Genre: Suspense/Literary fiction
Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words
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Author:
This is R.J. Smythe’s first novel. He says his primary goal as an author is to entertain the reader.
Description:
Three young adults find a cache of money at a remote swimming hole and think it is the answer to their dreams. Instead, their lives start spiraling out of control, with repercussions on top of repercussions.
Appraisal:
This is a first for me. I’ve never rated a book this low that I liked this much. In fact, I don’t think I’ve rated a book this low where I didn’t wish I could have the time that I spent reading it back, yet I don’t regret having read The Old Dam. I’ll try to explain.
We’ll start with the positive. The Old Dam is a coming-of-age story with a lot of suspense and parts that border on horror. The narrator, C.J., is a sympathetic character, who seems like a good kid who finds himself in a difficult situation. Where the story is going, how it will resolve, and even what you view as a satisfactory ending, are constantly changing as the full tale unwinds. There are morality lessons and object lessons on life priorities along with a darn good story.
All of this is good. However, the author has two writing tics that happen constantly and, over time, become an irritant. I’ll explain each with examples.
The first is a tendency to do what I’ll describe as stuttering. The book is a narration from C.J. interspersed with dialogue from the other characters. This tic happens in both dialogue, where it might sometimes make sense, and in narration, where I don’t think it belongs. An example in narration is when C.J. tells us, “Yesterday’s episode with Joe, the shotgun, and my forehead . . . that’d been downright, downright . . . I couldn’t think of a word that described it” or “As for Amy, well . . . well . . . . I’d give her a call.”
The second issue is repetition. Smythe states the same information in slightly different words, one sentence right after the other. It reached the point where I wanted to keep saying, “yeah, I got it the first time.” A few examples are:
He seemed really angry. He seemed quite upset.
Oh, criminy. How many times did we have to go through this little ritual? How many times did we have to go through this little routine?
“It’s kind of a little trophy,” he explained. “Kind of a little souvenir.”
Either one of these, in moderation, could actually be a good technique for implying something about a particular character at that point in the story. For example, it might show nervousness or that he is having a hard time articulating something. But overuse of this technique causes a loss of effectiveness, especially when used in both narration and dialogue.
These tics occur often enough that, I think, most people will find them grating, which is the reason I ranked the book the way I did. However, if you don’t think they’d bother you, then the story is worth taking the time to read.
FYI:
The book description warns about the following: Adult language, adult themes, sexual situations, gratuitous nudity, and violence. That covers all the bases although most of these are relatively mild.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ** Two stars
Reviewed by: JA Gill
Genre: Literary fiction
Approximate word count: 60-65,000 Words
Availability
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Author:
Editor turned novelist Susan Wells Bennett resides in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and their two dogs. Forsaking the Garden is her latest novel. Previous novels include The Prophet’s Wives and The Thief of Todays and Tomorrows.
Description:
Famous author Tim Chase is about to write the greatest novel of his life, in the afterlife, and as a muse.
Appraisal:
“Ha! She thought with a laugh, ghost writer. If ever such a name were more fitting, I’ve never encountered it.”
And yet ghost writer is perhaps too obvious a title for a book dealing with death and atonement that takes as its premise the transliteration of the very phrase—from uncredited writer to uncredited writer who is a ghost. Not surprisingly then, An Unassigned Life comprises the elements of high farce: catchy dialogue, colorful characters, fast-paced plot, and happy ending.
While Life’s plot clicks into place with the familiar ghost story scene of relatable young couple starting a life together in their new dream home only to find out that it’s still inhabited, the reader is on the other side, that of the side of the recently deceased. Bennett borrows from the Christian idea of a heaven and hell and the corporeal life as test for the great hereafter, the score of which decides the direction or path of the soul for eternity. Hell we know is definitely bad but for vague reasons and so heaven wins by apparent default, the lesser of the two evils anyway. Inserted somewhere is earth, home to the living and a second chance for the fleshless moral slackers, sensing that they need to get into God’s good graces but not sure how.
Other characters include a flaky tattoo artist’s girlfriend, a pretentious angel, and a cynical priest, all communing in the vain and vulnerable. Tim Chase, the egotistical novelist and main character discovers his mortal coil undisturbed in the next life. Those he haunts or rather pesters are piquantly human as well; with the exception of a harmless bum who serves as a simple and altruistic foil for the rest.
At heart, An Unassigned Life is an economically plotted story about couplehood—corporeal and incorporeal—as each struggle with the concept of personal identity and shared space. Bennett’s storytelling is refreshingly straightforward—a Spartan use of simile and metaphor—both sentimental and humorous though never treacle.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: *** Three stars
Genre: Mystery
Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words
Availability
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Author:
N.C. Hyzy is a pseudonym for Julie Hyzy. A Chicago native, Hyzy has three mystery series (written as Julie Hyzy) and several short story collections, including one science fiction collection as S.F. Hyzy. State of the Onion, the debut installment of her White House Chef series, was the winner of several awards, among them the 2009 Barry Award for Best Paperback Original. For more, visit her website.
Description:
Private investigator Riley Drake does background checks for clients of an upscale (make that extremely upscale) dating service, as well as taking on her own clients. In this first installment of a new series, Riley is pushed into trying to identify the killer of billionaire John Stratton’s wife, or at least clear Stratton of wrongdoing.
Appraisal:
It seems to me that the main character in a series has to be likeable, so readers will come back for future books. In a thriller or mystery series, the lead character is usually competent at their job – really beyond competent, sometimes almost too good. What makes them relatable are their flaws; how they react in those real life situations where they aren’t perfect or show a little nervousness.
Riley Drake can take care of herself – that’s made clear by the end of the first chapter – but she does have a few chinks in her armor that make her human. When dealing with her ex-husband and his new girlfriend, we find she’s not as cold as she’d like us to believe. She has an empathetic side, which shows in her dealings with a character who has a drug problem and another with offbeat sexual tastes. She’s prone to slipping up just enough to require a quick trip to the hospital, but is likely to check herself out before her doctor thinks she’s ready. It all adds up to a quirky, likeable character.
You can’t have a mystery without a plot, either, and Playing With Matches has a good one. If you’ve read many mysteries, you’ll know most are built around a selection from some basic building blocks, with each story’s uniqueness coming from setting and characters. Hyzy has built a solid foundation for her series with Riley Drake and her unique profession, and an interesting cast of secondary characters. Playing With Matches was a great introduction to Riley. I’m eager to read the next in the series.
Format/Typo Issues:
There were a small number of typos and proofreading errors.
Rating: **** Four stars
Genre: Mystery/Romantic Suspense
Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Former newspaper reporter Stacy Juba is the winner of over a dozen writing awards. She is the author of several books, including Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, another romantic suspense novel available for your Kindle. She has multiple young adult novels slated for publication over the next year. For more, visit her website.
Description:
After starring on the reality show Sink or Swim, Cassidy Novak returns home and discovers her new fame has a downside. She’s acquired a stalker.
Appraisal:
Sudden riches and newfound fame are both a notorious way to attract people trying to befriend you for all the wrong reasons. Cassidy Novak returns home to her old job after narrowly missing the big prize on a reality show. She hopes to find a way to leverage her 15 minutes of fame into enough money to start her own business. Then she discovers the downside, with people making claims on her time she doesn’t want to give, and a stalker, who could be one of many different people.
With the rise of reality shows over the last several years, I’m surprised no one has used the premise of Sink or Swim before now. It has all the ingredients for a good story. Someone experiencing the changes that come with sudden fame is a magnet for crazies and those who hope to ride their coattails. Those who are smart, as Cassidy is, are aware of this, which increases their natural suspicions about other people’s motives. Juba takes full advantage of the potential in this premise to maintain the tension throughout.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
Genre: Travel
Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words
Availability
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Description:
A collection of ten short autobiographical sketches, each sharing the author’s experiences living in a country foreign to them.
Appraisal:
The subtitle of Life in Another Country is Learning More Than Ever Expected. The title explains the premise: each of those who contribute spent an extended period living outside their native country and tell us about it. The subtitle is what a reader would hope to learn. What did the contributors learn that they didn’t expect? How were the people and conditions different? In what ways were they the same? A couple sentences buried in the middle of the section by Steve Trigg, a combat video journalist who has lived all over the world, had what I thought could have been a summary for at least part of what we might take away from our reading:
The people I have met on my travels taught me how to live by accepting the rules of humanity as opposed to the rules of one society. I have discovered that, in the end, we all want the same thing for ourselves and our families—a tomorrow.
Jennifer Stewart, the person who put this book together by writing the introduction, soliciting contributions, and editing, appears to have edited with a light hand. This is both good and bad. It allowed each contributor’s unique voice to remain; however, there were many instances where cutting an extraneous word or phrase would have made tighter prose without losing that voice. One contributor used the phrase “if you know what I mean” at the end of a couple of sentences, for a single example among many.
However, my bigger problem with the book is that, while it delivered to some degree on its promise, there is too much extraneous stuff. Things like 'I went from here to here to here or I did this and this and this,’ with too much detail about the what, and not enough detail about how it felt. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some insightful gems buried amongst the barebones travelogues. Steve Trigg’s contribution, quoted above, had a section on how his experiences changed him, which was very good. All contributors had portions that were informative and enlightening. Unfortunately, the search for those gems took too large a portion of the reading time.
Format/Typo Issues:
A small number of typos and proofreading errors.
Rating: *** Three stars
Genre: Mystery
Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Shaun Jeffrey attributes his attraction to “the dark side” to growing up in a house in a cemetery. He has had numerous short stories published in many different venues, with a collection of shorts, Voyeurs of Death, along with two other novels available for your e-reader. For more, visit Jeffrey’s blog.
Description:
“People are predictable. That’s what makes them easy to kill.”
Pushed into assisting with a copycat killing, police detective Prosper Snow finds himself trapped by his colleagues on one side, and the serial killer who takes exception to their copying on the other.
A movie based on The Kult has been filmed by Gharial Productions, with release pending.
Appraisal:
The premise, that the protagonist Prosper Snow gets pushed into helping with a copycat killing, seems hard to believe when reading it in the description. However, the author sets this up in such a way that buying into the premise isn’t as difficult as you might expect. What follows from that decision is a horrific nightmare. A murder mystery that at times reads like a police procedural and is spiced with more than a touch of horror, The Kult isn’t your typical book.
What was most intriguing about The Kult was having several characters who are simultaneously the good guy and the bad guy. Prosper is the good guy, since he is leading the murder investigation, but also the bad guy, for his role in the copycat murder. His accomplices are murderers, yet they’re sympathetic for the same reason Prosper is, and we don’t want them to be caught. Prosper’s partner on the police force is a good guy (or gal, if you prefer), however, we’re rooting against her truly solving all the crimes. Somehow, Jeffrey finds his way to a satisfactory resolution, with a surprise twist you’ll never predict.
FYI:
The author uses spelling conventions and slang from his native country, the UK.
Format/Typo Issues:
A small number of typos.
Rating: **** Four stars
Genre: Humor/Urban Fantasy
Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words
Availability
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Author:
A prolific writer, Ian Thomas Healy has seventeen works available including Deep Six: A Just Cause Novel, which was a “Top 100 Semi-finalist” in the 2008 Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Awards. Healy lives with his family in Colorado. For more, visit Healy’s website.
Description:
The Fort McWilliams Fighting Aardvarks, a cellar-dwelling sub-minor-league hockey team from nowheresville, British Columbia, acquire a new player and suddenly begin winning. Then Hamisch “Hammie” Hamlisch, the first line right winger, discovers the reason – an infestation of vampires on the team.
Appraisal:
Calling Blood on the Ice “Urban Fantasy” might be a stretch. Not because it doesn’t have the elements of this genre, as I understand them, but because calling Fort McWilliams urban feels like it is pushing the definition. However, it isn’t rural or suburban, so what else is left? Urban Fantasy fans with a sense of humor should find it to their tastes, but if vampires would normally send you running, don’t run yet.
If you could take away the vampires, Blood on the Ice would still be a funny story. Much of the setting is ripe for humor. Sports teams, especially those that aren’t doing very well, are good fodder for comedy . The idiosyncrasies of small towns and the cluelessness of many young males are always good for a laugh. Healy takes advantage of each of these. Throw in the vampires (good for a laugh in itself, given the apparent need for so many books to have them these days), add Healy’s approach to dealing with them, and you have a winner. Although there is plenty of tension and conflict in the story as Hammie Hamlisch, the protagonist, tries to stop the infestation of vampires on his hockey team, which kept the story interesting, what sets it apart from others is the humor.
One thing in Blood on the Ice that I can’t remember seeing before is a narrator who interrupts the story from time to time to comment, but whose identity isn’t apparent. It is obvious early on that the narrator isn’t Hammie and I quickly stopped wondering. I just viewed him or her as the all-seeing, all-knowing narrator. In the end, the narrator reveals his identity, and ties together a few loose threads in a very clever way.
FYI:
Some adult language and sexual situations. If you’re easily offended by poking fun at religion, this might not be for you.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
That’s right, every entry is a winner. Author Jason Letts is doing a giveaway of his new book, Suspense. To receive a copy all that is required is to send an email between now and 11:59 PM Eastern, September 11, 2011. Send your entry to BooksAndPals(at)Yahoo(dot)com with “Suspense Giveaway” as the subject and indicate your preference of e-book format (Mobi for Kindle, ePub for Nook and many other e-readers, or PDF). I’ll pass your email address and format selection on to the author who will email you your free e-book.
