Reviewed by: SpinsBySpin
Genre: Mystery
Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: Yes Paper: No
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
David H Fears refers to himself as "a westerner who has lived in various parts of the country", and is a self-confessed admirer of Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane. He is currently working on an annotated chronology of the life of Mark Twain. He has published all his "hardboiled private eye detective novels" as ebooks. There are currently four Mike Angel books available, as well as eight other fiction offerings.
Description:
Meet Mike Angel, unwillingly AKA as Mike D'Angelo, hard-boiled tough guy working as a Private Investigator in the early 1960's. Six years as a PI found him frustrated, bored with chasing insurance cheats and looking for thrills. Enter Kimbra, beautiful and a victim of abuse. Exit her husband, by way of a single gunshot from a .22. Mike now finds himself on the wrong side of the law as he covers up the shooting. Travel with Mike from New Jersey to New York to Chicago as he looks for elusive connections to the long-defunct Purple Gang, loses Kimbra, almost loses himself, and finds her again as he searches for those responsible for his father's murder.
Appraisal:
If you are going to write hard boiled crime fiction, you need the formula, which Dark Quarry delivers in spades: beautiful, sexy women, really nasty bad guys and lots of action. However, Dark Quarry reads as though it is one short story after another, with the only apparent connection between them the protagonist, Mike Angel, mentions of Kimbra, and a series of beautiful, desperate, and devious women. More than once while reading this book, I found myself wondering what connection there was in the action from one situation to another.
In Act One, we meet Kimbra, "a flashy babe with innocent lips masking lust and danger." This is the tried and true smoking gun - Mike walks in just as Kimbra shot her husband Joe Ambler. Impulsively, Mike takes over and whisks Kimbra, corpse and gun out, thus stepping over the legal line, putting his PI license on the line for this temptress. Once the body has been disposed of, however, Mike forced her to divulge connections between the now deceased Joe and ancient members of the Purple Gang. Kimbra plays Mike for a sucker and runs off with his client and good friend, Ed Bergman.
Act Two
Enter Haley, married and on the make - for Mike. And married to Bergman. It is here that the dialogue and tone starts to feel a little forced, like Mike has to continually prove that he is the ultimate tough guy, and there is no heart of gold anywhere in the picture. Kimbra shows up, threatens Mike, and he tells her with "gravel in my voice. 'You didn't really think I'd be that stupid . . You're pretty smooth--and you almost fooled me with that act in the car about Joe forcing you to do bad things, Now I figure it was you forcing him. You're the kind of dame who thrives on doing bad things, then blaming others. I bet you've had plenty of rehearsals doing bad things. Bergman for one--what are your bad plans for him?"
Act Three
Exit Kimbra. Exit Ed Bergman. Enter Haley, Ed's wife and the next in a long line of sexy, hot women. Only, now Haley has the hots for Mike, and Mike turns her down cold. I'm not sure if Lt. Rick Anthony, friend, detective and wordsmith, is introduced as comic relief from Mike's at times heavy handed "tough guy" persona. By contrast, he comes across as - well, see for yourself. Mike calls Rick for a "small" favor; Rick responds with "They're always infinitesmal [sic] to you, Bud, but I shall endeavor to retain my high position in your esteem". Now I worked with cops for about 9 years, and even those with higher degrees didn't talk this way, not even as a joke. Rick just doesn't "click", but does provide a contrast to Mike's persona.
Even the mobsters in the book come across as overdone. Dialog like "We know youse been tailin' him. . . "We's people youse don't wish to cross D'Angelo . . . " I kind of doubt that someone who uses "youse" and "we's" would include "wish" in the same sentence. But then again, he might, if that person was trying to show how "erudite" he is!
Mike's motivations appear to focus on Kimbra and a murder cover-up. However I kept looking for connections between the seemingly unrelated events: the mystery of Kimbra, the involvement of The Purple Gang and Mike's murdered father. With no clear driving force behind Mike's actions, I found it difficult to see the thread tying all the events together. Mike's murdered father, an important focus in the book, does not appear until two-thirds of the book is read. This made for a weak connection to something that could have strongly tied all the events that occur together, making for a tighter story.
