Review: Murders at the Fountain of Youth by Kevin Douglas Wright

Genre: Mystery

Description:

“What do you know about The Fountain of Youth? Did it really exist? Discover the story behind the Fountain of Youth. Where was it? Where is it today? Take a trip back in time. This is the story of a struggling private investigator hired to solve a murder mystery, challenged to be fair, and trusted to save a village full of innocent people including her daughter.”

Author:

“Kevin Douglas Wright is an author, screenwriter, film producer, film director, cinematographer, film editor, songwriter, and music producer.”

Appraisal:

There are two good things I can say about Murders at the Fountain of Youth. The first is that whoever proofread it did a good job. I only spotted a couple minor issues. The second good thing is, it was short. That's it.

Sometimes the writing is okay. Some of the story works. (That's lukewarm, right?) But there were also a lot of things that left me scratching my head, not sure what to make of it. For example the protagonist, a “struggling private investigator” referred to a case in South Florida she eventually tries to solve as a “dangerous job opportunity,” which turned out to be true, but nothing that had happened would lead a reasonable person to view it that way. Maybe it was foreshadowing, done poorly. Or I'd hit a line like this one ...

They admired the scenery and the many different kinds of happy people that walked around.

… and I'd get hung up on what this even means and what the point was supposed to be. Not to mention this gem of redundancy.

Seminole indians…you know, native americans.

In the end there was way too much clumsy storytelling and convoluted language use for me to recommend this one.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ** Two Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 9-10,000 words

Review: Courting Love by Mardeene

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Description:

“In this Sexy Boomer TRIPLE Romance, three sisters meet at a tennis resort in Florida for a birthday reunion which climaxes like no other. Madison and Pamela plot to make this a wonderful celebration for sister, Jenny, who still grieves the death of her husband and dreads her big 50th birthday.

Their plan to make her happy? Find her a man! Which is their idea, not hers. Trouble already. More trouble—three game-changers coming on to the court who heat up the sets with more than their 130-mile-per-hour serves: the fascinating Croatian Grand Slam champion who owns the resort; the young blond ridiculously handsome All-American coach; the charming Latino camp groupie with heart but suspected of being a gigolo. When romance courts them, the sisters end up playing more love matches off the court than on—culminating in a more memorable birthday than they could have even imagined.”

Author:

“Mardeene has worked in the publishing and film industries for over 32 years as a photojournalist, scriptwriter, nonfiction book author, literary manager and producer of events for writers in Northern California’s Silicon Valley, Hollywood, Atlanta, and Brazil.

She's launching her debut fiction with her collection of short erotic romances as a celebration of life after a near death experience and an affirmation of living and loving full out at any age! Read a free story on her website.”

Appraisal:

Courting Love is a smartly told, steamy novelette. The three sisters; Madison, Pamela, and Jenny are all strong, smart, successful women with different lifestyles. Madison, the oldest sister, is probably the most competitive. She makes a startling declaration to her sisters, at the beginning of their get-away to the tennis camp resort, which she soon regrets. However, she stands firm in her commitment to herself.

The plot is character driven and readers are given points-of-view from each sister, which shows their different personalities perfectly. I enjoy well-written and developed characters which added depth to the entire story. This is a fun sexy romp and all three sisters come away with a change of heart. I would highly recommend this novelette for a fun afternoon, evening, or vacation read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK 

FYI:

Courting Love is a novelette which is more sweet, sexy, and less sexually explicit than Mardeene’s other short erotic romances.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant proofing errors.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 10-11,000 words

Review: The Winter Lady by LB Clark

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal/New Adult/Saga

Description:

“Faerie children are disappearing, and while Finn Jameson thinks it’s a shame, he’s not stupid enough to get tangled up with the Fae, not for any reason. He’s a demon hunter, after all, not a PI, and it’s definitely not a demon that’s snatching kids from the areas around the mage academies in Seelie. So when a Lady of the Winter Court comes to him for help, his first instinct is to say, ‘No.’ But he never could say no to a lady in need.

As the mystery of the disappearances unravels, Finn realizes his instincts were right. It’s not hard to see he’s gotten in over his head and that the effort to save the girls’ lives may cost him his own.”

