Poison Makers by Jimmy Olsen

Posted first on Blog Critics as Book Review:'Poison Makers' by Jimmy Olsen.

In Poison Makers by Jimmy Olsen, we are taken into the machinations of an old belief system of voodoo and zombies that still exists in regions of the Dominican Republic today.

When Adam Quist, U.S ambassador to the Dominican Republic dies, there seems very little mystery. Yet Edgar Espinosa-Joes (E J) is given the assignment to interview his daughter. She seems to believe there is more involved, more at stake then known.  E J occasionally does odd investigations for his mentor Garrett Yancy.  Yet this investigation is somewhat out of the ordinary.

As EJ has a clandestine interview with Quist’s daughter, he is left with more questions than answers. She believes her father has been murdered–or even worse, turned into a zombie.  E J isn’t laughing though, he is from the Dominican Republic and has seen the violence and ceremonies involved with the ages old voodoo movement. 

When the grave is exhumed and the body found missing, E J begins to fear the worst. With the help of his best friend, a crooked Dominican cop, he begins the long and dangerous trek of discovery. The menace becomes personal as he and his friend are poisoned, and then his family is interjected into the danger.  The drums are beating, drawing him further into peril and madness.  He becomes the victim and is pursued as he tries to find the answers.  His family carries on with their own antics, while he slips through the clutches of his adversaries, only to find even deeper mysteries.

Can he get to the bottom of this strange and sinister disappearance? Can he keep the Ambassador’s daughter safe as he untangles and age old web of deceit before his own life is forfeit?

Olsen takes you into the heart of a culture that is very different from our own, and yet alike in many ways. There is a hunger and need that many never have to experience that shape the thoughts and beliefs of the people.  The descriptions of the events are chilling yet Olsen interjects a bit of the ridiculous which also occasionally draws a chuckle.

His characters are rich in both bravado and flaws, but real to the point of conviction. The humor seems like it would be out of place, and yet it adds character and believability to a strange incredulous investigation.

If you enjoy murder mysteries, and are interested in voodoo cultures and zombies you will find yourself immersed and charmed in the chapters in this novel.  It would be great reading for a book club, with a varying set of situations to draw from.

Rating 4/5

This book was received free from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the information.

Tortured Spirit: Book Four in the Jake Helman Files Series by Gregory Lamberson

Article first published as Book Review: Tortured Spirits: Book Four in the Jake Helman Files Series by Gregory Lamberson on Blogcritics.

A fascination of sorts exists and has for many years about the advent of zombies and other various creatures. Even those that do not believe in the idea that such things exist often find a bit of time to view the various movies for the sake of the horror they often evoke or the book for a spot of disconnection from reality.

In Tortured Spirits by Gregory Lamberson, we follow the exploits of his main character Jake Helman, a private investigator that is deep into the lore of such things. An ex-cop, he finds that his profession as an investigator is more than he bargained for in many different ways. Having already been in serious battles with an army of demons, zombies and a variety of other types of creatures, he is now on a quest to save his best friend.
What he doesn’t expect is that Maria Vasquez, his best friend’s partner, has her own plan. That is to join him and find out what is going on in the mysterious life of Jake.  Only knowing that her partner has disappeared, she knows that Jake knows the answer. But she is unprepared for what she finds.

Putting aside her skepticism, she joins forces with him in his attempt to find the one person who can help him in his goal to return his friend. There is a catch; he must first rescue her husband. The danger in this task is palpable, but she is the only one who can help him. Her husband, a political refuge, is being held on an island that is a law in itself. Darkness covers the area, and the inhabitants live in constant fear of retribution, but Jake and Maria have no choice.  Can they break into the prison and rescue the prisoner, escape with him back to the states and still live to tell the tale? Do the rumors that abound about the creatures that live there, hold any merit?

