Monday, January 30, 2023

Review: Textbook Murder by Fred Tippett, II


 Genre: Mystery/Police Procedural

Description:

“In Textbook Murder, bestselling author and crime fiction professor Frank Hall investigates the mysterious death of his mentee and student Damien Morgan when the Seattle Police Department dismisses it as an accident. Frank's investigation quickly unearths a series of buried secrets and lies surrounding Damien's final days, including an illicit relationship with a most unlikely suspect. But when Frank's efforts turn up more questionable deaths and a motive to kill with dark ties to a major publishing corporation, Frank finds that he must catch the killer quickly or risk becoming the next victim.”

Author:

“Fred Tippett, II, is the author of the Young Adult Mystery novels The Women in White and The Lethal List. Fred currently lives in Alabama, though he is a Washington-DC-barred attorney. He holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Pennsylvania—and primarily uses his legal education to bolster the credibility of police procedural elements for his novels.”

For more, visit Mr Tippett’s website.

Appraisal:

Frank Hall isn’t your typical detective. As an author and a professor who teaches a class on writing crime fiction, Frank has a talent for inserting a subtle clue in his writing and for spotting those same clues when he’s reading or evaluating a real-life mystery. When he sees that the detectives from the Seattle Police Department are going to go with the obvious quick suspect when his student is killed, he sees things that convinces him there is more to the story, so he starts digging. Those subtle clues start adding up taking him deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. It turns out that things are even more complicated that he first thought. Frank keeps the reader engrossed as he digs up more clues and gets closer and closer to finding the guilty party. One of the more engrossing mysteries I’ve read recently.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of errors.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Review: The Mentor by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli


 

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“What if someone you love is a serial killer?

DCI Eric Shaw, leading a forensic team at Scotland Yard, together with DI Miriam Leroux from a Murder Investigation Team, is investigating the death of a known offender. Killed by two gunshots: one to his neck, execution style, but preceded by another to his groin, implying a more personal motive.

Shaw’s attention at work is often distracted by a young forensic investigator, Adele Pennington, who is a beautiful woman over two decades his junior. However, his attraction to her is unreciprocated.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the London police, an anonymous blog describes the details of a very similar crime. The author of the blog signs herself as Mina, like one of the victims in a case Shaw investigated many years ago.

Twenty years ago Eric saved her.

Who will save him now?

Meet DCI Eric Shaw . . . and his pupil.”

Author:

“Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli is an Italian science fiction and thriller author.

She has lived in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) since 1993, earning a degree in biology and working as independent author, scientific and literary translator, educator and science communicator.”

Ms Monticelli has written several books, all available in her native Italian, and some of them, like this one, translated to English (a British style English in this case).

For more, visit her website and follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

DCI Eric Shaw, the protagonist of this book and the remaining books in this trilogy, is the leader of the forensic team that helps police detectives in their investigations. While there is never any doubt that he’s one of the good guys, it is also apparent early on that he’s sometimes willing to stretch or break rules to get what he perceives as the correct result. As the older, more experienced investigator he also acts as a mentor to those less experienced, especially a young forensics investigator who he has a long history with and also to some degree a young detective.

This case is interesting for many reasons. In spite of the reader knowing a few key pieces that DCI Shaw doesn’t, you’re still left guessing about what is really going on and wondering what you’ve missed as he and his coworkers uncover each new piece. Just when you think you’ve finally figured things out, here comes another twist. A unique and entertaining read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Uses British English and slang.

This is the first book in The Detective Eric Shaw Trilogy. The others have been published in Italian and are slated to be republished in English in the near future.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Reprise 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.

Original review published February 27, 2017.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant proofing errors.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ? wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 10-11,000 words

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Review: The Good Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise by Robert W Norris


 Genre: Autobiography/Memoir

Description:

“An expatriate son's intimate memoir and tribute to his mother.

The Good Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise: Pentimento Memories of Mom and Me traces the trials, tribulations, and unbreakable bond of two Pacific Northwest characters. Kay Schlinkman grows up on the banks of the Columbia River in the 1930s and 1940s. She overcomes a small logging town's ostracism in the late 1950s for her divorce, excommunication by the Catholic Church for remarrying, severe criticism and rejection for defending her son's refusal to go to war, and the burden of paying off her second husband's gambling debts. In her forties, she becomes a licensed pilot and flies two summers as a forest fire spotter. After a second divorce in her fifties, she takes night classes to become qualified as a legal secretary and continues to work until she's seventy-eight.

After an idyllic childhood in the redwoods and a rebellious adolescence following his parents' divorce, Robert Norris enters the Air Force, becomes a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, is court-martialed and goes to military prison, embraces the counterculture upon release, wanders the world in search of his identity, and eventually lands in Japan, where he finds his niche as a university professor, spends two years as the dean of students, and retires as professor emeritus.

