Book Review – Another Arm Chair Opinion

Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence by Carol Berkin

Released 2006.02.14 | Finished 2024.06.06 | Purchased

Note: A number of lectures are available on YouTube regarding this book, one hosted by American Revolution Institute dated January 7, 2016

As Dr. Berkin points out in one of the YouTube discussions of this book, women were not merely observers of the American Revolution. They did not sit on the sideline like at a football game and cheer on the participants or specific plays/actions within the battles. Whether a camp follower or the female at the home/business front regardless of her race or social standing, women were participants.

Dr. Berkin looked at the women on the North American continent as they were involved and how they were treated in the Revolution. Patriots vs Loyalists; well-to-do vs poor; White vs Indian vs Black.

Women were in contact with both sides of the conflict. If she had stayed on the farm regardless of her success in maintaining the acres, troops came through like locusts taking what they could use. If the woman was lucky, raiding the larder was the only crime against her. Some of these ladies would destroy their work rather than have it stolen. Camp followers of both sides included colonial women in multiple capacities and for protection. Some found themselves taking water on the battleground as refreshment for men or cooling cannon.

Dr. Berkin’s examples of the situations women were varied and not the ones usually cited in history books written by men. She examined archives for information that was designated as ‘other’ to find information left by women. She also examined oral histories that were generally designated to the outer boundaries of history.

Recommendation: Excellent for women’s studies classes (at least they were called that 20 years ago) and for background/groundwork in American history. The book is finding an audience as the nation nears its 250^th anniversary.

About the Author

Carol Ruth Berkin was born in Mobile, Alabama on October 1, 1942. The mother of two, Berkin earned her undergraduate work at Barnard College (1964) and her Ph.D. from Columbia. American historian and writer, she is currently the Baruch Presidential Professor of History, City University of New York (en.wikipedia.org). Dr. Berkin has also consulted on several PBS and History Channel documentaries and is board members of the National Council for History Education and The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (www.Amazon.com).

Her published work includes:

Clio in the Classroom: Teaching Women’s History (ed. with Margaret Crocco and Barbara Winslow) pub. 2009.02.02

Civil War Wives pub 2010.11.15

Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for American Independence pub 2005.02.01

Looking Forward/Looking Back: a Women’s Studies Reader (ed. with Carole Appel and Judith Pinch) pub 2005.05.27

A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution pub 2002.09.13

Women’s Voices/Women’s Lives: Documents in Early American Women’s History pub 1998.05.07

First Generations: Women In Colonial America pub 1997.07.01

Making America: A History of the U.S. (with Christopher Miller, Robert Cherny, and James Gormly) pub 2011.07.27

Women, War and Revolution (ed. With Clara Lovett and Holmes Meier) pub 1980.01.01

Women of America: A History (ed. With Mary Beth Norton) pub 1979.01.01

Jonathan Sewall: Odyssey of an American Loyalist pub. 2000.01.01

Wondrous Beauty: Betsy Bonaparte, the Belle of Baltimore who Married Napoleon’s Brother pub 2014.11.04

A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci

Released 2024.04.16 | Finished 2024.05.27 | borrowed from local library

This was difficult to get past the first chapter, in fact, I set it aside and read another novel before digging into the novel. I had to get into a different frame of mind to go forward. This is a novel that takes place during my youth, a sophomore in college. Having been a reader of classics at the time with glances at the newspaper, the political happenings of the time were marginal in my world. Had I more actively looked at the country from a political or social perspective, I would not now be looking at the setting of the book as a foreigner. I was raised in southern Indiana in a rural setting where racial issues were something that took place over there, i.e., Jefferson County, Kentucky. It was not something that touched me. So going into this book, some of the historical background was familiar but the legal side of Virginia was as unfamiliar as the surface of Mars.

The novel is set in Freeman Co., Virginia in 1968. It is weeks after the murders of Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luthur King, Jr. An elderly, white, affluent couple were brutally killed in their home. The only known person on the property other than the couple was a Black, Vietnam-veteran workman who was found with the bodies of the couple by the police who responded to a dispatch. The anonymous caller had stated that there were murder victims at the location. After handcuffing the non-violent man, one of the policemen beat him with a Billy club.

