Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s weekly New and Notable Post for the Week of April 13th.
Comment below on any I missed or what you’re excited about!
Authors, narrators, producers, and publishers — any of the books featured here are prime candidates for review.
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Lost Valley by Walt Browning
Narrated by Bronson Pinchot
War has a way of following some people….
John Eric Carver and Shrek are a retired Navy SEAL war dog team, now living in the mountains outside of San Diego. Both man and dog thought their life was now settled, finding peace on the 40-acre ranch they had moved to. But life, and a mutated virus, changed all that.
Now, they have to survive a worldwide pandemic. Taking refuge in a nearby Boy Scout camp, he leads a group of teens and their parents as they are forced to deal with infected creatures that are rapidly consuming the world. Will John and Shrek survive another war, or will this be the end of the line for the SEAL team?
Alien: Echo by Mira Grant
Narrated by Kate Marcin
An original young-adult audiobook of the Alien universe.
Olivia and her twin sister, Viola, have been dragged around the universe for as long as they can remember. Their parents, both xenobiologists, are always in high demand for their research into obscure alien biology.
Just settled on a new colony world, they discover an alien threat unlike anything they’ve ever seen. And suddenly, the sisters’ world is ripped apart.
On the run from terrifying aliens, Olivia’s knowledge of xenobiology and determination to protect her sister are her only weapons as the colony collapses into chaos. But then a shocking family secret bursts open – one that’s as horrifying to Olivia as the aliens surrounding them.
The creatures infiltrate the rich wildlife on this untouched colony world – and quickly start adapting. Olivia’s going to have to adapt, too, if she’s going to survive….
An Imprint book.
“Mira Grant blends gritty science fiction, complex characters, and nail-biting horror in Alien: Echo! A spellbinding novel of courage and terror.” (Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of Broken Lands and editor of Aliens: Bug Hunt)
The Ruins of Mars by Dylan James Quarles
Narrated by Steven Cooper
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the near future, The Ruins of Mars opens on the discovery of an ancient city buried under the sands of the red planet. Images captured by twin sentient satellites show massive domes, imposing walls, and a grid work of buildings situated directly on the rim of Mars’ Grand Canyon, the Valles Marineris.
With the resources of Earth draining away under the weight of human expansion, a plan is hatched to reclaim Mars from the cold grasp of death. A small band of explorers, astronauts, and scientists are sent to the red world in mankind’s first interplanetary starship to begin construction on a human colony. Among them is a young archaeologist, named Harrison Raheem Assad, who is tasked with uncovering the secrets of the Martian ruins and their relation to the human race. Aided by the nearly boundless mind of a god-like artificial intelligence; the explorers battle space travel, harsh Martian weather, and the deepening mystery of the forgotten alien civilization.
Begin the epic journey in book one of the Ruins of Mars trilogy.
The Korean Woman by John Altman
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
North Korea’s deadliest weapon is sleeper agent Song Sun Young. Married with children and living the good life in New York City, she has waited seven years to activate the mission she was trained to do: infiltrate America’s financial infrastructure. She prays the call from her handlers will never come, because she loves her husband and kids and affluent New York lifestyle.
But the call does come. During volatile negotiations between the White House and Pyongyang, Song is hurled back into a reality she had hoped to leave behind forever.
Unbeknownst to her, the CIA has already broken her cover. Working with “retired” Israeli operative Dalia Artzi, they track the Korean agent as she relentlessly executes her mission. Langley is pulling strings behind the scenes, confident of its advantage in this high-stakes game – until an unforeseen wild card from within its very ranks hijacks the operation for an unthinkable purpose.
Dalia realizes that Song has been the unwitting catalyst for the disaster now unfolding, and that she alone can stop it from engulfing the world.
Deception by M.R. Forbes
Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
Interstellar colony ship Deliverance. Somewhere in deep space.
The Deliverance is tragically off course, missing its rendezvous with the escaping fleet and leaving the survival of the colony in serious jeopardy.