Despite their separation by the expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Robert and Kay maintain a lifelong commitment of love, respect, and support that enriches both their lives. Kay visits Japan eight times. Robert, his wife, and Kay journey to Ireland to trace her father's roots. The Good Lord Willing provides a heart-warming example of how far a mother and son can go in maintaining their bond against great odds. A must read for all mothers and sons, and for those who've wondered what the road less traveled would've been like, had they taken that first step.”

Author:

“Robert W. Norris was born and raised in Humboldt County, California, where he played basketball in high school and junior college. In 1969, he entered the Air Force, subsequently became a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, and served time in a military prison for refusing to fight in the war. In his twenties, he roamed across the United States, went to Europe twice, and made one journey around the world. During that time, he worked as a millhand, construction laborer, stevedore, mailman, baker, saute cook, and oil rig steward.

Norris has lived in Japan since 1983. He taught English in the Japanese university system for 24 years and is now retired. He is the author of Looking for the Summer, the story of a Vietnam War conscientious objector's adventures and search for identity on the road from Paris to Calcutta in 1977; Toraware, a novel about the obsessive relationship of three misfits from different cultural backgrounds in 1980s Kobe, Japan; Autumn Shadows in August, an hallucinogenic mid-life crisis/adventure and homage to Malcolm Lowry and Hermann Hesse; The Many Roads to Japan, a textbook used in Japanese universities; and The Good Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise: Pentimento Memories of Mom and Me, an autobiography and tribute to his mother. He has also written several articles on teaching English as a foreign language. He and his wife live near Fukuoka, Japan.

Appraisal:

Whether to describe this book as an autobiography or a memoir was an interesting struggle for me. An autobiography is going to cover a person’s entire life, or at least their life up to some recent point in time. My definition of a memoir (which Wikipedia agrees with) is that a memoir focuses on a particular story or event. This book kind of meets both definitions, covering the author’s life thus far in a reasonable amount of detail like an autobiography should, but focusing on a particular aspect, in this case the story of the author’s relationship to his mother through the years.

In a way the genre label put on the book isn’t that big of a deal, especially with the two possibilities being almost the same, but I was thinking about this because I don’t read autobiographies or biographies very often, while I find myself reading and enjoying memoirs frequently. The autobiographies I do read tend to be of people who are reasonably famous and whose entire life and how they got to where they are now is of interest. As a rule, I’m not interested in reading the autobiography of a typical random person. However, I think that random person probably has some part of their life that could make a memoir well worth reading. My reason for going down this rabbit hole is that I think even if this book didn’t have that memoir-ish part about his relationship to his mother, that a strict autobiography would have still been interesting. Including the focus on his relationship with his mother through the years only made it more interesting and relatable.

The book’s description does a good job of outlining the author’s many experiences from growing up in a small town to being a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and his eventually living in Japan, working as a university professor. It’s quite a trip and one that I think most people will find parts to relate to, parts that you’ll be glad you haven’t experienced (and will wonder how you’d handle it if you did), and possibly some lessons to apply to your own life. An excellent read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Version read for review was an ARC (advanced readers copy), so I’m unable to gauge the final version in this regard.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 130-135,000 words

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Review: Contrarian by Lucas Sterling


 Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Everyone has a secret. But some are deadlier than others…

Former Homeland Security Agent Lars Christopherson is not what he seems. Despite his impressive skills and impeccable record, Lars has a dark side few are aware off. And those who discover his secret rarely live to tell the tale…

Frederic Ulrich is a man with a mission. A skilled agent of Germany’s BND intelligence service, he is determined to right a wrong from his past, and shut down a deadly Hungarian crime ring once and for all.

When these two unlikely allies are forced to work together, they quickly uncover a sinister threat - a vast criminal conspiracy, poised to unleash environmental chaos on the United States. To stop this monstrous terror plot, they’ll have to put their differences aside and work together. But trust is hard to come by in the shadowy world of espionage and crime.

And sometimes, the only way to stop a monster is to become one…”

Author:

Lucas Sterling is the author’s pen name and information about him is limited. He currently has two other books available. One, a short story that is a satire on banking, and another, the first book featuring Lars, the protagonist of this book.

Appraisal:

This book isn’t your typical thriller and the protagonist, Lars, isn’t typical either. Whether these qualities are positive or not is going to depend to some degree on the reader and their tastes. For me, it cut a bit both ways.

We’ll start with Lars. The series is called “Lars the Hitman” and that tells you something about Lars. While at first glance this would seem to make him the bad guy, those who fall victim of him in this story are people whose absence will make the world better. It’s hard to see this as a negative. It turns out that Lars is set for life from a financial standpoint, so the big money he receives for performing these hits is donated to charity to make the world even better.

While it isn’t unusual for a thriller to stretch the readers ability to suspend disbelief, I found that this story did it more for me than is normal. Yet I liked it enough to keep on reading, so I guess it didn’t quite cross the line, but it definitely came close. The story had a tendency to take unexpected turns that kept me guessing more than a typical thriller, which is generally good. However, those were sometimes the moments that pushed believability for me.

Last, the ending was satisfying, yet mildly disappointing. Giving the specifics is likely to be a spoiler, but I’ll say that the end has two deaths, one that the reader wouldn’t have wanted and the other that they would have, but the way it happened was a bit of a let down. In spite of having some aspects of the story that I wasn’t that thrilled with, I liked that it pushed the norms in different ways, liked the main characters, and can see myself reading about Lars’ next adventure.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A limited amount of adult language and some graphic violence.

Although this is the second book in a series reading the first book isn’t a requirement to follow this one.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Review: Chrysalis by Anna K. Abbi


 Genre: Memoir/LGBTQ

Description:

“Encapsulated in a body that could not move. Caught in a cast from my hips to the top of my head, situated in a CircOlectric bed that kept everything suspended and safe. The only thing that worked was a now-injured brain that was incessantly active and asking more of my body than it could handle. I lived, fought, and won my life back with the support of a large cast of helpers. I am the fortunate recipient of those extraordinary efforts. Visiting hours are now open; please accept my invitation to stop by.”

Author:

“Anna K. Abbi is a retired business professional who splits her time between California and southern Vermont. In retirement, she enjoys working on her books, creating stained glass art, and spending time with her two Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs and her 50-year-old parrot. She writes memoir and fiction under a pen name.”

For more, visit her website.

Appraisal:

After a car accident the author finds herself in a hospital bed with serious injuries and the possibility of being a quadriplegic for the rest of her short life. The accident is in 1963 and … spoiler alert … the book description talking about winning her life back and her biography mentioning her stained glass art would seem to imply that she was eventually able to move to some degree and has obviously had a long life. However, this tale of what it took to get there, both on the part of the author and from those around her, is an incredible, uplifting story.

With the majority of the story taking place in the early 60s, I found it interesting to remember or realize how things were different then. Anna, the author, is a member of the LGBTQ community, and had several gay men as roommates. They kept things interesting when they’d come to visit her in the hospital. This also complicated her life in ways that it might not today, certainly not as much. I also noticed myself spotting things like when one of the hospital workers mentioned a health issue another worker had. This was an obvious HIPAA violation, but then it hit me that the law establishing HIPAA, preventing health professionals from telling others with no need to know about your personal health issues wasn’t going to be law for 30 more years. The world has changed a ton in the almost 50 years since Anna experienced this and, in many ways, it makes the story that much more incredible and uplifting. A fantastic read and incredible story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and mild adult situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Friday, January 6, 2023

Reprise 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.

Original review posted February 14, 2017.

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

Monday, January 2, 2023

Review: Hacking George by Bob Palmer


 Genre: Psychological Thriller/Humor

Description:

Playing God is a dangerous game, even if you do write the rules and think they’re pretty neat.

Following a road-rage incident in which he was the victim, middle-aged cynic George Sanderson has an epiphany. He believes he has the power to influence fate and set the world to rights.

During a meticulously-planned intervention to help his friend Angela Hayworth, the two fall in love. George’s lonely existence looks set to improve. But he’s about to discover that playing games with people’s lives is fraught with danger. And when his life starts to fall apart, he’s forced to confront the frightening truth…

Someone is manipulating him. But why?

With his freedom and sanity at stake, George must fight for everything he holds dear – especially his lawn, his meat thermometer, and Angela’s perfect teeth.”

Author:

“Bob Palmer has been, in chronological order, a construction worker, town planner, rock drummer, graphic designer, award-winning adman, entrepreneur, scriptwriter and movie producer. He gets bored easily.

In his spare time, he's been caught in a Utah desert flash flood, set off the alarms at Area 51, and renovated a 17th century cottage with his infinitely patient author and book cover designer wife Berni Stevens.

Hacking George is his debut novel. It combines his love of the absurdity of the world we live in, of grand concepts, and the fact that even the smallest of events can spin a life in an entirely new direction.

His next novel, another instalment in the life of George, is scheduled for release in spring 2023.”

Appraisal:

Unlike some stories, with this one I was never sure where it was going to take me. Does George really have the power he thinks he does and is this book, therefore, actually Science Fiction? Or maybe George is a touch deluded (okay, make that crazy) and things aren’t actually happening the way he perceives them. As the story progresses and the reader finds out more, my best guess as to where things were headed kept evolving, but was never quite correct until we hit the end. I thought this book had a story more unique than most with fun and interesting characters.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

The author is based in the UK and thus uses UK spelling conventions and some UK slang.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words