The Breaker - series. Books 1 - 3:

 

The Breaker

ISBN: 9781656281517

Description:

How do you know the one you love won’t hurt you?

Or even try to kill you?
In many cases … you don’t.

How do we choose our path and purpose in life?

What makes us who we are?
When Seth Egan starts working as a private detective, he knows he’ll make enemies.
It goes with the territory.
As Seth works on a murder case and hunts down the killers, he becomes the target.
Some people have no conscience, shame, empathy, or remorse.
To get their own way, to get what they want, to take everything, they will do anything.
Even murder.
In the end, they will drag you down to hell with them.
Sometimes, our enemies are those closest to us.

Amazon link:

https://t.co/eKFZ03giKR?amp=1

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Bad Blood

ISBN: 9798682203192

Description:

No one is paying Seth Egan for his latest case.

He keeps this one unofficial.

Pro bono publico.

Off the books.

For him, this one is personal.

A matter of bad blood.

A woman with a grudge of her own leads Seth to a place where people vanish without trace.

Money is the motive.

Greed is the motivator.

Scores that can only be settled in blood.

A dark underworld of illegal gambling, prostitution, drugs, violence and murder.

Amazon link:

 

https://t.co/e0XiS8crAr?amp=1

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Mall Maze

ISBN: 9798729917235

Description:

Friday the 13th.

Unlucky for many.

What should have been a routine adultery case ends with Seth Egan fighting for his life.

Cut off from the world.

With no way to call for help.

Trapped in a place where the walls are coming down around him.

Seth is running out of places to hide.

As chaos reigns and the city burns … the hunters close in.

Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09244XVYW/

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Themes:

Abuse by proxy, Adultery, C-PTSD, crime, detective, domestic abuse, enabler, flying monkey, gaslighting, hardboiled, heist, infidelity, murder, narcissism, narcissist, narcissistic abuse, neo-noir, personality disorder, psychopath, sociopath, suspense, thriller, vigilante, violence.

Books available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle.

A percentage from sales of my books is donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.

What’s On?

What’s On?

A Guide to Movies and TV Shows

Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9798342696098

Paperback

ISBN-13: 9798341177307

Kindle

ASIN: B0DJTZ8T58

Back cover description:

What’s On? … is the timeless question we have all asked ourselves almost every day of our lives, as we reach for the remote control and settle in front of the TV screen.

Jack Kost, a life-long movie buff and coffee addict, offers his choice of favorite movie and television masterpieces.

Providing possible answers to the question of What’s On? with over 1,900 titles, from golden oldies and timeless classics, to more recent releases, all meticulously logged and summarized.

An invaluable and collectable go-to source for discovering new favorites and revisiting old ones.

Perfect for film enthusiasts and casual viewers alike, this guide will spark conversations, bring back memories, and help you navigate the ever-evolving world of screen entertainment.

A wealth of recommendations and insights from a passionate movie buff to enrich your viewing experience, complete with personal reminiscences and nostalgic reflections, told with a world-wise critical eye, sardonic dry wit, a healthy dose of cynicism, biting observations, and a well-founded rant here and there.

Just don’t challenge or get him started on his personal favorites, like The Shining, Point Blank, Jaws, The Exorcist, The Duellists, Romeo Is Bleeding, or The Ninth Configuration. His opinions on these and other iconic titles are as intense and unyielding as the movies themselves.

All compiled by an author who not only watched the movies, but also read the books on which they were based, did his research, drank a lot of coffee in the process, and advocates for the importance and value of reading.

A glimpse into the over-caffeinated mind of a writer with a passion for great stories.

What’s On? is a celebration of the intersection between page and screen, and a reminder that great on-screen adaptations often start with a great book and a strong cup of coffee.

Kick back, grab your coffee, and enjoy the show!

As author Jack Kost says:

“Happy viewing … and do yourself a favor … read the books.”

Slipped Masks:

Slipped Masks

ISBN: 9781719330640

Description:

I can’t call you because if he hears me talking on the phone he’ll hit me again. He scares me. I know sooner or later he’s going to kill me. I’ll text you again when I can. I love you, Casey. I’ll spend the rest of our lives proving to you how much I love you. Please come. Please save me …

With only text messages to guide him, Casey Byrne is on the hunt, racing across five states to save his ex-girlfriend, Madison.

