Anatomy of Innocence, Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie S. Klinger

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Anatomy of Innocence, Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted,' Edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie S. Klinger.

In Anatomy of Innocence, Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie S. Klinger, we are introduced to a series of injustices. In real exonerations of those who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit, noted authors have compiled cases of those whose stories they have told--both the horrors and the relief of finally being heard. Lives changed and years lost due to lack of investigation, wrong place at the wrong time, and sometimes just faulty witnessing.

Some of the best authors of our time, Sara Paretsky, Lee Child and Phillip M. Margolin along with a host of others have come together to compile their interviews and stories of those wrongfully convicted.

As you delve into this work you will find the questions and wonder at the belief in our system of justice. Allowing their faith in the system and their own knowledge of innocence, they continue to strike out at the injustice, alternating between anger, confusion, and in the end the blessing of being found innocent.

Each author uses their own technique to bring the light to life in their interviews and you will enjoy how each is able to capture the true essence of those who have finally found exoneration. You can feel the angst of the person who is in a state of disbelief, and as you follow the road of those who help them find their freedom, you have to wonder how it all goes so wrong in some cases.

Due to the mistakes, the victim in these cases are double fold. Both the initial victim of the crime itself and then the incarceration of the innocent accused. It is difficult to imagine the amount of fortitude it takes to continue trying to clear your name, while there is so much against you. Yet the strength of belief in both their innocence and our just system give them the ability to continue on--to find that one believer in their innocence, the one who can turn the tide.

If you enjoy true crime, you will find this to be very interesting. Each story is separate and yet you can see the many issues that connect as they are finally found innocent.

This work would be just the thing for a reading or discussion group. There is a great deal to discuss and debate.

Rating 3/5

Twisted, The Girl Who Uncovered Rumpelstiltskin's Name by Bonnie M. Hennessy

Posted First to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Twisted, The Girl Who Uncovered Rumpelstiltskin's Name by Bonnie M. Hennessy.

In a tale from childhood, Twisted by Bonnie M Hennessy, takes you on an alternate journey to a dark and bleak tale of love and courage, filled with revenge and regret as well as a strength of spirit.

Looking at the story of Rumpelstiltskin's rage and sadness, you follow The life of Aoife and a different path of how the lives of two such differing characters really came to being.

Aoife, the beloved daughter, is the strength of her family as she takes on the family farm to keep their finances afloat, while at the same time trying to keep her father out of trouble. He is deep in drink and gambling, but Aoife's goodness and strength of heart endears her to all those that see her dilemma.

When a young man of money happens to see her, he decides that she should be his, for unbeknownst to the town he is the Duke of the realm and will have what he fancies. Yet she rebuffs him, and while she has no idea of his identity, she has no time for a man with such airs.  As the Duke determines to have her, he finds a way through the weakness of her father, with both his drink and gambling. Joining the game and urging the poor man gamble his daughter away on a sure hand, all is lost when the hand does not come through. Her father through his muddled thoughts brags of her ability to make gold out of straw, his attempt to brag about her farming, but the Duke understands it to mean something far different.

Aoife, who has always found solace in the woods hides her pain and anger, as nature responds, her spark of spirit draws her magic, that of her kindness and regrets, but it is another, a strange interloper that finds his own home in the forest that takes notice of her pain and anguish as well as her affinity for magic and her beauty. So begins the strange friendship that begins with fondness and love and turns to hate and anger, that takes a tortured soul into the very depths of despair.

As Aoife finds herself in trouble trying to live up the talents her father has bragged of, the stranger from the woods uses his own twisted magic to help. Aoife, soon finds herself in love with the Duke, and with child. The temper of her rescuer from the woods sparks her urgent need to find his name, and takes her into further danger as she tries to save the child of her love.

The twisted tale of love and darkness builds in a direction both like and unlike that of the fairy tale of youth. Hennessy does a great job of holding true to the outline of the work but adds more depth of character, making you feel both appalled and sad, yet as the same time, the tension keeps you intrigues as to how it will all come together.

If you enjoy magic romance and danger, you will love this take on a fairy tale of old. It is darker and more thought provoking, but yet carries that same feel of the fear you felt as a child. Hennessy brings the tale to stark life and into the twentieth century.

