Closing out January 2025 with a Few New Reads

As I finish reading for the month, I'd like to introduce a three books I've enjoyed.

The first was a decidedly non-Christian romantic suspense by Gemma Halliday, "Spying in High Heels." While a cute book, it started off with an eyebrow raising situation. A young woman was "late," and for young women 'round the world, "late," unexpected, and "Uh oh," are words no one wants to hear. *If you don't get it, it's "I Might Be Pregnant." And the MC had no business being pregnant.

Despite her situation and not wanting to deal with said situation, she finds her BF missing. She was to tell him the "news," though she didn't know. From his absence, it becomes clear he's not around. Anywhere. She makes it her goal to hunt him down, particularly when she finds unsavory deeds surrounding him. The kind which would tick off any GF (or better yet, wife) and bring unwanted interested from the cops. It becomes a dangerous game from there on out. I enjoyed the book - there is no swearing (maybe one word in one chapter by one person), no sex, no violence.

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The next book is pure non-fiction, highly entertaining, a "how-to" in the craft, and I'm still reading. It's a paperback, unavailable in Kindle, but so worth it. A Christian text, surprise, I didn't see that one coming, "Fiction is Folks" by Robert Peck, is a very readable book on crafting characters you'll never forget. I recommend. And I'm only halfway through.

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My last book of this month was the Very One I Didn't Want to Finish. Reason: it's the last in a series by Lisa Black, 'The Gardiner & Renner' series. "Every Kind of Wicked" exceeded my expectations. There were only three, maybe four, possible outcomes, none of which I wanted to face. Another non-Christian novel without sex, gratuitous violence (only the minimal which one would definitely find in a police procedural and forensics novel), and no swearing - which with Lisa Black's standing as a best-selling novelist, puts a 'famous' writer to shame who dared to say any crime fiction wasn't realistic if the characters didn't swear. Ha. Take "THAT." If you're a Lisa Black fan and you've not read any of this series but you love suspense, crime, and some (lots?) twists, you'll love the series and I will not tell you the ending. Not Even A Hint.

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Now, I must attend to reading three ARCs. Pardon my write-and-run.