Review: Late Checkout by Alan Orloff

 

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Motel proprietor Mess Hopkins is more interested in helping others than turning a profit, so he opens the doors of the Fairfax Manor Inn to those seeking refuge from a bad situation. But when his cousin Finn shows up in trouble, his world is rocked, because Mess had thought Finn was dead, having run away six years earlier.

Unfortunately, Finn was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw the wrong thing—an incident with deadly consequences.

It’s up to Mess, his girlfriend/newspaper reporter Lia Katsaros, and buddy Vell Jackson to solve the crime before some bad men achieve their goal—killing the only eyewitness. Mess’s frightened cousin Finn.”

Author:

Award-winning author Alan Orloff has a bunch of published novels as well as having his short fiction included in many publications.

For more about Alan Orloff, visit hiswebsite and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Appraisal:

Mess Hopkins owns a motel in Fairfax, VA, a suburb in the Washington, DC area 10 to 20 miles southeast of DC. Okay, he doesn’t exactly own it. His family does, but he gets to manage it and keep the profit, so close enough. It is what many would refer to as a “fleabag motel.” Definitely not very upscale. His goal isn’t to make oodles of money from it though. He hopes to make enough to scrape by, making enough profit for him to survive, while he helps out those in need. This means that many of the rooms at the motel are not generating revenue as Mess lets people live in some of them, Mess lives in one himself, and the reality is many of them are empty most night regardless. Phil, Mess’s uncle, thinks he should be spending more time trying to get more business and less time helping others. Then Phil’s long-lost-son Finn shows up. Mess and his cousin Finn were great friends until Finn ran away six years prior and no one has known where he was. Trying to help his cousin, who it turns out has gotten himself into a scary situation, and figuring out how to deal with that turns into quite a mystery. What Mess and Finn and some of Finn’s friends who he drafts to help go through in helping Finn, who keeps making decisions that make things even worse, keeps both Mess and the reader on their toes as they try to figure things out. This is the second book in the series featuring Mess Hopkins and I’ve really enjoyed the series thus far.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

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

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Rock Crush and Roll by Hunter Snow

 

Genre: Romance/Romantic Comedy

Description:

“What if the rock star you had a crush on in high school is into you? But it's 15 years later and you're over dating musicians. Or are you?

Tyler Robertson is a music manager. Cary Kingston is the biggest rock star in the world. She's sworn off dating musicians. And he's a confirmed bachelor.

But when their working relationship turns into something more, she wonders if she's falling for the rock star or the person.

You can't always get what you want... but sometimes you can.”

Author:

“After (barely) surviving a career in the music industry, Hunter Snow now lives to tell its tales. She writes contemporary romances from her home in the Pacific Northwest. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.”

For more, check out Hunter Snow’s website.

Appraisal:

This tale has the things you’d expect a book in the romance genre to have. The unexpected and humorous twists that happen as our heroine, music manager Tyler Robertson, and her unexpected romantic partner, rock star Cary Kingston, find their way to the ending a romance is expected to have add a ton of humor to the story. If you’re a music fan like I am it makes this story even better. A fun and enjoyable read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Plenty of adult language and some mildly adult situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: Twisted Vessels by Jaysee Jewel

 

Genre: Fantasy

Description:

The only bit of land on this whole planet is a floating, hollowed out island, much like Laputa in Gulliver’s Travels. It is called Maivau. Life in the top tiers of this island, where the sun shines and the water supply is clean, is pretty sweet. The work gets harder, darker and dirtier the further down the in the old mine workings you live. At the top is The Arbiter who runs her teeming island with tight control and coercion.

It is easy to slip down the tiers, much less easy to rise. The story is about what can happen when you try to better yourself and rise in such a society: and what happens when you fail. There is a mysterious system of gods, who appear to people and sometimes give them super-powers (which they also sometimes take away again). There is an element of ‘Snakes and Ladders’ to the Maivau and this story.

As well as the island, the author has created a number of intriguing sentient beings. These have replaced the ancient humans who used to inhabit this world (one presumes there was more land back then). They have been drawn from folklore, myth, The Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien’s work, along with a big dollop of the author’s imagination which, mixed together, give each species unique traits, which enrich the story. There are lovely artistic impressions of them by Victoria Chevalier in the book. And a kick-ass cover by “Chinhdwc”.

Author:

Jaysee Jewel is an author after my own heart, in that she doesn’t like to work exclusively in one genre, or at one length. She is a keen gamer. And ranges across fantasy, steampunk, sword and sorcery, SF, romance and horror with her writing. In 2023 she released three novels and a novella in various milieux. The back matter of this book promises that the sequel to Twisted Vessels will be out this year. But after such a burst of creativity last year we should, perhaps, anticipate a short delay.

