3-Lies by Helen Hanson

Article first published as Book Review:3-Lies by Helen Hanson on Blogcritics.

Terror has its own vices, where belief creates a certain way of life. Money can even sabotage those intentions, twisting belief of reason to a belief in money. Even the best of intentions change for the ever-elusive dollar.

In 3-Lies by Helen Hanson, we follow the lives of Beth Sutton and her new boyfriend Clint Masters, as well as his faithful dog Louie. Beth is a kind and loving young woman, finding love at a time when her life is not at its best. On dialysis, she has not kept her diagnosis a secret from Clint, allowing him to know everything about her from the start. Beginning a relationship with secrets is in no way acceptable to her or her way of life. If he can deal this this than she understands, he can deal with anything.

Kidnapped in a bizarre scheme by a group of terrorists in an effort to blackmail the Supreme Court Justices, Beth is at the mercy of a group with nothing to lose. Bewildered by the action taken by her family, Clint is confused. They not only refuse to report her missing, they file a restraining order against him as a stalker. He struggles with the enormity of the circumstances as he feels her life leak away the longer she is away from both her medication and her dialysis machine. Without them, her system will shut down, and yet he is anathema to the family.

To top it all off his best friend is after him to come back into the business and his soon to be ex-wife has just announced to him that he is going to be a father. Yet none of this makes sense, or compares to the terror he feels at Beth’s disappearance. Not entirely sure of his feelings for her prior to the event, he is now more than ever convinced that he loves her and there is the possibility that he will never see her again.

In a separate situation within the CIA, a young agent Doug Bryant has stumbled on an old code file, one that seems to bring some disturbing information about agents gone missing. Due to his discovery, his clearance is elevated and he is now in the ranks of those with need to know priorities. As he delves into the files themselves, he finds missing funds, missing ships, and a spy in their midst. What is going on with this missing group of agents, and how will he be able to help with his lack of experience?

As both investigations begin to intermesh, the CIA in in the dark about the missing person occurrences, those that deal with the disappearances of the friends and family members of several of the Supreme Court Justices. As every move Doug makes is blocked, he finally finds some of the information he needs to go forward. But who does he trust? He thinks he knows but how can he be sure?

When the leads bring him and his lead together with Clint, they begin to see the scheme as it unfolds. Murder and kidnapping, are just a few of the capabilities of this group of individuals they are tracking. Can they get the information and find Beth in time? When the clues all come together, will they be able to stop this plot from going forward. In a race against time, with lives at stake will Doug and Clint decipher the clues in time?

Hanson has developed a diabolical plot, ones that seems both real and deadly. Her characters, from Beth to Clint, from Doug to the other captives, deliver on the reality of people with whom you can relate. They are human with both strengths and flaws. Overcoming obstacles, and yet at times showing such human emotions, sadness, sympathy, jealousy, and spite, it is easy to imagine the interaction. I was impressed how Hanson was able to take two separate occurrences and draw a line between the two, intersecting and bringing them to fruition in a way that is both believable and impressive.

I would recommend this book for the suspense and thriller seeker. It also delivers on romance, action and adventure, and just a bit of stepping outside of who you are. Once started, I could not put it down. The writing is genuine and the feelings are heartfelt. This would be a wonderful book for your library. I look forward to reading more from Helen Hanson, she has an artistry that is hard to deny.

Rating 5/5

3-Lies

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.

Author Interview with William F. Brown - Author of The Undertaker

I had a wonderful chance to interview William F. Brown. He is an interesting author and I enjoy his writing. I find it wonderful to be able to know more about the authors and their backgrounds and so I am happy to be able to bring this information to you.
Thank you so much William for sharing your stories and background.

Questions: Please supply your writing name as it appears on your book or e-book and the name of your most recent published story.

William F. Brown, author of The Undertaker

Intro: Please introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m married, and have sons and live in Columbus, Ohio. A native of Chicago, I earned a BA in History and Russian Area Studies and a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Illinois, which puts me in the odd position of being an Illini living in Buckeye-land. As a Vice President of the real estate subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company, I had the opportunity to travel widely in the US and abroad. That allowed me to personally experience many of the cities and locations I used as backgrounds in my novels, such as Russia, Germany, the Caribbean, England, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Austria, Egypt, and Israel. When I’m not writing, I like to play golf (usually poorly) and paint landscapes in oil or acrylics.

