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Matt Witten’s new novel, “51%”, serves as both a warning and an extremely enjoyable read

/ Pamela Kramer

Author Matt Witten’s new mystery novel, “51%,” is both scary and suspenseful, and it points clearly to a problem which presents a major trap for America. No, it’s not about the potential takeover of the country and the world by artificial intelligence. That subject has already been treated in numerous articles, essays, videos, and some excellent novels. But in “51%,” an equally dangerous trap for the U.S.A. is at the heart of this complex novel. This time, it’s the all-too-likely takeover of the country by the world of corporations and powerful syndicates, groups of those companies and institutions. Even as the U.S. exists right now, huge corporations are so ubiquitous and so powerful that it sometimes feels hopeless to attempt to overcome their power. And that is essentially what this novel is about.

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‘No One Knew’ is the second in the ‘Noelle Marshall’ series by Kendra Ellliot

/ Pamela Kramer

“No One Knew” is a thriller that grabs you from the first page, wherein a lonely teenager finds a dead body. Author Kendra Elliot knows the central Oregon setting well, and through her capable descriptions, we feel the bitter cold of winter as main character Noelle Marshall, along with her coworkers and FBI boyfriend, try to figure out who is behind the murder of that man and two other dead bodies that appear in succession and why the FBI is getting whispers about something big being planned by domestic terrorists.

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‘Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For’ by Leonie Swann is the last novel in this senior murder mystery trilogy

/ Pamela Kramer

When one gets to a “certain age,” it’s a kick to read novels, especially murder mysteries, in which the main character is also a person of a “certain age.” And in Leonie Swann’s very clever “Miss Sharp Investigates” series, Agnes Sharp and her fellow pensioners, who all live together in Sunset Hall, her large home, prove that age is no deterrent to fighting crime.

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‘Cat on a Hot Tin Woof’ by Spencer Quinn is the latest in the fabulous ‘Chet and Bernie Mystery’ series

/ Pamela Kramer

How can you not love a book narrated by a dog who understands a lot of what’s going on, but also — in true, believable doggy style — misses so much? Spencer Quinn has an almost supernatural ability to write like a dog. Or at least what we think our dogs really might be thinking as they go through life with us. And in his (and Chet and Bernie’s) latest story, “Cat on a Hot Tin Woof,” there’s finally a cat! Actually, as Chet might put it, “There might be two cats, but I can’t count past two.”

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Murder and Mindfulness: An Inseparable Pair? Highly recommended: ‘Murder Mindfully’ by Karsten Dusse

/ Pamela Kramer

Author Karsten Dusse is well-known in Germany as a lawyer, TV star, and very funny man. “Murder Mindfully” is his first novel, and it’s a doozy, This magnificently conceived novel amply demonstrates all his talents and does so in a stunning fashion that will leave many readers, including this one, with huge smiles and awe that such a humorous piece jumps off the pages of a pretty darn gory murder novel.

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‘The Hired Man’ by Sandra Dallas; historical fiction about the dust bowl and tragedy

/ Pamela Kramer

Well-written, gripping historical fiction like “The Hired Man” takes us back to another place and time and allows us to experience that setting through the eyes, and usually meticulous research of the author. Sandra Dallas takes us back to Colorado in 1937, during the time of the Dust Bowl, when instead of rain falling from the sky, dirt blew in from neighboring states blanketing the ground and covering everything with layers of dirt and grit. Thanks to her careful, detailed descriptions we can almost feel the grit in our mouths and eyes as a storm blankets the town with dirt.

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‘Moonlight Runner’ by Karen Robards is historical fiction at its best

/ Pamela Kramer

Karen Robards’ brilliance lies in her ability to take historical events, add fictional characters, and wring us dry emotionally as her strong, independent female protagonists march through important historical events risking everything to follow their beliefs. “The Moonlight Runner” takes us to Ireland in 1918. The Great War, as they called World War I, has just ended, but instead of being felled by a German-speaking enemy, people are being killed by an invisible organism known as the Spanish flu. Living in a small Irish town on the coast is Rynn Carmichael.

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‘Storm Warning’ by Alice Henderson is a magnificent combination of thrills and conservation

/ Pamela Kramer

Alice Henderson’s thrilling and fascinating series about Alex Carter, a wildlife biologist whose past adventures have taken her to study jaguars, wolverines, polar bears, and caribou, now takes her to Hawai’i. In “Storm Warning,” Alex has been asked to monitor a beach where hawksbill turtles are laying their eggs. The timing is perfect as she was just coming off of another job and had the time. Also, returning to the island where she lived with her parents for a while brings back fond memories.

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‘Bloodlust’ by Sandra Brown is a sexy thriller

/ Pamela Kramer

In Sandra Brown’s new novel “Bloodlust,” the action is set in the same Louisiana town as her previous novel with “blood” in the title, “Blood Moon.” And while the main characters from “Blood Moon” appear in this novel, it’s not a sequel. The similarities, though, are hard to ignore. In the new novel, it’s Detective Mitch Haskell who sits stage center, with therapist Dylan Reede taking an important, but secondary, role. The main characters from “Blood Moon” are supporting characters, and it definitely helps to have read “Blood Moon” first, but this is certainly a stand alone novel as well.

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‘The Hospital at the End of the World’ by Justin C. Key feels something like the end of our world as we know it

/ Pamela Kramer

“The Hospital at the End of the World” is as much a warning to the world as it is a medical/mystery novel. Justin C. Key implies (or sometimes says boldly and unequivocally) that Artificial Intelligence presents a potential danger to humanity that we ignore at our own very real peril. Though the book deals specifically with the effects of a future AI on our medical systems and beliefs, we can see all too clearly the frightening effects that the technology poses for all of us.

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‘I Came Back for You’ by Kate White; a mother’s love and a serial killer

/ Pamela Kramer

Kate White’s newest thriller, “I Came Back for You,” is truly an edge-of-your-seat mystery because she keeps the lid on tight over the killing that is at the center of the story. Bree Winter lives in Uruguay with her partner Sebastian on a chacra, an idyllic farm, nestled near the ocean. But in spite of her happiness with Sebastian, she’s kept a part of her past life hidden. She’s never completely shared what happened when her daughter was murdered during her junior year of college. Now, information surfaces that perhaps the serial killer whom they thought had killed Melanie didn’t do it.

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‘The Fourth Princess’ by Janie Chang is fabulous historical fiction

/ Pamela Kramer

Well-written historical fiction immerses us into the past as surely as a movie might pictorially show us a scene. In “The Fourth Princess,” author Janie Chang takes us to China in 1911, and we learn about the Boxer Rebellion and the endangered Imperial dynasty. The action is set in Shanghai, and the story is cleverly told through two points of view. Liu Lisan (first names are second in China) is an orphan taken in by a wealthy bachelor from a very important family. She was educated at private schools, but wants to make her own way in the world. The other main character, Caroline Stanton, is a newly arrived wealthy American who wants to hire a secretary to help her with her social obligations. Instead of hiring an American, she decides that a Chinese secretary might be more useful.

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