Author:

“LB Clark currently resides on the third coast in Galveston, Texas, where she spends as much time writing as possible (when she's not being distracted by her roommates, her friends, her day job, books, or random shiny objects). She has loved both writing and music from an early age, so combining the two seemed like the thing to do. In addition to her stories in Music Speaks, LB has published five books in the (completed) Jukebox Heroes series…

LB dreams of one day being able to combine her three big loves - travel, music, and writing- into a career. In the meantime, she'll just keep weaving her travels and love of music into her writing.”

Be sure to check out her books on her Amazon author page or follow her on Facebook page.

Appraisal:

Finn Jameson is a demon hunter who is trying to gain redemption for his soul through good deeds. Finn also has trouble telling pretty ladies “No,” especially when kids are involved. He’s also fairly certain this mission may lead to his ruin for a number of reasons.

There are several diverse characters and each is well rounded and defined. Their dialogue is witty and entertaining with a few pop culture references. Finn is a loner who needs a certain amount of alone time to be at his best. However, he has a couple of on and off again relationships with a vampire and a succubus. He also has a drinking buddy, Sebastian, an incubus who is well respected in paranormal politics. They all live in a world like our own blending in, more or less unseen, with the human population.  

Since The Winter Lady is the first book of the series there is a lot of time spent on character development, relationships, and world building. I did feel like too much time was spent researching connections between the Faerie children and trying to formulate a rescue plan. Certain areas seemed irrelevant and didn’t move the story forward. Eventually, once the journey starts the pace picks up and we are introduced to different Seelie and Unseelie worlds, some of their history, and frightful creatures that need subduing.  

The unique plot twists, turns, and circles as our small band of rescuers chase the culprit responsible. Surprising truths are revealed as the characters learn more about each other and themselves. I loved the ending, even though it threw me for a loop and left a huge smile on my face. Finn’s demon hunting is going to take on a whole new dimension and I also hope to see more of Mae, the Lady of the Winter Court. It’s going to be fun watching this series develop.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK 

FYI:

The Winter Lady is the first book in the Slayer's Saga series.

Format/Typo Issues:

A number of small proofing errors, which include missing, extra, or wrong words. Nothing that actually threw me out of the story.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: Rain Check by Levi Andrew Noe

Genre: Short Story Collection/Flash Fiction

Description:

Just shy of 60 short stories, most of them falling under the category of flash fiction (short, short stories).

Author:

Levi Andrew Noe is a native of Denver, a frequent traveler, and a yoga teacher. Noe combined two of his interests, story-telling and yoga, to come up with the Tall Tales Yoga program he founded.

For more, visit Noe's website.

Appraisal:

The stories in this collection are arranged into three sections. The first, “On Time and Place,” is followed by “On Relations” and “On Mind, Body, Heart and Soul.” Most (maybe all, depending on your working definition) of these stories fall under the category of flash fiction – short, short stories, sometimes only a hundred words. In theory it could be even less although I believe these stories were all about that length or longer.

Flash fiction often requires more of the reader, making them fill in the gaps with their imaginings. For example, the words “For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn” have been attributed (probably incorrectly) to Hemingway, as the legend goes it was his response to a challenge to write the shortest story possible. That story requires you to fill in some gaps, but has everything you might expect in a story including one or more characters (we could imply a baby and someone, possibly a parent selling the shoes), some conflict (why were the shoes never worn?), and a setting implied. There is a plot, even if largely implied as well as a theme (maybe something about the fickleness of life). Google “elements of a story” and you'll find numerous places listing these five elements and an explanation of each.

All of the above is background to understand my one complaint with the collection, or at least a portion of it. (Yeah, I know, I need to learn to use less words, too.) My problem is that some of the stories in the first section (“On Time and Place”) didn't feel like there was a story there. I'm a fan of travel memoirs and in many instances the “stories” I'm talking about seem like a snippet from something like that. These have an evocative setting, a character in whoever is describing it, but I couldn't see the story. The note I made after several of these were the stories “were all spice, with no meat.”

I only had that issue in the first of the three sections and not even with all the stories in that section. Although I liked some stories better than others I found the stories much more compelling as I got deeper into the collection. All the elements were there or I did a better job at filling in the gaps, I'm not sure which.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Reprise Review: Amish Vampires in Space by Kerry Nietz

Genre: Sci-fi

Description:

A planet settled by an Amish community is in imminent danger of being destroyed because its sun is about to go super nova. The Amish are rescued by a Guild transport ship. The story takes place on the ship as it voyages to the new Amish planet.

