"SNAFU" by Glen C. Allison / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

For years I have been a friend of Glen C. Allison; now, I’m a fan.

Glen has created an incredible series with New Orleans bodyguard Al Forte, a former Navy SEAL.  The action continues in SNAFU, the third installment in the series.

I’m a little mousey, mousey, mousey.

How can you not like a man who rescues children?  In this case, Forte is asked to find the child of the man who murdered his wife and what he finds is a plot so thick that it goes all the way back to tying the hands of the governor of Louisiana.

Everyone loves New Orleans – ghost stories, old history, gothic architecture, unusual people, water, darkness, smoky rooms – and “Forte” creates a sense of this place.  A few times I felt smothered and thought I might need to step outside on the back porch to get some fresh air.

Following the first two novels in the series, SNAFU delves deeper into Forte’s troubled past and bruised psyche.  Forte is messed up, but he tries hard to make it right.  He’s a hero, but I think there is more.  Forte is not cowardly, but jumps into situations, even to the point of making me think he is sometimes on a suicide mission, which – considering his past – could very well be the case.  But he doesn’t act alone.  Forte works with a great team.  I love the characters.  The cast is there because what they are doing is important to them, not because they are working a job or filling an author’s function.  What they are hoping to achieve is worth dying for.

I’m a little mousey, mousey, mousey.
Running through the housey, housey, housey.

SNAFU is anything but predictable including a most unexpected ending; yet, there was no other way to end it.  Some of it reminds me of a Western with the troubled hero riding off into the sunset at the end.  Only, in this case, the man has yellow eyes.  No doubt, he’ll be back.

Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is a husband, father, author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com), business owner (www.AmericanBlackguard.com), and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com) with over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages.  Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). Publishers Weekly has named Stafford one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"A Killing At Cotton Hill" by Terry Shames / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

A retired chief of police is pulled into the investigation of an old friend in a Texas small town in A Killing at Cotton Hill, a debut novel you won’t want to miss.

This review for A Killing at Cotton Hill by Terry Shames has a special meaning to me: the manuscript was a finalist for 2010’s Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award (www.claymoreaward.com).  In Terry’s words:  “I got a two-book contract for my Texas mystery series. BOTH of them were finalists for the Claymore Award. The first, The Art of Murder (now A Killing At Cotton Hill), was a finalist two years ago. Shortly after the announcement I got an agent I really wanted.”  Killer Nashville (www.killernashville.com) does get results and here is the proof.

Samuel Craddock is the former chief of police in the small town of Jarrett Creek, Texas where the current chief of police doubles as the town drunk.  When a murder is committed, it is not the real chief of police who is contacted to solve the crime, but Craddock.  This launches a whole new mystery series involving this tough and irascible, but all heart ex-cop.

This is a mystery in the traditional sense.  It is a small town, yet there are numerous unforgettable characters who would have every reason to kill the woman in question, an old friend of Craddock’s.  In solving the crime, Craddock exposes the very real characters of Jarrett Creek, which serves as a great literary device for revealing the setting.  Interestingly enough, this is a personal novel for Shames; the character of Samuel Craddock is based loosely upon her maternal grandfather who served the town he lived in off-the-books long after his term of mayor had ended.

Out of hundreds of manuscripts at the 2010 Claymore Awards, this manuscript rose to the top.  And out of all the books on your shelves, this will be one of your favorites.

I am so proud of Terry Shames and what is yet to come.  This is a great time to discover a new author.  One of the backstories I love about this manuscript is that Terry wrote it while floating around on her catamaran.  Now that’s the life.  Forget Key West and the five-toed cats.

I look forward to many other books from Terry Shames and Seventh Street Books.  Terry is a success story, but more than that, she’s a great storyteller and a wonderful lady.  Her next book, The Last Death of Jack Harbin, is scheduled to be released January 2014.  I can hardly wait.

Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is a husband, father, author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com), business owner (www.AmericanBlackguard.com), and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com) with over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages.  Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). Publishers Weekly has named Stafford one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Theodore Boone: The Accused" by John Grisham / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

A young wannabe lawyer finds himself on the wrong side of the law in “Theodore Boone: The Accused” by John Grisham. Read my review.

I grew up reading John Grisham books.  Now my son has the same opportunity.  We read this one together.

Theodore Boone is the son of two attorneys.  He wants to be an attorney when he grows up.  And, though he is still a kid, he is already practicing law amongst his friends and even representing llamas in court.  In this third installment of this Young Adult series, John Grisham trumps Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.  My son and I have read the first three books and we can’t wait to read the fourth.  My son can’t get enough of it and neither can the other kids at his school.  The library can’t keep the several copies there in stock.

