Ladykiller
Lawrence Light and Meredith Anthony
ISBN: 1-933515-05-8
Fiction/Thriller
Detective Dave Dillon must solve his case. His reputation and livelihood as a NYPD detective depend on it. The deaths seem unrelated aside from the single bullet through the victim’s right eyes and some vague connection to the West Side Crisis Center.
Light and Anthony take us into the depths of the fractured lives of the street, the pain, the anguish, the despondency. We experience it as if we are there while the connecting thread of the murders remains fleeting to the detective and his team. A brilliantly crafted work that is full of surprises that leave you awe struck.
Wearing the Spider
Susan Schaab
ISBN: 1-934291-05-6
Fiction/Thriller
Most of us have experienced abuse of power in the workplace. The boss who knows we have little or no recourse for their actions and the feeling of helplessness it creates. Susan Schaab utilizes her reader’s mutual fear of this situation to draw them into the plight of Evie, a female lawyer on the edge of becoming a partner in a prestigious Manhattan law firm.
She knows enough to avoid close contact with one of the firm’s partners from previous unwanted sexual advances but she is spun into something new. There is evidence that she has orchestrated legal transactions that she hasn’t even worked on and she is being set up. But the evidence is electronic and changes almost daily. It appears that she is the one changing it and these changes could not only jeopardize her becoming a partner but end her career. But is her nemesis in the office the one doing it?
As Evie searches out the answers the stakes get higher, her innocence becomes less plausible and the scheme enters the realm of governmental tampering.
The author does a convincing job as the book confronts us with some of the horrifying truths of our computer age world. It is a world of computer viruses that steal our identities, of offshore transactions that cleanse money unlawfully gained and allow for governmental corruption that threaten public safety and can place the blame solely on you.
Ricochet
P. M. Terrell
ISBN: 0-9785632-0-4
Fiction/Mystery/Suspense
Ricochet brings the reality of terrorist infiltrators within the United States into sharp awareness. Yes, we all realize that they are out there. But this book demonstrates how open our borders really are and how the intruders could easily hide once inside.
P. M. Terrell has created a fine piece of work with good use of first person with adequate flash backs to allow us to know her main character and care enough to be involved with her on going close calls and mishaps. The development of tension is well handled and keeps the reader in full attention.
The idea that the FBI would accept the horrible liability of allowing a student/cadet who has already been through the emotional shock and unknown damage of going through a bombing to actively participate in an investigation seemed a little far fetched. But it makes for an entertaining read and definitely leaves the reader thinking.
The Paladin Chronicles
B.W. Philpot
ISBN: 978-1-59800-550-9
Science Fiction
B.W. Philpot has successfully developed a world in the future where man, with the assistance of more advanced race, elevates to a higher evolutionary path, The Paladin.
Having ineptly given a hostile race of reptilian/humanoids access to technology adequate to take over the galaxy and use other advanced societies as livestock, a society called The Elders have been brought close to extinction. The few remaining elders have traveled the universe just one step ahead of the Zillians seeking a race up to the challenge of defeating them. Several attempts have failed and by their own failing numbers, Earth is their last chance to stop this scourge that threatens to completely take over the universe. Through a combination of genetic manipulation and implantation, they develop the Paladins, a new race of stronger, highly intelligent warriors.
This is a very fine story and by the second third of the book it is very well crafted. I would look forward to reading further works by the author. The short side of the book is the introduction and first few chapters where Philpot has attempted to throw too much information at the reader giving it a very strong telling instead of showing feel. This first part could easily have been a novel in its own right and may have served better in that capacity. I will look for his second novel as his finer work continues.
Scatterlings of Africa
Peter Davies
ISBN: 0-9554409-0-4
Action/Adventure
Love, romance, obsession, hate, evil and suspense are all elements of Peter Davies superbly written novel, The Scatterlings of Africa. The author has carefully crafted his characters and scenes to allow his readers to know and care about them and in doing so draw his audience to understand his message about the cruelty and many times unjust nature of civil war.
Based in the 1970s, the story rings true to those who experienced the news of turmoil in Africa and like any good historical fiction leaves the reader unknowing where fact leaves to fiction. While reading the story, it made me wonder if the characters were truly fictional or perhaps composites of people the author knew.
I highly recommend the book. It caught my attention very quickly and kept it to the end. Well Done.