This would be a great book for a reading group or book club.

 Bonnie M. Hennessy's Web Site:
http://www.bonniemhennessy.com/Bonnie M. Hennessy's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/twistedthebook/Bonnie M. Hennessy's Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/bonniemhennessyBonnie M. Hennessy's Goodreads:
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC23yBSLSEcbE2Bw98_4k-WQTwisted Goodreads:
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Twisted blog tour site:
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Bonnie M. Hennessy's Bio: Bonnie grew up a shy, quiet girl who the teachers always seated next to the noisy boys because they knew she was too afraid to talk to anyone. She always had a lot she wanted to say but was too afraid to share it for fear she might die of embarrassment if people actually noticed her. Somewhere along the line, perhaps after she surprised her eighth grade class by standing up to a teacher who was belittling a fellow student, she realized that she had a voice and she didn’t burst into flames when her classmates stared at her in surprise.

Not long after that, she began spinning tales, some of which got her into trouble with her mom. Whether persuading her father to take her to the candy store as a little girl or convincing her parents to let her move from Los Angeles to Manhattan to pursue a career at eighteen as a ballet dancer with only $200 in her pocket, Bonnie has proven that she knows how to tell a compelling story.


 
Twisted Book Summary:
Now she spends her time reading and making up stories for her two children at night. By day she is an English teacher who never puts the quiet girls next to the noisy boys and works hard to persuade her students that stories, whether they are the ones she teaches in class or the ones she tells to keep them from daydreaming, are better escapes than computers, phones, and social media.

An old tale tells the story of how a little man named Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold and tricked a desperate girl into trading away her baby. But that’s not exactly how it happened.

The real story began with a drunken father who kept throwing money away on alcohol and women, while his daughter, Aoife, ran the family farm on her own. When he gambled away everything they owned to the Duke, it was up to her to spin straw into gold to win it all back.

With her wits and the help of a magical guardian, she outsmarted the Duke and saved the day.

Well almost… Her guardian suddenly turned on Aoife and sent her on a quest to find his name, the clues to which were hidden deep in the woods, a moldy dungeon, and a dead woman’s chamber.

This is not the tale of a damsel in distress, but a tenacious, young woman who solved a mystery so great that not even the enchanted man who spun straw into gold could figure it out.

Not until Aoife came along.

Prices/Formats: $2.99 ebook, $12.99 paperback
Genre: Fantasy, Mythological, Fairy Tale
Pages: 306
Release: November 11, 2016
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9781539753421

Amazon buy link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3MC1K4?&tag=tributebooks-20

Journey To Munich by Jacqueline Winspear

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Journey To Munich,' A Historical Novel by Jacqueline Winspear.

In Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear, after a long self-reflecting journey Maisie Dobbs has found a form of peace with her loss. The pain still lingers at the death of her husband and the aftermath, but she is finally able to move forward and reconnect with those who have stood by her in her time of solitude. Yet her friends are not the only ones looking for something from her.

The Secret Service needs her to pretend to be the family member of an important British subject imprisoned in Germany.The Germans have agreed to release him to his daughter, who unbeknownst to them is gravely ill. Maisie must become this daughter in order to receive and deliver him to the British authorities.

Yet they are not only ones who need her help. The man she holds the responsible for her husband’s death is now also in need of her services. His is of a more personal level, one that makes it almost more than she can bear. Can she put her feelings behind her and once more find her way to help someone in need.

Her own life has been turned upside down.  Both her own problems and the war-torn craziness that is now infecting the whole of the continent threaten to derail her from her path.  Can she find a way to be the person she once was, and help to extricate an older man from the grips of tyranny as well as overcome her reluctance to help an old enemy?

Winspear continues with her heroine, Maisie Dobbs, and take us deep into the heart of Germany as it prepares and begins the atrocities against others that linger in the thoughts of many even to this day. She sprinkles the stories with the bits of history that have occurred and makes you feel as though you are there with Maisie as she faces the dangers of a regime that seems out of control. You feel her hurt and her fears as she carefully balances the challenges that come against her.

If you enjoy historical fiction, as well as mystery and spy novels you will enjoy this and want to add it to your library. Maisie is a great character and you will want to go back and find her other adventures as you come to the end of this one. The history and storyline is intriguing and enthralling, keeping you reading late into the night.

