"Wild Pivot", by Jen Thompson

Notes from a Political Life Rewritten

From Capitola Hill to Australia

This memoir traces Jen Thompson journey from political ambition to personal transformation. It is said through short and engaging vignettes.

It opens on February 14, 2023 while Jen was attending an outdoor screening at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, reflecting on the past year. After running a successful political campaign to elect Congressman Jim Talent to the U.S. Senate she needed to escape and her place was Australia…where she finally felt liberated. She has turned down numerous high-level offers and from there Jen Thomson shared with us her life story from her childhood growing up in a Christian Scientist family to recounting the stressful years as a political strategist to living a life of freedom.

The book is divided in 2 parts with chapters moving between the past and the present, mixing painful and jarring details. Ms. Thompson recounts her days working for the Congressman and describes how she was driven working long hours consumed by fear of failure. She also mentions the horrific car accident and the aftershock when she realized her life needed to change. She goes on telling her story with unflinching honesty.

“Wild Pivot is a compelling memoir and a powerful testament to courage. This is a deeply human account said from the bottom of the heart and once you started to read it you will find it is very hard to put down. This book is so well said and originally presented.

Thank you, Fauzia Burke from FSB Associates for this wonderful inspiring book

"Dead Drop", by Elias Ashcroft

Short and sweet this mystery gives us 87 pages of fun read

Special Agent Tessa Rourke discovers the drop containing a file tied to an assassination plot that could derail global diplomacy and is thrust into a world of encrypted files…The stakes are high and Tessa must decide to protect the truth or expose those behind the plot…..Tick Tick Tick what will she do…
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Intense action packed and a real rollercoaster ride from start to finish. A lot goes on and the intensity could have keep going for another 200 pages or so but it ended way too soon. Having said this, this is a fast-paced espionage filles with tension and unexpected twists all said in a tempo that is tight and exciting.

It is an engaging read and my first experience reading this author and it will not be my last.

I enjoyed it

"The Dead Zone", by Peter Hogenkamp

Jade Stryker Thrillers, #3

This 3rd installments the two main characters Jade Stryker and her fiancé Mark Brand. The books stories vacillate between the two in alternative chapters and are said from the point of views of each one in the present tense. Both stories are very slow to kick off but when they do, the intensity is palpable and the experience wonderful.

Throughout this thriller we have extensive explanations I must say sometimes the details were overbearing but most of all it slowed the pacing down to a crawl: exp. boats maneuvers, medical terms, etc. Although I must note following Jade and Mark in different locations: the Caribbean and the Rockies we have an impressive sense of place.

Mr. Hogenkamp’s narrative is active, simple and very well done, most of all he knows how to paint characters in a positive way. Jade and Mark are wonderful characters you wouldn’t mind passing time with them and listen to their experiences and very exciting life…Well I guess I will have to wait for book #4 to see what comes next….. looking forward to it.

It is a must to have read the 2 previous books in order to understand Jade antecedent and how she came to be Mark’s significant other.

Now did I pique your interest, I hope I did “The Dead Zone” is a fine book.

Here is a snippet of what to expect:

Jade Stryker takes a trip to find her father she has never met. However, trouble is never far away. In the sunlit valley of the Rockies where he lives seems her father is the only thing preventing a corrupt sheriff from abusing his family. Jade decides to take the matter into her hands…..

While her fiancé Mark is looking forward to seeing his brother Mitchell he hasn’t seen over a decade…unfortunately, on arrival Mitch was abducted initiating a cascade of events….

Enjoy

Thank you, Mr. Hogenkamp for the hours of entertainment this story has given me.