A lord’s safe holds some secret, which the Black Lotus clan has been assigned to break into. But the contents of the safe are not only wanted by the Chinese emperor, but also by other criminal elements.

Half-elf Jie, pre-teen analytical genius Tian, and Yuna are on a mission in China’s slums to assassinate a Triad boss. The boss might know of the existence of the Black Lotus clan, their goals, and tactics. There are two unexpected obstacles, a serial killer is on the loose, and Yuna recognizes her birthplace and family.

This book is short, but thought provoking. The question of “why the Jews?” has been asked for centuries without a good answer other than racism, probably because there isn’t one. As is tradition in the Jewish religion the book asks a lot of poignant, hard hitting questions but gives very few answers

The Coming Cyber War What Executives, the Board, and You Should Know by Marc Crudgington is a business book in which the author makes his case for executives on how to prepare for the oncoming cyber events.  Mr. Crudgington is a Chief Information Security Office (CISO) and a technology expert.

The Patriots: Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Making of America by Winston Groom is a  history book focusing on the relationships, personal and professional, between the three American founding fathers mentioned in the title.

The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski (translated by David French) is a historical fantasy story taking place in the early 1500s, Poland. This novel is the first one in the Hussite Trilogy #1

Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex, Adapted for Young People from In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick is an adaptation of the author’s more New York Times best seller history book. The book has been adapted into a 2015 motion picture, In the Heart of the Sea, which has not been received very well, but I think that now I’ll have to watch it.

Floralinda, a princess, has been jailed by a witch in a 40 story tower and is awaiting a prince to come and rescue her. The witch, however, done things right this time and put a monster on every level which the princes will have to fight through; none makes it through the first floor and eventually they stop coming.

The author does not shy away from writing about the hardships the couple has endured. From being on in close quarters for weeks at a time, corrupt officials, weather ruining plans (which seemed to be a running theme), and different ideas on what to do where.

Follows a pregnant woman researching her uncle’s past after World War II.