KN Magazine: Reviews

9/29/15 9/29/15

Shooting for the Stars by R. G. Belsky / Reviewed by Kimn Hinkson

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase *Shooting for the Stars* or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

Oh, murder!

Sensational!

R. G. Belsky dazzles with his new mystery novel, Shooting for the Stars. Suspenseful, Shooting for the Stars will knock you down with its broiled characters, its attention to detail, and haunting undertones. From the vagaries of an unsolved crime—an apparent murder-suicide that left movie starlet Laura Marlowe dead, and the shooter six feet under with her—emerges a slew of dark, horrific secrets, and dark, horrific men and women.

It’s a cyclone of suicide, and remorseless humans who will even slay their own sisters, and it’s clamoring to make its way on the top shelf in your office. The writing is decisive and lucid; the detectives collected and anything but stereotypical. Leave the hard-boiled stuff in your section with Sam Hawkens and dear old Jack Searle; Gil Malloy shines!

It mixes professionalism with bloody excellent timing, maximum character development, and a nice blend of reality and storytelling. Belsky shakes the consciousness with roaring naturalism, meaning blood, scandal, and lots of awe-inspiring murder, not to mention nihilism!

Not what you'd expect from your run-of-the-Miller-Light-and-Pall-Mall-laced mystery novel; Belsky is a tantalizing, devilish, mesmerizing writer. His well-spoken, subtly crafted protagonist Gil Malloy runs ahead of us through a grisly alphabet of mayhem with zeal; he even provides us with a gruesome and classic image of someone smearing a, what was that...? A Z?

So who was it, Malloy? Zeak? Zelda? Zorro?

You’ll have to read the book and see!

Kimn Hinkson is like most over-caffeinated, introverted bibliophiles: indifferent to most other items on the planet.

If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford, with the assistance of Maria Giordano, Emily Eytchison, Will Chessor, and credited guest reviewers.

For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com and www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com)

*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.

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9/24/15 9/24/15

Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart / Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase *Girl Waits with Gun* or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

Constance Kopp could be just the leading lady Hollywood has been waiting for. She’s independent, resourceful, intelligent, brave, and she won’t back down from any man. While we wait for the inevitable movie adaptation, and for the dust to settle over which A-list actress will portray her on the big screen, readers can whet their appetite for Constance’s adventures now in Girl Waits With Gun, the new historical fiction novel by Amy Stewart.

Set in 1914, the novel wastes no time as Constance, along with sisters Norma and Fleurette, are nearly killed in the opening pages in a horrific collision between a motorcar and their horse-drawn buggy in Paterson, New Jersey. Both Constance and Norma escape the mishap with minor scrapes, though Fleurette, who is the youngest of the three at just 16, suffers a badly injured leg.

Making matters worse, the driver of the motor vehicle—silk factory magnate Henry Kaufmann—has no remorse for what’s happened, and blames the wreck on the Kopp sisters. When he tries to drive off, Constance promptly shuts the car door in his face and demands his name so that she can send him the repair bill for the wreckage to their buggy. Right away, readers cannot help but cheer for Constance Kopp, and want to keep reading.

Of course, demanding reparation and receiving it are two different things. Kaufmann balks at the request, and instead sends his ruffians to harass Constance and her sisters at their remote farmhouse with bullets and threats, including a scheme to kidnap Fleurette and sell her into slavery. Constance complains to local police, who are dismissive and unwilling to help, before finding an ally in Sheriff Robert Heath. With Heath’s support, Constance and her sisters are armed with revolvers and get a crash course in self-defense, prepping them for their next encounter with Kaufmann and company.

Stewart pieced their fascinating story together from newspaper archives—beginning with a 1914 newspaper article she found while researching a different Henry Kaufmann for a nonfiction book she was writing. Additional resources included courthouse documents, genealogical records, and interviews with surviving family members. In some instances, there was little to go on, and so Stewart embellishes the rest, from the novel’s dialogue to the sisters’ personalities and backstories. A fictional subplot about a woman in Kaufmann’s employ whose son is stolen from her adds fuel to Constance’s quest for justice.

“I have fallen in love with the Kopp sisters,” says Stewart. “Their lives have taken over my life. Nothing has ever been written about them. They were brilliant and amazing and hilarious, and nothing makes me happier than spending time in their company.”

Readers should be quick to embrace the trio as well, thanks to Stewart’s vivid imagination and finely crafted prose. Constance’s story may be just beginning, as Stewart has amassed hundreds of articles during the course of her research. By the end of the novel, Constance becomes the first deputy sheriff in the country, setting the stage for future novels.

Stewart is best known for her award-winning nonfiction bestsellers The Drunken Botanist and Wicked Plants. Girl Waits With Gun is her first historical fiction novel.

G. Robert Frazier is a former journalist, La Vergne Library Board member, reader for the Nashville Film Festival and Austin Film Festival’s annual screenwriting competitions, and member of the Nashville Writers Meetup and Tennessee Screenwriters Association. He is currently working on a mystery/thriller novel and a screenplay. Follow him on Twitter at @grfrazier23 and visit his Adventures in Writing blog at https://grfrazier.wordpress.com.

