K. M. Whittaker Reviews Suspenseful Novel

Title: Ring of Lies

Author: Victoria Howard
Author's website: www.victoriahoward.co.uk
Genre: Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 9781935407683

Reviewed by K M Whittaker originally for Amazon

 

What happens when the man you have been married to for ten years is not who you thought he was? After Daniel Elliott dies in a car crash, Grace is left to deal with all the details regarding his will. Grace finds that Daniel has an alias, a lot of money, and a beach house in Miami that she knew nothing of. It seems that this loveless marriage, that Daniel kept Grace in, controlling her and keeping his secrets, was more than just connivance, but a lie. Her life with him was safe and stable, but now she is unsure who her husband really was.

Grace contacts an old friend, Jack West, an FBI agent, who she met 6 months previously. Jack agrees to help her get answers to questions and unravel the mystery behind all the secrecy in her marriage, and find out who Daniel Elliott really was, and where this money came from.

With strings of lies, deceit, murder and mystery, Jack protects Grace from harm’s way and uses his expertise to help Grace unravel all the mysteries and secrets. Family boundaries are pushed, heart breaking discoveries are made, and Grace finally decides to take her stance.

Review

An emotional roller coaster that was fast paced, filled with murder, suspense, lies, and romance. I really enjoyed this mysterious storyline. The plot smoothly flowed from one chapter to the next, and the end finalized swiftly, but efficiently, to give the reader a well delivered finale to a suspenseful read. Romance was present, but not the main factor in the read, but I felt this was evenly distributed to give us those elements we look forward in any suspenseful romance thriller. I was worried towards the end only 15 pages to go and still no deal was sealed. But Victoria ended it well, nothing left unfinished, and a finale which I am sure pleased the reader. I know I was impressed.

The main characters are very different, but fit the jigsaw well. Every little detail was included, giving an insight to the character’s personality and views. Descriptions were well portrayed -including thoughts, emotions and surroundings. I enjoy this in a read, as I am a visual reader!!!

I enjoyed Jack’s character - definitely not flawless, but his love for his daughter softened his hard exterior, good cop -hard arse. He knew what his responsibilities were and never faulted with either. He was brave, and respected, and gallant to the end.

Grace was a tortured soul. Living in a loveless marriage she stuck to her vows, no matter what. She was withdrawn in the beginning of the story, but in time her character grew strong and determined to move on with life, and start to live. I was happy to see Grace stand her ground no matter what happened to her. She had a strong will and in the end this showed in her character.

There are plenty of villains present creating that mystery and suspense that we all crave in a good thrilling read. Their characters coming across as callous and uncaring and just hard arse, this was portrayed well. You grew to hate the characters and what they stood for, but this also is part of a great story.

Overall, Victoria never disappoints in her writing, intriguing the reader into the world that she has created, drawing us into the suspense, and mystery and even little loving entwined. The romance wasn't a big part of the story, but I fell it was just perfect, giving us the insight to Jack and Grace's emotions and dragging us along in the moment.

All secondary characters meshed well with the story line, making it an enjoyable read, all necessary and blending in well with the plot.

I've now read two of Victoria's stories and have enjoyed both immensely. I certainly look forward to more of her stories in the future. A must read!! That will keep you on the edge of your seat, right till the very end

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Title: Glorious

Author Patricia Snodgrass
Website http://www.mundania.com/book.php?title=Glorious
ISBN 978-1-60659-243-4
Genre: Historical/Southern Gothic/ Suspense
Name of publisher: Mundania Press
Rating: highly recommended

Reviewed by Zita for Romancing the Book

Syopsis:

Emily Prudhomme is terrified of her stepfather, and for good reason. A man who was raised by an abusive father and uncle, he is convinced that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is talking to him personally through a radio he keeps in his office. Emily, alienated by her stepfather's bizarre behaviour, is befriended by Glorious, an African-American girl with beautiful amber-coloured eyes and the ability to see the thoughts of others. Outcast because of their differences, the girls become fast friends. When a tragic accident occurs on the banks of the Little Missouri river leaving one girl dead and the other hopelessly maimed for life, rage and revenge creates a firestorm that not only destroys a town but the lives of two families.