Appraisal:

Jewel has built an interesting world, and seeded it with these six races, from among whom she has teased out her characters. The title is apt: these people have been twisted like pretzels by their environment.

Unfortunately – as Jewel explains in the back matter – this novel is mainly back story. Jewel has written this first part of a longer work so that readers can become familiar with the setting and the characters. In order for them to be fully introduced they are given Stuff To Do. And what happens is life changing for them, as it should be. But there is also much internal monologue-ing, often revisiting the same problems and dilemmas, which does not push matters forward. Quotidian actions are given in detail, and repeated when they reoccur. Descriptions are repeated.

I realised I was halfway through and rather little had happened, considering this is billed as an adventure. As what I’d read was, nevertheless, interesting I didn’t feel I’d wasted my time. But it did become apparent that I was going to have to be content with a solution to the interim problems the author had set her characters and wait for the sequel (now you see why the date of its release is important) to see what happens when The Real Story starts and we set off towards The Big Reveal (big hints about what is to come are dropped at the end of this book).

Some parts of this book may be a tough read if you are squeamish. The whole society on this over-populated, vertically-integrated island is based on people being horrid to one another – in vile and imaginative ways. Much of this is on the page. But there are kind-hearted and virtuous folk too. And they do sometimes prevail.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Descriptions of brutal violence, off-stage rape, drug abuse.

Format/Typo Issues:

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

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Reprise Review: The Science of Success: What Researchers Know that You Should Know by Paula J. Caproni

 

Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help

Description:

“In this book you will learn what you need to do to achieve the success in life that you desire and deserve. The author provides you with a practical framework that will help you get better results at work, be successful in your career, and enjoy a fulfilling life outside of work.”

“In short, this book answers these three main questions:

(1) What do the most successful people do differently than other people?

(2) How can those characteristics and behaviors be learned?

(3) How can you apply these lessons to your own life?”

Author:

“Paula J. Caproni is a faculty member in the Management and Organizations Department at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Professor Caproni received her MBA from the University of Massachusetts and her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Yale University. In addition to teaching about leadership skills, effective coaching, developing power and influence, and creating high performing teams in the University of Michigan MBA and Executive Programs, she has served as the Academic Director of the Full-Time and Part-Time MBA Programs. She has coached over 500 executives and served as the lead Professional Development Coach for the Executive MBA Program and several Executive Education programs.”

Appraisal:

At its foundation, this book is looking at the scientific studies that have been done that pertain to being successful and based on that explains the steps you or anyone could take to become more successful, whatever that word means to you. In other words, Ms. Caproni has provided the data.

As I was reading I found myself providing anecdote in support of the theories. For example, there were multiple times the author mentioned joining and participating in a Toastmasters Club as something to help in a particular area, and I compared her suggestion to my own Toastmasters experiences, and they agreed. I found myself looking at successful people I know or situations I’ve been in and saw that they fit the patterns she describes.

One big takeaway that some people would benefit from learning is that a big part of success is believing you can achieve your goals and then taking the actions to get there, one step at a time. This is a book I wish I’d read years ago, but think even those getting a bit old like me could still profit from what it teaches.??

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: One Man's Journey by J.R. Wheeless

 Genre: Memoir

Description:

“One Man’s Journey is a short trip down the path on the fight against prostate cancer. This is the author’s story about his battle against a cancer that afflicts thousands of men each year. It is a down-to-earth telling of a, hopefully, successful skirmish he has fought in his war against a cancer every man fears, but few understand. He has months, most likely years, before he can be declared cured, but he lives with hope. Take the journey with him along the early part of his fight.

This is not a medical journal, nor is it a technical manual. In easy to understand language the author hopes to acquaint the reader with what occurs when a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, and what that diagnosis means in his life.

All proceeds from the sale of this book is being donated to the fight against prostate cancer. It is hoped that eventually medical science will find a simple cure to this dreadful disease.”

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:

An interesting read that most middle age or older adult males could benefit from reading. (The women in their lives could benefit as well.) While it doesn’t get the attention that other forms of cancer do, the author points out that roughly the same percentage of men get prostate cancer as the percentage of women who get breast cancer. Making sure your doctor is doing the appropriate blood tests as part of your annual checkups and addressing any potential issues early can make a big difference. While a quick read the author does a lot in giving a feel for the experience he’s gone through, his less than perfect (according to him) interpretations of some of the medical issues and at the end lots of sources if you’d like to dig deeper into the subject.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Review: Cauldron of Wrath by Terrence Poppa

 

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Terrorists smuggle two nuclear bombs into the United States through a Mexican drug tunnel in a bold plot to destroy the United States. While world attention is riveted on the fiery destruction they aim to bring to downtown Los Angeles with the first nuke, they intend to detonate the second bomb at the bottom of an experimental NASA geothermal well located in a remote corner of Yellowstone National Park. The nuclear blast will rip open Yellowstone’s sizzling caldera, triggering a massive eruption that will obliterate half of the United States.

