Reprise Review: Shadowcursed by Gelo Fleisher

 

Genre: Fantasy

Description:

“Bolen is a thief, plying his trade under the spires of an ancient and sprawling city. Worried that he's growing too old, Bolen has lined up a risky job, just to prove that he can still pull one off.

Tonight, he's going to break into a nobleman's vault and help himself to its contents. What he doesn't know is that inside is the key to a secret as old as the city itself.

Kings have killed for it, demons have coveted it, priests have prayed for it, and in a few moments it will be in his hands. And when it is, the adventure of his life will begin.”

Author:

“Gelo R. Fleisher is an author and game developer. He lives on the East Coast, with his wife and daughter.” This is Mr. Fleisher’s debut story and you can find out more about him at his blog.

http://gfleisher.blogspot.com/

Appraisal:

This fantasy novella was a nice surprise. Mr. Fleisher has written an enthralling story full of descriptive prose that will pull you into the story so thoroughly you can practically smell the stench. He has also given us a bad guy to root for as we sit on the edge of our seats as the plot twists and turns.

The story is character driven as we follow Bolen down the streets and alleys as Fleisher paints us stark pictures of the corruptness throughout this ancient city and its ruling family.  When Bolen gets his hands on a coveted ruby statue, which he steals from the safe inside the fortress walls, we know it is magical. The story behind it is fascinating in and of itself, the powers it wields may even be considered miraculous.

As a twist of fate, Bolen is then enlisted by a shadowy figure to steal this statue that he has already stolen and fenced. The story that unfolds is an original and captivating rollercoaster ride that will leave the reader fully satisfied. I think this is an Indie author to watch for in the future.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: Shadowcursed by Gelo Fleisherwas a nominee in the Fantasy category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran October 5, 2013.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: Retribution by D.V. Berkom

 

Genre: Thriller/Historical/Western

Description:

“Spring 1880: Claire Whitcomb and her family are building a good life near the boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, when tragedy strikes: a group of renegades attack, killing everyone but Claire and burning their home. Not knowing who to turn to, Claire teams up with Mart Duggan, the town’s tough-as-nails marshal, to track down the outlaws responsible. Duggan and his friend, Thomas, a local Ute, skirt the law to get results, but that’s fine by Claire.

She’s gunning for the men who destroyed her life—and won’t settle for anything less than retribution.”

Author:

“DV Berkom is the USA Today bestselling author of action-packed, riveting adventure and crime thrillers. Known for creating resilient, kick-ass female characters and page-turning plots, her love of the genre stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, action/adventure stories, and thrillers.”

Appraisal:

As DV Berkom’s bio states, she writes books featuring kick-ass females as the lead character. This book is the first of a new series featuring Claire Whitcomb. She definitely fits that pattern, in that she can figuratively apply the foot where it needs to go. But she’s also different than Leine Basso and Kate Jones, the stars of Berkom’s two series prior to this, in a couple ways. The most obvious one is that rather than happening in contemporary times Claire is operating a few years prior to Kate and Leine, in the 1880s to be exact. That difference in time and place is the most obvious difference, but if you’re a fan of Berkom’s other books, you’ll spot other differences as well.

This story is intense, with the reader pulling for Claire to not only avenge the death of her children for reasons of justice, but also to protect herself from shouldering the blame and to position her to be able to move on with life as much a possible. Claire is an extremely likeable character. I don’t read a lot of historical books, especially westerns, but find that I enjoy them when I do. That was the case with this as well. While this story comes to a clean end, it ends with you wanting to continue finding out what happens to Claire next, and there are at least two other books that are scheduled to follow this in the series, possibly more.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This is the first book in the series.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Reprise Review: Thrall by Jennifer Quintenz

 

Genre: YA/Coming of Age/Paranormal

Description:

“Braedyn is a normal girl just trying to survive high school with her two devoted friends, Royal and Cassie. Together they're doing a pretty good job of shrugging off the slings and arrows cast their way by the popular crowd when a new boy, Lucas, moves into the house next door. Suddenly Braedyn finds herself falling in love for the first time.

