Hero In Waiting by Andrew Grey

June 6, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Hero In Waiting by Andrew Grey
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Wells Barnaby is in danger and he doesn’t even know it. After leaving the Marines, he came to live with his sister and is helping to care for his niece. When a threat from his past rears up, it puts them all in danger… and brings the one who got away back into his life.

Miller Washington served with Wells, and the two men shared an attraction that neither of them acknowledged. When Miller learns that an old enemy is on the loose and that he may come after Wells, he makes a beeline to help. But he doesn’t expect repressed desire to blaze back to life.

Between renewed attraction and an enemy who will stop at nothing to get even, Wells and Miller must navigate the heat of passion too strong for either of them to contain while not letting their guard down, in order to protect Wells’s family and their second chance.

Wells and Miller served together for many years together in the Marines. Now they’re both out and have gone their separate ways – Wells eventually back to his sister to help take care of his five-year-old niece, Giselle, and after travelling around aimlessly Miller ended up working in security. When an old enemy negotiates for his release, Miller tracks Wells down to warn him – they’re both on the same hit list now and Wells family in particular are in great danger. Can these two men finally find their way to acting on their mutual attraction?

I’m always a sucker for the returned veteran style of story and this book ticked every box for me. The chemistry between Wells and Miller sizzles right from the first page and I was really pleased that they didn’t just fall into insta-lust or jump right into bed there and then. There was plenty of friendship and trust between them from their years serving together and Miller in particular didn’t want to change that. I could also appreciate that while Wells clearly was attracted to and wanted more with Miller, with a killer lunatic hunting them down Wells’ focus was very much on his sister and niece’s protection.

I thought the author did a really good job to balance the steamy romance between the men and the main plotline. Both had a strong focus in the book, but I was pleased in particular the the plot didn’t feel shoved in there or just tacked on to make the book appear more rounded. A good amount of time and effort had gone into writing these sections of the book and that showed. This helped me really feel invested in the story as a whole and not just the sexy scenes between the two men. I cared about their relationship as a whole and the mini-family they were growing and building between them. The action and conflict with their mutual enemy added a good amount of tension and helped the story not feel too soppy or rose-tinted.

With interesting and realistic characters that I felt quite invested in and a solid plot that I felt was very well handled this was a good book. I am eagerly waiting for the next to come along.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Operation Congo by William Meikle

June 4, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Operation Congo by William Meikle
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A mission to the Congo starts badly for S-Squad and gets worse fast as they trace a team of captured WHO medics to a lost world in the interior.

The Squad are isolated, split up, and face terrors long since thought extinct.

Mokele-mbembe walks this jungle.

And he is not alone.

The S-Squad has been sent deep into the jungles of Congo, far from where even a satellite phone can call for help. A WHO team of medics have been captured and more than just the natives are restless. As usual things quickly move from bad to worse as the team is split up and the monsters start coming from all directions. Can the team and their targets return back to safety?

I absolutely love this series and I was thrilled the Scottish lads finally managed to get a ticket to somewhere warm. I also really enjoyed how a few of the squaddies had some profound growth in their character arcs and this was a true joy to read – along with the big beasties and everyone needing to steer clear of being a tasty snack for the monsters.

If you’ve read even one of the previous books (and I can’t recommend strongly enough you give them all a whirl – this is the best series) you’ll know roughly what to expect. Our team of Scottish heroes are sent into the back of beyond to rescue a group of civilians. Things are nothing like what they appeared to be at first glance and soon monsters are trying to eat everyone in sight.

With loads of bullets flying and more than a few wise cracks from our squaddies this is yet another delightful romp of a book. I was particularly impressed with both the high number (and decent quality and placement) of the quotes managed by the squaddies referencing the movie, Aliens. A few scattered quotes are normal for this series, but in this book the author really outdid himself.

