Palladine by Kenneth Eade

Blurb:

Robert Garcia was an unremarkable man, tapped out of a promising military career to become a death squad assassin for the CIA. Retirement was not in the cards for Robert, so he disappeared instead.

After he comes out of the cold to answer the call to aid a fellow soldier facing a bum rap, he is thrust back into the spotlight when he is in the wrong place at the wrong time and kills a terrorist, thereby saving dozens of lives. He finds gainful employment in the slaughter of jihadists, which sparks an urban legend that Robert, a dangerous and unfeeling assassin, is a living paladin, whose mission is to rid the earth of evil for the betterment of mankind. Social media gives him the name “Paladine,” and God help whoever gets between him and his next target.

About the Author:

Described by critics as “one of our strongest thriller writers on the scene,” author Kenneth Eade, best known for his legal and political thrillers, practiced law for 30 years before publishing his first novel, An Involuntary Spy. Eade, an award-winning, best-selling Top 100 thriller author, has been described by his peers as “one of the up-and-coming legal thriller writers of this generation.” He is the 2015 winner of Best Legal Thriller from Beverly Hills Book Awards and the 2016 winner of a bronze medal in the category of Fiction, Mystery and Murder from the Reader’s Favorite International Book Awards. His latest novel, Paladine, is currently a quarter-finalist in Publisher’s Weekly’s BookLife Prize for Fiction. Eade has authored three fiction series: The “Brent Marks Legal Thriller Series”, the “Involuntary Spy Espionage Series,” and the “Paladine Anti-Terrorism Series.” He has written fourteen novels which have been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

“I’ve been writing all my life, but began publishing my work out of a passion for the environment. My wife, Valentina, is a professional photographer, who worked for two years on an environmental exhibition called, ‘Bee Cause I Care’ which was exhibited by the Prince Albert II Foundation and is now touring cities in France to bring awareness to the importance of pollinators and the dangers facing them. I penned a few articles on the subject for the Los Angeles Daily Journal and turned my research into my first book, Bless the Bees. That passion continued with the publication of my novel, An Involuntary Spy, which is an action thriller that also points to the dangers of genetically engineered food. Then I began publishing the “Brent Marks Legal Thriller Series,” which, in part, is based on actual experiences during my long career in law.

“Now I divide most of my time between France, where I have resided for the better part of ten years, and Russia. I try to put as much realism in my novels as possible, and they all revolve around important social issues. I treasure all of my readers and love to hear from them, whether it’s good or bad. Sometimes I make changes based on their suggestions and one reader has inspired a character who has appeared in my latest two novels. Everyone who signs up on my mailing list at http://www.kennetheade.com gets a free ebook, and I give away a Kindle Fire every month to a lucky winner on the list. I love this new adventure and hope you enjoy taking it with me.”

Review:

It seems you can’t even go to McDonald’s for a burger these days. Trying to lie low and remain anonymous doesn’t work for highly-trained assassin Robert Garcia when he hears a click behind him as he’s about to take a bite of his Big Mac. No one else in the place seems to even hear the click let alone recognize it the sound of someone cocking a weapon. But Robert does, and he reacts, shooting the AK-47-wielding terrorist before anyone else even realizes the man is there. Robert holsters his own weapon and melts into the crowd, walking away from the melee well before the authorities arrive, and before any witnesses can identify him.

The press labels Robert “Paladine,” and dying billionaire Bryce Williamson sets up a foundation to fight terrorism as a cover to hire “Paladine” through the dark web to kill the jihadist who killed Bryce’s wife, as well as any other terrorist Robert can identify and neutralize. Unfortunately, the Federal government is trying just as hard to neutralize Robert as they are the terrorists he’s targeting. After all, “Paladine” is making them look bad.

As both Paladine and the movie American Sniper the US government has trained many men to kill, and then sent them home when their military service is over and expect them to adjust to civilian / “civilized” life. And in toughening up these men, they make it difficult for them to reach out for the help they need to adjust. But, I digress.

Paladine grabs you at the beginning and hangs on to you right through to the end. You live inside Robert Garcia’s head—feel his loneliness and isolation as well as his desperation to stay alive and free, and his anger toward the terrorists he hunts. You feel the predator inside him, as well as the humanity. Paladine is well worth reading.

Author Website:  https://smile.amazon.com/Kenneth-Eade/e/B00EWT89RG

Warnings:  Violence

Length:  274 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $7.41

Digital:  $4.99

Buy Link:  https://smile.amazon.com/Thriller-PALADINE-terrorism-assassination-Counter-Terrorism-ebook/dp/B01KKXBP32

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The Thing Is by Kathleen Gerard

Blurb:

Meredith Mancuso is depressed. Ever since the death of her fiancé, she has shrunk from the world. Even with her successful writing career, she’s not motivated to work. When her sister, Monica, begs for a favor, Meredith wants nothing more than to say no. But she’s ultimately roped into pet-sitting an orphaned Yorkshire terrier named Prozac.

Blessed with spiritual wisdom and a high IQ, Prozac is an active pet therapy dog. To heal broken-hearted Meredith, he rallies his fan club at Evergreen Gardens, an independent living facility, where he visits each week.

Prozac and the community of resilient older folks challenged by losses of their own propel Meredith, often against her will, back into the land of the living. Meredith learns that most people carry some sort of burden, but it’s still possible to find meaning, purpose, and joy—and sometimes, even love—along the way.

About the Author:

Kathleen Gerard is a writer whose work has been awarded The Perillo Prize, The Eric Hoffer Prose Award, and nominated for Best New American Voices and Short Story America, all national prizes in literature. Kathleen writes across genres. Her short prose and poetry have been widely published in magazines, journals, and anthologies.

Her essays have been broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR). Kathleen’s woman-in-jeopardy novel, In Transit, won The New York Book Festival—“Best Romantic Fiction” (2011). Kathleen is a book reviewer for and a contributor to Shelf Awareness and maintains the blog, “Reading Between the Lines.”

Review:

I keep forgetting to say, “I received this book in return for an honest review.” Now that’s out of the way, I have one more caveat for you. This book is a choking hazard—do not eat or drink while reading it.

I love animals, especially furry, cuddly ones. And in books, I love sentient non-human characters with a sense of humor, which Prozac definitely has. He also has a bag of tricks he uses to manipulate the humans around him, and he isn’t afraid to use it! But, he’s still a dog, and he’s still afraid of thunder—enough to jump into the toilet during a storm. Oh yeah; if you live in an apartment building with thin walls, don’t read The Thing Is late at night.

Prozac, Meredith, and the denizens of Evergreen Gardens will grab you on page one and keep you engaged right through to the end. It was a great way to spend Mother’s Day. Fortunately, I finished it before dinner at my daughter’s. I don’t think I could have put it down and been sociable if I hadn’t.

By all means, grab The Thing Is. Prozac is great therapy!

Author Blog:  Reading Between the Lines

Heat Rating:  G

Length:  276 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $11.99

Digital:  $5.99

Buy Link:  http://redadeptpublishing.com/#!/The-Thing-Is/p/52955696/category=12051051

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. You can move the file by highlighting it and dragging it to the documents directory in you Kindle you want to move it to. Or right click on it, and then left click copy or move. Or hit Control/C for copy, Control/X for cut, and Control/V for paste.

Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

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