I do hope the month of February is going well for you. It’s been quite warm here at The Cave.
This evening’s gem came in the morning mail, in a package wrapped in old newspaper. When I opened it an odd sound came out, like labored breathing and then slowly stopped. All that was in the package was a skeleton key, the type used in old, stately homes. This one however turned blood red and then back to its cast iron black. I laid it on the table, next to the tea things and had just relaxed when the key began to vibrate…it then stood on end and spun,the tale pouring forth like heavy rain. Appropriate, since I was shaking and soaked with sweat by the end of the telling. This is Dragon Feeder Darin Miller’s “Circumvention”.
Once more into the breech Darin takes us to the now not so reluctant Amateur Detective Dwayne Morrow’s corner of Ohio. He is sleuthing for a co-worker, trying to dig up dirt on her husband. He doesn’t feel good about it, but it’s practice, he rationalizes to himself. A simple, boring job, following this seemingly simple retiree. He will look back on this boredom with fondness in the not too distant future.
While chasing said retiree, who has spotted him and decided he’s having none of it, Dwayne finds a body, a dead one, and none too nicely treated by the last one to see her alive. He discovers it’s the work of a local serial killer whom the media has dubbed “The Eviscerator”. Looking for cheating husbands is one thing, finding a mutilated body is a whole ‘nother animal, as they say in these parts.
I don’t do spoilers, right? So I am about to tell you how this book made me feel. I LOVED IT!! Do you remember watching a movie as a kid, that scared you so badly you covered your eyes and watched through your fingers? This is “Circumvention”.
The book is filled with tension on several levels. The murders, the crazy co-worker, and the romance. Miss Melanie seems to have a new beau in the form of one of her college professors, or does she? There’s a weird newspaper reporter and an FBI agent determined to get Dwayne to get off his proverbial bottom and become a real detective. Miller knows how to dance on the edge of the knife, how to keep the suspense up while at the same time, bringing his readers along for the ride. I had to put the book down and breathe several times.
Mr. Miller is Ohio’s Thomas Harris. If you enjoy mystery, if you love suspense, if you devour psychological thrillers, you need this book. Now!
If you aren’t into series, it’s ok. This stands on its own. For those of us who do enjoy an excellent series, Mr. Miller just released his next tale in the series, “Abduction”.
It’s sold wherever your favorite tales are peddled.
Until next time, I remain your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
Thank you to Mr. Morrow for the review copy. My opinions are, as always, my own.
I hope you are well this evening and that January has been kind to you. Our gem this evening came to me in a crystal case with a small white pin feather. I set it on the table in front of the fire and watched the light spray prisms around the library. Then I heard a small crack and suddenly a flash of light blazed the room and this tale came pouring forth.
This is Dragon Feeder Cheryl R. Lane’s fourth installment in her Angel Series. Treasured Dreams continues the Wellington family story. I first reviewed Ms. Lane’s ‘Wellington Cross’ four years ago. She is a prolific writer who has brought a twist to her Wellington history. As you know I don’t do spoilers – you’ll have to read it for yourself . However, let me tell you what I liked.
I very much like the characters. They are down to earth despite their living situations. I liked Dr. Courtney Beck the most. She’s a middle aged veterinarian, a little on the plump side who loves her patients and the people who care for them.
The setting is very laid back, relaxed and country. No big city lights here.
This is not your usual romance novel though, there are elements of the paranormal and a bit of the darkness that is our modern world. If there is a moral to this book, it’s simply this: Family history is important and family gets us through.
If you love romance with down to earth characters, a bit of the mysterious with a touch of the otherworldly, this is for you. I warn you, you’ll be hooked and want to read the rest of the series! That’s another reason I really liked this book, it stands alone, but can be read as part of the series.
It goes on sale this week wherever your favorite books are sold.
Until next time , I remain your humble Book Dragon,
We are bracing for a big winter storm here. I hope we all stay warm, dry and well supplied with food and tea. I have a stack of Dragon Food right here on my table.
Our gem this evening came to me in a small jewel box with designs of intricate dragons carved into it. When I opened the box, a wail, like many voices in fear and pain rose forth in a moment. In the bottom of the box was one small grain of rice. When I touched it, the grain broke apart and the tale streamed out.
