Showing results by narrator "Steve Carlson" in All Categories

Not on my watch! So declared Montana Senator Beauregard Bryant when the small town of Twin Rivers, Montana, sought a lucrative federal contract to house Guantanamo Bay prisoners in its languishing prison. Undaunted, newly elected town Mayor Phoenix Jamborsky hires local lawyer Gabriel Lantagne to help secure the controversial contract against the wishes of the powers that be in Montana.

While the big bad corporation has often been the offender in many of the world’s greatest environmental disasters, in the case of the mass poisoning at Camp Lejeune the culprit is a revered institution: The US Marine Corps. For two decades now, revelations have steadily emerged about pervasive contamination, associated clusters of illness and death among the Marine families stationed there, and military stonewalling and failure to act.

Agent Orange, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, the Virginia Tech massacre, the 2008 financial crisis, and the Deep Horizon gulf oil spill: Each was a disaster in its own right. What they had in common was their aftermath - each required compensation for lives lost, bodies maimed, livelihoods wrecked, economies and ecosystems upended. In each instance, an objective third party had to step up and dole out allocated funds: In each instance, Presidents, Attorneys General, and other public officials have asked Kenneth R. Feinberg to get the job done.

In an ancient civilization that spans Earth's galaxy, only those with strength of purpose and razor-sharp cunning can survive the wrath of the lustful and the craven. The Time Treasure: Insidious Inheritance is an enthralling, wildly inventive science fiction odyssey by Mark Fulcher and Annet Libeau, which pits the ruthless against the righteous in an epic galactic battle royale that could transform the universe as we know it.

When Death—that uninvited and unwelcomed guest—arrives, all plans cease; everyone has to stop and make adjustments; and everyone has to deal with it. Magali, a young prostitute of Villa Rosario, Panama, has died. Her ex-lovers, including friends Ricardo and Dan Landes, attend her funeral, each harboring different memories of her. In fact, everyone harbors different memories of her, because no one really knew who she was. But her ghost comes back from the grave to prod ex-detective Dan Landes to uncover the truth about her death.

An ambitious doctor opens up a fancy weight-loss vacation resort for the ultra-wealthy in Panama, hoping to kickstart an Ozempic empire. The profits are high, and Wall Street is hungry for a piece of the pie. But when the clinic's semaglutide cocktail turns out to be a recipe for murder, expat Dan Landes is drawn into the investigation.

What happens when AI hits the porn industry? Dan Landes is about to find out in INAUTHENTICITY, a tale of murder among the upper echelon of porn producers who are fighting to control the new world of AI porn. When a top porn producer is found dead of a heart attack in Panama, ex-detective Dan Landes suspects foul play. But who would benefit? It turns out that everyone would. Everyone has an axe to grind, including the FBI. Expat Dan Landes travels from Panama to Madrid to unmask who is really who in the new world of AI porn.

Wounded while retaking the Armory, Talon's recovery is slow and painful. Unaware that his family in Texas are having to deal with similar situations from within their own community. With still no action or assistance from the Federal or State governments, each community must deal with daily shortages of their basic needs. Civilization and civility have been replaced with every person for themselves. Lawlessness and chaos are the new normal. Large population centers have for the most part become unsustainable.

A young writer meets an older man in a Belgian bar who weaves an erotic and disturbing story about a famous author that the younger man has long admired–a story that reveals dark secrets about all three men.

Amid much controversy over the legacies of historical figures comes a novel that explores Lincoln's complex and evolving views on slavery, emancipation, abolition, and racial equality. But more than a Lincoln novel, it is the lost story of a young man who likely was more influential than any celebrated abolitionist when it came to turning Lincoln from a pragmatic segregationist to a champion of freedom and equality for all.

The scale of the Second World War was enormous: so many countries, so many battles, the challenges of training and deploying huge numbers of soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Every participant in that war had fascinating and often unique experiences and stories to tell. It’s no wonder the major locations in that war were referred to as “theaters.”

The aging American expat Ricardo lives alone in a quiet town in Panama and dreams of one last romantic fling. But his nightly dreams are invaded by images of a mysterious brujo, an ancient sorcerer who has not been seen in 15 years.

What is the connection between bitcoin and the collapse of the Bronze Age in 1177 BC? Between the Temple of Moriah in ancient Jerusalem and the central banks of today? Between the Knights of Templar and the end of civilization? Follow ex-detective Dan Landes as he tries to unravel the riddle of thirty-three centuries in the Treasure of the Gran Ventura.

Where Are You? is a sequel to the novel Chapel on the Moor, and follows the lives of the two main protagonists a half century later in a quest to discover what, if anything, might remain of the Chapel. In the first novel, two young adults, Merritt Geary and Frank Dole, met by accident on the occasion of the renovation and dedication of a long-abandoned rural chapel built 100 years earlier by Merritt’s great grandfather. At the end of the story, the chapel suffered complete destruction in a colossal storm, and the two parted ways after a brief but intense summer romance.

When Ricardo moves into the small apartment complex of expats in Panama, he thinks he’s found paradise. An emotional and sexual sanctuary from all he left behind in the states, until Alison points out how strange some of the residents are.

The world has ended, the dead walk the earth, and a profound silence has fallen over the land. We return to the story of Seth and Melinda, siblings who've fallen in with the likes of Noone Tompkins, a bad man with a fast gun and a cruel disposition. The group's journey south, to a promised oasis in the New Mexico desert, is interrupted by a war between the citizens of Billings, Montana and the scattered survivors of the Crow Nation. There will be casualties.

The fears of four young men are realized when the shrinking water level of Cypress Lake exposes a dark secret, hidden under the lake’s surface for 16 years. Long ago, when they were best friends, they made a pact to never speak of the secret to anyone. Now their livelihoods, their marriages, and possibly their very lives, hinge on keeping a childhood promise.

Join Dennis as he takes you on a rollicking ride, shifting gears from his days as an automotive novice to becoming a savvy used car connoisseur. He shares his hilarious mishaps and close calls, providing lessons laced with humor, wisdom, and a deep love for the open road. Learn how to negotiate like a pro with used car dealers, perform test drives that would make professional drivers nod in approval, and decode the cryptic messages your car sends you through those blinking lights and strange noises.

Escaping Northern Virginia, Talon and his small group of survivors are now confronted with the challenge of rescuing the rest of their group. With the country in complete chaos, the choices they make will determine their next steps. With enemies closing in, Talon must decide to stay and fight to help out his friends, or if he should just walk away and head to his family. Choices always have consequences.

The Detroit Lions won their fourth and final NFL Championship in 1957. Since then, they’ve been a second-tier team that has won 42 percent of their games, earned just three division titles, posted a 1-12 playoff record, and suffered through a “perfect” 0-16 season. It hasn’t been all doom and gloom. The Lions have enjoyed a few successful seasons, and these are discussed. There have also been oddball moments, including losing twice to last-second record-setting field goals, being victims in the shortest (at the time) overtime game in history, and becoming involved with author George Plimpton.