Rating 4/5

So Close To Home by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'So Close To Home', a Historical Novel by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary.

The interesting thing about history is that there is so much information that we don’t always hear it all.

In So Close to Home by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O’Leary, we are taken back into the atrocities and danger of World War II, but in a world much closer then you can imagine.  We have heard and read a great deal about the ground and navigational wars on land and water on a different continent, one that kept those at home safe from the actual death and destruction, but there was another front that is often unmentioned.

This is a True Story of An American Family’s fight for Survival from a U-boat Attack during Work War II.

Ray and Ina Downs along with eight year old Sonny and eleven year old Lucille have followed the money to hold their family together. Moving from Texas and leaving their oldest son with his grandparents, they head down to South America to make some good money to help them through tough times. When the job unexpectedly ends they load up their belongings and their children on a ship for home. Little do they know that German U-boats have infiltrated the waters of the gulf, and have begun shooting upon ships many of them domestic and with no affiliation to the ongoing war.

Yet the war was one of terror, and how better to strike at a behemoth of a country if not from their own waterways, causing crisis and terror in an effort to get them to back down.

Ray and Ina are not notified of the possible dangers, and the ship and crew do not believe they are at risk, so when two torpedoes hit the ship, explosions and chaos abound. Ina and Lucille are separated from Ray and Sonny, and then Ina and Lucille become separated from each other as well.

This is the true story of a family as they find themselves in a struggle for their lives against sharks, freezing, drowning and surviving the dangers found on the ocean.

This is a wonderful story of survival and how a family showed strength and agility far beyond what is expected to survive and find each other in the aftermath of such danger. It also takes us to the time in history where our very shores were challenged.  Germany was able to come into our back yards in a way that was difficult to foretell, and unbelievable in scope. It further tells the tale of the U.S. rout of the subs and the clearing of enemies from our waterways to once again bring safety to the home front.

If you are a History buff or are interested in war stories, this is one that strikes much closer to home then imagined. If you enjoy stories of courage and perseverance you will find this work mesmerizing.

This would be a great work for a reading or discussion group. The entire situation would create a great deal of interest and dialogue.

Rating 5/5

The God's Eye View by Barry Eisler

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: The God's Eye View,' A Political Conspiracy Thriller by Barry Eisler.

A conspiracy of sinister and dangerous proportions will keep you riveted when reading The God’s Eye View by Barry Eisler. NSA director Theodore Anders is convinced the only way to keep America safe is to monitor and surveil every email, phone call, and internet connection. Our safety is his utmost concern.

His personal assistant Evelyn doesn’t care about any of that, she is just learning a few things that are not entirely comfortable and only wants to continue working in order to take care of her deaf son. Initially she is open and direct in her communication with her boss, but she now feels a bit of fear, without quite understanding why.

He leads her on, knowing that at some point she may become a liability. For now though she keeps his office running efficiently.

Things change and become even more terror filled when Evelyn finds evidence of a NSA program that is code named Gods Eye View. With this discovery she also finds out about the mysterious deaths of a few journalists. As her job takes her deeper into jeopardy she is unsure where to turn, as now she feels danger creeping into her own life.

As time ticks away and the possibility of whistle blowers finding more information she is dragged further into the dangerous world of political mayhem. Is the giant deaf man who befriends her son a friend or foe? Can she find out before the unimaginable happens?

Eisler takes us deep into the world of politics and gives us a number of ‘what if’ scenarios.

Conspiracy and conspiracy theorists often evolve when questions remain without answers, especially in the hidden agendas of the government. Leaks such as those released by Snowden keep you on the edge of your seat, and the author’s characters drag you in. You will find it difficult to decide who are really the good guys and the bad guys. There is a psychological terror threaded throughout as you begin to dread the outcome along with his realistic characters.

If you enjoy political thrillers and conspiracies this is a must have for your library. One read through is simply not enough, you will find yourself going back for another read to catch up on all the nuances that may have been missed. Prepared to be terrified and looking over your shoulder as you catch up with The God’s Eye View.


This would be a great book for a reading and discussion group. Conspiracy invites dialogue and controversy.