But as her sixteenth birthday approaches, Braedyn discovers humankind is at war with the Lilitu, an ancient race of enticing demons that prey on human souls. Her father is a member of the Guard fighting against the Lilitu - and so are the new neighbors, including her crush, Lucas.

As her world starts to unravel at the seams, Braedyn learns the right answers aren't always clear or easy. And as for ’good‘ and ’evil‘ - it all depends on how we choose to act.

Inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian myths of Lilith and her offspring, Thrall explores first love, strong friendships, and taking on adult responsibilities against the backdrop of powerful supernatural forces and life-and-death stakes.”

Author:

“Jennifer is a film and television writer, author, and graphic novelist. She has written for Twentieth Television, Intrepid Pictures, and Archaia Studios Press. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.”

This is the first book in her The Daughters Of Lilith trilogy.

To learn more about Ms. Quintenz, visit her website.

Appraisal:

Braedyn’s life is turned upside down and sideways in this creative coming of age story. The Guard, a Special Forces group of human soldiers, thinks they have found a way to combat a coming war with the Lilitu, who are trying to break down the wall between the two worlds to take over earth. As Braedyn’s birthday approaches, she learns she is not who she thinks she was all these years growing up and neither is her father. This story examines nature verses nurture in an interesting thought provoking way as we experience life through Braedyn’s eyes.

I found the story compelling and my suspension of disbelief was easy to achieve. Ms. Quintenz did an excellent job conveying the high school tension between certain cliques in and out of school. Her characters were well rounded and the situations they found themselves in were realistic for the most part. This story has the potential for being an intriguing series. I hope the sequels will spend more time with Karayan. She had a disturbing upbringing and I hope that Braedyn can help her work through issues caused by that. There is potential for a mutually beneficial relationship between these two I would love to see explored.

There was a lot of high stakes action as the winter solstice moves closer and the Lilitu converge on the town turning young men into Thralls to build an army to battle the Guard on this side of the Wall. When a new unit of Guards and spotters converge, chaos ensues and Braendyn is put to the test to prove whose side she is really on. Will Braedyn’s humanity be enough to over-power her genetics?  Only time will tell in this original, action-packed series.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Thrall is book 1 in Ms. Quintenz’s, Daughters Of Lilith series.

Added for Reprise Review: Thrall by Jennifer Quintenz was the WINNER in the Young Adult category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran August 19, 2013

Format/Typo Issues:

There are a few proofing issues, not enough to significantly impact my reading enjoyment.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: His Enemy's Son by Iyana Jenna

 

Genre: Romance/Thriller/Short Story

Description:

“Young oil mogul Luke Garrett can't get his business counterpart to return his calls after a deal goes bad. After making every effort to contact the man, Luke decides to kidnap his former partner's son, Alex, to gain the man's attention to their shared problem.

Alex Parker is celebrating his eighteenth birthday by getting drunk with his best friend ... and studiously avoiding the debutantes his father tries to throw his way. His night of revelry is cut short when he finds himself a houseguest of a rather unconventional abductor.

Though he's angry and scared, Alex is drawn to Luke, whose plan falls apart when his attraction to Alex generates a change of heart. Luke can't do anything else but turn himself in to the police, much to Alex's dismay. Will Alex lose his chance at something great before it even begins?”

Author:

Iyana Jenna writes sweet romance, aimed at young or not-so-young adults with the two parties in the romance almost always being men. For more, visit their website.