(If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford, with the assistance of Maria Giordano,Emily Eytchison, Will Chessor, and credited guest reviewers. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com and www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com.)

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9/22/15 9/22/15

Murder at the Courthouse by A. H. Gabhart / Reviewed by Sharon Marchisello

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase *Murder at the Courthouse* or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

Nothing much happens in Hidden Springs, Kentucky, which suits Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane just fine. After years on the big city police force, he is happy to return to his hometown to play peace officer, where the most serious crime is a missing laptop or a bounced check. Until the town busybody stumbles upon a dead body on the courthouse steps.

Keane’s first problem is to identify the victim. No one in Hidden Springs claims to have ever seen him before. And what was he doing, getting shot on the courthouse steps? Everyone has a wild theory, but all agree that none of the good folks of Hidden Springs could have possibly had anything to do with a murder.

A. H. Gabhart, author of Christian fiction including Angel Sister, Small Town Girl, Love Comes Home, and several Shaker novels such as The Outsider, The Believer, The Innocent, and The Heart of Hollyhill series, has created a bevy of quirky characters who are not as simple as they appear on the surface. There is a power struggle in the law enforcement ranks, and tension between police and press, but things get more serious when the murderer strikes again—and this time, one of their own falls victim.

When in his teens, Sheriff Keane lost his parents in a horrific car accident that incapacitated him for a year and wiped out some of his memory. Recovering some of these long-lost memories becomes crucial to solving the present-day case, until past events that seemed random and unrelated collide into a startling conclusion. Murder at the Courthouse will keep you engrossed and entertained.

Sharon Marchisello is the author of Going Home, a murder mystery inspired by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's. She has a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a member of the Atlanta Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, with her husband and cat, and does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society.

(If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford, with the assistance of Maria Giordano,Emily Eytchison, Will Chessor,and credited guest reviewers. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com and www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com.)

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9/17/15 9/17/15

The Flicker Men by Ted Kosmatka / Reviewed by Kevin Tipple

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase *The Flicker Men* or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

Is what we perceive as reality actually real? Is the concept of déjà vu really a glimpse into another version of us elsewhere in time or space? Can the soul of a person be actually measured? Why do civilizations exist? Are those that are considered mad or insane just people who can see and experience another reality? These questions and many more are asked in the intriguing thriller The Flicker Men by Ted Kosmatka.

Eric Argus has followed the path to where madness lies and, for now, is back on the edge of the abyss. He has returned to the Boston area, a shell of himself, where he contemplates suicide by gun and bottle. The bottle is currently winning, as heavy drinking helps with his nightmares. It also helps with the guilt, to a certain extent, as well as with his nerves.

Gradually readers learn that horrible things happened in Indiana just a few months ago. Despite what happened there, an old friend, Jeremy, has hired Eric to work at “Hansen Research”, hoping he will pick up where his research left off. He has four months to produce something of scientific merit. Eric reluctantly takes the job, knowing that, should he fail and become unemployed again with no place to go, there is always the gun.

After reconnecting with people on a daily basis, and occasionally managing to stay sober for a few days at a time, he still does not have a worthy project for those in charge to keep him after the probationary period. Instead of coming up with something new, he wants to reconsider something that was established as fact long ago. Eric has developed a need to duplicate the famous Feynman’s double-slit experiment, and thanks to the sudden arrival of just the right equipment in a batch of scientific gear from a closed lab, Eric will be able to see it with his own eyes.

Although he does not intend to produce new science, Eric Argus’s experiment goes far beyond what researchers have previously attempted or thought, proving that the impossible is true in ways that boggle the mind. His experiment sets off a ripple effect around the globe, causing some to cry that he “broke the world”, and others to look for God and the soul. In the chaos he has unleashed, Eric Argus quickly realizes just how small a cog he is in the machinations of others with competing agendas. Hunted by unthinkably powerful forces he cannot even begin to understand, Eric has literally nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

Award-winning author Ted Kosmatka has created a thriller where science (in the form of quantum mechanics) is a major character. Complex and intriguing, with a science angle that isn’t easy to understand, The Flicker Men is also ultimately a novel of mystery and redemption. In the midst of plenty of science and action, Kosmatka asks the big questions, and explores their impact at the personal level, even if he does not answer them outright. Hard to simplify and explain in a review, The Flicker Men by Ted Kosmatka is a mind-bending thriller that works on all levels, resulting in a very good read.

When not offending someone in person or online due to his strange sense of humor, Kevin Tipple reviews books, watches way too much television, and offers unsolicited opinions on anything. His short fiction has appeared in magazines such as Lynx Eye, Starblade, Show and Tell, and The Writer's Post Journal among others and online at such places as Mouth Full Of Bullets, Crime And Suspense, Mysterical-e and more. The fact that most of those publications and sites no longer exist is not his fault. Fully trained before marriage, Kevin can work all major appliances and, despite an obsessive love of nearly all sports, is able to clean up after himself.

(If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford, with the assistance of Maria Giordano,Emily Eytchison, Will Chessor,and credited guest reviewers. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com and www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com.)