Rating 4/5

The Fraternity of the Soul Eater by Scott A. Lerner

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'The Fraternity of the Soul Eater', A Samuel Roberts Thriller by Scott A Lerner.

In The Fraternity of the Soul Eater, Scott A. Lerner takes us on a journey into the darkness that dwells in the mind of those most enchanted with darkness. Samuel Roberts an attorney by day has found himself in situations that cannot be explained. He feels as though there is danger that others do not believe, nor have they ever seen. His law duties seem quite tame by contrast and he finds himself wishing for more. His girlfriend thinks he is a junkie for danger and he is not sure he doesn’t agree.

He knows that something is stirring in the darkness through for he is having dreams he cannot decipher. Egypt often is the base of his worries, so when finds himself in an Egyptian museum he is both worried and excited.

The sudden danger though is quick and unexpected. He needs the help of his friend Bob, for things have begun to creep even him out. Even with warnings from his girlfriend to desist his quest he is unable to let go. Yet when she disappears he finds himself in deeper than expected. Suddenly his own life is on the line, and he is captured for an extremely unlikely DNA experiment.

Can Sam save both his girlfriend and himself from a crazy mad man who believes he can brings back the old Gods of Egypt through experimentation? Will this danger finally be the end of his relationship? With Bob as his only hope he escapes though brutality, something he has always avoided in the past. Will this be the final means that will allow darkness to enter his own soul?

Lerner gives us characters that are full of fun, bluster and charm, yet have that energy that you feel is trustworthy. His dynamics between his characters and protagonists are both strange and unlikely, but at the same time intriguing and interesting. You find yourself immersed in a story that takes you to the edge of darkness, twisting and realigning your own take on life.

The edge of darkness seems real and at any time you could find yourself immersed through the work of those who believe, for they are quite fanatical.

If you enjoy mystery, danger and the macabre, riddled with humor and friendship you will find this a must have for your library. You can read it time and again and still find passages you may have missed which make this a fun and unique find.

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 Scott A. Lerner's Facebook:
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The Fraternity of the Soul Eater blog tour site:
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Scott A. Lerner's Bio:

Author and attorney Scott A. Lerner resides in Champaign, Illinois. He obtained his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and went on to obtain his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. He is currently a sole practitioner in Champaign, Illinois. The majority of his law practice focuses on the fields of criminal law and family law. Lerner’s first novel and the first Samuel Roberts Thriller, Cocaine Zombies, won a bronze medal in the mystery/cozy/noir category of the 2013 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Awards. The second book in the series is Ruler of Demons. The Fraternity of the Soul Eater is book 3. Book 4, The Wiccan Witch of the Midwest, will be released on Halloween, 2015.

The Fraternity of the Soul Eater Book Summary:

It’s been a while since Samuel Roberts was called upon to save mankind, and he’s getting restless. His girlfriend Susan thinks he’s a danger junkie, and he’s worried he has a hero complex. He’s back to his usual small-town lawyerly duties in Champaign-Urbana, handling divorces and helping people beat DUI raps. But then a young fraternity pledge calls. During an initiation ceremony he witnessed the live sacrifice of a young woman, but he had so much alcohol in his system that no one believes him. Except Sam. Lately Egyptian lore has been creeping into his life, his dreams, and his movie preferences, and he’s pretty sure he knows why. Evil is knocking on his door again.

Is the call welcome? Why can’t Sam be satisfied with his comfortable legal practice and gorgeous redheaded girlfriend? Maybe it’s because he knows that, as inadequate as he may feel to the task, he and his friend Bob may be humanity’s only hope against ancient supernatural forces combined with modern genetic engineering. Come hell or high water. Or in this case, the underworld or subterranean pyramids.

The Fraternity of the Soul Eater is the third book in the Samuel Roberts Thriller series, which began with Cocaine Zombies and continued with Ruler of Demons.

Price/Formats: $4.99 ebook, $13.95 paperback
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 218
Publisher: Camel Press
Release: June 1, 2015
ISBN: 9781603812894

Amazon buy link
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YQ3U7PK?tag=tributebooks-20Barnes and Noble buy link
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fraternity-of-the-soul-eater-scott-a-lerner/1121412277?ean=9781603812894

Second Life by S. J. Watson

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Second Life,' A Novel of Murder and Secrets by S. J. Watson.