This is first time Dragon Feeder Yeonmi Park’s “In Order to Live”. It is a North Korean girl’s tale of her journey to freedom and how she rescued her father and mother.
Yeonmi and her family lived under two generations of the Kim Family. Her parents resorted to working the black market to survive. After a period of relative prosperity, as prosperous as one can be in a country with little electricity, starvation wages and barely any food to be had. Eventually Yeonmi’s family had to escape or go to prison, reeducation camps or be killed or starve to death. This is the tale of that escape.
Yeonmi holds nothing back as she weaves the ugly details of human trafficking in China, the distinct possibility of being returned to North Korea and certain death and surviving people who made their money off souls and flesh. I could feel the fear and heartache pouring out of the pages. I cried with her when her dear father died. I found myself holding my breath at each escape and every border.
Yeonmi’s is not just her story, but every person’s who lives under Communist or evil regimes. People who just want to live life in freedom and prosperity. This should be required reading for every highschool student, along with “The Diary of Ann Frank”, “The Pale Faced Lie” by David Crow and “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. I encourage each and every one of us to donate a copy to our local highschool library, gift it to every teen we know and our churches or synagogues.
Yeonmi can also be followed on her YouTube channel: The Voice of North Korea.
Until next time, I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
Thank you to my Mate for gifting me this as a Christmas present. As always, my opinions are my own.
I am sitting here in the Cave’s library listening to the winter winds howl and rage as rain falls in torrents, raging against the rock walls.
This evening’s gem came to me in, of all things, a baby rattle. I looked at the shades of blues and pinks and shook it gently. A soft glow began to pulse as the sound of a mother’s laughter broke forth. The type of laughter only a mother has as she watches her Nestling do break into a wide grin at the mere presence of his mum. Suddenly, the rattle broke and rather than seeing a bead, I saw a single tear. A tear that comes from happiness, sadness or simply living with the Nestlings Set.
This is first time Dragon Feeder, Dallas Louis’s “Why Some Animals Eat Their Young”. This is an hilarious, sometimes bittersweet, look at modern motherhood from one who knows.
This may not seem like a Tea Time book but it is. It is an honest look and conversation about the good, the bad and the ugly of being a Mama to small children. Dallas had three in 26 months. We get to watch them grow up and join in the adventures, the scares and the heartache.
With chapters titled Disney, Alien Adventures and Other UFOs, You Shoved What Up Your Nose? you can’t be disappointed. This is the stuff of memories that Nestlings will remember and talk about long after they are grown.
In case you can’t tell, I loved this book. Give this to new mamas, old mamas, mamas of teens and mamas of babes. I have a mama or two I may send this to myself. It’s sold wherever fine books are sold.
Until next time, I remain your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
Many thanks to Sandra Jonas Publishing for the review copy. #sandrajonaspublishing
I do hope you had wonderful holidays and that the New Year brings you many blessings! Our gem this evening came to me in an old laundry detergent box. As I opened the box the smell of cleanliness, sensibility and adventure arose. I looked inside and some suds began to glow and the book then formed in my claws.
This is first time Dragon Feeder Becky Blades’s “Do Your Laundry or You’ll Die Alone”. It is an enchanting book of a mother’s advice to her daughter going away to college for the first time.
There are tips on many subjects and are delivered with love, a grain of salt and a bit of a giggle. For example there are tips on social situations: Speak Clearly: Enunciate. Articulate. Spit out your gum. And emotional support: Keep at least one stuffed animal. Practical economics: Manicures are an indulgence you will not always be able to afford. Learn to do your own nails.
I loved this little book. I have two female grandnestlings who will be getting copies of this book when they go to university. My only wish and hope is that Ms. Blades will write one for all the males out there.
If you have a female Nestling you love and who is going away to University, Trade School or out into the work a day world you will feel much better knowing they are armed with this little book of good advice.
It’s available wherever fine books are sold. Until next time, I remain, as always, your humble Book Dragon.
I hope you are feeling well and life has been good to you this past week.
Our tale this evening came to me by word of mouth from a passing Jester ..no one else in the Kingdom was brave enough to tell a fire breather, such as myself the news of an absolutely evil monster who roamed far and wide murdering poor maidens. A stain upon mankind.
