Dee Reads

Have you ever wondered where bloggers get their ideas? Some weeks I ask myself the same question. 🤣   Am I sitting on my couch when a comic book bubble suddenly appears over my head and there's a fantastic original theme?  I wish it were that easy, but I am fortunate to have a great sounding board who never fails to shoot off his own unique thoughts.  My brother, my reading cohort, friend, and whom I have mentioned throughout the blog is responsible for the seed that grew into this week's drop.  Here's Jay's inspiration - "It would be interesting to share some authors who have successfully written outside what is thought of as their genre." Jay mentioned one of his special favorites, Robert Dugoni .  Robert, author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series, also favored us with three books, that define the word special and are outside the mystery/thriller genre, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell , The World Played Chess , and Hold Strong .  Dugoni has proven himself...

  Book Review Connections🔖 Many years ago now, my mother was telling me about a person she'd met on an airplane.  It must have been a flight from Houston, Texas to Dayton, Ohio or vice versa, since that was the trip between her home and some of my siblings.  Mom was a lifelong reader of many genres, particularly mystery/thriller books.  That's probably how I got interested in some of the same books.  As Mom told me, she had just sat down on the plane and noticed her seatmate reading a book titled  Kiss the Girls .  Yes, from James Patterson's early years, published in 1997.  As a prodigious reader, my mother was surprised to see she'd missed a new, at the time, thriller.  However, that didn't stop her from instigating a conversation with her fellow passenger that lasted for well into their flight.  Would she have begun to talk to a complete stranger had it not been for that book?  Knowing my mom, likely not.  James Patterson c...

🍂New Releases🍂   I love, and I don't say this casually, the Fall season.  For all the obvious reasons; the cooler weather, the colorful leaves, the approaching holidays, and best of all, Fall reading.  This Fall, just a few short weeks away, there seems to be an abundance of great entries into some of my favorite series reading. Maybe some of yours too!  Drop a comment and let me know what series update you are most looking forward to this upcoming season.  📘Primed and ready to release on September 15th is number twelve in Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite Series. (I'm primed anyway.)   One Split Second  continues the story of Detective Crosswhite who I initially found through Kindle Unlimited, but have continued to read alongside Dugoni's stand-alone books.  By this time, Tracy is a mature and skilled detective as she takes on the defense of an old friend, also a female police officer.  Here's a taste: A girl’s unsolved disappearance....

Recently, I got a brain tickle that lead to a Wikipedia search in order to learn more about fiction genres.  For instance, did you know there are eight genres of fiction? And even more sub-genres and the list grows as more subs are coined all the time.  Here's a look at the list: Core Fiction Genres🍎 Fantasy : Uses magic and other supernatural elements, often set in fictional worlds (e.g., The Lord of the Rings ). Science Fiction : Focuses on futuristic science, space travel, and advanced technology (e.g., Dune ). Mystery : Follows a detective or character trying to solve a crime or secret. Romance : Centers on a love story between characters with an optimistic ending. Thriller/Horror : Builds high tension, fear, suspense, or dark scares. Historical Fiction : Takes place during a real past time period with invented characters or events. Contemporary/Realistic Fiction : Set in modern or realistic times with events that could actually happen in real life. Westerns : Set in the ...

As promised in last week's dispatch, I'm about to reveal three books, from my Summer Reading Challenges, that didn't quite meet my bar.  Before I drop the bomb, let me just say that because I didn't find these offerings to my liking or up to my standards, doesn't mean someone else won't.  In fact, as I've said many times, that's why reading is great - while this, that, or the other book might not have been one of my favorites doesn't mean it won't work for the next reader. Now, the explosion -  The Max Revere Series by Allison Brennan, Books 1-5, Notorious , Compulsion , Notorious , Shattered , Abandoned I've read all five books in this series over the course of a few months and rated them higher than perhaps I might have had I spent more time digesting and considering books 1-3.  I was so invested in Max's origin story I found myself riding a wave of positive feelings as I began the last two, Shattered and Abandoned.  In fact, I lingered...