FBI agent Malcolm Hendricks, special agent in charge of a counterterrorism task force in Los Angeles, thwarts the LA bomb only seconds before two of the suicide bombers can detonate it near USC where the agent's daughter is giving her PhD thesis defense. He has learned the identity of the terrorist leader, Abu Hadi al-Maliki, through actions he took in defiance of his superiors in Washington. In recognition of his bold work, the president puts him in charge of finding Maliki and the second nuke, but the only clue Hendricks has to go on is a trail of bodies that ends in Idaho near Yellowstone.

As Hendricks unleashes every resource available to find Maliki and the second bomb, the terror leader and his zealots attack the geothermal site, killing most of the drilling rig workers and many of the journalists who arrive by bus to report on the project. Trained for the mission to operate a drilling rig, Maliki and his commandos begin lowering the bomb two miles to the bottom of the NASA well.

All that stands in the way of the fanatical plot to destroy America are Hendricks’ relentless efforts to find him, the resourcefulness of the NASA spokeswoman who brought the doomed journalists to the site, and the brave resistance of the few rig workers who survive Maliki’s brutal assault.”

Author:

“Terrence Poppa has a background in journalism, private investigations, and Islamic studies. As a journalist, he wrote a biography of a Mexican drug trafficker: Drug Lord, the Life and Death of a Mexican Kingpin.”

Appraisal:

I’ll start off by saying that in spite of the less than glowing rating, I liked the story told here. However, the number of proofreading issues I saw exceeded what I’ll let slide. These ranged from missing words to extra words to the wrong word. We even had my personal favorite case of using the wrong word two times when someone “waived” their hands. As I like to joke, you can only waive your hands once and then you’ll never be able to do it again. But if you’re okay occasionally getting thrown out of the story as you try to figure out what a sentence should have said then this is a pretty intense and entertaining thriller.

The book’s description gives a pretty high-level idea of what happens although how it all turns out and the many tense situations the good guys have to deal with to figure things out and hopefully prevent the majority of the US from being wiped out keeps the reader engaged. The concept of the damage the Yellowstone Caldera could do if it exploded, either naturally or induced to do so as this book imagines is one I’ve seen before. A short story collection called “A Land of Ash” that I read several years ago had multiple authors imagine this happening and writing short stories based on it. That book prepared me to understand just how high the stakes were in this book. The story was driven home for me too because the terrorists and those trying to find and stop them traveled through places I’ve lived so I could picture myself there as the author described an area.

In the end, if you’re into thrillers, able to overlook a fair number of proofreading misses, and the book description sounds interesting, this is a good read that you should give a try.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

As indicated in the review, more proofing issues than I find acceptable.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: For Your Benefit by Patrick Canning

 Genre: Detective/Satire

Description:

“Teddy Lint is the kindest private investigator on the planet, committed to seeing the best in everyone he meets. The detective agency he runs out of a Los Angeles strip mall with his brother Ralph has seen a strange case or two before, but never anything like this.

A man claiming to work for the CIA hires the Lints to find a shipping container of radioactive Agent Orange that vanished over fifty years ago. He insists someone is planning on using an army of drones to drench L.A. with the deadly chemicals before the week is out.

The Lint Brothers enter a maze of bizarre suspects, from nefarious ad executives, to anarchistic Boy Scouts, to a toga-clad militia fighting for exclusive rule by women. The propaganda-obsessed society that seems to be running the world is probably worth looking into as well.

The power of empathy collides with the dangers of disinformation as Teddy fights to save the people he loves. Our beloved detective doesn't give up easily, but any Angelenos with an aversion to death by herbicide might want to dust off that umbrella, just in case . . .”

Author:

“Patrick Canning is the author of For Your Benefit (2024), Cryptonalia (2021), Hawthorn Woods (2020), The Colonel and the Bee (2018), and Cryptofauna (2018).

His work often blends genres, combining elements of humor, adventure, fantasy, and mystery into stories with imaginative settings, quirky characters, and typos.

Patrick lives in Chicago with his Australian Shepherd, Hank. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys walks on the lakefront, being excited/worrying about AI, and eating his bodyweight in potatoes.”