If you’re looking for a complicated plotline or an intricately woven story this won’t suit what you’re after. But if you love a bunch of wise-ass soldiers being brave, fighting the monsters and rollicking along then this is definitely the book for you. I love this series and can strongly recommend them all – especially this addition.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Jackal Man by Kate Ellis

June 3, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Jackal Man by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A teenage girl is strangled and left for dead on a lonely country lane in Devon. The police are baffled when she describes her attacker as having the head of a dog, but when the body of a woman is found mutilated and wrapped in a sheet, DI Wesley Peterson suspects the killer may be performing an ancient ritual linked to the jackal-headed Egyptian god, Anubis.

Meanwhile, archaeologist Neil Watson has been called to Varley Castle to catalogue the collection of an Edwardian amateur Egyptologist. Neil discovers through his research that Wesley’s strange case bears sinister similarities to four murders that took place near Varley Castle in 1903.

As the Jackal Man’s identity remains a frustrating enigma, it seems the killer has yet another victim in his sights. Someone close to Wesley himself . . .

When a local teenage girl is strangled and only a passing car interrupts what might have been an even more serious crime, DI Wesley Peterson and his team are called in to investigate. Unsure whether this links up to a similar – but less sinister attempted assault on another young woman a few weeks earlier, Wesley and his team flounder at first. When the next victim isn’t so lucky they realise their quarry is linking himself to the jackal-headed Egyptian god Anubis. Wesley’s archaeological friend, Dr Neil Watson is helping catalogue the collection of an amateur Egyptologist and Neil points out that these present cases bear a striking similarity to four murders that took place in 1903 and those were directly linked to this collection’s family. Can Neil and Wesley sort out exactly what’s going on before another young woman is murdered?

I have been greatly enjoying this British police procedural series and this book was a lovely addition. While there is plenty going on around these characters and the team members, I feel readers should certainly be able to pick this book up and enjoy it on its own merits. Aside from the fact the characters know each other and work well together, the actual plot and relationships are all very well explained within this book.

I was pleased that there was fairly clearly a strong connection immediately between the cataloguing work Neil was performing at a local castle with an Egyptian collection and Wesley’s offender who wore a cloak and a “dog mask”. I was also very intrigued that Wesely’s old boss from his days at the Met in their Art Fraud section was in town looking for some Egyptian antiquities and someone calling themselves Ra. It was all clearly linked but I enjoyed the twists and slow unveiling of what was really going on. I thought this book had a very good pace and unlike some of the others in this series I enjoyed the fact both plots were clearly woven together and were gathering speed roughly together.

Readers who enjoy some history and archaeology mixed in with their murder mysteries should find this a really enjoyable book. I enjoyed this story, and it was a lovely and comfortable weekend read.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Under Pressure by Robert Pobi

May 31, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Under Pressure by Robert Pobi
Publisher: Hachette UK
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

On a beautiful October evening, New York City’s iconic Guggenheim Museum is closed for a tech company’s private gala. Until an explosion rocks the night, instantly killing 702 people, including every single attendee—yet the damage to the building itself was minimal.

An explosion of that precision was no accident and, in response, the FBI mobilizes its entire team — but the sheer number of victims strains their resources. Were all 702 victims in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was there only one target and 701 unlucky bystanders? That many victim files is a staggering amount of data to sort through and Brett Kehoe, Special Agent in Charge of Manhattan, decides that he can’t do this without more computational power.

Dr. Lucas Page, astrophysicist, university professor, and former FBI agent, is uniquely gifted for the task at hand—he can visualize a crime scene as if he was a bystander and can break down any set of data at a glance. Even though Page wants nothing to do with the FBI, with his city under attack and his family at risk, he steps in to find a killer in a haystack before they strike again.

