Re: Twisted Perception by Bob Avey

Twisted Perception
Bob Avey

Mystery/Fiction
ISBN-13: 978-0-937660-31-7
ISBN-10: 0-937660-31-0
Deadly Niche Press, an imprint of AWOC Books
www.awocbooks.comwww.bobavey.com

 

Bob Avey hits the ground running with his solo debut into the mystery-suspense genre. Twisted Perception is filled with brilliantly written characters that are as believable as they are entertaining. Kenny Elliot had a tumultuous childhood, growing up in the small town of Porter, Oklahoma. Never knowing his father and with little guidance from his troubled mother, Kenny found a friend and mentor in Sheriff Charlie Johnson. When the mutilated bodies of his friends, Johnnie Boy and Marcia Barnes are found, in a car, with Kenny’s class ring swinging on a necklace from the rear-view mirror, suspicion and town gossip pointed to the hot tempered teen. The case was officially closed when the deaths were classified a murder-suicide. However, doubts persisted within the community about Kenny’s involvement. Unable to shake the suspicions and unsure of the findings himself, he took Sheriff Johnson’s advice and left town, with no intentions of ever returning.

Nine years have passed, and Kenny Elliot is working for the Tulsa, Oklahoma Police Department. When Lagayle Zimmerman’s murdered body is discovered in her car, it’s the shiny necklace dangling from the rear-view mirror that catapults the detective into the spot light. As the clues mount, the crooked finger of blame seems to be aiming once again at Kenny. Plagued by nightmares and haunted by unanswered questions, he finally realized it was impossible to escape the past. Risking everything, including his own sanity, he returns to Porter determined to uncover the truth that would stop the killings, find justice for his murdered friends and clear both his name and conscientious.

Fast paced and realistic, Twisted Perception is a character driven novel, laced with intricate plot lines that could easily be part of the hushed history of any small town in America. With clinical precision, Avey has delivered a suspense filled mystery that reaches far beyond surface entertainment, to expose the deep, often hidden psychological scars left on the souls of child abuse survivors. Avey indulges Kenny’s ruminations about the old traumas that fuel his nightmares, successfully using his personal history to propel the story, instead of swallowing it whole. The palpable tension in the novel is heightened with each chapter as Avey takes the reader on a full-circle journey, reminding everyone, no matter how far or fast, you can’t outrun your past.

Happy Reading!
RJ xx
The Reading Den©

Re: Simple Genius by David Baldacci *audio

Simple Genius
David Baldacci
Read by: Ron McLarty
Fiction/Suspense

ISBN: 1594839018

www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/

www.davidbaldacci.com

(5-CD abridged set–also available in hardcover- ISBN: 0446580341)

David Baldacci– a name synonymous with mystery, intrigue and suspense. His distinct flair for weaving a bit of truth into his fictional creations has allowed him to present believable stories that are highly entertaining. Add the talented actor/author Ron McLarty narrating, and Simple Genius could easily have been a heart-stopping, over the fence hit… but it falls a bit shy of the homerun marker.

After her latest outburst of self-destructive behavior and threatened with jail time, investigator Michelle agrees to enter a private clinic. While in treatment, her partner, Sean contacts his ex-lover for an assignment. With funds drying up, he did not have the luxury of holding grudges. After an outburst of self-destructive behavior, Michelle lands in jail, where Sean sternly advises her the only way to avoid serious time is to enter a private clinic, an offer she begrudgingly accepts. While she cools her heels in the hospital, Sean is forced, due to a lack of funds, to take an assignment from his ex.

Suicide or Murder? Officially Monk Turing’s death was ruled a suicide, but Sean was interested in the unofficial version. Monk’s body was found just inside the perimeter of the CIA’s top secret training facility, Camp Peary–known as the “secret place” by the locals.
Monk’s autistic daughter, Viggie, was frightened and had great difficulty expressing her feelings. When anyone got too close she would withdraw into her own world. At times Viggie would play a specific selection on the piano, shout “codes and blood,” then disappear up to her room. When Michelle arrives, Viggie takes to her instantly. Numbers and codes, secrets and stories–Monk had programmed his daughter–and now the only way they could protect her was if she trusted them enough to tell them what she knew. And that was a very big if. And Michelle’s mental stability is still quite questionable.

