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Book Spotlight: FRANTIC by Brent Bradley

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About the book, Frantic

  • Techno Thriller/ Conspiracy Thriller
  • Publisher: BCS Publishing
  • Publication Date: March 7, 2025
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A delusional prison patient warns Dr. Brian Heiser, Marriage and Family Therapist, of enormous impending disaster. Dr. Heiser and his best friend, a lauded Forensic Psychologist, find themselves entangled in a 72-hour deadly race to stop an AI bill being fast-tracked through the Texas state legislature.

Patricia Reigns, an elite developer of artificial intelligence, teams with them, thus cementing the trio as a viable threat.

Unbeknownst to Fred, however, Brian and Patricia had a secret past. That past soon rekindled feelings in Patricia towards Brian, and vice versa. And this woman was not one to play coy.

The more they uncover, the more the deadly power of Artificial Intelligence is unleashed on them at every turn, from unseen top tech billionaires all vying for the same AI state contract.

What follows is a three-day frantic sprint toward truth that none of them could have possibly fathomed: a secret plot funded by the world’s wealthiest tech giants, an AI bill touted as a massive “progressive” leap forward for Texas, assassins funded to the gills in blood money, politicians bought and paid for, and a media that couldn’t care less.

Last, buckle up for an intense final stretch that’s simply impossible to foresee.

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About the author, Brent Bradley authorpicFrantic

Dr. Brent Bradley is a well-known couples therapist. He’s treated over a thousand couples in therapy and supervision of therapists. His books and articles are read internationally. He holds a PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, an MA in Christian Theology, and a BA in English Literature. 

Brent brings an expert focus and depth to emotion and relationship dynamics in his fictional writing. His style radiates with intelligent plots, suspense, romance, and mystery – all delivered within a relentless pace. 

Brent is married with one twin daughter (and one that passed away in the womb). They live in League City, TX. He is an avid fan of the Astros and Texas A&M baseball. 

He is a follower of Christ.

Connect with Brent: 

WEBSITE | AMAZON | GOODREADS |TWITTER

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Under Cover UVM_B_PBK

Book Review: Under Vixens Mere by Kit Fielding

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Under Vixens Mere

About the Book, Under Vixens Mere: Under Cover UVM_B_PBK

After Harry Jones takes his life in the chilling waters of Vixens Mere, not one body is found by the police rescue team, but two.  Tucked away in the English countryside, the run-down marina at Vixens Mere hosts a ragtag community of houseboats whose lives are as tangled as their mooring ropes. Harry Jones’s death dredges up more than grief: a second body in the water, hidden love affairs, and old grudges. As the marina begins to reveal the truths of the past, its dwellers unify against investigators, vindictive exes, and anyone else who tries to break them. The boats of Vixens Mere brim with secrets…. A marriage broken by war, a guilty lover returning, a ramshackle haven for aging hippies, a newcomer chasing a better life, a home haunted by addiction, and a loyal outcast whose devotion turns deadly. Step aboard and lose yourself in the secrets, betrayals, and unbreakable ties of a small community.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Purchase Link | Goodreads 

Enter the Giveaway to Win 3 x Stacks of 5 Inkspot Publishing books (UK Only):

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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About the Author, Kit Fielding: Under Author IMG_1616

Kit Fielding plans and writes his novels in a motorhome at various locations around the country.

The feeling of impermanence is natural to him due to his mother’s traveller roots and a childhood succession of tied-cottages accommodation in different parts of England.

Kit Fielding says that there was always a curiosity about what was waiting, or was lurking, just around the corner. This legacy has stayed with him to the present day and it feeds into his work.

Connect to Inkspot Publishing:

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My Thoughts: MAB-2026

Under Vixen’s Mere is one of those novels that quietly gets under your skin and then refuses to leave.

From the opening pages, the prose immediately stood out to me. It’s spare without ever feeling sparse—clean, confident, and quietly assured. Dialogue and description are held in careful balance, each doing its work without calling attention to itself. Nothing strains for effect, and that sense of restraint builds trust early on, inviting the reader to settle in and follow where the story leads.

I was drawn to this book for deeply personal reasons. I’ve long fantasized about living on a boat, and I happily lose hours watching The Mindful Narrowboat on YouTube (mercifully free of mysterious bodies). What I didn’t expect was how fully this novel would deliver not just a setting, but a lived-in way of life—one that feels authentic rather than romanticized.

This is, in many ways, vicarious travel: across years, across seasons, and into a rare, largely off-grid canal-boat community tucked into the English countryside. The residents of Vixens Mere come and go with the rhythms of the water, maintaining an almost paradoxical balance—deep closeness paired with fierce privacy. Secrets are kept, histories linger, and yet there is mutual sympathy and loyalty that feels earned rather than idealized.

