Do you have a selection of books all set for spring break?
These three books — all of which have a Colorado connection — are great to pack in your suitcase if you’re headed out of town or to stash by your favorite chair if you’re snowed in.
Colorado authors are welcome to share their books with us for a potential feature in the magazine. Send a copy to 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216, or email information to editor@coloradocountrylife.org.
The Patron Saints of Grocery by Adam Jonathan Kaat
Daniel is feeling the numbness stemming from an underappreciated life. New pressures from climbing the corporate ladder, protocols and regulations from the government, and the increasingly restless public all impose their will on Daniel’s dreams. Working hard to climb the ranks feels meaningless without any recognition, and the slow grind of retail life begins to take its toll. Will he finally get the push he needs to prioritize a secret alternative life or will he just fade away into the retail abyss?
Adam Kaat’s real-world, extraordinary experiences as a cashier at the onset of the pandemic prompted him to write Life on the Grocery Line (Inspired Forever Books, 2023), a book that captures the global angst and uncertainty of the time. The Patron Saints of Grocery (Inspired Forever Books, 2023), continues the saga, giving readers a look at how life plays out for the forgotten “heroes” working the front lines of essential stores after the novelty and initial shock of the crisis wears off.
The Powell Expeditions by Tim Piper
After his mother’s death, 17-year-old Jubilee Walker asks to join a scientific expedition led by a family friend: Major John Wesley Powell. Powell initially refuses, but Jubil’s persistence and resourcefulness eventually win him a place on Powell’s crew. However, Jubil’s plans for a life of adventure are complicated by his deepening feelings for his best friend, Nelly Boswell, who is reluctant to spend her life with a man who insists on such a dangerous lifestyle. How will Jubil navigate the hardships and lawlessness of the American West? And will he be forced to choose between a life of adventure and the girl he loves?
Author Tim Piper’s The Powell Expeditions (Sunshine Parade Publishing, January 2024) follows Jubilee on a westward trek during the late 1860s, where he encounters Indigenous people, survives harsh winters, learns valuable life skills, makes new friends, and discovers his journey is not just physical, but a quest to find a sense of belonging and purpose.
Jubil’s story draws on the real-life adventures of naturalist, college professor, and Civil War veteran Major John Wesley Powellduring his Colorado River exploring expeditions. Powell became the first explorer to summit Longs Peak in the Colorado Rockies and navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, fixing his place in history as one of the United States’ great explorers.
False Summit by Cam Torrens
Chaffee County Search & Rescue is known for finding lost people in the Rocky Mountain backcountry. But they’ve never lost one of their own before. Cam Torrens, author of Stable, has pumped out another psychological thriller that will have readers racing to answer the question what happened to Kristee Li?
Just as veteran pilot Tyler Zahn finally feels as if he’s recovering from the tragedies that drove him from the Air Force and his injuries sustained after his daughter’s kidnapping last year, his best friend, Kristee Li, disappears on a remote search mission. A massive effort to find her fails. No clues. No body. Kristee is presumed dead.
A fellow team member claims the disappearance is no accident, and Zahn begins to question what really happened in the mountains. Who would have wanted Kristee dead? More importantly, why? Plagued with grief, Zahn starts asking questions while slowly slipping into the same depression he’s worked so hard to escape.
Told in the alternating perspectives of Zahn’s investigation and Kristee’s last weeks leading up to her disappearance, False Summit proves that when it comes to money, sexuality, and cultural norms, the truth is in short supply.
Cam is a 30-year Air Force veteran and father of six. He and his wife live outside of Buena Vista, Colorado, where he volunteers with Chaffee County Search & Rescue-North, the Buena Vista Public Library, and Central Colorado Writers.