Review: The Circus of the Vanishing Elephant by Tim Schooley

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Description:

This is a story about an American circus in the Eighties (or thereabouts). The author’s first jobs were working as a clown with Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey circuses. The publisher of this interesting work of fiction is HTF Publishing, an imprint of History Through Fiction, which “seeks to provide readers with engaging historical narratives that are rooted in detailed and accurate historical research”. Schooley absolutely knows whereof he writes. The novel feels truly authentic. The vanishing elephant is a clever McGuffin: when the reveal finally comes it is worth the wait.

Author:

We’ve seen what Schooley did when he left school, but (as the novel makes clear) you need a particular mind set to want the live the circus life year after year. So Mr Schooley went to university and became an appellate lawyer: ta da! How’s that for a career swerve? He has been writing throughout his working life, but now that he has retired from the law he is putting his back into it. He has already published legal thrillers. And an historical novel which won prizes (The Wool Translator in 2022) But this is Something Completely Different.

Appraisal:

Well, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this. As a document of circus life during a particular period of the twentieth century, in America, it is delightful. As a story of how a peripatetic family copes with itself (or doesn’t) it is fascinating. As an early consideration of why animals finally disappeared from circuses it is wise. The strong bonds between the animals (elephants in particular) and their handlers are beautifully drawn for us by someone who understands them, but the downsides are shown to us too – the chains, the bull hooks, the tiny cages, and (from the other side of the ring) the occasional mauling.

An intriguing novel, well worth your time.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

As this is an advance reviewer copy we can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Reprise Review: The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner by Shawn Inmon

 

Genre: Science Fiction/Time Travel

Description:

“How many lives would you spend to find your beloved?

Dominick Davidner was murdered. Then things got worse.

Instead of going on to the afterlife, Dominick found himself back in his nine year old body, all memories of his previous life intact. All he can think about is Emily, the love of his life, left behind when he died.

Unfortunately, she is now thousands of miles away. How can Dominick find his way back to the woman he loves, and what will he say if he finds her?”

Author:

Former DJ, business consultant, and real estate agent, Shawn Inmon is now a fulltime author. A regular contributor at Indies Unlimited, Inmon can't seem to decide whether to write fiction (Rock'n Roll Heaven), or non-fiction (he’s written two travels books). Then there are his first two books that were novels based on truth or fictionalized memoirs or … I don't know what to call them, but they were somewhere in the middle.

Appraisal:

This is the third book in Inmon’s Middle Falls Time Travel series. Each book can be read as a standalone novel because while each of the protagonists spends some time living in the fictional town of Middle Falls, Oregon, knowing what happened in a prior story isn’t needed to follow newer books in the series. The main thing each book has in common is the protagonist dies. Upon his death the character is shocked to discover that they’ve gone back in time, to some point in their childhood. They have the body of a child, but retain memories of the life they led before, which gives some clue as to what might be coming, both for them personally and for the world in general.

The first two stories in the series focused on second chances with the main characters trying to live their lives better the second time around. In one case this was by avoiding a big mistake. In the other it was mainly by trying to prevent someone else from making a major mistake that effected many others.

This installment of the series is different in that Dominick, the protagonist, has only one goal when he starts his life over, to meet and marry his spouse once again. Easy, isn’t it? Just do everything the same as you did the first time around and it should work out fine. But it seems foolish to take the same boring route through life, especially when there is an obvious shortcut to get where you want quicker, right?

The premise of this series makes for some entertaining and thought-provoking stories. As they illustrate, maybe if we had life to live over again, knowing what we know after having learned a thing or two from the school of hard knocks, it may not actually be as easy as we think to get a better result. Just like my rewriting that sentence didn’t result in one that ran on less, sometimes things don’t turn out better, just different.??

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This is the third book in Inmon’s Middle Falls Time Travel series. It can be read as a standalone novel.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Review: Love, Fail, Repeat: Part I - Not Safe by Alice Bohane

 

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Suspense

Description:

“Genna thought this house would be a fresh start.

After months of exhaustion, panic, and holding herself together for her baby son, she needs somewhere quiet. Somewhere safe. Somewhere that can finally feel like home.