Tell us about your book.

The Undertaker is a domestic suspense thriller. To me, it’s a ‘beach book, a fun read with a heavy dose of humor and a dollop of romance, too. Pete Talbott is Boston computer wonk who finds himself at the point of a gun, being shown his own newspaper obituary, torn from the morning newspaper. When he sees his wife’s along with it, that’s a mystery he can’t leave alone. From car chases on the Dan Ryan, snipers in Central Park, a bloody Back Bay townhouse, sleazy lawyers, corrupt County sheriffs, mafia hit men, the FBI, an army of Chicago cops, to the upper berth of an Amtrak train, someone with a sharp scalpel and an embalming table is planting bodies under other people’s names. If Pete can’t stop them, he and his quirky new girlfriend, Sandy Kasmarek, will be next on the list.

What inspired you to be a writer or have you always had a passion for writing?

Frankly, I was always a reader, of every suspense and mystery book that came out, and I read one too many bad ones. (It happened to be an unusually poor Clive Cussler book, but don’t tell anyone.) So, I figured even I could write something that bad. I went to the library, found a number of books on how to structure and write novels and set to work with a cheap electric typewriter and a gallon of white-out. Since then, I’ve written six novels -- two were published in hardback and paperback, one e-book, one now making the rounds with my agent, one I’m finishing, and one I’m about one-third finished with. All are domestic or international suspense novels. I’ve also written four award-winning screenplays. Three of those are adaptations of my novels and one is a domestic drama.

If you could give advice to other authors or aspiring authors what would you say?

Frankly, don’t give up your day job! Very, very few people make a living at writing, especially now. We are living through the greatest transformation of the book business in many decades, perhaps since television, book clubs, or paperbacks, and it is only beginning. Obviously, I’m referring to e-books. Amazon now offers over 700,000 e-books, and the traditional book publishers don’t have a clue what to do. For many years, they cut back on and eliminated ‘mid-list’ books, and in recent years would only look at books that came through an agent. E-pub has now exploded to fill that void at 10-25% of what hardback or even paperback books formerly cost, leaving the traditional publishers with only the occasional big name blockbuster to survive on, and that will not work for much longer. As a writer, I can make almost as much money from a 70% royalty on a $4.00 e-book as I did from 15% on a $17.00 hardback. The problem, of course is getting noticed in all the clutter without a publisher to do all that traditional marketing for you. That means writers must become guerrilla marketers. I hate it, but I’m now doing it, every day.

When you completed your work what was your most difficult roadblock to becoming published?

On dealing with traditional publishers, the biggest problem was finding an agent. Publishers won’t even look at anything that doesn’t come through an agent now, and they’ve become the industry gatekeepers. I’m a successfully published writer! But, once you do get an agent and sell it to a publisher, you’re done. E-books on the other had are deceptively easy to get up and on line. The problem is, it takes just as much time to market one as it took to write it. Different problem, same frustration.

Where can people go to get more information about you and your book?

My web site has evolved and I think is now quite good. I have the usual information on me and my writing, but I also have pages on new reviews, my screenplays and on each of my books, including the first chapters of the upcoming ones I’ve been working on. Check it out. http://billbrownwritesnovels.wordpress.com/

Stop by and check out my review of The Undertaker, it is well written and quick paced. It is quite an enjoyable read, and I look forward to future works. Stop by Bill's website and check it out, you won't be sorry.

The Undertaker by William F. Brown

Article first published as Book Review: The Undertaker by William F. Brown on Blogcritics.

Using the names of others long dead to hide insidious crimes seems like an odd way to do business. The obituary Peter Talbot sees of his own and his wife’s death in a Columbus Ohio newspaper is unbelievable. Not only is he not dead, but his loving wife actually did precede him in death, not in an auto accident as listed, but of cancer. Much of the information was correct but neither he nor his wife had ever been in Ohio. What is happening?

