Review: A Ravishing Abomination by Dutch Broadstreet

 

Genre: Suspense

Description:

“I didn't intend to kill a televangelist. But once I met his wife, the rest felt inevitable.

Jordan Bramble makes a living spotting weaknesses and exploiting them for profit. He applies pressure. He gets paid.

When he meets Seraphine Hale—the dangerously beautiful wife of a rising Christian celebrity—he thinks he’s found his next sexual conquest. Instead, he finds a ruthless partner in crime.

Together they hatch a deadly plan that will turn a digital megachurch into the biggest religious phenomenon in America. All it takes is a little seduction, a carefully staged tragedy, and a nation desperate to believe.

But when the cameras turn on and the donations start pouring in, Bramble realizes something unsettling: Seraphine may be even more ruthless than he is.

A Ravishing Abomination is a fast, vicious pulp novella about sex, faith, media manipulation, and the kind of ambition that leaves bodies behind.

In every great con, someone eventually becomes expendable.”

Author:

“Dutch Broadstreet writes dark pulp about crime, ambition, and the people who turn catastrophe into opportunity.

He lives in his own private Sodom, somewhere in Upstate New York.”

Appraisal:

This is an interesting and very unique read. When a story involves two or more parties, all plotting against another one, but none of those involved are very good people, just evil in a different way, who do you root for? I went for the party I’d view as the lesser of the evils. How things actually shake out kept me engaged and wondering how it would end. (The answer is … well, I can’t tell you. That would be a spoiler.) But this is a quick read, so it won’t take you long to find out if you decide to give it a read yourself.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

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

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: Show Yourself by Shane Pollard

 Genre: Thriller/Suspense

Description:

“Walking home on a summer evening, Tristan's eleven-year-old goddaughter runs ahead to hide and scare the group. A warm breeze filters through the city streets. She turns down an alley and tucks behind an old dumpster unaware of the stranger. Tristan's best friend, James, jogs ahead of the group to catch his daughter at her own game.

James reaches the alley and turns the corner. The stranger draws a knife. In the seconds it takes for James to collapse, the worlds of those closest to him change forever.

Tristan becomes Jenavieve's guardian. He makes her breakfast, argues with the PTA, and teaches her to cook. He also learns to disappear into crowds, lines the trunk of his car with plastic, and quietly begins hunting a killer that no one has been able to find.

Sharp, warm, and darkly funny, Show Yourself builds to a conclusion that will make you hold your breath. Shane Pollard's debut asks not just who did it, but what you would be willing to become to make it right.

This is not a revenge story. It's a story about what it means to be alive.”

Author:

“Shane Pollard decided at a very young age that he was going to work for NASA. But when an accident in his teens forced him to take time off from school to recover, his plans changed. He instead took the incredibly straightforward path of chasing his own curiosity half-way around the world, and back, a few times. Throughout his travels, Shane taught sailing, English, illustration, and critical thinking. He sold his photography and paintings, and pushed pixels and words as a graphic designer and copy writer. He mixed drinks professionally, spent a few years underwater as a commercial Divemaster, did technical shenanigans for an electric boat company, became an engineer for a 3D printing company, and wrote a novel that he is currently trying to convince people to read.”

Appraisal:

This story gives the reader lots to think about, wondering how you’d react if you found yourself in a comparable situation to what the protagonist of this story, Tristan, did. There are multiple threads that explore different aspects of what Tristan and his goddaughter Jenavieve go through after the murder of Jenavieve's father James, and Tristan subsequently becoming her guardian. Not to mention wondering who murdered James, whether others are in danger with him uncaught, and who he might be. The police don’t seem to be getting anywhere, maybe James can figure it out. But if he does, then what? It all makes for an intense story that I couldn’t put down.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Review: Painting Over Cracks by Lee Bukowski

 

Genre: Crime Fiction/Suspense/Thriller/Women’s Fiction

Description:

“Beth Collins lives her life shadowed by a secret, one she believes she can outrun by building a perfect family of her own with her attorney husband, Danny. And for a while, it seems she has—until a freak car accident kills Danny and shatters her world in an instant.

Desperate for a fresh start, Beth quits her job as a mortgage broker and buys a café. As she settles into the rhythm of her new life, she finds unexpected friendships, a sense of purpose, and eventually, even the spark of a new romance.

But when mysterious details about the crash emerge, leading to shocking secrets about her husband, Beth sets off on a search for answers. Every revelation pulls her deeper into a world she could not have imagined and forces her to confront the unthinkable—she’s mourning a man who never existed. When the illusion she’s relied on collapses, Beth must decide what future she wants and who the woman is she’s ready to become.”

Author:

“Lee Bukowski lives in Reading, Pennsylvania. When she’s not writing, she loves reading, traveling, and trying cocktails with creative names. She’s also a self-proclaimed Billy Joel superfan with a live concert count of fifty shows. She is the award-winning fiction author of A Week of Warm Weather, her debut, and Painting Over Cracks.”

Appraisal:

I loved this book. Beth, the protagonist has had her life disrupted in extremely disturbing ways, starting with the car accident that kills her husband and fetus that she hadn’t even told her husband about yet. As she struggles to get her life back on a path that feels right to her, she keeps running into things she couldn’t have anticipated and has to figure out the situation and how to deal with it. You’ve got a few mysteries and a whole lot of suspense through all of these threads, but are pulling for Beth all the way as you wonder what life’s going to throw at her next.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Although the review is based on an advance reviewer version I spotted no issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Reprise Review: Dangerous Memories by Donna Fasano

 

Genre: Romance/Suspense/Psychological Thriller

Description:

“What kind of woman am I?

The question haunts Keira Rhodes when she awakens in the hospital with amnesia and learns that two men claim to be her baby’s father.

Logan claims he is her loving husband. Although Keira feels drawn to this quiet man, she senses that their marriage has been far from perfect. For Logan’s own brother, Kyle, staunchly maintains that Keira’s baby and her heart are his…

The truth lay hidden in Keira’s lost memory—and in the tender touch of one special man…”

Author:

“USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR DONNA FASANO is a three-time winner of the HOLT Medallion, a CataRomance Reviewers Choice Award winner for Best Single Title, a Desert Rose Golden Quill Award finalist, a Golden Heart finalist, and a two-time winner of Best Romance of the Year given by BigAl's Books & Pals Review Blog.

Her books have sold 4 million copies worldwide and have been published in two dozen languages. Her novels have made the Kindle Top 100 Paid List numerous times, climbing as high as #1...”

To learn more about Ms. Fasano, check out her website or stalk her on Facebook. “She loves to hear from readers.”

Appraisal:

I was enthralled with Keira Rhodes predicament. She awakens in the hospital with no memory of her life before her fall from Simon’s Point in this psychological thriller. The story is mainly told through Keira’s eyes with the exception of getting enough of Logan’s thoughts to complicate and intrigue the reader. Right along with Logan’s younger brother Kyle, who both claim to be her baby’s father. 

I found the dialog realistic as Keira tries to put the pieces of her life back together. Logan is soft spoken as he tries to help Keira by giving her space and time to remember her past with him. Where Kyle is more insistent that she and the baby are his. Keira is not sure who to trust, to make matters worse, they all live in the same large house.  All she can do is trust her own feelings while searching for something familiar that may jog a memory.

The plot has a nice pace. The tension rises as Logan and Kyle both share pieces of their past with Keira. Ms. Fasano’s descriptive prose puts the reader right in the middle of each scene to share the experience along with Keira as pieces of her life are revealed from each brother. I was sure the story was going to take a turn for the worse, which kept me reading late into the night.

I like character studies like this. They give me a lot to think about and the suspense gets my heartrate up. I enjoyed this story, it’s different from the other books I have read by Donna Fasano. “If you enjoy the Hallmark Mystery movies, you will love Dangerous Memories.”

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This is a clean romantic suspense with just the right amount of sexual heat.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Review: Shot For Justice by J.R. Wheeless

 

Genre: Suspense/Mystery

Description:

“After rival gangs kill his sister during a gun battle, an Army sniper returns home for revenge.

Travel with him as he makes his way across the nation to visit a wife of a fallen comrade before settling into his hometown of Modesto, CA. Along the way, his journey forces him to examine his own life and the past he thought he’d left behind.

