Sunday, October 9, 2016

Extraordinary Hearts: Reclaiming Gay Sensibility’s Central Role in the Progress of Civilization, by Nicholas F. Benton

Extraordinary hearts is an extraordinary scholarly work. Mr. Benton, a seminary graduate, a career journalist, and a newspaper owner and editor, was there when being gay was a dirty little secret, when no institution, college or religion would open its doors to the LGBT community. He has a unique insight into the lives of Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams,and Christpher Isherwood and others, therefore it is no coincidence that the book is dedicated to the first three. LGBT study is a relatively new area of scholarly endeavor, and the field needs new, groundbreaking books. Mr. Benton's book is one of those groundbreaking books. It is serious, scholarly, hard hitting, very personal, compassionate, and controversial. It won't be the last word in LGBT studies, but it will be a classic that will be studied for many decades to come. It sets a new standard for a proud LGBT identity as that community achieves its full equality.


Print Length: 344 pages
Publisher: Lethe Press (September 6, 2013)
Publication Date: September 6, 2013
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Echo (A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 6) (The Kate Redman Mysteries), by Celina Grace

"Echo," the sixth Kate Redman novel, catapults author Celina Grace into the same realm as Margaret Maron, and Deborah Crombie. In Echo, the slight bumps and snags of Grace's earlier portrayals of Redman are gone. Redman's voice is now clearly heard. She is a tough police officer with a strong moral compass, a struggling, conflicted daughter, and a single woman trying to combine career and relationships.

The plot took my breath away. A mudslide uncovers the remains of a young woman who died forty years ago. The hunt for this woman's identity and the circumstances of her death bring modern forensic technology to an old crime. Along the way, the conscious, deliberate failure of certain social and community leaders to protect young women placed under their care during the 70s and 80s is exposed. Their crimes are heinous. The still raw wounds of the surviving victims of these crimes haunt Redman, especially when the crimes impact her family and threaten to derail her career.

The voices of the victims of past crimes against children echo today in the halls of churches, schools, homes and sports arenas. Law enforcement has only just started to bring justice to these victims. Echo reminds us that, although most of the echoes of the voices of victims of long ignored crimes still have not been heard, there are brave individuals fighting to change that. I highly recommend Echo, I could not put the book down. If you have not read the other five Kate Redman books, read them as well. You will not be disappointed.

Print Length: 174 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Isaro Publishing Limited (April 19, 2015)
Publication Date: April 19, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Chimera (A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 5) (The Kate Redman Mysteries), by Celina Grace

Another fabulous Kate Redman book by Celina Grace. If you love a good mystery with a flawed, very human and very strong female protagonist, read the Kate Redman series. You will not regret it.

Print Length: 276 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Isaro Publishing Ltd (December 14, 2014)
Publication Date: December 14, 2014
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

The Kate Redman Mysteries: Hushabye, Book 1; and Requiem, Book 2; by Celina Grace

I read Hushabye and Requiem in a day. I literally could not put these books down. The series centers on Detective Kate Redman, an unmarried, clever police officer, with a cop's sixth sense. She also has an alcoholic mother and a past that haunts her. The combination works. If you enjoy a mystery novel that is about a complex woman, that is not too gritty, and not very cozy, you will love Hushabye and Requiem.

Hushabye (A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 1) (The Kate Redman Mysteries
Print Length: 268 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Isaro Publishing Ltd (December 11, 2013)
Publication Date: December 11, 2013
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC


Requiem (A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 2) (The Kate Redman Mysteries)
Print Length: 232 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Isaro Publishing Ltd (November 19, 2013)
Publication Date: November 19, 2013
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC


Imago (A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 3) (The Kate Redman Mysteries), by Celina Grace

In the first two books of this series, Detective Kate Redman came across as a tough, but flawed, police woman with a haunted past. In the third book of the series, Imago, Redman's weaker side is portrayed. She has protected herself against relationships, in the same manner that she has protected herself from her disfunctional, alcoholic mother, by blanketing herself in, and enjoying the solitude of, her charming, clean and organized home. Not withstanding her need for solitude, she finds herself attracted to someone. Unfortunately, this attraction is portrayed as the kind of crush a lovesick adolescent would experience. Celina Grace has done an excellent job of portraying the mind set of a clever, tough police woman in a male dominated profession and I love her Kate Redman books.. Despite the one glitch in her portrayal of Redman, these books are among the best in the genre. If you love a good mysteries, read this series!

Print Length: 227 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publication Date: November 8, 2013
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC