Ronald E. Yates's Blog, page 83

The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 9

(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)   

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“Greetings!  Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop!  These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent.  Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members!  Way to go RWISA!

We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review.  There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.

Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”

[image error] Author, Bette Stevens

Book: DOG BONE SOUP – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S5RMUDK/

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Book Blurb: Whether or not You Grew Up in the 1950s and 60s, you’ll find DOG BONE SOUP (Historical Fiction) to be soup for the soul. In this coming-of-age novel, Shawn Daniels’s father is the town drunk. Shawn and his brother Willie are in charge of handling everything that needs to be done around the ramshackle place they call home—lugging in water for cooking and cleaning, splitting and stacking firewood…But when chores are done, these resourceful kids strike out on boundless adventures that don’t cost a dime. DOG BONE SOUP is the poignant tale of a dysfunctional family struggling to survive in America in the 50s and 60s, when others were living The American Dream.

Twitter: @BetteAStevens

  JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT”  READS BLOG HOP   (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)

Thursday, 9/27/18:  “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott

Friday, 9/28/18:  “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece

Saturday, 9/29/18:  “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos

Sunday, 9/30/18:  “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti

 

 

The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 8

(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)   

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“Greetings!  Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop!  These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent.  Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members!  Way to go RWISA!

We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review.  There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.

Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”

[image error] Author, Bernard Foong

Book: TURPITUDE – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LQYPU30/

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Book Blurb: Turpitude is the fourth book to A Harem Boy’s Saga, a provocative story about a young man who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society through his UK boarding school. From there, he was spirited to the Middle East to attend the Bahriji (Oasis) School in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for Harem services for the wealthy elite. It is also a love story between the young man, his ‘Big Brother,’ and his ‘Valet,’ who served as his chaperones and mentors.

  This book follows the teenagers’ erotic and exotic adventures and experiences at their fourth Arabian Household, the Assalamu Alaikum (Peace Be with You) Harem. There, they became confidants to a sheik, assistants to his numerous international ventures, especially that of a film production: “Kāmasūtra – Lover’s Tale.” The teenagers continue to apprentice and model in a controversial photography project, “Sacred Sex in Sacred Places.”

  This story is an account of the author’s experiences. Through these truths, often demonized by contemporary societies that deem such behaviors inappropriate, the author hopes to dispel condemnation and negativity related to sexuality, love, and personal freedom.

Twitter: @bernardfoong

  JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT”  READS BLOG HOP   (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)

Wednesday, 9/26/18:  “DOG BONE SOUP”  by Bette A. Stevens

Thursday, 9/27/18:  “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott

Friday, 9/28/18:  “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece

Saturday, 9/29/18:  “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos

Sunday, 9/30/18:  “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti

 

 

The Leftist Mantra: We Have to Destroy the Country to Save it

Anybody who covered the Vietnam War became familiar with several phrases that were used to explain or clarify American involvement.

Terms like “Body Count,” “Hearts and Minds,” “Pacification,” “The light at the end of the tunnel,” come immediately to mind.

But there was another phrase that with just a few alterations seems to define what is happening in our country today. That phrase is “We had to destroy the village to save it.”

It is still used today to describe the brutal absurdities of war and the destructive extremes American forces went to annihilate the Communist Viet Cong who had taken refuge in the South Vietnamese village of Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta.

During the battle American bombs, rockets and napalm obliterated much of the town, hundreds of innocent civilians were killed, and most of the buildings were leveled. After the battle, a U.S. major allegedly justified the carnage by telling a U.S. reporter: “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” In other words, the only way to kill the Viet Cong enemy was to destroy everybody and everything around them.

[image error] The Village of Ben Tre after the battle

When I watch what is happening today in America’s political universe the phrase that comes to mind is this: “We have to destroy the country to save it.”

It seems to be the justification for the perpetual war the Democrat party and the leftists that control it are waging against President Trump and anybody who supports his agenda.

Whatever happened to the concept of the “loyal opposition?” Do Americans even remember what a loyal opposition is? I sincerely doubt it.