Dr. Lucas Page is enjoying life with his family. An astrophysicists and father of five adopted children, he and his wife live in a happy state of constant chaos. The events of the previous winter are only a memory, until Page’s contacts at the FBI turn up once again when a bomb goes off at a super-rich event at the Guggenheim Museum. The city once more is thrown into fear and chaos and the FBI are willing to use their every tool, including Page and his extraordinary perceptions. Can Lucas return once again both to balancing the fieldwork he used to love and the family he adores?

This is the second book in the Dr Page series and while I do feel this can be read and enjoyed by itself, I also feel there are enough tendrils linking this second book back to the first that readers who usually want to keep things in order might want to begin at the first book before cracking this one open. That said the plot is entirely contained in this story and even though there are clear links between Lucas and the various FBI characters they are quite clearly explained, and most readers shouldn’t have a problem with this or following along and greatly enjoying the ride.

I was also really relieved that Page’s wife, Erin, is a lot more in the background for this novel. While I completely understand it’s a great part of conflict in the plot to have the wife unhappy with her husband being carted off for days on end to help the government and spoil their happy family times, I do feel it gets old and repetitive after a while. It’s a realistic and logical consequence of the assistance and danger Lucas is put in, but we don’t need to hear about it over and over throughout the book. I was very pleased that this took a lot more of a back seat this time around.

I also found the plot to be really fresh and, in many ways, unique. I loved that there was quite a bit of complexity layering everything together and I strongly feel that Pobi has added a few new elements into this type of story with the very different perspective Page adds into the story. It made a lot of the story feel fresh and different to me and I admit I struggled to put the book down to get on with my regular life. I found the story as a whole was quite addictive and I just kept wanting to read more and more. I ended up having a few late nights with the “just another chapter or two” mentality and that’s always the hallmark for me of an exceptional book.

With interesting characters, a really solid plot and some new twists on the old story of “bomber blows up the city” this was a good read and one I really enjoyed.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Dead Man Of Storr by JM Dalgliesh

May 28, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Dead Man Of Storr by JM Dalgliesh
Publisher: Hamilton Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Your past will find you… and it will kill you…
When the owner of a Portree gallery is found dead, lying in the snow at the foot of the Storr, D.I. Duncan McAdam and his small team must piece together what took him there… and who had a reason to kill him.

A man with a flirtatious eye and no lack of ambition, there is no shortage of people who would turn a blind eye if something happened to him… and many who would willingly kill him themselves.

As Duncan reveals the long-held secrets of the man’s life, he finds the ghosts of his own past coming back to haunt him. The course of the investigation will not only bring others into danger, but Duncan himself will have to face his own past… whether he likes it or not…

The owner of the local art gallery is found dead on the hiking path at the foot of Storr, and at first glance it appears like a tragic slip and fall in the untrustworthy weather. But DI McAdam and his team quickly realise that this was not an accident, but a very well thought out crime. As the look deeper into the owner and discover there are more than just a few people who wish him harm. Can McAdam and his team discover what really happened?

This is the second book in this Scottish police procedural series and I felt it was a solid and well written book. I must admit there were a few other strong sub-plots lurking around the edges of the main murder mystery and at a few points I wondered if they would over-shadow the police procedural and mystery element. While I do feel the author managed this balance very well, I have to admit I’m a little more interested in these subplots revolving around Duncan’s friends and past than this particular murder. I am very interested to see where the author takes this though so that’s proof that the writing and plotlines have certainly snared me.

I also really enjoy the setting of the Isle of Skye. It’s an interesting blend between small-town living and rural Scotland and I find it fascinating. It also adds an excellent atmosphere I feel and I’m very eager for more of this.

Readers who enjoy solidly written British (or Scottish in this case) police procedural stories should find this an excellent book and a good series to start. I also think readers who enjoy small-town mysteries or cozy mysteries should also find this book appeals. I didn’t think it was particularly gritty or dark (which a lot of British police procedurals can be sometimes) and so I do feel this book can cross over a few of the various mystery type genres. A really good book.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Breakout by Richard Stark

May 27, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Breakout by Richard Stark
Publisher: The University Of Chicago Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

With Parker locked up and about to be unmasked, Breakout follows his Houdini-like escape from prison with a team of convicts. But when a new heist and new dangers—con artists, snitches, busybodies, eccentrics, and cops—loom among the dark alleys and old stone buildings of the big city to which they’ve fled, Parker soon learns that not all prisons have bars.