Lamberson has delivered us a hero with strength and an ego. His exploits remind me much of the character, Jack Reacher, of Lee Child fame. The difference is in the dangers they face, one more human and the other the stuff of nightmares. The ability to blaze through the sequences hold a fascination, and when Maria Vasquez joins in, the going becomes a higher caliber.

While Helman is the main character, in this particular episode, Vasquez with her personality and ability to get out of tough situations steals the scene time after time. The action is fast and deadly, with unexpected twists and turns that keep you reading far into the night.  Be assured that you will keep the lights on and the slightest noise will give you a start.

There is richness to the action that takes you there, and even with the advent of zombies and demons, you can visualize the events. The color is clear and the action sucks you in. If you love action packed thrillers full of creatures and characters that you only dream about, this would be a book for you. If you find this to your liking you will be interested to note that it is a part of a series of books featuring Helman, known as The Jake Helman Files. Be prepared for a wild ride into a world much different than the one we now know. Or is it?

Rating 5/5

This book was received free from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.

Riser by Becca C. Smith

Article first published as Book Review: Riser by Becca C. Smith on Blogcritics.

Recognizing death by the black swirling holes located at the center of each corpse she can see, Chelsan Deree finds she has the ability to manipulate the dead. However, not only can she manipulate these once live bodies, but she can also see those that are re-animated by others of her bent.

Chelsan learned at a young age that she has a strange and macabre talent when she killed her brutal and malevolent stepfather. Using her own talent of re-animation, she has maintained the facade not only for her mother but also in order to live a seemingly normal family life. Finding she could not be very far from the corpse though, she found herself quite restricted, including in her choice of schools. The only school close enough to keep up this charade, was a wealthy private school. Understanding she would be out of her element, she is accepted to attend.

Living in a trailer park, barely eking out an existence, she and her family do not have the type of money that those from her new school find necessary. Befriended by two different students, Nancy and Bill, she is relieved. They like her and are not ashamed to be with her. Nancy, because she can and does not care what others think, and Bill, while he has the same motivation, is also one of the richest kids, and makes his own rules. It is Ryan Vaughn though that really intrigues Chelsan. While he tutored her, he was kind and considerate, and just a bit shy. Once the tutoring was completed though, he then barely seemed to acknowledge she existed.

In Riser by Becca C Smith, we follow the lives of Chelsan and her friends. When Chelsan’s life is turned upside down by the death of her beloved mother and her already dead stepfather, she feels as though she has nowhere to turn. In an odd dream like state her mother is able to communicate to her how she was killed as well as how Chelsan became the way she is. It is only now that Ryan makes a stand to stick with her, but Bill and Nancy rally around as well. However, one student in the school, Jill, continues to mimic and create problems for Chelsan, setting her up for trouble at every turn.

Now hunted by the man responsible for her mother’s death, she must make some decisions, and utilize the help and ingenuity of her friends. Death and danger seem to follow them everywhere, and Chelsan finds she must take a stand. Can she and her friends end the killing and find a way for others to hold those responsible, accountable for their actions? Using her skills and talent, can she overcome one of the most powerful men in the world?

Smith has found an interesting and unique talent to highlight her heroine. She brings us a futuristic world, and yet maintains a realistic verve, by creating a very life like rendition of high school as a backdrop. She introduces many of the same games and hazing that occurs in schools everywhere, an used this spring board to catapult our characters into danger and despair.

The characters are wonderful, very much like those we encounter at school and at home, although coming from a high-end lifestyle. They have the same fears and prejudices that create many of the same problems world over, and it is easy to understand the insecurities. Even Jill our protagonist engenders a bit of sympathy at times, based on the information we learn about her own background.

This is a fast paced book full of energy, but with a unique blend of both the believable and unbelievable. We have a form of zombies, a bit of transference, a futuristic world, great friendships, and romance.

This is a fun and frenetic YA read, and if you are your family enjoy fantasy with any of the above mixtures this will be a hit. The action is exciting, the story is both sad and yet a bit strange and the romance is fun. Throw in some re-animation of not just dead people, but bugs and plants as well, you get a generous helping of this unique and strangely credible talent. Smith has written a distinctive and compelling story full of generous and interesting characters, with just that blend of evil and destruction that keeps you guessing.

Rating 4/5
Riser

This book was received through the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.

Mercy by Joshua Grover-David Patterson

Article first published as Book Review: Mercy by Joshua Grover-David Patterson on Blogcritics.

The end of the world as we know it has been a popular theme for many of the newer novels, and yet it has been around for an extremely long time. One of the more talked about, written about and televised endings consists of the advent of zombies. Those newly and long dead creatures that began as human but now feast on humans for their very survival.

In Mercy by Joshua Grover-David Patterson, we follow the life of Georgina, a young wife and adopted mother returning from a stint in Ethiopia, when her plane goes down and she is stranded on a deserted island along with several others. The crash itself was somewhat unusual, and that there is actually a deserted island in this day and age is a surprise as well. Along with her is a young girl Tracy, whose mother was killed, the Sky Marshall, who initially does not speak, a flight attendant named Sharon, and Antony, a first class passenger. There are a few other survivors, and yet they are in a coma and Georgina does not expect them to live. There is no medical treatment, no food or water from the wreckage, and certainly no medical supplies.

We hear the entire story through the journal entries in the journal carefully selected for Georgina by her loving husband to keep her thoughts during her trip. Leaving her young adopted daughter Mercy, is one of the hardest things she has ever done but she feels as though she needs to help in the war torn country that houses Ethiopia. When she is torn from her homecoming by the brutality of the plane wreck, Georgina holds on to her love of Mercy. It is her only real sanity.

The strange events all started with the crash. The few witnesses heard the sound and when the cockpit door opened saw the co-pilot emerge, but only after it appeared as though he had torn out part of the captains throat with his teeth. Although the pilot should have been dead or dying from the injury, he just continues to try to get out of his constraints, albeit in a strangely stiff and uncoordinated manner. The Co-Pilot lumbered through the cabin before falling on Tracy’s mother, and taking a bite out of her leg as well.

Everything becomes cloudy as the plane begins to lose altitude with no pilot at the controls and crashes into the ocean. Those few survivors are not sharing their view of the circumstances surrounding the crash, but they are grouping together out of fear and in an effort of survival.

Hoping for rescue and yet worried by what they have seen, they finally begin to talk amongst themselves. Could the attack on the pilot have somehow been Zombie related? Of course, that was impossible, those were just stories shared to create fear and entertainment. Yet a chill fear lingered. The smell is what first alerted them to something gone wrong. The strong smell of purification, of flesh left to rot, and abraded by the salt of the ocean creating an even stronger stench. The unbelievable sight of dead and partially decomposing bodies coming from the sea sets the tone for the next few weeks on the island. Can they survive on an island when it appears that zombies roam the land? The wreckage of the plane supplies a fresh group of the undead, working their way from their seat belts and damaged equipment, forcing their freedom in an effort to fulfill their hunger. Can this small group of survivors fend off such a group of zombies long enough for some form of rescue? Is rescue even possible? With the advent of zombies here in this place, what is happening in the rest of the world, and where are their families?
In a world gone mad, in the manner of zombie movies of old, Patterson tells a chilling tale of an unparalleled ending of the earth, as we know it. His characters are amazing and his tale is strong. The fighting and killing is ruthless, and a form of hopelessness transcends to those involved. And yet there is hope, a hope of survival the permeates the entire story.

If you enjoy zombies and dystopian settings, you will enjoy this novel. While I am not a zombie fan (too unbelievable for me), I found the story to be very well told and full of actionable scenes. You should read this book in the daylight, and even then, you may want to pull the blinds and lock the doors. It is chilling and strangely horrific, and even when you think rescue is at hand, think again. There are twists and turns you never see coming.

Rating 4/5
Mercy

This book was received as a free download from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.