A loyal opposition implies that a party that doesn’t hold the presidency or a majority in the House or Senate can still oppose the actions of the sitting president and the majority party while remaining loyal to the source of the government’s power—our constitutional form of government. In other words, they will not mount a Coup d’état to overthrow the government; they will wait for the next election so the electorate can vote the rascals out.

During World War II, for example, the Democrat Party held the office of president and the Republican Party cooperated fully and without reservation in the war effort.

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In the past, we also saw this form of loyalty play out in the Senate judiciary committee when senators from both sides often voted for a judicial candidate without the kind of political rancor we see today. For example, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, three of his nominees were approved unanimously (Sandra Day O’Connor, 99-0; Antonin Scalia, 98-0; and Anthony Kennedy, 97-0).

Let’s look at the current justices and the votes they received. Clarence Thomas was approved in 1991 by the vote of 52-48; Ruth Bader Ginsburg was approved in 1993 by a vote of 96-3; Stephen Breyer was approved in 1994, by a vote of 87-9; John Roberts, in 2005 by a vote of 78-22,; Samuel Alito, 2006, 58-42;  Sonia Sotomayor, 2009, 68-31; Elena Kagan, 2010, 63-37; Neil Gorsuch, 2017, 54-45.

Should Circuit Court Judge Eric Kavanaugh be confirmed by what is likely to be the closest vote yet—maybe 51-49, we can safely say that the from this day forward, Supreme Court Justices will have to go through seven levels of hell to attain a seat on the nation’s highest court. The confirmation process is no longer about who is best qualified, who has the best legal mind, who can be the best justice, but what political party he or she belongs to and whether they are liberal, judicial activists, conservative or strict constructionists.  In other words, it has devolved into a form of political combat; a kind of survival of the fittest.

[image error] Judge Kavanaugh

After the disgraceful displays of partisan politics regarding Judge Kavanaugh, if Democrats believe one of their future nominees will fly right through the confirmation process the way Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, or Kagan did they are sadly mistaken. There are long memories in the Senate and the way the last two Trump nominees have been treated means the Democrats are in for some severe retribution.

It’s a sad state of affairs.

The same can be said for the demented and frenzied opposition to President Trump, his cabinet and his supporters, all of whom have been called the coarsest and most offensive of names—from “deplorables” and racists to Nazis and Fascists by the alleged “loyal opposition.”

The leftists and socialists that appear to be running the Democrat party are intent on turning our republic into a socialist ghetto. Never mind that socialism has failed in every country where it has been tried.

For some inane reason, there are people on the left who want to subject our highly successful capitalist republic to a form of government that eliminates incentive and profit and instead creates a system which says “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”—the highly flawed philosophy of Marxism.

Why? It’s the “we have to destroy the country to save it” argument.

That mantra says, “Get rid of President Trump at any cost—even by death if necessary.” (Yes, people on the left have actually said that and some, like goofy Maxine Waters, have come close to saying it).

That’s where we are today. Get rid of the Trump administration, even if it means destroying our democracy, our republic, and rebuilding it again, preferably in the image of Karl Marx.

So villagers take heed. Watch out for the political napalm, the socialist rockets, and the leftist bombs as we approach the midterm elections. The barrage from the left has only just begun, and our country just may not survive the onslaught.

 

 

The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 7

(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)   

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“Greetings!  Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop!  These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent.  Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members!  Way to go RWISA!

We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review.  There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.

Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”

[image error] Author, Karen Ingalls

 

Book: OUTSHINE: AN OVARIAN CANCER MEMOIR – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KI1HGZI/

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Book Blurb: When Karen Ingalls was diagnosed with Stage IIC ovarian cancer, she realized ho little she knew about what is called “the silent killer.” As Ingalls began to educate herself she felt overwhelmed by the prevalent negativity of cancer. Lost in the information about drugs, side effects, and statistics, she redirected her energy to focus on the equally overwhelming blessings of life, learning to rejoice in each day and find peace in spirituality. In this memoir, Karen is a calming presence and positive companion, offering a refreshing perspective of hope with the knowledge that “the beauty of the soul, the real me and the real you, outshines the effects of cancer, chemotherapy, and radian. It is a story of survival and reminds readers that disease is not an absolute, but a challenge to recover.