Appraisal:

I describe this short story as a thriller as well as a romance, since the protagonist, Alex, is abducted, more or less, and then finds himself attracted to his abductor. Obviously, if this is a romance, that feeling must be reciprocated as well. Possibly needless to say, these seemingly contradictory things serve to make this quick read extremely quirky. Quirky enough that a reader who picked up the story with any expectations might not find what they hoped for. Luckily my only desire was for a short read outside of my norm, so it worked for me. It was both short and way outside my norm.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Definitely not explicit. Sex may be implied, but barely.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 8-9,000 words

Review: An Unacceptable Christmas by Bruce Edwards

 

Genre: Young Adult/Coming of Age/Christmas

Description:

“All 6-year-old Michael wants for Christmas is to welcome home his missing father. Stating his wish in a letter to Santa would be the norm for one so young, only the cheerless boy has never heard of the jolly old elf. Federal courts have ruled, once and for all, that Santa Claus does not exist. Lawmakers have thereby banned displaying Santa’s likeness and singing songs that mention his name. Outraged, Michael's teenage sister launches a spirited campaign to force Congress to repeal the ban, insisting that believing in Santa Claus is every child's right.”

Author:

“Bruce Edwards writes young-adult fiction that explores relevant subjects. Topics range from the trappings of modern technology, to the wickedness of corporate greed, to the absurdity of Washington politics. Case in point is his award-winning The Age of Amy series and An Unacceptable Christmas.

Through fantasy and imagination, Bruce's compelling stories promote an optimistic worldview. States the author: ‘Kids today see a troubled world and simply ask, Is this the best you can do? His books encourage young folks to explore alternatives to the status quo.’”

More may be viewed at Mr. Edwards’ website, or follow him on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Sixteen-year-old Holly Jenkins takes her younger brother, Michael, to the mall to check out the Christmas decorations and activity booths offered its customers. While there a rogue Santa asks Michael if he has been a good boy this year. Adults freak-out, mall security is called, then the police arrest Santa, and news crews show up to speak to eye witnesses. It’s been ten years since the Santa ban has been signed into law making it a federal offense to display, sing about, or tell stories that include Santa. Christmas has survived the ban with little impact. Holly remembers this time well, but Michael, at six-years-old, has no idea who the man in the red suit is or what he did wrong. Holly gives Michael a bare bones explanation. If she had just left out the part about how children used to write Santa Claus letters with their Christmas wishes.

Holly’s father is a skilled physician who volunteered his services to a war torn area overseas. When Nora, Holly and Michael’s mother, gets a phone call from the State Department which informs her that her husband is missing, Michael over hears. In his effort to help he pens, well crayons, a letter to Santa for help to find his father. He doesn’t want gifts all he wants is for his father to come home. Then hands the letter to Holly to mail to Santa for him. He doesn’t realize this is a federal offence that could land his sister in jail. 

Now Holly is on a mission to get the Santa ban revoked by suing the Federal Government. She contends the Santa ban infringes on people’s rights and is therefore unconstitutional. She starts at the city council meeting and speaking to talk show hosts. Each new challenge she has to up her game. There are several twists and some devastating blows where Holly has to battle her conscience and remind herself that Santa invokes hope, good will, and joy. And that is worth the fight she is faced with.

The story has a nice pace and the events pull you into the story. Holly is wise beyond her years. She has been raised to confront problems in a logical way, and won’t give up a fight for a good cause. I loved watching her grow in character and challenge authorities. An Unacceptable Christmas is a uniquely inspiring tale that is told creatively and with heart. The secondary characters add depth and help carry the story to a satisfying conclusion. 

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

None, zero, zilch.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Reprise Review: The 11:15 Bench by Paul Kijinski

 

Genre: General Fiction

Description:

 Roger, a forty-five-year-old school teacher, reminisces about his past, and in particular a four-year-long teenage romance with Regina Tucci--the love of his life.

Author:

Paul Kijinski is the author of the novel Camp Limestone, a winner of the 2007 Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers, and other works of middle grade fiction. The 11:15 Bench is his first novel for adult readers.