Casey loves Madison deeply and wants desperately to save her life and rekindle their relationship.

But the closer he gets to her, the more surreal his journey becomes as the dead bodies pile up in his wake.

Clinical Lycanthropy: the delusion that a human can physically transform into a wolf.

If you were insane, would you know it?

How would you see the world if you were convinced you could transform into a wolf?

The hunter … and the hunted.

Slipped Masks is a dark neo-noir thriller about how the need for love and companionship becomes twisted into obsession, possession, jealousy, violence and murder.

A horrifying portrait of Clinical Lycanthropy.

Amazon link:

https://t.co/2Gwb135V3m

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Themes:

Sociopathy, narcissistic abuse, personality disorder, Clinical Lycanthropy, crime, murder.

Book available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle.

A percentage from sales of this book is donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.

Work in progress:

My next books are Triangulation and Stinger.

Books 4 and 5 in The Breaker series.

Set in the year 2001, the story continues from Mall Maze.

Themes:

Crime, detective, hardboiled, heist, murder, narcissism, narcissistic abuse, neo-noir, psychopath, sociopath, thriller, vigilante.

 

A percentage from book sales is donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.

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The Breaker is an on-going series.

I’m outlining other stand-alone thriller novels.

Several coffee table books on my photography and my wife’s artwork.

A humorous book, based on the antics of our crazy pet Ragdoll cat, entitled: It’s That F****** Cat Again!

Here’s a GIF I made of our cat, settling down for another of his daily naps:

On this day in music history - American V: A Hundred Highways, by Johnny Cash (2006):

American V: A Hundred Highways

Album by Johnny Cash,

released July 4, 2006

Track list:

Help Me; God’s Gonna Cut You Down; Like The 309 (the last song Johnny Cash wrote and recorded); If You Could Read My Mind; Further On Up the Road; The Evening Train; I Came To Believe; Love’s Been Good To Me; A Legend In My Time; Rose Of My Heart; Four Strong Winds; I’m Free From The Chain Gang Now.

On this day in movie history - Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956):

Somebody Up There Likes Me

directed by Robert Wise,

written by Ernest Lehman,

based on the autobiography by Rocky Graziano with Rowland Barber,

was released in the United States on July 4, 1956.
Music by Bronislau Kaper.

Cast:

Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart, Harold J. Stone, Joseph Buloff, Sal Mineo, Ray Stricklyn, Robert Loggia, Steve McQueen, Angela Cartwright, Jack Orrison, Frank Campanella, Dean Jones.

Born on this day – Bruce French:

Bruce French

Actor

July 4, 1945 – February 7, 2025

Credits:

