Book review - The Stolen Manuscript by Ray E. Spencer

Tim Tender, the main protagonist, had studied criminology at college, which is where he learned to unravel mysteries. He enjoys reading detective novels by Raymond Chandler and aspires to be a Private Investigator. The body of prize-winning writer Jake Venom has turned up, and the manuscript he had gone out to post has disappeared! Mrs. Vicki Venom employs Tim to solve the crime. However, not only did Vicki not report her husband missing for two days she also did not seem that upset or surprised at her husband's murder. Who does Vicki fly off to stay with once the funeral plans are in place? Why was there a dictionary with highlighted words placed on Jake's body? Furthermore, what do these words spell out? 

I love Raymond Chandler's books, and this is written in a similar vein. It was very clever how the author hinted at writers of detective novels, their books, and films in this genre. For instance, he names his main character Tim Tender after the film Tender Nightmare. Tim likes to dress like Philip Marlowe, and this is remarked on several times in the book. However, because the author puts so many quotes and references in the book, it felt like he was reviewing these books rather than writing his own. Ray E. Spencer needs to concentrate on his own ideas! 

More things that I disliked about this book are that Spencer fills it with unnecessary detail. When the characters go to restaurants, we learn very little from their conversations, but we know every minute detail about the food, the waitress, and the decor. Due to this, I kept losing track of the story and had to reread chapters, making the book a slow and tedious read! Also, I didn't particularly appreciate that there were many unnecessary conversations. This book would be much more enjoyable if the author cut down on all the boring conversations and used them to give details that help move the story along. I read the Kindle book, which has yet to be edited or proofread, as I found grammar errors throughout! There are also details in the book which have not been checked for accuracy, such as the ashes from a cremation being collected the same day for scattering; this could not possibly happen! 

Due to all the negatives and the fact that I did not enjoy The Stolen Manuscript by Ray E. Spencer, I give a rating of 1 out of 5 stars. Spencer needs to rewrite this book and get a professional to thoroughly edit and proofread the new copy before publishing!

Kindle book review - The face of Fear by R. J. Torbert

Deborah is the daughter of William Lance, a self-made millionaire. Since her mother died when she was thirteen, there have been just the two of them, which has made her father very protective of her. Deborah is now twenty-six and in a relationship with her father's assistant Robert Simpson. William is uneasy because of the big age gap but otherwise is pleased for the couple. One Saturday, Deborah meets William for lunch before he sees her drive onto the Bridgeport Cross Island Ferry. She is due to meet up with her best friend, Patty Saunders, for dinner and a concert. Deborah never arrives!

As the ferry leaves the dock, a stranger punches Deborah in the face and knocks her out. Two men with him help put her in the boot of his car. There are no clues, and nobody sees this happen. Detectives Powers and Johnson have never met Deborah, but she becomes a big part of their lives as they work hard to find her before the kidnapper's deadline. Detective Powers thinks he knows how the kidnapping occurred and enlists friends and colleagues to put his theory to the test. Unfortunately, it all goes horribly wrong! Why has Deborah been kidnapped? Is Robert Simpson hiding a secret? Moreover, who is Ghostface? Read The Face of Fear by R. J. Torbert to find answers to these questions and solve the mystery.

I disliked lots of things about this book. Torbert repeats himself throughout. For example, on page fifteen, Torbert writes that Joey constantly walks around the restaurant keeping an eye on the staff and customers. Two lines further on, he says that Joey was famous for constantly walking around the restaurant, making sure everything was running smoothly. This happens regularly throughout The Face of Fear, and I struggled to finish the book. Because of the repetitions, the story is slow to move on and becomes boring! 

I enjoyed the banter between Powers and Johnson, which added a touch of humor. The concept for this complicated story is excellent but could have been better executed and needs a professional editor and proofreader to knock it into shape. I found mistakes on most pages, sentences that ran on, spelling errors, and the wrong grammar. Torbert changes his mind on details constantly. For example, on page two hundred and seventy-three, Detective Johnson meets a friend's dog for the first time, and while petting her, he sees her dog tag, which reads Minty, and in the same sentence, Torbert writes that the detective says '"Hey, Monty!" There are also huge mistakes in a chapter entitled 'Saturday, June 25th' where everyone refers to the day as Sunday! 