Before he can get settled in, he meets Henry Clay Jackson, a retired lawman with ideas of his own. Then there’s the young lady and her son, who have an influence on his life. The only thing standing between him and happiness is a husband with a violent personality.

From the beginning, Detectives Peterson and Dempsey become a concern for our hero, a man determined to make someone pay for his sister’s death. As the bodies pile up, additional problems arise to slow him down. And his old partner from his army days arrives with issues of his own.

Will the man who is out for justice succeed in his quest? Can he deliver retribution?

Does he ever quench the anger that pierces his soul? Can he stay a step ahead of the detectives who are intent on putting him behind bars, all the while carrying out the plan he has laid out for himself?

And how does he handle the situation with the woman who comes into his life without getting her tangled up in his problems?

Dealing with his past and the obstacles determined to thwart his plans, our army veteran attempts to establish a new life for himself, only to face adversity at every turn.”

Author:

A writer all his life, J.R. Wheeless was writing a weekly column for his local newspaper as a high school senior. His writing was more personal for a lot of years, journals he kept for himself and such, but in 2015 he published his first book and he has had several since then, some fiction, some non-fiction, some novels, some short story collections.

Appraisal:

As I was pondering this book one thing that struck me is how in a story like this it is possible for the reader to get behind and be pulling for a protagonist who could accurately be described as a mass murderer. As law enforcement is looking for him, trying to figure out who is doing this to arrest them, he’s doing his best to prevent that from happening and figure out who killed his sister, his ultimate target. As a reader, we’re pulling for him to meet his goal. Sometimes a “bad guy” by most definitions can still be a good guy. What the ultimate conclusion is, I’m not saying, other than to wonder if he’s done now or if there is more to come.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: The Witness by Jordan Standridge

 Genre: Crime/Suspense/Romance

Description:

“Cops and deer. Her mama always told people Raina could sense them before she saw them. So the day she left home for a quick trip into town and sensed a cop ahead, she wasn't surprised to see one working a traffic stop. But never in her wildest dreams could she sense that traffic stop would turn into her own personal nightmare.

Attempting to save the life of a defenseless deputy, Raina nearly lost her own in a short but brutal attack. As she recuperates, the life she knew and loved is systematically being taken away from her by those she thwarted. Now she must dig deep inside herself for the courage to not only survive but to forge a new life in case she did.

Assigned to her case, Detective Channion Scott had a solid reputation for solving crimes. When he soon turned into her personal bodyguard, he wondered how was he to solve his attraction to the courageous woman who'd risked her life to save another's?”

Author:

An avid traveler, Jordan Standridge has worked in a variety of jobs, from sales, to being a police and fire dispatcher, and a manager. This is her second book, the other book being the first in this series.

Appraisal:

I think it is fair to say that I’m having a lot of conflicting feelings about how to review this book. The story at a high level is a good one. I love the characters. As the name of the series indicates, the protagonist is a strong and courageous woman who you can’t help but like and pull for her to get through these challenges. I enjoyed the different story threads and how they all fit together.

However, there are aspects of the author’s approach to writing that I found problematic. The book is a lot longer than it probably needs or should be because the story had a tendency to go down a rabbit hole. As a reader we would get a brain dump of what was going through one of the main character’s minds at a certain point, not unreasonable except the tendency to go into way too much detail was there. Then we’d get the same for what a more obscure character was thinking, which isn’t normal. The way it was done often had me thinking about the old writer’s adage to “show, don’t tell.” It felt like the reader was getting both shown and then told and told and told. At times the story took turns that stretched credibility, but I managed to get past those instances, and the reader was sometimes told things that I didn’t think were needed to understand the story and didn’t add anything to it, just bogging it down. I imagine some readers wouldn’t notice or take issue with the things that bothered me. If you think you’re one of those readers, the book has a lot of good points, so give it a try.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 145-150,000 words

Reprise Review: Soul Walk by Melissa Bowersock

 

Genre: Paranormal Mystery/Suspense

Description:

