Review: A Killing Game by Jeff Buick

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Born into a wealthy and powerful Boston family, Renee Charlebois has it all. Except for one small detail – she’s been abducted without a trace. Who took her, and why, is a mystery.

The case gets dropped on Curtis Westcott’s desk, but Boston’s Chief of Homicide has little to work with. No clues, no body, no motive. Renee had no enemies, no financial skeletons in the closet, and no bitter ex- boyfriends. Curtis and Aislinn Byrne, his go-to detective on tough cases, work the file hard but come up empty. Then Westcott attends a party and overhears a story that catches his attention – he and Aislinn have their first break.

They dig in and unravel a complex series of crimes tied to Renee’s disappearance. As they peel back the layers they are convinced Renee is still alive, but that her abductor is on a precise schedule and has every intention of killing her. It’s a bizarre and twisted game, and time is quickly running out.”

Author:

A resident of Calgary, Alberta, Jeff Buick writes what he describes as “fast moving fiction” in different (but not a lot different) genres like thriller, crime fiction, mystery, and suspense.

For more about Jeff, check out his website.

Appraisal:

Wow. As the description says, the culprit in this case is playing a bizarre and twisted game. There have been multiple murders before our culprit lands in Boston. Once Curtis Wescott starts to catch on to what’s happening, he finds he’s in a race against time to see if he can solve a puzzle before it’s too late. If he doesn’t a person, currently just missing and, if the clues can be believed, still alive, will become another in a string of corpses.

The backstory as to why this is happening comes out as Wescott closes in on an arrest. Will he make it on time? All I can say is that I wasn’t sure how it would end until I got to the end, but it was an intense thrill ride the entire way. This has all the elements I look for in a thriller with plenty of unique twists, unlike anything I’ve seen before. Loved it.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This is the first book in a new series of thrillers featuring Curtis Wescott.

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Reprise Review: Blind Sight (The Celadon Circle) by Nicole Storey

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal/YA

Description:

“Jordan has visions of monsters, demons, and death. Seventeen, orphaned, and born into the family business, she doesn’t have friends, she doesn’t have choices. Her uncle, older brothers, and a few annoying angels dominate her life, demanding she tow their lines – and the punishment is severe when those lines are crossed... In a game between Good and Evil where God seems to have tapped out early, lines are blurred and not everything is as it seems.”

Author:

“Nicole Storey lives in the hot and humid part of Georgia with her husband, two amazing children, and plethora of pets. When she isn't traveling to magical realms with potty-mouthed pixies or fighting demons, she enjoys reading and reviewing books, blogging, and gardening.”

You can follow Ms. Storey at her website or find her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

The Celedon Circle is a secret society of human demon slayers. Jordan is a seeker, born and raised to fight demons along with her family. Being a seeker makes her rare and highly valued for her visions of demon activity. The story starts with one of Jordan's visions of an unusually horrific monster which has been summoned in a small Tennessee town. Ms. Storey paints graphic pictures of the carnage this monster wreaks and the reader is grabbed by the throat and dragged into the story.

Other than her unique ability and special family circumstances, Jordan is more or less a typical teenager and her humanity is demonstrated throughout the book. With the story being told through Jordan's eyes we get to know her well along with her perspective of some not so good angels and not so bad demons. The lines between good and evil are blurred and the twists in this character-driven plot are startling. I also found all of the characters realistic and well developed, their dialogue was believable, and the relationships authentic. 

I have to confess I was held captive through the entire story. The Tennessee     story thread is tied up nicely at the end so there is not a cliffhanger ending. However, I can't wait to see how things develop as Jordan's world is turned upside down by an unexpected twist at the end. This could turn into a stellar series. If you are looking for a different sort of urban fantasy this may be a book you would enjoy.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI: Added for Reprise Review: Blind Sight by Nicole Storey was the Winner in the Fantasy category for 2014 Readers' Choice Awards at BigAl’s Books and Pals. Original review ran February 9, 2014.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Healing Chay by Donna Fasano

Genre: Romance/Native American

Description:

“All Chay Makwa wants is solitude so he can conquer these tormenting nightmares, yet he can’t ignore the soft sobs of a woman in the woods near his cabin. The stranger with hair as pale as moonlight and secrets in her eyes is in need of a shoulder to cry on. But after a kiss meant to soothe turns passionate, she is gone.