When a rope-in caused a pharmaceutical heist to go sour, Parker finds himself locked up. Segregated away from his two – far more reliable – co-conspirators Parker needs some luck and careful planning to select his next crew. A crew which will help him break out of the prison they all currently find themselves situated in. Can Parker turn his luck around?

I have enjoyed each and every novel in this series so far and I was thrilled that this book was no exception. Like all the other novels, this caper of Parker’s is written in a quite gritty, lean and hard-boiled manner – the story pared back to the basic essentials. And what a joy it is to find such a lean style of heist adventure. Absolutely none of the previous books are needed to be read to thoroughly enjoy this. I admit I adore this series and am glad to know all the history, but in this world of heists and criminals not much of a connection or history is needed between any of the characters really.

The plot itself is fairly simple, but I do love how Stark winds it all together and creates this vivid landscape with just the bare essentials. It’s a real talent and it’s a key element in all the Parker novels. I also really love how even though the characters work together, and there is a certain amount of loyalty there, at heart they are all individuals working toward a common goal or a shared venture. That dichotomy – separate and discreet people working cohesively together but at the same time each an island to themselves – is a real pleasure to read.

While the theme is fairly hard – there is no glossing over this is a bunch of criminals performing criminal acts – it still manages to be fairly clear and without much emotional baggage to weigh it down. There is no titillation or instability to the crimes and no glorifying or dwelling on the violence. And in many respects, I find that makes reading about it easier and nowhere near as heavy as it could be.

A classic hard-boiled style of heist novel, this is an excellent read and part of a larger series I absolutely love.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Ares Virus by AP Bateman

May 17, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Ares Virus by AP Bateman
Publisher: Rockhopper Publishing (Kindle)
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The gloves are off for Secret Service agent Rob Stone as his hunt for an assassin leads him to a deadly agenda too terrible to contemplate.

For years Isobel has been working as a senior lab technician at a secret government facility working with a team under her mentor’s leadership. They have finally had a breakthrough – confirming that Ares is a virus with the potential to be a game-changing weapon of mass destruction, but thrillingly also proving significant progress with Aphrodite. Aphrodite is the antidote to Ares, and has a nearly unlimited potential, possibly the answer to cure AIDS, cancer and who knows what else. But when Isobel’s mentor is killed and she uncovers a plot to use Ares in unfathomable ways, she knows it’s up to her to try and prevent this. Secret Service Agent Rob Stone is also investigating the suspicious death and he quickly realizes that Isobel holds the key to his case. Can Isobel and Rob work together to save the world?

I have to admit my taste for “world is threatened by a virus that can kill everyone” style of stories has greatly lessened since Covid, but there were just too many factors in this story that I usually love and so I was happy to give it a try. I’m quite glad I did. This is the first book featuring Rob Stone and so readers should definitely feel like they can just pick this up fresh and not worry about any links to anything previous.

Honestly, I felt the beginning was a little slow. There was certainly a lot of plot and story-arch stuff that needed to be set up, and I was hooked enough on the science and strong female lead in Isobel that I was happy to continue reading past the first few chapters. I could understand though if readers who are used to a quicker and more action orientated style of story might find their interest wane in the beginning of this book. I’d urge readers to stick with it though, I personally could feel even after the first few chapters that the pace was certainly increasing – along with the tension and sense of danger to Isobel. And once Isobel crosses paths with Rob the action really begins in earnest and the explosiveness of the plot ramps up to a crazy pace.

