Stand the Storm by Breena Clarke

Even though Sewing Annie Coats and her son, Gabriel, have managed to buy their freedom, their lives are still plagued by constant struggle and sacrifice. Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, where the Coatses operate a tailor shop and laundry, is supposed to be a promised land for former slaves but is effectively a frontier town, gritty and dangerous, with no laws protecting black people.
The remarkable emotional energy with which the Coatses wage their daily battles- as they negotiate with their former owner, as they assist escaped slave en route to freedom, as they prepare for the encroaching war, and as they strive to love each other enough- is what makes this novel so powerfully affecting.

Stand in the Storm will be in your mind for a long time after you finish the book. This is a powerful novel that includes drama, romance and history.
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Back Bay Books; Reprint edition (June 24, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316007056
ISBN-13: 978-0316007054

Spooner by Pete Dexter

Warren Spooner was born after a prolonged delivery in a makeshift delivery room in a doctor's office in Milledgeville, Georgia, on the first Saturday of December, 1956. His father died shortly afterward, long before Spooner had even a memory of his face, and was replaced eventually by a once-brilliant young naval officer, Calmer Ottosson, recently court-martialed out of service. This is the story of the lifelong tie between the two men, poles apart, of Spooner's troubled childhood, troubled adolescence, violent and troubled adulthood and Calmer Ottosson's inexhaustible patience, undertaking a life-long struggle to salvage his step-son, a man he will never understand.

I enjoyed reading this book. The author grabbed me from the first chapter and I was laughing so hard. Very well written story, looking forward to read more by this author.




Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (September 24, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446540722
ISBN-13: 978-0446540728

Dutch by Teri Woods

James Bernard Jr., a.k.a. Dutch, has become the most dangerous criminal in New Jersey. From his early skill as a car thief, Dutch recognized the opportunity to rule the streets and he seized it. Feared by all, and completely fearless, Dutch and his dangerous clique take over the lucrative heroin business of a local African drug lord. With both the protection and respect of the Mafia, Dutch becomes the most terrifying force on the streets. District Attorney Anthony Jacobs is determined to take down Dutch and his crew, and he's confident that his witnesses will testify against them. But a sudden turn of events will soon make the DA's job harder than he imagined.

A great novel by Teri Woods. Very well written, easy to read. I enjoyed this novel very much, it gripped me from the very first page and I read the book in a few hours. Can’t wait for Dutch II to come out next year in April. If you like to read crime novels then this is a must read for you.



Paperback: 256 pag
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (September 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446551538
ISBN-13: 978-0446551533

Cult Insanity by Irene Spencer

Life for Irene Spencer was a series of devastating disappointments and hardships. Irene's first book, Shattered Dreams, is the staggering chronicle of her struggle to provide for her children in abject poverty and feelings of abandonment each time her husband left to be with one of his other wives. Irene was raised to believe polygamy was the way of life necessary for her ticket to heaven. The hard knocks of her environment were just the beginning of Irene's shocking tale. CULT INSANITY takes readers into her story to uncover the outrageous behaviour of her brother-in-law Ervil - a self-proclaimed prophet who determined he was called to set the house of God in order - and how he terrorized their colony. Claiming to be God's avenger and to have a licence to kill in the name of God, Ervil ordered the murders of friends and family members, eliminating all those who challenged his authority. CULT INSANITY is a riveting, terrifying memoir of polygamist life under the tyranny of a madman.


This is a good read if you want to learn more about polygamy. It was very shocking to me to read how these people live. Ervil the self-proclaimed prophet is evil and terrorizes everyone. This book will stick with you for a while and make you think about what some of these people go through every day of there lives.



Publisher: Center Street
Pub. Date: August 2009
ISBN-13: 9780446538190
352pp