This is Jillian Lauren’s “Behold the Monster: Confronting America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer”. This is the story of Samuel Little. It is known that this Monster was born in the town of Reynolds, Georgia in June of 1940, nearly killing his 16 year old mother entering the world. From the moment of his birth Sam was voraciously hungry… his blue eyes never showed satisfaction.
Sam was raised in Ohio, a juvenile delinquent who spent time in the Ohio State Reformatory. His life of crime started at age twelve and wouldn’t end for nearly 60 years.
I have been reading about serial killers for many years. This is the most in-depth, meticulous study of one true life Monster I have ever read. Ms. Lauren started out to write a magazine article, she ended with a handbook for catching a killer. She’s blunt…she tells what law enforcement did right and what it did wrong.
She explains how a lot of women died unnecessarily because they were the wrong color, had the wrong job or were just written off. Her descriptions of people and places bring life to what could have been a dry read. Her memory is amazing.
If you are looking for a gift for that hard to please true crime lover on your list, this is perfect.
Until next time, I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
I thank Source Books for the review copy via Good Reads. As always, my opinions are my own.
Our tale this evening came in the form of a Plinko Chip ..you remember that game show? The Price is Right? Yeah, one of those. As I turned it in my claws, it suddenly shot out and across the room.. bouncing and ricocheting off various things, mainly my crime fiction section of the library. This is first-time Dragon Feeder Martin Clark’s “The Plinko Bounce”.
Clark starts introducing us to a Public Defender called Andy Hughes. Andy is fried, burnt out, sick and tired of his repeat offenders and low pay. Andy is a carpenter in lawyer’s clothing. He’s getting ready to chuck it all, but he wants to finish his caseload and leave the firm he works for with a clean slate.
We then meet a rather nasty character named Damian Bullins. Damian has a penchant for fast women and strong drugs. He’s got a record as long as my arm. Damian is not only a bad guy, he’s Andy’s new client. He confessed to the murder of a prominent man’s wife and now he wants Andy to get him off.
Will Damian walk free? Will Andy survive the Plinko Bounce?
I liked this novel very much. Andy is human with an ex-wife, a young son and a new romantic prospect…he’s a decent guy. Damian is a villain you not only hate, but wouldn’t mind being the one to flip his switch.
Mr. Clark is a master storyteller and his ending is nothing I would have expected. It’s downright shocking to be perfectly frank.
If you love the courtroom drama of Grisham, you are going to love this tale by Martin Clark. This won’t be my last read of his and I hope it will be your first.
Join me Wednesday for a bit of Whimsy and the Freakish Friday this week. Until then, I remain, as always, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
Thank you to Martin Clark and Rare Bird Press for the review copy. As always my opinions are my own.
As we continue into Fall with Indian Summer coming this week here, I am proud to bring you a tale from a Master Dragon Feeder. This tale came in the form of a mask. Not the pandemic kind, but rather a Janus mask, two faces, you know.
I set it on the mantle and waited. As the fireplace heated up the mask the expressions began to change with one face showing all manner of visages from agony to exhilaration, yet the other only showed two: rage and an insane grin I had not seen since I toured Bedlam a century ago. It was this face that told the tale. This is S.W. Frontz’s “Sins of the Fathers”.
We take our fourth visit to Land’s End. This is the story of Robin Drexel, Sheriff Andy’s old partner, a forty-year veteran of law enforcement on the brink of retirement. She has one last very cold case that needs to be solved, a case that started with a lot of blond haired, blue-eyed dead girls in 1978 and will end on the brink of madness. Robin needs to solve this mystery, but suddenly there is an entire family dead, except for a very young, very blond, very blue-eyed missing girl. Is anyone who they seem? Can Robin trust anyone, including her old partner?
As you know by now, no spoilers here. This is my favorite of the Land’s End Series (and yes I know I say that every time, but they are all so very good). It’s another award winner but how could it not?
It has everything. A villain (or is it two) you love to hate. A female detective who is realistic. And lastly, it’s set in Land’s End ..the South’s equivalent of England’s Midsomer. Caroline Graham must be some long lost cousin of S.W. Frontz.
If you love a good mystery, with a strong cast of characters, then this series is for you. Each book stands on its own merits if you aren’t into series.