Author:

Kerry Nietz is a refugee of the software industry. He spent more than a decade of his life flipping bits, first as one of the principal developers of the database product FoxPro for the now mythical Fox Software, and then as one of Bill Gates's minions at Microsoft. He is a husband, a father, a technophile and a movie buff. He has one non-fiction book, a memoir entitled FoxTales: Behind the Scenes at Fox Software. His first novel, A Star Curiously Singing, was published in October of 2009.

To learn more check out Mr. Nietz’s website and Facebook page.

Appraisal:

Before I get to the story, which I enjoyed immensely, I have a few comments about the presentation: I would never in a million years read a book with such a cynical title. And as for the old saying—never judge a book by its cover, well that has probably never been truer. I don’t enjoy vampire stories, either. No. The only reason I selected this story was because I’ve read two of Mr. Nietz’s previous novels and enjoyed them both. There is a reason behind both the title and the cover. It’s explained by the publisher at the beginning of the book, and if you’re interested, you can read about it in the Amazon sample.

So, to the story: as the title implies, there are three threads to this novel.

Amish—the story begins with the Amish community, and the author achieves a brilliant piece of world building in this section. I was sucked in and enthralled with the characters and traditions on display.

Space. Yes, despite the title, this is a sci-fi novel, and the space ship (transporter) was fascinating—a second world successfully built by Mr. Nietz including the characters who ran the ship and a nicely nuanced love story to boot.

Vampires. Well, yes, but from a sci-fi perspective without the usual paranormal BS that annoys me like fingernail scratches on a chalkboard.

The threads were pulled together beautifully. The read was fast, the writing sharp and easy on the eye, the characters all worked and made sense. Tension was maintained right to the end. I can’t believe I’m typing this, but— I highly recommend Amish Vampires in Space.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: Amish Vampires in Space was a nominee in the Science Fiction category for B&P 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran June 21, 2014

Format/Typo Issues:

None noted - Really clean writing.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 135-140,000 words

Review: Infinte Zoe by Kingfisher Pink

Genre: Fantasy, although the author claims science fiction

Description:

Twelve-year-old Zoe Stanton’s happy home turns into a morose and lonely place when her mother is killed by a drunk driver. Her father sinks into depression, and she assumes the burden of trying to restore some cheer to the household. She fails, and her father goes missing. Zoe and her friend, Joshie, who has also lost his parents, go in search of her father in a “venture deep into the weird world of quantum theory.”

Author:

“Born in the City of Angels. Raised in The Last Frontier. Lived in the City of Roses and can remember when Portlandia was just a statue. Turned up MIA in the Big Apple and have seen the Moon Over Parma firsthand. Currently residing in the Biggest Little City in the World. I name my kids after outlaws, scientists and troubadours in the hopes that their future will be forever more interesting than my dreams.”

Appraisal:

I picked up Infinite Zoe for review because I’m a fan of science fiction, the sample text on Amazon revealed a pleasantly clean writing style and the author promised an adventure in string theory and quantum physics.

I also became engaged enough to want to know what happens to the main characters, Zoe and her pal Joshie, and I was curious to see how Kingfisher used quantum physics, string theory and a multiverse in a kids story.

It turns out that he doesn’t, although he does sprinkle jargon “superposition, decoherence,” and such, throughout the story. The author applies the physics of the very small to people-sized objects with little regard for science. String theory gets only a name mention and a multiverse is described as a place where “theoretically anything is possible,” including pony-sized seahorses that can fly, in abeyance of quantum or any other extant physics theory.

The author then tries to explain the oddity by noting that scientists are actually studying the breakdown of physical laws. Well sort of, such study primarily involves mutations in numerical constants in some physics equations over long periods. It might have been better to echo Einstein and just say quantum physics suggests “spooky” events and be done with it. In the spirit of, “radioactive spider bites Peter Parker--Pete gets superhuman powers.” Not science, but cool, let’s get on with the adventure.

While dropping science terms, Kingfisher evokes Chronicles of Narnia. Through a closet in the father’s basement, Zoe and Joshie enter an infinite tunnel of doors opening into ephemeral worlds that the author describes as existing momentarily in the way quantum bonds between electrons exist before decoherence sets in. However, the heroes are able to explore the quickly vanishing worlds because for them time stops. There is no explanation of why events are able to unfold in the worlds with time at a standstill.

Michio Kaku suggests, I assume whimsically, that déjà vu might result from brief interactions between universes when string vibrations are in phase. Something like that might have been better exploited than a basement closet that’s a portal to the infinite.

