Voices in the Field, by J. Allen Fielder

 

 

Many things have conspired to keep me too busy to read more than one book in the last two weeks, and that book was an epic fantasy, which I don't review here.  But I've some good news! At times, I go on binges of reading short story compilations.  In 2011 I came across one written by indie author +J. Allen Fielder, and reviewed it on my fantasy review blog, Best in Fantasy, because I loved the book and only had the one venue for reviewing books. In fact, this was why we created The Dark Side Book Review and began reviewing the many fine books NOT in the fantasy genre here.

 

I met the author in January 2011 through ABNA and was immediately struck by his wry wit and crazy sense of humor. Based on my impressions of him I bought his book as soon as he published it. 

 

I loved  'Voices in the Field' because Fielder went back to the roots of science-fiction.  I felt then and I still feel that this book is a thinking-person's sort of book. There are morality tales, and tales that are simply meant to make you go "hmm...."

 

The Blurb:

"Voices in the Field" is a collection of short stories by J. Allen Fielder. Titles include previously published and unpublished short stories, from the eponymous "Voices in the Field," to the humorously creepy "Mom's Eye View," these stories were written to thrill, chill, and make the reader wonder "What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Other titles include "Liquid," "Truck Stop Love," and "Homemade Pie." Stories range from horror, to mystery, to children's . . . and various points in between

I must say, Fielder delivered on his promises!

 

My Review:

In the first tale, which the book takes its title from, Fielder introduces us to a man whose car has broken down along a rural stretch of highway. This tale is both homey, and frightening, with a sort of Stephen King intensity. Harold is a 71 year old academic who has taken a less traveled route from Kansas State college on his back home to Corinthian College. Alas, this road is exceedingly less well traveled, and Harold's car breaks down. Being a naturally cheerful sort, he settles in to wait for a passing car to get help. To while away the time, he records his thoughts on the machine that he uses to record his notes on. He is a bit old fashioned, and doesn't have a mobile phone. He soon regrets having taken the back road. This is an unsettling story and it sets the tone for the rest of the book very well.

For those of us who are fans of horror, the fourth tale, 'Liquid' is one of the creepiest tales I have ever read. A doctor at the top of his craft is the victim of an attack that completely changes his life. It is a terrible case of 'There but for the grace of God go I', taken to an appalling extreme.

I must say, that I may never eat a pot pie again, having read 'Homemade Pie'. The twist at the end of this tale is a real surprise, and gruesome though the tale is, it is one of my favorites.

'Cowboy Up' is the tale of an urban cowboy with an identity crisis, and a marriage proposal gone awry.

'The Party Pooper' is an extremely graphic tale of two buddies who make porn films in their spare time. These are men whom I wouldn't want to know, but hey - it's all in good fun. (NOT!)

The book ends with 'Weight' a tale of a young man who has suffered a lifetime of abuse for being obese. It is not a long tale, but it is the sort of tale that would have found its way onto 'The Twilight Zone' back in the heyday of morality tales.

I could practically hear Rod Serling 's voice introducing each of these well crafted and deliciously thought-provoking tales!

All in all, J. Allen Fielder has written a wonderfully creepy series of short stories. This book is firmly on my list of keepers, and you can find it at amazon.com for the reasonable price of .99.

The Adventures of Don Valiente and the Apache Canyon Kid, John A. Aragon and Mary W. Walters

Today I am reviewing a book that is unique in it's approach to telling the story. Let me begin by saying  The Adventures of Don Valiente and the Apache Canyon Kid is NOT your daddy's western! I've long been a fan of both the authors, John A. Aragon and Mary W. Walters, and I did expect big things from this collaboration.  I was not disappointed!

 

The Blurb:

The West will never be the same . . . .

New Mexico, 1922.

The orphaned eighteen-year-old stablehand Rosalind Grundy is seduced by a married woman, and faces a lynching after the pair is surprised in flagrante delicto. But she manages to escape with the aid of a strange and aristocratic old man who calls himself Don Valiente.

Don Valiente, having read too many dime westerns, has come to believe that he is a famous gunfighter. He thinks Roz is a young man named Ross, and he takes her under his wing, intending to teach her and to revive "The Code Of The Caballeros."

Don Valiente and Roz embark on a series of comic adventures. But when they come upon a grisly murder scene and the trail of three escaped-convict killers, Roz realizes that her only chance to survive the imminent showdown and to reunite with her true love lies in her ability to separate Don Valiente's madness from the eternal truths in his teaching.

 

The Review:

Let me just say I fell in love with Don Valiente the moment he began speaking!  He is wild, wise and completely committed to living The Code of the Caballeros.  In one very moving scene, after Roz has been forced to kill a man in self defense, she sheds tears for her vanquished foe, wondering why he had to go and put himself in the position where she had to shoot him in self-defense. Don Valiente tells her that the path of the Caballero is full of compassion for the misguided souls he must usher into the next world. "Do you not think that the executioner does not recognise that even those who must pay for their bad deeds with their lives are also human beings, like him, who live, love, and know the beauty of creation?"

 

The wisdom Don Valiente imparts to Roz over the course of the tale is beautiful and moving. His spirituality is deep and is such a part of him that he has an enormous influence on his young apprentice. I myself have taken much of it to heart! His truths are universal, and as she begins to understand what he is trying to teach her, Roz begins to know who she is, and to be comfortable in her own skin.

 

Roz is young, beautifully human and is just a girl who is caught up in something that is so much larger than she is. Her motives are simple and honest. In reading this book, I felt every one of of Roz's trials and sorrows as if they were my own.  She's an unlikely hero, but she is the sort of hero that made the legends of the old west come to life.

 

The bad-guys in this tale are awesome, in part because they aren't all men.  Leta, Kruger and the Beast have few redeeming qualities, and they are quite frightening.  I never knew what they would do next. They are as nasty and evil as any villains I've ever met. 

 

If you are looking for a real adventure, a book that will widen your horizons and will keep you turning the pages into the wee hours of the night, this is definitely the book for you.

Hearts and Minds, Maria V.A. Johnson

 

Today I am reviewing Hearts and Minds, written by Indie author and poet Maria V.A. Johnson.  Various events have conspired this week to put me into a contemplative mood, and that is when I reach for the poetry. I found this to be the perfect book to sooth and refresh my spirit.

THE BLURB: The most important human experiences of love and death are beautifully explored in this anthology. With carefully selected and themed sections: Loss; Love; Lyrical; and Life, the emotions invoked by the words as they flow over the page will touch your heart.

WHAT I LIKED:

I was struck by the beautifully crafted poem, The Chair. In the first few lines, we come to know the elderly person who once owned the chair, and in the final lines we feel the sense of loss the observer feels as they look upon the chair whose owner has now passed on. It is poignant, yet not maudlin, allowing the reader to absorb the scene of the chair, the reading glasses and the emptiness of the room.

Ode to my Bookcase brought a smile to my face, as I could totally relate to the sentiments expressed.  I too love my bookcase and the contents therein!

Bullied is a raw look at the emotional baggage that comes along with being the outcast, the one picked on at school. This one brought tears to my eyes.

This is the perfect book for a contemplative day. The compilation is divided into four sections: Loss, Love, Lyrical and Life, though many of the poems and odes span the boundaries between them all.

Hearts and Minds is available in both paperback and for the Kindle, both are very reasonably priced. Maria V. A. Johnson is a contributing author on the anthology The Other Way IsEssex, and is also a well-known editor, most recently she was the editor of Heart Search – Lost, a paranormal romance by Carlie M.A. Cullen.

The Azalea Assault, Alyse Carlson

The Azalea Assault—first of a series set in Roanoke, Virginia and written by Alyse Carlson under the banner of the Garden Society Mysteries. Book two in the series “The Begonia Bribe” is set to be published in mid 2013.


Published in June of 2012 by Berkley Prime Crime, a division of Penguin Group


The Blurb:

Roanoke, Virginia, is home to some of the country’s most exquisite gardens, and it’s Camellia Harris’ job to promote them. But when an out of towner turns up dead, she discovers there’s no good way to spin murder…

Camellia Harris has achieved a coup in the PR world. The premier national magazine for garden lovers has agreed to feature one of Roanoke’s most spectacular gardens in its pages—and world-famous photographer Jean-Jacques Georges is going to shoot the spread. But at the welcoming party, Jean-Jacques insults several guests, complains that flowers are boring, and gooses almost every woman in the room. When a body is found the next morning, sprawled across the azaleas, it’s almost no surprise that the victim is Jean-Jacques.

