Karen Siddall

Unique coming-of-age story!

Revisado: 04-30-24

"Just A Hat" by Shanah Khubiar is the vivid and evocative coming-of-age story of young Joseph Nissan, a Persian-American Jewish teen whose family had immigrated to the U.S. to escape the Shah of Iran's police. The multi-layered story features Joseph's school life, home life, and life in general in his small Texas town at the start of the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis.

The main character is Youssef (or Joseph as he is known at school) Nissan, a 13-year-old transplant from California, living in Hazel, Texas (somewhere outside Dallas) with his Baba and Maman, who had years earlier fled their home in Iran just ahead of the Shah's police. Besides navigating the emotional minefield of middle school, he's on the cusp of manhood, studying for his Bar Mitzvah and slowly changing his relationship with his parents. He's frequently mistaken for Hispanic; his best friends are Mateo and Roberto Ybarra, and there are no other ethnically Persian families (or Jews) in the entire county, so he is unique to the area's residents.

Joseph struggles with wanting to do the same things other kids do and still respect his parents' wishes, especially his father's. Still, their culture and, sometimes, religious restrictions present a conflict. He's quiet, studious, and academically adept. Joseph has a healthy temper that he must constantly work to control. His nemeses in the town are two cousins, Larry and Brian Edmondson, who are revealed later to have their own interesting backstories, who generally make Joseph's life miserable at school and in the neighborhood.

In Texas, football is a common denominator, a great equalizer that brings diverse groups of people together, creating otherwise unlikely allies (and hitting people is considered a legitimate and acceptable practice.) Joseph makes the fortuitous decision to join the football team where he shows a lot of promise. I enjoyed how Joseph observed the "tells" of the two Edmondson cousins that telegraphed their moves on the field and how he used it to even out their relationships with one another.

The story includes details of Joseph's culture and religion, with celebrations attended by extended family from across the country or Israel. The discussions of the extensive preparations for his Bar Mitzvah were eye-opening and informative, as was the talk about the political situation back in Iran that had prompted many of the characters to immigrate to the U.S.

Joseph's life is further complicated by his crush on a classmate, the daughter of a disapproving and narrow-minded Christian pastor. Baba, who knows the tough path such an alliance would pose even if the two kids were older, does not support the friendship either. The confrontation between the two fathers is frighteningly intense but Joseph sees a side to Baba that he's never seen before: one that he'd been worried was absent. It was so satisfying to see father and son open up at different times during the story and reveal their secrets to each other. And I loved when Maman revealed that she, too, had hidden depths. (I would have thrown a hissy about those apples.)

Ramiz Monsef narrates the Audible audiobook and is one of the best at this craft. His voice is warm and welcoming, using subtle changes in tone, accent, and pitch to differentiate this broad cast of characters that include male, female, young, old, and native English, Spanish, and Farsi speakers. The production is just great.

With its wonderfully relatable characters and unique coming-of-age story, I recommend JUST A HAT to readers of young adult fiction.

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An exciting military adventure story!

Revisado: 12-23-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

"Deception Pass" is the third book in Norm Harris’s exciting and action-filled military adventure series featuring Fay ‘Spider’ Green. It is the first in the series to appear in audiobook format, and narrator Maria McCann does a fantastic job giving voice to this strong female protagonist. She completely captures Fay’s personality, and her voice will forever be Fay’s to me. The story includes many other main or supporting characters, and McCann’s presentation skillfully makes each sound natural and unique. I never had trouble discerning which character was talking during an exchange of dialogue.

The story takes Fay and her crew from Washington state to Moscow, in both the present and the past, as both the hunter and the hunted. I found the plot fresh, interesting, and absorbing, and it kept me reading well past the time when I needed to call it a night. It was that good! There were many moments I loved but in particular I enjoyed Fay’s interactions with her Russian counterparts and her performance in the courtroom. I also liked the reappearance of characters from previous books. And don’t be worried about having to read through a recap of all that has gone on before; there is just enough backstory to lend understanding to the current action.

