Review: Chasm of Exiles by Seeley James

 Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Haunted by a past riddled with violence, former Army Ranger Jacob Stearne finds himself navigating the treacherous world of corporate espionage for the enigmatic billionaire, Pia Sabel.

When a renowned professor is found murdered, the prime suspect is a powerful Chinese executive, and the motive is a stolen equation capable of shifting global power: the Chaac Equation. The equation can produce batteries storing ten thousand times the kilowatt hours, powering airplanes, cars, and homes at a fraction of today’s cost. Tasked with recovering the equation, Stearne embarks on a deadly game of cat-and-mouse across continents, matching wits with the formidable Jackie Maura, a ruthless operative from the shadowy Remmo Nidal Corporation.

In this high-stakes game of covert operations—where ethical lines look like sine waves and loyalty is thinner than fog—the President denies Jacob’s existence while his boss pushes him to his limits. Forced to confront the physical and psychological toll of his profession, Stearne must confront his own demons and make choices that will determine the fate of nations and his own redemption.

As the mission’s demands grow, his girlfriend dumps him, his comrades lose faith, and assassins get him in their sights.”

Author:

To say Seeley James has led an interesting life would be an understatement. Give the biography on the About page on his website a read and you’ll discover an interesting life that includes adopting a three-year old girl as a single father at only 19. (Be sure to click the link to dig into the details involved there.)

Appraisal:

While this is the fourteenth book in Seeley James’ Jacob Stearne Thriller series, it is only the second that I’ve read, but based on the first I read, this seems to fit the same pattern. The premise of the book is an interesting one that pulls a reader in. There are lots of characters, some obviously the good guys, some obviously not, and some it isn’t clear which category they fit. The odds of someone getting moved from one of those categories to another is always a possibility as well. How things are going to turn out, who is going to survive (or not) and how the story is eventually going to reach a resolution of some kind is never clear. Just when you think you see a resolution coming, things get shaken up. It makes for an intense story that kept me going, trying to put the pieces together, but never being certain of where the story was going to take me next.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Although part of a series, each book stands alone.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 120-125,000 words

Review: Double Takedown by Kevin G. Chapman

 

Genre: Police Procedural/Crime Thriller

Description:

“What happens when a closed case breaks wide open?

NYPD homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and Jason Dickson are preparing to testify at a high-profile murder trial. They busted the Broadway director, who poisoned his leading actor to collect the insurance money on his doomed show. Or did he? The director claims the evidence was planted to frame him and that Mike and Jason developed tunnel vision. If they did, can they live with themselves, knowing that an innocent man might be convicted . . . and someone else got away with the perfect crime?

The prosecutor and their captain order them not to re-opening the closed case. But Mike and Jason are plagued by doubts. When new evidence leads to even more questions, the detectives race to put the pieces together and uncover the whole truth. But their unauthorized investigation could lead to catastrophic collateral damage, could cost them their badges, and the director may still be guilty.”

Author:

A lawyer specializing in labor and employment law by day, Kevin Chapman describes his real passions as playing tournament poker, rooting for the New York Mets, and writing fiction. For more, visit Mr Chapman’s website.

Appraisal:

I’ve read several of the thrillers featuring Mike Stoneman and enjoyed them all. This one was no exception. Just as we would expect in a book like this, homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and his partner Jason Dickson experience some tense situations. They have to figure out where to dig to find the answers they’re searching for and put all the pieces together to find the solution, just like with any good police detective mystery. However, this one has a twist that isn’t so common. That is the “case” they’ve decided to investigate is already solved, at least from an official point of view. They arrested a culprit and he’s headed for trial. But now they’re questioning whether they got the right guy. Maybe they did, but there were accomplices who should also be arrested.

I found myself torn about this story. Obviously, the guilty parties should be found and arrested. If the person that is set to go on trial is innocent, he should be let go. But what Stoneman and Dickson do to continue digging worried me. That their bosses told them not to dig bothered me and also caused me to worry that by going behind their boss’s back that it was going to backfire on them. I guess my feelings were conflicted, wanting the guilty parties to pay the price, but not wanting the good guys to get into trouble or cross the line to no longer being the good guys. All of that just upped the tension even more.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

While part of a series each book in the series stands alone. There is no need to have read the previous books to understand and follow this one.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on the ARC (advance reader copy), so I can’t gauge the final product in area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Reprise Review: Descending Moon (Totem Book 8) by Christine Rains

 

Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Mystery/Mythology

Description:

“Some say the moon is for lovers, but wise folks know to fear it.

Kinley Dorn must be strong for her family in these dark times. Sometimes she feels she’s all that’s holding them together. But when the frightening Moon Man attacks and bestows a burdensome gift upon her, Kinley might have to do more than simply help her family. She will have to battle a god, but which one? If it’s the sly man hunting her in the astral plane, Kinley might not make it out alive.”