With Cam’s brother-in-law blamed for the crime—and her reporter boyfriend, Rob, wanting the scoop—Cam decides to use her skills to solve the murder. Luckily a PR pro like Cam knows how to be nosy…

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What I liked: I liked the people. Cam Harris is believable as the PR manager of the Roanoke Garden Society. She is struggling to keep her job, and when a famous photographer agrees to do the shoot, she manages to convince a high-profile national gardening magazine which features photographs of the finest gardens in the country to do a spread featuring the gardens of a well-known local estate and the home of Neil and Evangeline Patrick, members of the Garden Society.

Cam’s best friend Annie is an artistic, off-the-rails crazy-woman who makes cupcakes for a living (and does quite well), and her boyfriend Rob is a sports reporter who’s looking for the big story to break him out of sports and make his career.

The famous photographer, Jean-Jacques Georges is a first-class jerk. So is Ian Ellis, the Photo Editor, who takes an instant dislike to Annie. In return, she hates him on sight and there is evidence of a history of bad blood between them. When Jean-Jacques is found murdered, Cam manages to get Annie accepted as the photographer on the shoot, leading to some tense moments between her and Ian. A multitude of suspects emerge, and Cam finds out how little she knows about those closest to her. No one is what they seem, and everyone has a motive. Her beloved brother-in-law is arrested, and Cam, loyal to a fault, goes in search of the murderer.

What I noticed: There are a few moments where I found myself confused as to exactly who was talking, but despite that minor glitch there are some shining moments in the dialogue, and plenty of diversionary clues to keep you interested. I found it a fine way to while away my rainy day.

All in all I give this book four healthy stars, and recommend it if you are looking for a good cozy mystery to cuddle up with.

 

Flight of the Griffin, C.M. Gray

Flight of the Griffin - C. M. Gray -

Flightof the Griffin by author C. M. Gray  is a wonderful adventure for young teens but I found it fine for all ages. It is the end times for the world, and the tale opens when Pardigan, the boy- thief, steals a knife and a book from a merchant’s locked cabinet and sets the events into motion. Quint, the leader of his group of friends is the strongest and is a fighter. Loras is the boy-magician whose master died before Loras could learn what he needed to know and who’s magic never works right. Tarent is a dreamer, a storyteller and he keeps the other boys’ spirits up when times are hard.  Orphans all, they live on the abandoned boat, The Griffin.

Along with the knife and other loot from the merchant’s house, Pardigan has also gained a strange, magical talking cat named Mahra.  This cat who changes back and forth from a girl, to an owl, to a cat, depending on her mood, knows how to unlock the secrets of the magical knife and book. They do as they are told to and become the Magician, Thief, Priest and Fighter, four heroes with a task to right the balance of the world which must have equal amounts of Order and Chaos.  They have been chosen to be the Soldiers for Order and to oppose Chaos in a quest that pits them against magic, demons and ‘The Hawk,’ an evil hunter of men.

I really like the way the four boys are real – they are written as boys are, unfinished and not quite men yet, but the promise of their adulthood is there in each of them.  Mahra is an old soul (literally hundreds of years old) and is written as such, but she is also young in many ways.

The travels and adventures the boys and Mahra have are well written and believable.  The scenery and the backgrounds against which the tale takes place are rich and yet not overdone.  I would recommend this book to anyone who simply loves a good adventure.

 

Madame Zee, Pearl Luke

 

Madame Zee

Pearl Luke

HarperCollins/Harper Perennial

365 pages

Kindle Edition: USD $11.52

 

Madame Zee: A Clairvoyant Without Illusions

review by Mary W. Walters

Those of us who cannot foresee the future may be tempted to assume that psychic ability comes with some awareness of what one’s visions mean. This is not necessarily so, as we come to realize early in this fictionalized biography of clairvoyant Madame Zee. It was largely due to a series of misinterpreted visions that Zee, born Mabel Rowbotham in Lancashire, England in 1890, became a central (and generally disliked) figure in the Aquarian Foundation—a spiritualistic cult based on Vancouver Island off Canada’s west coast–and partner to its enigmatic and charismatic leader, Brother XII.

Mabel had the first intimations of her psychic abilities in childhood: she called them “daydreams.” The visions intensified following the tragic deaths of her cherished elder sister Honore when Mabel was only seven, and then of her young brother William a year later. Not only was Mabel bereaved and confused by these deaths, she also felt responsible, and grew into adulthood with a heavy burden of guilt. Honore came to take a central role in Mabel’s “daydreams,” maturing as she would have done if she had lived.