Twitter: @KIngallsAuthor

JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT”  READS BLOG HOP   (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)

Tuesday, 9/25/18:  “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong

Wednesday, 9/26/18:  “DOG BONE SOUP”  by Bette A. Stevens

Thursday, 9/27/18:  “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott

Friday, 9/28/18:  “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece

Saturday, 9/29/18:  “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos

Sunday, 9/30/18:  “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti

 

 

The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 6

(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)   

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“Greetings!  Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop!  These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent.  Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members!  Way to go RWISA!

We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review.  There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.

Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”

[image error] Author, Rhani D’Chae

 Book: ONE DYKE COZY – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0713TQFCF/

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Book Blurb: People come into our lives for a day, a season, or a reason…

“Shy taught me to fight like a champion, love like a poet, & live like it was my last day on earth.”

One Dyke Cozy touches on the lives of two girls, Gabby and Shy, from their first meeting as children to Shy’s untimely death.  

This novel contains profanity and adult situations.

Twitter: @rhanidchae

Monday, 9/24/18:  “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls

Tuesday, 9/25/18:  “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong

Wednesday, 9/26/18:  “DOG BONE SOUP”  by Bette A. Stevens

Thursday, 9/27/18:  “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott

Friday, 9/28/18:  “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece

Saturday, 9/29/18:  “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos

Sunday, 9/30/18:  “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti

 

 

The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 5

(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop.) #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads 

“Greetings!  Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop!  These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent.  Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members!  Way to go RWISA!

We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review.  There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.

Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”

[image error] Author/Editor, Robert Fear

Book: EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HDWF1CY/

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Book Blurb: John Fear was born into a religious sect known as the Exclusive Brethren. This sheltered him from the outside world as he grew up, but could not hide him from its influences. A struggle began in his mind that led him to leave the Brethren, along with his young family. Rather than reacting as many do and totally abandoning any belief system, John remained true to his convictions and continued a strongly religious way of life. Still serving God he worked in many places throughout the world, rubbing shoulders with famous people such as Billy Graham, Mother Teresa and Cliff Richard.

  The writing style of this book is dynamic and engaging. John’s personality shines through and he paints an insightful account of his personal life and surrounding historical events. This account is not a sensationalised expose of the Exclusive Brethren. Instead, it follows one man’s life journey and is brought to life through his diary entries and family letters. This beautifully edited book is more than a memoir. It is a delightful mix of history, social customs, travel and belief. An honest, personal and emotive account of how religion can touch and shape a person’s life – forever. 

Twitter: @fredsdiary1981

  JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT”  READS BLOG HOP  

 (Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)

Tuesday, 9/18/18: “THE IMPROBABLE JOURNEYS OF BILLY BATTLES” by Ronald Yates

Wednesday, 9/19/18:  “IN THE SHADOW OF LIES” by Mary Adler

Thursday, 9/20/18:  “LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE” by Gwen Plano

Friday, 9/21/18:  “SON OF MY FATHER” by Peggy Hattendorf

Saturday, 9/22/18:  “EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE” by Robert Fear

Sunday, 9/23/18:  “ONE DYKE COZY” by Rhani D’Chae

Monday, 9/24/18:  “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls

Tuesday, 9/25/18:  “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong

Wednesday, 9/26/18:  “DOG BONE SOUP”  by Bette A. Stevens

Thursday, 9/27/18:  “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott

Friday, 9/28/18:  “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece

Saturday, 9/29/18:  “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos

Sunday, 9/30/18:  “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti

 

 

The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 4

(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop.) #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads 

“Greetings!  Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop!  These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent.  Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members!  Way to go RWISA!

We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review.  There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.

Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”

[image error] Author, Peggy Hattendorff

Book: SON OF MY FATHER – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIKH570/

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Book Blurb: It was always “Father” never “Dad.” The love and respect was manifest so was the distance – the distance not as evident. Christiana Lynn Barrington’s life was a carefully constructed world built, presented and controlled by her billionaire father, Jonathan Robert Barrington. She never knew anything else.

  Frequently, she wondered if her father had wished to have had a son instead of a daughter but never posed the question. Maybe she was afraid of the answer.