Pulled out of hibernation years too late, Caleb is thrown into the middle of the crisis and forced back into the fight. With the ship low on power and time running out, it’s up to him to find some way, any way, to overcome an impossible situation and get the colony to safety.
Otherwise, the only thing he’ll be protecting is a tomb.
The Second Realm by Michael Chatfield
Narrated by Todd Menesses
When Erik and Rugrat entered the ten realms they didn’t know what was going on. They only knew that they had contracted the two week curse.
When entering the second realm they came to understand their character sheets, and part of the system that is called the ten realms. A place that the strong make the rules and the weak cling to them for protection and hope that they might be left in peace.
They passed through the trials of the Beast Mountain Dungeon, taking control of it and becoming the leader of nearly 200 people.
Now in command of the Alva Dungeon and looking to forge a new future, they need more power, mana stones, dungeon cores, monster cores, if not then the Dungeon will stop functioning and they will need to relocate once again.
As they ascend to the second realm, Erik and Rugrat need to grow their skills, gain information, and find a dungeon. It’s hardly ever that easy.
The Trenton Legacy by Dale Ripley
Narrated by Amy Williams
When a college professor is murdered on his fishing boat, his estranged granddaughter, Maggie, races to uncover the deadly secrets he’d been protecting.
Her journey leads her on a breadcrumb trail across the country in a desperate cloak-and-dagger search for her grandfather’s final research notes.
Maggie soon discovers that there are others joining the chase who have little regard for human life and who will stop at nothing to prevent Maggie from getting to the research first.
As Maggie mourns the loss of her grandfather, she must fend off the ruthless thugs sent to eliminate her. How will she find the covert research in time and escape her own death?
Highly addictive and action-packed, The Trenton Legacy is a fast-paced, suspense thriller you’ll want to share with friends.
Get it now!
The Isle by John C. Foster
Narrated by Linda Jones
Expose the Darkest of Secrets at the Edge of the World
A deadly menace threatens a remote island community and every man, woman, and child is in peril. Sent to the isle to collect the remains of a dead fugitive, US Marshal Virgil Bone is trapped by torrential storms.
As the body count rises the community unravels, and Bone is thrust into the role of investigator. Aided by a local woman and the town pariah, he uncovers the island’s macabre past and its horrifying connection to the killings.
Some curses are best believed.
Sometimes the past is best left buried.
And some will kill to keep it so.
Praise for The Isle:
“With The Isle, John Foster makes a twenty-first century contribution to the tradition of the New England Gothic…. Fast-moving, gripping, it’s a tale straight from Old Man Atlantic’s barnacled treasure chest.” (John Langan, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Fisherman)
“Brooding and claustrophobic, one hell of a scary ride. You won’t soon forget your visit to The Isle.” (Tom Deady, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Haven)
“Dripping with claustrophobic malice, crawling with dread and otherness, The Isle is a journey into places best left alone. A chilling, disturbing, compelling tale.” (Alan Baxter, award-winning author of Devouring Dark and Manifest Recall
Proudly presented by Grey Matter Press, the multiple Bram Stoker Award-nominated independent publisher.
Grey Matter Press: Where Dark Thoughts Thrive
The Suprahuman Secret by Milo James Fowler
Narrated by Robert Rossmann
The public can’t know they exist. It could start a panic. The average citizen is perfectly fine with superheroes saving the day or causing mayhem in movies and comic books. But if those suprahumans actually walked among us, what would happen then?
In a crumbling post-war city of the future, private eye Charlie Madison stands in the gap. The last of his kind, a champion of lost causes, he confronts corrupt cops, violent bratva and yakuza, doing whatever he can for the average citizen in need of help. A war veteran with plenty of hardship in his past, he’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe with the powers that be, whether they’re in the criminal underworld or the federal government.
Madison has encountered more than his share of unusual suspects over the years. But this time he’s up against something he’s never seen before, on or off the battlefield: people with unnatural abilities. Suprahumans. Gifted ones. Their powers are too incredible to believe, too dangerous in this unstable world. Their existence is a secret guarded by government agents who mindwipe anyone encountering them.
