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James Lawler - In the Twinkling of an Eye
"In the Twinkling of an Eye" is a story about espionage, family love, and loyalty, focused on a Russian-North Korean conspiracy to develop a devastating biological weapon for assassination, terror and genocide, as written by a senior CIA operations officer whose career was devoted to battling the spread of weapons of mass destruction. This is the second book in the thrilling Guild Series!
In 1986, a Ukrainian teenager loses his father and his own left eye to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, but he escapes and becomes a top-notch genetics engineer at Moscow State University. There, he is seduced into joining a well-funded new genetics institute where he hopes to develop a genetic solution (better than CRISPR) to cure his twelve-year old daughter's leukemia that is a result of her damaged genes that she inherited from his radiation exposure. But soon he learns that the Institute is actually a coverup run by the Russian intelligence service and is secretly developing advanced genetic bioweapons with the North Koreans for assassination, terror, and genocide. The Ukrainian scientist feels he must remain at the institute, however, in order to find a cure for his dying daughter.
Parallel to this story, a young North Korean girl escapes to South Korea via a North Korean attack tunnel beneath the DMZ. Her father, the North Korean military mining engineer who designed the tunnel, dies during the attempt, and she loses her younger brother with whom she was escaping. She is adopted by a Korean-American US military officer and grows up to be an FBI special agent devoted to battling WMD, who secretly recruits the Ukrainian scientist.
In the course of their work, the FBI agent equips the Ukrainian scientist with a new glass eye with microelectronics on the nano scale that enables him to record covertly everything he sees and hears and transmit his intelligence to her daily through one of his daughter's dolls that has advanced artificial intelligence. It is perfect revenge for a character, who has lost his eye as a teenager, is scarred for life and has lost his beloved father due to Soviet incompetence at Chernobyl. The doll is virtually sentient and is a stand-in for the female FBI agent whom she resembles. In so doing, the agent overcomes the biggest obstacles that spies traditionally face: safely communicating frequently with their case officer for operational guidance and psychological reinforcement and transmitting critical information in a timely fashion.
Together, the scientist and the FBI agent must prevent Russia and North Korea from using the bioweapons for assassination and mass murder of regime opponents.
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T.D. Donnelly - Year of the Rabbit
35:25|New York City: Legendary interrogator Malcolm Chaucer is known as The Oracle. There is no subject he cannot break, no secret he cannot unlock. The key to his uncanny ability: eight years as the victim of experimental torture at the hands of a North Korean madman. Chaucer is a broken man, with a unique psychology that makes him both incapable of lying, and a near perfect lie detector.A routine interrogation of a witness to the murder of a Korean national leads to an explosive revelation: the assassin was none other than Tempest MacLaren, Chaucer’s ex-wife. A frantic, last minute warning is all he can give her before a North Korean assassin shows up on her doorstep.And later that night, two more assassins target Chaucer for death. Chaucer discovers his drops compromised, his handler dead, and a million-dollar bounty on his head. Can he survive long enough to find his ex-wife and use his unique abilities to tell friend from foe, and truth from lies. And will he uncover the secret that is the Year of the Rabbit?Year of the Rabbit combines the man-on-the-run paranoia of Six Days of the Condor, the colorful characters of Mick Herron’s Slough House series, and the raw fun of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. Pick up your copy of Year of the Rabbit today!
Coy Hall - The Switchblade Svengali
29:10|When the bell tolls midnight, it’ll be 1968.Royce Pembrook is living well in a new city, with new patrons, a new name, and a new trade. But he’s the same scam artist he’s been for thirty years. Since youth, Royce has made his money and found trouble in fraudulent séances that prey on the grieving widows of high society. Now he’s expanded his con, posing as a hypnotist, a Svengali, swindling everyone in Phoenix from scions of old wealth to a UFO cult led by a heroin-addicted visionary.Life is good. Royce has the luxury he craves. And that’s when trouble out of the past creeps into his world. Even in the domain of fake spirits, the relentless specter of murder is real, and Royce’s former life is one thing that won’t stay in the grave.When the bell tolls midnight for Royce Pembrook, will it be time to abscond? Or will he fight to keep all that he’s gained, no matter the violent cost to those around him?
Charles Breakfield - The Dream
19:18|How is it that the dreamers among us always know which way to go? The irrational path often appears brilliant in hindsight. When one takes a leap of faith, there can be challenging obstacles.Destiny has a gift. Her brother, Valerian, believes in her but still must protect her. Her confidence is unshakeable, and her heart is pure. To protect her, Valerian must accompany her on the quest.Will Valerian’s devotion to Destiny overcome his doubts?When will he see the dangers along the journey as opportunities?Can he learn to communicate with the animals like Destiny?Join the quest to find out how to reach goals with the help and cooperation of others. Helping others can change the outcome. You may go faster by yourself but travel further with valued friends.