I rate The Face of Fear by R. J. Torbert 1 out of 5. I give it one point because the ending was unexpected, and I was surprised when I discovered who Ghostface was! I have taken four points away due to all the errors I have already mentioned and the fact that many supporting characters are unnecessary. They are very one-dimensional and do not add anything to the story. I also found the main characters very stereotyped and predictable. 

Once all the mistakes have been corrected, The Face of Fear will be an engaging and exciting read. But as it stands, I would not recommend it to anyone; however, if you enjoy thrillers involving crime, murder, and detectives and can ignore the errors, then you would enjoy this book. There are swearing and sexual references, so it would be best suited to adults.

Book Review - The trafficking Murders by Brian O'Hare

Lin Hui is studying at Queen's University but has amassed many expensive items; after a threatening phone call, she packs a bag and walks out of her life. How does a scholarship student from China have so many expensive clothes, shoes, handbags, and pieces of jewelry? 

Alina Balauru is a teenager living in Romania with her parents. Their farm is barren, and they are lucky to get a few vegetables daily from the dry earth. The family lives on cheap bones and makes soup with whatever they can harvest. They are malnourished, but other work is scarce. When a smartly dressed stranger stops his car to ask for directions and suggests he may be able to find Alina work in the UK, the family sees this as their salvation. 

In Ireland, three days later, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan is called out to a house where the body of a young woman has been found. A syringe is lying near the body. However, it is unclear whether she has overdosed or been murdered. Where do Lin and Alina fit into this scenario? Is the body one of these girls? Is it a suicide or murder? Did Lin or Alina assist in the death? Read The Trafficking Murders by Brian O'Hare to find the answers to these questions.

At the beginning of the book, there is a list of the characters in this story with details of any quirks they might have. There is also a list of acronyms used by the Police in Northern Ireland. I found these lists a convenient reference while reading The Trafficking Murders by Brian O'Hare. I enjoyed this absorbing novel. O'Hare has extensively researched people trafficking in Northern Ireland, evident in The Trafficking Murders O'Hare's fifth book in The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series. 

Every day, worldwide, girls and young women go missing. Vile, sadistic, and evil people force these girls into prostitution and domestic slavery. O'Hare intertwines his research on trafficking with his unique style of storytelling. I felt a range of emotions but especially anger towards the men who use these women as commodities and deep sadness for the women whose lives are ruined. 

I would recommend The Trafficking Murders by Brian O'Hare to adults who enjoy murder mysteries and crime thrillers. I enjoyed that there are lots of twists and turns which keep you guessing, but by the end of the book, everything has been explained, and there are no loose ends. 

I want to give The Trafficking Murders 5 out of 5 stars. There are some grammatical errors, but they did not spoil my enjoyment. I disliked nothing about this book; I immersed myself in Brian O'Hare's exceptional edge-of-the-seat crime thriller. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

I want to thank Brian O'Hare for a copy of The Trafficking Murders in exchange for my honest and impartial review. You can see more of my reviews here http://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-tara-d-morgan.html

Audio book review - 1979 by Val McDermid

 

1979 is the first instalment in the Allie Burns series set against the bustling backdrop of nineteen-seventies Glasgow. The story introduces us to Allie Burns. Allie is a young journalist whose investigative work leads her into a world of murder, corruption and terror. It is January nineteen seventy-nine. The year has brought strikes, blizzards, political unrest and power cuts. However, the bad news is a chance for Allie to move on from the "women's stories" to which the editors at the Scottish daily The Clarion have confined her. She becomes close friends with budding investigative journalist Danny Sullivan. Together, they uncover a story of international tax fraud involving Scots ultranationalists who plan to cause mayhem ahead of a referendum on breaking away from the UK. Danny and Allie's stories quickly get attention and create enemies for the two young reporters. As they get closer to breaking the news, will Allie and Danny find their lives on the line? Read 1979 by Val McDermid to find out.

