Police Chief Detective Koa Kāne is led by a scrap of cloth to the gruesome remains of someone left to be destroyed by a lava flow, but this dark crime is not his first dead body of the day. On Hawaiʻi’s Big Island these crimes could change everything and even cost Kāne his career. Off the Grid is the second book in the Koa Kāne Hawaiian Mystery series from Robert McCaw and drops readers into the darker side of paradise. Continue reading “Off the Grid Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Sam was once the preacher at the community church, but after revealing some of his marital secrets to his congregation he is now away from the flock and living with his sister. While he personally feels like a bit of a freeloader, Sam works for his sister Dani in her bookstore and deli combination store and acts as a male presence when she thinks it might be helpful. After a bit of a blow up at his nephew’s school, Sam is covering the store by himself when the new preacher comes looking for him and bit of help with something a bit less liturgical and bit more homicidal. Preacher Sam shows the ousted preacher returning to the church to try and find out just what really did happen the night two women seem to have been involved in a deadly meeting. Continue reading “Preacher Sam Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Stacy Russo is a community college librarian and professor at Santa Ana College who sees the importance of accessibility to gaining knowledge every day. In the introduction to A Better World Starts Here: Activists and Their Work she highlights the fact that while there are academic writings about activism and social justice, that this style of writing is often difficult for readers to access or connect with. Through her writing she hopes to be able to provide a source that will make accessing information about social justice easier. Another important element is the use of storytelling, which allows readers to gain insight into various social justice warriors and their work. Continue reading “A Better World Starts Here Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Millie Chase is devastated by the loss of her mother and in her need to escape from her sort of step father, while married to her mother he never adopted her officially, she decides to run away. At 14 she doesn’t really know where she can go until she remembers that her mother had a friend named Ginny Baker and she thinks she could be her salvation. Ginny and her husband, Nate, both live in Yellowstone National Park and while they love each other deeply their life is not easy, especially with so little work available in the 1930’s and Ginny’s family struggling with monetary issues of their own. The Winterkeeper showcases strength against all odds, especially when love is there. Continue reading “The Winterkeeper Book Review from @kleffnotes”