In Second Life by S.J. Watson we meet a woman who seems to have everything. A doting husband, a job she loves and a son who means the world to her. Yet there are hidden secrets behind much of this perfection that threaten to tear her world apart.

Her son Conner is really her sister’s son. She loves her husband but occasionally obsesses over her earlier life. He is her partner and in every way she tries to meet the expectations they have for each other. She has made some hard choices in life, one of those were taking her sisters child. Julia often dreads that her sister Kate will want Conner back in her life, and she obsesses with how important he is to her.

When Kate is murdered, Julie is first relieved, but then aghast at her feeling. The police do not seem to care, and Julia finds herself immersed in the death in a way she can’t understand. When she finds a user name and password to a dating/Cyber-sex site in Kate’s papers she is determined to begin her own investigation. She is sure that this is where Kate met her killer. She is unprepared for the excitement she feels and suddenly her own life is out of control. Can she stop her downward spiral or is it too late. Has she led a killer to her own front door, and if so how can she protect her own family?

Watson takes us on a strange and perilous journey into darkness, secrets and murder in a way that creates creepy vibes that make you uncomfortable. Julia feels the guilt of her relief at her sister’s death and just that feeling makes her move in maddening circles of an investigation of her own, a way to find the killer and take away her pain. Watson’s depiction of Julia’s feelings of guilt is spot on. The character flaws exhibited keep you there hoping but make you uncomfortable.

Hugh, her husband is a rock and there for her, and Conner is just like any other boy his age. You are drawn to them as a family, and root for them to overcome the darkness that is encroaching on their lives.

If you enjoy thrillers and murder mysteries, with just that right amount of physiological depravity you will find this a work worth reading. I found the story to be riveting although the ending was difficult to take. As you get caught up in the story you are ready for a solid ending, yet we are left with more questions than answers.

Rating 3/5

Orient by Christopher Bollen

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Orient,' A Suspense by Christopher Bollen. 

In Orient by Christopher Bollen, we are introduced to a small town on Long Island. The wealthy from Manhattan have discovered the area and because of that the costs of housing has skyrocketed. Many of the new people are artists, but there are also those that have dug in and refuse to lose their homes to those who are trying now to oust them.

Things become unthinkable when a body is found in the water surrounding the area, and the same day a strange deformed animal corpse is also found on the beach. The rumors abound about the type of work being done in a nearby research lab. As the talk begins, Mills, a young orphan from the West with no ties to the town is suddenly looked at with suspicion. Beth, one of the original natives of Orient asks for his help in uncovering the truth of what is happening.

Bodies begin to pile up as all eyes begin to focus on Mills, he is the stranger and it is only after his appearance that the strange happenings begin to gather strength. Can he and Beth find the answers before it is too late? Already he is targeted, and has nowhere else to turn.

Bollen has given us a story of greed and suspense. Using the fear of the unknown and taking advantage of the local’s gossip he has given us a great cast of suspects as well as individual characters that make you wonder. As each character is filled in, he takes you just a smidgen further creating your own worry about what and who they are.

As the deaths continue to occur, he takes you further as you follow his characters of Beth and Mill as they transverse danger while they both try to keep Mills out of the clutches of the police. All eyes are pointed at him, and Beth feels there is more below the surface. The author creates that feeling of you being a part of that struggle to find the answers.

If you enjoy suspense and mystery you will find this an admirable addition to your library. Add a dose of quirky and absurd and you will find this to be interesting and a bit off kilter. Bollen crates a novel of tragedy and suspense holding you enthralled to the very end.

Rating 4/5

Disclaimer by Renee Knight

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: "Disclaimer,' A Novel of Psychological Suspense by Renee Knight.

Renee Knight’s Disclaimer is a complicated novel, weaving together feeling and fear. Knight has twisted a story of decaying love, and built a psychological suspense tale that raises the hair on the back of your neck. 

Disclaimer takes us into a psychological story of pain and destruction. Catherine and Robert have been together for a very long time; love has gradually turned into affection and friendship. With their son Nick leaving home, Catherine is not sure how she will fill her time, however, but she is motivated to move forward.

There is a dark secret simmering within Catherine’s life, creating tension, bleeding into her relationship with both her son and her husband. Suddenly it appears that someone else may know what happened. Is it finally time to share her dark past with her husband?