“Paranormal investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and medium Sam Firecloud are making quite a name for themselves. When a TV network offers to feature them on a popular ghost series, they realize they could dispel misconceptions and bring credibility to their work. However, filming their process is more troublesome and complicated than they knew. Their goal to research and release the ghostly tenants of a haunted bed and breakfast in Malibu is at odds with the studio’s penchant for sensationalism. On top of that, Sam finds his connection to one of the ghosts to be painfully personal, and he and Lacey struggle to keep their work, their relationship and their newfound stardom from unraveling.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: biography, contemporary, western, action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and spiritual. She has been both traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. She lives in a small community in northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier. She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”

Learn more about Ms. Bowersock on her website or follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

When a TV network offers to feature Sam and Lacey on a popular ghost series, they realize they could dispel misconceptions and bring credibility to their work. The network executives have chosen a haunted bed and breakfast for Sam and Lacey to investigate. At first Lacey is worried about how much she will be able to contribute if the network has their own team to do the background research of the B&B and the ghostly inhabitants. Therefore, she takes on the research as she always has when it was just her and Sam. This gives her an in-depth and personal feeling for the ghosts.

Lacey and Sam find the filming for the show tedious and tiring. However, they are willing to see it through, and release the ghosts from their earthly suffering. You can tell Ms. Bowersock does a lot of research for her stories. The non-paranormal stuff like going through the filming process is realistic and fascinating. The history behind the hauntings is believable and draws the reader in to set aside any disbelief that this could never happen. Ms. Bowersock is able to find a nice balance between realism and the supernatural.

To top it all off Sam and Lacey are seriously talking about taking their relationship to the next level. I love the way we, the readers, get to take part in their personal lives. It is another touch of realism added to the story. If you like cozy mysteries with a touch of the paranormal I highly recommend this series.??

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

*Trigger warning* One of the ghosts was a five-year old girl who endured horrific abuse, both emotional and physical, before she died. This is not overly graphic.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues were found.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Review: The Last Beach Town by Deb Richardson-Moore

 

Genre: Thriller/Suspense

Description:

“Sloane Cheney has no intention of ever returning to the South Carolina island town where she grew up. She enjoys her life in the big city and teaching at the college there. The thought of revisiting the place where her mother deserted her family is too painful.

But when Aunt Millicent, town matriarch and owner of the family’s beachfront property, is murdered, Sloane must go back to sign off on the sale of the grand family home to developers. She soon finds that old friendships have shifted, as townspeople disagree over the development that would reshape their sleepy village. Sloane is directly in the line of fire, under suspicion by the police chief because of her inheritance and by her former neighbors who question her long absence.

With family members and old friends swirling treacherously around her, Sloane doesn’t know who to trust, especially after a nearly fatal accident in the beach house. She digs into her family’s history, uncovering new information about her mother’s disappearance. What she discovers raises questions: Was her aunt’s murder a simple case of greed? Or was it related to her mother’s long-ago vanishing?”

Author:

“Deb Richardson-Moore has worked as an award-winning newspaper journalist and as a pastor to homeless congregants. Her murder mysteries fall somewhere between cozies and gritty psychological thrillers and have twice been named finalists in Killer Nashville competitions.

Deb and her husband live in upstate South Carolina, where she enjoys gardening, volunteering, public speaking, and watching TV thrillers adapted from favorite books. She travels frequently to the beach.”

For more, check out her website.

Appraisal:

The dynamics that sometimes happen in small groups, whether family members or residents of a small town, can make for some interesting and entertaining stories. It can even be a bit of a mystery at times. We’ve definitely got all of that at work in this story. It seemed like just when I thought I might have a handle on how things were going to shake out and what the answer to the latest mystery was, that something else would happen or come to light making me question it. If you like suspense, this story is great read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advanced reader copy and thus I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Red Lily by Janice Graham

 

Genre: Suspense/Historical Fiction

Description:

“August 1989. Septuagenarian Lillian de la Pérouse is presumed dead, leaving her estate to her American nephew, Carl Box. Carl, who knows Lily only as a mysteriously disgraced relative, arrives in Paris with his faithful companion, a disabled dog named Billy. To his astonishment, he discovers his aunt to be alive and evading an unknown killer.