Drawing on McDermid's experiences as a young journalist, 1979 is redolent of the thundering presses, hammering typewriters, and wreaths of the smoke of the Clarion newsroom. It is the latest suspenseful addition to McDermid's crime pantheon. It is compulsive, enthralling, and atmospheric. It not only looks at crime and the city's gritty underbelly but also touches on the changes in technology, fashion and music. The novel explores class, gender, sexuality, and politics alongside a high-stakes investigation into corruption and unrest in Glasgow in the Seventies. A riveting, captivating, and propulsive start to a series that shows much promise.

I was surprised to read that in Scotland it was still illegal for people to be gay until 1981. I liked the way McDermid dealt with the fact that Danny was gay and how that had an effect on his life.

I listened to the audiobook, which is eleven hours and six minutes long. Sadly the thing I disliked about this audiobook was the fact that the reader, Katie Leung, often mispronounced words. I thought this was because she is Scottish and the book is set in Scotland, but having researched the words, they should be pronounced the same as in England.

I want to give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It is an exciting read, but the ending is disappointing, and the Allie I got to know whilst listening to the audiobook would not have jumped into bed with Rhona after hearing that her best friend Danny had been murdered. I am also taking one star off for the mispronunciation of the reader as this should have been picked up on and is as bad as grammar and spelling errors in a print book!

Book Review - Clean Kill by Nick Everard

 

Clean Kill by Nick Everard revolves around several stories. John Gault whose wife Jenny has recently died of cancer has just started a new relationship with Sarah Hall. The husband of the latter committed suicide a year ago. John has a son Tom who, together with his wife, Emma, has taken over the running of the family farm. John is only fifty-five but has spare time on his hands now. Writing a murder mystery is something he has always wanted to do, and encouraged by Sarah, he begins.

Carl Barrow, a self-made millionaire who made his money through nefarious ways, is described as a wide boy. He has just been released from prison and has been on remand for over a month. His wife Cynthia is displeased when he is released at the trial, and she walks out. A Panorama investigation is shown on BBC, all about Carl's strange acquittal. The programme gives John the idea that his book will be about someone who kills a stranger just because they have heard about them in the news and have come to hate them.

Carl begins to retaliate against the people involved in the documentary. The BBC arrange round-the-clock protection for everyone. Why do the protectors suddenly walk out? How is Carl connected to Sarah's husband's suicide? What lengths will John and Sarah go to get the book written? 

I like Nick Everard's excellent plot and subplots woven into the story. It could have been confusing with so many characters in Clean Kill, but Everard brings them all to life with his descriptions. He has done a great job of mixing several stories without causing any confusion, and I like how the book progresses. I particularly liked how Nick Everard drip-feeds the reader on how the characters tie up. I enjoyed the way John and Sarah dissect every part of the novel John is writing. In chapter thirteen, John and Sarah discuss what gun would be best to use and take an A.410 gun and some old tins of paint up to the spinney. Everard has researched guns thoroughly. 

There is swearing in Clean Kill by Nick Everard. However, it is always appropriate to the character in the story and not used unnecessarily. For example, on page seventy-six, "You have made a friend of mine very angry. You fucked around with his life, so now he's fucked around with yours. Don't do it again, or it'll be worse."

One of my criticisms is that John has only been a widower for two months and had been happily married to Jenny for twenty-nine years prior to her death. I do not think anyone could get over their grief that quickly! The editing lets this great book down as I found several grammatical errors and confusion on page 192 quote, "The cheap new trainers he'd bought for what he termed "the event" were already in the back of the Volvo" it was Sarah who bought the trainers, not John!

I want to rate Clean Kill 4 out of 5 stars due to the errors. I am really disappointed that I had to reduce a star as Clean Kill is an entertaining page-turner with a satisfying ending. This book is an easy read. However, it keeps you on your toes, turning the pages to discover what will happen next and wondering where the story will lead at the climax. 

I would recommend Clean Kill by Nick Everard to adults who enjoy a well-thought-out whodunnit with lots of twists, turns, and surprises. There are mild sexual references, mainly hinted at and left to the reader's imagination, and swearing.  

Thank you to Nick Everard for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.

Book Review - Blanket Immunity by Adam Van Susteren

 

 

Blanket Immunity by Adam Van Susteren begins by introducing us to Joanna 'Jo' Channing, who, after several years as a Deputy District Attorney, has run for Judge with financial help from her parents. When she is not appointed, she quits her job and sets up on her own as a Criminal Defense Lawyer. Today is her first day, and she wonders how to attract clients when there is a knock on her office door, and Brad Gecina becomes her first client. Brad, a policeman, has been suspended because a woman claims he stalked and raped her. When Jo looks into all the evidence, it seems that the rape victim is lying. Brad pushes for blanket immunity, which will protect him from future prosecution for crimes related to his testimony. When Jo achieves this by pulling strings, she thinks that is the end of the case.

Jo gains her second client when she visits Tai Nguyen for a lawyer friend. Tai is a small-time drug dealer arrested for possession with intent to distribute. Tai needs Jo's help to pass a message to Marcos Omar; he is worried that he will be killed if Omar does not get the message. When Jo gets in touch with Omar, he becomes Jo's third client. Along the way, Jo meets Dzuy Gong, a character who seems too good to be true. Within minutes of the meeting, Dzuy has offered to go with Jo to a family dinner to diffuse the tension between Jo and her younger sister Jami. Dzuy is pulled into a desperate situation with Jo, Omar, and Brad. Someone has been lying! Who? How far will Jo go to make amends?

Van Susteren's characters in Blanket Immunity are so well described that you can picture them while reading the book. I enjoyed how Van Susteren showed so many sides to the characters. Jo is a strong, independent woman but shows her soft side when interacting with her family and Dzuy. I loved how Jo struggles between helping her cash-strapped parents out, e.g., on page twenty-three, "She dreamed about helping her parents and paying off her campaign debt." and keeping her professional and moral integrity even when offered more money than she can imagine. I enjoyed how the characters jelled with one another, and their interactions felt right. I felt throughout Blanket Immunity that Adam Van Susteren had either been in the law profession at one time or had thoroughly researched the subject. It could have been a very heavy-going book, but the author writes in such a way that I felt the subject was well explained without any unnecessary detail.

I was not impressed when I came to page one hundred and seventeen, which had a whole conversation in Spanish, I had no idea what the conversation was about, and this spoilt the flow of the story. I also found many grammar errors, e.g., on page one hundred and twenty-one, "Aaron starting writing on his pad." I did not feel that this was professionally proofread or edited.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I have taken one star off for the grammatical errors and the Spanish conversation, which I felt was unnecessary to the story as it was neither translated nor explained. Hence, it meant nothing to the reader. I was disappointed I had to reduce a star as this book is fast-paced and enjoyable. It is a book you can lose yourself in, an actual page-turner!

I would recommend Blanket Immunity to anyone who enjoys a gripping legal thriller with several stories running alongside one another. I would only recommend this to an adult audience as it has rape, murder, and drug-taking scenes.

Thank you to Adam Van Susteren for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.

Book Review - Cynthia and Dan by Dorothy May Mercer

 

Cynthia Patterson is employed as Senator Mike McBride's bodyguard and is a private investigator helping her brother wage war against cyber terrorism in her spare time. Cynthia is the main character in the book Cynthia and Dan by Dorothy May Mercer. Cynthia is on her way to work one morning when the traffic is at a standstill. She gets out of her car and starts walking, trying to find out what is happening. She bumps into a handsome and mysterious stranger who introduces himself as Sky Eastman. He propels her into a cafe for lunch, and Cynthia finds herself swept away by this charismatic man. The two have a one-night stand, and Sky's behaviour the next day makes Cynthia suspicious of him. She is also worried about her ex-boyfriend Dan's intentions when he becomes increasingly protective of her. In the meantime, Cynthia's brother Glenn is waging war against cyber terrorism.