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9/15/15 9/15/15

Minute Zero by Todd Moss / Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase *Minute Zero* or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

In the life of every country, at a moment of extreme national disruption, there is a brief period of breakdown, when everything is uncertain. That is the moment to act, to shape events the way you want them to go. That is Minute Zero.

State Department Crisis Manager Judd Ryker is thrown into the midst of just such a scenario in Minute Zero, the new book by Todd Moss. Inspired by actual events, the novel highlights the chaos of a national election gone awry in the African country of Zimbabwe. Ryker is tasked with helping steer a political outcome that will benefit the United States, but, unbeknownst to him, he is merely a pawn in the political game being played out around him.

The election pits longtime Zimbabwe leader Winston Tinotenda against upstart rebellion leader Gugu Mutonga, and early signs point to a possible victory by Mutonga at the polls. Ryker’s investigation unveils a money trail and secret U.S. support behind the candidates, as well as a scheme to uncover a high-grade uranium mine that could put weapons-grade material in the wrong hands.

But as the election draws to a close, the country is rocked by a series of events.

First, a bomb obliterates the home of General Solomon Zagwe, the exiled president of Ethiopia granted asylum in Zimbabwe by Tinotenda. Zagwe, it turns out, is the target of a U.S. probe into war crimes for his role in something called the Red Fear, a genocidal campaign of violence that resulted in half-a-million civilian deaths in Ethiopia. Soon after, Tinotenda himself falls victim to a car bombing, and his right-hand man General Simba Chimurenga vies to take over the presidency in a coup. Ryker must rush to expose Chimurenga, and make certain Mutonga is rightfully made president.

Moss directs the events like a maestro in an orchestra, taking readers across the globe from the U.S. to Zimbabwe to Taiwan and more, in short suspense-filled chapters. His artful skill keeps the complicated plot on course, making it possible for readers to remain fully aware of what’s happening, even as he leaves Ryker in the dark to figure things out for himself. As the clock counts down to Minute Zero, the tension only heightens.

Moss draws on his real-life experiences in U.S. government to craft a thoroughly believable and politically charged thriller. He previously served as the chief U.S. diplomat for West Africa, overseeing 16 countries under President George W. Bush. He is currently senior fellow and chief operating officer at the Washington, D.C. think tank, the Center for Global Development, where he writes on U.S.-Africa relations, energy, national security, and investment.

Minute Zero is his second international thriller, following on the success of The Golden Hour.

G.Robert Frazier is a former journalist, reader for the Nashville Film Festival and Austin Film Festival’s annual screenwriting competitions, La Vergne Library Board member, and member of the Nashville Writers Meetup and Tennessee Screenwriters Association. He is currently working on a mystery/thriller novel and a screenplay. Follow him on Twitter at @grfrazier23 and visit his Adventures in Writing blog at https://grfrazier.wordpress.com.

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9/10/15 9/10/15

Woman with a Secret by Sophie Hannah / Reviewed by Jonathan W. Thurston

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Woman with a Secret or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

We all have secrets. Deep, dark, chilling secrets. Things we wouldn’t tell our best friend or our lover or our family. But what if you had the chance to confide in an absolute stranger?

Nicki Clements, the Byronic star of Sophie Hannah’s new psychological thriller Woman with a Secret, found someone she could tell everything. It was a simple online exchange. Only secrets aren’t quite so simple.

When everyone’s least favorite local online reporter is killed by a mysterious murderer, with even more mysterious circumstances, the cops struggle to narrow down the list of actual suspects from the ample one of people who hated him. When the cameras show Nicki driving past the reporter’s house multiple times the day of his murder, she may have to confess to worse things than murder.

Sophie Hannah approaches this thriller with an almost experimental mindset, using emails, texts, news reports, and even dating ads to bring together a suspicious cast of characters, each with their own motives and, as the title suggests, their own secrets. This meta-narrative approach, while reminiscent of Mark Z. Danielewski, is fresh and startlingly engaging.

This absolutely chilling novel brings out the most frightening of psychological thrillers: the secrets we all have buried deep within us. Sophie Hannah captivates readers with a bone-chilling story in the tradition of Gillian Flynn and Tana French. From the charmingly sadistic Craigslist ad on page one, readers will be hooked and begging to turn the page. We all have secrets. Some are just better left in the dark.

Jonathan W. Thurston is a literary studies graduate student. Aside from his studies, he owns a small publishing house called Thurston Howl Publications and serves as its editor-in-chief. He has written several books on his own and always enjoys reading a good horror novel. When he’s not busy with grad school or his business, he is often found reading a good book with hot tea in one hand and his dog Temerita curled up at his feet (she often thinks she is a cat, you see).

(If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford, with the assistance of Maria Giordano,Emily Eytchison, Will Chessor,and credited guest reviewers. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com and www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com.)

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9/8/15 9/8/15

Gone But Knot Forgotten by Mary Marks / Reviewed by M. K. Sealy

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Gone But Knot Forgotten or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

Looking for the perfect punny mystery? Look no further than Gone But Knot Forgotten, the third installment of Mary Marks’ quilting mystery series.

