Mind in the Clouds by Bruce Perrin

Blurb:

Recently graduated and newly hired Ruger-Phillips employee, Dr. Sam “Doc” Price is excited to be starting his new assignment. He will be assessing training developed for a team. It is, however, a team like no other, because only one of the team members is human; the other is one of the most intelligent and lethal systems ever built by man—the Joint Aerial Combat Capability or JACC. Loaded with the latest in detection and threat assessment technology, JACC is a silent, deadly hunter in the sky. Doc discovers, however, that JACC may not be the only killer on the remote, Nevada test range where he now finds himself. Soon, he is involved in a cat and mouse game with an unknown adversary. In this fight for his life and the lives of his friends, Doc asks himself, how do you match wits with the mind in the clouds, when you are not sure if you are facing the cold, exact logic of machine intelligence or the coldblooded urges of a human murderer?

Mind in the Clouds is book two in the Mind Sleuth Series. It is not necessary to read book one in order to understand this novel. The story in this book is standalone.

About the Author:

Bruce Perrin has been writing for more than twenty years, although you will find most of that work only in professional technical journals or conference proceedings. But, after completing a PhD in Industrial Psychology and a career in psychological R&D, he is now applying his background and fascination with technology and the human mind to writing novels. Besides writing, Bruce likes to tinker with home automation and is an avid hiker, logging nearly 2,500 miles each year in the first two years of Fitbit ownership. When he is not on the trails, he lives with his wife in St. Louis, MO. For a closer look at his writing life, book reviews, and progress on his upcoming works, please join him at http://www.brucemperrin.blogspot.com/.

Review:

I found Mind in the Clouds a bit confusing, as the book is not organized by chapters, but by dates and times, which seem to jump back and forth. The preface describes an incident that occurs a few months before Dr. Sam “Doc” Price ever even hears about the JACC project. Maybe part of the problem is that I did not read the “blurb” or plot summary before I read the book. It probably would have made more sense if I had, and I was a bit confused at first as to who the hero was.

At any rate, I liked Sam, but I felt as though I was kind of slogging through the beginning a bit. There was a lot of foreshadowing with inferences like, “I would come to regret this decision later.” I found myself yelling at my Kindle, “quit foreshadowing and get on with the plot!” Finally, Mr. Perrin did get on with the plot, and the last forty-percent of the book got to be pretty page-burning. But even then, he interrupted the pacing and took us back in time yet again. Doc was fighting for his life, and he went back to a conversation he had with one of the developers of the system. He couldn’t just say to the guy in the room with him, “Hey, Troy, Dillon said JACC could…” Did we really need a rehash of the entire conversation when their lives were at stake?

I’m really grateful Mind in the Clouds didn’t have a cliff-hanger ending. It’s nice to find an author who writes a series of standalone books. I just wish he had an editor who would encourage him to tamp down a bit on the foreshadowing, flashbacks, long technical conversations, and keep the action going forward a bit more smoothly.

Author Website:  http://www.brucemperrin.blogspot.com/

Heat Rating:  PG-13

Length:  284 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $10.99

Digital:  $3.99

Buy Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Clouds-Sleuth-Book-ebook/dp/B01BYRX220

Thanks for visiting.

Nirvana by J. R. Stewart

Blurb:

When the real world is emptied of all that you love, how can you keep yourself from dependence on the virtual?

Animal activist and punk rock star Larissa Kenders lives in a dystopian world where the real and the virtual intermingle. After the disappearance of her soulmate, Andrew, Kenders finds solace by escaping to Nirvana, a virtual world controlled by Hexagon. In Nirvana, anyone’s deepest desires may be realized - even visits with Andrew.

Although Kenders knows that this version of Andrew is virtual, when he asks for her assistance revealing Hexagon’s dark secret, she cannot help but comply. Soon after, Kenders and her closest allies find themselves in a battle with Hexagon, the very institution they have been taught to trust. After uncovering much more than she expected, Kenders’ biggest challenge is determining what is real—and what is virtual.

Nirvana is a fast-paced, page-turning young adult novel combining elements of science fiction, mystery, and romance. Part of a trilogy, this book introduces readers to a young woman who refuses to give up on the man she loves, even if it means taking on an entire government to do so.