In this rendering of Zee’s life by Pearl Luke – a powerful fiction writer whose first novel, Burning Ground, won the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Novel – Mabel’s approach to her psychic gifts from the beginning is to attempt to understand where they are coming from, as well as what they mean. Isolated by her clairvoyant episodes, throughout her life she also seeks to find others who are like her—with marginal success.

In London, where her family moves when she is 15, she visits the London Academy of Psychical Research, and investigates spiritualism, clairvoyance, reincarnation, and the-then-relatively-new Theosophy movement founded by Helena Blavatsky. When she is 20, she moves with her parents to prairie Canada, where she takes up a position as a teacher, but her beliefs and visions lead to her dismissal. A bad marriage comes to an end in Seattle, and she flees to Pensacola to seek the counsel of her ex father-in-law, Coulson, a Spiritualist.

In Florida, where she assumes the name Madame Zee to mark a new beginning, Mabel experiences companionship, love, more loss and increasing insight into who she is and what her powers will allow her to do–for herself and others. She develops her talent as a visual artist, creating drawings of her visions as well as realistic scenes, and meets her second husband – the attractive but deeply twisted Roger Painter.

Then Madame Zee has a powerful vision involving herself and Brother XII, and she and Roger travel to Vancouver Island to join his colony. (Anyone who has been to the Island will recognize the place: “Where has the moss ever grown so green? Thick luxurious towels of it wrap everything in sight. It covers the boulders at the top of the embankment and clings to mammoth fir trees surrounded by yet more mosses, pea-green foreground for a panorama that slopes steeply down to even more green, the tops of trees poking through wisps of fog parted like tossed veils over emerald waters”).

Now Zee is plunged into the world of Brother XII and the cult that grew around his charisma and apparent mystic capabilities in the late 1920s, when he established colonies in Cedar-By-The-Sea and on Valdes Island. She rises in power through the ranks of his disintegrating empire to a point that will both rescue her and drive her toward destruction. Luke’s storytelling powers are acute, allowing us to relate utterly to Madame Zee’s evolution: “Whenever she reflects [ . . . ] on becoming that which is herself, she understands clearly what [Brother XII’s writing] means for about a fifth of a second before the meaning curls away from her again, like a ribbon curling in a gust of air.”

 In the notes that follow the text of Madame Zee (interesting to all readers and particularly useful to reading/study groups), the author explains that one of her purposes in writing the novel was to try to figure out why the real Madame Zee became a figure who was so disliked in the Aquarian Foundation. Part of the reason was certainly the self-protective and aloof personality that developed in response to her past tragedies and abuses—not to mention the difficult situation in which she found herself once she reached the Island and began to really get to know Brother XII. 

But Madame Zee was also isolated from others by her gifts, and as a writer I found much in her to which I could relate. What might be seen by others as haughtiness, distance and abruptness was no doubt an effort to protect her essential self, and to hide the layers of disappointment when she thought she’d found someone to whom she would be able to relate, only to have her hopes dashed each time yet again.

Madame Zee, first published by HarperCollins in 2007 and now available as an ebook, covers huge swaths of territory geographically, and represents dozens of characters keenly and succinctly. But the book is also thematically vast – touching on issues that range from early 20^th century feminism, to religion, spirituality and the nature of psychic powers, to the meaning of life, to the quality of relationships among women and of those between women and men, to drug dependency, to the power of charismatics, the evolution of cults, and more.

Always, and above all else, Madame Zee is a beautifully written story that will draw you along from one satisfying scene to another. And unless you also have the gift of foresight, each new adventure in Zee’s life will come as a complete surprise.

 

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Todays guest reviewer, Mary W. Walters  is an award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction. Most recently she published the stylish and witty novel, ‘The Whole Clove Diet’. She is a highly acclaimed editor of books, academic articles, grant proposals, papers, theses, essays and blogs. She is a writing coach, and teaches academics, non-profit organizations and artists how to write really effective grant applications. Mary also blogs about what she knows and what she thinks on her blog, The Militant Writer.

