Review: Small Problems: 17 Twisted Tales of the Macabre and Existential Dread by J.D. Haakenson

 

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“Small Problems presents 17 bite-sized tales guaranteed to make you shiver at night -- but with a dark sense of humor.”

Author:

J.D. Haakenson was the co-author of a book 30 years ago that was slated to be published by a traditional publisher, but then cancelled leaving him with his advance, but no book. This is his first to make it out into the world. He is a former journalist as well as having worked as a journalist and editor of books and magazines. He writes at The Grouchy Editor.

Appraisal:

These stories deliver on exactly what is promised. Bizarre, off-the-wall stories that are by turns funny, a bit scary at times, definitely twisted (not to mention ending with strange twists a lot of the time which I guess is the same as twisted, yet feels different to me). Even the introduction has a twist which you might catch early on, or possibly not until the end. Just when you think you’ve figured out where a story is going, you’ll usually discover how wrong you were. Or were you?

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and mildly adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Review: Where Nobody Knows Her Name by Lynn M. Dannheisser

 

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Beneath the turquoise waters of the Florida Keys, something sinister waits…

When the body of Bonita Key’s former attorney washes ashore in Pine Cay, Layla Leslie’s new job as the village attorney takes a chilling turn. Drawn in by the village’s charm, sun drenched beaches, and a magnetic county sheriff—Layla thought she’d found her dream escape from the scandal she’d left behind in Miami.

But Bonita Key hides more than just tropical secrets.

As Layla digs deeper, she stumbles into a tangled web of vanishing locals, offshore accounts, and a criminal network hiding in plain sight. With whispers of trafficking and corruption echoing through the village’s charming façade, trust becomes a luxury she can’t afford. Even with a relentless Miami Herald reporter by her side, the truth stays just out of reach—and someone is watching her every move.

The last attorney tried to expose the truth. Layla may not live long enough to finish the job.”

Author:

A retired attorney who had previously written a non-fiction book, Lynn M Dannheisser splits her time between the mountains of western Massachusetts and Miami, Florida. For more from Ms Dannheisser check out her website and follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

A disclaimer prior to the beginning of the story makes it clear that the specific location where most of the events take place in this book and the characters are fictional and that if “you find any such resemblance, it is in your imagination, as it was in mine.” Given the opinion many have of some Floridian politicians and since the author is an attorney making that clear was obviously a good idea. That said, if your opinion of politics in that piece of the US hanging off the southeastern part of the country is less than ideal, it makes the events in this book that much easier to believe.

When she’s hired as the village attorney for a small town in the Florida Keys, Layla Leslie (yes, she gets plenty of jokes based on the song) thinks she’s escaping to a more laidback and scenic environment than what she is leaving behind in Miami. What she finds is disconcerting, hard to figure out, and puts her in a position where there doesn’t seem to be any good way out. How, or if, this story resolves keeps the reader guessing to the very end. An intense, fascinating, and all-too-credible (in spite of being complete fiction) tale that once you get into it is hard to put down.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

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

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Review: Empty Your Cup by c. martins

 

Genre: Poetry

Description:

“Poems that will change the way you think. This collection of poetry by c. martins includes reflections on the impact of our memories in our lives that can cause us to think and act in limiting ways. These reflections help identify biases that influence the way we experience events in our lives. The poems provide a positive perspective on relatable topics that can shift habitual negative thinking patterns.”

Author:

“c. martins is the author of Empty Your Cup and Hourglass. She holds degrees in Psychology, Biology and Medicine.”

For more from Ms Martins, visit her website and follow her Facebookpage.

Appraisal:

I would claim to not be into poetry that much, but I’m very much into music and tend to focus a lot more on the lyrics and what they’re saying or mean to me than many people. Ultimately poetry is just a song without the instrumentation and this collection drove that home for me. This was described to me as “nonfiction poetry” and for good reason. Each of the roughly 30 poems in this collection speak to life, its experiences and lessons, and should get you thinking about such subjects. I’d call that inspirational. That’s a good thing.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 3-4,000 words

Review: The Barbie Killer by Julia McDermott

 Genre: Thriller

Description:

“When Dolly Garner’s husband is transferred to the small town of Huntington, Kansas, she hates the thought of uprooting their young family and starting over a thousand miles away. But after a year of living on savings and credit cards after Tim’s previous lay-off, refusing to move is out of the question. So they sell their home, pack their bags, and focus on the positives: wholesome Midwestern values, a lower cost of living, and less crime.

But Dolly’s first impressions are not good. The people seem standoffish, unfriendly, and tight-lipped. The women she meets are materialistic and obsessed with status. More unsettling, Dolly learns that years ago, a brutal murder took place on the property where her family’s home now stands, and the case was never solved.

When a violent crime shocks the community, the town secret is out: A serial killer is on the loose and preying on the women of Huntington. As paranoia surges and the line between neighbor and predator blurs, Dolly realizes she can’t trust anyone in this town.

Inspired by true events, this twist-filled thriller will leave you breathless until the final page.”

Author:

“Julia McDermott was born in Dallas, raised in Atlanta, and earned a degree in Economics and French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including a junior year in France. Afterward, she moved to Texas, married her college sweetheart, and worked in finance and technology. While raising four children, she pivoted to full-time writing and has participated in literary festivals and writers’ conferences across the U.S. and Canada.”

Appraisal:

Moving from a big city, specifically Atlanta, to a small town in Kansas, the reasonable assumption is that odds of you being murdered are going to decrease. And they would, unless that small town has a serial killer who the townspeople don’t like to talk about, so new people don’t find out until they’re already moved to town. That’s what happens to Dolly Garner and her husband. Now what should they do? None of the potential answers are very good and the more they find out about what’s going on, the scarier it becomes. How this all resolves and the pieces to the mystery behind the killer make for an intense and interesting read that readers who enjoy thrillers should love.

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: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review: My Life as a Bench: Jaq Hazell

 

Genre: Young adult

Description:

“Ren Miller has died aged seventeen and yet her consciousness lives on, inhabiting her memorial bench by the River Thames in London. Ren longs to be reunited with her boyfriend Gabe, but soon discovers why he has failed to visit. Devastated, she must learn to break through and talk to the living so she can reveal the truth about her untimely end.”

Author:

Jaq Hazell won the Rubery Award (for indie and self-published books) in 2017 for this book. She has been knocking on the awards door for some time now, and this award is well deserved. She is a British writer, now living in London, who has an MA in Creative Writing.

Appraisal:

What a cracking title! It would be a pity indeed if such a funkily titled book should not prove to be fully funky throughout. So, let me assure you at once that it is excellent.

Like so much YA fiction, it can be enjoyed by adult readers as well as teenagers. (I’m 65 and I was blown away by it.)

The tension is ratchetted up constantly by the reveal happening like a striptease. It is two thirds of the way into the book when the reader discovers why Ren is now a bench. By that point I was wild to know what had happened!

Grownups might imagine that the concerns of a teenager could prove facile: I did not find that the case at all. The high-octane heartache over trivialities which might cause the world to end (I remember those) is so believable, and the pace of the book so good, that you tumble along with the protagonists as they fall in and out of love on Facebook and over fried chicken lunches.

The author draws older characters beautifully too – and gives them plausible things to do which are nicely observed, sometimes poignant and sometimes very funny. Getting inside the head of a teenager isn’t easy (I can hear parents sighing from here), but Hazell makes a lovely job of it. Ren’s take on the adults in her world feels fresh and accurate.

This oldster didn’t need the ‘slang definitions’ aid at the back. Which is not to say that I am down wiv da yoof, more than said slang, most of it, isn’t as ‘now’ as the author seems to think.

One of the puffs on Amazon (‘Nudge’) says of the book “This would be a good discussion aid to issues raised in schools and colleges, but equally book clubs would find it fascinating”. Couldn’t have put it better myself. Nag your book club to read this. Or just get on and read it yourself. It’s my best read of 2018 to date.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: A Real Collusion by Stu Strumwasser

Genre: Political Thriller

Description:

“A Real Collusion is a David Vs. Goliath(s) story about a man who accidentally becomes the leader of an independent political movement that nearly takes down the two-party system in America, while exposing a conspiracy that affects the results of the 2016 election. It explores universal and deeply human themes of loss, and the tension between justice and power. In the opening sentence the narrator points out that, “Ordinary people often do extraordinary things.” The characters in the book do, and the action is driven by the fantastic events of a unique political satire. It is also the heartfelt story of regular people struggling with lost love, alienation and nearly universal disaffection who find strength in enduring loyalty and friendship

This is the story of John Campbell (a regular guy from the lower east side of Manhattan) as recounted by his friend Skip Winters. Skip becomes John’s campaign manager and later, a congressman in his own right. He narrates the stunning-but-plausible story of how John Campbell and The American Coalition race to popularity, raising over a hundred million dollars from grassroots contributors—and become a threat to the political duopoly of the Democratic and Republican parties. The book sprinkles in references to real events from recent history, and real political leaders including Trump, John McCain, and more. This imbues the novel with a sense of realism, albeit one of an alternate reality. Skip discovers a deep-seated conspiracy within our political system whose leaders orchestrate a murder, destroy his friend and tip the scales of the election. The novel turns out to be Skip’s exposé of the secret collaboration between the two major political parties in our country—a cooperation to protect the duopoly that is, in part, real.”

Author:

Stu Stumwasser wrote a book that came out more than 10 years ago that was published by Simon and Schuster as well as spending some time as a member of a band that had a lot of air play on college radio stations. But his biggest focus has been spent working for Wall Street companies before founding and running his own financial investments company. Apparently some time spent observing and participating in politics inspired another book.

Appraisal:

The cover of this book calls it a “Novel & Exposé.” One implies fiction and the other implies exposing the truth. Like all good fiction, there is some truth to the story, even if what is chronicled didn’t really happen. This should, like good fiction tends to do, get you thinking about the real world, especially the two-party political system in the US and how it sometimes prevents needed change. No matter where you are on the political spectrum and no matter how much of what is laid out you believe, it should get you thinking. (Lots of it, I’m sure is fiction, at least I hope so, but there is a lot that we all will recognize as reality too.) I highly recommend reading this book and pondering what it means to you.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

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

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words