Book Review: My Retirement My Way

 Title: My Retirement My Way

Author: Veronica McCain

Publisher: Zeitgeist

Publication Date: April 25, 2023

Rating: 5 out of 5

This workbook is intended for recent retirees, to help them through the first year of retirement and beyond. I am just over a year away from retirement, so not quite the target audience, but I found it hugely helpful in thinking ahead. To get the most out of the book, it does require active involvement, working through the various exercises which are intended to help you maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle in retirement.. I found myself completing them in my own journal, rather than in the book itself, since I plan to come back to them later, when I have just retired and probably a year or two into retirement. 

Divided into three parts, I found the first part (retirement starts here and now) most useful. It helped me to define a future vision for my retirement. The second part deals with creating meaning and passion, and although some of the exercises were applicable, some will have to wait till I am in retirement. The third part, goals, was the least useful for me right now. That part includes exercises for defining goals, building plans, making/breaking habits, and I am familiar enough with these concepts not to need much of them. But if they are new to you, they would be extremely helpful.

I've read a number of books about retirement, and hence much of the material was not new. But being put into valuable exercise form, I think this is a great addition to the group. I recommend this if you are heading into retirement.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review. 

Book Review: Betrayal

Title: Betrayal

Author: Phillip Margolin

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication Date: November 7 2023

Rating: 5 out of 5

As with most of his prior 6 Robin Lockwood legal thrillers, this seventh in the series is set in Portland, my home town. (It is great to rea
d about locations I travel weekly, or even daily.) Lockwood is a defense attorney and former MMA up-and-comer. And here, Margolin meshes the MMA and the legal aspects of Lockwood's life explicitly.

This story involves Mandy Kerrigan a former MMA world champion and the fighter who ended Lockwood's fighting career ten years previously. In fact, we get some insight into the backstory of that bout and how it turned Lockwood towards her legal ambitions. In present day, after a fight in Portland that Lockwood attends with her new boyfriend, an assitant DA, Kerrigan finds herself accused of a multiple homicide. With no money and no one else to turn to, she asks Lockwood to be her lawyer. With Lockwood's boyfriend prosecuting the case, these two face off with only possible winner.

Margolin does a great job of character development throughout, and a solid plot that keeps things interesting, through the courtroom dazzle, right up to the last minute reveal at the 13th hour. Mixing drugs, Russian mobsters, and murder, even throwing in a little special forces action, this is a great read and a deserved addition to the Lockwood canon.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review. 

Book Review: Lone Wolf

 Title: Lone Wolf

Author: Gregg Hurwitz

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication Date: February 13 2024

Rating: 5 out of 5

Book 9 in the Orphan X series starts
off with a whimper of a mission: find a missing dog! Not the normal sort of life and death mission requiring the assistance from Nowhere Man, Evan Smoak. Indeed, I almost gave up, but the presence or a female ninja lone wolf assassin piqued my interest. I'm glad I stuck with it, as it got better and quickly.

After 8 books of lethal, don't-make--it-personal retributional missions and killings, Smoak faces his toughest challenge: meeting family and dealing with feelings. This is by far the most personal and evolutionary book in this series, and it shows both Evsn and his young female side-kick Joey grappling and ultimately coming to terms with their humanity. They are more than just killing machines. One of the trickiest issues here is the presidency of the HOA where Evan lives and he has to act as an intermediary negotiator, using words not weapons. This is well worth a read, especially if you are all caught up with the orphans.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review. 

Book Review: Fear the Silence

Title: Fear the Silence

Author: Robert Bryndza

Publisher: Raven Street Publishing

Publication Date: July 6 2023

Rating: 5 out of 5

The premise is simple.  ER room doctor Maggie is confronted with her own husband Will's unexpected and unexplained suicide. Everything points to him having taken his own life. But she can't accept this. When she goes to clear out their vacation home on a remote Croatian island after the end of tourist season, clues start to emerge that there were secrets Will was keeping from her. And the powerful person whose secret could be devastating will go to any length to prevent this from happening.

Wow, what a fantastic suspense thriller. It took me by the throat from the first page and never let up. With each twist, when I thought the heroine was going to break through, it just got worse. Every situation seemed more hopeless than the last. Until the twist at the end. I'd never read a book by Bryndza before, but it's safe to say this won't be my last. This is well worth your time, unless you fear the silence. 

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review. 

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