Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts

Friday, April 24, 2020

Death Orchid: Hawaii Thriller Book 2 - J. E. Trent, Author



Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

1 small package small elbow macaroni

1 cup mayonnaise (best foods is best)
1 tablespoon finely minced onions
2 tablespoons finely minced celery
1 small carrot finely minced
salt and pepper to taste.

Mix together and enjoy!

Death Orchid: A Sam and Jessica Novel (Hawaii Thriller Series Book 2) - Review by Martha A. Cheves

Ivan Volkov's plan was for Jessica Kealoha to die a violent death while he watched it on his laptop computer in the air-conditioned comfort of his hotel room.  He had stalked Jessica for a week after he landed on the island.  The first thing he did was to attach a custom-built GPS track to her Jeep after he had followed her to the grocery store.

Fifteen minutes after picking up Aimee, Jessica turned off the highway and headed down the hill toward lower Keauhou.  Noticing her speed, she stepped on the brake pedal to slow down before the curve in the road ahead.  Nothing happened, except a sharp pang in her gut caused by the fear of not being able to stop.  She pressed the electronic parking brake switch with the same results, nothing.  They were headed down one of the steepest roads in Kona, Kam lll.  She and Aimee were most likely going to die if she couldn't get the jeep stopped before the bottom of the hill.

Jessica is a retired detective from California who has moved back to her home on the Islands.  She never expected to find herself in the position of having a hit put out for her by some of the most feared people in the world - the Russian Mofia. 

This book is full of action and will keep you turning the pages just to see what will happen next.  Plus, Author J. E. Trent writes with a quality that I rarely find.  He writes short chapters which, to me, makes reading much easier.  This book is also filled with vivid descriptions of the Islands, making you feel like you're there seeing them for yourself.  I've loved every book I've read by this author.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

The Mersey Monastery Murders: The Habit of Murder - Brian L. Porter, Author


Wiener Schnitzel with Parsley Butter Potatoes

4 veal cutlets, ½-inch thick
1 T (15 ml) sunflower or canola oil
Salt & pepper
Light oil (such as sunflower oil)
¼ C (31 g) flour
2 lg eggs, beaten
1 C breadcrumbs
1-2 C (230-459 g) butter
1-2 C (220-440 g) lard
POTATOES:
1½ lbs (680 g) sm new potatoes
½ C (115 g) butter, melted
1 C (121 g) breadcrumbs
2 T (5 g) Italian parsley, finely chopped
Pepper to taste
GARNISH:
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Place cutlets between pieces of wax paper and gently pound with a meat mallet (or small heavy saucepan) until about ¼-inch thick. Rub cutlets with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set up 3 shallow dishes: 1 with flour, 1 with egg and 1 with breadcrumbs. Coat each cutlet well first with flour, then egg, then crumbs.
In a heavy frying pan, melt equal amounts of sufficient butter and lard to cover frying pan bottom to a depth of ½ inch. Working 2 at a time, place cutlets in pan, immersing in fat. Shake pan gently as meat cooks to ensure cutlets do not stick. Cook 3-4 minutes over medium heat until cutlets begin to brown; turn over; cook another 1-2 minutes so both sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle lightly with salt.
Meanwhile, boil potatoes in salted water until easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain; place them back on the stove for a minute or so, uncovered. Peel; slice into wedges and place in a serving dish. Pour melted butter over potatoes, sprinkle with parsley and pepper.
Serve cutlets with potatoes and garnish with lemon. This dish pairs well with a sweet white wine like muscatel.
Makes 4 servings.



The Mersey Monastery Murders: The Habit of Murder - Review by Martha A. Cheves

"Right now, Nick, we really don't know where to look for the killer, because we don't know for sure when he was killed.  We're pretty certain he was murdered by this Freedom Train organization, to allow them to insert the impostor in his place.  If we can put a rough time to his death, we can search for organization members active in the UK at that time.  If we find the person or persons involved in the murder, it will go toward shutting them down here.  They can't be a big group.  I don't think the Stasi were as big as the Nazis after World War Two, and Sam's contact at MI6 gave her the impression there are a limited number of former Stasi officers on the Germans' wanted list.  So, the number of those helping them to evade justice has to be relatively small."