Author:

“Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not reading or writing, she's going on adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of S.C.I.F.I. and Untethered Realms. She has one novel and several novellas and short stories published. Her newest urban fantasy series, Totem, is almost complete at nine books.”

To learn more visit Ms. Rains website or stalk her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

This addition to the series centers mainly on Kinley and the myth about the Moon Man. Ms. Rains has done a wonderful job building her myths in this series. The plot moves fast as Christmas is approaching and the bear totem looms closer than ever. So why has the Moon Man chosen Kinley to terrorize?

One thing I really enjoyed was a larger role for the local vampire, Bert Ellsworth. The Dorn sisters are building and designing Bert’s new home in the wilderness. Ransom, Kinley’s boyfriend, is also Bert’s personal assistant. His help becomes dire for Kinley and I hope to see more of him in the future.

Descending Moon is action packed and full of tension with a shocking ending on more than one level. That fact alone makes book eight exceptional. I’m not sure how they are going to manage getting all the tokens to put the totem pole back together to save all shifters in one more book. However, I am looking forward to finding out.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Descending Moon is book eight in the TOTEM series. It is important to read this series in order as events build, and characters grow from other books in the series.

Be warned about sensitive adult topics and there are several F-bombs.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant proofing issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ? wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: Bending the Arc by Nicholas Gretener

 

Genre: Legal Thriller

Description:

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. --- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jonathan Hendrix, the youngest U.S. Attorney General in history, knows that bending the arc won’t happen on its own, help is needed. He is determined to curb runaway civil jury awards that are threatening to destabilize the economy.

Graduating law school, Steve Shane is a top wall street prospect. Shunning the big firms, he sets up his own practice and six years later has developed a solid reputation as a commercial litigator.

Hendrix recruits Shane to create LawForce, a government-supported, legal SWAT team to be deployed in key cases where an inequality of counsel threatens bad verdicts. Their first case – Green Action Coalition v. Wildcat Oil & Gas.

A medium sized oil and gas company, Wildcat is plagued by an apparently random series of environmental accidents. Not accidents according to the Green Action Coalition, a leader in the new era of aggressive environmental litigation, but evidence of a pattern of negligence. The damages sought by the GAC have the potential to destroy Wildcat. Acting for the GAC is a high-powered team of legal eagles from the blue-chip firm of Todd Ives Tillington, led by senior partner Andrew Tillington III. Wildcat appears hopelessly outclassed . . . then Shane is retained.

Shane and LawForce discover they are in for more than just a tough legal battle as they negotiate the twists and turns of the case to its explosive courtroom finale.”

Author:

A retired lawyer who splits his time between Calgary, Alberta, Switzerland, and Hawaii, this is author Nick Gretener’s first published novel. He says that he is convinced that if people read more that the world would be a better place.

Appraisal:

This was a fun read as well as having an interesting concept to get the reader thinking. If you like legal thrillers like you might get from John Grisham, to pick someone from the top of the heap, then this book would be a good fit. Like any good thriller or mystery, it keeps you guessing as new information is uncovered. Even though the reader is clued in on some things that the good guys in the book don’t figure out until the end, the reader is still going to be getting surprised as more of the story unfolds.

Along with the legal thriller aspects this story also has some interesting ideas and concepts for the reader to consider. For example LawForce, the secret government team put together to help even things out for the little guy (in this case a small company) in this book. In some ways it feels like a good idea, in others, maybe not. But the thinking behind it and how things turn out in this book versus how we can guess things would have happened without them sure got me considering some of the weaknesses in the US legal system. Definitely an enjoyable and thought provoking read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Review: Miranda Fights by Gail Ward Olmsted

 

Genre: Legal Thriller/Women’s Fiction

Description:

“Miranda Quinn is back in the courtroom working as a legal aid attorney when she's asked to represent Lennon, the daughter of a high school friend currently serving time in prison. Still struggling with guilt from the role she played in her friend's downfall, Miranda agrees to help.

The former assistant DA has given up a lucrative career as a legal talk radio host to better serve her community. In her spare time, she volunteers as a counselor for at-risk teens. It's challenging but rewarding, at least until the young women begin to mysteriously disappear. As Miranda struggles to find out who is responsible, it becomes clear that Lennon is in danger as well. As the police piece together Miranda's clues, they realize they're dealing with a much larger and farther-reaching organization than they had expected.

Miranda has faced her share of adversaries, both in and out of the courtroom. To expose the sex traffickers preying on the group of girls she has sworn to protect, she'll need to keep her eyes and ears open. But to save the one young woman who needs her most, she'll have to open her heart.

She's in for the fight of her life.”