The prosecution is ready to try within a week giving the defense little time to prepare. Witnesses present themselves like a game of Wack-a-mole which is disturbing when considering the evidence. In the white community, the defendant Jerome Washington has been tried and found guilty before the evidence had been shared in court. A special judge is brought in from retirement, the prosecutor is the state attorney general, and political entities such as George Wallace are perched to get a piece of the action as he is in the running for President of the United States. Wallace’s financial backer, Howard Pickett’s presence is a constant reminder of the importance of the outcome of the trial. Jack Lee is a local white attorney who takes on the case and soon finds himself with a Chicago, civil rights, Black attorney Desiree DuBose.

The 472 page novel is a reminder of a time of unrest in this country for those old enough to have witnessed those times or a fictionalized historical account for younger readers to realize that the events of the present morphed from a troubled history that could have been avoided had measures been taken post-Civil War. The moral of the story, listen to what is said, question beyond the surface, evaluate as Justice with covered eyes but not covered ears.

About the Author

David Baldacci was born on August 5, 1960, in Richmond, Virginia according to his bio on bing.com. He graduated with a political science BA from Virginia Commonwealth followed by a Juris Doctor from University of Virginia. While practicing law, his novel writing career was launched with the publication of Absolute Power in 1996 which became in international hit (and made into a movie starring Clint Eastwood). He has published 46 novels for adults and seven novels for young readers.

His philanthropic interests include Wish You Well Foundation (co-founded with his wife, Michelle), National Multiple Sclerosis Society (since his sister, Sharon Baldacci was diagnosed with it), and Mark Twain House & Museum.

The Reaper Follows by Heather Graham

Released 2024.04.02 | Finished 2024.05.22 | Borrowed from local library

The fourth book in the series – the previous being Danger in Numbers, Crimson Summer, and Shadow of Death – the main characters Agent Amy Larson of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on loan to the FBI and Special Agent Hunter Forrest of the FBI have been solving cases that use the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. This case is the pale horseman, the final. The agents with the help of members of the FDLE have been able to identify the first three horsemen and hope that the fourth will lead them to the mastermind behind the crimes, the Archangel.

In this case, the crimes involve a presidential candidate who is trying to bring the left and the right to the bargaining table. He advocates bringing opposing sides together, listening to both arguments of an issue, and negotiating a compromise. The candidate, Frank Hamilton, has drawn support from a group known as the Commonsense Party who are tired of the extremes of the political parties and lack of compromise.

When bodies are found in the Everglades that are members of the Commonsense Party and ties to a previously unknown church, the investigation includes Larson and Forrest when a pale horse is found in the hand of one of the deceased. The investigation looks at Hamilton’s group when it is discovered that some of the murder victims and kidnapped victims were ‘recruited’ during rallies for Hamilton.

Unfortunately for the agents and the team of agencies involved, the team cannot complete an area before new ones are found. Unluckily for the Archangel, the team is made of local police, tribal police, state police, and federal police. There will be no jurisdictional issues in making an arrest if the culprit can be identified and verified.

About the Author

Heather Graham Pozzessere, Heather Graham, Shannon Drake

Heather was born on March 15, 1953, in Dade County, Florida. She married Dennis Pozzessere after finishing high school and then entered South Florida University where she earned a degree in theater arts. Her resume includes bar tendering, dinner theater, singing vocals as backup. Following the birth of her third child, she decided to become a stay-at-home mom and began writing. She sold her first novel, When Next We Love, in 1982. Her bio on the book jacket states that she is a scuba diver, ballroom dancer, the mother of five, and enjoys traveling.

Heather writes under all three names – depending on the genre of fiction that she is writing. She has over 280 titles under the three names combined.

America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Released 2016.03.01 | Finished 2024.05.19 | Own

Praised by critics as an historical novel that catches the elusive history of Thomas Jefferson and his daughter Martha ‘Patsy’ Jefferson Randolph. The widowed Jefferson was left with two daughters to raise. The older was already a favorite companion of the revolutionary who as a young teen must guide her father through his madness and grief at the loss of her mother in a world that holds many enemies of her father. She was thrust into a world of diplomats and political enemies at an early age which only proved to be a training ground for the needs of her father when he was elected President of the United States.

Through the years and in political situations, Patsy was helped by future first ladies, Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison. Their sisterhood that looked beyond the entanglements of their spouses and father. The future of the United States depended on the ability of these women to hold the society of diplomacy together. They might not be the ones signing the treaties or passing laws, but they were the ones to control the hubris of their men in public and to advise them in private.