The author plays as loosely with the story’s internal logic as he does with science. In one world, Zoe meets “copies” of her parents who recognize her. She and Joshie have dinner with them. One wonders what happened to Zoe’s “copy,” which must exist. Why wasn’t she also home for dinner? He uses the phrases: “all things are possible” and “anything that can happen will happen” to explain the impossible. He seems to use them interchangeably even though their meanings are quite different.

For all my irritations at the author’s faux science and lack of discipline in maintaining logic and focus on a target audience (I assume young people), I wanted to know the fate of Zoe and Joshie. The bitter-sweet ending does not disappoint.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

None worth noting

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: Sam Waite

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Review: Concealed by RJ Crayton

Genre: Dystopian/Young Adult

Description:

“Seventeen-year-old Elaan Woodson is supposed to be one of the lucky ones. She received placement in the subterranean protection unit designed to keep select families safe from the deadly virus ravaging the world above.

She's found happiness in the routine underground, and even a budding romance with another teen lucky enough to get a coveted spot away from the virus.

But, as Elaan hears snippets of conversations from those closest to her and those in charge, she's beginning to think things aren't as safe as she believed. While Elaan has heard that what you don't know can't hurt you, she's beginning to think otherwise.

The truth may be the only thing that can keep Elaan safe. But can she discover it in time?”

Author:

RJ Crayton is a prolific author, with about a dozen of her books available. This book is the first in her Virus series. A former journalist and regular contributor at Indies Unlimited, Crayton lives with her husband and two kids in Maryland.

For more about RJ, visit her website.

Appraisal:

More often than not dystopian fiction, at its core, has a political point, taking a current political direction and combining it with a slippery slope argument, to make a point. If there is a political point at the heart of Concealed, I missed it. (We probably shouldn't rule out that possibility.) That doesn't mean there aren't politics going on, but the viruses infecting the world seem more of a natural disaster.

Regardless of what started the spread of the virus, this is a solid story that should appeal to older teens (the young adult audience), as well as adults. There is a coming-of-age theme, for those who like those kind of stories and as the first installment of the series the promise of more adventures to come.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

One instance of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: Kevin The Vampire by Will Madden

Genre: Paranormal/Suspense

Description:

“Back in the 1980s, Kevin hoisted a firebrand to bad-assery as a new vampire outside the punk rock clubs of New York City. These days, he’s retreated to rural Ohio, where he lazes around an abandoned church, playing the organ and dreading the taste of the corn-fed locals. One night, a vampire hunter breaks into his sanctum bearing worrying news: another of Kevin’s kind has concocted a plot to turn the whole world into a hell for living and undead alike. The hunter proposes an alliance to destroy this rogue vampire, but Kevin suspects his would-be ally has at least one secret he isn’t telling.”

Author:

“Will Madden is a Nashville based author, originally from the Bronx, New York. He holds a degree in something ridiculous from a fancy institution of higher education. By day he performs menial labor so that by night he has enough brain power to deliver the hard-hitting truths about the struggles of imaginary monsters. His name is only slightly less unGoogle-able than Pat Downs…”

Kevin The Vampire is Mr. Madden’s debut novelette. To learn more check out his webpage.

Appraisal:

I found Kevin the Vampire a smartly written novelette with a unique plot. Kevin faces the dilemma of a scheme which may or may not be the rantings of a madman. Kevin has known Crackle for years, he’s an old vampire who has tested his skills beyond its measure, perhaps to his mental deficit. Grackle, posing as a vampire hunter to the human world, has come to recruit Kevin to mount an assault against a plot to turn the whole world into a hell for living and undead alike. Grackle has an extensive battle plan and Kevin must decide whether to join forces with him or not.

Kevin has found himself a nice little existence in an abandoned church in rural Ohio. He’s not lazy, he redecorates his surroundings regularly by painting the icons with nail polish in gauche colors. He also repaired the organ so he could play Billy Joel songs. He is also smart, has a wicked sense of humor, and a conscience.

I enjoyed the complex storyline and watching the verbal sparring match between Kevin and Grackle. It’s going to be interesting to see what comes next. While the ending came to a satisfying close, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of Kevin.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

FYI:

Only one F-bomb.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of proofing errors.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 12-13,000 words

Review: Lost & Found by Scott Baron

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

A collection of four short stories.