The cast is refreshingly outside the usual literary comfort zone: nightclub bouncers, pig farmers, laborers, drug dealers. These are not middle-class protagonists smoothed for palatability, yet each one climbs off the page with warmth, dignity, and unmistakable humanity. They love, fight, fear, and hope as fiercely as anyone else. I could picture every one of them.

Under Giveaway Screenshot 2025-11-06 at 09.45.44

Kit Fielding manages a large ensemble with impressive control, giving each character space to breathe—and yes, killing some of them. Tragedy and darkness are present throughout, threaded carefully among humor and joy. The mere itself—the body of water at the novel’s heart—becomes a quiet gravitational force, anchoring two stable, loving couples while secrets of adoption, unrequited love, affairs, suicide, and manslaughter drift in and out like the boats themselves.

What struck me most was the confidence of the writing. The scene-setting is assured, the revelations slow and satisfying, and the sense of jeopardy in the latter half is handled with admirable restraint. This is a writer who asks for your patience—and repays it fully.

Most of all, this book felt refreshing. Refreshing in its refusal to lean on stereotype. Refreshing in its complex, contradictory characters. Refreshing in a storytelling style that is unusual, engaging, and delivered with raw honesty and flair.

Choosing a favorite among the residents of Vixens Mere is nearly impossible, but if pressed, I’d gladly spend an evening with Big Ed and Millie aboard Crystal Lady—the emotional linchpins of this ragtag family. Their relationship feels utterly authentic, and I’d happily sink a beer (or three) with them in The Shed.

This is one of those rare books I was reluctant to finish—not because the ending faltered, but because I didn’t want to leave these people behind. I know they’ll be living in my head for a long time yet.

Goes well with: a pint in a weathered pub, damp boots by the door, and the quiet creak of ropes against wood as night settles over the water.

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The Boulangerie TBOTC Ebook Final

Book Review: The Boulangerie on the Corner b y Susan Buchanan

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About the Book: The Boulangerie on the Corner

🥖🥐🥖🥐 Grab your passport for the first in the European Escapes series 🥐🥖🥐🥖

The Boulangerie TBOTC Ebook Final

No home. No job. No boyfriend.

When Lia loses her job straight after a break-up, she escapes to the Molins’ family-run boulangerie in Toulouse – the place she was last happy, far away from her cheating ex.

Sworn off men, she isn’t prepared for the spark she feels for charming cheesemaker Jean-Luc, nor for things heating up at the family’s country home in Gascony when handsome, self-assured vineyard-owner Théo asks her out.

Torn between the two and her connections to the Molins family, Lia has some tough decisions to make.

Lia loves being back in France with the people she cares about, helping in the boulangerie. On discovering it is under threat of closure, she is devastated and resolves to do everything in her power to help it stay open.

Will she succeed? And will she be able to choose between the two handsome Frenchmen and live her happily ever after?

For fans of Gillian Harvey, Rebecca Raisin, Jo Thomas and Veronica Henry.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Purchase Link | Gooodreads 

About the Author: Susan Buchanan The Boulangerie author_Pic_2020

 Susan Buchanan writes contemporary romance, women’s fiction and romantic comedies, usually featuring travel, food, family, friendship, community – also Christmas!

Her books are Sign of the Times, The Dating Game, The Christmas Spirit, Return of the Christmas Spirit, A Little Christmas Spirit, A Taste of Christmas Spirit and Just One Day – Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, The Leap Year Proposal, You Can’t Hurry Love and The Boulangerie on the Corner.

As a freelance developmental editor, copyeditor and proofreader, if she’s not reading, editing or writing, she’s thinking about it.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

She lives near Glasgow with her husband, two children and a crazy Labrador.

When she’s not editing, writing, reading or caring for her two delightful cherubs, she likes going to the theatre, playing board games, watching quiz shows and eating out, and she has a penchant for writing retreats.

Connect with Susan:

Website| Facebook | Instagram | Threads

My Thoughts MAB-2026

Before there was Captain Jean-Luc Picard, American audiences were once treated to a very different Jean-Luc—one who appeared in aggressively faux-European commercials for powdered cappuccino mix, urging us to believe we were sipping something international. That image lodged itself firmly in my cultural memory. It was the very first thing I thought of when Lia, newly arrived in Toulouse and reeling from three personal upheavals, meets the cheesemaker Jean-Luc in The Boulangerie on the Corner.

Maybe it was the name, but I knew he wasn’t a blink-and-you-miss-him character.

That instinct turned out to be right, and it speaks to one of Susan Buchanan’s real strengths as a writer. Her characters arrive fully formed, warm, and human. Even the so-called villains are likeable and relatable rather than cartoonish. Lia herself is a genuinely strong female protagonist—capable, bruised, and emotionally intelligent. Her friendship with Jules is a particular joy, showcasing the very best aspects of female friendship: loyal, supportive, and quietly sustaining.

Layered on top of that emotional core is a France that feels lived-in rather than staged. There is bread and pastry, cheese and wine, markets and architecture, rain and flowers. The Molins’ family-run boulangerie is not just a setting but a heartbeat, and when it comes under threat of closure, the stakes feel real and personal. Add two handsome French suitors—cheesemaker Jean-Luc and vineyard-owner Théo—each appealing in different ways, and the novel finds its romantic tension without cheap tricks or forced drama.

What makes this book especially satisfying is its sensory richness. The attention to detail is so precise you can practically smell the bread cooling on the racks, the sharpness of cheese, the damp stone after rain. It is comfort reading with substance: sunshine and laughter paired with the everyday complications life throws at us, and the quiet resilience required to meet them.

This is a story about refuge—about returning to the last place you remember being happy, and discovering that happiness can evolve rather than repeat itself. I loved the storyline, the characters, and the care Buchanan brings to every page. I finished the book feeling warm, well-fed, and genuinely hopeful there is more to come.

Goes well with: a café au lait, a still-warm croissant torn by hand, good butter, apricot jam, and the dangerous temptation to book a one-way ticket to Toulouse.

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Book Review: Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans by Larry Nouvel

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About the Book: Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans Quiet Valor Cover

  • Genre: Inspirational Nonfiction/ American Social History
  • Publication Date: November 4, 2025
  • Pages: 241
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Some acts of courage never make the news, but they keep the world turning.

In every community, there are people who keep things moving simply by showing up. Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans opens with this familiar truth and builds a clear, steady narrative around it—highlighting the men and women whose everyday decisions hold families and neighborhoods together when it matters most.

Larry Nouvel brings forward stories that feel close to home: the workers, neighbors, teachers, and caregivers who operate without fanfare but whose actions hold real impact across families, streets, and local systems.

This volume reads like a portfolio of lived experiences, each one capturing a moment when an ordinary individual stepped forward because responsibility called for it. A teacher sprinting through a storm to guide anxious children. A bus driver managing an evacuation with near-perfect timing. A construction worker shielding a stranger on the subway tracks. A deputy diving into deep water to bring a lost child back to safety. An airman refusing to stop until every family in a flooded town was accounted for. These moments underscore a timeless point: communities endure because everyday people choose to act.

Nouvel’s style is measured and respectful, reflecting long-standing values, commitment, steadiness, and the quiet work ethic that has always shaped American life. Each vignette is lean, focused, and designed to show how character carries real operational weight. These aren’t headline-chasing stories; they are reminders of the reliable hands that keep families supported and neighborhoods functioning.

Following Quiet Valor: Unsung Architects of the American Promise and Quiet Valor: Children Who Cared, Endured, and Inspired, this third volume turns the lens toward the adults who sustain communities one steady act at a time.

Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans is a meaningful resource for readers who value tradition, continuity, and the steady presence of people who do the work because the work matters. It reminds us that valor is often quiet—and greatness is measured by the willingness to keep showing up.

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 About the Author: Larry Nouvel LN Pict Nov 2025

Larry Nouvel is the author of Quiet Valor: Unsung Architects of the American Promise, Quiet Valor: Children Who Cared, Endured, and Inspired, and Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans— three books that celebrate individuals whose quiet actions shaped lives, communities, and sometimes nations.

An inventor and entrepreneur, Larry has developed and registered more than 100 health-related products worldwide and holds over a dozen patents. As founder of LNouvel Inc., he has spent decades quietly advancing innovations in pet, livestock, and household care. His latest venture, UnRuffled Pets, launched in 2024 with calming products for cats and dogs, and is now sold across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Brazil.

Larry’s writing reflects his belief that quiet dedication—whether through caregiving, invention, or daily kindness—can drive lasting change. His stories highlight people who didn’t seek attention but made a difference all the same.

Connect with Larry:

Website | Facebook | LinkedIn 

My Thoughts MAB-2026

Going into Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans, I’ll admit I was a bit trepidatious. I hadn’t read the first two books in the series, and I wondered whether this would veer into a politically conservative, rah-rah celebration of “American values.” I was relieved to discover that the author’s note—clearly stating that this book is not political—was absolutely sincere.

What this book actually offers is something rarer and, frankly, more needed: a balm for weary souls who are looking anywhere for hope and positivity in an increasingly bleak world.

This is not a book about capital-H heroes. Instead, it centers on people who engage in small acts of service, kindness, and yes, heroism—not for recognition or glory, but because it was the right thing to do in the moment. These are stories of people showing up when it would have been easier not to.

04 Caption Banner Quiet Valor

I was only two stories in when I found myself getting teary. This book is moving. It’s honest. It’s simple and direct in the best possible way. There’s no manipulation here, no overwriting, no manufactured sentiment.

One of the most striking aspects of Quiet Valor is its credibility. In an age when even stories of kindness are often generated by AI and amplified through social media without verification, this book has receipts. Every story is sourced. These moments are real, documented, and grounded in lived experience.

From home health aides who showed up during COVID, to nurses, to subway riders protecting one another in moments of danger, the book quietly but firmly reinforces something many of us want to believe but sometimes struggle to hold onto: that people, at their core, are capable of goodness.

Reading this, I kept thinking of Anne Frank’s words about still believing in the goodness of people. Quiet Valor: Everyday Americans doesn’t shout that belief. It simply proves it, one steady story at a time.

Goes well with: a mug of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie your neighbor baked—still warm, offered without ceremony, and meant to be shared.

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The Locked Room Ebook

Book Review: The Locked Room by Holly Hepburn

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The Locked Room

The Locked Room EbookAbout the Book: The Locked Room 

Join Harriet White in 1930’s London for another glorious Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery, for fans of Nita Prose and Janice Hallett.

After a very close call on the Norfolk Fens, Harriet White is about ready to hang up her deerstalker and settle back into her normal life, working in a bank on Baker Street. Until she discovers a letter in The Times newspaper challenging Sherlock Holmes to prove his status as the world’s greatest detective, by solving an impossible mystery. The letter, signed Professor James Moriarty, advises Holmes that the crime will be committed within the following seven days. There will be no further clues – Holmes himself must deduce which crime is the correct one to investigate.

Dismissing the letter as a prank, Harry goes about her business until news breaks of the theft of valuable jewel collection from a safe in an apparently locked room in a Mayfair townhouse.

Intrigued in spite of her misgivings, Harry dons a disguise and investigates. But as she begins to unpick the puzzle, a body is found. And now, a stranger, and far more deadly mystery begins to unfold around her…

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Purchase Link | Goodreads

Author PicAbout the Author: Holly Hepburn

Holly Hepburn writes escapist, swoonsome fiction that sweeps her readers into idyllic locations, from her native Cornwall to the windswept beauty of Orkney. She has turned her hand to cosy crime inspired by Sherlock Holmes himself. Holly lives in leafy Hertfordshire with her adorable partner in crime, Luna the Labrador.

Connect with Holly:

Newsletter Signup | Instagram

MAB-2025My Thoughts

Locked-room mysteries are my Kryptonite, so I was already inclined to be generous with The Locked Room. Add in a female sleuth, a Sherlock-adjacent premise, and 1930s London, and I was fully on board before the first page. What I did not expect was how thoroughly this book would delight me—or how quickly I’d be buying the first two installments in the series for pure, unapologetic pleasure.

The Locked Room drops us back into Harriet White’s world after a near-fatal case on the Norfolk Fens. Harriet is ready to retreat to the relative safety of her bank job on Baker Street, until a provocative letter appears in The Times, publicly challenging Sherlock Holmes to solve an “impossible” crime in seven days. When a jewel theft from a supposedly locked Mayfair room hits the headlines, Harriet’s curiosity—and sense of justice—prove impossible to ignore.

I jumped into this series with book three and never felt lost, which is no small feat. Author Holly Hepburn provides just enough grounding to orient new readers while rewarding longtime fans with deeper character beats. I was also intrigued to learn that the premise draws inspiration from a real historical incident, which adds an extra frisson to the cleverness of the setup.

Hepburn’s writing is witty, assured, and inviting, with a light touch that keeps the pages turning. The historical setting feels lived-in rather than performative. I could see the grand townhouses, the quieter streets, and the sharp contrast between wealth and hardship in interwar London. Period details are woven in naturally, never paraded for effect, which makes the world feel solid and breathable.

This particular mystery unfolds around a snowbound manor and delivers one of the most satisfying locked-room puzzles I’ve read in years. False identities, impossible footprints, and a wonderfully human subplot involving Harriet’s mischievous younger brother keep both the tension and the charm dialed high. Hepburn’s prose is richly evocative; the chill of the house, the glow of firelight, and the small rituals of comfort feel almost tangible, even as the tension tightens and the stakes rise.

The twists genuinely surprised me. The romantic thread simmers gently without ever hijacking the mystery. When the final reveal landed, I actually gasped—then immediately flipped back to earlier chapters to admire how skillfully I’d been misdirected.

The Locked Room is clever, cozy without being complacent, and deeply satisfying for puzzle-lovers. If you adore classic detective fiction but crave a fresh perspective, Harriet White deserves a place on your shelf—and very likely, in your reading rotation for a long while to come.

Goes well with: a blazing fire, a generous glass of brandy, and the delicious certainty that you’re about to be very cleverly fooled.

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A Treatise Martian Chiro Ebook Cover 10.18.25

Book Review: A Treatise on Martian Chiropractic Manipulation and Other Satirical Tales by Lisa Fox

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A Treatise on Martian Chiropractic Manipulation and Other Satirical Tales

 

A Treatise Martian Chiro Ebook Cover 10.18.25About the Book: A Treatise on Martian Chiropractic Manipulation and Other Satirical Tales

Human beings are flawed creatures, and humor is the perfect means to exploit the endless fodder of our shortcomings. This multi-genre collection of twenty-one short satirical stories will leave you smirking, chuckling, scratching your head, and maybe even muttering to yourself “WTF is this?”