 

The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling

The Casual Vacancy

J. K. Rowling is an extremely strong writer, and is brilliant at crafting and peopling her tales. First off, you need to set aside aside Harry Potter and read this book as if it were the only work of hers you’ve ever read.  If you go into this expecting Hogwarts and all the gang reinvented, you will be disappointed. You'll love or hate this book on the strength of her work, not because it is part of a mega-phenomenom. This tale is about ordinary people, living rather mundane lives. Their politics are mundane, their motives are the usual trifling things which motivate petty people. These are not always nice people.  That said, I would recommend this book to those who read literary fiction. This is an adult book, for adult readers.

Councilman Barry Fairbane dies unexpectedly, and this leaves a vacancy on the town council, leaving the little town of Pagford in shock.

Pagford is, on the surface, a postcard English village, complete with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but beneath the surface, the citizens cope with poverty, drug abuse, child abuse, rape, and mental illness along with all the social illnesses which lie hidden under the mask of civility in most communities. Rowling explores this underbelly with sharp wit, cutting, sarcastic humor and sly social commentary.

The empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the focus of an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations. The characters are well drawn and in true Rowling style, you see them fully before you, warts and all.  They curse, they commit terrible crimes and they are violent toward each other in ways that are both heinous and reprehensible. The youth curse, commit crimes and everything else real youth regrettably do. There are raw, violent scenes  depicted in this tale, and each scene is believable and drew me in. 

The reason I can only give this book four out of five stars is there are some places where it is a bit slow; but I stuck with it through those few places and I’m glad I did.

Over all this is a good effort, and shows Rowling’s understanding of human nature. HOWEVER -  I was unimpressed with the price of the Kindle download, and feel that for most people it would be a better investment to wait and buy the book as a paperback when it comes out, because at $17.99 per download it is most definitely overpriced.

A Killing Tide by P. J. Alderman

This contemporary Columbia River thriller, A Killing Tide, was a RITA finalist and climbed the charts to stay on the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists for eight weeks. I can tell you why – this book grips you from the first page.

A Killing Tide by indie author P. J. Alderman takes place in the small Oregon city of Astoria; a town I am quite familiar with. With simple strokes, she evokes the atmosphere of the coastal town, the eternal grayness and eternal rain. Based in Astoria, Oregon, Columbia River Bar Pilots were established in 1846 to ensure the safety of ships, crews and cargoes crossing the treacherous Columbia River Bar, which is recognized as one of the most dangerous and challenging navigated stretches of water in the world. The men and women who fish those waters are also a rare breed.

(Kasmira) Kaz Jorgensen was once a well-known local fisher-woman, and has recently returned to Astoria and fishing after a long absence from fishing as financial a consultant in San Francisco. Her best friend had called her, telling her there was trouble with her brother Gary, but not what the trouble was. She has not been able to talk much to him, due to having to be out on her own boat, the Kasmira B, and things are somewhat distant between them.

Kaz has not been welcomed back with open arms by her brother or the community at large.  Having just lost half her pots and most of her catch to a vandal at sea, she brings her boat in late. She arrives at the Redemption, a tavern frequented by the local fishers, and meets up with her best friend, Detective Lucy McGuire who is also her brother’s girlfriend. Also eating dinner in the Redemption is the new fire chief, Michael Chapman. Just hired from Boston, Chapman is a man with a history, which comes out as the story progresses.

That evening in the Redemption, Michael witnesses Kaz trying to break up a violent disagreement between Kaz’s brother Gary and his friend, Chuck. Because she is no longer considered a member of the community for reasons which gradually emerge. Everyone warns Kaz to stay out of ‘it’; indicating to her that whatever is going on between Chuck and Gary is big and it involves the whole fishing community. Michael Chapman intervenes, to Kaz’s irritated chagrin.

That night a friend, Ken Lundquist, is murdered; a family man who is also a crewman on her brother’s boat, the Anna Marie. Gary, a vet suffering from post-traumatic-stress syndrome, is immediately suspected of murdering him and committing arson to burn his boat to cover it up. Making things worse, Gary has vanished. Police Chief Jim Sykes, a man with political ambitions, is hot on Gary’s trail, sure he is the culprit.  Michael, as fire-marshal, is leaping to no conclusions, and is handling the investigation his own way.

This is an intense tale of greed and small-town lust for power and easy money.  Each and every character is fully fleshed out and you immediately like or dislike them with one exception.  Jim Sykes remains somewhat of an enigma right up to the end.