Tori Landing has heard of Chay, but they’d never met before the night by the lake when the grief over her sister’s senseless death overwhelmed her. Tori steers clear of relationships for a very good reason and feels putting the security of others before her own happiness will amend her past failings. But the appeal of the brooding Native American is stronger than her determination to remain single and unencumbered.

Is Tori the one woman who can bring Chay peace… and can he teach her to trust in love?”

Author:

“Donna Fasano is a three-time winner of the HOLT Medallion, a CataRomance Reviewers Choice Award winner for Best Single Title, a Desert Rose Golden Quill Award finalist, a Golden Heart finalist, and a two-time winner of Best Romance of the Year given by BigAl's Books & Pals Review Blog. Her books have sold 4 million copies worldwide and have been published in two dozen languages. Her novels have made the Kindle Top 100 Paid List numerous times, climbing as high as #1.”

Ms. Fasano has two grown sons and lives with her husband on the eastern seaboard of the United States. To learn more please visit her website or follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Chay Makwa is a tortured soul. He believes he cannot find peace until he can understand and come to terms with his nightmares. Finding Tori Landing at the edge of the lake crying late one night, tugs at his heart.

Tory owns a Bed and Breakfast on the outskirts of town by the lake. Her B&B is also a secret harbor for abused women. Tory is part of a network that relocates them far away from their abuser. There are only a few people in town who know this about Tory and her Bed and Breakfast. She has to be careful because she also entertains guests at her establishment.

Through her work with abused women, Tory has become quite intuitive. This trait has become natural for her and it serves her well in dealing with abused women. In this story we learn why she is so dedicated to her work. After Chay meets Tory he begins to see a new future of himself, if it wasn’t for those blasted nightmares. Tory tries to become a sounding board for his dreams and offers perspectives for him to consider. However, she has to hide her true work from him and Chay feels rejected because she has to keep her secret while she has an occupant in the house.

I found Tory and Chay’s journey extraordinarily insightful. There are some hard truths that needed unraveling. Ms. Fasano is able to weave these two souls together in such a way that the holes now have a way to close nicely into a cohesive whole. I do have to add that I had been looking forward to Chay’s story since we met him briefly in the first book. It was worth the wait. I also feel like Chay offered the best apology. ~ swoon ~

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Healing Chay is book 3 in Donna Fasano’s, The Black Bear Brothers Series.

The books in this series are stand-alone novels, but reading the books in order will offer the most enjoyment.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Review: The Shakespeare Conspiracy, a Clayton Lovell Stone Adventure: Volume 1 by Bruce Hutchison

Genre: History/Mystery

Description:

Clayton Lovell’s partner goes on a sudden research trip to the UK and is murdered there. She leaves him a clue as to why she has been killed. She has stumbled upon something that has the potential to rewrite Elizabethan history. There are those who desire very much to benefit from what she has found. And others who believe the world is better served by the status quo. Lovell follows her to London, Oxford and Stratford upon Avon.

Author:

Bruce Hutchison has several novels and a non-fiction book on the market all of which investigate his thesis regarding Shakespeare. There is also information on his website.

Appraisal:

The wraparound which Hutchison has used to enable him to develop his thesis regarding Shakespeare provides an exciting aura of conspiracy and violence through which the historical facts and extrapolations are woven. If you are not familiar with the several theories regarding the true authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, and such conundrums appeal to you, then this is an intriguing and informative read, especially towards the end.