With all that said, the book is an enjoyable read. If you like hard boiled private eyes who find themselves caught up in sticky situations involving beautiful but untrustworthy women, show human failings, and in Mike's own words, don't "rate a nice girl [and] wouldn't know what to do with one, except maybe drag her down". I look forward to reading other offerings in this series, admittedly to see how Mike Angel, Private Eye, develops.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: *** Three Stars
![]()
Genre: Short Story / Literary Fiction
Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Randy Kadish’ writing has appeared in flyfishing journals and magazines. His stories often combine his love of fishing with people struggling to do good while fighting their demons. He has a novel and an additional short story available for your Kindle. Kadish’s fishing tips and more information about his book and stories can be found on his website.
Description:
Abandoned by her mother, Amanda is raised by her father and grandmother. When her grandmother is diagnosed with cancer, Amanda experiences a crisis. Angry at the world, an unexpected lesson teaches how to forgive.
Appraisal:
As a character study of Amanda, the narrator of the story, and her grandmother, The Bad, The Good, and Two Fly Fishing Women is a pleasant enough read. The story captures the special relationship a grandparent and grandchild often have. But this isn’t enough to carry a story.
The apparent goal is for Amanda to reach some kind of closure, understanding or at least forgiving her mother after she leaves her and her father for another man. The description says Amanda’s experiences teach her to forgive her mother, and the story ends with her doing that. However, I’m still not certain how Amanda went from point A to point B. Whether I’m too dense to put the pieces together or the points are too subtle, I’m not sure.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: *** Three stars
![]()
Genre: Mystery/Drama
Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
During the day Dee Dawning works his day job, designing and building homes. Then he comes home to his wife of twenty-eight years, heads for bed early, and wakes up in the wee hours of the morning to write. Dawning’s many novels and shorter works span many genres; the only sure thing is that the action will take place in contemporary times and have a possibility of really happening. You won’t find any vampires or werewolves, although you’ll definitely find sex, and lots of it – erotica is Dawning’s most frequent genre choice. For more, visit the author’s website.
Description:
This is part one of the two part Televangelist series. Part two, The Ruthless Preacher, is expected to be released in July, 2011.
After meeting Missy Riverton, smooth talking sociopath Jamie Lee Vincent attends a revival put on by her televangelist father, Reverend Sonny Riverton. Observing the money the Riverton’s rake in at the revival, Jamie Lee believes he’s found his calling, and joins the Riverton ministry.
Appraisal:
My thoughts on The Bastard Preacher are contradictory and all over the place. One part of me looks at the book as fluff for the brain. It’s an easy read – short, not too many characters, a plot that is relatively simple and easy to follow, plus plenty of sex. The equivalent of the movie you rent for the sex scenes that have enough plot so that you can pretend otherwise.
Each chapter starts with a quote from a real world televangelist. I questioned the validity of the quotes after a while, believing a true “man of God” would not really say things like this (from Reverend Pat Robertson):
Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.
A quick internet search verified this quote and a sample of the others. Apparently televangelists say the darndest things.
My contradicting thought is that the book is taking aim at televangelists almost like a fictional exposé. Sonny Riverton and Jamie Lee Vincent aren’t real, yet aren’t that much different from their real life counterparts. I doubt The Bastard Preacher will appeal to people who are believers in any of the not-yet-discredited televangelists, so Dawning might be preaching to the choir, but he’ll reinforce the thinking of non-believers. Or you can just read it for the sex scenes like I did.
FYI:
The ending of this book is a cliffhanger. If that is a potential problem, wait for the second volume of the two volume series, due in July.
Although I’m sure the sex in The Bastard Preacher doesn’t approach the frequency or intensity of Dawning’s erotica, it is still frequent and hot enough that anyone who finds sex in fiction objectionable should consider this a warning.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues
Rating: **** Four stars
![]()
Genre: Thriller/Mystery/Paranormal
Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Bruce Sarte grew up on the Jersey Shore where Sands of Time takes place, but now lives outside of Philadelphia. When not busy with his four kids, he enjoys baseball and playing guitar. Sarte has another novel, Towering Pines Volume One: Room 509, available in all formats, plus at least one more novel and some short stories available for your favorite ereader. For more information, visit his website.
Description:
They were there one moment and gone the next. Sam Shepard’s family died in a car accident shortly after Sam and his wife had a bitter argument. Crawling into a bottle to forget, he begins having dreams that they are still alive.
Appraisal:
Three acts are typical of a play, and many novels can be broken down into a three act structure. Evaluated this way, Sands of Time is three acts, each a different genre.
The first act, which sets up the remainder, is contemporary fiction. While there are hints of several directions in which the story could go, this first part is mostly getting to know Sam Shepard. We learn Shepard is a successful business owner haunted by the death of his wife and children, struggling with alcohol and faith; not just religious, but also faith in himself.
Act two reads like a mystery with a hint of romance as Shepard finds clues indicating not all is as it seemed. Act three introduces a mostly unexpected paranormal element and could be classified as a paranormal thriller.
I’ve read books like this before and they’ll often feel like they take a change of direction that makes no sense. As a reader, I’ll feel like the author is cheating by setting up expectations in my mind and then not meeting them. (Read our review of Jimmy Stone’s Ghost Town for an example.) I didn’t feel this way with Sands of Time. In principle, I like the idea of genre mixing, but it can be hard to pull off. Sarte manages this feat by giving hints in prior sections of what is coming. He also smoothly segues from one section to the other. Both of these make what could have seemed like sudden changes feel like a logical story flow. Last, Sarte pulls the threads together from all three parts, accomplishing a surprise ending that is satisfying in all respects.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues
Rating: **** Four stars
Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Short Stories/Women’s Lit/Chick Lit
Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
At different times a writer, editor, and teaching artist, native New Yorker Deborah Batterman has had her stories featured in many anthologies and journals, both in print and cyberspace. Batterman is also a featured writer at Smartly New York. For more, visit her website.
Description:
A collection of eleven short stories set in a variety of places and times with female protagonists of all kinds.
Appraisal:
Lately I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the different reasons people read. I suspect someday all my thoughts will end up as a blog post. I’ve concluded that, though there is a wide range of general reasons, a specific reader will often have different motivations depending on the type of book. When I read women’s lit or chick lit (whatever your definition of these may be) I’m sure what I as a male am looking is different than what the primary target demographic of these genres hopes to find. Most of the time I think we’re happy with the same books, but for different reasons.
Books can give you a chance to vicariously experience things you couldn’t otherwise, help you see situations from a different viewpoint, and possibly come to understand a group of people better. This is what I hope to gain from women’s lit.
In contrast, a book can help you understand that your experiences aren’t unique. It can demonstrate that others have the same hopes, fears, and difficulties. This is one potential benefit of reading women’s lit for a woman that doesn’t apply in the same way for a man.
The title of the collection references the titles of three of the eleven stories. These superficial sounding titles make sense, but camouflage stories with much more depth than implied by the names. Many stories felt as if there were multiple layers; different messages a reader might receive or more than one lesson to learn, depending on your own perspective.
For example, Shoes has a lesson about judging by surface appearances, but also illustrates that no matter how well you think you know someone, there are always things you don’t know or understand about them. Nails is about friendships and relationships. My personal favorite was Hair, which had lessons about parenting, responsibility, and possibly consequences.
Neither of the benefits discussed above will come to fruition if the characters don’t ring true. The variety of characters populating each story in SHOES HAIR NAILS seemed real, even those much different from anyone I know. Whatever your reason for reading woman’s lit; SHOES HAIR NAILS is an excellent choice.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues
Rating: **** Four stars
![]()
Genre: Noir
Approximate word count: 15-20,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Former professional musician and poker player, Mike Dennis now makes his home in Key West, Florida. He has two novels, The Take and Setup on Front Street, with a third, The Ghosts of Havana, in the works.
Description:
A collection of three short stories, all in the noir style Dennis specializes in.
Fully Loaded: Used car saleswoman Sherry Lamar is feeling the economic crunch of the mid-80s and bored with life. A stranger changes that.
The Devil Drives A Big Mercedes: A minor childhood drama leads a seven-year-old boy towards a life of depravity.
Block: Curing writers block takes a bizarre turn for a famous crime fiction novelist.
Appraisal:
When it comes to noir, I like Mike Dennis’ style. His novel The Take was my first exposure to his work. This short collection is the reprise. The Take had a storyline that fit what I think most people would expect from noir. The first of the three stories in this book, Fully Loaded, is also a typical noir story, although it kept me guessing where it was going and is an excellent example of the genre.
I want to say Dennis stretches the genre in the other two stories, but that isn’t really true. The Devil Drives A Big Mercedes has the characteristics associated with the genre, yet the plot still seemed unique or somehow fresh to me. Maybe that is a factor of what I have or haven’t read in the past.
