The Fabulous Four

 The Fabulous Four, Bunmi Oyinsan, Nurturing Minds Academy, 2021

Set in present-day Lagos, Nigeria, this young adult novel is about four young people who have gotten back together after having lived apart for the past several years. With parental approval, Rasaki, the family's driver, is asked to drive them to the local swimming pool, for a day of swimming. They never reach the pool.

Instead, Rasaki, takes them in the other direction, to a rural gas station, where he picks up another man, who is carrying a gun. The children are being kidnapped. They are to be taken across the border to be sold as domestic servants in a neighboring country (modern-day slavery).

Meantime, the parents know that something is very wrong, so they start their own search, and go to the police. The wheels of justice may move slowly, but they do move. The scene shifts to an isolated hospital. The criminal mastermind tries to convince the local doctor that he is the children's father, and they are just being mischievous (they are actually scared). Who does the doctor believe?

This is a really good story. For a glimpse into a different part of the world, this is very much worth reading. 

Football Playbook

 Football Playbook, Maky Publishing, 2022, Independently Published

An important part of football, at any level, is diagramming plays. This is so every player knows exactly what to do at any given moment. This book is here to help.

It contains over 100 blank field diagrams with space for notes. It allows plays to be drawn up, drills to be created and scouting reports to be written. There is plenty of space for maximum details for each play.

This book does a very good job of putting everything in one place. The picture on the front cover makes the subject of the book very obvious. It is very much worth checking out.

Not Today

 Not Today, David E Feldman, EFace Media, 2021

Beach City is a beautiful town on the East Coast that has quite a checkered history. Sometime in the past, the police commissioner murdered the mayor.

Dora Ellison is happy to be a sanitation engineer (garbage collector) until her roommate, police Lt. "Franny" Hart is killed under mysterious circumstances. Dora starts getting anonymous phone calls asking her to investigate "a murder that wasn't a murder."

Dora finds a wide streak of corruption in Beach City. If a person goes along with the status quo, everything is fine. If a person complains, for instance, about illegal wastewater dumping, they are suddenly arrested in trumped-up charges, or their business is suddenly shut down by the Health Department. Who is behind the corruption? Is it the mayor, or his chief of staff? Does Dora find out the truth?

This is a gem of a story, that is first in a series. It has a strong female character who is not the usual ex-cop trying to make it as a private investigator. It's a present-day tale with a unique reason for the corruption, and is very much recommended.

Heroes and Tyrants

 Heroes and Tyrants, David Green, Independently Published, 2022

Part one of a series, this fantasy novel takes place in a world at war.

It's a land dealing with a secret religion called the Church of the One True God. The word "secret" is emphasized because there are spies everywhere. The penalty for membership, or just being swept up in a worship service is immediate banishment or death. There are a pair of brothers who are scheming against each other to be heir to the throne. 

This book follows a few characters who fates are connected, though they don't yet know it. This is an epic fantasy that does  not skimp on the "epic" part. The characters, and, especially, the society building, are very well done. This is a first-rate start to a series.

Einstein in the Attic

 Einstein in the Attic, Dana Dargos and Said Al Bisri, Solstice Publishing, 2022

Adam Reemi is a professor of physics at Berkeley. As far as teaching is concerned, The Thrill Is Gone. His marriage to Evie is in trouble, and his estranged father died recently. They became estranged when Adam's mother died. The family also fled war-torn Lebanon, and settled in America.

Adam's immediate boss makes it very clear: Shape Up, Now, or Get Fired. Around this time, Adam's friend, Muntz, builds a real time machine. They decide to bring four of the greatest minds in history together to try to answer the question: Science v. God? Is evolution nothing but luck and blind chance?

So, Albert Einstein, Soren Kierkegaard, Baruch Spinoza and Sir Isaac Newton are brought to the 21st century. While the group is enjoying the offerings at Starbucks, Adam runs into Nelson, an arrogant little you-know-what who has the power to professionally destroy Adam. Nelson seems to have made it his mission in life to do just that. Unfortunately, Adam makes it very easy for Nelson. 

The climax comes at a public debate at Berkeley on evolution v. intelligent design. Is Adam able to get his act together/ Who wins the debate?