From the award-winning author of the acclaimed short story collections “Core Truths” and “Passageways: Short Speculative Fiction” comes something a little bit irreverent and a whole lot of weird.

Ketchup-covered chiropractors on Mars. Wealthy vigilante housewives battling coffee-addicted aliens. Cheerleaders protesting unrestricted access to cupcakes. Canine doulas. Hallucinating marine biologists. No one is immune from the absurdity.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (US)  | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

About the Author: Lisa Fox  A Treatise Lisa new headshot 2

Lisa Fox loves to ask questions. By day, she’s a pharmaceutical market researcher. By night, she channels that same inquisitive spirit into writing short fiction, building worlds and characters that explore the meaning of life, the universe, and everything in between. She survives, and sometimes thrives, in the chaos of suburban New Jersey with her husband, two sons, and quirky Double-Doodle dog. Lisa is an award-winning author of two short story collections: Core Truths and Passageways: Short Speculative Fiction.

Connect with Lisa:

Website | BlueSky |  Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) 

My Thoughts  MAB-2026

If satire is a mirror, A Treatise on Martian Chiropractic Manipulation and Other Satirical Tales tilts it just enough to catch the light at an unexpected angle.

This multi-genre collection moves between speculative fiction, satire, social commentary, and moments that are deliberately unsettling. Humor is very much part of the mix, but it is not the whole of it. Fox allows different stories to do different kinds of work, and the tonal shifts feel intentional rather than scattered.

The titular piece is a standout and an effective entry point into the collection’s sensibility. Beyond that, some of my favorite stories include “A Feral Yearning,” “Community Watch,” and “Crazy for Coqui.” These pieces succeed for very different reasons. Community Watch is the most overtly tense, grounded in suspicion and collective behavior. As someone who has always struggled to fit in, and is now in her second term as a member of her HOA’s board of directors, this piece particularly resonated with me. A Feral Yearning and Crazy for Coqui feel more observational, exploring ideas and impulses without pressing for a single emotional response.

“Is That an Emotional Support Robot?” left me wanting more, which I mean as a compliment. “Population Management” and “Obfuscation Nation,” by contrast, are both brilliant and disturbing, stories that do not soften their implications or rush toward resolution.

Across twenty-one stories, Fox demonstrates strong control of craft while working across genres and tones. Some pieces are amusing, others thought-provoking or quietly unsettling. There isn’t a weak choice in the collection, only different entry points depending on what kind of story you’re in the mood for.

Goes well with: coffee made from real Brazilian beans and a chocolate-mint cupcake.

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Two Into the Cold: Clare & Russ Begin

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In the Bleak MidwinterI went looking for a new-to-me mystery series that could hit a very specific sweet spot: cozy without being precious, thoughtful without tipping into pretension. I found it first in audiobook form, almost by accident, and I was hooked from the opening chapters. This series slid neatly into my ears and refused to let go.

In the Bleak Midwinter opens the Reverend Clare Fergusson / Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne series, and from page one it feels like stepping into a snow-globed village where everything looks quaint until you notice the blood on the ice. Millers Kill is small, wintry, tight-lipped, and brimming with secrets. Clare arrives as the new Episcopal priest—smart, guarded, quietly carrying her own scars—and Russ is the town’s steady, married police chief who knows every back road and every family history. The murder at the center of the book is strong, but the real hook is the slow, careful way these two circle each other: wary, respectful, emotionally literate, and painfully human. This is not a gimmick pairing. It is grounded, moral, and full of restraint, which somehow makes it even more compelling.

A Fountain Filled with Blood deepens everything I loved about the first book. The mystery—rooted in school rivalries, old resentments, and the quiet hierarchies of a small town—unfolds with confidence, but the emotional stakes rise just as sharply. Clare is more settled but no less complicated. Russ remains bound by duty and marriage, and the ache between them becomes more visible, more fraught, and more honest. This series understands that longing is rarely glamorous. It is awkward, ethical, exhausting, and deeply human, and that realism is one of its quiet superpowers.

There is also something deeply comforting about the cultural shorthand Spencer-Fleming uses. References to PBS, public radio–adjacent sensibilities, and a certain late-20th-century, educated-Northeast worldview made me feel instantly at home. It is clear the author lives in or very near my cultural zeitgeist, and those small, knowing touches add a layer of authenticity that is easy to underestimate and hard to fake.

A special note for audiobook listeners: Suzanne Toren’s narration is wonderful. The voices feel lived-in rather than performed, the pacing gives emotional beats room to breathe, and the atmosphere of Millers Kill—snow, silence, tension—comes through beautifully. It is the kind of narration that makes long drives shorter and everyday chores suspiciously enjoyable.