Protagonist and quilting enthusiast Martha Rose just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Her “penchant for discovering dead bodies” keeps her life complicated, but this time, her accidental affinity for tragedy hits unusually close to home: Martha’s best friend from high school, Harriet Oliver, has passed away and named Martha as the executor of her estate.

The intrigue begins immediately, as Martha learns that the friend she’d lost to distance and time has been dead for almost a year—and that poor Harriet Oliver has yet to be laid to rest. Martha, feeling indebted to a once-beloved friend, takes on the role of executor, only to find that things she has taken for granted over the years aren’t what they seemed. What starts out as a dutiful, well-meant response to the unfortunate passing of an old friend leads to much, much more…

Mary Marks’ characters are dynamic and relatable, creating a novel that is appropriate for people regardless of their age. Marks’ plot and form also play a huge role in drawing in the reader. Intending to read the first few pages of a chapter, I found myself three chapters ahead of where I’d been, in what felt like just a few minutes.

This novel is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good mystery, well-developed characters, and novels that appreciate the intricacies of friendship.

M. K. Sealy earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in literature from a Nashville university. She is a copyeditor for a Nashville-based publication, but also writes poetry, fiction, and is currently attempting a screenplay, all while working to obtain a Master of Education.

(If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the assistance of Maria Giordano, Emily Eytchison, Will Chessor, and credited guest reviewers. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com and www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com)

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9/3/15 9/3/15

Go Down Hard by Craig Faustus Buck / Reviewed by Maria Giordano

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Go Down Hard or read other reviews through Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*

What happens when your rock ’n’ roll crush is shot dead and the case is never solved?

If you’re Nob Brown, a down and out ex-cop, ex-reporter, looking to get his ex-wife off his back, you try to solve the 20-year-old case in time to write an exposé for whatever magazine will pay top dollar.

But Nob, an endearing mess of a guy, who appears to be still trying to figure out his own life, does what other investigators can’t, uncovering an ugliness so deep that when the truth is discovered, Los Angeles will never be the same. All will, as the title of the book suggests, Go Down Hard.

Of course, Nob—I would love to know the origin of this antihero’s unusual name—has help from some main ladies in his life: his yoga-twisting assistant, and his on-again-off-again lover, who happens to be a sexy and skilled detective in the Los Angeles Police Department.

Author Craig Faustus Buck’s debut novel takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of murder, betrayal, incest, and abandonment. It is steeped in the seedier side of L.A. life, both repulsive and endearing.

Buck’s writing style draws from his years as a journalist, delivering a fast-paced story with some kinky, adult-only overtones, seemingly ripped from the tabloids. But don’t be scared. It’s a tight story line that keeps you guessing until the very end.

Maria Giordano is an over-caffeinated lover of books that she can hold in her hand. Her two daughters keep her sane, and she makes her home in Nashville.

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9/1/15 9/1/15

Hollow Man by Mark Pryor / Reviewed by Cole Meador

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Hollow Man or read other reviews through Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*

Mark Pryor’s Hollow Man is not a novel for the faint of heart or the cozy readers out there. It is a dangerous, profane, and riveting story that rips along at breakneck speeds.

Set in Austin, Texas, Hollow Man follows Dominic, an English lawyer with a mysterious past and a deep desire to play music. Through glimpses into his mind, the reader finds that all is not well with Dominic. He is a psychopath who is trying to keep his world in check.

A suave and sharp prosecutor, Dominic makes harsh, yet glaringly true, comments about society as things take a turn for the worse when he is demoted, and his carefully constructed world begins to unravel. Despite Dominic’s creepy perspective on life and his schemes to land quick cash, this story’s rollercoaster ride of events will have readers both rooting for and against him. When faced with capital murder, Dominic must make one of the most important choices of his life: will he protect others, or will he protect himself?

This charming, but disturbing book kept me up for quite a few nights, hastily turning the pages to find out what would happen next. Mark Pryor does an excellent job fleshing out his characters, providing each with believable dialogue and interesting personalities.

This book is one of my favorites this year, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good crime fiction novel with a splash of romance and murder. Suffice it to say, I will be reading anything else that Mark Pryor puts out.

Cole Meador is a full-time student pursuing a B.A. in Creative Writing. When he isn’t writing poems or short stories, he spends his time frequenting Nashville coffee shops, planning his next road trip, and attending any and all concerts he can. Cole aspires to work in the music industry, while continuing to pursue his passionate love for the written word.

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8/25/15 8/25/15

Idyll Threats by Stephanie Gayle / Reviewed by Maria Giordano

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Idyll Threats or read other reviews through Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*

Stephanie Gayle Credit: Sayamindu Dasgupta

Police Chief Thomas Lynch has a world of challenges on several fronts with murder seemingly the least of his worries in Stephanie Gayle’s Idyll Threats.

First, he’s new to the job in bucolic Idyll, Connecticut, where little is similar to his former world in New York City until the murder of a young woman found sprawled out on a golf course shatters the quietude. His staff is wary of his leadership and methods. The mayor is breathing down his neck for a quick resolution, and besides being one of the last persons to see the woman alive, Lynch is gay, a secret he wants to keep for now.