When someone is killed at the Monastery it's up to Andy Ross and his team to find out who committed the murder and why.  Could it be one of the Brothers or one of the Nuns?  Not likely but not impossible.  As their investigation progresses Ross finds more hidden secrets than even he would have guessed.  Someone is not only murdering people but also replacing them with wanted war criminals.  So how do they stop them?

This makes the 7th book in the Mersey Murder Mysteries that I've read and I must say they just keep getting better and better.  I don't know where this author's imagination comes from but I'm glad he has it and hope it never quits.  Anyone that can write mysteries like this one as well as adopt and care for a dozen dogs, writing books about them too, is an Ace in my book.  Keep it up Brian Porter and I'll keep reading.

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Goodbye, My Love - Book 1 - Maggie Tideswell, Author




Traditional South African bobotie recipe
Serves up to eight people, but you can adjust it to make the recipe smaller.

Ingredients
1 fairly thick slice crustless bread (white or brown)
375 ml milk
25 ml oil
10ml butter
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
25 ml curry powder
10ml salt
25ml chutney
15ml smooth apricot jam
15ml Worcester sauce
5ml turmeric
25ml brown vinegar
1 kg raw mince
100 ml sultanas (don’t replace with raisins – they are too sweet; sultanas are much better for this recipe)
3 eggs
pinch each salt and turmeric
bay leaves

Cooking method
Soak bread in milk. Heat oil and butter in large pan and fry onions and garlic.
When onions are soft, add curry powder, salt, chutney, jam, Worcester sauce, turmeric and vinegar and mix well.
Drain and mash bread and reserve milk. Add bread to pan together with mince and sultanas.
Cook over low heat, stirring, and when meat loses its pinkness, remove from stove. Add 1 beaten egg, mix well, then spoon into a greased, 28 x 16 cm baking dish and level the top.
Beat remaining eggs with reserved milk (you should have 300ml, or a little more) and the salt and turmeric.
Pour over meat mixture and put a few bay leaves on top. Stand dish in a larger pan of water (this is important to prevent drying out) and bake, uncovered, at 180 degrees celsius for 1 hour or until set.
Serve with rice, coconut, chutney, nuts and bananas.



Goodby, My Love - Roxanne's Ghost Saga Episode 1 - Review by Martha A. Cheves

Ben dragged a breath deep into his lungs when he turned to Daemon.  "Okay, let's assume you find Roxanne and bring her home.  What form is she going to have?"  Millicent shared a look with Daemon.  "What do you mean?"  she asked.  "What I mean, Millicent, is simple.  Will she be as she was when I saw her last, or will she be a skeleton, or scarred and burned beyond recognition, or a puff of insubstantial smoke?  What form are you bringing her home in?"  He glared at his sister-in-law.  "Roxanne is dead, Millicent!" he bellowed.  "Get that into your head.  Roxanne is dead and she cannot come back, not as I knew and loved her.  Can;t you understand that?  I just want to remember he as she was, without you tarnishing my memories of her."

Jessica James has an appointment to meet with a Dr. Ben Arnold who has an Autistic child.  Her position will be the child's nanny.  From the looks of things Dr. Arnold wants to send her on her way and find someone else.  But, due to a 'pack' of dogs that greeted her she will end up having to stay at least for the night.

As the night goes on, Jess is faced with a mattress that seemed to be talking, an owl that appears to be watching over her, a physic who wears a dress, and three sisters that have come to the house insisting that  Ben's wife Roxanne isn't dead and they will be bringing her home.  On top of all that, Jess has started having her own visions of a woman named Daisy.  Did I forget to mention that this all takes place on Friday 13th?

When I started reading Goodbye, My Love I wasn't sure I would make it through to the end.  I don't really care for romantic books and this one was starting out on that line with full force.  But, I decided to give it a little longer and sure am glad that I did.  The romance turned into a full force mystery with a lot of paranormal mixed in.  Every page drug me deeper and deeper into the story, not sure what was going to happen next.  This book took me to the end and gave me no ending.  Just a promise of another book that will keep me going even deeper.


 
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