Together, these first two novels promise a series that cares as much about souls as it does about bodies, as much about silence as about clues. Come for the murder. Stay for the moral complexity, the slow-burn tension, and the feeling that you are being trusted with real people, not just characters.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop | Goodreads 

Pueblas Magicas Chuck Burton

Review: Pueblos Mágicos: A Traveler’s Guide to Mexico’s Hidden Treasures by Chuck Burton

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About the book, Pueblos Mágicos: A Traveler’s Guide to Mexico’s Hidden Treasures  Pueblos Magicos Cover

  • Pages: 296
  • Publisher: Bayou City Press
  • Publication Date: Oct, 3 2025
  • Categories:  General Mexico Travel Guide

Pueblos Mágicos: A Traveler’s Guide to Mexico’s Hidden Treasures covers 62 of the towns in the Government of Mexico’s “Pueblos Mágicos” initiative, a program that identifies and promotes towns in Mexico that have special cultural or historical significance. Most of these places are small and less well-known than Mexico’s large cities and popular tourist destinations.

Author Chuck Burton, a long-time Mexico traveler and resident, has visited all of these towns. He has chosen 10 towns as his Favorites and awarded Honorable Mention status to an additional 10 towns. For each of those categories, he also writes about “bonus towns,” nearby towns that are also worthy of a visit. Additional chapters divide Mexico’s states into four regions (Northern, North Central, South Central, and Southern), with Pueblos Mágicos towns in each region identified and described.

The book contains maps showing the locations of all 62 towns, a glossary of Spanish/Mexican words, and an extremely useful index. The author opens the book with background information on the practicalities of visiting the Pueblos Mágicos and closes it with additional information, such as travel information on Mexico City and some suggested itineraries for visiting the Pueblos Mágicos. Photos of towns and sites are included, as are a description of the Pueblos Mágicos program and the author’s thoughts on why we travel.

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About the author, Chuck Burton Pueblas Magicas Chuck Burton

An old Northern California hippie and charter member of the Love Generation, Chuck Burton has been traveling around the world budget/backpack style for fifty years. His current areas of expertise are Mexico, Southeast Asia and India. Occasionally he has paused his travels to replenish his coffers, primarily as a tax preparer, professional bridge player and teacher, freelance writer and substitute teacher. His greatest joy has been raising his daughter Marisol, adopted in Colombia in 1985 along with his ex-wife. Chuck is fluent in Spanish and currently resides in Mazatlan, Mexico with his longtime companion Kathy Gilman.

Connect with Chuck:

Amazon Author Page | Website

My Thoughts MAB-2025

Early in the introduction to Pueblos Mágicos, Chuck Burton includes a line that immediately caught my attention: “Earn your money where the pay is good, then spend it carefully in warm, cheap countries.” It is pragmatic, a little cheeky, and quietly revealing. That philosophy sets the tone for the book as a whole. This is certainly a beautiful travel guide, but it is also grounded, lived-in, and deeply human. At times, it reads less like a conventional guidebook and more like a thoughtful travel memoir shaped by years of experience.

 

Burton’s familiarity with Mexico informs every chapter. He has personally visited all 62 towns included in the book, and that firsthand knowledge shows in both structure and voice. Ten towns are highlighted as favorites, ten more receive honorable mention, and nearby “bonus towns” expand the scope without overwhelming the reader. The regional organization — Northern, North Central, South Central, and Southern Mexico — makes the book especially useful for travelers who want to plan realistically rather than romantically.

 

This book also corrected one of my long-held assumptions. My parents lived in La Paz, Baja California Sur for twenty years, and during my frequent visits we spent plenty of time in their nearby Pueblo Mágico, Todos Santos. Until reading this book, I believed the designation applied primarily to art colonies, and that Todos Santos received attention mainly because it is home to the famous, or infamous, Hotel California. Burton’s explanation of the Pueblos Mágicos initiative reframes that understanding entirely. These towns are recognized not for trendiness or notoriety, but for cultural continuity, history, and community identity. Seeing Todos Santos placed in a broader national context deepened my appreciation for a place I thought I already knew well.

 

The practical elements of the book are excellent. Clear maps, an extremely useful index, a glossary of Spanish and Mexican terms, and suggested itineraries make this a guide meant to be carried and consulted, not just admired on a shelf. The photographs enhance the text without overwhelming it, while Burton’s closing reflections on why we travel reinforce the book’s thoughtful, unhurried approach.

 

Pueblos Mágicos encourages slower travel and deeper curiosity. It invites readers to look beyond the obvious and to value presence over checklists. This is a guide for travelers who want to understand where they are standing, not simply collect destinations.

 

Goes well with: a well-worn passport, street tacos ordered by the kilo, a cold local beer like Indio or Bohemia, and the slow satisfaction of realizing how much there still is to learn about a place you thought you knew.

