BookTrib Spotlight: Thrillers, AI, Romance & Geology

In this week's book spotlight from (BookTrib), four diverse titles offer something for every reader. First, Jim De La Vega's “The Final Second” delivers a gripping thriller: after serial killer Eddie Ray Calhoone is executed, Sheriff Parker Chord receives a human eye and a message claiming an innocent man was put to death. When another victim appears with the Blood Smile Killer's signature, Parker calls his estranged sister, forensic psychologist Dr. Cassidy Chord, back to Georgia. With the killer announcing deadlines and political interference mounting, Cassidy must re-examine the evidence—but every clue raises the question: is she closing in, or following the killer's script? This second Mind Hunter novel combines a resourceful heroine, fiendish plotting, and irreverent Southern humor.

Larry Shields' “A Personal Mistake” follows Jeremy Walker, who has overcome a troubled childhood to run a growing AI consulting firm. He reconnects with Robin Simon, now an MIT sociology professor and the woman he once brushed aside, as he grapples with whether machines can be taught to overcome human prejudices. Kirkus Reviews calls it “a fraught lifelong friendship between a man and a woman anchors this ambitious novel of ideas,” praising Shields' “wonderfully cleareyed” depiction of AI's effects. Patricia Leavy's “Sugar Sand Land” pairs a steamy celebrity romance between reality-star-turned-influencer Emerson Blue and disgraced country singer Renn Walker with timely questions about reputation, loss, and second chances. Finally, John W. Jengo's “Scenes of Visionary Enchantment: The Geology of the Lewis and Clark Expedition” explores the expedition's overlooked scientific work, revealing the accuracy of their geological observations and inviting history buffs and rockhounds to see a familiar American journey through the geology along its path.