Lily, a former Dior model and small press publisher, has been smuggling top-secret KGB archives from Moscow to Paris. Lily uses Carl's arrival to lend credibility to her faked death, introducing him to her team of eccentric misfits and sending him on missions in her stead. Along with a beautiful activist Carl recruits along the way, they race through the enchanting streets of Paris, from the bustling markets of the Marais to the romantic banks of the Seine, trying to stay one step ahead of foreign agents, a French detective, and everyone else vying for the files.

As Lily introduces her nephew to her high-stakes world and teaches him the art of living, Carl finds himself transformed by the adventure, by Paris, by romance, and by the ever-growing bond between himself and his unconventional Aunt Lily.

But why did Lily disappear all those years ago? What secrets is she hiding? And who is she, really?”

Author:

“Janice Graham was raised in Kansas and obtained her M.A. in French literature before pursuing graduate film studies at USC and English literature at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. Her screenplay Until September, a romantic comedy situated in Paris, was made into a film starring Karen Allen and Theirry Lhermitte. Her first novel, Firebird, became a New York Times and international bestseller. After a series of contemporary women's fiction, she turned to historical fiction. Romancing Miss Bronte, written as Juliet Gael, is her highly acclaimed novel about Charlotte Brontë. She lives in Paris.”

Appraisal:

Lots of suspense and more than a little mystery, trying to figure out where things are headed and how it will all turn out made for a great read. I found myself wondering how I’d react to many of the events and situations in the story which is always a good sign. One big one was discovering that a family member who you’d been led to view in one way might not have been reality. It makes for a fun and exciting vicarious adventure and a fantastic read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A very small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Reprise Review: A Violent Light by Jim Baton

 

Genre: Suspense

Description:

“The Youth For Peace Fresh Start Initiative gathers ten Muslim and ten Christian youth from ten nations around the world to learn new paths to peace. But the camp staff have some highly unorthodox teaching techniques. And when one by one the youth start disappearing, some of them wonder if the staff might not have an entirely different agenda. Those left behind must work together to solve the mystery before they also disappear. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, the entire world is watching…

Jim’s third novel of the Peace Trilogy confronts American prejudice head-on. Pursuing world peace today will require a generation committed to a deeper level of trust and cooperation than ever before.”

Author:

“Jim Baton has spent the last 20 years in the world’s largest Muslim nation, building bridges between Muslims and Christians who both desire peace. His speaking and writing call people out of fear and into authentic friendships that can change the world.”

Appraisal:

A Violent Light started out slow for me. The underlying political point was obvious and something I agreed with. (I also assumed no one who disagreed with that stance would be likely to even start reading the story and would abandon it quickly if they did.) That the staff and the youth camp were not what the kids expected (no matter how much they tried to rationalize a way for that to not be) and the reason why seemed obvious.

However, as the story progressed I found it drew me in more and more. I found myself struggling to decide who was thinking most clearly when proposing ways to react to the situations they found themselves in. Their struggles caused me to think more deeply about some of the more serious questions facing the world today. By the time the story hit the climax the intensity had hit a level I’d have never anticipated in the beginning. That slow start was more than made up for coming down the stretch.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Although a case could be made for this book being aimed at the young adult audience since the primary characters fit in that demographic, some portions might be too graphic or intense for some of the younger part of that demographic. (It might be too intense for some adults, too.)

Although this is the third and final book in a trilogy, it can be read as a standalone.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Those We Do Not See by Angie Gallion

 

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Women’s Fiction

Description:

“Britany Adams begins a rapid downward spiral after she’s involved in an accident that results in a fatality. Within weeks, she loses her home, her job, and her dignity. Struggling with guilt and living on the streets, she is plunged into a gritty world filled with danger and despair.

While investigating the crash, Officer Cliff Rathborn never dreams that he will be the last person to speak to Britany before a missing person report is filed. While assisting in the search for Britany, Cliff realizes he has not dealt with his own mother’s disappearance when he was a child. He begins to reconcile with the fact that he may never know what happened to his mother.

To discover Britany’s whereabouts, Cliff needs to enter the shadows and look into the faces of those that most people refuse to see, while Britany must survive long enough to be found.”

Author:

“Angie Gallion has been a stage actor, an anti-money laundering investigator, a photographer, and a paralegal. She has lived in Illinois, California, Missouri, and Georgia and has traveled to Greece, the Dominican Republic, Scotland, and Ireland. She dreams of traveling when her children are grown, and she and her husband can set out into the world. She is currently rooted outside of Atlanta Georgia with her husband, their children, and their two French Bulldogs.”