About the Author:

J.R. Stewart has worked on many corporate projects throughout a prolific IT academic and consulting career, and is involved with many confidential virtual reality projects. After working on advanced “VR” technologies for over a decade, Stewart grew concerned about the implications of this work and the possible psychological effects that it may have on its users.

[Ed. Note.: J.R. Stewart prefers to remain anonymous and does not publish author photos.]

Review by Rochelle:

Nirvana was a gripping book. Larissa Kenders has major trust issues due to childhood trauma, but when she meets Andrew, he shows her that not all men are the monster her father was. Their relationship on campus is almost idyllic. Then Andrew is offered a job at “The Barracks.” They get married so Kenders can go with him, which is fortunate. When the bees become extinct completely disrupting the food chain and the Earth turns into a dustbowl, most people who survive the famine are crowded into concentration camps where they work corporate farms. The only people not subjected to this labor are the soldiers in the Barracks and a few ultra-wealthy or select minds who live in the luxurious “Bubble.” When Andrew goes missing on a mission, Kenders cannot move on. She spends him in the virtual world, Nirvana, and eventually begins to question whether the man she encounters there is virtual, or if he’s really her Andrew.

I might have given this book five roses, but I absolutely hate cliff-hanger endings, and Nirvana ends on a cliff-hanger. I suppose it goes back to Tolkien, but he wrote The Lord of the Rings as one book and his publisher split it up. If you don’t mind cliff-hangers, then Nirvana is a good book.

Heat Rating:  G

Length:  201 Pages

Digital Price:  $5.99

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Nirvana-Book-1-J-R-Stewart-ebook/dp/B014LLM1XW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447006344&sr=8-1&keywords=Nirvana+%2B+J.+R.+Stewart

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle

The E-Murderer: A Jenna Scali Mystery by Joan C. Curtis

Blurb:

On this anything but typical Monday morning, Jenna Scali, who works part-time for a shrink, opens an email that depicts the brutal death of a young girl. On that same day the police uncover a dead coed two blocks from Jenna's house. The e-murderer's description creepily echoes the death described in the newspapers.

When Jenna receives other emails, she takes what she knows to the police and thus begins her journey in the path of the e-murderer. Her curious nature impels her from e-messages to dead coeds to a ring of prostitutes. With the help of her quirky friends, Jenna learns that she's more than a conduit for the killer. She's his target.

The E-Murderer is a race to find a psychotic killer before he kills again.

About the Author:

Joan Curtis authored four business books published by Praeger Press. She is also published numerous stories, including:

• Butterflies in a Strawberry Jar, Sea Oats Review, Winter, 2004

• A Memoir Of A Friend, Chicken Soup for the Working Woman’s Soul, 2003 and Flint River Review, 1996

• Jacque’s Story in From Eulogy to Joy, 2002

• The Roommate, Whispering Willow Mystery Magazine, April 1997

• A Special Sort of Stubbornness, Reader’s Digest, March 1997,

• My Father’s Final Gift, Reader Digest, November 1994

Her first place writing awards include: Best mystery manuscript in the Malice Domestic Grants competition, best proposal for a nonfiction piece in the Harriette Austin competition, and best story, Butterflies in a Strawberry Jar in the Cassell Network of Freelance Writer’s Association.

Review by Rochelle:

The e-Murderer is the second book I’ve read by Ms. Curtis, and I am fast becoming a fan. The characters were well-drawn and the pacing kept me burning through the pages even when I should have been doing other things (like sleeping). The perpetrator was high on my list of suspects, but there were enough twists and turns in the plot that I wasn’t positive who it was until the very end. And there were a couple of subplots with some real surprises thrown in as well. I can certainly understand Ms. Curtis winning awards.

I highly recommend reading The e-Murderer.

Heat Rating:  PG-13

Length:  331 Pages

Digital Price:  $5.99

Buy Link:  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/e-murderer-detail

Author Website:  http://joancurtis.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/joanccurtisauthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/joancurtis

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Joan-C.-Curtis/e/B0024JEG6E/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

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

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle