“The LightCap” by Dan Marshall

Genre: Science Fiction

Adaptech made its fortune with the Mind Drive, a product enabling control of electronic devices through thought. Most Metra Corp citizens adopted Mind Drive technology quickly, welcoming it as a more efficient way to interact with everything from computers to coffee machines. Now Adaptech wants to use its own employees to test a new product, an extension of Mind Drive tech known as the Lightcap.

After Adam Redmon is promoted to lead the group of programmers tasked with testing this new device, his strange dreams begin to blur into reality. When a member of his team abruptly disappears, Adam uncovers evidence showing his employers didn’t fully disclose the Lightcap’s functions and side effects. What he learns puts him directly in the crosshairs of the most powerful people in the Metra Region, people who will stop at nothing to keep their secret safe.

“Iron Branch – A Civil War Tale of a Woman In-Between” by Kelby Ouchley

Genre: Historical Romance

Iron Branch explores cultural conflicts of the American Civil War era as experienced by those not often elevated to lead roles. Abita Carter, a half-Choctaw woman who describes herself as always “in-between,” tells the story of her life and that of the young lawyer/soldier, Minor Barrett, in north Louisiana during the Civil War. The core of the tale involves Abita’s journey to find Minor, who is reported to have been wounded during the siege of Vicksburg. Along the way she faces a cast of characters with varying intentions. General Grant’s wife, a family of slaves with compassion beyond reason, and a small blind mule are among those encountered in the rich, Deep South setting. None, though, is more distracting than Minor’s blue-blooded wife, who seeks her husband for a different purpose. Abita’s state of “in-between” takes on new meanings as she is drawn ever deeper into the turmoil of the times. Passion, self-doubt, and malice finally threaten her existence in any condition.

“The Broken Saint (Detectives Seagate and Miner Mysteries)” by Mike Markel

Genre: Mystery

In The Broken Saint, Karen Seagate and Ryan Miner investigate the murder of Maricel Salizar, a young Filipino exchange student at Central Montana State. The most obvious suspect is the boyfriend, who happens to have gang connections. And then there’s Amber Cunningham, a fellow student who’s obviously incensed at Maricel for a sexual indiscretion involving Amber’s boyfriend. But the evidence keeps leading Seagate and Miner back to the professor–and LDS bishop–who brought her into his dysfunctional home. Karen Seagate takes it in stride when she and her partner learn that the professor can’t seem to tell the truth about his relationship with the victim. After all, Seagate’s philosophy is, If he breathes, he lies. But to her devout partner, a high-ranking fellow Mormon who has violated every sacred trust deserves special punishment.