Author: ekkarn

The Last Odyssey Takes Me to Greenland the Mediterranean and More!

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Tje Last Odyssey - James Rollins

The Last Odyssey (Sigma Force # 15) James Rollins

So this is the second of James Rollins’s Sigma Force thrillers I’ve read in 2020, While I was waiting for The Last Odyssey to become available from my library, I read The Bone Labyrinth, which had been on my TBR shelves for a long time. I’m actually glad I read The Bone Labyrinth recently because a character from that book makes a repeat appearance in The Last Odyssey. So  everything that she was Involved in was still fresh in my memory!

The Last Odyssey First Stop Greenland

Anyway in The Last Odyssey I was taken first to Greenland. In Greenland in an unground caverns below a glacier where an ancient ship is discovered by a group of scientists.

….. The ship’s hold contains a collection of even older artifacts—tools of war—dating back to the Bronze Age. Inside the captain’s cabin is a magnificent treasure that is as priceless as it is miraculous: a clockwork gold map imbedded with an intricate silver astrolabe. The mechanism was crafted by a group of Muslim inventors—the Banū Mūsā brothers—considered by many to be the Da Vincis of the Arab world—brilliant scientists who inspired Leonardo’s own work.

Once activated, the moving map traces the path of Odysseus’s famous ship as it sailed away from Troy. But the route detours as the map opens to reveal a fiery river leading to a hidden realm underneath the Mediterranean Sea. It is the subterranean world of Tartarus, the Greek name for Hell. Read More at Goodreads

A US senators daughter is sent to evaluate the find. However, someone else wants the artifact and soon the scientists are attacked and the artifact stolen. The attackers also kidnap the Senator’s daughter.

The Sigma Force members are sent to rescue the  senators daughter and to beat the thieves to the gates of Tartarus! Where ever that may be!

 Next Stops Italy , Turkey, the Mediterranean and Morocco

Soon I was taken to the Pope’s summer residence outside of Rome, and an underground city in Turkey. Finally,  I was traveling along with the Sigma Force members across the Mediterranean heading for the Gates of Hell

Final Thoughts

Once again James Rollins creates a pulse-pounding adventure that blends some historical reality with Rollins’s own created reality. And at the story’s  end he explains to the read what’s true (which is sometimes several things of which you shake your head and say “ that’s true?) and what’s fiction, over several pages

The characters in Rollins’ books are always well-developed and engaging. Plus there’s always a lot of mayhem created. Finally, when all is said and done and I  can relax and catch my breath, I always find that I’ve learned something new!

While The Last Odyssey can be read as a stand-alone book, I would suggest reading The Bone Labyrinth first.  So check both out!!

Author’s Website

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James Rollins

About James Rollins

Born: 1960 (age 64 years), Casino, Australia

Notable awards: The CWA Gold Dagger, 2015, 2020

Notable works: Life or Death

My August Reads Start in Spain with Peter May’s A Silent Death

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While on many days in August it was too hot to run, I did get a lot of books read! I read six books in August and while that’s not a lot for many readers it’s a good amount for me.

One of the questions I like to ask, when I’m summarizing the books I’ve read is: “where did my reading take me?”. Well in August it was to a variety of locales, including outer space. My first stop was southern Spain!

A Silent Death - Peter May

A Silent Death – Peter May

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I requested this book from my library in January of 2020. Thanks to Covid 19 and the subsequent closing of the library, the book didn’t become available  until July. Which is why it is an August read.

About A Silent Death

In A Silent Death Peter May took me to Spain. The book opens with John Mackenzie – an ingenious yet irascible Glaswegian investigator being sent to Spain to transport a known ex-pat fugitive Jack Cleland back to the U.K.

Cleland had been living in Spain under an assumed name. He was captured when police arrived at his home, they thought someone had broken in. When the police arrive and  they enter the house the Cleland accidentally kills his pregnant wife. He then blames the young female arresting officer and vows revenge!

Prior to MacKenzie’s arrival Cleland escapes while being transported and vows to destroy the young officer Cristina Sanchez Pradell and her family.