Author:

Gail Ward Olmsted was a marketing executive and a college professor before she began writing fiction on a full-time basis. A trip to Sedona, AZ inspired her first novel Jeep Tour. Three more novels followed before Landscape of a Marriage, a biographical novel featuring landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, a distant cousin of her husband's, and his wife Mary. Miranda Fights is the third book in the Miranda Quinn Legal Twist series. Olmsted enjoys writing about quirky, wonderful women in search of a second chance at a happy ever after. When not writing, she loves being on the water, especially in a kayak. She is well known for her blonde brownies, and coffee is her love language. For more, visit her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

The main story line of this book, or at least what appears to be the main story line, which is the protagonist Miranda Quinn representing Lennon, the daughter of a high school friend, provides thought-provoking and solid foundation for this book. But the story lines that branch off from it are what makes it such a great read. These range from recognizing and helping uncover a sex trafficking operation happening in the area to figuring out how to balance conflicting needs between Miranda’s career and her husband’s, not to mention coming to coming to terms with the history between Miranda and Lennon’s mother. I found that I liked and cared about the main characters early on, so was eager for them to figure out and resolve their issues and was glad to be invited to come along for the ride by reading this book.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on an advance reviewer copy, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Life Walk by Melissa Bowersock

 Genre: Mystery/Supernatural

Description:

“In between cases dealing with ghosts and hauntings, paranormal investigators Lacey and Sam lead a normal life, but of course life never goes quite as planned. First they are shocked by an announcement from their son, Daniel, then Lacey’s former coworker, Shirley So, confesses to a problem with her three-year-old grandson, Toby. No ghosts are involved, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t souls that have lost their way. Using what they’ve learned in their cases over the years, Sam and Lacey attempt to help Toby, but are his irrational ramblings just imagination… or memories?”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: paranormal, biography, western, action, romance, fantasy, spiritual, and satire.”

For more visit Ms.Bowersock’s website and follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

I’m not sure how many of the now 44 books in this series I’ve read. Definitely not all of them, but at least a handful or two. In spite of being outside of the genres I read most often, at least in some ways, specifically the supernatural or ghostly aspects of the stories, I find myself easily able to suspend disbelief on those parts of the stories. At their core though they are all mysteries with the difference being that what Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud do to solve these mysteries is an approach much different from what a typical protagonist in a mystery would do. These mysteries typically involve ghosts, but this one is outside the norm, instead involving a real live person who has some similarities to the ghosts Lacey and Sam typically help. This twist only adds to the mystery involved as well as making it even more of a mystery as regular readers of the series have even less clue as to how this might be resolved. (Sam and Lacey have to figure new things out themselves.) As always with this series, this was a quick, fun, and engaging read that gets the reader pulling for all the characters to solve the mystery and get through their current difficulties.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Review: What Money Can’t Buy (Book 1 in the Harry Miller Trilogy) by Joe Halliday

 

Genre: Thriller

Description:

Harry Miller, ex-special forces, is hunted down in Slovenia by powerful forces working outside the law to bring to heel other powerful forces working outside the law. Thereafter we whizz through London and immediately head for Thailand, where most of the action takes place; mainly in Bangkok.

One fears such shadowy forces may well exist, world-wide. And not just in fiction. Fortunately they are not usually bothered with little fish. However, in our world of uber-big business and mega-smuggling operations, the scenario is oh-so believable. Little fish do sometimes get sucked into the orbit of these behemoths. And not all escape alive.

Author:

Joe Halliday has a degree from Exeter University in Britain and a Masters in Creative Writing from the same institution. Thereafter he spent a couple of years in Marketing, before becoming a freelance writer.

He has ghost-written a number of acclaimed works of fiction. He also writes non-fiction. And is now writing under his own name.

He reads obsessively in a wide range of genres.

He splits his time between the UK and Spain.

Appraisal:

What are soldiers good for when they’ve been chewed up in a conflict zone and retired with PTSD? They become assassins, or criminals, or work in security. Or perhaps all three. And although they may swear off the killing, some of them really miss it. After all, if you’ve sacrificed everything you ever loved for the armed forces, what else is going to get your pulse racing?

There is not a lot of humour in this book. But there is a LOT of action, beautifully put on the page, which will have you turning said pages over like a mad thing. There is never a dull moment. This deserves to be a movie. Or a mini-series.

The action flits and sips. It begins, for instance with ‘Them’ coming for a journalist (not in a good way). The reason for this is withheld for so long that I had quite forgotten about her when that piece of the plot was slotted (neatly) into place. This is not the only change of tack. You need to go with the flow but do try to remember what happened when the story goes off piste – it will become important. To paraphrase Chekhov, all of the guns over various mantlepieces get fired at some point.