At first, the house gives her exactly that.

Then, through the static, she hears a woman whisper:

‘He’s not safe.’

There is no recording. No proof. Nothing anyone else can hear.

But the warnings keep coming.

Someone has been watching. Someone knows this house.

As the signs move closer, Genna begins to wonder whether the locked doors are keeping danger out...

or keeping her exactly where someone wants her.”

Author:

Alice Bohane is a doctor, originally from London, who now lives in France. This is her first book.

Appraisal:

The story here is good, as far as it goes. This book is the first of a planned three book series. This first installment builds the suspense, ultimately leading us to know, or at least think we know, whether there is a potential threat and even where that threat is coming from. And then it leaves us hanging with no real resolution.

This first installment of the three book series is short enough that if the other two books are roughly the same size then combining it into a single book would have resulted in a book that is well within a reasonable length for a single novel. Based on how this book leaves the reader hanging, I wonder why the author didn’t do that. I’m glad I read this first part, but also wish I had the other two parts available to see how this ends.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language. Also, the author is a native of the UK and uses some terms that are specific to the UK although nothing that a reader from some other English speaking country won’t be able to figure out.

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: Happy Like Coach Jack by John M. Simmons

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“Happy Like Coach Jack is a true story about a young man nobody expected much from — and what happened when a whole community quit making allowances and expected everything he had to give.

Jack Simmons has Down syndrome. Before baseball, most of his afternoons went to sports video games and a quiet hope that someday there might be more. When a traveling youth baseball team in St. George, Utah invited him on as an assistant coach, they wanted nothing more than to do something kind. Nobody expected what came next — not the players, not the parents, not even the father who thought he already understood his son.

Told through the eyes of Jack's father, Happy Like Coach Jack follows what happens when a community decides not to make room for someone, but simply lets him take his place in it. Somewhere along the way, Jack started working toward a goal nobody around him even knew he had.

This is a book about community, about youth sports at their best, and about a young man with an intellectual disability who was never told to stop reaching for more. It is funny, it's thoughtful, it's tender, and every word of it is true.”

Author:

John Simmons has written multiple books. Until recently he was also the President and CEO of a business he had started, but is now the head of a charity. He and his wife have several children, some their biological offspring and several adopted, both domestically and internationally. He lives with his family in a rural mountain valley in Utah.

Appraisal:

I viewed this book as a memoir since it is told from the viewpoint of the author, the father of “Coach Jack.” The actual star of the book. Jack, who has Down syndrome, is also a big sports fan. The book explores Jack’s life from a younger kid interested in sports and attempting to participate in whatever way he could until he reached his 20s where he still wanted to be a part and how his community came together and found a way to include Jack. In doing so the community benefited too, in many ways. If this doesn’t amuse you, warm your heart, and inspire you in some way, you need to read it again and pay better attention the second time around.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

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: Happy Iceland by Anne Marie Wells

 

Genre: Travel Memoir/LGBTQ

Description:

“A simple question at Iceland's international airport-What are your happiest memories of Iceland?-sets off an unforgettable journey across the Land of Fire and Ice. Abandoning guidebooks and itineraries, a young woman on the precipice of turning thirty, newly unemployed and stuck in a faltering relationship, spends five weeks backpacking and hitchhiking to find the locations where Icelandic strangers' happiest memories took place. From childhood sports fields and family farms to hidden waterfalls and the remote Highlands, this intimate travel memoir explores Iceland far beyond what can be seen from a sightseeing bus tour. Part adventure, part meditation on what it takes to be happy in a volatile world, Happy Iceland is a reminder that some of the best journeys begin when we shut up and listen.”

Author:

Anne Marie Wells is an award-winning poet, playright, and author of a few books in addition to working as an editor and writing coach.

For more visit her website.

Appraisal:

I don’t remember the last time I read a book that felt so much like it was written for me specifically. Yeah, I’m an old white straight guy and Anne Marie Wells, the author of this book, is opposite of that in every way. However, we also connect on many levels.

