#greatreads – Page 12 – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint Reviews – April Recap – May Day? Already?

Rosepoint Reviews - April Recap

You’ve all heard it…”the best laid plans”…blah, blah, blah

Sorta of what happened with my April which blew by me with our new, not necessarily improved, weekly schedule. Perhaps I can lay it at the feet of the “Y” schedule we’ve adopted. I mentioned last month joining the recreational facility and discovering all kinds of exercise (and social) opportunities, many for us seniors.

Suffice to say, we’ve settled into a “senior (exercise) circuit” (Tuesday), machine circuit and indoor cycling (for me), rowing (for the CE) on Wednesday, and Tai Chi on Thursday. (There are also yoga classes, but in studying the benefits of both, decided that the former was the better choice for our age and goals (balance, whole body). With traveling there and back and incurring ravenous appetites, the remaining available time on those days is limited.

Needless to say, no spring cleaning started, no veggie or flower starts.

Okay, new spring plans: I’ve decided to take a blogging sabbatical. I’ve talked about decreasing the number of posts, either it hasn’t happened or didn’t make a significant difference to my schedule. Blogging does appear to be a full-time job—and I’ve retired twice already. So…

Beginning May 11, I’ll be concentrating on home projects, including said spring cleaning and gardens until May 22. May 14 will mark my first attendance to the “Y” Book Club. National Rescue Dog Day occurs on May 20^th and I hope to acknowledge Punkin that day. May 8^th marks nineteen months with us.

Guess I pretty much stuck to status quo as we read and reviewed twelve books in April.

Of the twelve, six were audiobooks. I got into gothic horror and magical paranormal in April, sampled new authors (to me) as well as favorites and discovered two new K-9 series, both of which I enjoyed, one I’ll continue.

I source many titles through my library, a few in NetGalley, as well as author and publisher requests. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.

Rosepoint Reviews - April Recap

Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman (audiobook)
Murder in Galway by Carlene O’Connor (CE review-#begorrathon25)
Watchers by Dean Koontz (5*)
The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke (audiobook)
The Cartagena Cartel by T C Roberts (CE review)
A Lesson in Dying by Ann Cleeves
Accidental Magic by Iris Beaglehole (audiobook)
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (audiobook)
Chasing Justice by Kathleen Donnelly
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue (audiobook)
Breaking Creed by Alex Kava (audiobook)
Hunting the Truth by Kathleen Donnelly

Favorite Book of the Month

One five-star review for April? Hard to believe, especially since the CE read and reviewed two. Still, even with just a few little credibility problems, I have to name Watchers as my favorite for the month. Hey, it’s a story about a dog. Not just any dog. This is a special—very, very special, lab dog. Could mean Labrador, but in this case (remember who is the author), the dog named Einstein is a laboratory dog. Okay, I’m easily entertained, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great characters, both human and canine. Fast-paced, hard to put down. It’s an old one but a good one.

Favorite for April – Watchers by Dean Koontz

My Reading Challenges page…Okay, don’t faint. I’ve caught up the Reading Challenges page. Dang, I’m proud of myself! And I really hope you’ll check it out if for no other reason than to note my latest counts.

But here’s a conundrum: My Goodreads landing page shows the 2025 Reading Challenge at 63 books completed of the goal of 150 (changed up from 125). But when I go to copy the latest widget HTML to update my blog, it notes a count of 53. Ten difference? How did that happen?

Welcome to my new subscribers! I hope you found a book or two that appealed to you and I always appreciate suggestions! Have a beautiful May!

Have a good week!

Breaking Creed by Alex Kava #AudiobookReview #ActionThriller

Book 1 of 8 Ryder Creed

Book Blurb:

Ryder Creed and his dogs have been making national headlines. They’ve intercepted several major drug stashes being smuggled through Atlanta’s airport. But their newfound celebrity has also garnered some unwanted attention. When Creed and one of his dogs are called in to search a commercial fishing vessel, they discover a secret compartment. But the Colombian cartel’s latest shipment isn’t drugs. This time, its cargo is human. To make matters worse, Creed helps one of the cartel’s drug mules escape – a 14-year-old girl who reminds him of his younger sister who disappeared 15 years ago. Meanwhile, FBI agent Maggie O’Dell is investigating a series of murders – the victims tortured, killed, and dumped in the Potomac River. She suspects it’s the work of a cunning and brutal assassin, but her politically motivated boss has been putting up roadblocks. By the time she uncovers a hit list with Creed’s name on it, it might be too late. The cartel has already sent someone to destroy Creed and everyone close to him. But Creed and his dogs have a few surprises in store on their compound in Florida. Will it be enough to stop a ruthless cartel determined to remove the thorn in its side once and for all?

My Review:

OMG, another dog series I’m just discovering and why hasn’t someone told me about this one?

The main character is a damaged Afghanistan ex-military person. In this case, Ryder Creed. He has teamed with Hannah and together they rescue and train dogs for all the different jobs that humans have discovered they can excel at. Many of the dogs are multi-service and their service is in demand.

Grace is a little Jack Russell Terrier and my favorite. JRs are a feisty, smart breed. She is one of the multi-service dogs, keenly aware of all the nuances of her handler, intelligent, and with a nose that knows. As Ryder says, “Grace is never wrong.”

In fact, there are several engaging characters, including Maggie O’Dell, who is apparently a character from another series by the author. An obvious romance link, though neither acknowledges the tension—fine by me—I’m not here for the romance.

Maggie is an FBI profiler but tends to play fast and loose in her position. She’s experienced and has enough history behind her to project authority.

Breaking Creed by Alex Kava — Audiobook cover – UK

There is a sub-level plot with lots of things going on, a mystery, well-developed and engaging characters, and a plot that is steeped in action if not description and explanation of the training and psyche of canines.

There is an escalation of body count which involves drug cartels and nasty people. The connection with Ryder and his dogs though is primo in this narrative and anyone who loves or is fascinated by their abilities will enjoy. It is also, however, a credible thriller with some human characters that this reader loved as well. The narrator did a fine job with the Southern accents and kept the pressure on.

I appreciated the ease into Book 1 of a new series which appears to be a spin off of a previously well received series and enjoyed it enough to go looking for Book 2. Look for Silent Creed soon.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Action Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Crime Thrillers, Mystery Action & Adventure
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B00RN8QS4O
Listening Length: 7 hrs 6 mins
Narrator: Graham Winton
Publication Date: January 27, 2015
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK

The Author: ALEX KAVA is a New York Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of twenty novels including the award-winning FBI Profiler Maggie O’Dell series and the critically acclaimed and now award-winning Ryder Creed K-9 Mystery series. Recently LOST CREED won the 2019 Nebraska Book Award. Her novel Stranded was awarded both a Florida Book Award and the Nebraska Book Award. One False Move was chosen for the 2006 One Book One Nebraska and her political thriller, Whitewash, was one of January Magazine’s best thrillers of the year. Published in over thirty-four countries, Kava’s novels have made the bestseller lists in the UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Poland.

“A TRAILBLAZER IN THE K-9 FICTION GENRE, Kava creates a “dynamic between Ryder and his canines that reveals a world rarely shared in fiction and perhaps nowhere presented more effectively than in this series.” —Phil Jason, Florida Weekly

“It’s impossible not to care about and root for the human and canine heroes in Kava’s series.” —Tracie Holtcher, The Radio Pet Lady Network ™

She is a member of the Nebraska Writers Guild and is a founding member of International Thriller Writers. Kava divides her time between Omaha, Nebraska and Pensacola, Florida with her pack of westies.

Chasing Justice: A Thrilling K-9 Suspense by Kathleen Donnelly #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog