Blood Oath (Alexandra Cooper Series) by Linda Fairstein

Hardback:  New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein explores the depths of Manhattan’s secretive Rockefeller University in this timely, captivating thriller about the deep - and often deadly - reverberations of past sins.

Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper of the Manhattan Sex Crimes Unit is finally back at work following a leave of absence, and not a moment too soon.  With more women feeling empowered to name their abusers, Alex is eager to return to the courtroom to do what she does best. 

But even she cannot anticipate the complexity of her first case when she meets Lucy, a young woman who testified years earlier at a landmark federal trial, and now reveals that she was sexually assaulted by a prominent official during that time.

Yet Lucy’s is not the only secret Alex must uncover, with rumours swirling about one colleague’s abusive conduct behind closed doors and another’s violent, mysterious collapse.

As the seemingly disparate cases of her client, adversary, and friend start to intertwine, Alex, along with NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, finds herself in uncharted territory within Manhattan’s Rockefeller University, a premier research institute, hospital, and cornerstone of higher learning.  But not even the greatest minds in the city can help her when unearthed secrets begin to collide in dangerous ways, and unless she can uncover the truth, the life-saving facility just may become her grave.

Blood Oath (2019) is the twentieth and latest instalment in the excellent Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cooper legal thriller series set in New York.

P/S  Blood Oath might be the author's last book as she has been dropped by her publishers - Dutton (US) and Little Brown (UK) - due to the fallout with regards to her former role as chief of the Manhattan district attorney’s sex crimes unit in relation to the wrongful conviction of five teens in the 1989 rape and beating of a female jogger.  Fairstein had already resigned from at least two not-for-profit boards as backlash intensified and a #CancelLindaFairstein movement spread on social media.  Last year, the Mystery Writers of America took the rare step of withdrawing a lifetime achievement after other authors protested, citing Fairstein’s role in the Central Park case.

About the author:  Linda Fairstein (born 1947) is one of America's foremost legal experts on crimes of violence against women and children.  She served as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper.

This year, Fairstein will debut a new series for Middle Grade readers - 8-12 years old.  Her kid sleuth, Devlin Quick, appears in Into The Lion's Den in November, 2016.  The series is an homage to Nancy Drew, whose books inspired Linda's two careers - in crime fiction and in the law.

Ms Fairstein is an honours graduate of Vassar College (1969) and the University of Virginia School of Law (1972).  She joined the Manhattan District Attorney's office in 1972 as an Assistant District Attorney.  She was promoted to the head of the sex crimes unit in 1976.  During her tenure, she prosecuted several highly publicized cases, including the "Preppy Murder" case against Robert Chambers in 1986.

Linda Fairstein left the District Attorney's office in 2002, and has continued to consult, write, lecture and serve as a sex crimes expert for a wide variety of print and television media outlets, including the major networks, CNN, MSNBC among others.  Ms Fairstein is often called to provide her opinion on high profile prosecutions including:  Michael Jackson's molestation charges in 2004, Kobe Bryant's sexual assault charges, and Scott Peterson's trial.  She is also a frequent speaker on issues surrounding domestic abuse.

Ms Fairstein lives in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard with her husband, Michael Goldberg.  Her novels draw on Ms Fairstein's legal expertise as well as her knowledge of and affection for the rich history of the city of New York.

Rating:  5/5

Writers And Readers

Book Lovers Day

Lethal White (Cormoran Strike Series) by Robert Galbraith

Paperback:  When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike's office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled.

While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story.  But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic.

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy's story, Strike and Robin Ellacott - once his assistant, now a partner in the agency-set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.

And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike's own life is far from straightforward:  his newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been - Robin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much trickier than that.

The most epic Robert Galbraith novel yet, Lethal White (2018) is both a gripping mystery and a page-turning fourth and latest instalment in the ongoing story of Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott set in London.

About the author:  Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of J K Rowling.  After Harry Potter, the author chose crime fiction for her next books, a genre she has always loved as a reader.  She wanted to write a contemporary whodunit, with a credible back story.

Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike series is classic contemporary crime fiction from a master story-teller, rich in plot, characterisation and detail.  Galbraith’s debut into crime fiction garnered acclaim amongst critics and crime fans alike.  The first four novels The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015) and Lethal White (2018) all topped the national and international bestseller lists.  The first three books in the Strike series have been adapted for television, produced by Brontë Film and Television.

J K Rowling’s original intention for writing as Robert Galbraith was for the books to be judged on their own merit, and to establish Galbraith as a well-regarded name in crime in its own right.

Now Robert Galbraith’s true identity is widely known, J K Rowling continues to write the crime series under the Galbraith pseudonym to keep the distinction from her other writing and so people will know what to expect from a Cormoran Strike novel.

Rating:  5/5

Wednesday Wit

The Power Of Reading

Things Book Lovers Do

The Devil in the City of Angels: My Encounters With the Diabolical by Jesse Romero

Hardback:  “I went from an indifferent apathetic Sunday Mass attending Catholic Christian to an on fire Catholic Christian in a few short years.  What reignited my faith?  The many encounters I had with the occult and diabolical.”  So says renowned Catholic apologist and retired veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Jesse Romero. 

Now for the first time in print, Romero reveals the harrowing details of his experiences with the demonic while working for the LASD. 

Discover the true stories of spiritual warfare being waged in the streets and alleys of L.A., including:

Romero’s encounters with Richard Ramirez, the infamous “Night Stalker”

How the Rosary drove out a demon that had taken hold of a young man

What happened when inmates involved in the occult would try to say “Jesus is Lord”

How a young man who had committed suicide returned to beg his parents for prayers to release him from the pains of Purgatory

…and much more.

