flashback sequence, located in the middle of the book, that amounts to a full third of the novel’s length). Devoted fans will look past the novel’s many flaws to enjoy the intricate story, but this is a far cry from Margolin’s excellent early novels, including Gone, but Not Forgotten (1993) and After Dark (1995). --David Pitt Views: 70
The trailsman is trapped on the warpathSkye Fargo and a cavalry major's daughter have barely survived an Indian attack against their stagecoach when they discover the local Blackfeet tribe is being led by a former army lieutenant- driven insane by the brutal frontier... Views: 70
Since Chris lost his best mate, Dave, cars are all he really cares about. Then Josh Carter moves to town. His dad is a famous racing car driver and everyone wants to be Josh's friend. But as Chris soon discovers, Josh is a bit of a motormouth, and that's where the trouble begins . . . Views: 70
The new Goddess Summoning novel from the author of the multimillion- selling House of Night phenomenon. After her car plummets off a bridge, Isabel, a world-weary photojournalist, struggles between life and death when she's saved by the Water Goddess-with one tiny caveat: Isabel must travel to another time to seduce the legendary Lancelot du Lac away from Queen Guinevere. The handsome knight is a dream for any woman in any century. But Isabel is the one who's seduced by King Arthur. For Isabel, a deal is a deal. Now, the King watches as fate takes from him the mysterious beauty he has come to worship, knowing all too well that any interference on his part could destroy the kingdom he loves. Views: 70