Author:

“A native Californian, Scott Baron was born in Hollywood, which he claims may be the reason for his off-kilter sense of humor. Before taking up residence in Venice Beach, he spent a few years studying abroad before settling into the film and television industry, where he has worked off and on for some time. Scott not only writes, but is also involved in indie film and theater both in the U.S. and abroad.”

Appraisal:

A small collection of four short stories. They vary from a western with a six-year-old gunslinger to science fiction to a reimagination of a classic fairy tale to one I'm not sure how to classify. The thing each story has in common is that they're offbeat, well-told, and quickly suck the reader into their strange worlds. At least it did this reader.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 15-16,000 words

Review: Ogrodnik by Gary Raymond Coffin

Genre: Thriller

Description:

"An old man is brutally murdered while out for his morning walk on Mount Royal. Dissatisfied with the police investigation, his son, Elliot Forsman, is compelled to leave his criminology professorship so he can focus his fledgling PI practice on finding his father’s killer. Elliot and his partner, former policewoman Rivka Goldstein, track down the killer only to find themselves caught in a web of corporate conspiracy and hired mercenaries where even the local police cannot be trusted."

Author:

"Gary Coffin is a career IT guy who currently lives near Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) in the bedroom community of Rockland Ontario with lovely wife Kristina. Gary and Kristina have three children only one of which is still living at home. The Elliot Forsman books take place in Montreal, one of the great cities in this world and the city that Gary grew up knowing."

Appraisal:

Elliot Forsman has a new PI business with his partner Rivka Goldstein. When his father is killed and the police set the case aside he decides to go after the murderer himself. He gets involved with Dr Banik of Biovonix - a pharmaceutical firm - and with the mercenaries who work for him, putting his own life, and Rivka's, in danger. He enlists the help of an old friend, Rayce Nolan, an expert on guns and knives and on how to outwit an enemy.

Elliot is an interesting person, grieving for the death of his wife, starting up his new PI business and trying to find out why his father died. He is a courageous man, determined and focused.

The characters in this novel are uniformly good, believable and layered. The narrative drive is compelling and the dialogue is realistic.

However it seems strange that the book is called "Ogrodnik," the name of one of the characters. There is a hint of why at the end but there are many sections of the book where Ogrodnik doesn't feature at all. Elliot is the main character and he holds the narrative thread together although there are times when the book seems to lose direction.

Technically there is a problem with capital letters. They are used indiscriminately in all the wrong places:

" . . . Rivka Replied.

" . . . like this,” Said Rivka with a bit . . .

Several words are used incorrectly:

"After I declined captain Brebouef for a couple of years . . . "

There are some awkward sentences:

" . . . and the soldier spoke in a loud voice “Milos. Milos. Are you here?” In a thick eastern European accent as he walked down . . . "

And a very strange simile:

" . . . beside the couch was Rivka’s Smith & Wesson, lying on the floor like a dead fish."

Overall the book is really good and very enjoyable. It deserves 4 stars but the whole would work much better if the material was organised and had a further edit.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

FYI:

Some graphic violence

Format/Typo Issues:

Some typos and a lot of grammatical errors

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Joan Slowey

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: Moonlight Falling by Karissa Laurel

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Mythology/Romance

Description:

“Moonlight Falling is a prequel novella to Midnight Burning; Book One of The Norse Chronicles.

Before he moved to Alaska, Chapman ‘Mani’ Mundy promised his twin sister he would find out why shadows seemed to follow him and why ice sometimes formed in his footsteps. For nearly three years, he has failed to keep that promise, but a budding romance with co-worker, Skyla Ramirez, inspires him to renew his investigation.

If Mani has any hope for a real relationship with Skyla, there can be no secrets or mysteries between them, but as he hunts for the source of his peculiar abilities, sinister adversaries with dangerous motives will emerge from the shadows to conspire against him.”

Author:

“Karissa lives in North Carolina with her kid, her husband, the occasional in-law, and a very hairy husky. Some of her favorite things are coffee, chocolate, and super heroes. She can quote Princess Bride verbatim. She loves to read and has a sweet tooth for fantasy, sci-fi, and anything in between. Sometimes her husband convinces her to put down the books and take the motorcycles out for a spin. When it snows, you'll find her on the slopes.

Karissa also paints and draws and harbors a grand delusion that she might finish a graphic novel someday.”

Find out more about Karissa Laurel on her website or Facebook.