Here is the description of the book:
Spencer Nye can’t control the rage bubbling under her skin over the world around her. The trouble is, by the year 2102, the world has solved most of its great problems. Without hunger, war, greed, or even money, people obsess over the glamour of the Culture Industry and its mega-celebrity Idols, who vie for followers over the social networks of Connect.
But Spencer discovers there is plenty to fix within the Idols’ competition for more popularity. She becomes a diehard and promises to do anything to help her Idol, a dreamy movie star named Cleary Mintz, bring his vision of hope and purpose to the world. When she stumbles onto a threat against his life, she’ll have to fight harder than she ever thought possible or lose the man who means more to her than any other.
Suspense, the first book in a dystopian trilogy, contains 76,000 words and is recommended for ages 16 and up because of depictions of violence and some sexual themes.
After you’ve received and read your free copy of Suspense, visit Jason Lett’s Facebook page where, by clicking “like,” you’ll be given details on how you can enter a drawing with a grand prize of a free Kindle or Nook. (Last date to enter this secondary drawing is 10/9/2011.)
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Phillip Thomas Duck straddles the old and new worlds, with some books published by legacy publishers (Harlequin and Simon & Schuster) and others self-published. Duck lives with his daughter in New Jersey. For more, visit his blog.
Description:
Terri Welker feels like she finally has her life under control with a good job, photographing stray husbands for a private investigation firm, and some good friends. Then a part of her past that she’s been running from catches up with her. Again.
Appraisal:
In a word, different is how I would describe Modesty. The characters– Terri Welker, the protagonist, along with the supporting cast– are different from the typical. The premise of the story is different from the norm. They say there are only so many different stories, and I’m sure this fits the pattern of one of them, but the unique spin Duck puts on the story ingredients make it feel new. Okay, different. And different is good.
Because of these differences, it seemed like the suspense aspect of the book had me on edge more. It felt less predictable. I wasn’t sure what direction the story was going to go. I had no idea what the resolution might be. In many ways, Modesty resembles a psychological thriller as much as romantic suspense. Whatever you call it, Modesty should keep you turning pages and guessing at how it will all end.
FYI:
Although the second of a series, this book can be read as a standalone.
Some adult language and sexual situations.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Mike Wood is a middle school teacher, father, and “author by accident.” It was an injury from an accident, a torn Achilles tendon, that prompted Wood to resurrect his long suppressed dream of being an author, starting this novel during his recovery. He has also been a featured columnist for the Connecticut Post in their Get Out column, writing humor and dating articles. His blog, Blog of Wood, varies from humorous to thought-provoking.
Description:
1984 was quite a year, both in America and, more specifically, for 15 year-old Al. He experiences first love and, with his girlfriend Cammie, attempts to solve the mystery of his missing father.
Appraisal:
In his bio on Amazon, Wood indicates he had many rejections from agents and publishers, “claiming the book was great, but too hard to market.” After reading Alchemy, I understand why. It isn’t a mystery, although there is a mystery to be solved. It has a protagonist who is the perfect age for a Young Adult novel and I daresay many in this demographic would relate to much of the story – possibly (hopefully) even learn from it. However, some parents might feel that parts of the book aren’t suitable for the younger portion of the demographic; not because it is explicit or crude (it isn’t), but because some subject matter might be too mature for them (saying more would be a spoiler.) Marketing as a Young Adult book might also limit the adult audience, many whom would find the book nostalgic for the time in which it takes place as well as some of the things Al is going through. It is a coming of age story, but that doesn’t help with the marketing angle and also sells the book short –it is much more than that.
I also understand why those agents and publishers liked Alchemy. Wood’s writing voice (or maybe I should describe it as Al’s voice) is different in a way I haven’t been able to identify. Whatever it is that makes it different, it fits the character well. During the story, Al learns about love, in many different forms. He matures, learning that just being himself and being open about his feelings is best. Most importantly, he finds out that things aren’t always as they appear and that sometimes people do the wrong thing for the right reasons. Older teens and adults, especially those who were still young in the 80s, should especially connect with Alchemy.
One minor complaint I had were a few instances where Al’s Great-Grandmother appeared in the story. She spoke in what I took to be an Italian accent and the dialogue attempted to convey this. Where accents in dialogue are concerned, a little bit goes a long way. On the positive side, this was a very small part in only two or three scenes. However, the first was very early, which didn’t get me off to a great start.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