Kijinski was born in Garfield Heights, Ohio, and earned degrees from Oberlin College, The Ohio State University, and John Carroll University. He began writing seriously while serving as a missile officer in the U.S. Air Force. The solitude of underground launch control centers provided a uniquely rich environment for putting pen to paper. His final assignment in the military was teaching English at the Air Force Academy.

Kijinski is currently an elementary school teacher in South Euclid, Ohio. He and his wife, Eileen, have two adult sons.

You can check out Mr. Kijinski’s other books on his Amazon Author page or follow him on Facebook.

Appraisal:

A lovely story, tenderly told. The author weaves his tale against the backdrop of a small mid-western university town with such care and attention to detail that the location really came alive for me. Regina hails from an Italian community, and Roger’s parentage is Polish. The cultural observations, particularly amongst the older generation are fascinating and fun.

Our narrator shares anecdotes from his past, and his joy and regret over his romance with Regina as though he were a friend reminiscing with us over a cup of coffee at the local diner.

I suspect some of this story is based in fact—after all the author lives and teaches in the Mid-West where the novel is set, went to the same university as the main character, and also happens to be a school teacher. So I hope Mr. Kijinski won’t be offended when I say at times I wanted to shake Roger and tell him to wake up, to be more assertive, to ‘go for it.’ But part of the character’s charm is that he’s so real, and he shows human frailties and makes mistakes as we all do.

The writing flows: wave-like, smooth, and thoroughly engaging. I’m glad I read The 11:15 Bench. I suspect you will be too.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: The 11:15 Bench by Paul Kijinski was a nominee in the Contemporary/General Fiction category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran January 22, 2014.

Format/Typo Issues:

None—and I mean none! Kudos, Mr. Kijinski.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Review: Dragons Don’t Eat Meat by Kim McDougall

 

Genre: Paranormal/Suspense/Fantasy

Description:

“Someone is killing dragons. And the killings point to a civil war brewing among the fae.

When Kyra Greene finds an abandoned baby dragon, she doesn’t want to bring him home. But until she can hunt down his thunder and stop the dragon killers, she’s on babysitting duty. As a pest controller with a soft heart, Kyra already has an apartment full of rescues, including a basilisk who thinks he’s a turkey, a banshee nanny, and even a pygmy kraken. She might take care of them, but they also fill her need for family. And when that family is threatened, she’ll risk everything to save them. She’ll even join forces with the handsome and irritating captain of the city’s vigilante Guardians, who never fails to show up at her most undignified moments.

Along with a quirky cast of misfits and unruly critters, Kyra leaves the safety of Montreal Ward and travels through the dangerous Inbetween—the land beyond the protected city states, where magic is the only rule of law. Can she reunite the lost dragon with his thunder and stop a new and sinister force from invading their home?”

Author:

“If Kim McDougall could have one magical superpower, it would be to talk to animals. Or maybe to shift into animal form. Definitely, fantastical critters and magic often feature in her stories. So until she can change into a griffin and fly away, she writes dark paranormal action and romance tales from her home in Ontario, Canada.”

To learn more about Ms. McDougall visit her website, or follow her onFacebook.

Appraisal:

Kyra Greene has worked hard trapping nuisance critters and re-homing them if possible. A hand-painted sign over her office door professes, “Valkyrie Pest Control.” It’s a huge space where she has cages, aquariums, and terrariums that line two walls full of rescued Fae beasts, otherworld rodents, lizards, birds, and bugs. Each critter has either been orphaned or cannot survive alone. Kyra has a soft heart and has taken in these misfits. She also houses a banshee, Gita, who lives in a closet. She does what she can to help Kyra with the critters when she’s out on a job. Kyra also hosts a blog where she posts the things she has learned about her menagerie of critters and takes questions from her followers.

When Kyra happens upon a thunder of dragons being corralled by poachers she’s mesmerized, dragons are a part of myths and legends, and she’s never seen one before. Kyra battles the poachers and sets the dragons free, all except a baby dragon who can’t fly. She vows to find the baby’s thunder and return him. Kyra names him Ollie, short for Ollivicenzanhe-axl. Which Gita said was his proper name.