The novel is 580 pages long. At times that seemed quite long to someone who does not tither at a new history or historical novel. There were pages that seemed familiar, but such is the case when reading historical novels that have stories that overlap with other historical novels, biographies, and history texts. The reader expects to have these moments of déjà vu. The book was informative especially once the reader connects with the authors’ notes to explain historical situations vs. hypothetical/fictional situations. I read this for a book club – unless it had contained information that I need for a current historical project, I most likely would not have read it. However, because of the obligation to the club, I did finish it rather than escape to more modern fiction. That will not be the case for a reader that enjoys biography or historical fiction. There was something to be learned about Patsy Jefferson Randolph and this book provided a means to do so.

The Authors

Stephanie Dray (aka Stephanie Draven) is an American writer of historical and fantasy fiction known for her research and accuracy. According to the Elisabeth Storrs website, Stephanie is a frequent panelist and presenter at nation writing conventions, a former lawyer, game designer, and teacher.

Laura (A. Croghan) Kamoie (b. August 27, 1970, in Hagerstown, Maryland) is an historian (Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy) and author. She graduated cum laude from Dickinson College in 1992 and later earned her MA and PhD in American History from the College of William and Mary. She writes historical fiction and non-fiction as Kamoie and romantic fiction as Luara Kaye. Under her combined names, she has 44 titles.

Holmes, Marple & Poe by James Patterson and Brian Sitts

Released 2024.01.08 | Finished 2024.05.09 | Borrowed from local library

An unlikely group of names to head an investigative company and yet Patteson and Sitts pulls characters together in a company to antagonize members of the police establishment of New York City.

Brendon Holmes is a light skinned Black person who dresses expensively. He has a problem with a drug addiction. His sense of smell is hypersensitive.

Margaret Marple is an attractive young woman who dresses practically, uses minimum makeup, a fast runner, people watcher, and an introvert.

Auguste Poe is soft spoken, with wavy dark hair, thin moustache, drinker, and mourns a love lost years prior to this business arrangement.

The opening chapter has the trio purchasing an office in Bushwick, a section of New York City, which was built in the 1800s, 9000 sq. ft. former bakery. It is the location of an unsolved 1954 murder of one of the bakery’s employees. They transform the two story space into offices, waiting area, conference room, gym, and chef’s kitchen on the first floor and three apartments and library (with an 18 foot ladder to reach the highest shelf of books) on the second floor.

Their connection with the police is detective Helen Grey.

The trio becomes immediately infamous in the city by solving the murder of a missing lawyer. The grand opening of their office only compounds the situation. The office line becomes so busy that it is necessary to hire an office assistant, Virginia, who anticipates the needs of her employers before they have thought of them.

Cases come their way at dizzying speeds keeping the local police and the FBI in constant touch.

Can the reader expect to see more of these investigators? (This one hopes so.) The reader is given a sketch about the trio and hints about their backstories. None have fingerprints on file, a PI license, discernible backgrounds. How are they able to operate a business legally? Helen Grey would like to know. The FBI might want to know.

About the Authors

James Patterson (James Brendan Patterson) was born on March 22, 1947, in Newburgh, New York. His parents were middle class with his mother listed as a homemaker and teacher and his father an insurance broker. Patterson graduated with a BA in English from Manhattan College and MA from Vanderbilt University (where he was in the PhD program before taking an advertising executive position). He became a full-time writer in 1996. He married in 1997 and they have a child. The family lives in Lake Worth Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida

A popular author, according to the article on Wikipedia, his annual income has been up to $95M with his income for the last decade has been estimated at $700M. He has sold more than 425M copies of his books. His name appears as an author on 388 books. (List has previously been given)

Brian Sitts is an advertising creative director and television writer. His Linked-In page states that he is the executive producer and head writer at KID STEW TV/PBS. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in English and Public Communications. He and his wife live in Peekskill, New York.

23 ½ Lies by James Patterson contains 3 Bookshots

23 ½ Lies (Women’s Murder Club) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Fallen Ranger by James Patterson and Andrew Bourelle

Watch Your Back by James Patterson and Loren D. Estleman

Released 2023.09.12 | Finished 2024.05.06 | Borrowed from local library

This is a collection of three BookShots and termed by Patteson with each having a theme of lies.