The Devil in the City of Angels (2019) is much more than a catalog of strange and terrifying events. It exposes Satan as the Father of Lies so we can see how he works, and how to defeat him.  Drawing on his own experiences as well as the most authoritative sources, Romero offers the reader numerous cautionary tales, but also that hope that is only found in Jesus Christ and his Church.

About the author:  Jesse Romero is a long-time Catholic evangelist and a retired veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.  He holds an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts from Mount St Mary's College in Los Angeles and a graduate degree in Catholic Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville.  He speaks frequently around the country and is the popular host of two radio shows.  To learn more about Jesse and his mission, visit his website.

Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory by Gerard J M van den Aardweg

Paperback:  Vanity it is:  to be only mindful of the present life, and not fix one's eyes on the future.  Thomas à Kempis, Imitatio Christi

After a week of hearing ghostly noises, a man is visited in his home by the spirit of his mother, dead for three decades.  She reproaches him for his dissolute life and begs him to have Masses said in her name.  Then she lays her hand on his sleeve, leaving an indelible burn mark, and departs.

A Lutheran minister, no believer in Purgatory, is the puzzled recipient of repeated visitations from "demons" who come to him seeking prayer, consolation, and refuge in his little German church.  But pity for the poor spirits overcomes the man's skepticism, and he marvels at what kind of departed souls could belong to Christ and yet suffer still.

Hungry Souls (2009) recounts these stories and many others trustworthy, Church-verified accounts of earthly visitations from the dead in Purgatory.  Accompanying these accounts are images from the "Museum of Purgatory" in Rome, which contains relics of encounters with the Holy Souls, including numerous evidences of hand prints burned into clothing and books;  burn marks that cannot be explained by natural means or duplicated by artificial ones.

More than just a collection of "Catholic ghost stories," Hungry Souls also discerns from these accounts important truths about the afterlife, about God's mercy, and ultimately, about the urgent necessity to pray and perform suffrages for our brothers and sisters in Purgatory and to reform our lives so as to shorten our own stay in that place of real and awful suffering.

About the author:  Gerard J M van den Aardweg, PhD is a Dutch psychotherapist in private practice.  In addition to his work in parapsychology - writing and speaking about near-death experiences and paranormal events, such as those detailed in Hungry Souls, Dr van den Aardweg has written extensively on pro-life and pro-family subjects.  His previous books include Education for Life, The Saint of the Ordinary (about the life of Josemaría Escrivá), and On the Origins and Treatment of Homosexuality.  He lives in the Netherlands with his wife, with whom he has seven children and seventeen grandchildren.

Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike Series) by Robert Galbraith

Paperback:  When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.  Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed.  There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible - and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men.

But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them.

Career of Evil (2015) is the third in the highly acclaimed series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott.  A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, it is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.

Career of Evil was one of the six novels nominated for the title of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the winner of the Audie Award for Mystery in 2016.

About the author:  Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of J K Rowling.  After Harry Potter, the author chose crime fiction for her next books, a genre she has always loved as a reader.  She wanted to write a contemporary whodunit, with a credible back story.

Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike series is classic contemporary crime fiction from a master story-teller, rich in plot, characterisation and detail.  Galbraith’s debut into crime fiction garnered acclaim amongst critics and crime fans alike.  The first four novels The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015) and Lethal White (2018) all topped the national and international bestseller lists.  The first three books in the Strike series have been adapted for television, produced by Brontë Film and Television.

J K Rowling’s original intention for writing as Robert Galbraith was for the books to be judged on their own merit, and to establish Galbraith as a well-regarded name in crime in its own right.

Now Robert Galbraith’s true identity is widely known, J K Rowling continues to write the crime series under the Galbraith pseudonym to keep the distinction from her other writing and so people will know what to expect from a Cormoran Strike novel.

Rating:  5/5

Weekend Wisdom

Stories Are Powerful

Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache Series) by Louise Penny

Paperback:  As the early morning mist clears on Thanksgiving Sunday, the homes of Three Pines come to life - all except one.

To locals, the village is a safe haven.  So they are bewildered when a well-loved member of the community is found lying dead in the maple woods.  Surely it was an accident - a hunter's arrow gone astray.

Who could want Jane Neal dead?

In a long and distinguished career with the Sûreté du Quebec, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has learned to look for snakes in Eden.  Gamache knows something dark is lurking behind the white picket fences, and if he watches closely enough, Three Pines will begin to give up its secrets.

Still Life introduces not only an engaging series hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces with integrity and quiet courage, but also a winning and talented writer of traditional mysteries in the person of Louise Penny.

Still Life (2005) is the first instalment in the worldwide phenomenon Chief Inspector Gamache series and the winner of the CWA John Creasey Dagger, New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards.

About the author:  Louise Penny is the author of the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels.  She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (six times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel.  In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal.

Rating:  5/5

Healing The Purpose Of Your Life by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Matthew Linn

Paperback:  The authors offer ways to help readers discover their special purpose in life - through love, life circumstances, other people and faults - that essence which underlies all decisions and activities.

Each of us comes into this world carrying with us a special purpose, what Agnes Sanford called our "sealed orders."  When we follow our sealed orders, we become fully alive, resolve midlife crises and avoid burnout.  This book is to help us discover our sealed orders and heal the obstacles to living them out.

Healing The Purpose Of Your Life (1999) comes with full-colour illustrations by Francisco Miranda.

About the authors:  Linn Ministries includes the retreats and conferences given by Dennis, Sheila and Matt Linn in the United States and around the world, and our books and tapes.  Sheila Fabricant Linn, Dennis and Matt Linn work together as a team, integrating physical, emotional and spiritual wholeness.  They have taught courses on processes for healing around the world.  They are the authors of 23 books, including 2 books for children and those who care for them.  These books have sold over a million copies in English and have been translated into more than 20 languages.