Ms. McDougall has created a unique magical world and lays it out well enough for the reader to mentally step into it. The characters are well developed and likeable. The banter between Kyra and Mason, the Captain of the Guardians, is entertaining and laced with a slow burn sexual tension. Both have suffered heartbreaks and have walled off their hearts. Mason joins Kyra on her search for the dragon’s thunder, convinced that one of the dragons or Ollie have eaten a magic artifact he needs to find, so they spend a lot of time together.

There is a Fae war brewing that comes to light. The addition of this story arc throws a lot of curve balls into the story. The bad guys are diabolical and of the nastiest sort. And they have opened a door from the Inbetween into the protected city state in which Kyra lives. The climactic battle is bloody and devastating for both sides. However, that is not the end of the story. Things slowly start looking up for Kyra. While she is still cleaning up the damage done to her office and living space, she has found a handsome assistant, Gabe, who isn’t bothered by her menagerie or Gita. Ollie returns for a visit and, on a huge pile of dung, deposits the magic artifact Mason has been searching for.

I found this tale entertaining and suspenseful. Ms. McDougall knows how to weave a story to keep the reader turning the pages to see what will happen next.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Dragons Don’t Eat Meat is the first book in Kim McDougall’s, Valkyrie Bestiary Series.

Format/Typo Issues:

Nothing to note.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: The Secret of Rosalita Flats by Tim W. Jackson

 

Genre: Mystery

Description:

“The Secret of Rosalita Flats follows a man trying to unload the football-shaped house he inherited, while dodging the backwater Blacktip Island's quirky collection of con artists, smugglers and other ne'er-do-wells: an ornery housekeeper who refuses to be fired, a rum-soaked attorney with his own agenda, a chair-wielding resort manager who thinks he's an avenging angel, and a self-styled psychic who may be able to see the future. There's also a mysterious someone--or something--trying to scare Cal off the island. Cal has to figure out what his old man was mixed up in, fast, if he's to sell the house and get off the crazy little rock alive.”

Author:

A former photojournalist, Tim W. Jackson now splits his time between captaining a boat, teaching people how to scuba dive, and writing. He has one novel, Mangrove Underground (in addition to this one) as well as multiple short stories available, all set on the tropical Blacktip Island. For more, visit Mr Jackson’s website.

Appraisal:

Throw an apparently normal guy, Cal, into a strange situation, in a strange place, and surround him with people who I don’t want to call strange (only because I’m being overly nice, you’d call them strange). I’ll call them unique, yeah, that’s it. Then have, ummm, … the thesaurus suggests bizarre might be an alternative, so have bizarre things start happening, and you’ve got a high-level idea of what this book is like. At first it seemed like a fairly straightforward situation (at least if inheriting a property … make that maybe inheriting a property owned by your late, estranged father who you’ve been cutoff from for years is straightforward). There was a quirky housekeeper and the house had some idiosyncrasies, but still, things didn’t seem that strange. But as the story went on rather than getting more clear as to what was happening and where things were going it got more confusing and kookier (the thesaurus pointed the way for that word too). Ultimately The Secret of Rosalita Flats was a fun and enjoyable read that kept me entertained and guessing, but be warned, just when you think things are starting to make sense, the story is likely to go in some odd, off-kilter direction.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: The Janus Affair by Lilla Csorgo

 

Genre: Mystery/Women’s Fiction

Description:

“Deceit and disappearing acts.

Janice's husband, Ric, has gone missing.

The police are at Janice's door, and so is the media. Pictures of Ric and the seductive but unstable daughter of the prime minister have hit the news.

‘Have you ever suspected your husband of leading a double life?’ asks the detective.

To make matters worse, Ric’s former fiancée, Justine, is alluding to even more secrets.