An important member of Cristina’s family is her Aunt Ana. Anna has been deaf-blind for the entirety of her adult life: the victim of a rare condition named Usher Syndrome. Ana is the centre of Cristina’s world therefore  a key paw  in Cleland’s cruel plan.

Mackenzies quest becomes thwarting Cleland’s plan before he destroys Christina life and that of her beloved Aunt.

Thoughts About Peter May and A Silent Death

Peter May is one of my favorite authors. I particularly liked his Lewis Trilogy set in the Outer Hebrides Islands of Scotland. As well as, his more recent stand alone novels. His writing is always terrific and his stories original and exciting. Additionally his characters always memorable. John Mackenzie, Ana and to a certain extent Cleland join that group.

I enjoyed A Silent Death a lot. However, I would say it ranks below a few of his other stand-alones like Runaway, Entry Island and Coffin Road in my opinion. Of course, if I think about it longer, I’ll probably change my mind!

The bottom line any book by Peter May is well worth reading. So  Check it Out!

Next stop the Mediterranean Sea and Greenland as James Rollins’ and his Sigma Force take me on  The Last Odyssey. Ok

Links for Further Exploration of the Books of Peter May

Author’s Website
Wikipedidia
Amazon

 

Dead Famous and Revolver Road Start July Right!

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Revolver Road by Christi Daugherty and Carol O’ Connell’s Dead Famous are the 29th and 30th books I have read in 2020. I have previously read books written by both authors. Revolver Road is the third book in Daugherty’s Harper McClain series, which is to date is three books long. While Dead Famous is book 7 of the Kathleen Mallory series from O’ Connell.

Revolver Road – Christi Daugherty  (Harper McClain #3)

Revolver Road is the third book from Daugherty to feature newspaper reporter Harper McClain. And while it was a good read, I didn’t think it was as good as the first two books, The Echo Killing and A Beautiful Corpse, books one and two respectively.

In Revolver Road, while Harper is hiding out on Tybee Island outside of Savannah, she becomes involved in the case of a missing rising rock state. Harper is hiding out because of events that happened in A Beautiful Corpse, which I won’t discuss here. I do though highly recommend that both of the previous books be read first, prior to diving into Revolver Road.

The missing person case eventually turns into a murder case and Harper’s well being becomes more precarious.

While several aspects of the book didn’t thrill me. I still enjoyed reading it. Like the first two books,I still think Harper is  great character. Additionally, the recurring surrounding cast are equally endearing. Specifically, Luke her on and off boyfriend, her fellow newspaper employees and her best friend Bonnie.

If I rate both The Echo Killing and A Beautiful Corpse as A or A+ reads. Then I guess I’d give Revolver Road a B+. It‘s good but not on the same level as the two previous books.

However,,  I certainly look forward to the next installment of this series!

Dead Famous – Carol O’Connell

I wrote earlier that Dead Famous is book 7 in Carol O’Connell’s Kathleen Mallory series. The series consists of 12 books. I have read ten of those books. What happened is I read the first six books many years ago. Then for the longest while Dead Famous and books 8 and 9 of the Series have been on my TBR pile. I made several attempts to start Dead Famous and always put it down and read something else.

The was a six year gap (2006-2012) between book 9 Winter House and book 10 The Chalk Girl. When The Chalk Girl was released 2012 I decided to pick up Mallory’s story there, rather then go back to book 7 and restart the series!

Subsequently, I have read the next two books in the series while, books 7-9 have sat on my bookshelves. Until a few days ago, when I started Dead Famous again. Only this time I was able to stay with it and finish it.

I may have enjoyed Dead Famous more, if I had read the book immediately after book 6 Crime School, rather than 13 years later!!

Have you ever left a series then came  back picking up several books  beyond where you stopped?

The Plot of Dead Famous

Anyway, I found the story somewhat confusing. The gist of the story is there was a murder trail in Chicago in which a shock jock was unanimously found not guilty. Since then The Reaper has been killing the jury members one by one.

The foreman of the jury is a psychiatrist and is now working cleaning up crime scenes in New York. She is in the employ of Mallory’s ex-partner,  who after being shot is on leave from the New York police department. The last members of the jury are also in NYC. As is, the shock jock who is now a major radio star.