In “Theodore Boone: The Accused,” young Boone finds himself on the wrong side of the law.  He gets to feel what it is like to be suspected by the police and, since they are convinced that he has committed the crime, it is up to him and his disbarred Bob Dylan-humming uncle to clear Theodore’s name before it is too late.

What I love first about the series is that you can’t put it down.  Secondarily, it teaches legal process to kids in a truthful and fair way.  By fair, in this installment, the police who are normally the good guys are characterized as two jerks, my son’s opinion.  It’s a good lesson that just because the newspapers say someone is arrested does not mean that they are guilty and sometimes detectives want credit for wrapping up a case greater than they want delayed justice.  Just because someone is in uniform doesn’t make them the good guy.  (My son and I kept waiting for the detectives to officially apologize for falsely maligning Theodore, but it never came.  That’s when my son decided they were jerks.)

John Grisham has made a career out of the legal mystery.  In fact, some say he created the genre.  I believe, when we are long gone, that what Grisham will be remembered for is Theodore Boone and creating a whole new generation of avid readers.  I’ve seen it in my son.  I’ve seen it in the other kids at my son’s school.  I’ve seen it in myself.  These books are hot and, like a Disney film, they transcend numerous generations.  My opinion?  Theodore Boone is Grisham’s best.

Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is a husband, father, author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com), business owner (www.AmericanBlackguard.com), and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com) with over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages.  Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). Publishers Weekly has named Stafford one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Until She Comes Home" by Lori Roy / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

A murder and disappearance destroy the essence of a once-respectable neighborhood in "Until She Comes Home" by Lori Roy.

Until She Comes Home by Lori Roy

Winning an Edgar for your first novel is a hard setup for your second one.  It better be good.  Lori Roy, author of her Edgar Award-winning debut novel, Bent Road, does not disappoint.  This is a spellbinding suspense novel in which a pair of seemingly unrelated murders crumbles the façade of a once respectable Detroit neighborhood.

This is a community that lives for family, church, and work.  But – like all of America in 1958 – their world is changing.  A black woman is murdered.  A white woman disappears.  Their neighborhood is falling apart.

The characters in this story are incredibly layered with special attention focused on the characters of a longsuffering pregnant wife, a social butterfly, and a woman who wishes to hide her pain behind humor.  As the characters are revealed following the murder and disappearance, jolting elements of their lives will be exposed as their individual façades also come crashing down.

The writing is well-conceived and poetic.  As the characters race to find the truth regarding the woman who has disappeared, readers will be second-guessing just like the neighbors all the way to the very end.  However, there is no end.  Even after you stop reading, the story and the theme of lives forever altered by events will stay with you.  You’ll be reflecting on it for days.

Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is a husband, father, author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com), business owner (www.AmericanBlackguard.com), and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com) with over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages.  Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). Publishers Weekly has named Stafford one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Candlemoth" by R.J. Ellory / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

“Candlemoth” was R.J. Ellory’s first novel, published in 2003 in the U.K. This is its first release in the United States.  Since originally publishing “Candlemoth,” Ellory has gone on to become an international bestseller.

“Candlemoth” is set in the American South, which is an interesting choice for a debut novel from an Englishman.  Ellory did his research weaving the story of death-row convict Daniel Ford with the events that have taken place over the past 50 turbulent years in the U.S.  From reading the book, I’d say Ellory probably knows more about American history than most Americans.

History, though, is not what the story is about. It’s about Ford’s death-row conviction related to the death of Ford’s best friend, Nathan. With the execution date only 30 days away, Ford begins to relive how he got to where he was. It is a story of friendship, betrayal, prejudice, and coming of age.  It is a story of murder and the meaning of justice. The central question I had running throughout, of course, was more personal: did Ford really brutally behead his best friend Nathan or was something going to twist in the end? You’ll have to wait until the very end for that answer.

What I loved best about “Candlemoth” is how everything ties together. Historical references are made for which there seems to be no relation to the story, conspiracy theories are introduced that, while interesting, don’t seem to have anything to do with anything.  And then, it all blends together and makes sense in a story that is tight, suspenseful, and – most importantly – human. This book is a great start for what has already become a brilliant career.

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.killernashville.com). He reviews books daily for Killer Nashville’s Book of the Day. Publishers Weekly has named Stafford and Killer Nashville as one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)  Having over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print, Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.oneofthemiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.jefferdeaverxomusic.com).

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!