The attraction between Kaz and Michael Chapman is part of what makes this tale so engrossing.  The possibility of their romance is a thread which weaves in and out of the tapestry that is this mystery.  Right up to the end, I was unsure as to whom the culprit was and the ending is a thrilling as any you could ask for.

First published in 2006, A Killing Tide was my introduction to P.J. Alderman’s work. She has become one of my go-to mystery writers, and I have enjoyed everything she has written.

Bubba and the 12 Deadly Days of Christmas by C.L. Bevill

Bubba and the 12 Deadly Days of Christmas by C.L. Bevill is a laugh-fest from page one.

Bubba Snoddy and the good folks in his small town of Pegramville, Texas are celebrating a sunny Christmas festival, complete with a parade and candy-cane swirl martinis.  Unbeknownst to Sheriff John Headrick, the Pegramville Women’s Club has donated the decorations for his office using funds raised by Bubba Snoddy’s mother, Miz Demetrice’s illegal gambling ring. Even Bubba’s basset hound, precious, is dressed for season, in her special doggy antlers. Best of all, the woman of Bubba’s dreams, Deputy Willodean Gray is, upon occasion, giving Bubba an encouraging smile.

Bubba’s already complex life has become even more complicated by the fact he has family visiting for the holidays from Louisiana, along with a maiden aunt from Dallas. The youngest Snoddy, ten year old Brownie is a riot, as is the cook-housekeeper, Miz Adelia.  Miz Demetrice is terrified her relatives-by –marriage are going to rip-off the tattered treasures of infamous, broken-down Snoddy Mansion; but still felt compelled to invite them anyway. Brownie is the son of Bubba’s late father’s now deceased younger brother.  Beauregard died in prison while serving ten to twenty for bank robbery. Bubba feels sure Brownie didn’t inherit a lot of intelligence, as Uncle Beau had robbed a bank next to a police station during lunch hour.  His other relatives, Fudge and Virtna Snoddy are adept at carrying all sorts of possessions out to their truck, and he has become adept at intercepting them.

Unfortunately, Bubba finds another dead body – yes he had apparently found one previously which had caused him no end of trouble before the tale picks up - and this time it’s a man in a Santa Suit. He turns out to be Steve Killebrew, a habitually dishonest auto mechanic. Words had passed between him and Bubba regarding a defective fuel pump. Once again, Bubba is suspected of murder, thus scotching his plans for Deputy Willodean.

Bubba’s hilarious adventures kept me wondering right up to the last chapter, and I was laughing all the way. Bubba’s family creates no end of trouble for him and his rival, deputy sheriff Big Joe, really wants to send him away for life, but Sheriff John manages to keep things on track.

By page eight I was so involved with these wonderful people that I couldn’t be bothered to cook a meal until the book was done. Though there is a backstory, this book is the first in the series, and while it finishes up this mystery, they are left with another to solve in the next book, Bubba and the Missing Woman.  This tale is unabashedly folksy, and right on the money for a rainy-day book.

All of C.L. Bevill’s books are available at both Amazon.com for the Kindle and Barnes and Noble for the Nook; and this one was listed at the fine price of .99, as are the follow-up tales in this series.  I recommend it to anyone who loves a cozy mystery with violent overtones, and peopled with characters you want to know!

UPDATE:  Since publishing this post  I have  discovered that this is indeed the second book in the series, the first of which is 'Bubba and the Dead Woman' .  I must say this explains the heavy backstory, and I now am off to read it!  This just proves that C.L. Bevill's work stands alone or as as a series, which is what I am always looking for in a cozy read.  Awesome!

 

 

The Last Call by George Wier

The Last Call, book one in the Bill Travis Mystery series is an interesting take on the classic hardboiled detective action tale.  Author George Wier has created a cast of characters who immediately draw you in, and from page one you care about their problems.

The hero, investment-advisor Bill Travis, is having a mid-life crisis.  We never really find out exactly what area of investment consulting Bill works in, other than it is for extremely sensitive clients who need help with investing large amounts of cash and property just short of money laundering;  keeping good people out of bad trouble. In the course of his work he's made many friends, a lot of of whom owe Bill some rather large favors.

On the day this tale begins, we find Bill in in traffic on his way to the office.  As he is negotiating the rush-hour traffic, he finds himself playing tag with an attractive blonde.  She wins. cutting him off and making a fine start to his Monday.