  As the only child of Jonathan and Elizabeth Matthews Barrington, she was the heir apparent to the behemoth Barrington Holdings International. But a threat to her hard-earned succession waits in the shadows ready to take everything she’s worked for away from her. 

Twitter: @PeggyHattendorf

  JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT”  READS BLOG HOP   

(Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)

Tuesday, 9/18/18: “THE IMPROBABLE JOURNEYS OF BILLY BATTLES” by Ronald Yates

Wednesday, 9/19/18:  “IN THE SHADOW OF LIES” by Mary Adler

Thursday, 9/20/18:  “LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE” by Gwen Plano

Friday, 9/21/18:  “SON OF MY FATHER” by Peggy Hattendorf

Saturday, 9/22/18:  “EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE” by Robert Fear

Sunday, 9/23/18:  “ONE DYKE COZY” by Rhani D’Chae

Monday, 9/24/18:  “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls

Tuesday, 9/25/18:  “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong

Wednesday, 9/26/18:  “DOG BONE SOUP”  by Bette A. Stevens

Thursday, 9/27/18:  “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott

Friday, 9/28/18:  “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece

Saturday, 9/29/18:  “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos

Sunday, 9/30/18:  “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti

 

 

The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 3

(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads) 

“Greetings!  Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop!  These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent.  Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members!  Way to go RWISA!

We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review.  There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.

Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”

[image error]                                                                                                                 Author, Gwen Plano

Book: LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7WYTW6/

Book Blurb: Inspiring and unforgettable, Letting Go into Perfect Love is a riveting account of a journey through the terror of domestic violence to a faith that transforms all. As a college administrator, Gwendolyn M. Plano lived her professional life in a highly visible and accountable space–but as a wife and mother, behind closed doors, she and her family experienced unpredictable threat. The statistics are staggering–every 9 seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten–but to Gwen, this was her secret; it was her shame. When her husband eventually turned his brutality on her son, she knew she could no longer remain silent.

  Alternately heart-wrenching and joyful, this is a story of triumph over adversity–one woman’s uplifting account of learning how to forgive the unforgiveable, recover her sense of self, bring healing into her family, and honor the journey home. Accompanied by glimpses of celestial beings, Gwen charts a path through sorrow to joy–and ultimately, writes of the one perfect love we all seek

Twitter: @gmplano

My Review of “Letting Go into Perfect Love”

A memoir bursting with critical life lessons

It’s not easy to look back on one’s life and relive the pain associated with years of physical and psychological abuse. The process can be wrenching and heart-rending. But it can also be extremely cathartic and liberating.

That’s the takeaway I have after reading Gwen Plano’s extraordinarily candid memoir, “Letting Go into Perfect Love: Discovering the Extraordinary after Abuse.” I did not suffer from abuse, so when I hear or read the stories of people who have, I have to put my own reality on hold.

This is an honest and unsettling story of a woman’s difficult journey through two ill-fated marriages—the second one, a 25-year-long ordeal of abuse. At a couple of points in the book I wanted to shout at Gwen—“Get out, dump this guy, save yourself!” But as with many women who live with abusive men, Gwen was either afraid to do anything or deceived herself into thinking that the abuse she was suffering was somehow her fault.

This is a common emotion among many abused women—and it’s one that I, as a man, simply cannot fathom. After reading this book I was left with the dispiriting conclusion that for many women it takes more courage to remain in an abusive relationship than it does to leave it. I know I could not have endured a quarter-century of cruelty and violence.

At one point in the book, Gwen says: “We are creatures of habit, and often, unless we are roused by heartaches, we proceed routinely and sometimes blindly, doing the best we can.”

Finally, when the abuse began to be directed at her three sons and daughter, Gwen’s fierce maternal instincts kicked in and she summoned up the resolve to leave her abusive husband. From that point on, she was a woman in search of the inner peace that the first half of her life had eluded her.

“When it is time, we walk the corridors of our heart, retrieving the shattered threads of once-believed dreams,” Gwen writes. “Perhaps, long after tears have dried and hope has faded, we find what was always there but not seen—and then our desolation gives rise to a new spring.”