Review: 

This is a very intense and stirring story set during the late ‘60s, a particularly troubling time in US history. Racism is rampant, but at the same time lawmakers are legislating desegregation on a unwilling populace. One thing Ms. Snodgrass portrays particularly well in this story is both sides of the conflict. It wasn’t only the whites who didn’t want blacks in their schools, the blacks didn’t particularly want to go to a white school, either. Bad decisions and poor choices were made on both sides and the mounting tension finally results in a horrific explosion of violence and hatred. In the end, two young girls, lifelong outcasts who found friendship for the first time with each other, are thrown headlong into that violence. And when the wheels of justice roll, they end up rolling right over their families. As sad and shocking as this story was, I enjoyed it very much. It’s a story that is powerfully told and held my attention to the very end. I think the saddest thing about the story is how very believable it is. Thank you, Ms. Snodgrass, for writing such a poignant story and for treating the issues with such respect. Job well done!

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Well Known Mystery Author Reviews Fellow Author's Book

Title: Night Corridor
Author: Joan Hall Hovey Publisher: BWLPPGenre: Suspense, 258 pagesASIN: B004NSV6TY Price: Kindle eBook: $2.99 Print Book: $10.79Publisher website address: http://bwlpp.com/mysteries.php
Author’s personal website: http://www.joanhallhovey.com

Reviewed by Aaron Paul Lazar

Caroline Hill, a fragile woman who’s seen more than her share of heartbreak, has just been released into the “real” world by the Bayshore Mental Institution, an aging facility recently doomed to closure. Trembling with fear after nine years of incarceration, at the age of twenty-six Caroline is armed only with a handful of memorized phrases from her psychiatrist and a small bag of hand-me-down clothing. She shows up as pre-arranged to a rooming house with a nosy landlady and her marginally challenged nephew, Harold. Once settled, Caroline makes her entrance at Frank’s, a local diner in the small town of St. Simeon, Canada where a dishwashing job awaits her.

Although the Bayshore institution offered safety and familiarity, Caroline is determined not to fail. The last thing she wants is to return to the place where she shared a room with a woman who clicked imaginary knitting needles 24/7.

Caroline’s timing is unfortunate, because the day she arrives in town, a serial killer has left yet another victim for police. And it so happens, the first victim—an aspiring actress on the verge of a breakthrough—lived across the hall from Caroline’s new room. Police and neighbors wonder – could the killer be someone in the rooming house? How did he gain access to the facility? How did he know the first woman? And the second? Both victims were pretty young ladies with brunette hair and blue eyes, Caroline’s exact appearance.

The mystery and suspense in this novel is outstanding, truly top notch, in the vein of Mary Higgins Clark, but—dare I say—even better? What really struck me as brilliant was Ms. Hovey’s ability to paint the picture of an innocent, a woman who’d been raised by an institutional staff since the age of seventeen, when a horrendous event tore her heart out and separated her from reality. Caroline’s inner thoughts, her hesitant and sometimes awkward speech, the turmoil she feels with each simple step toward freedom, her frail courage…each of these felt real and authentic. I grew incredibly fond of this protagonist, and with each brave step she took, I found myself cheering her on.

When Caroline notices a man following her, she wants to tell someone, but what ex-mental patient wouldn’t be afraid to share this news, knowing they’d probably classify her as paranoid and maybe send her back to Bayshore? She squares her shoulders and fights through the fear, soldiering on.

Against the backdrop of Caroline’s painful yet courageous re-entry into society, the low growling drumbeat of violence escalates. More women die, and the pattern heats up. We are given glimpses inside the mind of a seriously sick killer, and realize his delusions stretch far into his past. When Caroline becomes embroiled in the middle of the killer’s elaborate and insane plot to return to a chapter in his history where he was once happy, the action escalates and takes us on a heart-pounding rollercoaster ride to a satisfying finish.