There were a few really good plot twists – some of which I guessed early on, some which I found to be a delightful surprise. There was a strong cast of main and secondary characters, both good and bad, and I felt the author did a good job balancing everything out and keeping all the different balls in the air. While I do feel there is nothing earth-shatteringly unique to this plotline, I do feel the author did an excellent job in making both Isobel and Rob;s characters relatable and realistic. Readers who enjoy a thriller style “race to save the world” sort of books should find this to be a book full of intrigue and one where you definitely want to keep turning the pages.

An action based, conspiracy style of virus full length novel, this is a good read from a new-to-me author. I’ll be checking out the next in the series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Mrs. Holloway’s Christmas Pudding by Jennifer Ashley

May 14, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Mrs. Holloway’s Christmas Pudding by Jennifer Ashley
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Historical, Holiday, Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

December 1882

When Cook Kat Holloway is blamed when a dinner guest mysteriously takes ill after eating one of her meals, she sets out to prove she had nothing to do with the gentleman’s sickness. She discovers a whole host of people who might wish to do away with the man, and she and her friends—Daniel McAdam, Lady Cynthia, Mr. Thanos, and various members of the household staff—begin to hunt for the would-be killer.

Simultaneously tasked with crafting the perfect Christmas feast, including the pièce de résistance, the Christmas plum pudding, Kat frantically works to finish all, fearing she’ll have to choose between stopping a murderer and cherishing her few precious Christmas moments with her daughter.

When a guess of her employer falls mysteriously ill, Mrs Holloway is irritated when her food is instantly blamed – despite the gentlemen being the only member of the dinner party having an adverse effect. Determined to not let any whispers grow and cause trouble, Mrs Holloway is determined to investigate what is really occurring. Can she and her friends work out what’s going on while Kat simultaneously plans and cooks the perfect Christmas feast and also attempts to spend a few precious moments with her young daughter.

This is the third short story I have enjoyed set in this historical world by the author. I have enjoyed them all and equally enjoy the fact that other than the same time setting they can easily be read and thoroughly enjoyed on their own merits, and they aren’t really linked other than the characters connections. While a little suspension of belief is required – I simply can’t imagine a cook interacting so freely and warmly with any of the above-stairs people, nor having the freedom of movement to investigate a crime nor make speeches about who the dastardly villain really is etc – I nevertheless found this a well-paced and thoroughly refreshing read. Kat and her love interest, Daniel were vibrant and very well written characters and with a strong cast of equally engaging secondary characters there was plenty to hook any reader.

I also feel readers who usually don’t enjoy historical stories should feel comfortable giving this book a try. The mystery is fairly simple, but there were enough layers and twists to keep me engaged and while the historical setting was lovely, I didn’t feel like our noses were pushed too hard into it. I really feel the author has done a commendable job balancing the characters, the plot and the pacing of this Christmassy story. The blossoming romance between Mrs Holloway and Daniel is quite chaste – merely a few kisses – so readers more used to reading mystery shouldn’t find the romance aspect to the plot too overpowering.

Readers who are unsure whether to dip their feet into the connected full-length series should absolutely give this novella a try – for the cheaper price and shorter length I think it’s a lovely gateway into the world and series by this author and is in and of itself a thoroughly enjoyable short story. Recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Landscape Of Death by MS Morris

May 9, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Landscape Of Death by MS Morris
Publisher: Landmark Media
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A Murder. A Homecoming. A Day of Reckoning.
A man’s body washes up on a beach on the North Yorkshire coast with a single gunshot wound to the chest. The only clue to the victim’s identity is a ring engraved with two names.

DCI Tom Raven is back in his hometown of Scarborough for the first time in over thirty years. When offered the chance to lead the murder investigation, he takes it.

Raven quickly discovers that the prime suspect is his once teenage friend, now a wealthy but shady businessman. He finds an ally in Detective Sergeant Becca Shawcross, but not everyone in the team is on his side.

