Coronavirus Update From New York City: June 18, 2020

Brendan’s latest update from NYC brings some more good news. I wish the 22 states who are seeing COVID-19 surges would only take heed of the measures New York had to take.

Blind Injustice

I hope all of my readers are well today, wherever you all may be.

Last week’s post talked about how we in New York City are in Phase One of reopening. As I’m typing this, we’re on the verge of entering Phase Two, which is expected to start next Monday. It came as a bit of a surprise to me, as I had expected to maybe wait until July to get to this phase.

What does this mean? In short, a lot of places will be able to reopen, including many offices, more retail, vehicle sales, and much more. For details on what Phase Two in New York State involves, you can learn about that here.

The reopening process is by no means over (there are four phases, and we’re about to enter Phase Two here), but we have come a long way. We used to have hundreds of…

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Presidential Contrasts

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Trump & Obama

Wow. Mr. Trump is really having a bad week. Plummeting poll numbers, John Bolton, another former minion turning on him, Facebook taking down his campaign’s ads featuring a Nazi symbol, and now the Supreme Court dealing him another blow with their decision to protect DACA, at least for now.

Here is President Obama’s response on Twitter:

“Eight years ago this week, we protected young people who were raised as part of our American family from deportation. Today, I’m happy for them, their families, and all of us. We make look different and come from everywhere, but what makes us American are our shared ideals.”

And here are Mr. Trump’s two tweets:

“These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people who are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives…“

&

“Do you get the feeling the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?“

And, here’s a little nugget from the Dear Leader’s interview with the Wall Street Journal:

”I did something good. I made Juneteenth very famous. It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it.”

And finally, I’m sharing two videos with you which are further studies in contrast. The first is one taken in 2014 when President Obama decided on a spur-of-the-moment stroll through Lafayette Park. The second video is what occurred 2 1/2 weeks ago when the park was cleared of peaceful protesters so Trump could pose in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. You provide the commentary.

You may have noticed that the quote from Obama is in larger font than the rest of this post. I swear I didn’t do it on purpose. This is the weird glitch I posted about the other day, and I haven’t been able to figure out how to fix it.

 

Never Ask Me, by Jeff Abbott ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 14th, 2020

368 Pages

Synopsis: In a quiet neighborhood in the wealthy Austin suburb of Lakehaven, the body of Danielle Roberts is discovered on a park bench. Danielle was a beloved member of the community, an adoption consultant who delivered the joy of parenthood to a number of local families. Her murder shocks Lakehaven.

Perhaps no other family is as shocked as the Pollitts, who lived two houses down from Danielle and thought of her almost like family. Her death becomes the catalyst for a maelstrom of suspicion and intrigue. “You have been told a huge lie,” an anonymous email charges the son, Grant. “No one can learn the truth now,” thinks the father, Kyle. “Never ask me what I’ll do to protect my family,” resolves the wife, Iris. “I’ll do whatever it takes to save him,” vows the daughter, Julia, of Danielle’s grieving teenage son.

The Pollitts always thought they’d be there for each other. When each begins to suspect the others of the unimaginable, the strength of their bonds will be tested in extraordinary new ways. The latest from New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbott, is his most suspenseful thriller yet: a riveting tale of the dangerous secrets one family has concealed—and what happens when the question each Pollitt hoped they’d never be asked threatens to expose their darkest truths.

I’ve enjoyed Jeff Abbott’s previous books and in my humble opinion Never Ask Me will further cement his solid reputation for writing exciting twisty mystery/suspense stories filled with flawed characters who keep you guessing. While it turns out that just about everyone featured has a motive for killing Danielle, I honestly didn’t start figuring out the identity of the true culprit until the last few chapters. The mystery does segue into a somewhat crazy and convoluted plot, but as long as you can suspend disbelief, it’s still an enjoyable page turner. At its core, Never Ask Me is the quintessential summer beach read. It doesn’t require a lot of heavy thinking, and it has relatable characters whose mistakes are usually understandable and more often than not will leave you emphasizing them. If you’re looking for a thoroughly enjoyable escape, I highly recommend you give this a try!