Review: No Oil Painting by Genevieve Marenghi

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No Oil Painting

 

About the book, No Oil Painting NO OIL PAINTING - Genevieve Marenghi - Burton Mayers Books - Front Cover

A respectable septuagenarian steals a valuable painting and later tries to return it, with a little help from her friends.

Bored National Trust volunteer, Maureen, steals an obscure still life as a giant up-yours to all those who’ve discounted her. The novice fine art thief is rumbled by some fellow room guides, but snitches get stitches, camaraderie wins out and instead of grassing her up, they decide to help.

Often written off as an insipid old fart, Maureen has a darker side, challenging ingrained ideas of how senior citizens should behave. Her new set of friends make her feel alive again. No longer quite so invisible, can this unlikely pensioner gang return the now infamous painting without being caught by the Feds?

I wrote this after hearing a radio interview in which an art detective revealed how a stolen Titian was dumped at a bus stop outside Richmond station. In a red, white and blue plastic bag! I just couldn’t shake such a compelling image. I volunteered at Ham House for many years, and my passion for this Jacobean gem, together with the volunteers’ indomitable spirit, gave birth to my unlikely anti-hero.

With over five million members, the National Trust is a huge British institution. Yet, next to nothing has been written about it in terms of contemporary fiction. Until now.

While No Oil Painting explores themes of insignificance and loneliness in older age, particularly for women, it is mainly intended to entertain and offer a small haven in dark, uncertain times.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon USA (Paperback) | Amazon USA (Kindle) | Amazon UK (Paperback) | Amazon UK (Kindle)| Goodreads

About the Author, Genevieve Marenghi Genevieve Daly FINALS

With a BA in English and Philosophy, Genevieve worked for eleven years at the Weekend FT, where she helped create and launch How To Spend It magazine.

She volunteered for years as a National Trust guide at Ham House. This became the setting for her debut art heist novel, No Oil Painting, which was listed for the inaugural Women’s Prize Trust and Curtis Brown Discoveries, and was published by Burton Mayers Books on 10th October 2025.

Her writing uses dark humour to probe the difference between our perception of people and their true selves. The gulf between what is said and what is meant. She considers people watching an essential skill for any writer; overheard snippets of conversation or a bonkers exchange at a bus stop are like gold nuggets. She’s been known to follow people to catch the end of a juicy conversation or argument. Women aged over fifty are essentially invisible anyhow and she views this as a kind of superpower.

Unlike her protagonist Maureen, she hasn’t used this to commit art theft. Yet.

Connect with Genevieve

Instagram | Threads 

Giveaway – UK Residents Only

Giveaway PRize - IMG_3766

Giveaway to Win National Trust chocolate, and a Ham House towel and fridge magnet (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Enter to Win National Trust chocolate, and a Ham House towel and fridge magnet (Open to UK Only)

My Thoughts MAB-2025

There is something irresistibly delicious about a crime novel that hands the spotlight to someone the world tends to overlook. Genevieve Marenghi’s No Oil Painting introduces Maureen, a septuagenarian National Trust volunteer who has spent a lifetime playing by the rules… right up until she decides not to. A cheeky lunch-table game — the sort of hypothetical mischief people joke about but never act on — becomes the spark that sets her audacious adventure in motion. Before long she is scheming, sweating, and slip-sliding her way through an ill-advised art heist that is equal parts chaos and charm.

 

What makes the novel shine is not the theft itself, although the caper is delightful. It is Maureen’s emotional landscape that lingers. Her great-niece is leaving for New York, her favorite painting is slated for relocation, and the soft, creeping loneliness of late life presses in on her. Rather than succumb, she lunges headfirst into trouble. The heist becomes her rallying cry, a way to shake off invisibility and rediscover purpose. The friends who join her — instead of reporting her — supply the heart of the story, proving that chosen community is sometimes the most life-saving kind.

 

Maureen is funny without being caricatured, vulnerable without being fragile. Her escapade becomes a gentle reminder that senior citizens contain multitudes, that adventure does not expire, and that sometimes the wildest thing you can do is insist on mattering. I found her journey both hilarious and unexpectedly moving, especially as a reader eyeing that demographic from not-too-far away. The whole book reads quickly, but it leaves a warm afterglow long after the final page.

 

It helps that Marenghi’s timing feels almost prescient. With its October 2025 publication date aligning with the very real October 2025 Crown Jewels caper at the Louvre, the novel gains an unintended relevancy. Art theft is having a moment, apparently, and Maureen’s pint-sized rebellion slots right into the cultural conversation.

 

No Oil Painting entertains, uplifts, and subtly encourages the reader to imagine their own cheeky museum caper. Hypothetically, of course. Mostly.

 

Goes well with: a steaming cup of builder’s tea, a shortbread biscuit, and the quiet thrill of plotting an imaginary art heist with your favorite partner in crime.