Appraisal:

This was an interesting read. It was described to me as a “satirical detective novel” and I wasn’t sure how satire was going to work with a mystery or detective story. I found the characters in this to be interesting, amusing (the satirical qualities were at least part of that), and, as you’d want with a detective novel, the story kept me guessing, having little clue what direction things were going. There were times when it felt like my ability to suspend disbelief was being stretched to its limit, but I think the strange detectives allowed me to keep believing and continue reading since I really wanted to know where the story was going to end up. All in all it made for a fun and very unique read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some 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: 65-70,000 words

Review: Heroic Measures by Joel Shulkin, MD

 Genre: Technothriller

Description:

“The medical examiner’s job is to speak for the dead and protect the living.

But what happens when the dead speak for themselves?

Stephen Englehart, an Armed Forces medical examiner. dedicates his life to bringing peace to the families of fallen soldiers. Tagged as one of the best, he’s able to spot forensic clues others miss. But when the body of a US Marine, supposedly burned beyond recognition, shows up with hardly a scratch, even Stephen is stumped. Were the bodies switched? Then, in the middle of the autopsy, the impossible happens.

The soldier wakes up.

Something incredible—and dangerous—is happening to the military’s elite, and Stephen may be the only one who can figure it out. And when Stephen’s sister, a Green Beret, goes missing, the entire military machine seems designed to stop him from finding her. To find the truth and save his sister, one man must stand against an army. Can he be the hero he never thought he could?”

Author:

“Being a full-time physician hasn't stopped Joel from writing. Far from it, the complexity of his patients, prior service with the United States Air Force, a Master's in Public Health, and involvement in organized medicine in the middle of an ever-changing healthcare system all provide raw material for his stories.

Joel's short work has appeared in various print and online journals, and he's won several awards, including Best Medical Fiction from SEAK and an Honorable Mention from Writer's Digest Thriller Suspense Competition. Adverse effects is his debut novel.

Joel lives in Florida with his wife and twin daughters.”

Appraisal:

The one thing this technothriller definitely does is keep you guessing. You’re figuring out lots of things with the protagonist, Stephen Englehart, as he does his job, tries to figure out what is happening with his sister who has gone missing, and what is going on with his current work project. He’s also got parts of his past that still bother him and he finds himself discovering were much more complex than he realized as a kid when they happened. How all these different things tie together comes out eventually as Stephen peels back more and more layers to each part of the story. This kept me guessing and engaged in the many related mysteries, hoping it would all work out for Stephen, right up to the very end.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on an ARC (advance reviewer copy) so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 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: The Thing About My Uncle by Peter J. Stavros

 Genre: Coming of Age

Description:

“The thing about my uncle was that I hardly knew him. Uncle Theo kept to himself, some would say he was a recluse, and by all accounts, that was how he preferred it. I couldn’t precisely recall when I had seen him last in the flesh. I just had a foggy recollection from when I was little, like a grainy home movie with cracks and skips and frames missing…

Although ten years have passed, Rhett Littlefield has always blamed himself for his father abandoning him and his family. When the troubled fourteen-year-old gets kicked out of school for his latest run-in with the vice principal, his frazzled single mother sends him to the hollers of Eastern Kentucky to stay with his Uncle Theo, a man of few words who leads an isolated existence with his loyal dog, Chekhov.

Resigned to make the best of his situation while still longing for the day when Mama will allow him to return home, Rhett settles into his new life. Rhett barely remembers his uncle, but he’s determined to get to know him. As he does, Rhett discovers that he and Uncle Theo share a connection to the past, one that has altered both their lives, a past that will soon come calling.

The Thing About My Uncle is an engaging and heartwarming coming-of-age story that explores the cost of family secrets, the strength of family bonds, and the importance of reconciling the two in order to move forward.”

Author:

A licensed attorney, playwright, and former reporter for the Associated Press, Peter J. Stravros is an award-winning writer with a novella and some short story collections to his credit. This is his first full length novel. Mr Stavros lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Appraisal:

This was a fun read. While my life as a teen boy more decades ago than I care to admit was nothing like Rhett Littlefield’s, the protagonist of this story, I found that I could still relate on some level. Okay, I confess, his propensity to push limits, what ultimately led to his mother sending him to live with his uncle, might be something I had in common with him. But not the rest of it. I’m afraid that if I’d gone through all that he had that I might not have done as well as he did. This was a fun read with some little mysteries buried in it. Some of them, like what Rhett’s Uncle Theo does to make a living, was pretty obvious to me from the start. (It took Rhett a bit longer to figure it out.) Other things, like why Rhett’s dad had disappeared from his life when he was only a few years old, is one that takes a while to come to light. As Rhett, with help from his Uncle Theo, slowly figures things out and gets his life back on track, I found myself both entertained and pulling for him as I read his story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

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

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words