In a town as small, traditional, and close-knit as Idyll, which by the way, is a homophone of idle, finding the perpetrator of the woman’s death leads Lynch to uncover more secrets than answers. The trail leads him to some of the more colorful members of town for clues from a UFO-obsessed, conspiracy theorist to a Goth-punk teen.

While taking personal risks to shake out the murderer, Lynch is forced to reflect on his own arrival to Idyll, his past work as a New York City detective, and the death of his partner and friend when an investigation goes awry. It turns out he has his own mysteries to unravel.

Stephanie Gayle delivers a tight story that is part police procedural and part traditional mystery that keeps you guessing to the very end. It is also a fast-paced jaunt that never lags and paints a believable picture behind the charming and sometimes complicated facade of small town life.

Moreover, Gayle tackles Lynch’s homosexuality in a non-preachy way. Her perspective rings true for what it might be like to be homosexual in a predominantly heterosexual profession as well as living in a traditional community.

Maria Giordano is a learner of life who continues to be amazed at the little things. She resides with her two daughters in Nashville.

(If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the assistance of Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, and credited guest reviewers. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com and www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com)

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8/19/15 8/19/15

Ice Cold by Andrea Maria Schenkel / Reviewed by Kelly Saderholm

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Ice Cold or read other reviews through Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*

Ice Cold by Andrea Maria Schenkel (Quercus) is short, dark, and haunting. Set against the backdrop of 1939 Germany, Ice Cold is the intertwining story of a serial killer, identified on the first page as Josef Kalteis, and the young, naively confident Kathie who is desperate to escape small village life and seek her fortune in Munich.

This is an unusual novel. The story is told through a collage of character viewpoints, including police transcripts and interviews as they work the case, mixed with internal monologue of Josef Kalteis, and the not quite as intimate narration of Kathie's journey from her village to the bright-lights and seedy dark corners of Munich. In the hands of a less skilled writer, this would be a jumbled mess, but Schenkel handles it beautifully. The short sections, often just a page or two, move the story along quickly, and the interweaving of different character's viewpoints builds tension so that this book is difficult to put town.

The writing is gorgeous, but quite dark. There are some disturbing graphic scenes, which one would expect from a story about a serial killer, but they are not at all gratuitous. The subject and tone place the novel in the mystery genre, but the style and structure are more literary. This is not an escapist tale, but rather a thoughtful, haunting one. I read the book in one rainy afternoon, and then, after several days, went back and read parts of it again.

Schenkel has written six novels, (her sixth novel will be released in the Fall of 2015). Only her first two novels,The Murder Farm and Ice Cold have been published in the United States, both by Quercus.

Kelly Saderholm has written, blogged and lectured about aspects of the mystery novel. She is currently shifting from writing about mystery fiction to writing actual mystery fiction and is working on a novel, as well as a non-fiction book dealing with Folklore in the American South. She lives in South Central Kentucky with her family and feline office assistants.

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8/18/15 8/18/15

Dragonfish by Vu Tran / Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier

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Purchase Dragonfish or read other reviews through Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*

Dragonfish, like Gone Girl, is two interconnected stories in one – and both are thoroughly engrossing. Written by Vu Tran, the novel is part noir-crime thriller and part literary memoir.

At the heart of both stories is Suzy, a Vietnamese woman haunted by her past and her own inability to find true happiness with either of the men in her life. Her mood swings—from attentive and loving wife to sullen and mysterious stranger—baffle both men, Oakland police officer Robert Ruen and Vietnamese gangster Sonny Van Nguyen, neither of whom can let her go once she decides to leave them. Robert’s off-duty investigation takes him into the seamy warrens of casinos and gambling dens of Las Vegas, with Sonny’s sadistic son “Junior” shadowing his every move.

The story takes on a grim tone of mystery, lost love, and the slim hope of atonement for Robert, who is forever remorseful for having struck Suzy during one of their arguments. That tone is reflected further in Suzy’s own story, told in a collection of letters to her daughter, recounting her journey of discovery from a refugee camp in Malaysia after the fall of Saigon to her life in America. Tran, himself a Vietnamese refugee, easily captures the cultural anxiety of leaving home and trying to establish new roots in a strange land, lending a sense of authenticity to the story.

Robert’s story is told in a more traditional noir style, with sharp dialogue, violent action, and a dark atmosphere. The narrative moves swiftly as the mystery of Suzy’s disappearance deepens and the looming threat of Junior and his goons grows. Suzy’s story, by contrast, takes a more introspective, though still haunting, literary tone. While not as dramatic as Robert’s story, Suzy’s story is an emotional exploration of who she is, where she came from, and her place in the world.

Mystery-thriller readers may balk at the idea that a good portion of the book is told as memoir. But Tran successfully pulls off both stories thanks in part to his skill as a literary short story writer. And, certainly, the climax holds plenty of violence to make up for any detours along the way.

“At the end of the day, it’s still about writing great sentences and drawing convincing and compelling characters,” Tran explains. “I think one of the great virtues of genre narratives like the detective novel is that, when it’s written at its best, it offers a heightened version of reality that allows or forces its characters to reveal themselves in ways they normally would not.”

Tran’s fiction has previously appeared in the O. Henry Prize Stories, the Best American Mystery Stories, The Southern Review, Harvard Review and other publications. He has received honors from Glimmer Train Stories and the Michigan Quarterly Review. Dragonfish is a novel expanded from Tran’s short story “This Or Any Desert”, originally published in the Las Vegas Noir anthology (Akashic Books) and later included in the 2009 edition of Best American Mystery Stories.

G. Robert Frazier is a former journalist and editor, having worked at several newspapers in Middle Tennessee. He is a reader for the Nashville Film Festival’s annual screenwriting competition, serves on the La Vergne Library Board, and is an active member of the Nashville Writers Meetup and Tennessee Screenwriters Association. He is currently working on a mystery/thriller novel and a screenplay. You can locate him online at https://twitter.com/grfrazier23 and https://grfrazier.wordpress.com.

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8/12/15 8/12/15

The Well by Catherine Chanter / Reviewed by Kyla Marlin

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

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Catherine Chanter’s debut novel, The Well, is nothing short of spectacular. With words that flow as easy and as magical as in author Alice Hoffman’s novels, I was beyond impressed. This novel had me from the mysterious and gut-wrenching beginning to the thrilling end.

Ruth Ardingly is just an ordinary, 40-something grandmother, who is struggling to keep her marriage alive after a scandal involving her husband, Mark, and child pornography charges. Although Mark is found innocent, the couple struggles with the aftermath of bad publicity within their community.

Seeking refuge from the discomfort and scrutiny of London life, a pervasive drought overtaking the country, and her touch-and-go drug addict daughter and grandson, Mark and Ruth seek sanctuary at an oasis… a farm called, The Well.

The Well is seemingly untouched by the drought that grips the rest of the country. It remains fruitful, vibrant, and green. This seemingly magical farm strikes jealousy and hate in the hearts of their neighbors and fellow townspeople. And while Ruth and Mark make strides towards salvaging their marriage, they soon encounter mounting challenges from the death of their grandson to people who perceive the farm as either scandalous or magical.

Soon public knowledge of this oasis soars and The Sisters of Jericho, a group of women who have created a female-based religion that worships The Rose and its power over the rain and the earth, flock to The Well, and create even more havoc for Ruth and her family.

With religious overtones that capture the heart and the mind, Chanter takes you on a whirlwind adventure with a woman who believes in hope for a better life and finding faith in something no one can explain. In the meantime, she toils for a better future with her husband and her daughter, and to find the truth of who killed her grandson.

I highly recommend this novel for anyone seeking mystery, thrills, struggle, and murder. This novel will bring you hope, tug on your heartstrings, and make you feel the struggle of guilt, grief, and acceptance.

5 out of 5 stars!

Kyla Marlin is a quirky and awkward post-grad of ETSU who writes obituaries for the Johnson City Press by day and poetry for her blog meanderingsatmidnight.wordpress.com by night. She is just an average post-grad trying to navigate the confusing path of adulthood whilst becoming an expert in the art of chips/salsa paired with wine.

(If you have a book you would like featured, send an ARC for consideration. The Killer Nashville Book Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the irreplaceable assistance of Clay Janeway, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, and credited guest reviewers. For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com and www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com)

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8/6/15 8/6/15

Dead Girl Walking by Christopher Brookmyre / Reviewed by M.K. Sealy

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Dead Girl Walking or read other reviews through Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com

Photo Credit: Tricia Malley and Ross Gillespie

With plots likened to those of director and writer Quentin Tarantino, Scottish author Christopher Brookmyre delivers a complex, engaging mystery masterpiece with his newest novel Dead Girl Walking.

Somewhat reminiscent of Stieg Larsson’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Dead Girl Walking is chock full of suspense and nail-biting tension. In Dead Girl Walking Brookmyre tells the story of a missing girl, murder, vice, the alternative music business, and the things that can come back to haunt you.

Dead Girl Walking opens with Heike, a musician with the world at her feet, who vanishes. And, for journalist Jack Parlabane, who has lost his career and marriage, finding Heike is the last opportunity to regain what little scrap of dignity he has left. But to unravel the complicated web surrounding Heike’s disappearance, Parlabane must begin by breaking down the secrets shared by Heike and her band, Savage Earth Heart.

But uncovering the band’s secrets may be more difficult than expected, regardless of the public’s crazed obsession of the band and the much-touted relationship between Heike and new band member Monica. Things are never as they seem and it turns out that Monica’s feelings toward Heike are less than favorable. As Parlabane uncovers the jealousy and anger behind the public façade, finding Heike becomes even more important.

Dead Girl Walking is superbly written, the suspense building from page one and culminating in an excellent dénouement that leaves readers with the undeniable aftertaste of a satisfying read.

Aside from the general intrigue and thrills, Brookmyre’s in-depth exploration of the alternative music scene is brought to life through both plot and form. Dead Girl Walking is an intense, wild ride, and one that I would highly suggest for readers of mysteries and thrillers.

M.K. Sealy earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in literature from a Nashville university. She is a copyeditor for a Nashville-based publication, but also writes poetry, fiction, and is currently attempting a screenplay, all while working to obtain a Master of Education.

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8/6/15 8/6/15

Dead Girl Walking by Christopher Brookmyre / Reviewed by M.K. Sealy

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Dead Girl Walking by Christopher Brookmyre / Reviewed by M.K. Sealy

Purchase Dead Girl Walking or read other reviews through Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com

Dead Girl Walking is superbly written, the suspense building from page one and culminating in an excellent dénouement that leaves readers with the undeniable aftertaste of a satisfying read.

M.K. Sealy earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in literature from a Nashville university. She is a copyeditor for a Nashville-based publication, but also writes poetry, fiction, and is currently attempting a screenplay, all while working to obtain a Master of Education.

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8/5/15 8/5/15

Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day / Reviewed by Kelly Saderholm

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Little Pretty Things or read other reviews through Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com

Lori Rader-Day Photo Credit - Oomphotography

There is nothing little about Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day. The plot revolves around a ten-year reunion of two high school friends, who were teammates as well as rivals, and things go terribly wrong.

One friend, Madeline Bell, a high school track star, ends up dead. The other friend, Juliet Townsend, is the lead suspect. Maddy, as it turns out, left her Indiana hometown, and achieved what seems to be a glamorous life in Chicago. Juliet stayed behind and stagnated, barely making ends meet, working as a maid in a cheap one star motel.

As with the best mystery novels, Little Pretty Things is more than just a whodunit. It is also a beautifully written psychological thriller. Juliet is unable to resist taking little pretty things that guests have left behind in their rooms: a glittery barrette, a sparkling earring, a glass perfume bottle. To solve Maddy's murder, and absolve her own guilt over Maddy's death, Juliet has to solve the puzzle of her own inability—or unwillingness—to move ahead in her own life. As she does this, she discovers that others are taking little pretty things, in the form of underage female students and exploiting them, with grim results.

Dealing with such dark subjects, this novel could have easily plunged into a preachy or heavy social commentary, but it does not. Rader-Day's deft writing and wry humor shines through and provides a thoughtful, yet entertaining read. She is able to make the mundane ins and outs of running a squalid hotel interesting. This reviewer was captivated by the first sentence:

The walkie-talkie on the front desk hissed, crackled and finally resolved into Lu's lilting voice: “At what point,” she said, “do we worry the guy in two-oh-six is dead?”

Little Pretty Things is Ms. Rader-Day's second novel, following her award winning debut novel The Black Hour, both of which are published by Seventh Street Press, an imprint of Prometheus Books. In addition to her two novels, Ms. Rader-Day has also written award winning short fiction.

Kelly Saderholm has written, blogged and lectured about aspects of the mystery novel. She is currently shifting from writing about mystery fiction to writing actual mystery fiction and is working on a novel, as well as a non-fiction book dealing with Folklore in the American South. She lives in South Central Kentucky with her family and feline office assistants.

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7/29/15 7/29/15

Stone Cold Dead by James Ziskin / Reviewed by Jonathan Thurston

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

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Ellie Stone is back!

In James Ziskin’s third installment in the Ellie Stone Mystery series, Ellie Stone appears to have not received the fame she expected from her previous case. But Stone has quite a reputation in New York as a bothersome and nosy female reporter.

And, when teenage girl Darleen Hicks goes missing right before Christmas, the cops don’t want Stone involved. After all, the girl probably went off with her boyfriend or a close friend, right? Darleen’s mother is far from convinced and seeks out Stone herself, enlisting her help in finding the missing girl. What Stone finds, however, is more than she probably bargained for. This time, she could be out of a job, out of luck, and out of time.

James Ziskin, as always, brings out amazing characters that defy the stereotypes and archetypes readers will try to place on them. However, Ziskin brings something new into his third installment: he brings a deeper level of his own linguistic studies into the text itself, making each word full of intent and meaning, reminiscent of the mystery icon Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself. The characters are given unique life with their words, and Ziskin’s descriptions come alive. The plot itself hinges on the meanings of words.

Stone. The very word itself can make the rocks that pound us, or it can form the steps that lead us out of the pit. Find out if Ellie Stone’s nature will bring her salvation or suffering in this must-read series for any mystery lover.

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7/28/15 7/28/15

Cop Job by Chris Knopf / Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Cop Job or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

When Alfie Aldergreen, a paranoid schizophrenic helplessly bound to a wheelchair, is brutally murdered, friend Sam Acquillo takes it personally in Cop Job, the forthcoming novel from author Chris Knopf and The Permanent Press.

Acquillo isn’t your typical detective, and that’s what makes reading this adventure so fun. A former corporate troubleshooter and pro boxer turned carpenter, Acquillo’s headstrong attitude doesn’t make his investigation any easier.

Fortunately, his bullish attitude is tempered somewhat by the cool wit and sharp analytical mind of his friend, attorney Jackie Swaitkowski, who also happened to be an advocate for the recently departed Alfie Aldergreen. Together, the pair begins methodically interviewing anyone and everyone who may have known Alfie, past and present, in an effort to determine who had it in for him.