In 23 ½ Lies, Patterson and Paetro share a story about the Women’s Murder Club. Marty Boxer, Lindsey’s long lost father, shows up killed execution style within walking distance of her precinct. As the title implies, Lindsey learns some truths about Marty.

In Fallen Ranger, Patterson and Bourelle share a story about the investigation of the XYZ Gang and the Cereal Killer by the Texas Rangers around the town of Snakebite. Ranger Carlos Castillo, a friend of Ranger Rory Yates, asks Yates to investigate the Gang while reporting that he is investigating the Cereal Killer, a cold case. Castillo suspects that a former ranger is involved. He has two men with whom he associates that have records. Complicating the matter farther, the former ranger was Yates mentor when he joined the Rangers.

Watch Your Back by Patterson and Estleman share a story about an artist, Dennis Cooke, who is hired by media tycoon Todd Plevin to spy on his wife. The wife is going to drive from Illinois to California to attend a medical convention for her administrative job. Plevin wants Cooke to follow her to discover who she is actually going to meet. Cooke, who takes the job though stating he is no detective, is promised the new car he is to drive and $20,000 for taking the job with an additional $10,000 for discovering evidence to use in divorce court.

About the Authors

Maxine Paetro is a former advertising executive (1975-1987), she published books on advertising before writing several titles of fiction. Broccoli Hall (Amenia, New York), her garden has been featured in national magazines (House & Garden, Victoria, Country Garden, and Country Homes). The garden is in the Garden Conservancy Open Days Program. She also refined and developed a variety of koi known as Ki Shusui, followed on Koiphen.com

Andrew Bourelle Associate Professor Andrew Bourelle has writing credits in fiction and non-fiction. His work appears in a number of literary magazines and anthologies as well as novels alone and in partnership with James Patterson. His non-fiction work can be found in Communication Design Quarterly, composition Forum, Computers and Composition, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Journal of Teaching Writing, Kairos, and Technical Communication Quarterly. He teaches at the University of New Mexico. His classes include rhetoric and writing and creative writing.

He has 19 books associated with his name.

Loren D. Estleman (9/15/1952 in Ann Arbor, MI -) writes fiction (detective and Western). Old school, he writes on a manual typewriter. Estleman graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a BA in English and journalism. His writing career opened with The Oklahoma Punk, a PI Amos Walker novel, in 1976. His writing has been awarded the American Mystery Awards, Golden Spurs, and 3 Western Heritage Awards. He has also been honored by the Michigan Foundation of the Arts and the Michigan Library Association.

He has 98 books and multitudes of articles associated with his name.

12 Months to Live by James Patterson and Mike Lupica

Released 2023.09.18 | Finished 2024.05.02| Borrowed from local library

Defense attorney Jane Smith has a client that she cannot control, and she does not believe. He is a rich, privileged, spoiled, married man who is on trial for the murder a young woman and her parents. The more information her partner-investigator, Jimmy Cunniff, discovers, the more guilty the client, Rob Jacobson, looks. The client’s behavior is very indicative of a person who thinks he can do anything he wants, say anything he wants, and be immune to the people who will judge him in the press and in the courtroom. Perhaps, the only situation that keeps out of more trouble is that he is locked up from arrest until trial.

Jane is running a defense after she learns from her best woman friend and doctor that she has cancer in her neck and head. Jane wants to finish the trial before she starts treatment thinking that the case may be her last. Up until the time of this trial, she has won all her court cases, but so has the district attorney, and they are both good at what they do.

Many twists and turns.

About the Authors

A very popular author, according to the article on Wikipedia, his annual income has been up to $95M with his income for the last decade has been estimated at $700M. He has sold more than 425M copies of his books. His name appears as an author on 388 books. (List has previously been given)