For Charlie Madison, the Suprahuman Secret emerges when a little girl goes missing and no ransom demand is made. He takes the case, but time isn’t on his side. After 48 hours in this town, it’s unlikely an abducted child will be found in one piece. As the mystery unfolds, Madison uncovers a bizarre truth about the girl that seems impossible. But it could explain why she was kidnapped – and why she might still be alive.
The Money Trail by J.C. Fields
Narrated by Paul J. McSorley
FBI Profiler Sean Kruger must follow a trail of deceit and murder to protect his family, friends, and the country from a Russian oligarch!
After the horrific murder of an attorney and a Washington Post reporter on a park bench in Washington, DC., Kruger and company must determine the reason for the murders and who committed the crime. When it is discovered the reporter and attorney were trying to uncover a dark secret hidden within the highest ranks of the United States government, Kruger enlists the help of his trusted friend JR Diminski.
As Kruger and JR strip away the lies and treachery, they discover a plot by a ruthless foreign adversary to undermine the confidence of the American electorate in their chosen officials. With JR following the money trail, it will be up to Kruger to protect the ones he loves from a deadly assassin who is determined to keep him from learning the truth.Will they stop the threat in time or will dark money destroy the American way of life?
Deadfall Ridge by Duncan McGeary
Narrated by Kevin Meyer
It’s a last-minute deer hunt at Bigfoot Ranch in Eastern Oregon. Wilderness guide Hart Davis reluctantly agrees to a booking: seven rough-looking men who don’t look like they need any pointers on killing things. Little does Hart know that an innocent, long-ago favor – a package stashed away and forgotten – has become something worth killing for.
Alone, with only the clothes on his back, Hart must survive not only being hunted by ruthless mercenaries and the local authorities but also the onset of winter in the Strawberry Mountains. He has only one advantage: He knows this wilderness like the back of his hand. Somehow, he has to survive long enough to get the message out – a message that could topple a government.
City Within the Clouds by Rick Jones
Narrated by Max Hardy
After discovering secrets in Atlantis that mark the point of mankind’s end, John Savage and Alyssa Moore once again seek the truth behind the riddles of a final extinction event.
Along the chain of Himalayan mountains sits a precipice that serves as a gateway into Mount Everest. Teaming up with Ben Peyton and his crew of elite soldiers who are joined by a Chinese special-ops unit, they quickly discover that the mountain had been hollowed out to contain an entire valley filled with temples and pyramids. As the teams push forward to find the secrets of an alleged Great Army that resides within this cavern, they soon uncover the dangers and pitfalls that lead to a grisly truth.
Not only do they have to deal with the horrors within, they must also deal with the mistrust they hold for one another because here, inside the City Within the Clouds, the enemy of my enemy is never my friend.
Book 3 of the best-selling Atlantis series by author Rick Jones, with more than 400,000 books sold worldwide.
The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
A pulse-pounding thriller of espionage, spy games, and treachery by the New York Times bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series.
Former CIA case officer Charles Jenkins is a man at a crossroads: in his early sixties, he has a family, a new baby on the way, and a security consulting business on the brink of bankruptcy. Then his former bureau chief shows up at his house with a risky new assignment: travel undercover to Moscow and locate a Russian agent believed to be killing members of a clandestine US spy cell known as the seven sisters.
Desperate for money, Jenkins agrees to the mission and heads to the Russian capital. But when he finds the mastermind agent behind the assassinations – the so-called eighth sister – she is not who or what he was led to believe. Then again, neither is anyone else in this deadly game of cat and mouse.
Pursued by a dogged Russian intelligence officer, Jenkins executes a daring escape across the Black Sea, only to find himself abandoned by the agency he serves. With his family and freedom at risk, Jenkins is in the fight of his life – against his own country.
- Disease X by N.J. Croft (Narrated by Joshua Saxon) - December 1, 2023
- A Purrfect Gift by Jae (Narrated by Anastasia Watley) - November 30, 2023
- Wraith King (Wraith Knight #3) by C.T. Phipps (Narrated Narrated by Samuel E. Hoke) - November 28, 2023
