Category: Read in 2013

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Read in 2013, Review Book, S, TLC Book Tours

2013.21 REVIEW – Deadly Harvest by Michael Stanley

Tara

Deadly Harvest
by Michael Stanley

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 469
Read: May 1-13, 2013
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 21
Format: Print
Source: TLC Book Tours

Deadly HarvestBlurb: A young girl goes missing after getting into a car with a mysterious man. Soon after, a second girl disappears, and her devastated father, Witness, sets out to seek revenge.

As the trail grows cold, Samantha – a new detective (and the only woman) with the Botswana police force – is reminded of a childhood friend who had gone missing, and she devotes herself to keeping the first case open. She suspects that the girl was killed for muti, the traditional African medicine usually derived from plants and sometimes animals. But recent evidence shows that human parts are being incorporated into certain potions to conjure up a supposedly more potent formula. Detective Kubu joins forces with Samantha to take the investigation to the next level.

Meanwhile, Witness is convinced that his daughter, too, was murdered for muti – for a potion to ensure an election victory for opposition leader Marumo. On the night of Marumo’s win, Witness waits outside the politician’s home and murders him before fleeing town. Now Kubu and Samantha have yet another murder investigation on their hands, and the search of Marumo’s home yields a sample of muti that confirms their worst fears: the formula includes traces of human DNA and remains.

Kubu and Samantha are thrust into a harrowing race to stop a serial killer or killers – and those who would pay for their special, lethal muti.

Review: I don’t really know where to start with this review.So I guess I should start with the one thing that is weighing heavily on my mind about this book. As a mother, I was absolutely appalled that the police just ignored the fact that they had children going missing. They didn’t have enough workers to start a search … they would begin looking on Monday. SAY WHAT!?! I was absolutely disgusted by that. In the United States when a child goes missing it is a very big deal – as it should be. The whole idea that the police would start looking in a “few days” for a child who has gone missing was a little beyond comprehension in my opinion. I don’t know if that is how things are done in other countries, but I had a very big issue with it – it bothered me a lot.

I was definitely glad when Samantha entered the picture and started actually paying attention to the fact that young girls were going missing and no one was doing anything about it. It was a definitely relief for me that someone in the book cared! I think that’s probably part of the reason why I really liked her character. I can’t imagine trying to be a woman detective in Africa! I was glad that she had the backing of Kubu – he really stepped outside the comfort zone of most detectives to be of assistance to her. And Kubu, oh what a character he is! Smart and likeable, a great combination for sure! I think I saw my favorite side of him while we were getting insight into his personal life, between him and his wife adopting Nono and the visits to his parents’ house on Sunday, we really get to see a softer side to Kubu. I really enjoyed his character.

At the heart of this book is the idea of muti – a very special “potion” of sorts that will give power to those who use it. It’s made by witch doctors and while most witch doctors use animal parts in their muti, some of the very bad witch doctors actually use human parts. When you read the author’s note at the end of the book we are told that this actually does happen. Can you imagine that? I sure had trouble wrapping my head around the fact that this is something that actually happens in parts of the world – very scary!

I think that the character development in this book was really amazing. All the characters were fleshed out nicely. I enjoyed this book, a lot more than I had anticipated, actually. I felt as if it was a great story. I didn’t even know who the witch doctor was until it was revealed at the end – it wasn’t even anyone that I had on my radar! This is the fourth book in the Detective Kubu series, but it stands very well on its own. Personally I have never read a book set in Africa. Part of the reason I accepted this book for review was because of the setting alone. I knew it would be out of my comfort zone and I thoroughly enjoyed the setting.

Overall I’m glad that I was given the opportunity to read this book, and I definitely will be on the lookout for more Detective Kubu books! I would definitely recommend this book.

