CONCRETE EVIDENCE by DiAnn Mills Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Pages: 416 Publication Date: October 4, 2022 Categories: Christian Fiction / Mystery & Thrillers Scroll down for a giveaway! Bestselling and award-winning author DiAnn Mills delivers a heart-stopping story of a faulty construction job, the discovery of a dead body, and a sinister plot.  On the family’s Brazos River Ranch in Texas, Avery Elliott helps run her grandfather’s commercial construction business. Raised by Senator Elliott, Avery has never doubted her grandfather is the man of integrity and faith she’s alw ..read more

Beasts of the Earth by James Wade Genres: Literary Fiction / Crime Fiction Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Date of Publication: October 11, 2022 Number of Pages: 350 James Wade, whose first two novels were praised as “rhapsodic” and “haunting,” delivers his most powerful work to date—a chilling parable about the impossible demands of hate and love, trauma and goodness, vividly set in the landscapes of Texas and Louisiana. Beasts of the Earth tells the story of Harlen LeBlanc, a dependable if quiet employee of the Carter Hills High School’s grounds department, whose carefully maintained rou ..read more

BLACK AND WHITE:  Tales of the Texas Highway Patrol  by  BEN H. ENGLISH  Genre: Law Enforcement Biography / Memoir / Ethics & Morals Publisher: Creative Texts Publishers Pages: 250 Publication Date: June 7, 2022 You know, I never saw an officer, an EMT, a fireman, or an ER crew ask anyone what their politics were and then refuse to care for them because of their answer. The color of skin pigment, the last name, the amount of money in a bank account, none of that mattered.  All that mattered was someone needed help, and they had the skills as well as the burning ..read more

Code of Silence Sexual Misconduct by Federal Judges, the Secret System that Protects Them, and the Women Who Blew the Whistle  by Lise Olsen Genre: Nonfiction | True Crime | #MeToo | The Courts Publisher: Beacon Press Publication Date: August 9, 2022 Number of Pages: 288 Code of Silence tells the story of federal court employee Cathy McBroom, who had to flee her job as a case manager in Galveston, Texas, after enduring years of sexual harassment and assault by her boss-US District Judge Samuel Kent. Following a decade of firsthand reporting at the Houston Chronicle, investigative report ..read more

Welcome to a new feature on the blog that I have been wanting to do for quite a while: READing all of an author’s books and RANKing them in order of my most favorite to least favorite. Today, we’ll be discussing the works of Shari Lapena! Before I jump into my opinion, I thought I would start with the order in which the books were published along with the most recent overall rating on Goodreads and Amazon since we all love bookish data! 2016 It all started at a dinner party. . . A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors–a twisty, rollercoaster ri ..read more

BETTING ON LOVE by Mary Beesley Genre: RomCom / Contemporary Romance Publisher: Wild Rose Press Date of Publication: March 24, 2021 Number of Pages: 193 pages Scroll down for Giveaway! Tempest Swan is out for revenge. Billionaire Leonard Allred’s software program has put her out of a job. She makes a bet with a friend that she’ll get Leonard to take her on a date so she can get retribution, but a fortuitous accident with an adorable nerd might just derail her vengeance.    Leonard has reasons for hiding his identity from the public. It’s worked well for him so far, until he starts ..read more

SCIENCE MAKES IT WORK SERIES:  Secrets of the Snow Globe  &  The Wonder of Color  by  CATHERINE STIER  Categories: Picture Book / Science / STEM (ages 4-8)  Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co.  Date of Publication: March 1, 2022  Number of Pages: 32 pages   Scroll down for Giveaway!  After starting to collect snow globes with the help of her grandmother, Lily has questions. She wants to know who invented them, what the snow is made of, and how the tiny scenes look so magical when she peers inside. As she researches and experiments, L ..read more

WHAT LIES BENEATH TEXAS:  PIONEER CEMETERIES AND GRAVEYARDS  by  Cynthia Leal Massey   Genre: Regional History/ 19th Century/ Landmarks & Monuments/ Travel Pictorial  Publisher: TwoDot  Date of Publication: August 1, 2021  Number of Pages: 400 pages w/77 B&W photos    Scroll down for giveaway!  Texas, the second largest state, both in land mass and population, has more than 50,000 burial grounds. As the final resting places of those whose earthly journey has ended, they are also repositories of valuable cultural history. P ..read more

ONCE UPON A CAMEL  By Kathi Appelt  Categories: Middle Grade Fiction / Historical / Friendship / Ages 8-12  Publisher: Atheneum / Caitlyn Dlouhy Books   Publication Date: September 7, 2021  Pages: 336 pages  Scroll for the Giveaway!  Zada is a camel with a treasure trove of stories to tell. She’s won camel races for the royal Pasha of Smyrna, crossed treacherous oceans to new land, led army missions with her best camel friend by her side, and outsmarted a far too pompous mountain lion.    But those stories were from before. Now, Z ..read more

NO NAMES TO BE GIVEN by  JULIA BREWER DAILY  Genre: Women’s Fiction / Vintage Fiction / Adoption / 1960s Publication Date: August 3, 2021  Publisher: Admission Press Inc Number of Pages: 334 SCROLL DOWN FOR THE GIVEAWAY! 1965. Sandy runs away from home to escape her mother’s abusive boyfriend. Becca falls in love with the wrong man. And Faith suffers a devastating attack. With no support and no other options, these three young, unwed women meet at a maternity home hospital in New Orleans where they are expected to relinquish their babies and return home as if nothing tra ..read more