Each of the 73 chapters in Hutchison’s book is preceded by an epigraph in the form of a short quote from Shakespeare’s oeuvre. The function of an epigraph is to act as a summary, introduction or example from some famous literary work so as to draw a comparison, or to generate a specific context for what follows. Often these are too anodyne to do that. A number of the epigraphs are misquoted.

There are some howlers. ‘Lord Cecil Burghley’ is actually William Cecil, Lord Burghley. A burial 392 years ago would have been made in 1626. Not a useful date for any Shakespearean enquiry I can think of. The ‘Charwell’ river which flows through Oxford is actually the Cherwell. There are others.

Hutchison is, perhaps, unfortunate that I picked up this book. I am a British writer and historian with a keen interest in Shakespeare and Elizabethan England. That being the case, of course I would pick this off BigAl’s virtual shelf for review.

Like Hutchison, I don’t believe for a moment that the glover William Shakespeare of Stratford upon Avon wrote the plays ascribed to him. Over many years a number of notables have felt the same way, including Americans Mark Twain, Henry James and Charlie Chaplin. On this side of the Pond a current advocate for alternative authorship is Mark Rylance, erstwhile director of The Globe Theatre in London and one of our finest contemporary actors. Could Hutchison’s theory possibly be correct? There is, unfortunately, a fair-sized elephant in the room that he doesn’t address. And so, the debate continues.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

One very violent scene.

Format/Typo Issues:

A number of typos. Also some muddiness of expression, non sequiturs, confusing continuity, and unhelpful formatting, particularly of the epigraph quotations at the head of each chapter. This complex book would be easier for the reader if an editor had been through it.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Review: Awakening Cocijo by Thomas Juarez

Genre: Metaphysical Fiction/Cultural Myths/Coming of Age 

Description:

“A storm rises.

Can a boy quell the fury of a god?

Join the Zapotec on a journey through time and across generations, as the descendants of this civilization are led on a path of transcendence.  The rebirth of their storied civilization depends upon their ability to awaken Cocijo, the god of lightning and rain.”

Author:

 “With roots set in Germany and Texas, Thomas (Tom) Juarez grew up enjoying the life of a military dependent. Living in multiple states and countries, his family would finally settle down in the beautiful city of Wetumpka, Alabama; a place Tom still refers to as home.

Filled with a sense of service, Tom would leave Wetumpka in 1985 for a twenty-one-year career in the United States Army… After a lifetime of moving here or there, Tom called it a career and retired from the military. He and his wife enjoy the fruits of their collective journey in Sterling, Oklahoma.”

Appraisal:

Part one of this journey begins in ancient times. Following the initiation of a young Priest and his transcendence to adulthood of mythic proportions. This sets up the legend behind the story and I found it fascinating. Part two moves forward to a more modern time. The summer of 2003 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Here we meet Agent Gustavo Hamilton, a clairvoyant with the US government, and Staff Sergeant Citalli Patee, of Hispanic descent. Agent Hamilton recruits Citalli to help him prevent an international incident that he had a vision of which included Citalli.  

After a metaphysical experience in Oaxaca, Mexico, Citalli and Gus develop a lifelong friendship with mutual respect. Part three jumps forward ten years to Taugui, Oklahoma where he meets Citalli’s ten year-old son, Canneo. Canneo has been raised knowing the old ways and legends, as Citalli was. Canneo has started having dreams of things to come. His rite of passage into adulthood and introduction to the old gods follows.

I liked the relationship and dialogue between Citalli and Gus. Citalli has a quirky sense of humor, you couldn’t help but like him. Citalli’s wife, Kara, kept him grounded so they were a perfect match. Gus is a character that takes a bit of time to get to know, but he settled in with the whole family well.

Citalli’s dead mother had a heavy load to carry. During Citalli’s prayer time she explained their religion and their relationship to the gods. It seemed a bit repetitious but I can understand why the author did it. It is a lot to take in. This is a work of fiction and loosely based on Zapotec history, not a history lesson. I did enjoy the story and it was worth my time to read. If you are interested in Mesoamerican cultures you may enjoy this story as well.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of proofing issues, nothing that threw me out of the story.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review: The Big O by Declan Burke

Genre: Crime/Thriller

Description:

By day Karen works for disgraced plastic surgeon Frank, by night she carries out armed robberies. Whilst holding up a store she meets Ray, who also has two roles – mural painter and kidnapper.

Frank lives the high-life, but he’s bankrupt. He needs a lot of money, and fast, to resolve his many problems. So he employs local crook Terry to kidnap his ex-wife, Madge. The plan – get an insurance payout for $500,000 and jet off somewhere hot.

The trouble is Madge is Karen’s best friend and Ray is the one who’ll be snatching her. Throw psychopath Rossi, fresh out of prison and gunning for Karen, into the mix and things are going to get very messy, very quickly…

Author:

Declan Burke lives in Ireland with his family. To date he has published four critically acclaimed novels. In addition Declan hosts a website dedicated to Irish crime fiction, Crime Always Pays.

To learn more about the author visit his website.

Appraisal:

Two comments before I start this review:

1)   I’ve clearly been living in a hole for the last few years as this was my first experience of Mr. Burke’s writing.

2)   I have a very short attention span.

Number one is now corrected (thankfully) but number two is a permanent affliction. I get bored easily, I find it hard to stick with long books that don’t grab me by my throat in the first couple of pages, I physically groan when I see the book size measure on the kindle screen going off the scale.

Can’t help it, it’s just me.

So when I start The Big O, I don’t know of Mr. Burke and the book looks huge. Oh dear. But this is the opening paragraph:    

In the bar Karen drinking vodka-tonic, Ray on brandy to calm his nerves. Karen told him how people react to death and a stick-up in pretty much the same way: shock, disbelief, anger, acceptance.

Then Karen goes on to describe how to carry out said stick-up, it transpires this is how she met Ray (having nearly shot him). And so within a couple of paragraphs we plunge headlong into a whip-crack smart novel that barrels along at high pace that simply compels me to finish it. For the next couple of days I’m stuck with my nose in my kindle, much to my wife’s disgust as she wants me to get stuck into dreaded DIY instead, but I’m simply too absorbed by the characters and their activities to do anything else but read.

In short I thoroughly enjoyed The Big O and was disappointed when I finally put it down, simply because the joyride was over.

This is a very cleverly plotted, character driven novel. There are relatively few characters but all are very strong, have flaws (to varying degrees) but display hidden depths that are gradually revealed as the narrative progresses, adding to it.

The action is split into seven segments – the week long period over which the snatch is planned and occurs. These segments are then broken up by short chapters (which keeps the pace high) each headlined with the particular person whose perspective it follows – the narrative is modified accordingly. The prose is economic, very sharp and strongly dialogue driven.

What I really liked about The Big O and that set it apart from the pack was that initially the story seems well sign posted, i.e. it appears obvious what’s going to happen next, but Burke was simply lulling me into a false sense of security before throwing me into a tail spin with a twist. This happened on numerous occasions. In the end I gave up guessing – hence the joyride.

For example, Anna. I had a concept of who the character was and how they fitted with the others, but I was completely wrong (I won’t say any more so as not to give it away). Then there’s the snatch, again the cards fall in a completely different way to how I envisaged they would. It’s very, very well done.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable, clever and well plotted read that simply makes me want to find more of Burke’s work.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Adult scenes.

Added for Reprise Review: The Big O by Declan Burke was a nominee in the Crime Fiction category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran June 15, 2013

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Witches Protection Program by Michael Okon

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Young Adult/Contemporary

Description:

“Wes Rockville, a disgraced law-enforcement agent, gets one last chance to prove himself and save his career when he’s reassigned to a 232-year-old secret government organization. The Witches Protection Program. His first assignment: uncover a billion-dollar cosmetics company’s diabolical plan to use witchcraft for global domination, while protecting its heiress Morgan Pendragon from her aunt’s evil deeds. Reluctantly paired with veteran witch protector, Alastair Verne, Wes must learn to believe in witches…and believe in himself.”

Author:

“Michael Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of multiple genres including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure and self-help. He graduated from Long Island University with a degree in English, and then later received his MBA in business and finance. Coming from a family of writers, he has storytelling in his DNA. Michael has been writing from as far back as he can remember, his inspiration being his love for films and their impact on his life. From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked on the idea of entertaining people through unforgettable characters.

Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, and a sucker for self-help books. He lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wife and children.”

You can find out more about Mr. Okon at his website or follow him onFacebook.

Appraisal:

In this contemporary urban fantasy a disgraced law-enforcement agent, Wes Rockville, is reassigned to a secret government organization. His first assignment is to protect the young heiress of a billion-dollar cosmetic company, Morgan Pendragon, and uncover their diabolical plan for world domination using witchcraft.

Wes’s learning curve is steep, as he doesn’t believe in witches. The plot and the characters are cleverly written. Morgan Pendragon is a feisty witch who marches to her own tune and doesn’t rely heavily on her witchcraft unless she’s in a pinch. She’s a fun character, however, she doesn’t trust Wes.

The battle scenes are epic and full of fast action that Mr. Okon captures without a hitch. And there are many. Slowly Morgan begins to trust Wes and she starts working with him. It’s easy to see a relationship developing. The ending is satisfying and some family truths are revealed that I didn’t see coming. All in all, an entertaining story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Only one F-bomb.

Format/Typo Issues:

Nothing to note.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Review: Past This Point by Nicole Mabry

Genre: Post-Apocalyptic

Description:

“Karis Hylen has been through the New York City dating wringer. After years of failed relationships, she abandons her social life and whittles her days down to work and spending time with her dog, Zeke. Her self-imposed exile ends up saving her life when an untreatable virus sweeps the east coast, killing millions.”

Author:

“Nicole Mabry spends her days at NBCUniversal as the Senior Manager of Photography Post Production. Her nights are reserved for writing novels. At the age of seven, she read The Boxcar Children, sparking a passion for reading and writing early on. Nicole grew up in the Bay Area in Northern California and went to college at UCLA for Art History. During a vacation, she fell in love with New York City and has lived in Queens for the past seventeen years. On weekends you can find her with a camera in hand and her dog, Jackson, by her side. Nicole is an animal lover and horror movie junkie.”

Appraisal:

I’m not sure that it is indicative of anything, but Nicole Mabry, the author of this book, Karis (the protagonist of the story), and I all look to the children’s book The Boxcar Children as one of the more significant reads of our life. While my memories of the plot details of that tale of four orphaned siblings who end up living in an abandoned boxcar are skimpy for me more than a half-century after my Mom read it to my siblings and I, I can’t help but compare that book to this one. Sure, the stories are completely different genres and you’ve got one adult who is largely on her own for much of the book as opposed to four kids. But in both they find themselves in an unprecedented situation and are forced to figure things out on their own. Determining how to provide themselves with the most basic things like food, water, and shelter are a challenge.

Of course, Past this Point has some major differences from The Boxcar Children too. The big one is with Karis being on her own and needing to be careful how and with whom she interacts. Can another person be trusted? Are they safe or are they infected with the virus sweeping the Eastern US? These kind of challenges and how a character figures things out and deals with them are a big part of a good post-apocalyptic story and are well done in this book. I found it to be intense, entertaining, and at times thought-provoking. An excellent read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 115-120,000 words

Review: Molten Trail: Elemental Keys Book 3 by Lynne Cantwell

Genre: Modern fantasy

Description:

Some spoilers are inevitable here if you haven’t read the first two books in the series. Four demi-elementals (half human) have been brought together by The Powers That Be to foil a demon named Surgat – which translates as One Who Opens All Locks - who is determined to collect four Elemental Keys which will open a mysterious door. So far Surgat has foiled them twice. Now they are journeying to Hawaii to attempt to get to the fire key before Surgat does.

