by Frank Turner Hollon.
Blurb:Joel Stabler kills his beloved brother Danny in what appears to be murder in the name of mercy. When Joel’s lawyers assign a psychologist to determine his sanity at the time of the shooting, the full story of the brothers’ past and long family history of mental illness begin to unfold.
Told entirely through Joel’s pre-trial interview sessions with Dr. Andrews, Blood and Circumstance takes on the argument of nature versus nurture. And as Joel responds to the doctor’s probing questions, he, in turn, begins to evaluate the doctor, stealing glimpses of his notes and speculating about his personal life. As the reader listens in on their conversations, it becomes less and less clear whom to trust, what is certain, or where truth and fact actually live.
Opening:
He stands in the kitchen doorway, a black figure surrounded by the yellow light background, the small details of his face unseen from the darkness of the living room. His left shoulder leans slightly against the threshold, a pistol suspended from the left hand, dangling in the yellow space between the hip and the dark.
Teaser:
"Sometimes when people leave, it's worse than dying for the people they leave behind. We don't usually choose to die. But we sure as hell choose to leave."
Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea
is my all-time favorite. I re-read it regularly because sometimes I just need a guaranteed laugh.
. Including his latest, 
, the fourth book of the incredible urban fantasy Fever series.
The Blurb:
is done so very, very well.
is the next best thing. I've been using this for nearly a year and it's the best litter box EV-VER. It's designed so you roll it to the side. The unclumped litter goes through a grill, the soiled stuff goes into the tray on the right. You pull out the tray and dump it. Add some fresh litter through the doorway and voila! You're done. Best ever.
are cheap and my cats really like them. Walter, the marmalade kitty I have on an extended cat sitting deal, especially loves these. Walter isn't the pushiest cat in the world--until I throw one of these out. Then he elbows Puss-Puss out of the way to take possession. And yes, I know they look like they're not much of anything, but he will play with it for the better part of an hour, tossing it, pouncing on it, carrying it around in his mouth. The only drawback is that they're small and so when he does eventually lose interest, it might be under a chair or behind the couch--some place you'll never find it without moving all the furniture. Still, they're cheap, so now and then I break out a new one for him. Hm. He hasn't had one for a while. I think it's time.
. There are two varieties of catnip: fresh and dried. If you've never seen a cat with fresh 'nip, you've missed one of the best shows in the world. They go absolutely bonkers for it. Even the mellowest cat in the world will get territorial if you try to take it away from him. It's not hard to grow, but there are logistical problems. If you plant it outside, you'll draw every cat for miles. If you plant it indoors, you need a place the cat can't get to--and they can reach places that will surprise you when the reward is fresh catnip. If they can reach the plant, they'll gorge themselves on the leaves and leave you with a bunch of denuded stems. Repeated attacks of this sort eventually kills the plant. But it's fun while it lasts.
. I don't think brand matters much with this. Cats love this stuff even in this less potent form, so if you don't have access to fresh, which most of us don't, they'll still enjoy this.
for Christmas. They're power by a 9-volt battery, so I'm not worried that it will actually hurt the cats. Hopefully, it will train them not to go places I don't want them to be. Huh. Training cats. That's a unique concept. Then again, think I could grow catnip if I put it in the middle of the mat? No, I guess not. Either way you go with that scenario, there's some torture involved.