She goes on to say: “I am left with only one conclusion: all of life has meaning, and through our tragedies and disappointments, as well as our joys, we are lovingly guided to more profound realizations of that meaning.”

Gwen Plano is correct in her assessment. It is nevertheless disturbing that for so many women who suffer as she did, the journey to enlightenment is such a long and agonizing one.

  JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE “TREAT”  READS BLOG HOP

(Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)

Tuesday, 9/18/18: “THE IMPROBABLE JOURNEYS OF BILLY BATTLES” by Ronald Yates

Wednesday, 9/19/18:  “IN THE SHADOW OF LIES” by Mary Adler

Thursday, 9/20/18:  “LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE” by Gwen Plano

Friday, 9/21/18:  “SON OF MY FATHER” by Peggy Hattendorf

Saturday, 9/22/18:  “EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE” by Robert Fear

Sunday, 9/23/18:  “ONE DYKE COZY” by Rhani D’Chae

Monday, 9/24/18:  “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls

Tuesday, 9/25/18:  “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong

Wednesday, 9/26/18:  “DOG BONE SOUP”  by Bette A. Stevens

Thursday, 9/27/18:  “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott

Friday, 9/28/18:  “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece

Saturday, 9/29/18:  “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos

Sunday, 9/30/18:  “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti

 

 

The “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop! Day 2

(NOTE: For the next few days ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads) 

“Greetings!  Welcome to the 2nd RRBC “TREAT” Reads Blog Hop!  These members of RRBC have penned and published some really great reads and we’d like to honor and showcase their talent.  Oddly, all of the listed Winners are RWISA members!  Way to go RWISA!

We ask that you pick up a copy of the title listed, and after reading it, leave a review.  There will be other books on tour for the next few days, so please visit the “HOP’S” main page to follow along.

Also, for every comment that you leave along this tour, including on the “HOP’S” main page, your name will be entered into a drawing for a gift card to be awarded at the end of the tour!”

[image error] Author, Mary Adler

 

Book: IN THE SHADOW OF LIES – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7WYTSU/

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Book Blurb: Richmond, California. World War II.  Marine Lieutenant Oliver Wright comes home from the war in the Pacific injured and afraid his career as a homicide detective is over.  But when an Italian Prisoner of War is murdered the night the Port Chicago Mutiny verdicts are announced, and black soldiers are suspected of the crime, the Army asks Oliver to find out the truth.

  He and his canine partner Harley join forces with an Italian POW captain and with a black MP embittered by a segregated military. During their investigation, these unlikely allies expose layers of deceit and violence that stretch back to World War I and uncover a common thread that connects the murder to earlier crimes.

  In the Shadow of Lies reveals the darkness and turmoil of the Bay Area during World War II, while celebrating the spirit of the everyday people who made up the home front. Its intriguing characters will resonate with the reader long after its deftly intertwined mysteries are solved.

Twitter: @MAAdlerWrites

My Review of In “The Shadow of Lies”

In the Shadow of Lies—A menacing mystery

When I began reading M.A. Adler’s “In the Shadow of Lies” I couldn’t help but think of the day I spent with Joe DiMaggio at his restaurant near San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. He had just turned 65, and I was there to do a profile on the Yankee Clipper for my newspaper, the Chicago Tribune.

Joe wasn’t much of a talker, but on that day he talked about a lot of things. One of the things he talked about was what it was like growing up as an Italian-American kid in San Francisco in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Then, the topic turned to the 1940s and World War II. Joe told me about how during the war, the U.S. government seized the fishing boats of Italian-Americans who docked at the wharf—including the one operated by Joe’s father Giuseppe DiMaggio—an immigrant from Italy.

He told me how thousands of Italian-Americans lived under nightly house arrest, with a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. His parents could not travel more than 5 miles from home without a permit. And here was “Joltin’ Joe,”  who was not only a super-star center fielder with the New York Yankees but who was serving with the U.S. Army Air Force during the war.