Author:

Lynne Cantwell is a prolific author of short books in a number of different fictional genres, from romantic to memoir. Apart from the memoir, all the books have an element of what Cantwell calls ‘the woo-woo’, ie a sixth sense in her protagonists, and an edge of otherworldliness which manifests as creatures and gods out of myth and legend.

She is also a stalwart of Indies Unlimited, where she contributes sensible advice for writers.

Appraisal:

Hot on the heels of the previous instalment, when the demi-elemental quartet were in Ireland looking for the Earth key, comes this even hotter instalment which has them scampering between volcanoes on Hawaii. As the story unfolds their relationships deepen and we learn more about what makes Rufus and Gail, in particular, tick. Raney and Collum’s more intimate relationship is a joyful one, which almost makes this old cynic believe in love again. Rufus turns out to have a quite delightful Auntie on Hawaii and a cousin-by-marriage called Annie. These two help the four Key hunters in all sorts of ways, and the reader gets a sense of Hawaiian life through them. As I love to learn about new places (and am unlikely ever to get to Hawaii) I enjoy this sort of local colour – especially when it is not at the expense of page-turning quality. And the pages do turn!

Cantwell has a gift for relating the quotidian, imbuing it with intrigue, and peopling it with characters who are steeped in ‘woo-woo’ – in this case empaths, and people and creatures from Hawaiian folklore. It is a compelling mixture, and keeps the little book skipping along at a great pace. The information imparted about Hawaii is fascinating – and not a word is extraneous: everything drives the story forward.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

If this sounds like your sort of book and you haven’t read the first two instalments, it will be a good idea to do so before embarking on this one. Although Cantwell does provide a ‘the story so far’ at the beginning of each why would you deny yourself the pleasure of the whole story?

Format/Typo Issues:

Nope.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words

Review: Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volume 1 by Rosey Lee

Genre: Short Story Collection/Flash Fiction

Description:

“Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volume 1 is a collection of five flash fiction stories exploring the connections that can hold people together or tear them apart. Like most families, the relationships in this uplifting collection consist of intricate elements. Sometimes things get messy, but it’s always beautiful. Read each story in about 5 minutes and get Volume 2 of the collection for free using a link within the book. The stories are perfect for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction novels as well as those who only have time for a quick read.”

Author:

“Rosey Lee is a writer whose work has appeared in Necessary Fiction, Bending Genres, Barren Magazine, Turnpike Magazine, and elsewhere. Her flash fiction has been nominated for the 2019 Best of the Net anthology. A New Orleans native who lives in Atlanta, her writing is influenced by the people, traditions, and food that keep her connected to the South.”

Appraisal:

By most accounts the definition of flash fiction is a fictional short story of 1,000 words or less. Sometimes a lot less. This collection of 5 flash fiction stories average just a touch shy of 1,000 words each.

The challenge of writing good flash fiction is getting adequate character and plot development into a limited number of words. As someone known in some circles for being extremely wordy, this ability in others is something I can appreciate. As the best songwriters can say a ton in few words, so can the best flash fiction writers. Often these words imply a lot and allow the listener or reader to fill in the gaps.

I found these five stories to be excellent reads. As implied in the title, each story is looking at the relationships between people, as in a family. Each of them resonated with me, not only being a good story I could relate to, but doing an excellent job in helping the reader to quickly know what was needed about the characters. Even with stories this short the author found a chance to surprise me, setting me up to expect the story to go one way and having the plot take an unexpected (at least to me) twist that made perfect sense once it had happened. A good, short (well duh) read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 4-5,000 words