Speaking of which, although the third in the series, the story can be enjoyed as a standalone, but the pleasure would be enhanced by having read the previous books. However, using "Deception Pass" as your jumping-off point in the series will be dangerous; you will want to acquire those first two print edition books “quick, fast, and in a hurry.” I was glad to see the next book in Fay’s story is already available as an audiobook, and I couldn’t help but snag it the minute this one concluded.

I recommend DECEPTION PASS for readers who enjoy military-based action-adventure thrillers with a side of sci-fi and time travel.

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Lookadoo makes Covey and JayJay come to life!

Revisado: 10-31-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

The newly updated Covey Jencks collection is delightfully exciting, and narrator, Stephen E. Lookadoo, Jr., brings Covey and JayJay to life!

Author Shelton L. Williams gives us three great mysteries to enjoy in this new Covey Jencks audiobook omnibus collection featuring long-held secrets, murder, mayhem, prejudice, human trafficking, drug abuse, love, and loyalty with settings in the state of Texas. Covey is a native son of the West Texas oil town of Odessa, returned home after a law career in DC, and ready to hang out his shingle in his hometown. The bread and butter of the new firm is helping clients with their business dealings after the creation of NAFTA (remember that), but, thankfully, the cases Covey and JayJay tackle focus on murder.

I enjoyed the description of Covey’s process of forming his new practice. He brings on board an interesting array of talented and, sometimes, quirky personalities who maintain the law practice while he and JayJay travel around the state hunting down witnesses and solving crimes. As a Texan, it was great seeing familiar place names mentioned in the books. But I really was invested in the rekindling love story between Covey and JayJay. The time period of the story is the mid-1990s, and a mixed-race couple was something that would raise eyebrows, so there is an encroaching fog of racism present as the two reunite and team up to investigate the murders in each book. Their love and support of each other get them through this in an admirable and inspiring fashion.

For his part, narrator Stephen E. Lookadoo, Jr. literally breathes life into our hero and heroine, main characters Covey Jencks and JayJay Qualls. I’m usually pretty skeptical that I’ll fall into a female character who a male narrator voices, but I honestly bought into Lookadoo’s portrayal of JayJay. He’s excellent as Covey, but I connected to his JayJay. This made for a story that was all the more immersive and entertaining.

With its great characters and characterizations, solid mystery storylines, and well-done you-are-there settings, I recommend the COVEY JENCKS MYSTERIES: LOVE AND MURDER DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS to mystery readers who enjoy listening to their favorite genre and like stories that tackle real issues or those set in Texas.

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Part memoir, part self-help, completely inspiring!

Revisado: 09-12-22

In "Creatrix Rising," author Stephanie Raffelock introduces and discusses society’s, including women’s, beliefs about a woman’s place in the world once reaching menopause. Early women’s studies have classified a woman’s life into three ordered stages or archetypes: maiden, mother, and crone. It seems that we as a society have an ingrained sense that a woman’s entire worth culminates during the mother phase, on one’s ability to produce children. Once that is no longer an option, a woman moves into the crone phase, one of less or no value.

As I’ve aged, and as my friends and family have also done so, I have heard that wistfulness in the tone of voice when we talked about entering menopause. It is a change to one’s identity, much like when one retires. (But as I liked to think when I retired, I’m just retiring from HERE (that job), I’m not retiring from life. Frankly, I’ve got stuff to do, places to go, and people to see.) But even before retiring from a job, menopause happens, and the insidious labeling of irrelevance can start to invade. Raffelock proposes we jettison the image of the crone as no longer relevant and replace it with the more accurate archetype of Creatrix: a woman who is comfortable and free to be true to herself and embrace the creativity she has within. The book fleshes out the nature of the Creatrix and how it manifests under current circumstances much better than I can.

The author narrates the audiobook edition of the book herself, and she is captivating. I can absolutely understand why she would be in demand as a speaker (which makes one of her life vignettes regarding her speaking to groups particularly poignant.) Raffelock puts her life on view for the reader, warts and all, describing her personal experiences and revelations on her way to where she is today. Like everyone, she made some mistakes in her life, and she is very candid about hers. This book is inspirational and illustrative rather than simply biographical, but I imagine her complete life story would make for fascinating reading. This book was absorbing, and found it difficult to pause my listening to the audiobook.

