Audiobooks for Dad Archives - Page 4 of 7

Skeletons of Scandal, Violence, and Murder in the Closet…”Crime Scene”: A Novel by, Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman

The American team of father and son, Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman have co-authored a page turning fictional novel entitled, Crime Scene: The Novel. A star athlete turned coroner’s investigator is drawn into a brutal, complicated murder. The novel is a true example of a psychological thriller at its best.

Clay Edison is the Kellerman’s main character, the coroner’s investigator whose normal job capacity entails determining natural causes or foul play in each body he examines. Figuring out motives and chasing down suspects is not a normal part of his job description. What should have been an open and shut case proves to be anything but that.

A loyal and defiant daughter of a dead professor convinces Clay to take a closer look at her father’s death. What appeared to be a nasty, fatal fall down the stairs turns out to be a grim and brutal murder. One key piece of information Clay finds is that a colleague of the professor had died in almost the same manner. The dead professor had many skeletons in his closet involving scandal, violence, and the murder of a coed.

The authors know they have a truly great work created when author, Stephen King says of the father and son writing team……… “Brilliant page turning fiction……..A rare collaboration where the sum is truly greater than the parts…….an extraordinary work of detection, suspense, and supernatural mystery”.

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Out For Revenge….”House of Spies”, by Daniel Silva

In quoting one reader………many thriller writers are writing about ISIS, but few grasp its history or even the fundamental nature of its barbarity. Instead, they plug into a cookie cutter plot and promote the result as something profound, when it is anything but……and worse are the authors who bash readers with their personal politics rather than being creative enough to give their characters life with actions that reveal what the author is “trying” to communicate. That quote, in this reader’s opinion, is such a fair and very impressive comment on the honesty and integrity written into the new book by author, Daniel Silva. As a continuation of his best seller of 2016, The Black Widow, his new offering, House of Spies continues the work of Gabriel Allon, who is out for revenge. He is dead set on hunting down a despicable, dangerous terrorist who goes by the name of Saladin.

Gabriel Allon has now assumed the position of chief of the Office, another term for Mossad, in Israel. Various other Silva characters have been brought back into House of Spies to help enrich and embolden the plot. As does usually happen, one loose end that is overlooked by the ISIS mastermind, gives Gabriel something to cling to as he begins to get closer to the world’s most dangerous terrorist.

Even after a long, successful string of novels, Silva still finds new ways to create surprises for his readers. One had assumed that once Gabriel Allon was said to have left field work, his importance might be insignificant. But with genius writing and character development, Gabriel will still carry the novels to come.
House of Spies “is just the type of relentless, high powered, headline – beating thriller that readers have come to expect from Daniel Silva, one of the truly great, must-read authors of his time.

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The Miracle Of Dunkirk, “Dunkirk”, by Joshua Levine

We have all heard about the battle of Dunkirk with the Allied troops against Hitler’s Nazi army. It was truly a miracle that 400,000 Allied troops were trapped against the coast of Dunkirk, and sure to perish. However, 338,000 of those troops were rescued, and within eleven days were evacuated into England. Many wondered how that was possible against such a forceful army as Nazi Germany.

Author, Walter Lord took on the task of laying out the happenings of May 24, 1940 in the same methodical, deliberate method with which he wrote his most famous, acclaimed book, Titanic: A Night to Remember. It is said that he is so precise in his detail that he documented the sound in Titanic by counting the number of plates, cups, and pieces of glass that were breaking all at once. Some have said that had Lord only written that one book, he would still be the favorite author of many.

The Miracle of Dunkirk is a fast paced novel, with no explanations of how the Allied troops got themselves into that position in the first place, but jumps right into the rescue. Lord’s “in the weeds” perspective is focused on individuals, not a chain of events leading up to the battle, which some critics find to be problematic. But many wholeheartedly agree with the author’s method because he introduces interesting characters, from the soldier waiting to be rescued, to the captains dodging German torpedo boats, even including civilian day-sailors crossing the Channel to lend assistance. This rescue of so many by non-military transports surpasses any other similar attempt. Lord was totally immersed into the experiential aspect of the situation.

The Miracle of Dunkirk will be adapted to screen by Dark Knight director, Christopher Nolan. The film will be called Dunkirk and was shot in IMAX, and is a big budget film, retelling the BEF’s remarkable escape.

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People Aren’t Always What They Seem…”Tom Clancy Point of Contact”, by Mike Maden

In a thriller that could be taken from current headlines, Tom Clancy Point of Contact will keep its readers on their toes with suspense and a very active last hundred or so pages. Even though the beloved author, Tom Clancy, has passed, his essence is carried on by various authors writing in the same vane as Clancy. In Point of Contact, The Campus and Jack Ryan, Jr. continue their secret work as they have done in previous novels by Clancy. In this episode, Jack Ryan, Jr. is partnered with Paul Brown at the request of Senator Rhodes, a defense contractor, who needs a job in Singapore done very quickly. Jack Ryan knows nothing of Paul Brown’s secrets……not exactly just the mild-mannered forensic accountant he appears to be. And, Paul Brown has no idea that Jack Ryan, Jr. works for The Campus, a top-secret American intelligence agency. An interesting pairing for sure.