Joan Hall Hovey has written yet another winner. I highly recommend it to any lover of suspense, mystery, romance, or thriller. You’ll not only race through this book, but clamor for more works by this talented and polished author.

 The reviewer is Aaron Lazar who writes the

LEGARDE MYSTERIES

DOUBLE FORTE' (2004)

UPSTAGED (2005)

TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON (2007)

MAZURKA (2009)

FIRESONG (COMING SOON! JULY 2011)

DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (APRIL 2012)

MOORE MYSTERIES

HEALEY'S CAVE (2010)

TERROR COMES KNOCKING (JAN 2012)

FOR KEEPS (FEB 2012)

TALL PINES MYSTERIES

FOR THE BIRDS (COMING SOON! OCTOBER 2011)

ESSENTIALLY YOURS (COMING SOON! MARCH 2012)

Awards:

WINNER 2011 Eric Hoffer BEST Book, COMMERCIAL FICTION * GRAND PRIZE FINALIST Eric Hoffer Book Award 2011 * Preditors & Editors Readers Choice Award – 2^nd place 2011* Winner of Carolyn Howard Johnsons’ 9^th Annual Noble (Not Nobel!) Prize for Literature 2011 * Finalist Allbooks Editors Choice Awards 2011 * Preditors&Editors Top 10 Finalist * Yolanda Renee's Top Ten Books 2008 * MYSHELF Top Ten Reads 2008 * Writers' Digest Top 101 Website Award 2009 & 2010

www.legardemysteries.com

www.mooremysteries.com

www.murderby4.blogspot.com

www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

"Cenacolo" Means Refectory and Suspense

Title: Cenacolo Author: Joseph Orbi
Category: Historical fiction
ISBN-13: 978-0966161984



Reviewed by Cedrick Demus



Browsing through a bookstore, one finds hundreds of books that have “da Vinci” in the title. Most of these books deal in one way or another with the creative legacy of the so-called “great Leonardo.” You even find cooking books that detail recipes by Leonardo da Vinci, including some with meat, surprising because, according to most everything written about da Vinci, he was vegetarian.

And so I confess that I stayed away from any “da Vinci” title for years, especially after the “Code” which was all fiction and had very little to do with Leonardo. Such was my dislike for anything to do with da Vinci that I hesitated for weeks reading a book given to me by a friend entitled Cenacolo, written by Joseph Orbi. Big mistake.

“Cenacolo” means a refectory, or, dining-hall, the main setting for this terrific suspense historical fiction novel about Leonardo da Vinci at the time he was living in Milan. It is also a generic term for “the Last Supper,” the famous da Vinci mural at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan.
Cenacolo is historical/fiction at its best, a brilliant, masterful blend (history being about 85% of its content) and reflects in every way the 30 years Mr. Orbi spent researching Leonardo. It gives the reader a fabulous account of everyday life in Italy at the time, and a good idea what the real Leonardo da Vinci was like; very little like he’s described in biographies and history books. In fact, in the novel the “great” Leonardo has only three things in mind – which I will not mention here – and let’s just say none of them had to do with the brush.

One of the amazing features of Cenacolo is that unless you are a historian you will, most likely, be unable to tell where history ends and fiction begins.


The novel, published by I. O. Twomey, Ltd., runs 238 pages and is not about how da Vinci created the “Supper” (although the author gives the reader a very good idea what went wrong), but how things can get very complicated and dangerous regardless of good intentions. The book also includes drawings by the famous artist and one by his “student,” a boy Leonardo called Salai (according to the publisher, some of the drawings were retouched for dramatic effect).


The back cover mentions that... “the main characters are some of the giants of the Renaissance; Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelli, Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan; and Çesare Borgia. Orbi depicts them “not like the mythical figures they became, but as they were, men driven by passion; working, loving, striving and simply trying to survive...”


Like a great orchestra conductor, Joseph Orbi directs the action of the novel and allows for events to provoke the imagination. One chapter leads to another with increasing suspense and you may spend a few sleepless night because there is a good chance you won’t put the book down until you find out how Leonardo “gets even,” and that doesn’t happen until the word just before “The end.”