Appraisal:

At the beginning of Midnight Burning we met Solina Mundy, Mani’s twin sister. We got to know Mani through Solina’s memories. Moonlight Falling is Mani Mundy’s story and isn’t as heavily imbued with mythology as the rest of the series.

Mani is a gentle, thoughtful soul with some serious questions about the phenomenon that manifest around him in times of stress. He hoped that moving to Alaska could help him find answers to his ability while still seeking the action and adventure of the wilderness he needed. The problem is he gets distracted enjoying his life and work. He’s found the perfect job for himself working for Thorin Adventure Outfitters in Siqiniq. Here we meet some of the cast from the first book of “The Norse Chronicles.” However, we are introduced to a different side of their personalities, before events and conflicts happen.

I enjoyed learning about Mani and Solina’s years growing up and the type of relationship they had. It explains a lot about their bond. Mani considers Val, one of the top tour guides, his best friend and it’s easy to see they are pretty tight. Skyla is a tour guide/veteran Marine Mani has admired from afar for the last three years while in Alaska. Skyla surprised me, we got to see a softer side of her confident demeanor. It was nice watching their relationship grow. She’s running a close race for my most favorite character in this series.

The ending is shocking if this is the book you choose to read first. Having read the other two books the ending is more of a bittersweet reminder of how this series all started. Moonlight Falling could easily be read after Midnight Burning to avoid the shocking ending, however, I wouldn’t advise skipping it altogether. It’s a wonderfully written addition to the series and I am glad Ms. Laurel decided to give us Mani’s novella.

Buy now from:    Amazon US    Amazon UK

FYI:

Moonlight Falling is book 0, a prequel novella, to The Norse Chronicles. Book one, Midnight Burning, and book two, Arctic Dawn, are published and available.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues in proofing or formatting and I am relatively sure I received an ARC for review purposes.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Review: White River by Curt Larson

Genre: Thriller

Description:

An EPIC Award finalist for 2016, White River takes you into the pilot's seat for a swashbuckling adventure in the skies and on the ground.

He landed every pilot's dream job, flying a seaplane in the wilds of Canada. It was working out pretty well, until he landed smack in the middle of espionage, 21st century style. Bad luck finds him as every turn of the propeller gets him deeper and deeper into trouble, until not only his survival but the survival of the girl is at stake. Does he have what it takes to navigate his way out of this one alive? And dare he trust the girl?

Author:

Born and raised in metro Detroit, Curt Larson started his professional career as a draftsman, quickly graduating into engineering where he was one of the pioneers of a new engineering technology, Dimensional Management. He prides himself on having a hand in the Dodge Viper and Ferrari F360 Modena, among other more mundane vehicles.

In the 1990s he started writing novels and short stories when the whim arose and found them much more interesting.

Appraisal:

I recently read and reviewed Yukon Audit by Ken Baird. So this is the second novel I’ve read that features a DHC-2 Beaver fitted with floats for water landings in the wilds of Canada. This plane certainly has a strong emotional connection for pilots and engineers. Apparently pilots will doff their caps at the sight of one. If you know what I’m talking about, you can quit the review right here and go buy the novel--you’ll enjoy the tale. Heck buy them both.

For this reader, the plane doesn’t have an attraction, so I found some of the finely detailed descriptions of its working and its handling a little long winded. I didn’t feel that way with Yukon Audit, but maybe I’m just “Beavered out.”

While the action was taking place, the story moved along a decent clip and was interesting enough, but that only covered three-quarters of the book. The last twenty-five percent dealt with “here’s how all the characters ended up,” and that section got really slow. It’s not an uncommon trait in thrillers, especially when a gorgeous woman who is totally out of the reluctant hero’s league is involved. Oddly enough, that same scenario was present in Yukon Audit (both women were NYC models). Probably a coincidence and not at all connected with the plane’s nickname, I’m sure.

Overall, this was a fast, easy read. The main character was well drawn. Pete, his plane’s mechanic, was a lot of fun. Pete’s dialogue was written colloquially, and it worked well--not an easy feat to accomplish, so kudos, Mr. Larson. The bad guys were somewhat stereotypical and the nefarious deed they were planning was glossed over. For a thriller, I found the story lacked tension. I never feared for the hero or expected him to suffer serious injury or to fail to thwart the bad guys. I expected him to rescue the gorgeous gal. And I didn’t much care for the pages that came after the “Thrill was gone.”

Buy now from:     Amazon US    Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words