The Last Mountain

“Foreseen” is an adventurous twist of genre, much recommended. ~Midwest Book Review

What if you could change the thoughts of others?

Untraceable control.

The Rothston Institute can manipulate the choices of anyone in the world: you, senators, anyone. Fortunately, it has the self-discipline to use this power to keep humankind safe. Stopping wars, averting crises, advancing peace.

Unfettered power.

To accomplish these feats, their operatives must train, and college student Kinzie Nicolosi has just become one of them. A student missing an exam? A construction worker fired for an industrial accident? A Congressman ruined in scandal? Necessary consequences of honing their skills for the greater good.

Unintended victims.

But Kinzie brings more than her remarkable skills to Rothston. She bears an unexpected power that rivals Rothston’s own. And when she stumbles into the real intentions of Rothston’s leaders, the clash may be something none of them can control.

“A worthy sci-fi thriller à la Dean Koontz ... Smiles has proven that she’s skilled at crafting a nuanced page turner.” ~The Kirkus Review

"Let me get this straight," Shepard said. "Not only does the victim vanish from the scene of the crime, and wind up someplace he really can't be, but somewhere along the way he changed his socks?"

As if that problem wasn't enough, Shepard also has to contend with the constant interference of an irascible amateur sleuth, Herman de Portola Bliss. Bliss is an artist with no talent for painting, but an unerring eye for clues, and an even greater talent for getting into trouble.

As the case twists and turns its way along the shores of scenic Monterey Bay, the mismatched pair finds themselves drawn into an edgy partnership confronted with more than one dead body. Even Bliss may not be good enough for this one.

A classic romance/adventure by Mary Johnston.

The first book in the TV Dectective crime series by Simon Hall.

The TV Detective finds television reporter Dan Groves newly assigned to the crime beat, and in a state of angst about it. He needs a crash-course in police work; the solution is to shadow Detective Chief Inspector Adam Breen on a high-profile murder inquiry, which doesn't go down well with some members of the police force.

The victim is a notorious local businessman, Edward Bray, a man with so many enemies that one of the problems the inquiry faces is having a surplus of suspects. Bray is killed at a prearranged meeting, in a lay-by on a dark and storm-lashed night, by a blast through the heart from a shotgun. Adam investigates and uncovers a tantalising question, which seems to be at the heart of the case: why was the killing planned for a different day, but put off apparently because the weather was sunny?

Tensions abound between Dan and the police, and he comes close to being thrown off the case - until the detectives come to realise he might actually be helpful, in using the power of television to tempt the murderer into a trap.