In The Undertaker by William F. Brown, we meet a remarkable man in Peter Talbot. His is a UCLA graduate, was a lieutenant in the army and currently an aeronautical engineer with Symbiotic Software systems. Finding a strange man in his car, asking who he is and why he has the name of the dead man in the paper, make him understandably upset. The 45-caliber weapon in his face does not persuade him anymore then the obituary, yet when the man who introduces himself as Gino Perini exits his vehicle with a warning to leave it alone, he is anything but thrilled.

To him it is a smirch on his wife’s name and he will not allow anyone to make a mockery of her memory. The obituary seems to belittle her life and he decides he will find out what is happening and have it retracted. As Peter begins his research, he finds a pattern of deaths set up much like that of his own.

Each obituary lists the same mortuary, the same attorney, and each of those who perished had no next of kin. The individuals involved are well respected and highly placed individuals, with backgrounds above reproach and in some cases part of the government. Part of the plot involves the mob, and as Peter comes forward with his objections and information, he is suddenly in the spotlight. Unaware of what he has begun, he is now on the run for his life. In researching one of the other alleged fatalities, he finds an old automobile, but one that holds a secret cache, one that others are willing to kill for. Those secrets as well as his smart mouth are about to get him killed. Can he trade those secrets for his safety?

While looking for answers he meets Sandy, one of the murdered victim’s ex-wife. Initially she turns him in to those looking for him, not realizing they are not who they say they are. However once they know who she is, she must now work together with Peter on a solution to get the secret to safety. They are both in peril. This group known as Zero Defects will allow no one to stop them, all in the name of national security.

Ralph Tinkerton is the brains behind this bizarre murder ritual, and he will stop at nothing to plug the leaks. When Peter finds his friends dead, he decides he will do what it takes to get justice. Can he turn the tables on this group of killers before he or anyone else is killed? This secret is a high stakes game of cat and mouse, and the chases just keeps going on. Who will they turn to for help?

Peter is an angry man trying to get through life after the death of his wife. He holds her memory dear and feels that whoever took their identity to hide a murder, has besmirched her name, which he finds unforgivable. She had been the best part of him and he would not rest until he finds out what is happening. He is smart (rocket scientist) and takes good care of himself. He has also been very lucky and able to get out of several life threatening situations. However the goons following him will not give up, and he continues to try to find a solution.

Gino Perini comes and goes throughout the story. He is muscle for the mob, and the man who first got Peter involved in this charade. He is there in the wings just waiting for the right time to make his mark.

Sandy is a spitfire, with many surprises up her sleeve. After initially creating a problem for Peter by contacting the bad guys, she is now helping him try to control the damage. She is no longer safe, she knows too much. However, she has moves and tricks you cannot imagine. She is amazing and full of sparks that keep you entertained.

Brown does an amazing job of creating characters who are real. The humor is incredible, and the murders most foul. The characters have flaws that make them very relatable, and the story itself is quite wicked and very believable.

I would recommend this book for those who love a thriller, with action and suspense. If you enjoy humor and smart thinking you will enjoy the repartee, it is lightning fast and exciting. This would be a great book for a book club; it is full of discussion items. While the humor keeps it a bit light, make no mistake, these killers are formidable and without merit. The coldness of their methods will give you chills long into the evening.

Rating 5/5
The Undertaker

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.
Authors Website

A Great Place for a Seizure by Terry Tracy

Article first published as Book Review:A Great Place for a Seizure by Terry Tracy on Blogcritics.

Epilepsy is still one of those disorders shrouded in mystery. Often an injury or a fever can bring it on abruptly. It can start early in life and then disappear, or it can onset later to cleave to life and make it more difficult and hard to live life to the fullest.

In A Great Place for a Seizure by Terry Tracy we follow the life of Mischa Dunn. Beginning her seizures after her 14th birthday, she has had to live with them for as long as she can remember. Words such as aura, grand mal, petit mall and others mean more to those who have experienced them, and their caretakers and friends then to most anyone else. Those uninitiated to epilepsy or seizures may have heard the words vaguely and might even have a good understanding and yet unless you have been there they are only words.