Mike Lupica was born on May 11, 1952, in Oneida, New York. He graduated from Boston College. He is considered the most prominent sportswriter in the US, he has appeared in Esquire Magazine, Travel + Leisure Golf, Golf Digest, Parade, ESPN The Magazine, and Men’s Journal. He is the author of young adult novels as well as writing with or for Robert Parker and James Patteson. His name appears as an author on seventy-five books which includes:

title	with/for	release date
The House of Wolves	James Patterson	2024.08.20
Hard to Kill	James Patterson	2024.07.29
Broken Trust	Robert B. Parker	2023.11.28
12 Months to Live	James Patterson	2023.09.25
Fallout	Robert B. Parker	2022.09.06
Untitled Jesse Stone	Robert B. Parker	2022.09.06
Revenge Tour	Robert B. Parker	2022.05.03
The Horsewoman	James Patterson	2022.01.10
Stone’s Throw	Robert B. Parker	2021.09.07
Defending Champ		2021.09.07
Payback	Robert B. Parker	2021.05.04
Grudge Match	Robert B. Parker	2021.03.30
Fool’s Paradise	Robert B. Parker	2020.09.08
Triple Threat		2020.08.25
The Turnover		2020.05.12
The Zach & Zoe Mysteries: The Hall of Fame Heist		2020.01.28
Wild Pitch		2020.01.01
The Zach & Zoe Mysteries: The Lacrosse Mix-Up		2019.11.05
Strike Zone		2019.09.10
The Zach & Zoe Mysteries All Star Collection		2019.09.10
No Slam Dunk		2019.08.20
Batting Order		2019.05.28
The Hockey Rink Hunt		2019.05.21
The Home Team Paperback		2019.04.02
The Zach & Zoe Mysteries: The Soccer Secret		2019.01.29
Blood Feud	Robert B. Parker	2018.11.27
The Zach & Zoe Mysteries: The Football Fiasco		2018.08.21
The Zach & Zoe Mysteries: The Missing Baseball		2018.05.01
The Half-Court Hero		2018.05.01
The Zack & Zoe Mysteries Books 1-2		2018.05.01
Point Guard		2018.04.03
Team Players		2018.04.03
Lone Stars		2017.09.12
Last Man Out		2016.09.13
Fast Break		2016.08.23
The Extra Yard (Home Team)		2016.01.12
The Only Game		2015.02.17
Fantasy League		2014.09.16
Heavy Hitters		2014.02.25
QB 1		2013.09.17
Play Makers		2013.02.05
Game Changers		2012.05.01
True Legend		2012.01.01
The Underdogs		2011.09.06
Travel Team & the Big Field		2011.05.12
Hero		2010.10.25
Shoot-Out: A Comeback Kids		2010.01.01
The Batboy		2009.11.09
Million Dollar Throw		2009.11.03
Fathers & Sons & Sports: Great Writing		2009.05.26
Two-Minute Drill		2009.05.14
Comeback Kids: Hot Hand		2009.05.14
Comeback Kids: Long Shot		2008.10.02
The Mike Lupica Collection		2008.09.11
Safe At Home: Comeback Kids		2008.08.14
Summer Ball		2008.05.15
The Big Field		2008.03.04
Heat		2006.04.01
Miracle on 49th Street		2006.01.01
Travel Team		2004.12.26
Too Far		2004.01.01
Red Zone		2003.01.01
Full Court Press		2001.01.01
Bump and Run		2000.10.23
Summer of ’98		1999.01.01
Yankees ’98 Best Ever		1999.01.01
The Fred Book: Discourses of ’57		1998.06.01
Mad As Hell: How Sports Got Away		1996.01.01
Jump		1995.01.01
Limited Partner		1990.01.01
Shooting from the Lip: Essays		1988.04.01
Extra Credits		1988.01.01
Parcells: Autobiography		1987.01.01
Dead Air		1986.01.01
Reggie: The Autobiography		1984.06.01

The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House by Daniel Mark Epstein

Released 2017.05.30 | Finished 2024.04.18 | own

Since I am not an historian, my comments come from a non-history education. I do genealogy in my spare time and discovered that there is a blood relationship between these men and my family. Ben is my second cousin x10 times removed. Much closer than the relationship to Barbara Pierce Bush who is my 8^th cousin. Why is any of that important – other than to wonder what dear cousin Ben would think of this country after all that he and son William gave up?

This is not the only family branch that broke apart during that volatile time in this nation’s history. It is just that most are not so well documented or on public display for the world to poke at or to dissect.

For some colonists, calling the Revolutionary War a civil war was a better description.

Ben was a loyal British citizen. He worked for the crown as co- Post Master General. He improved the delivery of mail. That is not to say that he did not take advantage of having free mail and contact every eminent person that he could whether on the North American continent or throughout the European Commonwealth and other European countries. Ben was a man of letters and science. William was involved and both were well known.

