Friday, January 27, 2017

Book Review #23: No Good Deed

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

No Good Deed is the first book in the Mark Taylor series by M.P. McDonald. Mark Taylor is a photographer that bought an old camera at an Afghanistan bazaar while he was helping out a friend by taking photographs of women and children in Afghanistan for a book his friend was writing. After he got back home in Chicago he decided to clean up the camera and test it out by taking pictures of everyday items in Chicago. When he developed the film he discovered a couple pictures on it that weren’t what he took the subject that he photographed. Instead it was about a violent crime or disaster that was going to happen in the near future. That night he had a dream about what those pictures portrayed. He discovered that he could change the picture by going and preventing the incident from happening. He had developed some pictures the day before 9/11 which included some of the disaster. He dreamed about the disaster that night and called several federal agencies that morning to alert them about the disaster before it happened. Nobody believed him until after the disaster. Around a year later after saving the life of a toddler that was depicted of one of these pictures, he was arrested by the FBI that wouldn’t believe what he told them about the pictures and dreams. They ended up declaring him as an enemy combatant and moved him a maximum security military prison.

I could write more about the story here, but instead I’ll give you links below for sites that you can purchase the book.

I really like this book and makes me want to read the rest of the books in this series and other series that she wrote. This is the first book that I’ve read by this author. I came across links for this book one day from a daily email I get informing me of free and low priced books for that day on various sites. This one was for free, so I downloaded it from Barnes and Noble and downloaded onto my Nook. That was around two years ago an I finally got around to reading it. I’m glad I did read it now!

Purchase Links:
You can purchase this book in various formats from the following sites:



Tim’s Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)


I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Book Review #22: Storm Flight

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

Storm Flight is the fifth book in the Wings of War series by Mark Berent. It takes place during the later part of the Vietnam War, during the Linebacker and Linebacker II operations. This novel is about a very small and secretive group authorized by President Nixon to investigate and provide proof that there were some American prisoners of war (POWs) that weren’t on any of the lists that were given to the U.S. officials that had knowledge of sensitive information that could jeopardize national security. It was believed that these POWs were being sent to the Soviet Union.

After I became a Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force back in the mid eighties, I had to take two tests almost every year for promotion. One of these tests covered Air Force history and regulations. Part of the history included some of the operations during the Vietnam War including both Linebacker. This novel took me back to what I studied for those tests and added some other adventure and suspense to my memories. It was the first book I read by Mark Berent and the way it was written makes my want to read more of books. I checked on my library’s catalog and none of his books are listed on it, so I’ll keep watch for them at thrift stores and nearby library sales including the one where I came across this book.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase this book in various formats from the following sites:



Tim’s Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.


Saturday, January 14, 2017

Book Review #21: Thrillers: 100 Must Reads

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

Do you like to read books, but don’t know what to read that won’t bore you to death? Then I just read a book that might point you to books that won’t bore you, but will make you not want to put them down. Thrillers: 100 Must Reads edited by David Morell and Hank Wagner could very well point you to books and authors that you never heard of before. When you hear thriller, you probably think of books like those written by Tom Clancy. His books are considered to be techno-thrillers. This book is a compilation of essays written by members of International Thriller Writers (ITW) that inspired their writing. These vary in the type of thriller such as international thriller, spy thriller, romance thriller, military thriller and legal thriller among others. The list includes books written from as far back as 1500 B.C. through 2003.

This is a book I came across while browsing in the non-fiction section of the library one day last month. I decided to check it out to read. It talks about several authors that I never heard of before and also has some books that I’ve read years ago that are considered to be thrillers. I didn’t realize it back then. It has given me a list of authors, including the ones that wrote the essays, and books to read. This list is in the hundreds or thousands. I probably won’t have time to read them all but I’ll start reading them one book at a time. At least I know I have a good list to select from as long as I can find the books.

Purchase Links:

This book can be purchased in various formats from the following sites:



Tim’s Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)


 I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Book Review #20: The Great Santini

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

The Great Santini is the third book written by Pat Conroy. It is about U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot, Lieutenant Colonel W.P. “Bull” Meecham and his family. This story takes place beginning during the summer prior to the Cuban missile crisis and ends that following May. Bull is the new commander of a fighter squadron at Ravenel Air Station, South Carolina where the two previous squadron commanders weren’t good leaders. Bull, a strict disciplinarian and abusive husband and father, is assigned the task to whip the unit in shape in case the United States ends up going to war against Cuba and Russia. This novel depicts more of the family life and their adaption of the community more than Bull’s work on base, but also shows how the two tie in together. Pat Conroy modeled Bull after his own father who had been a Marine Corps fighter pilot and an abusive father.

I watched the movie that was based on this novel with the same title a couple nights before I started reading it. All the way through it I was comparing the two. I like the book a lot better than the movie which says a lot since I also enjoyed the movie. The military aspect of it made me think of my ten years in the U.S. Air Force two decades later than the period depicted in the novel. I was enlisted, not an officer, but I was never as strict as Bull and definitely not an abusive husband or father. But with the strict discipline adhered to by any branch of the military, could see how it could happen. I also like how the author also depicts the turbulent times in the southern United states during that time period. The author also does a good job of tying in humor with the seriousness of the book. If you have seen the movie and like it, I recommend reading the book. It has so much more than what is shown in the movie.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase the book in various formats from the following sites:



Tim’s Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Monday, January 2, 2017

Book Review #19: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Happy New Year! The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the third Sherlock Holmes book by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is the first short story compilation of Sherlock Holmes short stories. The stories in this book take place after Dr. Watson got married and started a private practice or were from before he got married, but wern't writtenuntil after he was married. He would occasionally go on investigations with Holmes after he got married when things were going slow in his doctor's office.

I like this book, some stories better than others. Some of the stories contained in this book I've heard on old time radio programs ore have seen on episodes of the old Sherlock Holmes television series. But here I am experiencing them as written by Doyle, which are better without the sensalizations that they put in the old radio or television programs. I've been watchin the BBC series "Sherlock" on Netflix and PBS where I see them tie in some of the activities from these stories. When they do tie in something I read, I try to remember which story contained those characters or incidents.

Download Links:

This book can by downloaded in various ebbok formats from the following links:

Project Gutenberg:  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1661

ManyBooks:  http://manybooks.net/titles/doyleartetext99advsh12.html

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Sherlock-Holmes-Wisehouse-Classics-ebook/dp/B01BTITH82/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1483412113&sr=1-2&keywords=the+adventures+of+sherlock+holmes+kindle+edition

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-doyle-arthur-conan/1121461680?ean=2940152130027


Tim's Rating: ****
(Four out of five stars)

I'm off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.