That rather long preamble is my way of introducing you to this marvelous debut novel about the Italian-Americans and the Italian POW’s who shape much of the plot of this book. The San Francisco that Tony Bennett sings about is NOT the San Francisco that Ms. Adler depicts in this book—not by a long shot. Her San Francisco may be a “City on a Hill,” but it’s also a dark place rife with intrigue, racial tension, bigotry, and murder.

Oliver Wright is Adler’s chief protagonist. He’s a city detective, and the setting is the city of Richmond, located in the East Bay region of San Francisco Bay. The story begins with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor—an event that propels the U.S. into World War II. There are multiple threads and subplots as the story progresses, in some cases, almost too many. You will need to pay attention to the twists and the plethora of new characters.

In fact, there are so many characters that Adler has a page at the beginning that lists the families portrayed in the book—the Flemings, the Wrights, the Fioris, the Slaters, the Buonarottis, and the Hermits. But fear not. Oliver’s character is well-developed, and he is the thread that binds this complex narrative together.

Adler is an excellent wordsmith as evidenced by this delightful bit of descriptive prose:

“The wily old fox had timed it perfectly: the rainy September day, the cemetery, the weeping mother huddled with her son under a black umbrella, a clichéd study in grays and blacks that evoked a memory of another coffin’s descent into the earth, a memory that stirred Oliver Wright’s guilt and made him so deeply tired that he slid into the thankless habit of trying to please his father. They had barely returned from the Fleming children’s funeral when Oliver’s father summoned him to the study.”

Adler’s prose is supported by the prodigious amount of research she clearly did to reconstruct the San Francisco area of the 1940s. She reveals the kind of overt prejudice that existed for African-Americans in the military as well as the hysteria that gripped both the public and the government that resulted in rampant discrimination against Japanese-Americans, Italian-Americans, and others. She does a masterful job of capturing the widespread unbridled fear that many on the West Coast felt in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It was a palpable dread and panic. Would San Francisco be the next target for Japanese planes? Would Japanese troops land in Marin County and sweep south into San Francisco? It may sound absurd today, but in 1941 these were genuine apprehensions.

Adler also does a splendid job of reconstructing the battle for Guam where Oliver serves with the U.S. Marines. The scenes are short and crisp, and we come to respect Oliver for the concern he shows for Harley, his K-9 German Shepherd partner, even after he is wounded in battle.

I won’t go any further into the plot. Suffice it to say that the plot is multifaceted and involved as it covers several years. Be patient as this intricate story unfolds.

So, you might ask, is this a novel worth your time and money? You bet it is. It will keep you busy and profoundly engaged. What more can you want from a book?

  JOIN ME FOR ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE  “TREAT”  READS BLOG HOP

(Just type #RRBCTreatReads in your Twitter search box.)

Tuesday, 9/18/18: “THE IMPROBABLE JOURNEYS OF BILLY BATTLES” by Ronald Yates

Wednesday, 9/19/18:  “IN THE SHADOW OF LIES” by Mary Adler

Thursday, 9/20/18:  “LETTING GO INTO PERFECT LOVE” by Gwen Plano

Friday, 9/21/18:  “SON OF MY FATHER” by Peggy Hattendorf

Saturday, 9/22/18:  “EXCLUSIVE PEDIGREE” by Robert Fear

Sunday, 9/23/18:  “ONE DYKE COZY” by Rhani D’Chae

Monday, 9/24/18:  “OUTSHINE” by Karen Ingalls

Tuesday, 9/25/18:  “TURPITUDE” by Bernard Foong

Wednesday, 9/26/18:  “DOG BONE SOUP”  by Bette A. Stevens

Thursday, 9/27/18:  “HIEROGLYPH” by Wendy Scott

Friday, 9/28/18:  “THE WAY TO HER HEART” by Amy Reece

Saturday, 9/29/18:  “ELEMENTS” by Nia Markos

Sunday, 9/30/18:  “DESTINY’S PLAN” by Victoria Saccenti

Join the RRBC “Treat” Reads Blog Hop

(NOTE: From Sept. 19 to Sept. 30 ForeignCorrespondent will be hosting the second annual RRBC “TREAT’ Reads Blog Hop. I hope you will check out these great reads from my fellow authors in the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC) and the Rave Waves International Society of Authors (RWISA). #RRBC #RRBCTreatReads)