"Dominion," by Fredrick Huebner (self-published, $13.95): Shades of "Dr. Strangelove": Right-wing extremists have infiltrated the U.S. military. Armageddon looms. One president has already been assassinated by the Islamic State. The new president drops dead, leaving Elizabeth Gray, his anti-terrorism specialist, out in the field. Her boyfriend, reporter James Coulter, races to find and help Gray avert all-out war as a third, "corrupt and cynical" president takes office. "Dominion" bogs down in expository dialogue, but the thriller plot is well crafted by Hawaii resident Huebner, a retired trial lawyer and author of the Matthew Riordan crime series.

"Playing Life by Ear: Notes From Eighty-Nine Years of Living, Learning, Laughing, Loving and Believing," by Doris Markland (self-published, $16.95): If you’re hankering for a longer-lasting Hallmark moment, pick up this whimsical and wise collection of personal memories and poems. "I have an idea that our children tell us very early in their life what they would like to do when they grow up. Not in words … but in the things that give them joy consistently," writes Markland, whose joy in words is infectious. Born in Iowa, which she calls the Camelot of coffee and pie, Markland lives in Nebraska and has wintered in Hawaii for 40 years. Her writing has appeared in the Saturday Evening Post and, yes, Hallmark cards.

"Luna," by Frank Pickard (self-published, $14.97): In a porn movie house, a skinny woman with a punk hairdo stabs a man to death after committing a sexual act on him (described in graphic detail). Why? "Her powerful sense of right and wrong convinced her that there was no sin in taking the life of someone who didn’t deserve to live." She returns to her upland home on Maui and her friend Momi, who killed her abusive husband in self-defense with a spear gun. Although "Luna" lacks irony, fans of Stieg Larsson’s "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" series might appreciate its man-hunting revenge plot.

Compiled by Mindy Pennybacker, Star-Advertiser