When she finds a book on her porch, she is horrified to discover that it is connected to her secret. Sleep becomes elusive as she relives her transgressions. Can she bring herself to tell Robert the terrible secret she has kept for many years?

Before she can decide, a copy of the book is also delivered to her son Nick. Although he’d been too young to remember, he had been there–witness to the worst moment of her life.

At the same time, and unknown to Catherine, an elderly man continues to mourn the death of his only son years earlier. Finding photos that link Catherine with his death the man is determined to ruin her life. His anger is relentless and he vows to bring  Catherine’s secret to light.

As he moves forward with his vendetta, Catherine’s life begins to fall apart. Her husband abandons her, and colleagues question her integrity. What everyone now believes to have been a romance and adultery has become something more deadly and violent. Having held this secret so long can she bring the real truth to light?

Knight delivers a mystery that on the surface seems mundane. Yet, with the gradual unveiling, you find a depth of depravity and guilt. His characters are flawed, and have limited understanding the triggering incident, and as often happens with secrets, in the end, it becomes both more and less than what really occurred.

If you enjoy intense and mysterious work, you will find this a great fit for your library. If psychological suspense is what interests you, look no further; it is all tightly wound with a raw and gritty grief.

This would be a great book for a reading and discussion group.

Rating 5\5

Compulsion, A Novel by Meyer Levin

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Compulsion,' A Historical Drama by Meyer Levin.

Nature or nurture, both arguments are often used in why there are those among us who have that bit of themselves that blocks the way they feel about killing, torture, abuse or pain against others. The question is difficult, for many times killers come from the best of families. 

In Compulsion by Meyer Levin we follow the fictional story of true happenings from the 1920s. Depicting a story of an early example of an infamous crime, we are immersed in the fascination of the minds of two young men. Styled after the true life crime of Leopold and Loeb, we are taken back to a time in history where Psychology was still young in the field of criminology.  

Judd Steiner and Artie Straus have it all; they come from solid families, and are very intelligent. Yet somehow they have committed an unspeakable act. It appears that these two young men feel no remorse. 

As they are caught and the facts begin to come to life, they are in a fight for their very lives. For the prosecution is urging for hanging. Yet their attorneys are pushing for a mental defense. How could two such well known and smart young men do such a deed and then feel they could get away with it. 

As we are led deeper into the psyche of the individuals the twists and turns keep you reeling. There is a strange current that keeps you wondering how such an action could have occurred and with such a lack of remorse. 

Both sides of the law feel they are right. What is the real story and who is the main instigator? That is part of what they are trying to decipher. 

Levin has given us an interesting look at the kidnapping and murder of a student, by two bright and rising stars of the community. One is charming and the other not well liked due to his superior attitude. As police begin putting together the clues, one thing becomes very clear. There is a strange lack of remorse. As Levin begins to reveal the story peeling away the layers, we find a great deal of confusion. 

He takes you back to a period of time where psychology used in investigation was in its infancy and not everyone was buying in. His take on the situation takes you there and you find yourself along with the investigators and lawyers trying to find the true happening and reason for it. Yet does it really matter in a crime like this. 

If you enjoy mystery and historical happenings you will find this quite satisfying and unique. Levin takes us deep into the darkness of the minds of two young men who, to all purposes, had it all. This is a deep and interesting look at the reasoning behind their actions and you will find it both interesting and difficult to put down. 

This would be a great book for a reading group or a book club. 

Rating 5/5

Love is Red by Sophie Jaff

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Love is Red', A Work of Fantasy and Horror by Sophie Jaff.

As times change and crimes evolve, the dating scene is just a bit more dangerous. Second guessing another person’s interest becomes a necessary ingredient to safety. Hooking up with strangers has a whole new threat, one that we read about the in the news more frequently than in the past.

In Love is Red  by Sophie Jaff, we follow the exploits of Katherine as she moves through the dating scene. Online dating is popular and when she meets David it seems they have much in common. Their bond begins to grow and she is surprised at the ease of their relationship. Feeling this must be love she is all in. There are a few oddities in their relationship but after her initial fear she has realized his sense of humor is somewhat strange.  They are actually very compatible with a great deal in common.