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Amazon Project Thriller Reviewed

Title: The Wilco Project

Author: Daniel Springer
Website: http://danielspringer.com/
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
ISBN: ISBN-13: 978-1453884638

Reviewer: Publishers Weekly

Note: THE WILCO PROJECT was a semi-finalist in the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.)

"The WILCO Project combines murder mystery with elements of a technological thriller, blending the genres in a deftly written manuscript. The author provides a gripping opening with a female college student murdered while playing a mysterious campus-wide game in the woods. Readers are soon introduced to the rest of the cast of characters: Dr Steven Archer, former Internet entrepreneur turned professor, who leads a team of young computer programmers in the creation of the ultimate cell phone game; Bobbi, a school reporter, determined to find out the truth about the murder, even if it means putting her own life in jeopardy; Jonathan Holden, creator of the game and all around cad; Patricia, the angry assistant on the team who is sleeping with the head of the wireless company, Larry Hershman; and finally, Peter, a techno-geek who is invisible. After Archer discovers that the dead girl is Jonathan's ex-fiance, he realizes that the The Wilco Project is a game of hide-and-seek, in which players use the phone to locate and destroy enemies. As Archer finds himself investigating the first murder and a subsequent one, he is led down one path after another. While this plot is a new take on an old thriller genre, the author delivers a well-executed thriller." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Transgender Protagonist Leads Readers to Better Understanding

TITLE: She's My Dad
AUTHOR: Iolanthe Woulff
AUTHOR SITE: www.iolanthewoulff.com
GENRE: Fiction: Social Suspense/Contemporary/LGBT
ISBN: 9781432744052 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781432743772 (Trade Paperback)
PUBLISHER: Outskirts Press (November 13, 2009)



Reviewed by Erin N. for Luxury Reading

REVIEWER RATING: SHE'S MY DAD has been included in Vera's "Year's Best Books" list: http://www.luxuryreading.com/2009/10/years-best-books.html


In today’s society, absolutely no one is immune to the forces of hate in the world. Terrorist attacks, hate groups, and xenophobic neighborhoods, towns, and even nations are all appalling reminders that citizens of the world live daily with fear. But, how often is the hate within ever addressed? Due to blind prejudice, it doesn’t take much for an average working American, or even a well respected financial baron, to build a bomb and “set it off like some primitive Arabian towel-head,” as evidenced in this book and the news every night.

She’s My Dad brings this terrifying hate to the forefront in a spell binding and dynamic way. The story begins in a small town in Virginia. A wealthy man disowns one of his sons because of his homosexuality, only to have that very son be his only surviving heir. In an effort to shine a light on the inherent hate within our society, that son turns his vast fortune, and even his home, into a university whose ideals are integration and acceptance. Despite his noble efforts, the small town that is the home to this university isn’t enlightened enough to deal with its existence, and the locals harbor a hatred for the institution and everything it stands for.

Flash forward. An intelligent and engaging woman returns to the university 25 years after graduation to take up the mantle of a professor. A journalism major discovers the secrets of this woman’s past; she is a transgendered woman and, through a youthful indiscretion with a married local woman, is the father of a local boy. This boy has been raised in a home of hatred and intolerance. The new professor’s appointment to the university’s staff forces the staff, the students, the town, and her own son to finally address the prejudice inherent within themselves.

She’s My Dad is an action packed story with a great deal of insight into the human heart. Woulff creates a cast of characters that are fascinating and cause the reader to care about what happens to them. She’s My Dad is more than just a novel, it is an experience.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Erin fell in love with the written word as a small child and subsequently spent most of her life happily devouring literature. She works as a freelance news, marketing, and technical writer. Erin lives just outside of Cleveland, Ohio with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Like her title character Nickie Farrell, Iolanthe Woulff is a transsexual woman. A fifty-nine-year-old Princeton-educated English major, she lives in Palm Springs, CA, where for several years she wrote a column in a local magazine about the challenges of gender transition. As the eldest child of author Herman Wouk, storytelling has always been dear to Ms. Woulff's heart. Her hope is that besides providing a suspenseful read, She's My Dad will help to dispel some of the widespread misconceptions about transsexual people.