Join me this Wednesday for a bit of Whimsy, until then I remain your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
Thanks to S.W. Frontz for the review copy. As always, my opinions are my own.
I do hope the week has been kind to you. Our gem this evening came to me through a Harlequin. I was sitting in front of the fire in my library here at The Cave when suddenly a little Harlequin appeared from nowhere. She sat up straight in her beautiful clown silks and began to tell a tale of a woman on the run.
This is Dragon Feeder Katie Mettner’s “Going Rogue in Red Rye County”. It is a Harlequin Intrigue novel and it is not your mother’s Harlequin Romance. This tale has a Monster. This Monster is, unlike nearly all others on Freakish Friday, female. She is called “The Madame”, a vile woman who makes her money off other women and has a taste for torture.
This tale also has a woman who is a fighter. She’s Wilhelmina August, rogue FBI agent and she’s running from The Madame’s hit men and trying to find a way to The Madame herself to finish what The Madame started.
Mina, as she is called, has several things against her, mainly a crushed foot compliments of The Madame and a severe distrust of everyone, including her buddies at the FBI who let her down and nearly allowed her to die. Meanwhile…
Roman Jacobs, Mina’s former partner, is searching for her, too. Is he a friend, or a foe? You know me, I don’t do spoilers. So let me tell you what I liked, instead.
I was not a fan of Harlequin having spent time 50 years ago with a hardcore Harlequin fan and finding the romance, angst and exotic locales a bit over the top. However, Katie Mettner changed my mind.
The story is very intriguing, the characters three dimensional and the villainess hate worthy. As I said, this is not your mother’s Harlequin.
If you like action, adventure and romance, this book is for you and it’s a series! The book is a stand alone or you can wait for Katie’s next adventure!
Her books are sold wherever your favorite books are!
Until next time, I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
Thanks to Ms. Mettner for the review copy. As always, my opinions are my own.
Fall is in full swing and I celebrated my 590th birthday on the 11th. If you would like to participate in my Birthday Bash go to my Facebook page.
Our gem this evening came to me in the form of a beautiful Bavarian carved egg shell. Imagine my delight when I realized that unlike the usual bucolic scene and colorful egg, instead I found a black and white egg with cryptids and creatures of all sorts, including Flying Monkeys, a Pegasus and a Gryphon! I knew immediately who this tale was about, my old Veterinarian, Dr. Xavier Doolittle Pratt!
This is first time Gem Maker, Julie Fudge Smith’s debit novel, The Beast Keepers. She has captured my old stomping grounds of Carrollton, Ohio perfectly. I still live in a spacious cave in the foothills of Appalachia in Ohio, as this area gave me more room to spread my wings, but I still saw Dr. Pratt for small issues that didn’t require the Knights Templar Hospital deep in a Welsh Cave.
This particular tale includes Centaurs, Gryphons, a Faun and even a Unicorn. Even my species is mentioned. These are my tribe. Everyone believes we are mythical but you and I know better, do we not? This particular tale is a mystery, a romance and lastly an adventure with
Dr. Pratt decides to bring in a new vet as a partner because he’s getting a bit long in the tooth and he’d like to take it easier. He decides on Dr. Jonathan St. Roche. Jon is young, a graduate of Cornell and a true animal lover. Jonathan takes to the practice like a Mermaid takes to water.
When he’s introduced to the local cryptid population he doesn’t flinch (much) and comes to love them, too. Everything in this story is absorbing. I could not put it down! I had to see how Jonathan’s romance would turn out, how he would get along in the community, and lastly how he would cope with a deadly beauty who could not be trusted, whose deadly manner was a danger to all who crossed his path.
This is a sort of fairy tale for grown ups, though older children and teens may enjoy it as well. It is wholesome, I can’t remember a single curse word, no blatant sex and no gore. This was, without doubt, refreshing and exciting.
If you are an animal lover, if you loved stories like Old Yeller, and Narnia, if you are still a kid at heart, this is for you. I know you will love the drama, the adventure and the love found between its pages. Julie Fudge Smith could hold her own at a meeting of The Inklings. I hope this isn’t the only adventure we get in Carroll County. Sold wherever fine books are sold.
Until next time, I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
I thank Boyle & Dalton and Ms. Smith for the review copy. And as always, my opinions are my own.
Tales From The Book Dragon 