Two women, practiced in avoiding each other, find their lives interwoven as they both try to find out what happened to Ric. But sometimes even two perspectives on the same man don't add up to the truth.”

Author:

An economist based in Toronto, a playwright, and an author who has had short stories included in multiple anthologies, this is Lilla Csorgo’s first novel.

Appraisal:

Different, strange, unique, offbeat, unorthodox … the thesaurus has all kinds of word suggestions to describe this book. They all fit, to a point, but none seem quite right. Told from two points of view, the book is part mystery and part women’s fiction. The mystery, where did Ric Hawthorne disappear. His wife, Janice, gives us one point of view. She doesn’t know where he went. For the most part she doesn’t really care. (Yeah, at this point they don’t have much of a relationship.) Then we have Justine, Ric’s former fiancé who was never really out of Ric’s life. Does she know where he is or not? As both do what they need to in order to move on with life while also trying to stay out of the way of the police who are searching for Ric, we have a mystery going on, but also get an interesting look into the lives of both ladies, plus Ric. Do we find out what happened to Ric? Are the ladies both innocent of wrong doing? How about Ric? Do we even care if he gets found? All those questions and potential answers went though my mind as I read this book, enjoying the story, but never very sure about where things were headed or where I wanted them to go.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Reprise Review: Kiss Her Goodbye by Allan Guthrie

 

Genre: Crime

Description:

Joe Hope sorts problems out, usually by the application of violence with a baseball bat, on behalf of his loan shark boss, Cooper. But for once it’s Joe that has the problem, first his daughter, Gemma, commits suicide. Joe immediately flies to the Orkneys where she’s been living at a writer’s retreat with a relative, Adam. But as soon as he arrives Joe is arrested. The accusation? The murder of his wife, battered to death with Joe’s work tool.

But, there are further complications, Gemma kept a diary in which she’d revealed the reason behind her death – she’d been raped by someone she called ‘Daddy’. But for once Joe is innocent and he sets out to track down the killer.

Author:

Allan Guthrie developed a taste for writing at school. He is now the author of five award-winning novels. When not writing Allan is a literary agent and co-founded the e-publisher, Blasted Heath. Born on the Orkney Islands, Allan now lives in Edinburgh with his wife.

Appraisal:

This is a straightforward, no-nonsense, high quality crime novel which focuses on anti-hero Joe Hope. It’s a well plotted, well written and a very satisfying read. One of the strongest aspects of this novel are the characters. All are well drawn, believable and have a part to play.

First is Joe himself. He’s not the most pleasant of people, sorting out non-payers on behalf of Cooper, often beating them senseless. Joe even keeps a baseball bat in his car. He has a terrible relationship with his wife and instead spends time with a prostitute, Tina (Joe pays her, but interestingly it’s for no more than company) or in the dubious company of Cooper, seemingly his only friend. But despite everything he does have a degree of morality – Joe won’t kill people – interesting, considering murder is the crime he’s accused of. Also of note is that Joe is clearly intelligent, he had been taking a degree before dropping out to work for Cooper, who himself was training to be a lawyer.

Which leads us to Cooper. He’s thoroughly unpleasant and loyal only to himself, and maybe his young son. No one else matters. Tina the prostitute is an interesting character, literally hard-nosed and lived a tough life. They’re ably backed up by Adam (who’s initially wet and useless, but finds some backbone) and Joe’s youthful lawyer, Ronald Brewer.

The plot is also very strong, several story arcs brought together for a satisfying conclusion where everyone gets what they deserved. Joe receives several shocks (on top of the suicide and murder) and perpetually seems to be in an almost constant state of turmoil and flux.

The story is mainly set in Edinburgh. It’s seedy and grim, but then again the characters themselves live this kind of existence – loan shark, thug and prostitute. The scenes suit the narrative. The pace is high and maintained throughout, it’s a real page turner and enjoyable to boot (or should I say bat).

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Swearing and violence.