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It 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 loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index 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.
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Imaginiation on Board Author Reviews Elizabeth Fackler's "My Eyes Have a Cold Nose"

My Eyes Have a Cold Nose
Elizabeth Fackler
Sunstone Press
Box 2321, Santa Fe, NM
87504-2321
(800) 243-5644
Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 0865346992
ISBN-13: 978-0865346994
$17.95 Amazon


Elizabeth Fackler’s My Eyes Have a Cold Nose, published by Sunstone Press is a great example of how an author can blend history, mystery, and fiction. Ms. Fackler begins with a historically accurate character, Elizabeth “Gigi” Garrett, daughter of sheriff Pat Garrett. Gigi Garrett lost her sight as a baby, but with her father’s encouragement, did the things a normal child would: went to school, climbed trees, rode horses, studied music and became a nationally known concert pianist.

My Eyes Have a Cold Nose opens during the Depression. Now in her mid-fifties, Ms. Garrett has retired from the concert stage and gives music lessons to the children in the New Mexico town where she has settled with her seeing-eye dog Teenie. The town and the dog are real. Ms. Fackler once lived in the house owned by Ms. Garrett. Discovery ot Teenie’s grave in the backyard led to the author’s interest in Gigi.

From the truth of Gigi Garrett’s life, Elizabeth Fackler develops a fictional mystery. Chauncy, an orphan who has spent his childhood shuttling between foster families, stands accused of murdering Gigi’s down-the-street neighbor, 15 year-old Eleanor Fielding. Gigi does not believe Chauncy to be guilty. Using her sharpened senses of touch, smell, taste, and hearing, she guides the local sheriff, Sly Rendt, through a maze of clues and possible suspects.

In the process, truth weaves back into fiction. The real Ms. Garrett somehow learned to identify color by odor, an ability which may have combined with faint visual memories since she was not born blind. She could also estimate accurately size, weight, position, and gender of a person by listening to movement.

Using this information, Ms. Fackler creates superb suspense in My Eyes Have a Cold Nose. This suspense is unlike any found in mysteries featuring sighted detective heroes. To explain just why would spoil the fun of My Eyes Have a Cold Nose. Suffice to say that Ms. Fackler uses Gigi’s abilities to create moments that tie a reader’s insides into knots, particularly when an intruder creeps into her house assuming she will not know anyone is there; or when Teenie bolts from Gigi’s, stranding her in the middle of a hostile crowd.


Between the heart pounding moments, Ms. Fackler describes the relationship between a blind person and a seeing, eye dog as a blind person would experience it. Teenie curls her body around Gigi to warn her of steps or rough sidewalks. Gigi can feel changes in the dog’s mood and focus by touching her harness.

Without one visual image, Ms. Fackler conveys a sense of the unnamed town where Gigi lives simply by describing what she feels as she walks the streets, hears traffic, and listens to the comings and goings of others.

As My Eyes Have a Cold Nose’s plot develops, the author sprinkles in Ms. Garrett’s reflections on life with her father: things he used to do, favorite sayings, tidbits he shared about law enforcement, and paternal advice. All the memories come from documented sources concerning Ms. Garrett and her family.

No piece of information is wasted or gratuitous. Throughout My Eyes Have a Cold Nose, fact drives plot and develops character to create fine fiction, a deep understanding of how blind people function, and a strong sense of New Mexico as a particular place in a particular time.

Reviewer Connie Gotsch is the author of A Mouth Full of Shell and Snap Me a Future. Her quote if featured featured in "The Complete Writer's Journal" --www.redenginepress.com
Learn more at www.conniegotsch.com

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It 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 loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index 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.
And while you're at it, as a courtesy to the author, please retweet this post: