(BookTrib)
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“The Final Second” by Jim De La Vega
Executing a serial killer ought to close the case for good. But just after Eddie Ray Calhoone is put to death, Sheriff Parker Chord receives a human eye — and a message claiming the authorities executed an innocent man. Then another victim turns up bearing the Blood Smile Killer’s signature.
Parker calls his estranged sister, forensic psychologist Dr. Cassidy Chord, back to Georgia. With the killer announcing deadlines for more murders, Cassidy must reconsider the original evidence while navigating political interference and threats against those closest to the investigation. But every clue brings another question: is Cassidy closing in, or following the killer’s script?
De La Vega places twists and reversals with precision, turning apparent breakthroughs into fresh cause for alarm. A resourceful heroine, fiendishly inventive plotting and irreverent Southern humor make this second installment in the Mind Hunter series — equally welcoming to newcomers — a particularly entertaining contest of wits.
Purchase at https://tinyurl.com/the-final-second.
“A Personal Mistake” by Larry Shields
Jeremy Walker has come a long way from a childhood marked by bullying, loss and a close friendship with Robin Simon. Now running a growing AI consulting firm, he faces a question success can’t answer: If machines learn from humanity’s prejudices, violence and competitive instincts, can we teach them to do better?
His search reconnects him with Robin, now an MIT sociology professor — and the woman he once brushed aside. As old feelings resurface and pressures on his marriage, family and business mount, one mistake threatens the life Jeremy has worked so hard to build.
Shields explores ambition, grief and love without judging his characters’ morally complicated choices. Their personal struggles unfold as a technological future emerges, promising vast wealth for some while threatening the livelihoods of others.
“A fraught lifelong friendship between a man and a woman anchors this ambitious novel of ideas,” writes Kirkus Reviews, adding, “Shields’ depiction of AI’s effects is wonderfully cleareyed.”
Purchase at https://tinyurl.com/a-personal-mistake.
“Sugar Sand Land” by Patricia Leavy
Emerson Blue makes a fortune being watched. Renn Walker has spent years trying to disappear.
At 28, the reality-star-turned-influencer is the second most-followed celebrity on social media. Forty-eight-year-old Renn is a Grammy-winning country singer whose career collapsed following allegations of sexual misconduct. When they meet, their attraction is immediate. So is the public’s interest.
As their unlikely romance develops, Emerson and Renn discover how much their carefully managed images conceal. She helps him find his way back to his art; he offers her a chance to step away from the performance. But finding privacy — and trusting someone with what they’ve kept hidden — comes with complications.
Patricia Leavy’s “Sugar Sand Land” pairs a steamy celebrity romance with questions about reputation, loss and second chances. Beneath the glamour is a timely question: How much can we really know about people whose lives we follow on a screen?
Purchase at https://tinyurl.com/sugar-sand-land-patricia-leavy.
“Scenes of Visionary Enchantment: The Geology of the Lewis and Clark Expedition” by John W. Jengo
Lewis and Clark charted rivers and crossed mountains, but how well did they understand the ground beneath their feet? Better than some scholars have suggested, geologist John W. Jengo argues in this exploration of the expedition’s overlooked scientific work.
Traveling by canoe, kayak, bike and on foot, Jengo followed portions of the explorers’ route across the continent to compare their journal entries with the landscapes they described. His research reveals the accuracy and detail of their geological observations, viewed through the scientific knowledge available in the early 1800s.
Along the way, readers discover the forces and catastrophic events that shaped the terrain, encounter Native American pictographs and oral histories, and meet pioneering geologists whose contributions have largely been forgotten. Jengo even tracks the expedition’s scattered rock, mineral and fossil specimens to Philadelphia and Paris. The result invites history buffs, rockhounds and curious travelers to see a familiar American journey through the geology along its path.
Purchase at https://tinyurl.com/visionary-enchantment.