When she goes to a friend’s costume party she is sure she has blown it with David. As the party winds down she decides to try and meet him later. As she heads to the bedroom to change and is partly undressed while looking in the mirror she sees a man in the sitting on the chair right behind her. The atmosphere is tense and when he is unapologetic she does something she has never done before. She orders him to get up, and to disrobe. He seems furious, yet does as she asks, and as he completes she walks past him and leaves the room.

Feeling guilty she tries to put the episode behind her, yet she struggles with her shame. They come into contact again for it appears that this man, Sael is also a friend of David’s. Both keeping their prior meeting to themselves it is here that the problem begins. They begin to meet in secrecy, and she cannot stop, although she believes that her David is the one.

As all this is occurring in her life a brutal serial killer is walking the streets of New York killing young women. Because of the way they are sliced up he is called the ‘Sickle Man’. The killer narrates much of the story in this work and Katherine appears to be what drives him. His thoughts and actions are strange and mesmerizing, yet sadistic and brutal. Katherine has no idea that she is the target behind it all. Can she decipher what she is looking for and elude a killer that she does not realize is fixated on her?

Jaff builds a tale of fear and romance, with a strange twist of historical reference that seems to drive her killer. Her interplay between the protagonists keeps you guessing, and they are all just a bit off kilter. The narrative of the killer as he chooses his prey and continues until he releases them in death is both sick and dramatic.

The story within the story of the Maiden of Morwyn Castle is interesting although for me a bit distracting. It seems to have some bearing on the outcome and the background driving the killer, but I found it a bit distracting; interesting, but strange in the setting.  However it does not take away from the story and the connection is there.

If you enjoy horror and mystery as well as romance and love you will find this work a great addition to your library.

It would also be a great book for a reading club with a great deal of discussion about the dangers of dating strangers.

Rating 4/5

The Blondes by Emily Schultz

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'The Blondes', A Horror Story by Emily Schultz.

To have a strain of disease that rocks the globe is always the stuff of horrors, the possibility of the beginning of the end for civilization. Yet each beginning of such illness seems to create a frenzy of those who search deep and find a solution thereby relegating the apocalypse to the background of thoughts one more time.

In The Blondes by Emily Schultz, we are introduced to a funny ‘tongue in cheek’ type of apocalyptic future where one after another horror and death or deaths are caused by blonde women throughout the world. Trying to stem the tide of killings, the research shows the only connection to be the color of the women’s hair. That the women generally die closely thereafter the episode makes for difficulty in finding the cause. The illness does not seem to differentiate between false blondes or the real thing, it also reaches out to light reds and highlights. Marshal Law is imposed and women rounded up and placed in camps for verification the disease is not just dormant and ready to come to the surface and create more horror. Each is tested and held, as the world turns crazy.

Hazel Hayes becomes the voice of the information, narrating though this crazy psychological conundrum as she tries to decipher if the disease will attack her as well. As the narrative moves further into a strange twisting tale of an epidemic causing women to go to great lengths to conceal their hair, even she is looking at making the change. As stores sell out all the darkest colors, pandemonium erupts, causing even more disaster.

As Hazel finds herself on the run, we find she is pregnant through one of her professors in college; she has very light red hair and is being hunted even as she updates the information. Her life is a bit like those around her but her pregnancy creates a strong sustainability for her, as most are not as afraid of her and are willing to help. While the pregnancy is unwanted, due to the circumstances she is hiding out herself and unwilling to seek an abortion. Yet when she goes in search of her baby’s father, she finds only his wife. Together through mutual dislike they form a bond over the child, moving away and in together for there is a small amount of safety in numbers.  What will happen to them as the world begins persecuting blondes and blonde derivatives?

If you enjoy horror and mystery this is an interesting look at how beauty kills. If you enjoy humor you will find yourself at times incredulous at the depths the women will go, and all the way through you will find a story of hope and friendship, but also brutality and abuse.

This would be a fun work for a reading and discussion group. There are pockets of horror and humor that compete evenly or possibly not. Only you can decide.

Rating 4/5

Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Where They Found Her,' A Mystery by Kimberly McCreight.