In a nutshell:
Lives depend on the codes hidden within the mind of a grieving child, that refuses to talk to anyone except Michelle and she’s fresh out of the psych unit. The character interaction is robotic and when you combine that with onion thin plot layers, the result is a flat, foul smelling reading experience that is undoubtedly saved by the unparalleled narration of Ron McLarty. Although everything gets tied up at the end, it feels as if the author was restricted or limited in some way all the way through. There are so many stories within this story and each could have been a really good book, individually, but thrown together it reminds me of a child’s finger painting…we want so badly to get it, to really like it — but honestly it is simply a mess. Pick this one up at the library or borrow it from a friend, the audio is worth listening to if for no other reason than the excellent narration and the extra information about Bletchley Park and the infamous Beale Cipher.

Happy Reading!
RJ

Extras:
While Babbage Town is a fictitious setting, it was inspired by Bletchley Park, just outside London. Within this facility, many German codes were broken by the Allies, during WW II. Also, there’s a wealth of information regarding the Beale Cipher on the bonus CD.Including the three page cipher, the parts that have been decoded, maps and much more.

RELATED SITES – of interest:

http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
http://unmuseum.org/beal.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beale_Ciphers

Re: Souls Triumphant by S William Foley

Souls Triumphant
By S. William Foley
Fantasy/Fiction
$15.95 U.S.
ISBN: 0-595-36082-3
Published by: iUniverse
www.iuniverse.com
www.swilliamfoley.com

Souls Triumphant has something for everyone. Part love story, part fantasy adventure, and filled with action. Readers are thrust into the classic dilemma of good vs. evil. However, this is not the tradition tale that has been written many times. Foley has delivered a refreshing and entertaining read for all ages. Adults and teens will finally have something they agree on…… this is a good book!Love at first sight would prove to be much more than a cliché for Joe and Alessandra. Fresh faced college graduates, they had no way of knowing what lay ahead of them. For it would be vastly different than anything they had imagined. Soon, their very existence would be balanced on a knife edge. Where the slightest misstep would be catastrophic.

Ned and his conspirators had been banished from the Kingdom. The Fallen One believed it better to rule than to serve. Ned was physically attractive, had amassed great wealth and was desired by women. Yet, the one thing he wanted more than anything else, lay just out of his reach. That is until he found Alessandra. She was the key! With her, he could have it all! Finally he would have that which had eluded him for all time. Or would he? Could she resist him? Even defeat him?

S. William Foley has penned a one of a kind novel, where the characters, while interacting within a fantasy world, could not be more real. Questions of spirituality, ethics and morals are presented through detailed plot lines that could easily be woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Foley has delivered a well constructed novel that combines interesting characters, intriguing dialogue and explosive moral conflicts. This rare mix, will undoubtedly place Foley on the favorites list of many readers.

Happy Reading!
   RJ  xx

*submission received & acknowledged; documentation on file.

Re: Sight Unseen by Samantha Graves

Sight Unseen
by Samantha Graves
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 0-446-61838-1
$6.99 US/$9.99 CAN.
Hatchette Book Group USA
Warner Forever is an imprint of Warner Books, Inc.

www.SamanthaGraves.com
www.HatchetteBookGroupUSA.com

After her award winning series as CJ Barry, Samantha Graves had established herself as an excellent Romance author. With Sight Unseen she has raised the bar and changed the rules of the romance genre. To label this book simply a Romance title, would be a grave injustice, Sight Unseen goes much deeper than that.

The adventure begins as Samantha takes the reader to the bottom of the ocean, to retrieve a medallion that was worn by ‘King Pacal Votan the Great’. Raven Callahan is a modern day treasure hunter of sorts, with a special gift that allows her to authenticate the items, with a simple touch. She and her sister, Jillian receive information from inanimate objects. The stronger the emotion of the person that owned or touched the object, the more intensely it is felt by Raven. Working for API, she recovers priceless pieces for private collectors, as well as, museums that have been lost or stolen.

Dax Maddox is rugged and attractive, with loneliness and haunting anger in his eyes. Once a respected detective in Miami, he now had only one goal – to catch a killer! The night, Nick, his rookie partner was murdered, he had been imprisoned in a world filled only with shades of gray. He left the force to pursue a cop killer, to exact revenge and get justice for Nick. Which lead him to the art auction, at ‘Matador’s Auction House, in Miami. Bringing him face to face with the Vassalo painting and the beautiful woman he knew was a thief. The chemistry between these two characters, Raven and Dax, is palpable. From the moment he forces her into a closet at the auction, to the swirling intensity of their first kiss, the reader is swept up into the story, like a leaf in a tornado! The author develops each as an individual, while continuing to bring them together, moving toward a confrontation with a killer and explosive intimacy. Both of which will leave the reader breathless and wanting more!

Samantha Graves has delivered an action packed, suspense thriller, filled with three dimensional characters that are intelligent and sexy. The various plot elements are effortlessly woven into the fabric of the lead, as well as, the supporting characters.

This title has everything a reader could ask for; suspense – that keeps you guessing, action – that will keep you thinking, passion – that will make you breathless, combined with enough twists and turns to construct a mountain trail and keep you teetering on the edge all the way!.

Don’t let “Sight Unseen” remain unseen by you!

READERS – Get Ready… The Callahan ladies are back in Samantha Graves new novel, “Out Of Time”  (scheduled for release, August 2008) 

 

Happy Reading!
RJ xx

Re: The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross

 Thursday, March 29th, 2007…e:14 am

The Blue Zone
Andrew Gross
Fiction $25.95 ($32.95 Canada)
ISBN 13: 978-0-06-114340-3
ISBN 10: 0-06-114340-5
William Morrow an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
www.andrewgrossbooks.com

Also available on CD from Harper Audio

Family secrets, skeletons in the closet, would you really want to know, if the truth would destroy everything? Such questions had never entered Kate Raab’s mind. Until she got the call from her Mom, that would devastate her life. Those words “your father has been arrested, come quickly,” made no sense. There had to be a mistake. Money laundering, connections to the Mercado Family, her father didn’t know anyone from Colombia. Or, did he?

With a steady flow of action, suspense, and strong family emotion, The Blue Zone follows Kate as she discovers her life has been a lie. Refusing to accompany her Mother, sister and brother, into the protective custody of the WITSEC Program, Kate’s communications with her family are limited and vague. After a year, she has married, and is trying to establish some semblance of a normal life. When her best friend is shot exiting the lab where they have worked together for several years. Kate is convinced the bullet was meant for her.

Is she paranoid, is she being watched? If so, by whom and what do they want from her? When agents return asking questions about her father, she learns he is missing. Their case handler has been tortured and killed. The implications were hanging in the air like smog over LA on a windless day. They thought her father was a murderer. Kate was convinced everyone was lying to her. She had to find her family and learn the truth. The strange photo, the necklace her Mother told her held secrets, what does it all mean? The questions would remain between Mother and Daughter for eternity. Silenced by the blast of a gun.Once again, the reader is thrust into a state of uncertainty filled with nervous anticipation as the conclusion nears. The husband, the old man in the park, the agents that surround her, or her Father, can anyone be trusted? The mind swirls with possibilities. Keeping the reader guessing, wanting to know more, reading just one more chapter.

Agents refer to those missing from within the Witness Protection Program, as being in the Blue Zone. Kate describes it this way, somewhere between love and hate, right and wrong, revenge and forgiveness……in this way, we all live within our own “Blue Zone.”

Andrew Gross doesn’t open the door to the concept of “The Blue Zone” – He literally kicks it down! Having collaborated with James Patterson expectations were high for his solo debut. Readers will not be disappointed. Gross weaves his plot lines together and maintains a high octane ride like a seasoned pro. I look forward to reading his novels for years to come. In a crowded genre, with many well known and loved authors, Andrew Gross has cemented his place among the best!

“Su deber es pagado aqui, Amigo. Your duty here is done.”As is mine. Reviewing this title was a real pleasure! I recommend it heartily and without hesitation!

Happy Reading!
RJ xx

Review submission acknowledged by Harper Collins March 22, 2007