Connect with Michael Stanley:

Michael StanleyWebsite

Facebook

Twitter

**This review is posted in conjunction with the TLC Book Tours blog tour. I received a copy of this book to review in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no monetary compensation and the opinions expressed here are my own.

tlc logoPlease be sure to check out the other stops on the tour:

Tuesday, April 30th: The Year in Books
Wednesday, May 1st: Between the Covers
Thursday, May 2nd: Helen’s Book Blog
Monday, May 6th: 50 Books Project
Tuesday, May 7th: Traveling With T
Thursday, May 9th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Monday, May 13th: Joyfully Retired
Tuesday, May 14th: Wordsmithonia
Wednesday, May 15th: 5 Minutes For Books
Thursday, May 16th: My Bookish Ways
Monday, May 20th: Tales of a Book Addict

AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, Fiction, Nina Reilly, O, Read in 2013, READING CHALLENGES 2013, SERIES

2013.20 REVIEW – Motion to Suppress by Perri O’Shaughnessy

Tara

Motion to Suppress
by Perri O’Shaughnessy

Copyright: 1995
Pages: 450
Read: April 23-29, 2013
Challenge: Off the Shelf Challenge
Yearly count: 20
Format: Print
Source: Personal copy

Blurb:Misty Patterson only remembered the fight, the polar bear statue she used as a bludgeon, a trail of blood, and the comatose sleep that followed. When she awoke, her husband and the statue were missing. Only the blood was left. She had come to attorney Nina Reilly’s office seeking a divorce. But when Anthony Patterson was found on the bottom of the frigid lake, Misty needed a miracle.

Barely a week before, Nina Reilly had been a happily married San Francisco lawyer. Suddenly she’s a single parent, opening a shoestring practice in Lake Tahoe. And now Nina finds herself embroiled in a case that’s going to change everything she believes about the law. It’s going to rock everything Misty Patterson believes about herself. And it’s going to give both women a look at the damning piece of evidence that will challenge their faith in each other. Or give them their one and only chance to win…

Review: This is the first in the Nina Reilly series. It’s also been a series that has been on my “to start” list for ages. Recently I started acquiring the first few in this series and since I needed a break from review books, I figured now was as good a time as any to start another series (ha!)

Honestly, I really enjoyed this book. There’s just something about Nina Reilly that really hit home for me. I don’t know quite how to explain it, but I just really enjoyed her character. She felt so real to me. She wasn’t perfect, but she was doing the best she could with what she had. And that husband of hers … ex-husband, now … what a sleaze bag. He rubbed me the wrong way. But it will be interesting to see what happens between her and Paul!

The characters, even the secondary ones, are so well-developed in my opinion. I know sometimes it’s hard to make secondary characters seem important, but the O’Shaughnessy ladies (they are two sisters), definitely make it happen.

I have to say that I wasn’t exactly surprised by the ending. I kind of had an inkling of where things were going, but I didn’t have it completely figured out until it was revealed. It wasn’t hard to figure out who was behind the threats on Nina and Misty. But what happened to Anthony, well that one was a little more surprising.

I felt as if the book went along at a nice pace, it never slowed down for me. And I really felt that Nina was amazing in the courtroom – those scenes were some of the best in the book, in my opinion.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this first book and look forward to reading more in the series soon!

A, AUTHOR, Book Review, E-Book, Edelweiss, Fiction, Read in 2013, Review Book

2013.19 REVIEW – The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen

Tara

The Boleyn King
by Laura Andersen

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 368
Read: April 15-22, 2013
Challenge: No Challenge
Yearly count: 19
Format: E-Book
Source: Edelweiss

Blurb: Laura Andersen brings us the first book in an enthralling trilogy set in the dramatic, turbulent, world-altering years of Tudor England. What if Anne did not miscarry her son in January 1536, but instead gave birth to a healthy royal boy? Perfect for fans of Philipa Gregory and Allison Weir.
The Boleyn King
Henry IX, known as William, is a 17-year-old king struggling at the restraints of the regency and anxious to prove himself. With the French threatening battle and the Catholics plotting at home, Will trusts only three people: his older sister, Elizabeth; his best friend and loyal counselor, Dominic; and Minuette, a young orphan raised as a royal ward by Anne Boleyn. Against an undercurrent of secret documents, conflicting intelligence operations, and private murder, William fights a foreign war and domestic rebellion with equal resolve. But when he and Dominic both fall in love with Minuette, romantic obsession menaces a new generation of Tudors. Battlefields and council chambers, trials and executions, the blindness of first love and the betrayal of true friendship…How far will William go to get what he wants? Who will pay the price for a king’s revenge? And what twists of fate will set Elizabeth on the path to her destiny as England’s queen?

Review: Oh. My. Goodness. I almost don’t know where to start with this review. I can’t begin to tell you how much I truly enjoyed this book. And how much I hate that it’s a trilogy and I can’t hardly wait to get my hands on the second book.

Personally I liked the premise of this book – what if? What if Anne Boleyn hadn’t miscarried? What if she had given birth to a healthy baby boy? That’s where this book really starts. Then it skips forward to when William is 17 and is about to become a “full” king – not having to have his councillors.

While William would obviously be the main character, most of the book is written in Minuette’s perspective. As Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting and a close childhood friend to both Elizabeth and William, she really has a nice place for herself within the court. But it’s really amazing to see just how things change when these childhood friends grow up and become young adults. Add into it the fact that royalty is involved, it really makes for some interesting ideas.

Overall I found this book to be really good. But that’s not to say that it was perfect. There were a few issues that I had with it. First, I sometimes had a hard time keeping the characters straight. Not the main characters, but the ones who were William’s councillors. I guess that’s probably because they were secondary characters and popped in and out throughout the book. I’m not sure why I struggled with that. I also had a slight issue with how the transitions to different characters were done. Or I really should say, lack thereof. I felt like this was the weakest part of the book.  The reader would be going along with Minuette’s character and then we would be immediately thrown into the battlefield with Dominic. I found it a little difficult to keep track of at times. However, it didn’t really make me like the book any less, but it was something that I noticed throughout the novel.

I must warn you, dear readers – this book ends with one heck of a cliffhanger. I almost couldn’t believe it! I kept hitting the forward button on my Nook hoping that the book wouldn’t end how it did. It is what it is, but it will definitely leave you wanting more immediately!

I think I’ve read more historical fiction this year than I have in the past 5 years combined, but for some reason it’s really caught my interest. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to finishing the trilogy – I can’t wait to find out what happens!! (That cliffhanger … !!)

Highly recommended.

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, E-Book, Fiction, NetGalley, RATING, Read in 2013, READING CHALLENGES 2013, Review Book

2013.5 REVIEW – A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate by Susanna Calkins

Tara

A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate
by Susanna Calkins

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 349
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 18 – 22, 2013
Challenge: 2013 Eclectic Reader Challenge
Yearly count: 5
Format: E-Book
Source: NetGalley

A Murder at Rosamund's GateBlurb:  For Lucy Campion, a seventeenth-century English chambermaid serving in the household of the local magistrate, life is an endless repetition of polishing pewter, emptying chamber pots, and dealing with other household chores until a fellow servant is ruthlessly killed, and Lucy’s brother is wrongly arrested for the crime. In a time where the accused are presumed guilty until proven innocent, lawyers aren’t permitted to defend their clients, and—if the plague doesn’t kill them first—public executions draw a large crowd of spectators, Lucy knows she may never see her brother alive again. Unless, that is, she can identify the true murderer.

Determined to do just that, Lucy finds herself venturing out of her expected station and into raucous printers’ shops, secretive gypsy camps, the foul streets of London, and even the bowels of Newgate prison on a trail that might lead her straight into the arms of the killer.

Review: I received this book via NetGalley. It was an impulse request, but I knew that it was a book that I really wanted to read.

I actually finished this book a few days ago, but for some reason I couldn’t immediately put my thoughts together on how to approach the review. But I’ve now gathered my thoughts and I hope that I am able to convey to my readers just how much I really did enjoy this book.

However, that’s not to say that it wasn’t without its faults. First of all, this is most definitely a historical mystery. But I was a little frustrated that it took 100 pages until we really got to the “mystery” part of it. The only reason I kept reading the book through all that was because Ms. Calkins really set the stage beautifully in my opinion. There was just something about the writing and the introduction to all the characters that really drew me farther into the story.

I really enjoyed Lucy’s character. She seemed so real to me. And I liked how Ms. Calkins made her more than just a servant – she was a young woman with thoughts and opinions of her own. It also helped that her household master was quite receptive to hearing the chambermaid’s opinions. I’m absolutely positive that this would have been almost unheard of during the time this book was set (London during the plague years).

The mystery part of the book was quite interesting to me. I will admit that I had no idea who the killer really was until he was revealed. That’s always something that I really appreciate out of a good book.

When the book reaches its conclusion the reader is left wondering where Lucy will go from there. I will admit that I was a little frustrated that it seemed to end so abruptly. I was left with a lot of questions that I wanted answers to immediately. Hopefully I will be able to meet Lucy again in another book in the future.

Either way, this is definitely a historical mystery not to be missed. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, but when I do this is exactly the type of book that I’m looking for. I know this book will make a big splash in the book world – and it definitely deserves to. Highly recommended.

AUTHOR, Book Review, E-Book, Fiction, R, Read in 2013, Review Book

2013.18 REVIEW – Blood Money by Doug Richardson

Tara

Blood Money
by Doug Richardson

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 280
Read: April 4-11, 2013
Challenge: No Challenge
Yearly count: 18
Format: E-Book
Source: Author for review

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000032_00037]Blurb: The disillusioned Marine’s plan seems simple enough: steal a refrigerated tractor trailer loaded with frozen blood product; drive the pirated cargo from Reno, Nevada to the Port of Long Beach; collect a million dollars. Yet even the most deliberate plans can go sideways. On his campaign south, the Marine’s “inner idiot” takes charge, leaving a smattering of dead bodies in his wake.

In the dark before dawn, a telephone rings. Kern County Sheriff’s detective Lucas “Lucky” Dey, no stranger to being awakened with bad news, answers the call. But this time, the voice on the phone tells Lucky that his ill-fated younger brother has been gunned down on a blackened desolate highway.

As Lucky chases the former Marine and his black semi-rig into the bowels of Los Angeles, he’s thrust into a landscape of competing agendas. Conrad Ellis, the multi-millionaire entertainment mogul, demands justice for the murder of his starlet daughter. Ambitious federal attorney Lilly Zoller is determined to turn any opportunity into her personal spotlight. Rey Palomino, the morally challenged contractor, colludes with the former Marine hoping to crawl out from under a crushing debt. LAPD detective and dedicated single mom Lydia “Gonzo” Gonzales, reluctantly accepts her assignment to “babysit” the unrestrained Kern County detective hell-bent on avenging his brother’s death at any cost.

A knee-breaking private detective, some unwitting feds, and a coterie of gang-busting L.A. Sheriff’s deputies further complicate the scenario and round out the cast of characters in this explosive and unpredictable thrill ride.

Review: This is a book that starts out with a bang and never lets up until you’ve hit the final page. When I was originally pitched this book and first found out that Mr. Richardson had actually written some pretty famous movies, I was immediately intrigued and wanted to read his book. I’m very happy that I got this opportunity.

Overall the book is quite good. As I stated above, this is a fast-paced, roller-coaster ride of a read. The pages kept flying as I was anxious to get see how things ended up.

As most of my faithful readers know, I am huge on character development. Personally, I felt that Mr. Richardson did a great job in creating the characters, but I felt a little disconnected with them. I guess you could really say that I never really “liked” any of the characters. However, for some reason, it works for this book. I can’t really explain it, but it just felt right for the situation.

I felt as if the writing was very good, it never lagged, but most importantly it felt real. Nothing was forced, everything felt like you were right in the conversation with the characters.

I would definitely recommend this book. I have to say that there is quite a bit of violence in this book, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.

About the Author:

DougRichardsonHiResDoug  Richardson  was  born  in  Arcadia,  California.  The  son  of  a  career  politician,  Doug  grew  up  outside  Sacramento  and  inside  the  state  Capitol.  He  used  to  talk  his  way  into  then-‐Governor  Ronald  Reagan’s  office,  just  to  get  a  handful  of  jellybeans.    Doug  left  Northern  California  for  Los  Angeles  to  attend  the  University  of  Southern  California’s  School  of  Cinema.  For  as  long  as  he  could  remember,  Doug  had  wanted  to  be  a  movie  director.  But  in  pursuing  his  goal  he  discovered  how  movies  are  really  made:  in  the  writing.    After  finishing  college,  Doug  signed  a  two-‐year  contract  with  Warner  Brothers.  In  1989  he  garnered  national  attention  when  his  spec  screenplay  was  the  first  in  Hollywood  to  sell  for  a  million  dollars.  Doug’s  first  feature  film,  the  sequel  to  Die  Hard,  Die  Harder,  was  produced  in  1990.  He  has  since  written  and  produced  feature  films  including  the  box  office  smash  Bad  Boys  and,  most  recently,  Hostage.  To  date,  Doug’s  features  have  grossed  over  800  million  dollars  worldwide.    Blood  Money  is  Doug’s  fourth  novel,  preceded  by  Dark  Horse,  True  Believers,  and  The  Safety  Expert.      Doug  continues  to  write  and  develop  for  feature  films  and  television.  He  lives  in  Southern  California  with  his  wife,  two  children  and  four  mutts.

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Read in 2013, Review Book, S

2013.17 REVIEW – Evidence of Life by Barbara Taylor Sissel

Tara

Evidence of Life
by Barbara Taylor Sissel

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 304
Read: March 29 – April 4, 2013
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 17
Format: Print
Source: Publicist for blog tour

20130331-102247.jpgBlurb:

On the last ordinary day of her life, Abby Bennett feels like the luckiest woman alive. But everyone knows that luck doesn’t last forever…

As her husband, Nick, and daughter, Lindsey, embark on a weekend camping trip to the Texas Hill Country, Abby looks forward to having some quiet time to herself. She braids Lindsey’s hair, reminds Nick to drive safely and kisses them both goodbye. For a brief moment, Abby thinks she has it all—a perfect marriage, a perfect life—until a devastating storm rips through the region, and her family vanishes without a trace.

When Nick and Lindsey are presumed dead, lost in the raging waters, Abby refuses to give up hope. Consumed by grief and clinging to her belief that her family is still alive, she sets out to fine them. But as disturbing clues begin to surface, Abby realizes that the truth may be far more sinister than she imagined. Soon she finds herself caught in a current of lies that threaten to unhinge her and challenge everything she once believed about her marriage and family.

With a voice that resonates with stunning clarity, Barbara Taylor Sissel delivers a taut and chilling mystery about a mother’s love, a wife’s obsession and the invisible fractures that can shatter a family.

Review: I do believe that 2013 is going to go down in the record books as the year I read the most awesome books, ever! Seriously. I just keep reading winner after winner!

So where do I start in the love-fest that will be this review? How about with this – go buy a copy and move it to the top of your to-read pile, ASAP!

For me this book started off and never let up. I was constantly wanting to know exactly what happened to Nick and Lindsey. Were they dead? Did Nick run off and take Lindsey with him? Personally I couldn’t get through the pages quick enough to find out what happened to half of Abby’s family.

Abby … oh, dear Abby. My heart broke for her character. I wanted her to have closure so badly. I know that there are a lot of families out there that never get closure, but I was really hoping that she would get it in the end. You had to pity her a little bit. But at the same time I wanted to shake her out of the funk she got in. I don’t really want to say that her character really got obnoxious, because it’s hard to tell how anyone would react in that situation – everyone grieves differently – but, at the same time it was difficult to believe that she was as naive as she was acting.

But Nick is really the character I want to talk about. I had an issue that we never really got to “know” him. He disappeared within like the first 10 pages and then everything regarding him was from other people’s perspectives, whether it was Abby, Kate, Abby’s mother or Nick’s co-workers. I understood why Ms. Sissel set the book up in the manner she did, but I felt as if Nick really never got to have his own say into what happened in his and Abby’s marriage. It would have been nice to have his perspective on a few things – was Abby really that naive or did she look the other way because it was easiest? I think it would have been interesting to see that perspective of the story. But it didn’t hurt my overall opinion of the book itself, I just think it would have been an interesting direction to have gone in.

But Kate is really the one character I did. not. like. Period. She was shady. And yet she wanted to be Abby’s best friend. She betrayed her. And yet she expected Abby to just forgive her for everything. And Abby did just that. It just irritated me, because I felt as if Kate really took advantage of Abby. I don’t know, there was just something about her that rubbed me wrong I guess.

Overall, the storyline was interesting. While the outcome was somewhat predictable, there was definitely one wild character that came out of left field in my opinion. It definitely added the twist that really helped the book to its exciting finish. The writing was excellent.

I can’t say enough about this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to anyone. It definitely makes me want to read Ms. Sissel’s previous books!

20130411-202756.jpg

**I received a copy of this book to be part of a blog tour. I received no monetary compensation and all opinions expressed are my own.

AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, Fiction, L, Read in 2013, Review Book, TLC Book Tours

2013.16 REVIEW – Untold Damage by Robert K. Lewis

Tara

Untold Damage
by Robert K. Lewis

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 289
Read: March 25-29, 2013
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 16
Format: Print
Source: Author for TLC Book Tours

Untold DamageBlurb: Estranged from his wife and daughter, former undercover cop Mark Mallen has spent the last four years in a haze of heroin. When his best friend from the academy, Eric Russ, is murdered, all the evidence points to Mallen as the prime suspect.

Now Mallen’s former colleagues on the force are turning up the heat and Russ’s survivors are asking him to come up with some answers. But if he wants to serve justice to the real killer, Mallen knows he’ll have to get clean. Turning a life around is hard work for a junkie, especially when a gang of low-life thugs wants him dead. Bruised, battered, and written off by nearly everyone, can Mallen keep clean and catch a killer?

Review:

Sometimes the darkest moments of our life give us the brightest chance at our redemption.

Page 55 of ARC

When I was originally pitched this book I thought it sounded like a pretty decent read. I had no idea just how enjoyable I would find it. I was very pleasantly surprised by this debut book by Robert K. Lewis. I honestly feel like this is such a wonderful start to what can be a great new series.

I have to begin this review by talking about a couple of the characters. My faithful readers know that I am a huge stickler for some good character development. To me the characters will make or break a book, especially a series. Mark Mallen is such an interesting character. If I had to choose one word to describe him I would select flawed. And boy oh boy, is he ever flawed. I mean, he’s an ex-cop, who used to work undercover in narcotics. And why is he an ex-cop? Oh, you know, because he got hooked on heroin during his undercover stint and got kicked off the force. Can you get any more flawed than that? I don’t think so. But there’s just something about him that works. I think it’s the fact that he wants to be better. As the reader, we really get to see the transformation that so many junkies never get to experience: the want to get clean. And it’s a tough road. He detoxes cold turkey while in the drunk tank in jail. That’s tough. There are many times throughout the book that you think that he’s going to relapse. Personally I found myself rooting so hard for Mallen to get out of certain situations still clean. I wanted him to stay clean. I wanted him to succeed. His character is just so real. In my opinion, he’s a great main character. It’s hard to blend flawed and likeable at the same time … but Mr. Lewis certainly does so almost effortlessly.

In my opinion another character who must be discussed is Gato. Some would call his character more periphery than some of the other characters. But there was just something about Gato that didn’t really feel right. First, Mallen meets him while he’s in the drunk tank detoxing. Obviously that’s not the best time to meet your new best friend. But for some reason, Gato offers him friendship. And Mallen takes him up on it when he’s clean and back on the outside. But for some reason, something rubbed me the wrong way about his character. He was almost too helpful. He never questioned Mallen. Even when most guys would walk away from Mallen and the crazy things he was asking of Gato, he stayed. He just seemed too eager to help Mallen. I might be making more out of it than there is to it, but like I said, something felt off …. I have a feeling that Gato is going to ask Mallen for help in the next book, and I think it’s going to be something big (bad?) that he’s going to be requesting. Just a feeling I have, though.

The storyline itself is interesting. It was fast paced and kept me guessing until the end. The killer was predictable, but I found it fun to work “the case” with Mallen. I liked seeing him brush off the rust of the past four years and get back into his groove with investigating. It was definitely fun. I also liked that the reader gets Mallen’s history. It was definitely necessary to include this information. To me it only made Mallen that much more enjoyable – it was very easy to see how he ended up where he did. I didn’t necessarily feel sorry for him, or think it was excusable, but it really put things into perspective.

Overall, I can’t recommend this book enough. And I’m excited that Mr. Lewis is busy at work on the next Mallen book 🙂

Connect with Robert K. Lewis:

Robert K. Lewis

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

**This review is posted in conjunction with the TLC Book Tours blog tour. I received a copy of this book to review in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no monetary compensation and the opinions expressed here are my own.

tlc logoPlease be sure to check out the other stops on the tour:

Monday, April 8th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Tuesday, April 9th: Crime Fiction Lover
Wednesday, April 10th: Booksie’s Blog
Thursday, April 11th: Tales of a Book Addict
Wednesday, April 17th: Ace and Hoser Blook
Monday, April 22nd: Joyfully Retired
Tuesday, April 23rd: Must Read Faster
Wednesday, April 24th: A Bookworm’s World
Thursday, April 25th: she treads softly
Monday, April 29th: Crazy Shenanigans
Tuesday, April 30th: My Two Blessings

AUTHOR, Book Review, E, Fiction, Read in 2013, READING CHALLENGES 2013, SERIES, Taylor Jackson

2013.15 REVIEW – So Close the Hand of Death by J.T. Ellison

Tara

So Close the Hand of Death
by J.T. Ellison

Copyright: 2011
Pages: 406
Read: March 15-24, 2013
Challenge: Off the Shelf 2013
Yearly count: 15
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

So Close the Hand of DeathBlurb: It’s a hideous echo of a violent past. Across America, murders are being committed with all the twisted hallmarks of the Boston Strangler, the Zodiac Killer and Son of Sam. The media frenzy explodes and Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson knows instantly that The Predator is back … and he’s got helpers.

As The Pretender’s disciples perpetrate their sick homages – stretching police and the FBI dangerously thin – Taylor tries desperately to prepare for their inevitable showdown. And she must do it alone. To be close to her is to be in mortal danger, and she won’t risk losing anyone she loves. But the isolation, the self-doubt and the rising body count are taking their toll – she’s beside herself and ready to snap.

The brilliant psychopath who both adores and despises her is drawing close. Close enough to touch…

Review: I love, love, love the Taylor Jackson series. It’s one that I found a few years back and have read almost all of them – I only lack the latest one (is it the last? I just might cry if it is … but at the same time, I’ll be relieved because I kind of prefer to have some closure to series, not the huge 40+ book long-running ones).

Anyways, I must start this review with stating that if you have never read a book in the Taylor Jackson series, do not start with this one. You will be so confused. You probably won’t like Taylor’s character. You have to start from the beginning to really understand this book and who she is in this installment.

That being said, I think that this is the best book in the series that I have read. It’s so raw. It’s so eye-opening. It’s just a perfect blend of everything I love in  my mystery/thriller books.

The storyline is so fast paced in this book. It really starts off and never lets up. I was constantly turning the pages trying to figure out what was going to happen. And the end-game between Taylor and The Pretender is not at all how I expected things to happen.

And I must say that I really like the sound of the next book in this series. I don’t have a copy of it, but I’m definitely on the hunt. I think it’s going to be a very good installment. I’m interested in seeing what happens between Taylor and Baldwin … there’s a definite disconnect after the events of this book, and it will be interesting to see what happens between them.

Final Thoughts: I can’t say enough good things about this book. Or the entire series, really. So –  read this series. End of story.

AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Fiction, Read in 2013, Review Book

2013.14 REVIEW – The Dark Pool by J.E. Fishman

Tara

The Dark Pool
by J.E. Fishman

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 424
Read: March 6-14, 2013
Challenge: No Challenge
Yearly count: 14
Format: Print
Source: Publicist for review

The Dark PoolBlurb: Shoog Clay: The nation’s winningest inner-city high school football coach resists pressure to move up to the college level because his kids in the Bronx mean everything to him. But more powerful people won’t take no for an answer.

Antwon Meeps: One day Harriet Tubman High School’s star running back is a shoe-in for a college scholarship. The next day he’s accused of a rape he didn’t commit, his life begins unraveling, and he doesn’t know how to stop it.

The Mean: This incognito Greenwich hedge fund manager is so rich he keeps a giant sea creature as his pet. But a risky investment threatens to ruin him, and a stubborn high school football coach holds the key to his redemption.

Soon a tragic hanging in the school gymnasium will lay bare a secret force that none of these men understands. In a “dark pool”  marketplace, insatiable Wall Street players have wagered everything on certain real-world outcomes. When fortunes hang in the balance, financiers cloaked in anonymity won’t hesitate to pay off their claims with the blood of others.

Review: Financial thrillers aren’t necessarily my cup of tea, but when I was pitched this book, I figured that the rest of the description would cover enough of the financial aspects for me to enjoy this one. And I was right to take a chance on this book. I really enjoyed it.

If J.E. Fishman is good at one thing, it sure is character development. By the end of the book, I felt like the characters were family to me and I was rooting them on to make it out of the mess they were in. But that’s not to say that they were absolutely perfect. First, I have to admit that I found Shoog Clay’s character really sticking his neck out the entire book for one of his football players was a little unrealistic. Not very many high school football coaches are going to go on the run with their star football player. And the idea that Clay’s boss would harbor both of them, as well as keep important details from the police, well that is a little unbelievable as well. And while that might have come out negative, it really didn’t have an impact on my feelings toward the book. In fact it was quite the opposite – I was flying through the pages trying to figure out exactly how Shoog, Miranda and Antwon would get out of the mess they were in.

The writing was very good. The chapters were short, which kept the pages turning. And the action, while not what I would necessarily consider fast-paced, was definitely not slow either. The storyline was interesting – the so-called dark pool is a secret marketplace where the richest investors bet on certain things, and you definitely don’t want to be on the short end of the bet. But what’s really interesting is just how far some people will go to manipulate the dark pool in their favor.

Overall, I felt like this was a very good thriller that will appeal to a wide variety of audiences – financial thriller readers as well as crime fiction fans will all enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no monetary compensation.

AUTHOR, Author Debut, Book Review, Fiction, Read in 2013, Review Book, U-V-W

2013.13 REVIEW – The Trajectory of Dreams by Nicole Wolverton

Tara

The Trajectory of Dreams
by Nicole Wolverton

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 285
Read: March 1-5, 2013
Challenge: No Challenge
Yearly count: 13
Format: Print
Source: Author for review

The Trajectory of DreamsBlurb: For Lela White, a Houston sleep lab technician, sleep doesn’t come easy—there’s a price to be paid for a poor night’s sleep, and she’s the judge, jury, and executioner.

Everyone around Lela considers her a private woman with a passion for her lab work. But nighttime reveals her for what she is: a woman on a critical secret mission. Lela lives in the grip of a mental disorder that compels her to break into astronauts’ homes to ensure they can sleep well and believes that by doing so, she keeps the revitalized U.S. space program safe from fatal accidents. What began at the age of ten when her mother confessed to blowing up the space shuttle has evolved into Lela’s life’s work. She dreads the day when an astronaut doesn’t pass her testing, but she’s prepared to kill for the greater good.

When Zory Korchagin, a Russian cosmonaut on loan to the U.S. shuttle program, finds himself drawn to Lela, he puts her carefully constructed world at risk of an explosion as surely as he does his own upcoming launch. As Lela’s universe unravels, no one is safe.

Review: This is one of those books where it’s going to be very hard to review it without giving away too much of the plot line, so I’ll do my best to avoid any kind of spoilers.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Lela White is absolutely insane. It is obvious that there is something seriously wrong in the head with this woman from the first page. But to be completely honest, it’s not until the very end that the reader becomes aware of just how serious her problems really are. I certainly had no idea as to the severity of her mental illness. I had a pretty good idea as to what had happened to her mother, but other than that it was completely surprising to me.

I thought that overall the writing was very good, there were a few typos here and there, but I was reading an ARC, so hopefully they were caught before final publication. However, I have to say that I kind of thought some of the transitions could have been smoother. Nothing that a couple of spaces between paragraphs couldn’t fix. It might have been something done intentionally by the author to further the picture of Lela’s character. I’m not sure. But then again, this might just be something that I like after having so many professors in college pound the words “transition sentences” into my brain!

As I stated above, this is a really hard book to review without getting too detailed. All I can say is that Lela White’s character is insane and that the storyline itself is pretty good and the reader should be stunned at the end.

Now go read it 🙂

NicoleWolverton_highres_RTAbout the Author:

Nicole Wolverton is the author of the upcoming psychology thriller, The Trajectory of Dreams (Bitingduck Press, March 2013). Her short stories and flash fiction have appeared in Black Heart Magazine, The Molotov Cocktail, and Penduline, among others. In addition to writing fiction, Wolverton is founder and managing editor of Farm to Philly (www.farmtophilly.com), a website devoted to locally grown foods and sustainable living. She resides in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area with her husband and small cadre of pets.

Praise for The Trajectory of Dreams

“The Trajectory of Dreams is unsettling, beautifully written, and truly original. In Lela White, Nicole Wolverton has created one of the most haunting characters in contemporary fiction. This is a remarkable debut.” –Emily St. John Mandel, author of THE LOLA QUARTET, THE SINGER’S GUN, and LAST NIGHT IN MONTREAL

“This novel is a free dive into the bottomless ocean of insanity. With every chapter, every kick of the fins, you’re sucked in deeper as the darkness mounts and the pressure builds. And like the ocean, The Trajectory of Dreams gives up its secrets grudgingly, so you’ll continually be stunned as the protagonist, Lela, falls to her inevitable implosion.” –Mike Mullin, author of ASHFALL and ASHEN WINTER.

“This is a psychological thriller of epic proportions. […] 5 out of 5 stars for its crazy twists and exhilarating ending. This is a gripping, disquieting look at mental illness that will cause you to question how well you can truly know a person, especially those with something to hide.” –Literary R&R

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no monetary compensation.