Added for Reprise Review: Kiss Her Goodbye by Allan Guthrie was the WINNER in the Crime Fiction category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran January 12, 2014.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Review: Handsome by Theresa Jacobs

 

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/LGBTQ

Description:

“Being handsome has its advantages and affords him easy access into people’s homes. They quickly learn you can not judge a book by its cover when they pay the ultimate price with their lives. He didn’t ask to look the way he does, nor to lose his loving mother at such a young age. Dealing with unwanted memories, he will find a way to erase his past by cleansing the city as he sees fit.

Detective Marcy Gagon, finds at times her relationship with the lead coroner, Krista Jones, a harder case to crack than the one she’s trying to solve. She feels alone in the hunt for a man whom she believes is a serial killer. The Chief of Police refuses to entertain the possibility that Toronto has yet another serial killer until she can bring him solid proof. But when another couple are killed within 24 hours of the last, Marcy gets the push she needs, and new leads come pouring in. Fully engulfed in her job, she also learns a deeper secret to her girlfriend’s past that only strengthens their bond. Hot on the heels of a killer, Marcy must somehow bring his reign of terror to an end without letting her personal life interfere.”

Author:

Theresa Jacobs is the author of several books in several genres including at least one non-fiction book on writing. She has also been the contributor to at least a few online magazines.

Appraisal:

Handsome is an intense and enjoyable read with a different feel in some ways from a typical mystery with a police detective as the main character. We as the reader know who the culprit is early on, but this tends to make for a more intense read because we also have a feel for just how messed up he is. I found it made me pull for Marcy (aka Detective Gagon) to figure out who he was and stop him even more than I typically would. But it is also apparent that the killer has some issues that while it couldn’t justify what he’s doing, at least makes you feel sorry for him. Trying to understand his past from the various clues that come out and pulling for Marcy to find him before he did more damage were the main feelings I was having as I read and tried to guess where the story was going next. I also found a subsidiary story thread, largely unrelated to the main one, of the clash between Marcy and her girlfriend over work and how much demand it should put on their time was an interesting one, mainly because it felt (correctly, it turns out) that there was more to it than was obvious at first glance. All in all an intense, engaging mystery.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Although not explicitly stated anywhere, a few clues (including the setting of this story) lead me to believe the author is from Canada. Spelling conventions used and an occasional word choice support that guess.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of proofing issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Reprise Review: Life After Dane by Edward Lorn

 

Genre: Horror/ Speculative Fiction

Description:

After serial killer Dane Peters, The Rest Stop Killer, is executed, his mother is haunted by … something. Could it be the ghost of Dane? As Dane’s mother, Ella, tries to find a way to “lay her son’s troubled soul to rest,” she also has to come to terms with what she did to contribute to his demise.

Author:

A nominee in the inaugural Books and Pals Readers’ Choice awards, this is horror author Edward Lorn’s fifth novel.

For more, visit Edward's blog.

Appraisal:

Of Edward Lorn’s previous novels I’ve read, two were much more to my taste than the third. When I pondered the reason, I realized that while Lorn describes himself as a horror author, there was much more going on in my two favorites. One was a mystery with horrific elements, the other, while primarily horror, had a strong coming-of-age theme as well. I guess this means that horror is okay with me, as long as it doesn’t feel like horror purely for shock value.

I can’t think of a fitting label to attach to Life After Dane other than horror, yet for me, like those other books that had something more going on, this story has a subtext that justifies the horror. I think it is a sense of karmic justice being served, at least it felt that way to me. Your thoughts might be different. And deciding how you feel about that will go far afield as you consider issues as far ranging as parental responsibility, victimization, and your definition of justice.

Another thing that stood out for me was the obviously conscious effort to keep the language acceptable to all except the most sensitive. The worst word I saw was damn. How Lorn did this while remaining true to the story with characters who would make a sailor blush, was an interesting touch. It wouldn’t work everywhere, but it did in this book.