Mallory is hellbent on discovering who the Reaper is before he or she strikes again. She is also trying to straighten out her old partner and get him back on the force!

Thoughts About Mallory and Dead Famous

For me Kathleen Mallory is one of the most interesting characters in crime fiction. She started life as a wail in the streets of New York using any means necessary to survive. She was adopted by a top New York City detective and grew up in the precinct house.

While Mallory  is now a stylish NYC detective,  she still uses every means necessary to achieve her goals. While her business partner, the brilliant Psychiatrist  Charles Butler,  tries and most times fails to be here conscious.

I guess I would give Dead Famous a B+. It l was good, but somewhat confusing for me. However, I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read it right after Crime School. So with that thought in mind, I think I’ll pick up the next book in the series Winter House really soon!

Anyone with any thoughts or either these books or authors??

Links for Further Exploration of  Author Chriisti Daugherty

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter;

Carol O’Connell

Random House:Carol O’Connell
Goodreads
Amazon
Wikipedia

2020 Reading Update to Book 4 – Nick Pirog – 3:00 A.M.

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Over the last week or so I ha e started several post. One was the start of a post about genealogy while another was about goals and my January reading. In the second post I was bemoaning the day fact that I had not read very much.

At the time I had only read one book The Search for Splurt the second book in the Space Team series from Barry J Hutchinson. So I was one book behind the pace I need to maintain to reach my 2020 goal of 60 books read.

An Update on My 2020 Reads

I noted that even though I was behind I was in fact reading several other books at the same time. Since then I have finished two of those books. The books I finished were:

the Birth of Loud

 The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry that Shaped Rock ‘N Roll by Ian S Port and….

Game of Snipers

 Game of Snipers from Stephen Hunter.

Both  of the books were really good. I will try to write about both of the above books in more detail shortly. Currently, I am reading The Invited by Jennifer McMahon.

 

Book 4 -3:00 AM – Nick Pirog

However, being true to my ADD nature while perusing the books on sale from Bookbub I saw Nick Pirog’s name. I knew I had downloaded one of his book to my Kindle. When I went to check it I discover it was titled 3:00 AM and was the first book in Pirog’s Henry Bins series. I put it on my phone and started reading.  The story hooked me very quickly and because the book is only  100 pages I finished it pretty rapidly.

Henry Bins is an interesting character, who was pretty well developed in such a short  book. He suffers fron a disorder called Henry Bins (yes it’s named after him). Every night Henry wakes up every night at 3 am and he is awake for 1 hour. He then falls back to sleep at 4 am Sleeps for the next 23 hours. Kinda far-fetched but Pirog’s makes it work.

One night Henry hears a scream looking out his windows towards the house where the scream came from he sees a man leaving the house. The man is the President of the United States!

Soon Henry is pulled into a murder mystery, where at one point he is the main suspect. The question is, Can Henry solve the crime before he, the sole witness is eliminated?

Thoughts About 3:00 A.M. – Nick Pirog

Overall, 3:00 AM was a good read. Although, I did have a problem with the author’ handling of the behavior of a cat in the book. Having had many cars through the years and four currently, I have never seen one behave like the cat in this book! I wish they would though! But with that said I still give the books four stars out of five. And I’m looking forward to the next book 3:10 AM.

A Brief Summation

So as of today, I have finished four books and I think I am one book ahead of the pace I need to maintain to reach 60 books.  So check out! Any of the books I’ve read while I return to The Invited

The Chestnut Man Ends My 2019 Reading Year.

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So I ended 2019 having read 53 books. That’s 19 books from my unrealistic goal of 72 books. I only read three books in December. The first  bookI read was Brad Thor’s Use of Force. That was followed by Torpedo Juice from Tim Dorsey. The last was The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup.

I have read  books by both Thor and Dorsey previously, more from Thor than Dorsey. In the early 2000s I read the first 7 books in Thor’s Scot Harvath series. Use of Force is book 17 in the series that now consists of 19 books.