When the Crown and Parliament pitted the two against each other, their break with each other was inevitable. Parliament isolated Ben made a spectacle of him and accused him of being responsible for crimes committed in the colonies against the Crown. While with the help of Ben, William was put in charge of a colony. Ben became a champion to the colonists though he was still looking for a way to reconnect the colonies to the Crown. In the multiple positions that he was appointed by Continental Congress, he worked to complete the tasks. William became a substitute for the British, and he was made aware of how a large number of colonists felt about British rule without the colonists having representation in Parliament.

Personally, father and son lost the closeness that they had developed. They were pulled apart by their experiences and by the political forces around them. This book looks at those forces and makes the situation even more thought provoking.

How would any of us deal with a comparable situation? Oh, there was our Civil War, the Vietnam War, and the protesters to any ‘police action’ in other parts of the world where someone has overstepped what is socially acceptable or where someone bullies another. Never forget that no action that tears apart the lives of people creates human misery of multiple proportions.

About the Author

Daniel Mark Epstein is an American poet, dramatist, and biographer. He has also translated plays by Plautus and Euripides (Latin and Greek). He was born on October 25, 1948, in Washington, D.C. He grew up in a Maryland suburb of DC and in Vienna on the Eastern Shore, Maryland.

His education includes public schools in Prince George’s County, MD, Kenyon college, and a graduate semester at University of Virginia. Epstein conducted seminars at John Hopkins and taught at Randolph Macon, Towson State University, and Maryland college Institute of Art in the 1980s. The 1990s revealed his ability to write fair biographies and translated a Greek and Latin play. In the first decade of the 21^st century, Epstein concentrated on the Lincoln trilogy. In the years since, his work turned his study to the Franklins and poetry.

A list of his work in prose.

title	release
Star of Wonder	1986.01.01
Love’s Compass: A Natural History of the Heart	1990.01.01
Sister Aimee: The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson	1993.01.01
Nat King Cole	1999.11.12
What Lips My Lips Have Kissed: The Loves and Love Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay	2002.09.01
Lincoln and Whitman: Parallel Lives in Civil War Washington	2004.01.01
The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage	2008.01.01
Lincoln’s Men: The President and His Private Secretaries	2009.02.03
The Ballad of Bob Dylan: A Portrait	2011.01.01
The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House	2017.05.30

The #1 Lawyer by James Patterson and Nancy Allen

Released 2024.03.18 | Finished 2024.04.26 | Borrowed from local library

Another mystery that is so hard to put down!

Stafford Lee Penny is a second generation lawyer in Biloxi. He has never lost a case and he is up against a district attorney who has never lost a case. The accused is the son of a Dixie Mafia boss who is/was a client of Penny Sr. Stafford Lee’s client, Daniel Caro, tis accused of murdering Aurora Gates, the niece of DA Henry Gordon-James. The winner either increases his legend or will be gunning for the other man in court.

When Penny’s wife, her lover, and the father of Aurora Gates’s bodies are found shot dead in Penny’s bedroom, his world falls out from underneath him. When he is accused of the murders, it is up to him to solve them to free himself, if that is possible. His conduct inside and outside of the courtroom has convinced everyone that he committed the crime and a couple of others that are still cold cases. Those that include loyal are his best friend, Mason Burnett, a fellow lawyer, and his investigator, Jenny.

About the Authors

Patterson’s 2024 released and to be released books are:

F/NF/Bio	Title of Patterson book	co-author	series/standalone	published
FIC	The House of Cross		Alex Cross series #33	2024.11.25
FIC	Raised by Wolves	Emily Raymond	standalone	2024.11.19
nonf	Medal of Honor	Matt Eversmann	standalone	2024.10.21
FIC	Murder Island	Brian Sitts	Doc Savage series	2024.10.08
FIC	Lies He Told Me	David Ellis	standalone	2024.09.30
FIC	Hard to Kill	Mike Lupica	Jane Smith series #2	2024.07.29
nonf	Tiger, Tiger	Peter de Jonge	standalone	2024.07.15
FIC	Confessions of the Dead	J. D. Barker	standalone	2024.07.09
FIC	Cemetery Lake	J. D. Barker	standalone	2024.07.09
FIC	Eruption	Michael Crichton	standalone	2024.06.23
FIC	The 24th Hour	Maxine Paetro	Women’s Murder Club series #24	2024.05.06
FIC	The Murder Inn	Candice Fox	standalone	2024.04.16
nonf	The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians	Matt Eversman	standalone	2024.04.08
FIC	The #1 Lawyer	Nancy Allen	standalone	2024.03.18
VIC	Crosshairs	James O. Born	Michael Bennett series #16	2024.02.12
FIC	Missing Persons	Adam Hamby	Private series #16	2024.01.30
FIC	Holmes, Miss Marple & Poe Investigations	Brian Sitts	Holmes, Marple & Poe series #1	2024.01.08
FIC	Million Dollar Mess	Martin Chatterton	Middle School series #16	2024.01.08