As Raven delves into the case, he is forced to confront the events that drove him away from Scarborough so many years ago. Given a chance to undo past mistakes, he must make the biggest decision of his life. But first he must learn who he can trust. Because lies can kill.

DCI Tom Raven left his hometown of Scarborough more than thirty years ago. He swore he’d never return, but when his father dies Tom decides to take a short break from his job at The Met and bury the man he hadn’t seen in three decades. When a man’s body washes up on the North Yorkshire beach, Tom finds himself drawn to investigate. He’d never considered returning home, but with little outside work to draw him back to London, he finds himself tempted to stay and close this case.

I found this to be an interesting and very well written British police procedural style of book. There are a number of strong secondary characters, and I enjoyed how while some felt a little overblown to me, the main core of the police team seemed varied, interesting and mostly realistic. I also enjoyed the way the authors managed to balance some areas of cliché along with a few new twists and freshness. It helped keep the plot moving well to my mind and when I’d think I had a good idea of what was going to happen something would turn slightly and I’d be back eagerly turning the pages.

Readers who prefer a more action-orientated plot might find this pace a little slow, but I really did prefer how there was enough detail and clues that the reader really could follow along and put it all together with the main characters. I am eager to read the next in the series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Dark Site by Patrick Lee

May 6, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Dark Site by Patrick Lee
Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

On an otherwise normal morning, former Special Forces operative Sam Dryden is the target of an unsuccessful attempted abduction. Using his attacker’s cellphone, he learns that another person, a woman named Danica Ellis, is also being targeted. Dryden arrives just in time to save Danica from the assault team sent after her. But neither of them recognize the other, or have any idea why they are being targeted. The only clue is a heavily redacted, official-looking document given to Danica by her stepfather before he was killed.

Dryden immediately recognizes it as a “scrub file.” A scrub file is a record of what a subject knew before their memories were chemically destroyed. The redacted document refers to witnesses to a secret military site in Ashland, Iowa in 1989. Both Dryden and Danica Ellis lived in Ashland in 1989, when they were both twelve years old, though neither of them has any memory of the other.

Switching back and forth between the present day, when Dryden and Danica try to elude the forces that are after them, and the past in Ashland, Iowa, when both were twelve, making a discovery that forever changed their lives, this latest Sam Dryden novel proves yet again that Patrick Lee is one of the most original, compelling thriller writers today.

On what began as a normal morning has ex-Special Forces Sam Dryden fighting off an unsuccessful abduction attempt and then following the only link to a woman called Danica Ellis. Having never laid eyes on each other, Sam is astonished when moments after his arrival Danica also is nearly abducted by a unit eerily similar to the one who attempted to abduct him. Clearly the two of them are linked somehow – but if they’ve never met how can they be connected? As they each reach back into their pasts can they solve what’s really going on before it’s too late?

This is the third book featuring Sam Dryden and while they each are very self-contained with no real links between the stories they do each have a similar feel and pace to it. I feel anyone can pick this up by itself and thoroughly enjoy the suspense and action-orientated pacing of the plotlines. In this story I was pleased that the book bounces from the present (2018) back to 1989 when the main series of events leading to the current day occurred. As Sam and Danica discover more about the past it is merged quite well with these flashbacks so the reader learns of events and connections as the two main characters do. I felt the author did a good job with this balancing enough information to keep the plot moving but without the jarring quality flashbacks often seem to have. I thought this was well handled.

Readers who enjoy a solid mystery plot with elements of bio-warfare and military angles in it, along with a nefarious enemy lurking in the shadows should find that this sort of mystery really fits the bill. While the action keeps the pace moving at quite a solid clip the book didn’t come across to me as rushed and I had time to enjoy the unraveling of the plot. Readers who enjoy a faster pace to their stories should find this really appeals to them.

With a small cast of well-rounded and interesting characters plus an interwoven plot spanning the past and present times this was a good book and an author I enjoy.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,
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