While I did enjoy the book, I thought it dragged in several places. I didn’t think it was a page turner which is what I always thought was typical for the first seven books. So while I may not search out another of  Thor’s books from the library, I do have at least one book The Apostle on my bookshelves so maybe, I will give that one a try.

The Chestnut Man

Unlike authors Brad Thor and Tim Dorsey, Soren Sveistrup is new to me. As a novelist he is actually new to everyone. As The Chestnut Man is his debut novel.

He is familiar to many though as an internationally acclaimed scriptwriter, creator, and film producer of numerous TV series. He was the creator and writer of The Killing, a Danish TV series which ran from2007-2012. Fox remade for AMC. It is currently a available on Hulu.

Considering the success of The Chestnut Man, I imagine his career as a novelist is looking very bright.

The setting of The Chestnut Man is Copenhagen (home to the author), where the police are try to stop a serial killer who is terrorising the city.

The killer’s victims are women who have been accused of child abuse. He leaves behind dismembered bodies and a calling card “a Chestnut Man” a handmade doll, made from matchsticks and two chestnuts. When a fingerprint belonging to the daughter of a government minister is found at the murder sites the police are baffled. The minister’s  daughter had been kidnapped and murdered a year earlier. So what’s happening?

The Chestnut Man is 516 pages long, making it one of the longest books I read last year. With that said I never thought the story ever dragged. The plot had many nuances that kept it interesting throughout.

The characters, both good and bad, were believable and both of the lead detectives Naia Thulin and Hess are characters you can root for.

The bottomline ….

The Chestnut Man is one of the best books I read in 2019. A fast-paced twisty, turny, story, with unrelenting pace that builds to an exciting climax. Throw in some great characters and I’m ready and waiting…..Book Two Please!

The Chestnut Man was named a  Best Book of the Year by Kirkus, Library Journal and the New York Times Book Review

So Check It Out !

You may also want to check out Use of Force by Brad Thor. while I think Use of Force can be read pas a standalone, why not start at the beginning by checking out The Lions of Lucerne.  It’sBook 1 of the Scot Harvath series. You won’t regret it!

Links for Further Explorations

Tim Dorsey

Brad Thor

Soren Sveistrup

 

Torpedo Juice from Tim Dorsey is one Wild Rumpus!

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Torpedo Juice - Tim Dorsey

“I recently discovered that Tim Dorsey passed away in November 2023 at age 62. Reading the Tim Dorsey books on my shelves will carry a bittersweet weight now, but also a deep appreciation for the laughter and madness he brought into my life when I needed it.”

Originally Posted Dec 2019 Updated and Revised Dec 2023

Torpedo Juice (Serge A. Storms #7) 

Tonight, I finished Torpedo Juice by Tim Dorsey it is the fifty-second (52) book I have read in 2019. And while I will finish well below the goal of 72 books read I set at the beginning of the year, I will have at the least read one book a week for 2019. Which I think is always a great accomplishment.

Torpedo Juice is book seven (7) in the Serge Storms series from Tim Dorsey. I reality wasn’t planning to read Torpedo Juice  at this time. In fact, I am in the process of reading three other books.

Two of the books are mysteries The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup and Only to Sleep from Lawrence Osborne.  The third is a thriller Games of Snipers from Stephen Hunter.

However, the other night I decided with all this impeachment stuff and the abhorrent behavior of Trump, I needed to laugh more! I felt all this murder and mayhem was adding to my unhappiness.

Reading Torpedo Juice Because I Need To Laugh More

So I decided to read a book with a lot of mayhem that at least makes me laugh. Throughout the years I have primarily read mystery series. Many of those series have featured stories featuring lots of blood and gore and demonic serial killers.

I always tried though to read a few series with wise-cracking characters that brought a smile to my face like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum or Parnell Hall’s Stanley Hastings. Rick Boyer’s “Doc” Adams books we’re always fun, as we’re Linwood Barclay’s Zack Walker books.

Anyway, while I in no way condone the drugged out behavior of Serge Storm and his best friend Coleman, their antics are funny. Reading Tim Dorsey’s books, to me, are like watching a cartoon. With that said I don’t think my wife would ever enjoy the books!