21 Jump Street (1988); A Case for Murder (1993); ABC Afterschool Specials (1983); ABC Weekend Specials (1988); Airplane II: The Sequel (1982); All-American Girl (1994); Ally McBeal (2001); Ants! (1977); Baby Talk (1992); Barbarians at the Gate (1993); Beautiful Boy (2010); Beginners (2010); Benson (1983); Beverly Hills, 90210 (1997); Biography (1987); Black Eagle (1988); Bloodbrothers (1978); Bones (2006); Boston Legal (2008); Boston Public (2003); Caroline in the City (1999); CBS Summer Playhouse (1987); Cheers (1989); Christine (1983); City of Angels (2000); Coach (1996); Coming Home (1978); Crash (2009); Criminal Minds (2008); Crossing Jordan (2003); Curse of the Black Widow (1977); Dallas (1981–1982); Dark and Stormy Night (2009); Deadly Intentions (1985); Designing Women (1989); Dharma & Greg (1999); Dirty Sexy Money (2008); Eli Stone (2008); Enough (2002); Falcon Crest (1986–1988); Fame (1983); Family Ties (1982); First Family (1980); Fletch (1985); Gilmore Girls (2003); Grey's Anatomy (2009); Grounded for Life (2001); GUNS (1976); Hardball (1989); Hardcastle and McCormick (1983–1985); Hawthorne (2009); Head Cases (2005); Helter Skelter (1976); Herman's Head (1993); Highway to Heaven (1987); Hill Street Blues (1984); House (2006); Hudson Street (1996); In the Line of Duty: A Cop for the Killing (1990); It's a Horrible Life (2010); Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993); JAG (2002); Jagged Edge (1985); Jake and the Fatman (1991); Jane Doe: Ties That Bind (2007); Jurassic Park III (2001); Justify the Means (2009); Kaz (1979); Knots Landing (1984); L.A. Law (1986); Leave 'em Laughing (1981); Leaving L.A. (1997); Legal Eagles (1986); Lottery! (1983); Love, Sidney (1982); Mad Men (2007); Magnum, P.I. (1983); Man on a Swing (1974); Martians Go Home (1989); Matlock (1987); Men Behaving Badly (1996); Mission: Impossible III (2006); Moonlighting (1988); Mr. Deeds (2002); Mr. Mom (1983); Mr. Smith (1983); Murder Ordained (1987); Murphy's Romance (1985); Mysterious Two (1982); NCIS (2006); Newhart (1986); Night Court (1989); Pacific Palisades (1997); Party of Five (1996); Passions (1999–2008); Picket Fences (1994); Pipe Dreams (1976); Providence (2000); Raising the Bar (2008); Rendezvous Hotel (1979); Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985); Rollercoaster (1977); Roots: The Next Generations (1979); Ruby and Oswald (1978); Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1987); Sexual Life (2004); Silver Spoons (1985); Simon & Simon (1988); Snoops (1989); Soap (1979); Sorority Boys (2002); Special Bulletin (1983); Special Thanks to Roy London (2005); Star Trek: Enterprise (2001); Star Trek: Insurrection (1998); Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991); Star Trek: Voyager (1995); Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama (1981); Strong Medicine (2000); Surrender (1987); Sweetwater (1983); Team Knight Rider (1997); Terror Out of the Sky (1978); Thank You for Smoking (2005); The A-Team (1984); The Boys Are Back (1995); The Bronx Zoo (1988); The Chisholms (1980); The French Atlantic Affair (1979); The Guardian (2004); The Lyon's Den (2003–2004); The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1993); The Outer Limits (1995); The Pentagon Wars (1998); The Popcorn Kid (1987); The Powers of Matthew Star (1983); The Practice (1997–2003); The Riches (2007–2008); The Savage Bees (1976); The Visitor (1997); The Waltons (1978); The Wayans Bros. (1997); The West Wing (2002); The Wishing Well (2009); Thieves (2001); Up All Night (2012); Valerie (1990); Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story (1993); Waiting for Godot (1977); Walkout (2006); War and Remembrance (1989); When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978); Where Pigeons Go to Die (1990); Who Is Julia? (1986); Who's the Boss? (1991–1992); Wildcats (1986).

Born on this day – Neil Simon:

Neil Simon

Writer

July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018

Born on this day – Gina Lollobrigida:

Gina Lollobrigida

Actress

Photographer

Artist

July 4, 1927 – January 16, 2023

Born on this day – Mary Stuart:

Mary Stuart

Actress

Guitarist

Singer

Songwriter

July 4, 1926 – February 28, 2002

Credits:

Album:

Joanne Sings (1956), with Stuart and Percy Faith, music inspired by the TV show Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).

Movies and television:

50 Years of Soaps: An All-Star Celebration (1994); 9th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2003); Adventures of Don Juan (1948); After Hours: From Janice, John, Mary and Michael, with Love (1976); April Showers (1948); Bicentennial Minutes (1976); California Casanova (1991); Colt .45 (1950); Dark Delusion (1947); Dinah! (1975); Donahue (1985); Embraceable You (1948); Face of a Stranger (1991); Father Makes Good (1950); Good News (1947); Guiding Light (1996–2002); Help Wanted (1983); Henry, the Rainmaker (1949); Here We Go Again (1942); Highways by Night (1942); Hollywood Opening Night (1951); Hour Magazine (1981–1987); June Bride (1948); Ladies' Day (1943); Leave It to Henry (1949); Lights Out (1950); Living in a Big Way (1947); Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost (1942); Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942); Mr. Lucky (1943); Musical Chairs (1975); NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration (1986); NY TV: By the People Who Made It - Part I & II (1998); Omnibus / Segment: The Bad Men (1952); One Life to Live (1968–2013); Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986); Seven Days' Leave (1942); Song of the Islands (1942); Springtime in the Rockies (1942); Stars Over Hollywood (1950); The 12th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1985); The 1st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1974); The 28th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2001); The 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2003); The Big Punch (1948); The Big Street (1942); The Bob Braun Show (1976–1982); The Canterbury Tales (1972); The Cariboo Trail (1950); The David Frost Show (1972); The David Letterman Show (1980); The Dick Cavett Show (1968); The Falcon Strikes Back (1943); The Girl from Jones Beach (1949); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime);  (1978); The Hucksters (1947); The Mike Douglas Show (1965–1979); The Regis Philbin Show (1982); The Unfinished Dance (1947); The Web (1950); This Land Is Mine (1943); This Time for Keeps (1947); Thunderhoof (1948); Today (1980); Tomorrow Coast to Coast (1976); Triple Threat (1948); Week-End in Havana (1941); When Angels Fly (1983).

