THE CRIMSON ROOMS by Katharine McMahon

THE CRIMSON ROOMS, by Katharine McMahon, opens in 1924, with thirty-one year old Evelyn Gifford shaken by a recurring nightmare involving her brother, James, dying in agony at the age of twenty on a muddy battlefield. She is startled to hear a knock at the front door in the middle of the night. Much to her bewilderment, a woman is standing in the entrance with a little boy who looks exactly like Evelyn’s late brother. The stranger introduces herself as Meredith Duffy; she is accompanied by her son, six-year-old Edmund, whom she claims is James’s child. The arrival of these guests throws the Gifford household, consisting of Evelyn, her mother, grandmother, aunt, and two maids, into turmoil.

February 12, 2011 В· Judi Clark В· No Comments
Tags: , ,  В· Posted in: Class - Race - Gender, Facing History, Mystery/Suspense

UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand

UNBROKEN by Lauren Hillenbrand, is the inspirational story of a courageous and resilient man, Louis Silvie Zamperini who, after flying a series of dangerous missions during World War II, spent over forty days stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a life raft with two of his buddies. They were scorched by the sun, buffeted by storms, and subsisted on a minuscule amount of food and water. Subsequently, Zamperini was captured and interned in a series of brutal Japanese POW camps where he was treated mercilessly by his sadistic captors. Miraculously, he emerged, battered and emaciated, but still alive. Little did he know that some of his biggest battles still lay ahead.

January 29, 2011 В· Judi Clark В· No Comments
Tags: , ,  В· Posted in: Non-fiction, y Award Winning Author

YOU KNOW WHEN THE MEN ARE GONE BY Siobhan Fallon

In this terse and bold book of eight interconnected stories featuring Fort Hood army wives, breakout author Siobhan Fallon invites readers to peek through the hazy base-house curtains into largely uncharted territory. She offers an intimate glimpse of the spouses and children left behind to cope when the men in the fictional infantry battalion of 1-7 Cav are deployed to Iraq.

January 28, 2011 В· Judi Clark В· No Comments
Tags: ,  В· Posted in: 2011 Favorites, Contemporary, Short Stories, Texas

A LONELY DEATH by Charles Todd

A Lonely Death, by Charles Todd, is one of the most haunting mysteries in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series. The year is 1920 and the First World War has taken an enormous toll on the young Englishmen who naively went off to battle, expecting excitement and adventure. What they found, instead, was terror and violent death. Those who returned were often shell-shocked and/or physically maimed; their families suffered along with the damaged soldiers.

January 23, 2011 В· Judi Clark В· No Comments
Tags: , , , , ,  В· Posted in: Facing History, Psychological Suspense, Sleuths Series, United Kingdom

THE SEVERANCE by Elliott Sawyer

Author Elliott Sawyer earned a Bronze Star while serving tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a captain in the 101st Airborne Division. His intimate knowledge of military operations enables the actions scenes to come alive and lend credibility to his characters. Jake Roberts has a not-so-pretty past, and his punishment is to lead a platoon of misfits with past drug, alcohol and assault charges. The battalion commander sends the Kodiak Platoon on the “dirty” missions that no one else wants. During one of these night details, the platoon stumbles across a cache of funds, stolen by a corrupt contractor. Jake and his men opt to smuggle the cash back to the U.S. when they’re discharged rather than turn it over to the authorities. They call it their severance pay.

December 30, 2010 В· Judi Clark В· No Comments
Tags: ,  В· Posted in: Afghanistan, Debut Novel, Thriller/Spy/Caper

DEVIL’S DREAM by Madison Smartt Bell

This is a slave talking about his master, Nathan Bedford Forrest, a real character who became one of the most respected Confederate generals in the Civil War. At one point, Bedford breaks a pot over Ben’s head in rage at his insubordination, only to realize that there is a better way to gain his cooperation. So at considerable expense of time and treasure, he seeks out Ben’s wife, who had been sold away from him, and buys her back to be his companion. A former slave-trader who nonetheless treats his people with respect, this is only one of the contradictions that make Forrest so fascinating.

November 26, 2010 В· Judi Clark В· No Comments
Tags: , , , , ,  В· Posted in: Facing History, US South, y Award Winning Author