About Torpedo Juice

Torpedo Juice finds Serge heading to Key West to get married…. from Amazon

The drinks are on Sunshine State historian/spree killer Serge A. Storms, who’s decided it’s high time he got married. So he’s motoring down to the Florida Keys — the ultimate end of the line — in search of Ms. Right . . .

and finding his doped-up basket case bud Coleman along the way. But for Serge, “getting hitched” doesn’t necessarily mean “settling down” — not when South Florida is crawling with slimeballs, swindlers, unrepentant jerks, and annoying bystanders whose ranks need some serious thinning. Read More

 The  Bottom Line 

The bottom line is Torpedo Juice is a terrifically funny read. At least it is in my humble opinion. For others maybe not so much. I guess Serge and Coleman are my Bevis and Butthead or Cheech and Chong, ones whose behavior you may not approve of but can still laugh at!

So Check it Out while I go back two my three other books and pray somehow that the Senate Republicans can do the right thing and end this nightmare of a presidency.

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About Tim Dorsey

Timothy Alan Dorsey was an American novelist. He is known for a series starring Serge A. Storms, a mentally disturbed vigilante antihero who rampages across Florida enforcing his own moral code against a variety of low-life criminals. Wikipedia

Born: January 1, 1961, Indiana

Died: November 26, 2023 (age 62 years), Islamorada, FL

Children: 2

 

November Reads – Part One – Providence Rag

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After reading five books in October I only read three books in December. Reading fewer books over the last three months of the year has typical for most years since I began keeping track of what I read in the late 1980s.

I think it’s a result of all four sports being played during those months. So I’m watching more sports instead of reading. Over the last few weeks my wife and I have been babysitting our grandchildren Zoe and Logan more often. Consequently, that cuts down on the free time I have to read. Anyway, the three books that I did manage to finish this month, brought the total number of books I’ve read this year to 50! While that total is way below the number I challenged myself to read, I think it’s still a respectable total.

Here are the three books I read in November, in reverse order….

Providence Rag - Bruce Desilva50.Providence Rag – Bruce DeSilva

Providence Rag is the third book in the Liam Mulligan series by Bruce DeSilva.  I discovered this great series earlier this year. I found The Dread Line at the Dollar Tree took a chance on it and loved it. The Dread Line is the fifth book in the series and after finishing it I immediately went and found book one Rogue Island.  I followed that up with Book two Cliff Walk. So now I only have A Scourge  of Vipers left and I’ll be eagerly awaiting book six in the series.                 .

One of the reasons that I like this series is Mulligan is neither a cop or a PI. He is a newspaper reporter working for the struggling  (aren’t all newspapers?) Providence Dispatch. As a solid investigative reporter he knows the good the bad and the ugly sides of Rhode Island.

About Providence Rag

The events presented in this story are those that set him on his course to be an investigative reporter. From Goodreads….

Inspired by a true story, Providence Rag finds Mulligan, his pal Mason, and the newspaper they both work for at an ethical crossroad. The youngest serial killer in history butchered five of his neighbors before he was old enough to drive. When he was caught eighteen years ago, Rhode Island’s antiquated criminal statutes—never intended for someone like him—required that all juveniles, no matter their crimes, be released at age twenty-one. The killer is still behind bars, serving time for crimes supposedly committed on the inside. That these charges were fabricated is an open secret; but nearly everyone is fine with it—if the monster ever gets out more people will surely die. But Mason is not fine with it. If officials can get away with framing this killer they could do it to anybody. As Mason sets out to prove officials are perverting the justice system, Mulligan searches frantically for some legal way to keep the monster behind bars. The dueling investigations pit the friends against each other in a high-stakes race against time—and snares them in an ethical dilemma that has no right answer.

Bottom Line:

The book didn’t have the suspense and less of the caustic wit of Mulligan, rather it tackles some series questions.

The first is how far should you go to keep an evil person in prison, when the law is on their side? An the second should the press print a story when that story will lead to the release of that prisoner? Especially if you know the story will lead to a struggling paper lose readers!

So while Providence Rag was not your typical mystery or Mulligan book it was still a terrific read. So check it out! As for me I’m going to see if I can get Mulligan four from the library!