For more, check out her website.

Appraisal:

This is a great story with multiple levels for the reader, depending on how much you want and are open to taking in. That’s kind of vague, so I’ll explain.

The first and most obvious is the obvious thriller or suspense story on the surface. Britany’s life spins out of control when a car accident happens and results in the death of the driver of the other car. Britany isn’t blameless, but just how responsible she is for what happened is far from clear. Her guilt about the accident and repercussions in her life cause a rapid downward spiral resulting in her living on the street.

The second level is going beyond Britany as the reader considers how realistic what Britany experienced is. We meet some of the other homeless people Britany associates with and ponder how we think we would deal with such situations or what we think real people should do in that situation. We see Britany interact with others who make questionable decisions because they appear to be the only option to improve their situation. If this doesn’t get you at least thinking about some of society’s issues, you aren’t paying attention. (Or maybe just don’t want to go there.)

I’m glad I read this book and highly recommend you do the same.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

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: 65-70,000 words

Review: On Wahoo Reef by Tim W. Jackson

 

Genre: Suspense

Description:

“Wally Breight’s a miserable-in-his-job P.R. executive who dreams of escaping to happily-ever-after in the Caribbean. When he stumbles across a run-down scuba diving operation for sale on Blacktip Island, he snaps it up and settles into paradise. But paradise has other ideas. His dive boat’s a lemon. His business partner proves the age of piracy isn’t dead. Scuba guests are scarce. And a free-spirited dive mistress might party him into an early grave. If Wally can’t get a handle on paradise, pronto, he’ll be leaving Blacktip Island faster than a coconut in a hurricane.”

Author:

A former photojournalist, Tim W. Jackson now splits his time between captaining a boat, teaching people how to scuba dive, and writing. (Yes, he appears to have some similarities to the protagonist of this book.) He’s written several books and short stories, many of them based on the tropical (and I’m guessing fictional) Blacktip Island. This is the latest of those.

Appraisal:

I’ve read a couple of Tim Jackson’s books set on Blacktip Island and, if there is any kind of pattern, it is that while those involved are living or at least visiting what many would consider a paradise, things don’t always go smoothly in paradise. That’s the case for our protagonist, Wally, who thinks he’s lucked into a great situation that until now was more like one of his wildest dreams. Then things turn out a bit different than he pictured them. And of course, just when it looks like he’s getting things back on track, something else will shake things up. You’ll have to read the book to see how it all turns out for Wally, but he’ll keep you on your toes, trying (and failing) to anticipate where things are going the entire way.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader 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: Soft as Water by B. Robert Conklin

 

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Description:

“Following a life-shattering accident, conscience-stricken Will Archer seeks refuge in a small Ohio River town, where he plans to live out his life as a virtual hermit. But a chance encounter with Essence Warner, orphaned daughter of a jazz saxophonist and an aristocratic socialite, entangles him in a quest to discover the truth behind the cold case of her parents’ mysterious deaths.

As Will deciphers clues, he becomes romantically entwined with Essence, forming a relationship that draws him into a sordid underbelly of small-town existence that threatens his own life. At the same time, he uncovers a dark secret that could set Essence free from her own path of self-destruction—or does she have a plan of her own?

Soft as Water is a novel about bridges—between strangers across a river—and the dangers of mutual attraction when worlds divided by race, wealth, and culture collide. In the end, though, the novel offers a glimmer of hopefulness that survivors of trauma—physical, emotional, and sexual—can transcend their circumstances and find redemption through connection.”

Author:

The author describes himself as thus:

“I live in Columbus, Ohio, where I navigate the unpredictable moments of family life with my spouse, three kids, four cats, and a ferret. I enjoy nature walks, reading everything from Pop-Tart labels to Proust, and cartooning. I’m also an avid coffee drinker but try to limit myself to five cups a day. My debut novel, An End to Etcetera, placed as a finalist in the suspense category of the 17th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards.”