One of those is that I’m an avid traveler. Although my travels have primarily been in the US I’ve done a little international travel. One of the things I enjoy about travel is in seeing how people, places, and the life led by the people in those places compare to what I experience where I live now as well as where I’ve lived in the past. This book, while focused on Iceland and what the author experienced there, also gives an idea of the author’s background, where she’s lived, and how they differed from each other as well as how they compared to what she was experiencing in Iceland. Many of the places in the US she mentioned were places I’ve lived or been to, so she got us on the same wavelength pretty quickly. (Her being a fan of Tim Hortons, the Canadian-based fast-food outlet, sucked me in even more.) I think our senses of humor are compatible as well.

But most of all, I loved her concept of exploring Iceland without an itinerary. I’ll admit, I was nervous that she was basically getting around by hitchhiking. In most countries I wouldn’t expect her to survive with that approach. That combined with her technique for picking her next destination by questioning the first person she interacts with after getting to one destination about where their happiest memory in Iceland took place meant she immersed herself in life in Iceland, not only meeting and interacting with a large range of people there, but seeing what the country was like from the standpoint of the people who are native to the area. Most travel memoirs focus a lot more on the travel and less on the memories created by the travel than this one does and ultimately that difference is what makes it standout so much for me. An incredible read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Adult language and some mostly mild adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: The Luck Illusion by Martin Signorin

 

Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help

Description:

“What if luck is not an explanation, but simply the name we give to causes we have not yet seen?

Why do some individuals succeed while others do not? Why do lives with comparable potential end up taking very different paths? We frequently attribute these differences to a single, convenient explanation: luck.

But that word may conceal more than it explains.

The Luck Illusion investigates the unseen forces that affect human outcomes, including health, timing, location, education, wealth, relationships, and opportunities. It looks at how causality and probability interact to produce outcomes that might seem lucky, unlucky, deserved, or inevitable only after they occur.

Walsdos, a fictional character at the heart of the book, illustrates how unseen forces can slowly cluster around an individual. His life experiences challenge the notion of success and failure as isolated events, instead framing them as the outcomes of extended chains of cause and effect.

Inspired by psychology, philosophy, probability, and social sciences, The Luck Illusion is a serious yet approachable nonfiction book aimed at general readers. It questions common assumptions without sounding overly academic, technical, or prescriptive.

The book ends with the Setback Audit, a practical framework that helps readers analyse a challenging event in detail, identify contributing factors, and go beyond simple judgments of luck or misfortune.”

Author:

“Martin Signorin is a British nonfiction author who has lived in southeastern Bulgaria since 2005. Now retired from teaching, he writes about psychology, philosophy, causality, judgement, success and failure.”

Appraisal:

When I started reading this book, I actually anticipated that I’d get some interesting new insights that would be a positive, but that I’d disagree with the overall premise to some degree. I was wrong. Oops. It turns out that I agree with the point the author is making. Some things he points out I’ve always recognized as reality, although I might have described what was happening differently and in other cases the points made here adjusted my thinking for the better. I’m trying not to give any spoilers here, so won’t say more. You’ll have to read it for yourself if you’re curious.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 15-20,000 words

Reprise Review: Four American Tales by Jack Messenger

 

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“Secrets. Money. Love. Death. Sometimes they’re hard to tell apart.

Four American Tales describes a world of hopes and fears on the far side of the American Dream, in a quartet of evocative stories about love and loss, struggle and ambition from the 1950s to the present day.

Wichega is an atmospheric tale of childhood’s dreams and nightmares: when Sweet Pea and her family move far away, is it really because her father has quit the Navy, or is there something else going on – something to do with his new Oldsmobile and the monster that lives in the pond out by the highway?

A Hundred Ways to Live follows Nadine and Earle outside the Law as they travel across the desert in search of the stolen money they hope will give them a new life.

Ballbusters on Parade is an unconventional parable of work in the sex industry: Mike is persuaded by his girlfriend Yolanda to apply for a screen test. Success, however, leads him in unexpected directions.

Uncle Mort tells how a bequest gives rise to unforeseen problems. Helen and Thomas are successful and happy New Yorkers. News of her uncle’s death opens up the past and suddenly everything becomes uncertain – marriage, identity and what to do with a tumbledown house that no one wants.

All four stories feature great female characters, powerful writing and intriguing storylines – stories in which things happen and people change.”

Author:

A full-time writer and editor, Jack Messenger lives in the UK. He is the author of one novel and multiple non-fiction books in addition to this short story collection.

Appraisal:

Interesting characters and stories. In the foreword the author indicates that one of his aims with the stories is to “provoke thought.” The stories certainly did that with me. They have characters and storylines that make you wonder, sometimes forcing you to read between the lines and, in doing so, making the story your own since your interpretation will be different than mine. A good, fast read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words

Review: False Dawn by D.V. Berkom

 

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“She thought the mission was about protecting a defector. She was wrong.

Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Reynolds thought she was prepared for anything. But when her close protection team is wiped out in a surgical ambush, she realizes she’s been caught in a game much bigger than she imagined.

As Mac digs deeper into who wanted the defector silenced—and why—she uncovers a global conspiracy tied to black ops missions, encrypted intelligence, and a man she thought she’d lost: her father.

To expose the truth, Mac must navigate a deadly web of espionage, betrayal, and buried secrets—with the help of a journalist whose personal mission might just get them both killed.”

Author:

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

For more, visit her website.

Appraisal:

After reading the first few pages of this book I said to myself, “this is off to an intense start.” It turns out that it was just ramping up and relative to where things go from there it wasn’t so intense after all. The protagonist, Mackenzie, or Mac as she is known, is a strong female who gets things done, something that I know to expect when I read a book by D.V. Berkom and one of the reasons I always jump at the chance to read her books. Mac is a new character, but this book is the first of a planned trilogy, so I expect to see her kicking some butt (that has it coming) in some fashion again. As intense as this read was and how much it impacted Mac in many ways, both professionally and personally, this is the perfect read if you enjoy intensity in the stories you read. If you’re looking to relax, maybe not, although even then you can be glad that you’re not dealing with things as stressful as Mac does.

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: 90-95,000 words

Review: Double Walk by Melissa Bowersock

 

Genre: Paranormal Mystery

Description:

“Talk about a double whammy. An executive jet is subjected to two catastrophic events in a row, and has now gone missing. Daniel and Dakota, vacationing in Fiji, find a floating object that Daniel feels came from that plane. The authorities might be interested, but not when they hear about Daniel’s psychic source. In the meantime, half a world away, Sam and Lacey are confronted with a case unlike anything they’ve ever encountered, another double whammy. As they work to tease out the reasons behind multiple ghosts attached to an ordinary housewife, the answers they uncover are too incredible to believe.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: paranormal, biography, western, action, romance, fantasy, spiritual, and satire.”

For more visit Ms.Bowersock’s website and follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

This being named double has more than one reason for its name (at least two, to double up on the doubles). One of them is explained in the description. We actually have two mysteries that are resolved in this book. One of them by Sam Firecloud’s son, Daniel, who has the same ability to communicate with spirits caught between this plain and the next one as his dad. Daniel teams up with his brand new bride while they’re on their honeymoon, just to spice things up a bit. The second mystery is one that Sam and Lacey deal with that fits the normal high level storyline of the other fifty plus books in this series in some ways and in others really changes things up a bit. I’ll say that we’ve got a bonus double plus another bonus that is much bigger than that when compared to the normal cases that Sam and Lacey deal with. As always it was a fast and fun read that kept me guessing and buying into some supernatural stuff that I’d never go for in real life. Every time I read a book in this series I immediately start eagerly anticipating the next, but loving the read I just finished.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Review: Seeing Sunny Again by Paul Clayton

 

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

Seventeen short stories that take a critical look at what life is like for an average middle class American these days.

Author:

The author of several books over the years ranging from short story collections to novels and genres from historical to fantasy and science fiction.

Appraisal:

A collection of short stories that have the common thread of featuring normal everyday people dealing with the kinds of issues that any of us might have to deal with at some time in our life. Odds of at least a few of the stories feeling like it could have been you or at least a friend or family member is there. But, like with any good story, most of them pulled me in wondering what was going to happen to the protagonist of the story and how their current situation was going to work out. I like to read a short story collection once in a while to add a little variety to my reading diet and this one did the trick well.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and mildly adult situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words