When I found The Dread Line I read this on the cover. Since Steve Hamilton is one of my favorite authors, I thought I’d take a chance and hoped he was right! He was….

The best yet in one of my favorite series ever — fast and funny, yet it packs a serious punch. This is hardboiled crime fiction at its best.”

Ok this post ran longer than I anticipated. Therefore, I will write about the other two books I read in November in another post!.

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Bruce DeSilva

Author’s Website
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon

 

 

 

How I Ended Up Reading Five Books this Week!!

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How I Ended Up Reading Five Books this Week 

Last week my wife and I had a discussion about how many books you can read at one time. The discussion arose because I had said that one of my co-workers had joked the other day,  he was reading two books at the same time. He of course knows I read more than one book at a time regularly. Anyway, he said he was reading Michael Crichton’s The Lost World and a nonfiction book about World War. The following day, he commented that Black Jack Pershing was fighting a losing battle in The Lost World!

Anyway, my wife says she can only read one book at a time. The reason is she gets caught up in a book and does little else until she finishes the book!  As he result, while she reads faster than I do, she doesn’t read many books. The reason is, if she read as much as I do, she’d literally get nothing else done.

My Path to Reading Five Books at One Time

So here is how I ended up reading five books at once. As this week unfolded, I thought I was was reading a couple of books. Actually though, as I was straightening up last night I realized I am I fact at least 26% through five books!! So how did that happen

Book One – The Absent One 


The first book I started reading among those five books was The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen.  It is the second book in the Departmebt Q series from Adler-Olsen. And while I zipped through the first book The Keeper of Lost Causes and loved it, this one just hasn’t hooked me yet.

So I put it down and stared at my bookshelves. There I spied Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason.  I thought “you know I love his books and I haven’t read one in a long while”. So I took it down and read it.Use of Force Becomes Book Two

After finishing it I was tempted to pick up The Absent One again. However, I looked at my shelves,again, and saw Use of Force  by Brad Thor.  Now I read many of the early Scott Hovarth series from Thor but I haven’t read any in years. Anyway, I picked it up and started reading. Now I was reading two books.

Elevator Pitch is Book Three and Why Cities Lose Book Four

Then I saw Linwood Barclay’s latest book Elevator Pitch was released last month. So I went to the library website and requested it. Surprisingly there was not a lot of requests for the book ahead of me and it came in within days. Of course once I picked it up, I had to start it, consequently, I was now reading three books!!

While I was at the library picking up Elevator Potch, I checked to see if another book I had been reading Why Cities Lose was checked in. Sure enough it was. I was a little over halfway finished it when I had to return it. Since I have read just a little of it since I have rechecked it out, I am reading it now. So that makes four books.

 

Resurrection Pass one of the five books I'm readingResurrection Pass Becomes Book Five

 

Finally, the other day I was in Dollar General and I checked their sale paperbacks. They had gotten some new books in so I checked them out. I bought two: Dick Wolf’s The Execution A Jeremy Fisk novel and Resurrection Pass by Kurt Anderson. Wolf is an author I’ve heard of but never read and Kurt Anderson I don’t know. Both books had over a three star rating on Goodreads. The Execution’s rating was 3.86 and Resurrection Pass’s was 3.46.

Anyway, the other day I started Resurrection Pass and while it’s not great, it has hooked me and the pages are flying by pretty quickly!

So there you have it and while I have t finished any of the five yet I hope to get through them before the end of the month!

I guess the question is -Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me???

P.S. There are also six more books I have checked out of the library sitting on my bookshelves!! So good bye I need to get cracking those books!!

 

 

 

A Newly Designed Workout Starts My Day!

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So I think over the last few months I think I’ve slipped a little as far as my diet and exercise regimes are concerned. I think part of the reason is I believe the pollen season has been a little longer than usual. I only noticed a drop in the pollen levels within the last week. As I am writing this I just checked the pollen levels for the week. Today is moderate but low for the rest of the week yeah!

A New Workout Design Starts With Dance-Cardio

Anyway, this morning I changed up my routine. Rather than due Dance-Cardio with weights and bands and other exercise equipment I decided start with 13 minutes of dance-cardio.