Building a life around the possibility of seizure is difficult and overbearing for some, yet Terry Tracy has done a great job of creating a character that lives her life with dignity and grace, regardless of her disability. We follow her life through school, college, work, marriage and patent hood, and we learn the lessons of the flaws that afflict others, and I would have to say we take a lesson from the characterization of this work. Not everyone with epilepsy is able to relegate it the way that Mischa does, and yet the same can be said of most people on life in particular. It is not everyone that can live a life of grace and caring, with or without illness, and it is quite instructive to get a depth of information about such a secretive disability, though the life and courage of such a brave character.

I really enjoyed this story; it is full on life and joy, but ribboned with sadness and pain, and a shadow of grief and longing.

Terry Tracy had drawn on something she knows quite well, and built a story to help bring–not just the illness itself to life–but to put it in perspective of living life as well. I have some experience with this myself as one of my younger sisters was diagnosed quite young, but she was not to be one of the lucky ones. She died quite young at 23. I believe that Terry Tracy has done a terrific job of bringing to light some of the fears and questions evinced by those that do not understand. It is uncomfortable to be present for a seizure, and it is easy to panic and makes things worse. Even now, we are learning more about this stressful and debilitating problem.

By invoking epilepsy and bringing it to light in such a fashion, Tracy takes away some of the mystery and makes it more of just another problem experienced in life, instead of a strange and fearful illness.

This would be a wonderful book for a book club or reading group. The characterization is excellent and the in-depth study of epilepsy is full of knowledge and information. The story itself is well told, with fact and fiction. The ending threw me off a bit, I was surprised and went back to see if I was missing something, but it may have just been a form of letting us know that while epilepsy is a darkness, there are other more deadly and debilitating diseases that can damage a family far more and with even worse consequences.

Rating 4/5
A Great Place for a Seizure

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

Chop Suey: A Darby Stanfield Thriller by Ty Hutchinson

Article first published as Book Review: Chop Suey: A Darby Stansfield Thriller by Ty Hutchinson on Blogcritics.

Combine an obsessive, compulsive and desperate salesperson, willing to go to any lengths to make a sale, with an unlikely group of Triad members of the fan gang in Hong Kong, and see a recipe for disaster,the likes of which we have never seen before.

In Chop Suey: A Darby Stansfield Thriller by Ty Hutchinson, we follow the often funny and goofy plans of Darby Stansfield to move back to the sales leaderboard at his job for a telecommunications company. When blackmailing his customers doesn’t work he comes up with even stranger ideas, which just create more problems, but he is determined to find a way to succeed.

Having dinner at his favorite place, Mr. Fu’s restaurant, he spends a little time speaking with Mr. Fu himself. When Darby notices his tattoo and remarks on it, Mr. Fu begins to tell Darby his story. Talking about his former life the older gentleman describes his life in the Triad organization, but with a warning to Darby of confidentiality. Later at home as Darby is wrestling with more ways to sell his equipment, Fu’s story pops into his head, creating an even more diabolical plan of selling his product. He will find a way to sell to the fan gang, a member gang of the Triads. How hard can it be?

His friend Tav is aghast and yet Darby is enthralled. This plan could be the break he is looking for. If he can help make the fan gang more successful, they will have to continue to buy from him. This plan is the perfect set up. It will put his name back on the top of the leader board. First, he must find a way to make himself known.

Little does Darby know, but he has woken a deep and deadly dragon with his questions. Brutal and sadistic, remembering his enjoyment of slaughter, this deadly entity both hates Darby and relies on him. Darby’s questions and involvement have reawakened his longing for revenge.

Unaware of the danger he created; Darby heads to Hong Kong to make a deal, and meets the notorious gang he is looking for. Showing them how he can help them they agree to use his product, but are not yet sold on the idea. Darby will have to work hard to get them to buy in. Meeting a young police officer in Hong Kong, he is surprised to run into her back in the States. He is unnerved to find out her sister has been murdered. Hooking up with her, he is a bit nervous in case she finds out what he is planning. Can he help her find the killer without tipping his hand?