Nancy Allen

According to her website, Nancy Allen practiced law for fifteen years. She was Assistant Missouri Attorney General for fifteen years. She also worked as an Assistant Prosecutor where she tried over thirty cases before juries. She taught law for fifteen years at Missouri State University.

title	series	release date
The Code of the Hills	Ozarks Mystery series	2014.05.20
A Killing at the Creek	Ozarks Mystery series	2015.02.17
The Wages of Sin	Ozarks Mystery series	2016.04.26
A Wolf in the Woods	Ozarks Mystery series	2018.02.20
Juror #3	w/James Patterson	2018.09.10
The Jailhouse Lawyer	w/James Patterson	2021.09.20
Renegade	Anonymous Justice series	2022.03.22
Payback	Anonymous Justice series	2023.05.16
The #1 Lawyer	w/James Patterson	2024.03.18

It Had to Be You (Under Suspicion series) by Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke

Released 2024.04.16 | Finished 20234.04.23 | Borrowed from local library

If you have any immediate deadlines, stay away from this title!

The new story for the Under Suspicion news crew involves a near ten-year old cold case. Twins dubbed the Deadly Duo have been under suspicion of killing their parents.

Ten years ago, Sarah and Richard Harrington held a college graduation party in conjunction with her best friend Betsy and Walter Ward for their sons at the local yacht club. Richard and Walter were also two of three partners in a law firm. The couples had decided that everyone that attended the party had to be dressed completely in white.

Sarah and Richard left the party early to return to their summer home less than a mile from the yacht club. They never returned. Shortly after their murders, their bodies were discovered by the young woman that walked the family dog. Soon thereafter, the police were at the graduation party to break the news to the children, twins Simon and Ethan and younger sister Frankie. The third member of the law firm, who had arrived at the yacht club late, stated that he had observed one of the twin boys returning from the parking lot and the vehicle that the twins had driven to the party. The twins had been under suspicion of murder with both accusing the other of the crime.

Ten years later, Frankie is in her last semester of college, ready to receive her inheritance. She stays connected with her brothers, but they have not talked to each other since the investigation of the murders. Frankie wants answers and her family to be whole. She contacted Laurie Moran to see if the television producer would consider investing the cold case and do what she does best, do what the police were unable to do, solve the crime and identify the person responsible for the murders.

About the Authors

Mary Higgins Clark (December 24, 1927 – January 31, 2020) was of Irish descent. Her father died in 1939; he left a widow with three children to support. As the children became old enough to work at odd jobs, they did so. Following graduation from secretarial school, Mary went to work at Remington Rand. There she was a fellow employee of Joseph Keller and Grace Kelly.

Mary’s writing began when she was in high school. Her first published story was the result of a college writing assignment, forty rejections, and six years of trying to sell the story- it sold in 1956. Though Mary continued writing while raising a family and completing a degree at Fordham University in 1971, her first novel was released until January 1, 1975. Over fifty novels would follow in her writing career.

Alafair Burke (October 1969 -) is a professor of law, legal commentator, and American crime novelist with fourteen books in her name only and the Under Suspicion series with Clark. She is the daughter of a school librarian Pearl Pai Chu and crime novelist James Lee Burke. Her work in law includes serving as a judicial clerk in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney, Portland, Oregon.

Mary Higgins Clark Book List

Aspire To The Heavens, aka Mount Vernon Love Story 1968.01.01
Where Are The Children 1986.12.12
A Stranger Is Watching 1977.01.01
The Cradle Will Fall 1980.01.01
A Cry in the Night 1982.09
Stillwatch 1984.01.01
Weep No More, My Lady (Alvirah & Willie #1) 1987.01.01
While My Pretty One Sleeps 1989.07.01
The Anastasia Syndrome and Other Stories 1989.11.15
That’s The Ticket 1990.01.01
Voices in The Coal Bin 1990.10.01
Loves Music, Loves To Dance 1991.05.15
All Around The Town 1992.05.04
Milk Run 1993.01.01
Stowaway 1993.01.01
I’ll Be Seeing You 1993.05.05
Death On The Cape and Other Stories 1993.12.02
Remember Me 1994.05.02
The Lottery Winner And Other Stories (Alvirah & Willie #2) 1994.11.01
Let Me Call You Sweetheart 1995.05.08
Silent Night 1995.10.16
Moonlight Becomes You 1996.04.18
My Gal Sunday 1996.10.22
Pretend You Don’t See Her 1997.04.28
You Belong To Me 1998.04.21
All Through The Night (Alvirah & Willie #3) 1986.09.20
We’ll Meet Again 1999.04.26
Before I Say Goodbye 2000.01.01
Deck The Halls (with Carol Higgins Clark – Alvirah & Willie #4) 2000.11.30
On The Street Where You Live 2001.04.17
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping (with Carol Higgins Clark) 2004.11.03
Daddy’s Little Girl 2002.04.16
Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir 2002.01.01
The Second Time Around 2003.01.01
Nighttime Is My Time 2004.04.06
The Christmas Thief (with Carol Higgins Clark – Alvirah & willie #5) 2004.11.09
No Place Like Home 2005.04.05
Two Little Girls In Blue 2006.04.04
Santa Cruise (with Carol Higgins Clark – Alvirah & Willie #6) 2006.11.14
Ghost Ship 2007.04.03
I Heard That Song Before 2007.04.03
Where Are You Now? 2008.04.08
Dashing Through The Snow (with Carol Higgins Clark- Alvirah & Willie #7) 2008.11.18
Just Take My Heart 2009.04.07
The Shadow Of Your Smile 2010.04.13
I’ll Walk Alone (Alvirah & Willie #8) 2011.04.05
The Magical Christmas Horse (children’s story) 2011.10.25
The Lost Years (Alvirah & Willie #9) 2012.04.03
Daddy’s Gone A Hunting 2013.01.01
Inherit The Dead (multiple writers writing a chapter a piece) 2013.10.08
I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Under Suspicion #1 with Alafair Burke) 2014.04.01
The Cinderella Murder (Under Suspicion #2 with Alafair Burke) 2014.11.18
The Mystery Writers Of America Cookbook (multiple writers contributing) 2015.03.24
Death Wears A Beauty Mask and Other Stories 2015.04.23
The Five Dollar Dress (multiple writers’ short stories) 2015.06.02
The Melody Lingers On 2015.06.23
All Dressed In White (Under Suspicion #3 with Alafair Burke) 2015.11.17
As Time Goes By (Alvirah and Willy series #10) 2016.04.05
The Sleeping Beauty Killer (Under Suspicion #4 with Alafair Burke) 2016.11.15
All By Myself, Alone (Alvirah & Willie #11) 2017.04.04
Every Breath You Take (Under Suspicion #5 with Alafair Burk) 2017.11.07
I’ve Got My Eyes On You 2018.04.03
You Don’t Own Me (Under Suspicion #6 with Alafair Burke) 2018.11.06
Kiss The Girls And Make Them Cry 2019.11.05
Piece Of My Heart (Under Suspicion #7 with Alafair Burke) 2020.11.17
Where Are The Children Now? (with Alafair Burke) 2022.04.18
It Had To Be You (Under Suspicion #8 with Alafair Burke) 2024.04.16

Alafair Burke Book list

Find Me 2022.01.11
The Better Sister 2019.04.16
The Wife 2018.01.23
The Ex 2016.01.26
If You Were Here 2013.06.04
Long Gone 2012.05.22
All Day and a Night (Ellie Hatcher series) 2014.06.10
Never Tell (Ellie Hatcher series) 2012.06.19
212 (Ellie Hatcher Series) 2010.03.23
Angel’s Tip (Ellie Hatcher Series) 2008.01.01
Dead Connection (Ellie Hatcher series) 2007.07.10
Close Case (Samantha Kincaid series) 2005.07.06
Missing Justice (Samantha Kincaid series) 2004.06.02
Judgment Calls (Samantha Kincaid series) 2003.07.01