There are two more books (as you can see above this is the first in a trilogy) all of which are now available for your nail-biting pleasure.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Reprise Review: Interludes by Marc Twine

 Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“A collection of short stories designed for people on-the-go. Each tale offers respite for busy people in a hectic world. Every quick read is perfect for coffee breaks, lunch breaks—or just those moments when you simply need a break from the routine.”

Author:

Marc Twine describes himself as a “retired critical care nurse, history buff, and short story aficionado.”

Appraisal:

Twenty-three short stories that average a couple thousand words each. The perfect length for a quick read. When I got to the end and saw the author’s short bio that mentioned he is a history buff, it was no surprise, as many of the stories integrate history into them in some fashion. The author also mentions liking to travel which explains the reason why his stories often take place in very specific places from the hill country of Texas to Chicago and New York, to Australia and Europe. The unique qualities of the places figure into those stories.

All of that is good, but what really stood out for me reading these stories were two other things. One, that these stories felt complete. I never felt like I was left hanging, or that I needed to fill in too many of the gaps myself, which is almost to be expected in a collection with stories this size. Second, the author has a talent of ending a story on just the right note. So many of the stories I was rolling along, liking the story, when suddenly I hit the end. But the last paragraph, sentence, sometimes even the last word (onions was the word in one case) was exactly what was needed to tie everything up perfectly. I was impressed.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Review: Never Have I Ever by Harker Jones

 

Genre: Horror/LGBTQ

Description:

“Trust no one. Because it could be anyone.

When eight teenagers in a small Michigan town start receiving texts urging them to play Never Have I Ever, they find themselves caught up in a deadly game of secrets, repentance and retribution that may be connected to a girl who disappeared the year before.

As they start getting killed by someone in a scarecrow costume — or is it a costume? — the school bully sets out to discover who’s playing the prank in hopes of redeeming his past behavior.

And staying alive.

But will he figure it out before that past catches up to him?”

Author:

After growing up on a dirt road in a small Michigan town, Harker Jones moved to Los Angeles where he is an author, both of books and for magazines as well as a screenwriter and editor. For more, check out his website.

Appraisal:

This is an interesting book. If you were a teen in the late 90s or a parent of a teen in that same era then some of the references might give you flashbacks of that time. (The genre is horror and for some taking you back to then might make it even scarier.) Even if you can’t relate to that era you’ll probably still be able to relate to what the teen years are like for most of us. If you’ve had experience living in a small town and how life there can be different then you’ll relate to what the kids in this book go through even more. Along with the horror aspect you’ve got a mystery or two at work which kept this reader engaged as I tried to figure out all the pieces, guessing wrong way more than I want to admit as I tried to figure out what was going on and anticipate how it was going to end. The result was an engaging and entertaining read, even if some of those flashbacks to the late 90s weren’t so great.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: The 9th Witness by Rebecca Forster

Genre: Legal Thriller

Description:

“No good deed goes unpunished: this time it's going to be brutal.

Christmas is coming and the world is joyful for everyone but Josie Bates. A devastating miscarriage, her employer’s pending retirement, and her husband’s overseas job have left her alone and adrift—until Lily Daye dies and names Josie executor of her estate. Josie has no idea who this woman is, but her will is simple and her possessions meager. In the spirit of the season, Josie accepts the job. Yet behind Lily’s seemingly modest existence lies a complex, mysterious life. When an eccentric tech mogul turns up to contest the will, the only spirit Josie is channeling is one of outrage that her life is being upended and Lily’s last wishes disrespected. Up against a high-powered, ruthless attorney, a court on a schedule, and an entitled man with more money than God, Josie is determined to protect her client’s interests or die trying.”

Author:

“Rebecca Forster is the USA Today bestselling author of Keeping Counsel. She has written in many genres but her legal thrillers have been called, 'Perfect. Impossible to put down,' by the CBS legal correspondent

She holds a BA from Loyola University, Chicago and an MBA from Loyola University, Los Angeles.

Married to a superior court judge and the mother of two sons, she teaches at UCLA writers program, volunteers in classrooms and speaks in many venues around the country.”

For more, visit Ms. Forster’s website. 

Appraisal:

I’ve read and loved lots of Rebecca Forster’s books over the years, in multiple series. If forced to pick a favorite The Witness Series with Josie Bates would probably be my pick. This one had a lot of elements that kept me engaged with a tendency to reveal something at the end of the chapter that made me want to immediately start reading the next chapter. Josie spends some time in court and experiences some tense situations that make the legal thriller classification a good fit for this. There is a lot of mystery to it (with her client, Lily Daye, being deceased, Josie has to figure out what Lily’s estate consists of, where the person who is supposed to inherit it is, and as the story unfolds lots of other mysteries pop up). We’ve also got some other twists dealing with new technology and Lily’s past that only complicate matters more. It makes for an engaging, fun read that kept me guessing as to where things were headed right to the end.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on an advance reviewer copy, so I’m unable to gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words