Orlando Sentinel Editor's Newest Book Reviewed by Midwest Book Review

Title: "Tate Drawdy"

Author's name: Michael Ludden

Author's website link: http://www.michaelludden.com/    https://michaelludden.net/

Genre: Suspense / thriller

Pages: 294 

ISBN: 978-1-978210-73-8

Name of reviewer: Midwest Book Review 

Reviewer's link: http://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/feb_18.htm

Originally reviewed at  Midwest Book Review

Synopsis: Amid the engravings of the evangelists, the stained glass, the marble, the serenity of Savannah's Cathedral of St. John the Baptist are two dead and naked bodies. One of the victims is a priest; the other, a teenage girl. And now John Robert Griffin, a savage killer, wants to help Tate Drawdy solve the crime. That way, there will be more of Drawdy left for him. Drawdy must survive a horrifying clash with the priest's killer in time to face Griffin. But something's wrong. Drawdy's beginning to suspect someone else out there wants him dead. And he's starting to make mistakes.

Critique: It is interesting to note that author Michael Ludden is a former Deputy Managing Editor at the Orlando Sentinel, where he directed an investigation that won a Pulitzer Prize. He's written for magazines, advertising and marketing firms, edited books and been a senior writer/editor at CNN's Headline News. Therefore it's no surprise to find out with his novel "Tate Drawdy" that he has a genuine flair for narrative driven storytelling and is a master of the mystery genre, Exceptionally well written and replete with unexpected twists and turns, "Tate Drawdy" is unreservedly recommended, especially for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. Dedicated mystery buffs should be aware that "Tate Drawdy" is also available for their personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99).

Purchase link: 

https://www.amazon.com/Tate-Drawdy-Michael-Ludden/dp/1978210736/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519666407&sr=1-1&keywords=tate+drawdy+by+michael+ludden

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Ludden is a former Deputy Managing Editor at the Orlando Sentinel, where he directed an investigation that won a Pulitzer Prize. He’s written for magazines, advertising and marketing firms, edited books and been a senior writer/editor at CNN’s Headline News.

"Tate Drawdy" is his second novel, following "Alfredo's Luck". He also has a blog, "Tales from the Morgue", where he tells short stories from his days in journalism. https://michaelludden.net/

He lives in Atlanta, where he’s working on another Tate Drawdy thriller. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Dr. Wesley Britton Reviews Marion Ross Memoir

My Days: Happy and Otherwise

Marion Ross

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Kensington (March 27, 2018)

ISBN-10: 1496715152

ISBN-13: 978-1496715159 

Purchase at: https://www.amazon.com/My-Days-Otherwise-Marion-Ross/dp/1496715152

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for Book Pleasures.com

Eighty-nine-year-old Marion Ross clearly understood anyone wanting to read her memoirs would do so because of her years starring as Marion Cunningham on the ABC television hit, Happy Days.   As a result, Ross’s descriptions of her life before the series and the decades afterward in My Days essentially bookend a very detailed overview of her time as Mrs. C  from her point-of-view as well as most of the other cast members as interviewed by Ross’s collaborator, entertainment reporter David Laurell.

For most readers, Ross’s overviews of her early years demonstrate how a woman with drive and determination can make it in a very competitive business if one is willing to dedicate themselves to learning their craft and putting their working life ahead of everything else. This work ethic kept her working continuously from 1953 on, beginning with her first film role in that year’s Forever Female starring Ginger Rodgers and William Holden.   In the same year, she played the Irish maid on the TV series, Life With Father. Until Happy Days, Ross was rarely not on a film or television lot but never as a break-out star or marquee headliner.    

Yes, this section of the book has its fair share of name-dropping but not to the extent of many other celebrity autobiographies. It’s a very fast read that really fills in the background, character, attitudes, and the reasoning behind why Ross did what she did, notably staying in a pointless marriage long after it was clearly dead.       The actress’s unhappiest days occurred during her 1951-1969 marriage to alcoholic, unmotivated would-be actor Freeman Meskimen. As she reminds us many times, in those days alcoholism wasn’t treated like the disease it is today but rather something to be accepted as part of normal life.   That was one reason ending that marriage took as long as it did. In fact, that relationship is about the only part of the book that can be labeled “unhappy days.”

Then, we hear the oft-told story of how Ross was cast as Mrs. C and how life went for the largely happy cast of Happy Days. The only discordant note is her brief discussion of how Tom Bosley wasn’t the cheeriest of co-stars who took some time to accept Ross on an equal footing. In fact, Bosley’s presence is rather slight in the book compared with Ross’s descriptions of the rest of the cast followed by Laurell’s interviews with Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Donnie Most, Henry Winkler, Scott Baio, and the late Erin Murphey.       To each, Laurell posed many of the same questions, mostly what the actors had to say about Ross, how they interacted with her on and off the set, and their relationships after the show’s cancellation.  Uniformly, all the younger players said Ross was an important ingredient in keeping the set free of rancor, was a reliable source of good council and wisdom, was a literal good sport in Garry Marshall’s Happy Days softball team, and remained a steady friend in the decades after the demise of Happy Days. Strangely, neither Ross nor any of her co-stars mentioned the 2011 lawsuit they brought against CBS for contracted royalties they were due for Happy Days merchandising, especially on gambling machines.  Perhaps this was for legal reasons? Or perhaps an unhappy afternote to much happier memories wouldn’t have fit the book’s thematic flow. 

 Ross asked Laurell to not only interview her TV family, but her two actual children as well, Jim Meskimen and Ellen Kreamer. After all, many fans want to know how Marion Ross the mother compared to Marion Cunningham the mother.  Well, the two women were quite different but the children of Marion Ross seem perfectly happy with the mother that raised them.

In many ways, the story of Marion Ross is the story of a pioneer who was an independent working woman long before that status was acceptable or encouraged in Hollywood or anywhere else for that matter.   She was a woman whose success didn’t come until her 40s and who didn’t have a fulfilling romance until she met Paul Michael when she was 60.

  

So, again, this is a book essentially for Happy Days fans.  I’d say it would also be a good, very fast read for those who like positive, upbeat tales of successful women who, from the early days of their lives, determine what they want to do and what they want to become and go for it, full throttle and resolute.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Adaptation of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park Reviews by BlueInk Review

Title: A Contrary Wind

Subtitle: a variation on Mansfield Park

Author: Lona Manning

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Paperback: 378 pages

·         Publisher: Amazon KDP

Date: (January 12, 2017)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1976797861

ISBN-13: 978-1976797866

Purchase on Amazon

Reviewed Anonymously on BlueInkReview.com

Reprinted with Permission of BlueInk

Blueink Review: More contemporary writers select the works of Jane Austen to adapt than any other author. In this latest Austen Variation, crime writer Lona Manning selects Mansfield Park as her subject.

Like many others, Manning considers Austen’s Fanny to be too "insipid" a heroine to inspire reader interest. Thus, she alters the story beginning with Austen's play scene in Chapter XV. (The book offers a brief synopsis of earlier scenes for those unfamiliar with the original.) Manning retains Austen's characters, namely: Henry and Mary, the visiting, unscrupulous Crawford siblings; and Edmund and Tom Bertram and their sisters, who live at Mansfield Park with their mother and irascible aunt. Also living at Mansfield Park is Fanny, a shy poor cousin who is constantly harassed by her visiting aunt.

When Manning's Fanny finally decides to seek her independence by becoming a governess, she leaves Mansfield Park without disclosing her destination. This causes some to worry and others to berate her ingratitude. As Fanny slowly embraces her new life and becomes a fully fleshed and sympathetic character, Henry Crawford's dissolute life intensifies, and his sister plots to attract Edmund's attention while also disparaging Fanny's character after intercepting fond letters between Edmund and Fanny.

Manning incorporates into her narrative growing public opposition to the slave trade which maintains Mansfield Park and expands the role of the navy and Fanny's seagoing brother.

A Contrary Wind is an impressive feat. Manning not only emulates Austen’s writing style so well that she often seamlessly incorporates exact passages from the original into her narrative, she also retains the claustrophobic pettiness of the upper class while setting the novel securely in its political and social context. The author creates engrossing tension through the escalating misdeeds of the Crawfords, whose just punishments will meet with modern approval.

Many try to emulate Austen; not all succeed. Here, Manning triumphs. She has retained Austen’s spirit, while providing a stronger Fanny who will surely win today’s readers.

Also available as an ebook.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Novel by Clifford Browder Set in New York City

Title: Dark Knowledge

Author: Clifford Browder

Genre: Historical fiction

Paperback: 234 pages

ISBN: 978-1-68114-367-5

Do Black Lives Matter?

 SYNOPSIS

Young Chris Harmony thinks so when, learning that members of his family may have been involved in the pre-Civil War slave trade, he determines to learn the truth.  He tells his story in Dark Knowledge, a historical novel by Clifford Browder released by Anaphora Literary Press on January 5.  The story is set in late 1860s New York.

Chris’s investigation takes him into elegant brownstone parlors, a dingy waterfront saloon, and musty old maritime records that reveal startling secrets.  Since those once involved in the trade fear exposure, he meets denials and evasions, then threats, and finally a murder.  Chris is haunted by vivid fantasies of the suffering slaves on the ships and their savage revolts.  How could seemingly respectable people be involved in so abhorrent a trade, and what stratagems did they use to avoid exposure?  And what price must Chris pay to learn the painful truth and proclaim it?

This is the third title in Browder’s Metropolis series of historical novels set in nineteenth-century New York.  Surprised to learn that New York City was the center of the North Atlantic slave trade in the years just before the Civil War, Browder researched the subject at the New York Public Library and the New York Historical Society library, using primary sources whenever possible.
  

The other novels in the Metropolis series are The Pleasuring of Men (Gival Press, 2011), about a young man who chooses to become a male prostitute, and Bill Hope: His Story (Anaphora Literary Press, 2017), in which a street kid turned pickpocket relates his adventurous life.  Browder is also the author of two biographies; a critical study of the French Surrealist poet André Breton; andNo Place for Normal: New York / Stories from the Most Exciting City in the World (Mill City Press, 2015), a selection of posts from his blog that won the Tenth Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Regional Non-Fiction, and first-place in the Travel category of the 2015-2016 Reader Views Literary Awards.  He invites his friends and fans to read his fiction and nonfiction, but to avoid his poetry (awful stuff!).

ABOUT  THE  AUTHOR

A transplant from the Midwest, Browder is a writer and retired editor living in New York City’s Greenwich Village high above the Magnolia Bakery of “Sex and the City” fame.  He loves New York for its intensity and diversity, its craziness and creativity, and celebrates it, warts and all, in his blog, "No Place for Normal: New York."  A member of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, he loves old buildings and their history, but is also dazzled by glass-pinnacled high rises that spike the sky.  A hiker, he is fascinated by the black jelly and spongy white brain of slime molds, the intoxicating scent of milkweed, and the haunting beauty of the mushroom known as Destroying Angel, one bite of which is death.  Though ripe in years, recently he learned the Charleston; geezers rock.

Purchase Dark Knowledge at Amazon,

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Knowledge-Clifford-Browder/dp/1681143674

Barnes and Noble,

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-knowledge-clifford-browder/1126857782

and Anaphra Liteary,

https://anaphoraliterary.com/catalogue/novels/historical/clifford-browder/ 

Clifford Browder blogs about New York city at  No Place for Normal: New York. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.