No Oil Painting Full Tour Banner

Great Train Journeys

Review: 100 Train Journeys of a Lifetime: The World’s Ultimate Rides (100 of a Lifetime) by Everett Potter

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Great Train JourneysAbout the book, 100 Train Journeys of a Lifetime: The World’s Ultimate Rides 

Climb aboard the world’s 100 greatest railway adventures with this beautifully curated travel guide from National Geographic.

Filled with unforgettable journeys, including a weeklong excursion through Italy’s wine country and a four-hour sojourn in the Swiss countryside, this illustrated collection will add to your train trip bucket list.

Experience 100 of the most sought-after train rides around the world, from a luxurious trip through the Rocky Mountains to bullet trains that whizz you across Japan.

This is the ultimate collection for railfans, featuring centuries-old railways, modern and speedy engineering marvels, and trips that take you through bustling cities like Chicago or ancient wonders like Machu Picchu.

Along with where and when to go, 100 Train Journeys of a Lifetime includes inside info on passenger cars (like the best cabins to book or the tastiest meals en route), sidebars on historic stations and jet-setting train trips, and top excursions to take while off the rails.
Throughout, National Geographic highlights the top 100 lines that offer a window to the beauty of our world, including:

  • Italy’s Espresso Cadore, a retro sleeper train that whisks you from the ruins of Rome to the ski resort of Cortina in the Dolomites.
  • Norway’s Nordlandsbanen railway, the only train line in the country that takes you to the Arctic Circle for a chance to spot the Northern Lights.
  • South Africa’s Blue Train, which travels 950 miles between Johannesburg and Cape Town.
  • The Ethan Allen Express, a revived route from Manhattan to Burlington, Vermont, along the shores of Lake Champlain.
  • Belmond’s Royal Scotsman, an intimate 40-passenger train (including a spa carriage) that takes you through the heart of the Scottish Highlands.
  • The Grand Canyon Railway, with views of the national park you won’t find anywhere else.
  • The Hiram Bingham Orient-Express, a four-hour ride in a 1920s-style locomotive from Cusco through the Sacred Valley to the Inca Citadel.
  • India’s Palace on Wheels, a week-long sojourn from New Delhi to Jodhpur, Udaipur to Agra.

And so much more!

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop | Goodreads

Everett Potter About the author, Everett Potter 

Everett Potter is a columnist for Forbes, a contributor to National Geographic, and an expert for National Geographic Expeditions. The editor of Everett Potter’s Travel Report, he is a former travel columnist for The New York Times Syndicate, Smart Money, Ski, USA Today, and USA Weekend. A longtime contributor to Outside, Money, National Geographic Traveler, and Travel + Leisure, he is the recipient of four Lowell Thomas Awards.

Connect with Everett:

Amazon Author Page | Everett Potter’s Travel Report | Facebook | Instagram 

Melissa My Thoughts

Everett Potter’s 100 Train Journeys of a Lifetime is one of those rare travel books that feels like a ticket drawer full of possibilities. Each page hums with the quiet, anticipatory music of a station platform—steam rising, doors opening, landscapes rolling toward you like a promise. Curated with National Geographic’s signature eye for wonder, it’s part atlas, part armchair adventure, and entirely irresistible.

 

I came to trains early. Childhood afternoons were spent steering HO-scale engines across miniature countryside, learning to dream in rail lines. As a teen, Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle convinced me that trains held mysteries as well as destinations. By adulthood, the romance of rail travel had lodged itself somewhere deep in my DNA. So opening this book felt less like browsing a travel guide and more like paging through a family album filled with places I’ve loved and places I’ve yet to meet.

 

Potter guides us along railways that span continents and centuries. Luxury sleepers glide through the Rockies as if tracing the spine of a giant; sleek bullet trains whisk across Japan with clockwork precision; a retro Italian night train sweeps you from Rome to the Dolomites in a soft blur of moonlight and motion. I’m especially smitten with sleeper trains, so the Espresso Cadore instantly joined my personal bucket list the moment I read about it.

 

As always with these “of a Lifetime” volumes, the delight is in the detail. Potter’s insider notes point you toward cabins worth claiming, meals worth lingering over, and stations worth exploring. Sidebars shine a lantern on everything from the engineering that powers high-speed marvels to the lore behind beloved routes like the Palace on Wheels or the Hiram Bingham journey to Machu Picchu. The result isn’t just informative; it’s cinematic. You can almost hear the conductor call “All aboard.”

 

And the photography? Pure temptation. Lush, sweeping, beautifully composed images that pair with the text to whisper, buy a ticket right now. Whether you’re daydreaming about Scotland’s misty highlands on the Royal Scotsman or plotting a long weekend aboard the Ethan Allen Express, every spread offers its own small escape.

 

Goes well with: A steaming cup of Darjeeling and a warm, flaky pasty—preferably enjoyed beside a window where the next train might glide past at any moment.