Losing a child must be one of the worst things a mother can face. To be encouraged to move on, to put such a tragedy behind is often only in the well-wishers own unfamiliarity of what such a loss entails. The process almost always involves guilt, for mothers feel their first priority is to protect their child, and often begin to blame themselves and struggle to come to terms with their internal  guilt and strife. 

In Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight , we meet one such individual. A reporter, she buries herself in her job hoping the control she exerts there will alleviate her internal suffering. Her husband is helpful and tries to help her healing, yet she hides much of her grief and pain. So when she is called to the case of a body being found, Molly, her husband and her boss are all concerned when said body is that of a new born, and the death seems quite brutal.

Molly finds herself in the middle of a job that takes her in directions she doesn’t want to go. Yet she is unwilling to relinquish the case for she feels her understanding of such a loss will keep her digging until the truth comes out. Little does she know that it will also further twist her own dreams, as she tries to help find the answers? 

Will she crack under the pressure of such an investigation or can she finally pull her own life into a semblance of normal and create her own healing, chasing away her own self-hate?

McCreight has given us a dark journey that can often lead to destruction. Her characters are human with both flaws and emotion, and her insight and thought processing create a light of possible healing. She takes the darkness of loss and stretches it beyond bounds; just to rubber band it to where it can be looked at in a different fashion.  She takes the darkness before the dawn that one step further, where just when you think there is no answer or way out, a light of truth begins to glimmer.

This is an emotion filled story and you find yourself drawn to the characters. This is a work that will drain you and make you think, so be prepared to bring the tissues. 

If you enjoy mystery and red herrings, and often look for that work that takes you into the drama of life you will find this work to deliver.  

This would be an interesting book for a reading group, a thought provoking look at how personal loss can affect a family, a life and a career. 

Rating 4/5

Broken by Traci L. Slatton

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Broken' by Traci L. Slatton.

The years between 1939-1943 were a time of danger and intrigue in Paris. The German occupation created controls unused to in the city of love. While many Jews perished there were others, those who cared to try and protect them and their rights, who too disappeared never to be heard of again.

In Broken by Traci L. Slatton, we are given a view of the times through the eyes of a fallen angel.  Having lost her twin Ariel, Alia makes a choice to become human.  Not sure if her choice of times is intentional, she loses herself in lust and fornication. Parties and orgies are the means of her escape from her pain and loneliness. The danger of the times creates an added thrill, and yet she has inner anguish and questions that drag her down.  Even in her falling, she is watched over by Archangel Michael. He can see the true nature and is disturbed by the turn of events.

Yet he can only watch, aware just how vulnerable she had made herself. She toys with men and two of her favorite lovers are Pedro a bullfighter, and Josef a musician. She has become very close to her neighbor Suzanne, a young Jewish widow, and her daughter Cecile.  Alia soon realizes that she would do anything to ease their pain and fear.  

Yet as her lovers both join the resistance and the Nazis come knocking on doors, Alia works hard to find a way to save Suzanne and her daughter. As she moves forward she too becomes a danger, both to them and to herself.  As her other friends flee Paris, she must stay and find a way to rescue them, but can she.  As torture and pain create those who would do anything to escape the treachery, will betrayal of those closest to her be the end.  

While Arch Angel Michael warns her of her doom, she too has visions of how things will be as differing turns are taken. Can she make the right choices and save them all, or is it too late.

Slatton has created characters that seem to leap off the page, and the danger of the time is palpable. The cruelty displayed raises the hair on your neck, and creates a knot in the pit of your stomach.  In the beginning you don’t know if you will like Alia, and as the story progresses you begin rooting for her. While she continues her lifestyle, there is so much bravery and pain behind the façade. 

The passion and egos of the Parisians depicted is both alarming and bold. Sex, alcohol and drugs are the rules of their group, and their friendships often borders on the absurd.

If you enjoy heat and passion with erotica and danger you will find this to your liking. It is riddled with bits of history and twisted into a paranormal tale, full of greed, romance and a beauty that shines through in the form of Cecile. Her character seems to break the pall that surrounds Alia and helps her move beyond the darkness of her soul.

There is a deadly menace as well, creeping forward and devouring all that is pure and innocent. Inexorably the Jews are hunted and their supporters as well. The times were horrible for so many, leaving broken homes and families in the wake of Germany’s fury.

Rating 4/5

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