I liked that Dorothy May Mercer has put a lot of effort and time into researching areas of the Cynthia and Dan story, mainly how cyber war is fought.

Unfortunately, I dislike more things about this book than I like. Cynthia is supposed to be an independent and confident woman who is the head of security for a Senator and contributes to fighting cyber terrorism. Despite this, she has moments of extreme naivety and excessive emotional responses that don't make sense to the character she is supposed to be. It's very annoying that the characters constantly call each other my dear this makes the story twee. There is no way Cynthia would have had anything more than slight stomach cramps and bleeding at the stage of her pregnancy. The most she would have needed to get through it would have been painkillers and a hot water bottle, not several days in the hospital. I also doubt that her staff would have gone charging into Senator Mike McBride to say she was ill with bleeding from the vagina! I believe that had Cynthia and Dan by Dorothy May Mercer been adequately proofread and edited, the above dislikes would have been picked up on and corrected.

There were too many things that detracted from this book for me to enjoy, and I rate it 1 out of 5 stars. I am disappointed that I have had to give such a low mark as the concept of fighting the cyber war had the potential to be a fantastic read. I feel that this book could be excellent with a bit more editing.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, but it might appeal to older adults on a beach holiday!

Thank you to Dorothy May Mercer for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.

Audible original Novella review - Kill Your Brother by Jack Heath - Narrated by Hannah Monson

 

Kill Your Brother by Jack Heath is an Audible Novella set in Australia. It is a tense and compelling story with a damaged young woman at its heart. Elise is a disgraced elite athlete – the backstory to the cause of her disgrace is gradually revealed through the novella. She is searching for her older brother Callum who seemingly has disappeared. Demonstrating considerable strength and resourcefulness, Elise soon realizes that more choices are available to her than the two she has been presented with. As in all good psychological thrillers, the story unfolds with sufficient twists and turns to ensure the reader is kept enthralled to the last page.

Readers of the crime genre do not always look for depth in character development. Their requirements are more for a fast-paced plot-driven story with twists, turns, and perhaps some clarity at its conclusion as to who did what. There are, of course, some crime writers whose characters are fully-fledged and who inhabit their stories with depth and breadth of personality. This novella is essentially plot-driven. Its characters are drawn only to the extent that serves the plot. Elise's parents – for example – are lightly sketched out. Just enough to tell the listener how inadequate they were in their responses to the issues confronting Elise and Callum as children and teenagers.

Callum's personality features strongly throughout the novella, even when he is not physically present. His whereabouts and the reasons behind his disappearance drive the narrative. The third protagonist Stephanie, however, is the one who is the puppet master. Through the story's exposition, the reader slowly learns what led to her actions, even if there may be some difficulty in accepting them.

Telling the backstories of Elise, Callum, and Stephanie while at the same time ensuring that the momentum of the present time narrative is maintained is no mean feat. But it is one that the author manages exceptionally well. The tension increases as the novella moves closer to its conclusion. Kill Your Brother is a well-crafted psychological thriller that will satisfy the listener. 

 

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it to an adult audience who enjoy psychological crime thrillers.

Book Review - Little Boy Lost by J P Carter

 I listened to this as an Audible book and have to say I didn't like the reader's voice, the characterisation, particularly of the main character, Anna, really grated. 

As for the book it started with a good story and had great potential, it was very well written but the story never really went anywhere. I guessed from quite near the beginning who the abductor of Jacob was although I couldn't work out why, so laboured on with the story until it was revealed at the end. I also found the riots and Chloe's experience became very boring and a lot of her story made little sense. Anna's daughter was abducted by her father when she was 2 and despite Anna being in the police, she doesn't get Chloe back again until she is 12. Interesting beginning with lots of potential! 

There are riots going on but Anna is called back to work and despite the riots, only having her 12-year-old
daughter home for a month and the hell both she and Chloe have gone through, Anna leaves Chloe alone, would any mother really do that? Sadly this was a minor part of a fairly boring book!