Block also fits the definitions I’ve seen of noir, although it uses a twist or two and a touch of genre mixing to get there. I’ve found that my reaction is either hot or cold to music and books that are self-referential. If they have a theme on the joys or trials of being a musician or a writer, I’ll either hate it, feeling it is too pretentious or has nothing I can relate to, or love it, often because it is a subject the creator understood well. Block falls solidly in the loved it category, as does the full collection.
FYI:
This genre is rarely suited for those not old enough to deal with adult themes. This general caution applies to this specific book, as well.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues
Rating: **** Four stars
Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
An award winning magazine writer and editor, A Whisper to a Scream is Karen Wojcik Berner’s first novel. This is the initial book of a planned series, with each focusing on one or two members of the book club formed in this book. Berner also has a blog called Bibliophilic Blather, which features flash fiction (either her own or a guest’s) each Friday. Another frequent feature is Editing for Grammarphobes, short grammar, language, and editing tips that are beneficial for everyone, whether they think they are a writer or not. For more, visit the author’s website.
Description:
Annie Jacobs has looked forward to motherhood since cuddling her Baby Tenderlove as a five year old. Now a successful thirty-seven year-old PR executive, her life is one of tests and scheduled attempts at making a baby while her rapidly ticking biological clock winds down.
Across town is Sarah Anderson, a mother of two. Her days consist of cleaning the house, cooking, and child-rearing duties while her husband works late. Can’t she ever get any time for herself?
Appraisal:
For some reason my brain wants to start this review with a cliché. Maybe something about greener grass, walking in shoes that aren’t yours, or even proper caution when making wishes. All might apply to the two protagonists in A Whisper to a Scream. Each wishes for a life more like what the other has.
Despite their differences, Annie and Sarah were both characters I liked, which I think is important in a story like this. I wanted both to find a way to get their wish. I think that’s normal, to hope a friend, even a fictional friend, will realize a dream or meet a goal. One of the best ways to illustrate something is to use contrast or comparison – that opinion accounts for my tendency to overuse such words as but, however, and yet. As the story switches between the two characters, Berner shows us the contrast between Annie’s life and Sarah’s. Both are busy, yet fulfilling, although in different ways. Each wants something closer to what the other has, but has obstacles that are not entirely within their ability to overcome. Will they get what they want? I’m not telling.
After finishing A Whisper to a Scream, different readers will probably come away with different messages. It might be one of appreciating the positives of your personal situation. It could be one of balance in life. Or you may come up with something on your own. Whatever your takeaway, I think you’ll find immersing yourself in the lives of Annie and Sarah is an experience worth having.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ***** Five stars
![]()
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords stores
Author:
Suzanne Leavitt is a journalist and freelance writer. Since writing Troubled, she has written two other novels, a collection of short humorous stories, a book on preventative medicine, and a series of children’s books. She is the mother of four and the grandmother of five. For more, visit her blog.
Description:
A single father who works for the state Department of Human Services becomes concerned about the family situation of his son’s school friend and investigates. What he finds isn’t what he expected. As the two families become more involved, life becomes more complicated.
Appraisal:
There’s a cliché about teachers I’ve often used, but with my own twist, “those who can, do, those who can’t, critique.” I don’t write fiction and have serious doubts whether I could with even a modicum of competency. No matter what my Mother might claim, I’m not much of a storyteller. That can make for a strange feeling when I talk at a very detailed level about why someone else’s writing doesn’t work. Fortunately, I have much more confidence in my ability as a reader.
At a high level, the story in Troubled has a lot of potential although not without some issues. Generally, the character development is good and fits the story. The two ten year-old boys, Joe and James are the characters that work best. Michelle, who is Joe’s mother, and Jack, the protagonist and James’ father, stretch credibility at times. The biggest issue I had with a character was Jack’s apparent issue with women. Jack would describe virtually every woman from his past with a list of their faults making it overly clear that he felt women couldn’t be trusted, yet he quickly overcame this with Michelle, too quick for the amount of buildup about that personality trait.
The main conflict in the story was fear of Joe’s father, a man with a history of crime and violence. Michelle felt she and Joe were in danger if he found them. For all the tension built up through the novel, when Joe’s father finally made an appearance the conflict resolved too quickly and easily.