Each chapter concludes with a set of outstanding questions for personal reflection and journaling to assist the reader in recognizing the Creatrix in themselves and promote thoughtful consideration. Sometimes the questions were difficult for me to find a starting point to form a response to; others served as an open door. Many made me wish I was listening to the audiobook with friends and family because I wanted the discussion that was sure to follow after.

I will recommend "Creatrix Rising" to those friends and family and women approaching this pivotal point in their physical life and psyche.

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Pure entertainment from start to finish!

Revisado: 08-30-22

"Jove Brand is Near Death" is fun and quirky, and immensely entertaining. I was hooked from the start. Parodying such successful movie franchises as James Bond, Marvel, and DC Comics, I laughed out loud in delight at the fun parallels (and remembering my own experiences going to the cons; the descriptions are spot on!) The throwbacks to the past are fabulous, but there are also up-to-the-minute cultural references, making the whole story fresh and funny. Ken’s devotion to his diet and the frequent inclusion of trendy food choices had me smiling. The writing is easy to read, and the dialogue sparkles as Ken investigates the murder.

Ken is a genuinely nice guy, and he’s got a solid circle of friends who have his back. I particularly enjoyed Yuen Hung, his former "Near Death" co-star and convention partner. I hope he returns in future books. The effects master, Ray Ford, provides awesome working props that he engineers to Ken’s needs. I loved his whole persona and vibe.

The plot is a solid mystery with constant action as Ken follows his instincts and chases down possible leads. The story is more complex than I expected and kept me guessing.

Tim Campbell narrates the audiobook edition, and I thought he was perfect as Ken Allen. He has a wonderful voice and delivery and uses it to get perfect results. He is my Ken Allen now. I will also be looking for more audiobooks that he’s voiced.

I recommend JOVE BRAND IS NEAR DEATH to mystery readers, especially those with a fun interest in spy movie thrillers and comic book-themed film series. However, no knowledge of either would keep a reader from enjoying this delightful book.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the publisher through "NetGalley."

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Nice debut to this K-9 mystery series!

Revisado: 08-19-20

Deputy Mattie Lu Cobb is back on the job at the Timber Creek County Sheriff's Department after 12 weeks of advanced training with her new K-9 partner, a German Shepherd named Robo. They are on their way to a meeting at the local high school when they receive a call to investigate "suspicious activity" at the remote cabin in the mountains of the nearby national forest. Arriving the scene, they are met by Sheriff Abraham McCoy himself and the forest ranger that requested their assistance. The suspicious activity is a good-sized pool of blood on the porch of the cabin, and she and Robo are directed to search for its source. Robo successfully follows the trail, and the two discover the body of a teenage girl, half-buried in a shallow grave in the forest. She is being watched over by a large Bernese Mountain Dog that, although shot and bleeding, is faithfully protecting the body.

As her fellow deputies continue to work the scene and wait for the arrival of the assigned homicide detective, Mattie is charged with getting the wounded dog to the nearest vet. Dr. Cole Walker recognizes the dog, Belle, immediately and identifies her owner as 16-year-old, Grace Hartman, the best friend on one of his daughters. Later that evening, Belle gets sick and passes several small balloons filled with a suspicious white powder. Cole contacts Mattie, who returns to the clinic to help with the dog. She also makes arrangements to have Detective Stella LoSasso visit with his daughter the next morning, to hopefully shine some light on why Grace may have been up at the remote cabin. During the subsequent interview, Angela points Mattie and Stella to Mike Chadron, a local dog trainer whom Grace had a crush on. He had been spotted recently at the cabin conducting training exercises with this dogs, however, neither he nor his dogs are anywhere to be found. Mattie continues to ask questions of those that knew Grace fearing that she and Belle had somehow gotten involved with the recent upswing in drug trafficking in the small community.

Mattie, Robo, and Sheriff McCoy finally make their visit with the high school principal to discuss introducing a K-9 inspection program in the upcoming school year. This is the same principal Mattie clashed with during her high school tenure there, and he's not enthusiastic nor supportive of the idea but agrees.