The Tom Clancy novels are known by their readers as taking place in the Jack Ryan universe. Together Ryan and Brown race to escape both the killer storm bearing down on Singapore, and the assassins who have been paid to see that both are exterminated. They do this for self-preservation and to try to prevent a global catastrophe.

Tom Clancy Point of Contact describes in detail how people who are essentially good, can do very bad things, can be manipulated, lied to, threatened and bullied. In this Clancy-eske thriller, there are fights, espionage, betrayal, politicians, gangsters, and special operators. To round out the Clancy character filled novel, also added are beautiful women and dangerous bad guys. We all know how things can go wrong in the blink of an eye, and people aren’t always what they seem.

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Place of Secrets, Mystery and Witchcraft…”Into the Water”, by Paula Hawkins

If reading a “sleep snatcher” mystery is your forte` then London born author Paula Hawkin’s book, Into the Water is perfect for your next read. Hawkin’s Girl on the Train was a mega hit both as a book and on film. She has a method of telling the story using many characters, each with their own issues, then weaving them all into the finished plot. She has also been given kudos for making each chapter brief, yet jam packed with pieces of the plot puzzle.

Nel Abbott had lived in Mill House by the river her entire life. “The Drowning Pool” as it was called since medieval times was just as much a part of her memory growing up as anything else. It was an intimidating place of secrets, mystery, and witchcraft. Nel had been so consumed with interest in the stories of “troublesome” women who had their lives taken in the Drowning Pool……..some walked in of their own choice, but others had “assistance”………. unsolicited assistance. It is suspected that Nel, a single mother of a teenager, had unwanted assistance in her death in the “Drowning Pool”. And with that, Into the Water takes the reader on an unsettling journey to find the truth.

Hawkin’s “delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present”. You know what “they” say……..”Beware a calm surface……you never know what lies beneath”.

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Master of Military Strategy and Lethal Warfare…”Thrawn”, by Timothy Zahn

Even though Thrawn seems to be one of the most iconic villains in the history of Star Wars, many avid readers find themselves rooting for him and The Empire in the book by Timothy Zahn. Of course, they are not the good guys, but his character development is the best of any of the main characters. Author Zahn chronicles the fateful events that gave the blue-skinned, red-eyed, master of military strategy and lethal warfare his rise into the highest levels of power……and infamy.

Reviewers generally seem to approve of Thrawn more in Zahn’s book much more than in the Legend series, and much better than he is portrayed in the Rebels film series. A definite plug has been given to the audio book format. Reviewers feel that the narrator, Marc Thompson is so good that he is by far the choice to narrate all Star Wars books. Lucasfilm does a great job in creating the perfect mood with the appropriate music and sound effects. One critic says it is more like listening to a radio drama, than an audio book.

As one reviewer adequately stated: “This is a perfect character study. It’s the Thrawn we always wanted but never got in Legends, and finally, he’s in all his glory, in the Star Wars canon”.

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Great Achievements As Well As Personal Failures…”Charlton Heston: Hollywood’s Last Icon”, by Marc Eliot

The New York Times bestselling author, Marc Eliot, has presented another iconic biography in his series. Charlton Heston, who lived a larger than life existence, had a major presence in the history of American film, television, stage, and theater. Heston’s career lasted more than beyond the second half of the 20th Century, with his films being popular worldwide. Other icons in author Eliot’s books include: Cary Grant, Walt Disney, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson, and others. Eliot has stated that he received unprecented access to Heston’s family, friends, private papers, diaries, journals, and writings. The book describes a tale of someone who lived an extraordinary life.

Like all human beings, Heston had great achievements, but also had personal failures. Sometimes we only see what Hollywood wants us to see in such a cultural great as was Heston. Eliot tells a very complex story of how a small boy from Michigan grew up to become one of Hollywood’s most legendary stars. Heston was also one of the Greatest Generation true-life war heroes, having seen action in the Pacific Theater during World War II. After the war, he moved to New York City to try to find success in theater. It was his performance on live television where he was “discovered” by Hollywood. The book explains the unparalleled saga of Heston’s three movies for Cecil B. DeMille, and two films for William Wyle which included film greats, The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur. It was Ben Hur for which Heston won his Best-Actor Oscar.

In his later years, Heston became affiliated with political issues, the NRA, and being at one time asked to run for President by both Republican and Democrat parties. The novel covers Heston’s amazing life with great detail, that will please longtime fans, Hollywood movie lovers, and the new generation just discovering the work of Charlton Heston for the first time.

