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Sunday, October 28, 2012

The Rx Factor


The Rx Factor by J. Thomas Shaw

Ryan Matthews was a brilliant man, trying to develop a cure for ovarian cancer, which his wife had.  Jordan Carver also wanted to help others with their diseases, but was tired of the red tape and bureaucracy of the FDA and others.

When you have a loved one, how much are you willing to spend to lengthen their life?  Would you be willing to spend millions of dollars, or go to clinics outside of the United States?  For those that have the money, yes, yes, they would spend whatever it and do whatever it takes.

If you are a major drug company, how far are you willing to go to see others fail?

This story is chilling to see what lengths people will go to be rich and powerful, for whatever their reasons, or for “the greater good of mankind”.  So many characters in such different levels of society, all interacting in some way or another.  Murder, mystery, suspense, cover-ups and a great who-done-it (or actually who is in charge and making the decisions).  Page after page of non-stop reading that you just can’t put down.  Definitely a must read.  Even if it is a fictional writing, you can’t help but wonder how much could be true.

Grim



Grim by Joseph Spencer


Heath Grim was by all means a beast.  A war veteran with scars on his face, he was rarely seen by any without his mask.  His best friend, Craig, had been dead two years, but they continued to have conversations in Heath’s head.

Detective Adam White, the White Knight, was the savior come to town, arresting those criminals and making the city streets safer for all.  Unfortunately, Cyrus Black was not a fan of the detective, most of the city was on his payroll or under his rule in some form or another, including Mayor Terry Sandburg.

When murders began happening again, similar to those from years ago, the White Knight kept on fighting crime, especially when his wife was killed by what was called an ape mask.  Heath Grim also fought for justice, but in his own way.  And Cyrus Black repeated said “What Cyrus wants, Cyrus gets”, no matter how or who gets in the way.

Heath has his own past that the reader gets to know, a not at all pleasant past.  Vengeance has a price, but who is willing to pay that price, and what price for your soul?

Good mix of characters, each with their own secrets and past.  Keeps the reader turning the pages to see how it is all connected.  Although not too graphic or gory, it is a story of the deepest and darkest of souls.

Scutchamer Knob


Scutchamer Knob by Keith David Cooley

Set in England in the sixties when a different sort of music was happening, and so were the drugs.  Three friends who like to play music meet George and Cyn, and a new group if formed.  During their trials, practices and rehearsals, the story moves with how they get along, and don’t get along, but with a mysterious murder of a young girl at the Knob.  A strange individual comments along the way with obeying his “Master”, never quite knowing how he fits into the story, or who he is.

So many characters of all sorts, the rich George who likes everything his way, the individuals like Trevor, Terry and Roy who just wanted to play music together, the hippies, the drug dealers, etc.  The story works well with them learning with each other, seeing things evolving with the music changes that were happening in the 60’s.

Not until the end do you learn who the mysterious individual who serves his Master is revealed.  Very detailed about the feel of the music and the feel of the drugs, and how they sometimes play a role with each other.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Corktown



Corktown by Ty Hutchinson


If you are a fan of Ty Hutchinson, here’s another great read.  If you don’t know Ty Hutchinson yet, you should read this one.

FBI Agent Abby Kane is good at her job.  So much so that Detroit has asked her and her partner Agent Trey Wilkinson to come and help solve a series of murders that are happening in the city.  A series of murder that have the same M.O. as murders that were done years ago, except that they had convicted someone for those, and he was serving his time in prison, so how could he be doing these new murders?  Is it a copycat?

This is not a who-done-it, as the reader finds out who is responsible for the murders early on, just the detectives don’t know who did it.  This is a why, how and how far does it go?  Work along with Abby and Trey as they try to find out the killer.  Everyone turn they take seems to be shot down, previous files with no notes, no one willing to talk to them about the truth, if they are even still alive.  How far does this go?  As Abby was told, this is bigger than you can imagine.

Short chapters make it an easy read, but you’ll want to keep turning the pages to get to the end.  You’ll feel for Abby and every move she makes.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Flame Moon


Flame Moon by K.J. Jackson

Skye was suddenly awakened by a hulk of a man.  Only problem was, she had no memory.  A bad case of amnesia left her not knowing who she was, where she way, why she was or how she came to be by a river.  After a time, bits and pieces of fragments of her memory came back, a stabbing, being underwater with her sister and nearly drowning.  With the help and support of Aiden, the hulk of a man who rescued her from the river, Charlotte and Triaten, they helped her deal day to day to try to remember her past and learn about the place she was now in, where things and people are not what they seem.

A good vs evil, Gods and Goddesses story.  Not too many characters, so it was easy to follow, but written for you to understand each of them.  Right amount of descriptions to picture you are right there with them.  Just enough suspense to see if Skye ever learns who she really was and why the warrior training Aiden was teaching her.  Very minor spelling/grammer/structure issues.  Without giving away the ending, overall a very good read.

Two Weeks in the South of France



Two Weeks in the South of France by David Christie


Murder, mystery, a wife in the United States and a girlfriend/mistress in France, who resembles the wife.  When Chris gets a call from his mother he needs to go to France to claim the body of his father, a father he barely knew, he finds he knew even less about him the more time he spent there.

A very wealthy man and business partner, Mark Voss was murdered in his hotel room, all because various groups were searching for a document he had been paid to find.  A document that could potentially ruin the lives of numerous people.  Luckily, Chris has the help of his father’s business partner, another very wealthy man with a lot of connections.

In the process of trying to find who killed his father was why, Chris is nearly killed himself.  Everyone is trying to keep his safe, telling him to go home as soon as the funeral arrangements are completed.  But Chris is more determined than that.  Spend the two weeks with Chris and find out the truth.

Very good who-done-it.  What was this important document, although you are never told how it came to be in his possession.  Certain parts seemed to be skimmed over, while others went into great detail.  Good mix of characters, even I was not sure who to trust, expecting twists and turns along the way.  Very minimal grammer/sentence/missing words structure that could have easily been corrected.  Although unrealistic that this could have been solved in such a short time frame, it was still an enjoyable read.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Guillermina and the Rose


Guillermina and the Rose by Don Cush

Robert Nielsen was to be on a business trip.  When the meeting needed to be postponed, he decided to spend the day in Tijuana where he had visited once before.  What he saw that day changed his life forever.  The orphanage run by nuns, called the Casa, was such a place of horror.  Children living in near squalor, very little clothes or food, and nothing but work, chores and schooling all day, or so Bob thought.  One special little girl, Guillermina, a very sickly girl, brought life back to Bob Nielsen.

Who would have thought an orphanage run by nuns would be a front for child pornography and prostitution.  Never in Bob’s wildest imagination could he have thought this.  After bringing a friend of his to visit the Casa, his friend warned him there was more going on than meets the eye.

After learning some of the truth, Bob decided he wanted to legally adopt Guillermina, and found a way to do so, no matter what he needed to do.

What a thoroughly heart-wrenching story.  Living in middle class American, we know there are those in the world who are in dire need of food, clothing, medicine, etc.  But what Bob chose to do to is more than what most of us would do.  The story has you pulled in from the very beginning.  The characters are so unique, both good and evil.  the writing puts you right there with them.  A must read for all.