Lo and behold, his first appointment of the day is the blonde from the traffic-jam; her name is Julie Simmons and she is in trouble.  She has crossed a bad man, a north-Texas liquor baron, named Archie Carpin and has taken a VERY large sum of money from him and hidden it.  She turns to Bill for help; he tells her he doesn't deal with stolen money.  Still, he finds himself involved both physically and emotionally and the next thing he knows, he is trying to help her get her mess straightened out.

Bill turns to Hank, an old client and a friend who has a passing love of explosives.  Hank has a friend, Dock (with a k) who also gets involved.  Somehow, Julie forgets to mention that two of Carpin's henchmen, Lefty and Carl are following them until they are outside Dock's house.  After the shooting is over and Lefty and Carl have been driven off,  the  three men find themselves hiding Julie. During the course of their adventures they rescue an 8 year old girl, Keesha and find her a good home.

The action is non-stop, keeping you turning the pages to see what is going to happen next.  Several times the truth is both revealed and hidden in the nightmares Bill suffers from. Not everyone survives the action in this thriller.  When one of the characters died, I found tears in my eyes. Julie is a cypher - you don't really know what to make of her until the end. Nothing is predictable, and yet nothing is random.  The plot makes complete and perfect sense, and the story, as it unfolds, is a piece of Texas history, with a certain amount of license taken in regard to the truth. 

I will definitely be reading the next book in the Bill Travis Series,  Capitol Offense.  George Wier is the author of 14 books and has several more currently in the works.  With The Last Call as my introduction to his work, he has become one of my favorite authors!



Ednor Scardens, Kathleen Barker

Book 1 of the Charm City Chronicles,  Ednor Scardens by Kathleen Barker takes place in Baltimore in the nineteen sixties. The title is a play on words; a twist on the name of the neighborhood in which the protagonist, Kate Fitzgerald and her friends live: Ednor Gardens. The story begins as Kate and her chums are leaving the sixth grade in their coed parochial school. Kate comes from a working class catholic family, she and her mother live with her grandmother, with no father in the home; he was killed in the service before she was born.

Kate has developed breasts, and as such she is the envy of all her girlfriends, and the object of scrutiny by all the boys. She lives with her mother and grandmother, in a loving and supportive family, and has the usual problems and worries that girls of that age have. She develops a crush on both Gabe and Michael, who just happen to be brothers. During her last years at her coed school a new priest joins the faculty; one who is a danger both to boys and to girls.

Boys are never-ending source of mystery and trouble for Kate.  There is plenty of the real-life misbehaving which I remember in my own teen years, and the general partying and abuse of alcohol among her and her set of friends is much as I remember in my small town set of friends.

This is not by any means simply a novel of fond reminiscence, however – Ednor Scardens deals with the issues which plague girls today – the temptations and pitfalls of life are trans-generational.  Teenage girls and boys all struggle with the desire to remain chaste, and yet they struggle with their own physical changes and the wants and needs which those changes bring with them. Each teenager deals with those issues in their own way, and Kate’s personal struggles make for a wonderful coming of age tale.

The small dramas which happen in their daily life are every bit as entertaining as are the larger dramas; and are very real in the way they are portrayed. There is so much humor and love between Kate and her friends that the reader lives the story with them. The dark side of this story (and there IS a dark side), is handled very well.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a well-crafted romance. You won't be able to put it down until you have reached the end!  Kathleen Barker has just published the second book in the Charm City Chronicles series, The Body War.

Sax in the Suburb, Marilyn Rucker

Todays review is for Sax in the Suburb, by Marilyn Rucker, and is brought to us courtesy of Alison DeLuca, whose blog, 'Fresh Pot of Tea' is one of my favorites.

There is something about books that makes me hungry. The act of reading just seems to go naturally with a pot of tea, of course, as well as a plate of scones and some finger sandwiches. There are books out there that strengthen this connection. One obvious culprit is Dickens. His characters are always going off on picnics complete with pork pies, cold cider, and rounds of cheese. One of my favorite descriptions of his is his "curiously light wine, with a curiously heavy cake." Another book that makes me hungry is Miranda Warning. I'm almost at the end (reading it slowly so it will last; I'm going to hate being finished) and I love the gorgeous descriptions of food. The book, a murder mystery, is set in Texas, so there is plenty of RC cola, banana whoopie pies, as well as buttery croissants and delicious coffee drinks.

Miranda, the main character, is just as delicious. She is a bit overweight (who wouldn't be, with all that food) and works in a run down law office where her boss often falls asleep on the floor. She has to learn to maneuver her rolling chair carefully so she won't squash his hand. She is also a sax player in a local band, and one of her band mates gets bumped off in the beginning. The way that Miranda investigates the murder is funny and well written and completely believable. Oh, and there's a romance, too, and it is delicious as well. To be honest, I'm not a huge murder mystery fan, but I'm enjoying this book with a great deal of delight. It should be savored, like a whoopie pie, for its flavor and creamy filling.

Thank you for this delicious review. Alison Deluca is the author of 'The Crown Phoenix Series', a wonderful classic series of YA adventures.

The Woman Upstairs, Mary W. Walters

First published in 1989, The Woman Upstairs written by Mary W.Walters is a timeless tale of a family's descent into dysfunction and estrangement. A young woman, Diana Guthrie, has been told that her estranged mother is dying. Neither her mother nor her brother has told her this, but a friend of the family has taken it upon himself to tell her, believing that it is the right thing to do. Diana makes the arduous drive from Edmonton, Alberta to well-heeled Donellon, Ontario, with no clear idea of why she is going to where she is not wanted, and not knowing what she will do when she gets there.


Diana's mother's family, the Leavenworths, had long been the pre-eminent family in Donellon society, and her mother and grandmother never let her forget that. Her haughty, disdainful grandmother despised Diana's father, whose parents were from the United States, sneering at him and his textile factory in Donellon as being low-class and generally treating him despicably.


Grandmother despised the Guthrie Textile Factory for its ugliness, its base origins and considered it to be a blight on the landscape. She was frank in her opinion that her daughter married far beneath herself.


Despite Grandmother's disdain of her husband, Diana's own mother insisted that Grandmother live with them, against her husband's earnest wishes. Grandmother is not simply hateful to Diana's father. She also open in her intense dislike of Diana, the child of six years of age who did not fit into the Leavenworth mold. From the moment her grandmother moves in with them, the Guthrie marriage begins to deteriorate, and Diana's childhood becomes an endless cycle of guilt and recrimination.


All through her school years, Diana is both admired and despised for her connection to the Guthrie Textiles, as her father is the largest employer in Donellon. Her own grandmother's vocal disdain was perhaps a part of that, giving the local aristocracy permission to feel somehow more upper-class than someone whose wealth is both new and foreign. She has few close friends and is awkward and unsure of herself as she traverses the high school years.


There are many open wounds in Diana's relationship with her mother, and the news that her mother is dying sends Diana into an emotional tailspin, which she desperately tries to keep contained under the smooth veneer that, if she only knew it, is the mark of the women in her family.


Her younger brother, Mitchell, still lives with their mother, and is possessed of an extremely warped view of the situation. He is angry and resentful of Diana, telling her frankly that she is not welcome there. He arrogantly orders her to stay away from their mother. Indeed, Diana does hesitate to go upstairs to her mother’s room, but that is for reasons of her own.


The story of what lies between Diana and her mother unfolds over the space of several days, during which she lurks downstairs, unwilling to go upstairs to her dying mother, and unable to leave. Other relationships which had been poisoned as a by-product of the Guthrie family situation come to light and are examined for the first time in years.


As a young child, her relationship with her mother was destroyed by her grandmother, whose hateful actions go unpunished, while Diana's punishments for natural childish behaviors are never-ending.


Guilt, abandonment and death form the watershed moments in Diana's childhood. Her father breaks under the extreme pressure of living with his mother-in-law, and abandons his family, which cuts the young Diana deeply.


The suicide of Noel, the boy she loved, drives her to leave Donellon under a cloud of hate and suspicion. Many people blame Diana for his death. The story of what really happened, and what lies between three generations of women in one family is compelling and impossible to put down.


The characters are clearly drawn and environment in which they live is rich and vivid.  I highly recommend this classic book, as either an e-book or as a paperback.


Other books by Mary W. Walters include several technical books and novels, including  The Whole Clove Diet, a novel that was just published in March of 2012, and is soon to be available as a Kindle download.

I guarantee that I will be buying that book!