Then Some Kundalini and Abs
I followed with a routine that starts with three basic Kundalini spinal warm-ups. Then I did three or four exercises targeting abs and legs. The soundtrack for this routine is a song using the Sikh Mul Mantra. Sung by Snatam Kaur. The Mul Mantra

The Mul Mantra, the words first spoken by the spiritual master Guru Nanak after enlightenment, literally translates as the “Root Mantra,” or the mantra from which all other mantras in the Kundalini Yoga tradition are built. It contains the core, essential truth of creation, and its vibration is so powerful that it can change your fate and help you rewrite your destiny. Read More

Hatha Yoga and Native American Flute Follow

The song is just a hair over 7 minutes long. Next I transitioned into a short yoga routine. The soundtrack was from Flutist Ann Licater. I used the song “Angels from Within” from the album Invitation From Within

Meditation with the World’s Most Relaxing Song Ends the Workout

The exercise set concluded with an 8 minute meditation. The music for the meditation was Weightless Part 1 from Marconi Union. It…. According to a marketing study conducted by Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson, the most relaxing song in the world is Weightless, by ambient band Marconi Union. The song was produced by the band in collaboration with the British Academy of Sound Therapy.Nov 15, 2016 Read More is considered by some to be the most relaxing song in the world

The total time for the workout was approximately 34 minutes. And although I only burned 181 calories during the workout, I do believe it got my day off to a great start. Now it will be up to the Eagles to keep my mood positive!
Here is the soundtrack ….

Desperate Creed Another Winner from Alex Kava

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Desperate Creed – Ryder Creed #5 – Alex Kava

Today, in addition to running this morning, I also finished my 40th book of the year: Desperate Creed by Alex Kava, the fifth installment in her Ryder Creed series.

I became a fan of Kava’s writing back in June 2003 when I picked up her debut, A Perfect Evil. By September of that year, I’d read all the Maggie O’Dell novels available at the time. Since then, I’ve read all but one of the twelve books in the Maggie O’Dell series.

In 2015, Kava introduced Ryder Creed in Breaking Creed. Ryder is a former Marine who now trains and handles K9 search-and-rescue dogs. That book chronicled his first meeting with Maggie O’Dell, and Desperate Creed marks the fifth time the two have appeared together.

A Different Kind of Threat

In her Author’s Notes, Kava says:

“With every new book, I try to cover something different — human trafficking, the bird flu, contamination of our foods, or the everyday struggles of our veterans. For the Ryder series, I’m always looking for new ways to show off the numerous talents of scent detection dogs. For Desperate Creed, I wanted to concentrate on how amazing scent detection dogs are in finding victims after natural disasters when every moment counts.”

That’s exactly what makes Desperate Creed stand out — it’s not just about the human danger, but also the life-saving work these dogs perform in the aftermath of disaster.

About Desperate Creed

In this installment, Ryder and his dogs are in Alabama, assisting in the search for bodies after a deadly tornado.

Meanwhile, Frankie — a lifelong friend of Ryder’s partner Hannah — witnesses the murder of a coworker via a cell phone video. The coworker and a friend had hacked into the computers of a major U.S. cereal manufacturer and uncovered information that could threaten a major international deal.

As a favor to Hannah, Maggie agrees to meet Frankie at a restaurant in Alabama. But soon, both a tornado and a hitman are heading directly toward Maggie, Frankie, and Ryder. Which one will cause the most damage? And can they survive the wrath of both man and nature?

The Bottom Line

I read both the Ryder Creed and Maggie O’Dell series not only for the strong, suspense-driven plots but also for the way Kava has developed her characters over time. Both Ryder and Maggie have endured personal tragedies that have shaped them and made them stronger.

For Ryder, it’s the disappearance of his younger sister from a Florida rest stop — a loss that drove him to create his K9 search-and-rescue business. This thread runs throughout the series and adds depth to his character.

While Desperate Creed works as a standalone, I highly recommend reading the earlier books first to fully appreciate the relationships and backstories.

So check out Desperate Creed — and as for me, I’m on to book #6, Hidden Creed, to see what Ryder and Maggie face next.

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