Despite some concerns from a bird’s eye view, my major issuess with Troubled were in the devilish details. The dialog is clunky because it uses too many tags to identify the speaker and too often tries to tell the reader additional things they should be able to figure out in other ways. For example:
"Yeah, how could you forget a face like that?" says Jack jokingly. Mr. McGuire laughs and then …
I thought it was obvious who was talking and that he was jesting. In case of doubt, Mr. McGuire laughing makes it clear. Here is another example of the same kind of problem.
"I just have a lot of things to get done on Sunday…you know, for the coming week," was her answer and it appears that she is avoiding the question.
This kind of thing was pervasive. These aren’t examples of show, don’t tell (although there is plenty of that too). They are examples of showing and telling. The way she responded is enough to tell she is avoiding the question. Redundancy is good in some places. A novel isn’t one of them. Speaking of which, what about phrases like, “three days pass and the weekend finally comes” or “on the drive home across town”? Aren’t these telling us the same thing twice?
While Troubled is a story with potential, it fell short in the execution.
Format/Typo Issues:
A small number of typos and wrong word usage (they’re, their, there for example). Although there are not many places with italics, most of those places are either italicized for no good reason or incorrectly. For example, the title of the video game Need for Speed has italics for only part of the name.
Rating: ** Two stars
Genre: Thriller
Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords stores
Author:
Piano player, gardener, chemical engineer, and engineering physicist are just a few of the descriptions for Mary Anna Evans. The author of the award winning and traditionally published Faye Longchamp archeological mystery series, Evans also has several self-published books for the eReader of your choice. For more, visit Evan’s website.
Description:
Larabeth McLeod has it all. Beauty, money, smarts. As the CEO of a company specializing in environmental cleanup, you’d expect she should have good karma too. When an unknown man, who calls himself Babykiller, begins stalking Larabeth, she turns to ex-boyfriend and private detective J.D. Hatten for help.
Appraisal:
The common wisdom about thrillers is they are plot driven. To me, this implies that the characters don’t require as much development as other genres, so long as the plot is intense. Wounded Earth delivers on plot. Its nail-biting intensity will keep you up late in your eagerness to find out how it ends.
However, when evaluating what I liked most about Wounded Earth, it wasn’t the plot that came to mind. Historically, thrillers and suspense are my favorite genres; I’ve read hundreds, if not thousands. As long as they are executed competently, which this was, it is other things I notice.
For Wounded Earth, what stood out is the development of the main characters, especially the protagonist Larabeth. I’ve found I especially enjoy books with a strong female character. Larabeth is driven, not just towards success, but also to do good and what is right. It would be easy for a character like this who “has it all” to seem unreal. It is her difficult history, both with ex-boyfriend J.D. and skeletons in her closet, that makes Larabeth human and intriguing. It is also why, as a reader, I was pulling for her that much more.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
Genre: Mystery/Humor/Thriller
Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Portland, Oregon resident Steve Anderson has worked in a variety of areas, and most have involved working with words (marketing, advertising, journalism, and language instruction among others). Initially Anderson’s plans were to be a history professor. Working toward that goal, he spent time in Germany as a Fulbright Fellow. Both Germany and history figure into this book. Anderson has two other novels available for your favorite eReader, The Losing Role and False Refuge. For more, visit Anderson’s website.
Description:
The Berlin Wall has fallen and Gordy Ford, an American slacker, visits Germany with plans to write a book. Claiming to be a Fulbright Scholar researching Hitler to impress a girl, Gordy’s lie takes on a life of its own when he stumbles onto a shocking historical discovery.
Appraisal:
Will I sound like your grandpa if I say, “I can’t believe it’s been over twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall?” I was afraid of that. Besserwisser takes place in 1990, at a time of political upheaval in Germany. Split into two countries, East Germany and West Germany, since World War II, this story takes place shortly after the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and immediately prior to the reunification of the two countries.
Gordy Ford is a slacker from America, temporarily living in Germany, ostensibly to write a book. What starts out as a lie to impress a girl turns into reality as Gordy claims he’s researching a revelation about Hitler that will be a bombshell. This attracts attention from several groups with their own agendas. A visiting friend, convinced that Gordy has stumbled onto something, convinces him to search for what some people apparently want left unrevealed. What makes this story unique is how Anderson integrated glimpses of the German culture and politics from this critical period along with American pop culture references into the story.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant issues
Rating: **** Four stars