This is an excellent book. It may take a while to get going, but it is worth the time. The book does not try to throw evolution in the trash. Evolution may be the best explanation for how mankind got to where it is, But there are still holes and inconsistencies in it. Perhaps mankind \got a "push" from an outside source, here and there. This is very much worth reading.

IPhone 13 Seniors Guide

 IPhone 13 Seniors Guide, Henry Sanders, Independently Published, 2022

You are a senior citizen whose children, and grandchildren, have been regaling you with tales of how wonderful the Iphone 13 really is. They have urged you to get one, so you can be part of the cutting edge. Maybe you have an older Iphone. You have just come home from the Apple Store with a new Iphone 13. Now, what do you do?

This book takes the reader step-by-step, through the whole process. If you are updating an older Iphone, this book tells you how to do it. It talks about setting up Face ID and Apple Pay. If you have an Apple Watch, it tells you how to pair them together.

If your Iphone is not activating, the book gives you suggestions to try before you march back to the Apple Store. It also looks at common Iphone issues, like charging problems, overheating problems, battery life and bluetooth problems. The book also talks about moving from Android to Iphone.

Downloading apps is included, along with creating a Family Sharing Account and everything you ever wanted to know about the Iphone 13 camera.

The instructions feel plausible and accurate (I do not own an Iphone of any kind). For anyone looking for a painless introduction to the Iphone 13, here is a very good place to start (4.5 stars).

My Recipes

 My Recipes: Blank Recipe Book to Create Your Own Delicious Recipes, Maky Publishing, Independently Published, 2022 (ISBN 9798426595965)

Do you have a box full of recipes from a myriad of sources? Is the "perfect" recipe always on the bottom? Is it finally time to organize them? This book may be able to help.

On each page, this blank book provides plenty of space for ingredients and directions. There is space for prep time and cook time, for the baking temperature, the number of servings and the nutrition value. There is also space for the difficulty and the overall rating. If all that writing does not appeal to you, scotch tape a recipe or two to each page. They will still be just as accessible, and you can keep Great-Grandma's handwriting.

This book does a fine job of putting all your recipes in one piece. The best recipes are those that are accessible. This book is very much worth the money.

The Girl With the Transparent Skin

 The Girl With the Transparent Skin, Elena Zhuravleva, Independently Published, 2019

Maria is a young woman who has found a disgusting, almost pornographic, video with her face online. Is she about to be blackmailed? Are other such videos coming in the future?

The IP address is traced to a monastery in (pre-invasion) Kiev, her hometown. She became an orphan when her parents died in an auto accident. She spent some time in an orphanage, and has lived abroad for the past several years.

She finds very questionable financial dealings between the monastery and a local Foundation. Video confessions of girls who have been raped are recorded and put on DVD. Those disks are sent to women all over Europe to "shock" them into giving birth (Really?) The intention is to start to reverse Europe's population decline.

There is a scandal-plagued construction project (the monastery is involved). A multi-story building is to be built over an underground lake (that no one knows about) right on the Dnieper river. Maria is caught in a landslide. Before she is rescued, she starts hallucinating. Was it a random event, or something more sinister. There is also a bit of witchcraft, and pre-Christian gods.

Here is a really good piece of storytelling. The fact that it is set in present-day Kiev (or Kyiv) makes it that much better. It is not a very easy novel to read; it will require some effort on the part of the reader. Here is a first-rate story. 

Recipe Book

 Recipe Book: Blank Notebook to Write In Your Favorite Recipes, Maky Publishing, Independently Published, 2022 (ISBN 9798432690111)

Do you have a box full of recipes from Grandma, cut out from magazines or printed off the Internet? Are you always looking for that "perfect" recipe, which is always at the bottom of the pile? Don't you wish they were organized? This book is here to help.

On each blank page, it provides space for the ingredients and directions. There is also space to write the prep time and cook time, the title, the temperature and rating, and, most importantly, the nutrition content. If you don't want to do all that writing, then consider scotch taping a recipe or two to each page. They will still be just as accessible, and you won't lose Grandma's handwriting.

How can use a recipe if it is not accessible? This book does a very good job of putting all your recipes in one place. It is very much worth the money.