Born on this day – Carol Andrews:

Carol Andrews

Actress

July 4, 1921 – February 27, 1956

Credits:

Blue Skies (1946); Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946); Ladies' Man (1947); Murder Is My Business (1946); Nob Hill (1945); Slightly Scandalous (1946); Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947); Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946); The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); The Bullfighters (1945); The Guilty (1947); The Lady Confesses (1945).

Born on this day – Viviane Romance:

Viviane Romance

Actress

July 4, 1912 – September 25, 1991

Born on this day – Gloria Stuart:

Gloria Stuart

Actress

Artist

July 4, 1910 – September 26, 2010

Born on this day – Gertrude Lawrence:

Gertrude Lawrence

Actress

Singer

Dancer

July 4, 1898 – September 6, 1952

Born on this day – Nathaniel Hawthorne:

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Writer

July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864

Credits:

Books, short stories and anthologies:

100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories (1993); 40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology (2000); 50 Great American Short Stories (1963); 50 Great Short Stories (1952); A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (1851); Alaska Stories (1995); American Midnight (2019); Biographical Stories (1842); Bound for Evil: Curious Tales of Books Gone Bad (2008); Cape Cod Stories (2002); Chicago Stories (1993); Chiefly About War Matters (2019); Circe's Palace (2018); Damned Yankees (2017); David Swan (2014); Doctor Grimshawe's Secret; A Romance (1882); Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (1837); Dr. Heidegger's Experiment and Other Stories (1837); Earth's Holocaust (1844); Endicott and the Red Cross (1837); Fanshawe (1828); Florida Stories (1993); From the Snow Image (1864); Grandfather's Chair (2016); Great Stone Face (1970); Greek Myths (1851); Haunting Tales (1980); Hawthorne's American Travel Sketches (1990); Hawthorne's First Diary (2018); Hawthorne's Lost Notebook (1978); Hawthorne's Short Stories (1955); In Colonial Days (2010); Legends of the Province House (2017); Legends of the Province House and Other Twice-Told Tales (2009); Letters of Hawthorne to William D. Ticknor, 1851-1864 (1972); Life of Franklin Pierce (1852); Little Daffydowndilly and Other Stories (2018); Los Angeles Stories (1991); Love Letters Of Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1839 1863 (1972); Lust: Lascivious Love Stories and Passionate Poems (1994); Main-Street (2005); Mosses from an Old Manse (1846); My Kinsman Major Molineux (1831); Myths That Every Child Should Know (2011); New Orleans Stories (1992); On Suicide: Great Writers on the Ultimate Question (1992); Our Old Home (1863); Passages from the English notebooks of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1873); Puritan Passions (2011); Rappaccini's Daughter (1844); Rappaccini's Daughter, And Other Tales (1991); San Francisco Stories (1990); San Francisco Thrillers (1995); Selected Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1966); Selected Stories (1982); Selected Tales and Sketches (1959); Selected Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne (2002); Septimius Felton (1978); Septimius Felton, or, The Elixir of Life (2019); Sights from a Steeple (2005); Simply Witchcraft's Best Short Stories Volume I (2013); Snowflakes (2005); Southwest Stories (1993); Sunday at Home (2009); Tales of the Occult (1989); Tales of the White Mountains (1846); Tales, Sketches, and Other Papers (2018); Tanglewood Tales (1851); Texas Stories (1995); The Ambitious Guest and Lady Eleanore's Mantle (1980); The American Notebooks (1932); The Ancestral Footstep (1882); The Antique Ring (2015); The Birthmark & Five Other Tales (2013); The Birthmark (1843); The Blithedale Romance (1851); The Celestial Railroad and Other Stories (1864); The Christmas Banquet (2005); The Complete Greek Stories (1963); The Complete Novels and Selected Tales of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1937); The Complete Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1959); The Devil in Manuscript (1835); The Dolliver Romance (1883); The Dover Anthology of Classic Christmas Stories (2023); The French and Italian Note-Books (2013); The Gentle Boy (2018); The Golden Touch (1851); The Gray Champion (2014); The Great Short Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1977); The House of the Seven Gables (1851); The House of the Seven Gables and Other Tales (2009); The Light and the Lure (2016); The Magic Pitcher (2005); The Marble Faun (1860); The Minister's Black Veil (1836); The New Adam and Eve (1846); The Old Apple-Dealer (2005); The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (1992); The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales (1993); The Paradise of Children (1967); The Pomegranate Seeds (2015); The Scarlet Letter (1850); The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings (1978); The Scarlet Letter and Selected Tales (1970); The Shaker Bridal (2014); The Short Story: 30 Masterpieces (1992); The Snow Image: and Other Twice-Told Tales (2019); The Three Golden Apples (1993); The Wayside (2014); The Wedding-Knell (2013); The Weird Fiction Collection #1 (2018); The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction (2010); Thrillers (1994); True Stories from History and Biography (2019); True Stories from New England History, 1620-1803 (2016); Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny by Papa (1851); Twice-Told Tales (1837); Twice-Told Tales and Other Short Stories (1964); Witchcraft Classics (2023); Young Goodman Brown (1835).