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From The Bravery on the Battlefield, to Their Journey to Recovery…”Portraits of Courage”, by George W. Bush

President George W. Bush has published a new book (Feb. 2017) that is a beautifully done tribute to some soldiers that he had to send in harm’s way after 9/11. It has been described as a vibrant collection of oil paintings depicting 66 of the soldiers, and a four-panel mural. President Bush painted the portraits, then gave the story of each soldier written in his own words.

It is a very daunting job, as President of the United States, to have to ask our military to travel into harm’s way for months, sometimes years at a time. President George W. Bush has made it his mission to create an initiative, The Military Service Initiative, to help post 9/11 veterans and their families in making a successful transition to civilian life. They also address issues such as veteran wellness, post-traumatic stress, and traumatic brain injury. Readers can see the faces of those who answered America’s call to service, and learn life lessons from their bravery on the battlefield, but also from their journey to recovery and the contributions they are making as civilians.

Net profits from all books will be donated to the Bush Institute Military Initiative, through the George Bush Presidential Center on the Dallas campus of SMU. The exhibit is open from March 2 to October 1, 2017.

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Acting as Computers….”Hidden Figures”, by Margot Lee Shetterly

Only when she was grown and married, did author Margot Lee Shetterly discover the amazing people with whom she shared a neighborhood as she was growing up. Margot grew up in the Hampton, Virginia area, with Langley Air Force Base just miles away. Langley was the headquarters of the Aeronautical Research and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). NACA had the mission to transform flying gadgets into war machines. They were dissolved as an agency in 1958, and was replaced by the agency we all know today, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). At that point the race for space superiority gained speed. In this fertile environment is where author Shetterly found a most miraculous story.

On the cusp of the beginning of World War II, with no computers or technology to speak of, the government needed help with their aeronautical advancement and number crunching. The solution was to hire women to shoulder the burden ……… they acted as computers, freeing the engineers to focus on their trained profession. The women were extremely successful and sharp, carrying out the task with excellence.

The author described the chosen women as both ordinary and extraordinary, as she shines a light on the women’s lives and accomplishments. The African-American women were called the West Computers, after the area to which they were assigned. Author Shetterly decided that books have been written about the astronauts, the engineers, and now it was the women’s turn to have their story told. They were at the heart of all achievements accomplished by the Center. They crunched numbers for every function of a plane, contributing to the constantly changing designs, making the flying machines of war, faster, safer, and more aerodynamic. Katherine Johnson worked on computations for Mercury and Apollo missions, and Christine Darden’s work advanced supersonic flight. In the 1970’s new technology advances made the job of the Western Computers obsolete. It is not known exactly how many women participated in the Western Computers project, since social customs of the era dictated that women could only work until they were married and had children. After that occurred, their careers were over, and they became full time homemakers and mothers.

The book has been adapted for screen, starring Octavia Spencer and Taraji P. Henson, and is now in theaters. “Langley was not just a laboratory of science and engineering…….in many ways it was a racial relations laboratory, and a gender relations laboratory, says author Shetterly.

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“The Fly Over Country”….”Hillbilly Elegy”, by J.D. Vance

It is an interesting thought that a young man from a very poor background in the Kentucky area of Appalachia can join the Marines, attend The Ohio State University, then be accepted into the prestigious Yale Law School. How does this happen? Can you even imagine how intimidated such a young man would be as he enters the stately buildings in New Haven, and Yale. And the readers must keep in mind that Vance was only 31 when writing this book.

As the two coasts call the area where Vance grew up, the “fly over” part of the country, those who have never left their area on each coast can never really understand the personal struggle of someone like J D Vance because they have not had the benefit of living in a quietly poor community, where jobs may be scarce so that a Dad might have to travel to find a job, leaving his family to handle their many struggles. The inner city struggles are much different…….more violence, drug dependency, although the “fly over country” has certainly developed its share of the drug problem. The main struggle for areas like Appalachia in Ohio is their struggle to have their problems and concerns heard by those in government. Vance’s description of his childhood and the sting of being called “redneck”, and yet the desire to lash out at anyone who utters this as an insult, is a partial explanation of why someone like Donald Trump was elected. The Appalachian people are sick of hearing empty promises from their leaders, so when a non-politician gives these people hope that actual economic help may be actually given, they showed as in Vance’s book, how conservatism gives more opportunities for advancement, not just more liberal band-aids.

Vance focuses mostly on his own personal story to try to convey that ordinary “simple” social welfare solutions are not enough. It seems that those solutions are not only inadequate for the people of Vance’s Ohio Appalachia, but for all other economically repressed areas. Vance understands this, and accuses most political leaders of over simplifying the problems, therefore, they do not solve the complicated problems. Vance attempts to give a native Appalachians view of their life and culture. “Hillbilly Elegy” is a story that demonstrates the full measure of the brokenness that wracks Appalachia, but it is also a story that exemplifies the depths of familial love and opportunity.” Perhaps through someone like Vance, bridges can be built between the perceived different cultural barriers.

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