Appraisal:

This is a unique story with elements that you don’t see very often.. That starts with a protagonist that while one of the good guys, is far from perfect with lots of skeletons in his closet that impact the story in many ways. Then you’ve got multiple people with some strange histories who are challenging to figure out in many ways, from whether they’re good people, what they’re doing and why, and how all of that is going to impact others. Then throw in a few strange things (what appeared to be a ghost or other supernatural element at play a few times and some pet tigers for a couple examples) and you’ve got a story that is not likely to be like one you’ve read before. At least it was stretching my normal reading material. In spite of this, I didn’t find myself unable to suspend disbelief and go along with what was happening. A very entertaining read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of relatively mild adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: All the Rage in Texas by Russ Hall

 

Genre: Thriller/Suspense

Description:

“Rage paves the roads of Texas.

Al Quinn’s quiet life as a retired sheriff’s department detective is disturbed by a case of road rage. An angry driver shoots at Al’s sister-in-law, Bonnie, and her baby. Bonnie returns fire and wounds her assailant, Ketchum, who leaves the scene. But that’s not the end of the altercation.

Ketchum gathers some friends to help him get revenge. Al and his entire family are now in the path of enraged, payback-minded armed thugs who have little to lose.

Sheriff Clayton makes matters worse by asking Bonnie and the rest of Al’s group not to kill the men so they can stand trial. Law enforcement wants to make a point about road rage. But Al would rather teach them not to mess with the ones he loves.”

Author:

“A writer of mysteries, thrillers, westerns, poetry, and nonfiction books, Russ Hall has had more than thirty-five books published. He lives and writes on the north shore of Lake Travis near Austin, Texas, where he hikes, fishes, and lives with far more books than the anti-hoarder groups would approve.”

Appraisal:

If I had to describe this story in a single word it would be intense. I’ve read and enjoyed other books featuring Al Quinn, but this jacks things up to a more intense level because Al and those most important to him are the people most likely to suffer if things go sideways. We know who the culprits are and for most of the book so do Al, his cohorts, as well as law enforcement. The problem is finding them and bringing them in before they can get their revenge on Al’s sister-in-law, Bonnie, and anyone else who upsets them along the way. It all adds up to a book that draws you in and keeps you turning the page, wondering how it is all going to work out.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy and might not reflect the final product, so I can’t gauge this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review: Redeeming Grace by Smoky Zeidel

 

Genre: Suspense/Historical Fiction

Description:

 “It’s the early twentieth century, and the tragic deaths of her mother and two younger siblings have left Grace Harmon responsible for raising her sister Miriam and protecting her from their abusive father Luther, a zealot preacher with a penchant for speaking in Biblical verse who is on a downward spiral toward insanity.

In the midst of his delusions, Luther believes God has abandoned him and devises a plan to get back into His good graces—a plan that puts both his daughters’ lives in danger and unleashes a frenzy of events that threaten to destroy the entire family.

Will Luther succeed in carrying out his crazed plot against his daughters, or will an unlikely hero step in to rescue them all?”

Author:

“Smoky Zeidel is a poet, novelist, and earth mage, whose love of the natural world is thematic in all she writes. She taught writing and creativity workshops for many years at venues throughout the Midwest before succumbing to her bohemian urges and moving to California. Her work has earned her several nominations for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. Smoky lives with her husband Scott and a plethora of animals, both domestic and wild.”

Appraisal:

Wow. What a story.

When I’m looking for a book to read, the information I use to decide will often set certain expectations. Things like the genre(s) I’ve been told the book fits in, past experience with the author’s books, and possibly the book description. For this book I had the blurb and information that it was in the suspense or thriller genre. Nothing else. It turns out that it could possibly be called historical since it takes place in the early twentieth century (clearly stated in the book description, but not something that registered with me) rather than contemporary times.

Although the story has the suspense you’d expect from that genre, what sets it apart is that the various causes of suspense have much deeper meaning beyond the obvious mystery and tension typical of the genre. You’ll have reason to consider family relationships and the obligations that might come with them from multiple angles. There are a couple story threads that should have you considering the past and how it impacts the present. If you’re inclined, you might find yourself considering religion as a tool for both good and evil.

Suspense stories don’t typically have this much depth. That Redeeming Grace does is a positive from my viewpoint.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Original review published May 11, 2017.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words