And the ending. Oh, my. Didn’t see that coming.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

The strongest language I saw used was the word damn. The author skirted around stronger language, implying, but not actually using it.

Added for Reprise Review: Life After Dane by Edward Lorn was a nominee in the Speculative Fiction (excluding fantasy) category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran July 18, 2013.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: The Pope’s Mistress: by Laylah Aragón

 

Genre: Autofiction

Description:

I make no apology for importing this description of the book more or less verbatim from Amazon. (On other indie sites the description is more colourful than this.) If you want to know how to write a book description, this is a first rate example. But then, you’d need to write a book that made pretty wild claims …

“In this contemporary twist on real historical events, Aragón masterfully weaves together a thought-provoking story like nothing we have ever read before… An affair. A murder. And Laylah Aragón. Those are the pieces of the puzzle that made headlines six years ago. We heard the stories, the rumors and the countless conflicting eyewitness testimonies. We know that Laylah Aragón, a talented executive speechwriter, is tangled up in more ways than one in the scandal of the century. But no one knows what really happened. Now, amidst a puzzling turn of events, the mysterious Laylah Aragón has finally broken her silence. In this captivating and unexpected first hand account, we get sucked into the twists and turns of Laylah Aragón’s world, as the lines blur between truth-telling and survival, and she finally tells her side of the story.”

Hooky, isn’t it?

Author:

Laylah Aragón is the author of The Pope’s Mistress trilogy. Where this book sits in the trilogy isn’t revealed. If the two others are already published, I couldn’t find them. Aragón is a Cuban/Mexican-American Southern California native, a graduate of Mills College, a resident of New York City, and a committed vegan. Her books have themes of environmentalism, feminism, sexual liberation, and social progress.

Appraisal:

This is an unusual book: I like unusual. Although it is not, perhaps, as unusual as it thinks it is. It is quite difficult to review, as almost any discussion of the plot would result in massive spoilers. This is a gnomic approach to novel writing, where much is apparently happening, and yet almost nothing is revealed.

The success of this book depends on the hooky description (above). You read the book because of the hook. You wait for that great title and that great description to deliver. You wait a long time. You have been promised that the Pope has a mistress. Popes shouldn’t have mistresses, how is this all going to come together? Is it true? Any of it? All of it?

While we wait for the book to get going we are in the unrelieved company of Aragón, protagonist and author. Fortunately, Aragón writes well. Her (many) opinions are interesting; her philosophy (of which there is a lot) stays the right side of von Daniken ramblings; her quotidian doings are sufficiently entertaining to keep the reader interested; the work she does as a scriptwriter-cum-prompt for an important corporation is beautifully set out. After the intriguing opening chapter, the mildly interesting pages turn well enough. And one knows it is all building up to something amazing. But it takes its own sweet time to get there.

For 90% of the book one follows Aragón’s breathless 25-hour-a-day life from Los Angeles to New York to Rome and back again. We get into every cab with her, eat every meal with her, know what she is wearing and why, how she likes to sleep, how she apparently has pegue (apparently a kind of empathy). On display are her enthusiasm for life, the way she controls her own destiny and follows her own moral code. This continues from the moment she is picked up in a Los Angeles sex club by Marco until she arrives back from Rome about a week after the adventure begins. After a while it all gets a bit claustrophobic.

Almost the whole plot is concentrated in the final 10% of the book, and I have to say I found much of it incomprehensible. I have searched back and forth through my Kindle, looking for the links which would enable me to make sense of what happens, and the characters who have become suddenly important but whom I cannot place. But it did not all come together, for me, even with work.

I was fully engaged until the Big Reveal. And I do feel, as a reader, somewhat cheated by what happens (or, rather, doesn’t happen) in Rome. Perhaps the secret of The Pope’s Mistress is so dangerous that, even now, Aragón dare not tell all? And this is why the end is a muddle. 

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words