Ann Charles - Cops and Clobbers in Deadwood (Deadwood Humorous Mystery Book 14)
24:19|Violet Parker has big troubles these days—the ticking kind. To duck the Grim Reaper, she needs to get her hands on eighty-plus rare, mystical clocks locked up tight by a thick-headed detective.The solution? Hijack the truckload of ticking time bombs out from under Johnny Law’s nose.But no caper ever goes according to plan. What starts out as a game of clocks and robbers twists and turns into a chaos of cops and clobbers.Will Violet beat the detective in time? Or will she spend Valentine’s Day behind bars?
Brad C. Anderson - Ashme's Song
22:02|Violence has an echo, growing louder with each reverberation . . . how do you stop its echo once it starts ringing?Ashme is a New Mesopotamian--a "Meso." She dreams of being a hero, fighting against the brutal Ostarrichi ruling her country. She is an indigo child, her DNA modified by sentient AI, enabling her to control computer systems at will. With this power, she has something to offer the Meso resistance. Her twin brother, Shen, however, suffers from a neurological disorder and needs someone to care for him. Increasingly, that task falls on her.How can she become the hero her people need when her brother's needs are overwhelming? If she continues caring for Shen while joining the resistance, she risks leading Ostarrichi forces to her home. If she leaves, then looking after Shen will fall to her cousin, who is already overworked caring for his frail grandmother.As her society collapses into violence, Ashme must choose between her fellow Mesos, her family, and her values.
Tricia Copeland - Drops of Sunshine
19:04|Her only goal in taking the camp counselor job far from home was to escape everyone who knew anything about her past. So how does a camper know about her brother…Sixteen-year-old Nina hates everyone from her school, her town save a single best friend. She’s desperate for a respite from her parent’s divorce and scandal that made her a hermit. But her campers divulge odd things, details of her history they couldn’t know. Believing there’s no way the girls know her secrets she chalks their behavior up to being sensitive kids. Trying to avoid reminders of her prior trauma, she diverts her attention to a live-on-the-edge social crowd and one hot hunky bad-boy counselor.When things take a dangerous turn one night, she’s forced to divulge the truth about what happened, her past, and what makes some of her campers very special.Can Nina face her trauma, open up to new friendships, and a world she never imagined possible?Drops of Sunshine is a captivating YA paranormal read for teens and adults alike. If you like true-to-life characters, heart-felt friendships, and a bit of mystery and romance, then you’ll love Tricia Copeland’s magical story.
Dale T. Phillips - A Memory of Grief
27:33|Troubled ex-con Zack Taylor is haunted by the accidental death of his brother years before. Zack's guilt and anger have pushed him into a shadowy, wandering life, with little purpose and few attachments. When he hears of the death of his close friend Ben Sterling, a supposed gunshot suicide, Zack finds he now has a purpose-- to find out what happened. Then his purpose becomes an obsession. Zack goes to Maine, where Ben died, and is a fish out of water, with no connections, no information, and no credibility. People don't want to talk about Ben's death, so Zack gets ever more frustrated, making enemies, getting into fights, and breaking the law in his search for the truth. The only bright spot seems the potential for a relationship with a sympathetic nurse-- if he can control his violent streak. To draw out the killers, Zack offers himself as bait. But without a gun, he must rely on his wits and his physical skills to survive a dangerous game of drugs and death. Though managing a measure of justice, Zack is changed in the process, and must learn to live in a very different world.
Jeffrey Ashkin - The Second Life of Jonathan Sendel
27:39|Best-selling author, Jonathan Sendel has been murdered. Now, his clone must solve the mystery.In the near future when someone is murdered, a clone of the victim can be commissioned to help police solve the crime. This process is costly, tedious and not always successful. Memory lapses, mental implosions, and rouge clones are not uncommon. It's risky, but Jonathan has the money, the fans, and the means, and so his clone must navigate a treacherous labyrinth of secrets to reclaim the life stolen from him and put his murderer behind bars.Before his untimely death, Jonathan was stuck in a rut. His marriage was failing, writer's block had his Jim Starlight series at a dead-end, and his affair with a college student was about to go public. When his charred remains are found inside his remote cabin it's clear that the murderer is someone in his inner circle.His clone only has a matter of days to unravel the mystery before he loses the vast fortune he spent his entire life, the first one, building. As he uncovers his previous life's transgressions, the people he trusted most may have some unsavory opinions about clones. Jonathan must take his investigation into his own hands to have a chance at life.The Second Life of Jonathan Sendel is a twist-filled murder mystery, that examines the life of a beloved celebrity tarnished by scandal and the painful process of coming to terms with one’s own demons.