They have a decent relationship with the investigating officer on the case and are able to launch their own line of inquiry with little police backlash. They even have the blessing of District Attorney Edith Madison, who confides in them that Alfie was acting as a confidential informant for the police department. What’s more, they learn Alfie’s death was only one of three murders of late involving confidential informants. Suspicion immediately points to a possible police cover-up and the plot, as they say, thickens.

Knopf handles the ensuing narrative with deft skill as Acquillo and Swaitkowski follow breadcrumbs to Alfie’s former associates: a wild assortment of oddball characters who demonstrate varying degrees of cooperation. The parade of suspects and questions seem to be going nowhere fast before Acquillo’s world is rocked a second time after his daughter is subjected to a brutal attack.

After seeing to her safety, Acquillo jumps back on the case, ultimately connecting all the dots, including his daughter’s attack, to the perpetrators in an action-packed finale on the high seas.

Cop Job is the sixth novel from Knopf to feature Acquillo, but readers don’t need to rush out and buy the others before diving into this one. Knopf easily sets the stage – in the upscale Hamptons where Acquillo makes his home -- without burdening readers with what has gone on before.

Robert Frazier is a former journalist and editor, having worked at several newspapers in the Midstate. He is a reader for the Nashville Film Festival’s annual screenwriting competition, serves on the La Vergne Library Board, and is an active member of the Nashville Writers Meetup and Tennessee Screenwriters Association. He is currently juggling work on a mystery novel and a screenplay, along with a half dozen short stories in various phases of incompletion.

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7/16/15 7/16/15

Missing by Sam Hawken / Reviewed by Kimn Hinkson

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Missing or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

Sam Hawken’s Missing takes readers to the borderlands of the United States and Mexico. Widowed but hardboiled Jack Searle resides with his two stepdaughters in Texas, where he’s a workingman who enjoys a beer when the sun goes down.

Despite a strict routine, he retains a curious and sympathetic approach to human nature. That is until his two daughters go missing during a concert while visiting their family in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Jack is faced with the truly cruel and avaricious side of human nature.

A dramatic and vicious novel, Hawken’s sense of objectivity gives the book the winning cold-cut edge of a revenge-thriller.

Jack Searle is a father-knows-best kind of man who doesn’t cast the bad or the ugly a second glance. Serrated with expressive dynamo, Hawken is climactic in his writing and hardly shies away from the gruesome reality of Nuevo Laredo’s darker sides. Hawken’s vision of an underground Mexico sustained by drugs and heat, and like his last two novels set on the Mexican-U.S. border, this novel prompts attention to the crime and violence that takes place on a global platform.

While hinting unforgivably that catastrophe could be a family-visit away, Hawken’s work is nonetheless a feat in storytelling, and endeavors to strike at the reader’s most tender fears.

Gritty.

Kimn Hinkson is like most over-caffeinated, introverted bibliophiles: indifferent to most other items on the planet. Finding that works of literature, opposed to human beings, lend their gifts absolutely free to those who brave the page, she has procured a sense of forbearance via reading in order to survive this otherwise impoverished existence. Other readers are already familiar with the pretty words they give to the most adverse, uncongenial characters. Somewhere between an insurrectionist and a mereological nihilist, Kimn is one of them.

*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.

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7/15/15 7/15/15

"Ruthless" by John Rector / Reviewed by Kyla Marlin

Killer Nashville Book of the Day

Purchase Ruthless or read other reviews through Killer Nashville’s affiliate, Amazon.com*

John Rector’s Ruthless is a classic example of a man being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Enter Nick White, a shell of a man who is heartbroken over his failed marriage brought on by his own weaknesses, including an addiction to gambling. While drinking away his sorrows, Nick finds himself mistaken for a hit man by a blonde woman at a local bar.

Nick, seeing a conquest, plays along, but soon finds himself with a whole lot of cash, a password protected USB drive, and instructions to murder a young woman named Abigail Pierce. By the time Nick realizes what’s happening, the woman is gone, and the real hit man shows up.

Worried for a woman he has never met, Nick attempts to warn Abigail Pierce, but instead leads the hit man right to her, including putting himself in the path of the real hit man and his team, their demand for answers, and worse… his cooperation in their scheme!

Full of secrets, plot twists, survival, and money, “Ruthless”, is amazing from start to finish. Nick is an average man just trying to do the right thing and not drown in the process. Thrown around between the strong female characters in this story, Nick tries to uncover the truth, but will he discover it in time to save Abigail and himself?

John Rector’s writing is captivating and intense. I truly enjoyed being caught up into the whirlwind of danger and quick-wittedness of Nick’s character and the predicament he has found himself in. A solid 4 out of 5 stars!

Kyla Marlin, 23, is a quirky and awkward post-grad of ETSU who writes obituaries for the Johnson City Press by day and poetry for her blog meanderingsatmidnight.wordpress.com by night. She is just an average post-grad trying to navigate the confusing path of adulthood whilst becoming an expert in the art of chips/salsa paired with wine.

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