The case moves along little by little, but when Mattie discovers the body of the missing Mike Chadron set up to look like a suicide, the pressure escalates to find the murderer. With a suspicious-looking new health spa that moved into the area at the same time as the uptick in drug trafficking and clues that seem to point at one of Mattie's coworkers, she and Robo have got their hands full tracking down leads and protecting their community.

"The Killing Trail" is the first book in the "Timber Creek K-9 Mystery" series by Margaret Mizushima. I liked the main character, Deputy Mattie Cobb, and look forward to learning more about her and her past. She grew up in foster care, separated from a much older brother from whom she is estranged in the book, but seems to be nearing a reconciliation. I am hoping that the relationship with the vet progresses positively in subsequent books as well.

The author provides several possible suspects and scenarios throughout the story, which kept me guessing. Still, I got a sneaking suspicion about the real killer early on that had me patting myself on the back at the conclusion. That wasn't a deterrent from enjoying the rest of the story as Mattie follows her instincts and all the clues she uncovers.

The author includes some back story on Robo's training and details regarding how Mattie prepares him to work, such as conducting searches and other exercises. I enjoyed Robo's reactions and reading about K-9 work.

All said I think I would have liked this book much more had I been reading it in book form. The audiobook narrator was competent but quiet and low-key, not a lot of animation in her voice. She has a very polished, soothing voice, and I wouldn't avoid listening to her in the future, but I think this story may have required something perkier to show it to a better advantage. This story has everything for a good reading experience, but for whatever reason, it just seemed to drag on and on until the last hour, where it finally got exciting. Not enough for my husband, though. We were listening to this in the car when we arrived at our destination, with about 45 minutes left. I wanted to finish it inside, and he wasn't interested - he was done with it.

I recommend this book, with the reservation as mentioned above regarding format, to mystery readers, especially those that like animals in the cast of characters. However, Robo remains a dog throughout, and the reader is not privy to his thoughts, feelings, or ideas like in some other series.

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One of Agatha's better cases!

Revisado: 06-12-20

"Raisin Investigations" has been called in by Morrison’s, a local engineering company, to look into the possibility of industrial espionage at their plant. The R&D division had recently experienced a fire of a suspicious nature that gutted their building and hampered their ability to move forward on developing a revolutionary new automobile battery.

Agatha Raisin and her business partner, Toni Gilmour, take on the case and immediately get the feeling that something is just not right at the place. Their primary contact, Mrs. Dunwiddy, Mr. Morrison’s right hand, is knowledgeable and helpful but is oddly afraid of the plant security detail. And when leaving the facility one afternoon, Agatha and Toni discover a severed leg, wearing a stocking and shoe similar to the ones worn by Mrs. Dunwiddy, tossed into the brushy undergrowth on the side of the road. Although the leg turns out to be a fake, the true meaning behind its being left for Agatha to find is clear: someone wants to discredit Raisin Investigations and frighten Mrs. Dunwiddy. But, rather than scaring anyone away, the incident only spurs Agatha on to greater effort.

Then one evening at the plant’s welcome back reception for the owner’s wife (she’d been at a facility to break an alcohol problem), Agatha finds Mrs. Dunwiddy’s body in the stable yard, apparently bashed in the head by the wife’s pet donkey. But Agatha, charmed by the frightened animal, realizes it didn’t trample the woman, and this is a case of murder.

Agatha is on her game in this adventure. She has all her quirks, but there’s a bit more reflection in her dealings with Toni (who shares many of Agatha’s traits) and Sir Charles Fraith. James Lacey is mentioned a few times, but it felt like Agatha has really come to terms with the real James and not the dream man she’s kept on a pedestal all these years. In addition, there are appearances by other well-known faces such as Mrs. Bloxby, Bill Wong, and Roy, and the introduction of a new nemesis and a new romantic interest as well.

The story is a solid what-the-heck-is-going-on one, and as usual, Agatha susses out some of the details and blunders into the others, making for a delightful book from start to finish. The things that happen to this woman go from funny to harrowing but never stray from being plausible. This is one of Agatha’s better cases. I recommend this series and this book, in particular, and I especially enjoyed the narration by Penelope Keith. (She’s terrific.)

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3rd of the "Epics," all of which are entertaining!