Movies and television:

Adventures from the Book of Virtues (1996); Amonina pomsta (1991); Brandon Flowers: Can't Deny My Love (2015); Camera Three (1961); Die Verwandlung (1920); Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (1969); El viaje a Mannheim (1976); Feathertop (1912 / 1916 / 1961); Ficciones (1972–1973); Footlights Theater (1953); General Electric Theater (1955); Goodman (2017); Grande Teatro Tupi (1957); Hora once (1970); House of the Seven Gables (2022); Il Fauno di marmo (1920 / 1977); Intolerance, or Best Places in the World Are Places Where Human Left No Traces (2014); Kraft Theatre (1954); Kraft Theatre / The Philco Television Playhouse (1949); La lettre écarlate (1977); La nuit de Tom Brown (1959); Las grandes novellas (1972); Lettre à Carla (1967); Lights Out (1950–1951); Loons (1991); Matinee Theatre (1956); athaniel Hawthorne's Catastrophe (2014); Novela (1972–1978); O epistimonas (1992); Party (1994); Puritan Passions (1923); Rappaccini (1966); Rappaccini's Daughter (1980 / 2013); Robert Montgomery Presents (1951); Scary Stories Around the Fire (2022); Shirley Temple's Storybook (1960); Studio One (1950); Swain (1950); Television Theater (1997–1998); Tense Moments from Great Plays (1922); The Birthmark (1987); The Ford Television Theatre (1952); The Ford Theatre Hour (1950); The Haunted Mind by Nathaniel Hawthorne (2022); The House of the Seven Gables (1910 / 1940 / 1967 / 2018); The New Adam and Eve (1915); The Scarecrow (1972 / 2000); The Scarlet Letter (1908 / 1910 / 1911 / 1913 / 1917 / 1922 / 1926 / 1934 / 1973 / 1979 / 1995); The Transgressor (1913); Twice-Told Tales (1963); Wakefield (2016); Young Goodman Brown (1972 / 1993); Your Favorite Story (1953–1954).

Recommended reading - Somebody Up There Likes Me, by Rocky Graziano and Rowland Barber (1954):

Somebody Up There Likes Me

By Rocky Graziano with Rowland Barber.

Filmed as Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), directed by Robert Wise.

Published by Ecco Press.

Published 1954.

ISBN 13: 9780880013932

ISBN 10: 0880013931

ASIN: 0880013931

Paperback.

Description:

The blood-soaked autobiography of a fist-happy hoodlum…

Rocky’s right hand saw him through three stretches in reform school, four man-size prisons, the middle-weight championship of the world, and a career as a television comedian with Martha Raye.

We get a view of what it’s like to be on the lam from truant officers, probation officers, goons, cops, and creeps too stupid to be anything but legitimate. What it’s like to hit first or get hit! – Saturday Review.

Julia Alvarez, on writing and reading:

The elasticity of imagination and compassion is what writing and reading promote.

– Julia Alvarez.