Darby is a desperate man, unwilling to do the real work involved in sales. He is looking for a quick sale and while is makes him quite shallow, he is also quite funny and startlingly bold. His conceptualization of ideas is quite hilarious, and he has made a few enemies. But he is also quite fun to be around and has some good friends. His friend Tav is behind him even though he does not believe in his schemes, but is willing to back him in any way he can.

Leslie Choi, the young officer from Hong Kong, is desperate to find the murderer of her sister. She relies on Darby to help her and she really enjoys his company. She is driven. Something seems familiar about this killer. It tugs at her memory, she feels as though They may have crossed paths before. Working with local law enforcement, all hell breaks loose when she disappears. Darby realizes he must get involved and find the killer before it is too late for Leslie?

I would recommend this book for those who enjoy suspense. Be prepared for humor and nonsense as well, it is intriguing and funny, but make no mistake; there is a certain darkness about the killer that keeps it on track. The humor twists throughout the narrative, but the danger and darkness keep the suspense high.

This would make a great book for a book club or a reading group. It is both intrinsically funny and inherently evil, a strangely intoxicating blend, one the keeps the action rolling.

Rating 4/5
Chop Suey

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

Eternal Knight by Matt Heppe

Article first published as Book Review Eternal Knight by Matt Heppe on Blogcritics.

Times of great trouble seem to be tantamount in every time and place, a time of great peace often followed by a time of peril and so it goes, time after time, in place after place.

In Eternal Knight by Matt Heppe, we meet a young huntress of Landomere. Sworn to protect her people and her land, Hadde holds little hope due to the wasting. Many are ill and dying, the land is parched and food is hard to find. There is bitterness and despair. After finding herself in a strange dream state during one of her hunts, she stumbles upon a magic pendant. Is this a gift from the gods? Can she sell the golden pendent and feed her people for a time? With the wasting continuing to create havoc with the land and its people, Hadde sets out with Belor another of the hunters, to seek help from the Kingdom of Salador.

Attacked not long after they leave their land by strange silver-eyed warriors they are wary yet resolute. To save their people and their way of life they must reach Salador. The attack is silent and deadly, Hadde and Belor fight their way free, but not for long. Belor is mortally injured and Hadde is near capture when rescue appears, in the form of Knights of Salador. She is not sure how to react to these men, women in their kingdom are not allowed to wear armor and she appears to be an embarrassment to them. She is extremely agile with a bow, better than her rescuers, yet her weapons are removed. One knight, Earl Waltas, takes delight in belittling her.

When they reach Salador, she is treated a bit unkindly. No one seems to understand her or her people. She is a huntress, a protector and yet not given the respect of her position. She tries desperately to fit in so that she can get the help of the king. Befriended by the king’s brother, Morin he understands her confusion. Even in her short time Salador, she has made enemies. When Morin is sent on a quest to retrieve the Orb of Creation, she is along for the ride. There is fear that she could bring about the end of the kingdom and it is in her best interest to depart the kingdom and its people.

The quest if fraught with danger and the silver-eyed warriors appear to be increasing. The Orb of creation is the only way to salvation of their lands. Can Hadde and Prince Morin find the Orb in time? Is it really the salvation of their times? The wasting is growing and yet it appears that there could be a correlation between that horror and the Orb.

Heppe has done a great job of building a world on the edge. The wasting is a plague on the place and its people and he makes you feel the despair and hopelessness of the people. The differences in their cultures are well written and interesting. There is a great distance between the areas, and the Saladorans seem quite unaware of the culture of the clan of people from Landomere. They were not aware that a woman could be a Huntress as well and a protector, it is so very different from their own beliefs of what women should be. While some of the cruelness is from ignorance, Heppe does a great job of fleshing out the villains. Hadde is a wonderful protagonist and both brave and a bit ingenuous.

The story is full of action and adventure, and some very interesting bits of magic. If you enjoy epic stories of warriors and adventure, you will certainly find your fill here. The story is quick and energetic, full of bold and courageous characters. I would recommend this for those that enjoy this genre and I look forward to more from this author.

Rating 5/5
Eternal Knight

This book was received free from 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.