Revisado: 06-12-20

"Jezebel’s Lament" is the 3rd of the Epics series by Abdiel LeRoy, all of which have been different and entertaining.

To begin with, this is the flipside of the biblical story of Elijah – Jezebel’s version of what was going on in her world when the prophet made his appearance in King Ahab’s Israel around 900 B.C. She is telling her side of the story because she feels that she doesn’t deserve the reputation that history gave her. There are two sides to every story.

This is read by the author himself, and right off the bat; he made me laugh out loud. Truly, Abdiel is a talented writer, and secondly, he sounds great. Not familiar with the specifics of Jezebel’s story? This telling was exciting and eye-opening. The author’s done a lot of research, and if this short reading piques your interest, he tells you some of the sources he used and recommends.

This story is for a mature audience and would be especially useful for when you have a brief period of time to sit and enjoy the whole from start to finish.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

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Better and better!

Revisado: 05-08-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Picking up where the first book left off, we get a taste of the training the hunter, Alma, is giving to Purity. Both are working long and hard but Purity is struggling somewhat with using the portals until suddenly it just clicks for her. She and Melkor are teamed up and introduced to Redemption, an Unseelie, and their first order of business is to help find the mother of one of Purity’s fellow students from her high school.

Jesse is one of the high school bullies from book one and he begs Purity and Melkor for help in rescuing his mother who had been taken by one of the Soulless, an action that none of the hunters had ever heard of them doing before; they grab and kill only. In tracing the mother’s movements on the day of her disappearance, Purity and Melkor discover she is peripherally involved in the theft of the keys of Hell.

This story just keeps getting better and better. Purity, on her own, is beginning to show some depths to her character that just weren’t visible when with her family. She and Melkor are both growing into a more mature relationship with each other as well, and this developing storyline provides much of the entertainment, the smiles and laughs I had while reading. I enjoyed how each experienced some nervous anxiety over their close proximity to each other, the worry over there only being one bed in the apartment, Melkor’s fumbling with how to approach Purity during their brief hiatus before going out to find Jesse’s mother and the keys. And yet, they still had some less than adult moments as in the car race with Jesse back to the apartment. The voice of the unknown Unseelie in Purity’s mind and the appearance of Unblessed were unsettling and an awesome addition to the story.

The Audible Audio edition of this book is read by Heather Murdoch for HotGhost Productions and I enjoyed it so much that I will be looking for more books she has narrated. She has a great voice and a range and talent to distinguish a wide range of characters both male and female.

I highly recommend this series as a whole. Book 2 does not stand alone. I think young adult readers and readers that like paranormal romance with younger protagonists would enjoy these the most. I look forward to the upcoming publication of Book 3.

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Good, different paranormal coming-of-age thriller!

Revisado: 05-01-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I found this the first book in the Melkor & Purity series to be very entertaining, smart, and creative. Although presenting a vision of Hell similar to that described by Dante, we meet a Lucifer he certainly never envisioned – he almost seems like a pretty decent guy. In fact, the story really begins when he tries to fulfill Purity Jane Anderson’s Christmas wish for a puppy but, as he sees something intriguing in the young girl, he hooks her up with a hellhound of approximately the same age level.

Purity and Melkor grow up together as friends with frequent play dates and I thought the characterizations of the two leads when children very amusing. Purity is a lively, mischievous child, a real handful for her very traditional parents, and Eric is the bratty little brother we all grew up with.

I liked how the author developed their characters as they aged. They expressed the same kind of moodiness, angst, and withdrawal from their families to become independent units pretty much the same as most teens display. Bullied at school for being overweight, Purity has lost some of her earlier sass and is burdened with low self-esteem. And when high school graduation arrives and their friendship has grown to more, both struggle with communicating their desire to leap friendship to love.

But there is more to their story, Purity is fated to become a hunter and Melkor is a hellhound and both are meant to protect, to stand between the horrors of Hell and this world. I look forward to reading more about Purity’s training to take up her destiny and Melkor taking his place in Lucifer’s hierarchy in the next books.

The narrator for the Audible edition of this book is Heather Murdock with Hot Ghost Productions and I thought she did a competent job giving voices to the various characters in the story with only a few mispronunciations. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy paranormal, coming-of-age stories.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

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