KN Magazine: Reviews
Dust Up by Jon McGoran / Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Dust Up on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Jon McGoran
Dust Up by Jon McGoran
Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier
Detective Doyle Carrick is a magnet for trouble. The hero of Jon McGoran’s latest novel, Dust Up (Forge Books), Carrick is at home with his girlfriend when a complete stranger appears frantically pounding on his front door, only to be shot down in cold blood.
Homicide Detective Mike Warren embraces the easy way out by wanting to peg the crime on the victim’s wife, Miriam Hartwell, whom Carrick saw driving away from the scene. Fortunately for readers, the truth is a lot more complicated, as is often the case with Carrick’s adventures.
Carrick is urged to back off the investigation and let Warren handle things, but it’s not that simple. Miriam seeks him out again and fills him in on a biotech cover up of a tainted food program in Haiti. As Carrick has some prior experience in corporate investigations—namely in McGoran’s previous books Drift and Deadout—the Hartwells specifically sought him out to help blow the whistle on their employer, Energene.
Before Miriam can fully relate her tale, however, Carrick and Miriam come under fire from unknown assailants. Forced to work side by side with Energene, who convince Carrick’s bosses that Miriam is guilty of espionage, Carrick tracks Miriam back to Haiti where his investigation plunges them into an international conspiracy of deceit, greed, and corruption.
McGoran keeps the action moving at a frantic pace in a series of tautly written chapters that will have you turning the pages long into the night. Along the way, he never loses sight of Carrick’s down-to-earth wit and intelligence, qualities that make him eminently relatable to readers.
An advocate for responsible food growth and sustainability, McGoran uses his twenty years of experience in the field to relate a complicated plot in an easy to understand action fable.
G. Robert Frazier reads and writes in La Vergne, Tenn. Follow him on Twitter @grfrazier23 or 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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Impure Blood by Peter Morfoot / Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Impure Blood on Killer Nashville's associate, Amazon.com*
Impure Blood by Peter Morfoot
Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
An intriguing opening and an unexpected ending are essential ingredients in great crime fiction. Peter Morfoot writes both into his new novel Impure Blood(Titan Books). A man joins a call to prayer at an over-crowded mosque in Nice, France, and mysteriously dies while kneeling on his piece of cardboard amidst a sea of Muslim congregants. When Captain Paul Darac of Nice Brigade Criminelle takes control of the investigation, he and his team find plenty of suspects.
Their task of finding the killer becomes complicated when a fellow officer is kidnapped and a terrorist threat is made against the Nice leg of the Tour de France. The three crimes begin to intertwine, putting Captain Darac and his fellow investigators into a race against the clock. They struggle to piece the puzzle together in time to save their colleague’s life and assure the country’s biggest sporting event goes off without disruption.
Impure Blood comes in at 544 pages, much longer than most commercial thrillers. But if readers navigate the bevy of minor characters and red herrings throughout, they are rewarded with a dynamite ending. Morfoot hits on a number of compelling themes, including Nice’s pushback against a rapidly growing and frustrated Muslim community. This subject matter strikes a deeper chord with the recent terror in Paris (this novel most likely written before the attacks). Morfoot allows readers to peek behind the current of French law enforcement at their ideals and beliefs—fascinating tidbits for American readers.
Captain Paul Darac appears to have staying power, as he is set to star in two future novels as well. He has what all great literary detectives bring to the squad room: a periodic dislike of following procedure, a rocky romance with a beautiful woman, a bizarre hobby (jazz guitar), and a moral compass that puts lives of others ahead of his own. Darac is smart but combustible, which provides tension throughout the book.
Morfoot has spent his career telling stories, and he makes a smooth transition to the thriller genre, crafting an electric ending that has readers sprinting through the final chapters. If a plane ticket to France isn’t in the budget, Impure Blood can transport readers there for a fraction of the cost. Morfoot turns up the heat and delivers a solid summer read.
Clay Snellgrove is the author of The Ball Player. He's a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. A former professional baseball player, Clay holds an MFA in creative writing from Converse College.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Should Have Played Poker by Debra H. Goldstein / Reviewed by Sharon Marchisello
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Should Have Played Poker on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Debra H. Goldstein
Should Have Played Poker by Debra H. Goldstein
Reviewed by Sharon Marchisello
At the outset of Debra H. Goldstein’s Should Have Played Poker(Five Star Publishing), Charlotte Martin walks back into her daughter Carrie’s life after a 26-year absence, but before Carrie can get any real answers about why her mother left her, Charlotte is murdered. The scene of the crime is the Sunshine Village retirement home where Carrie’s father, a former preacher in the early stages of dementia, now resides.
Detective Brian McPhillip, Carrie’s former boyfriend, is assigned to investigate, and sparks still smolder. To further complicate things, a little jealousy enters the picture when Michael Shapiro, a widowed lawyer whose mother also resides at the Sunshine Village retirement home, gets involved. Although Brian is more helpful than his law enforcement colleagues, Carrie, who was trained as a police officer before leaving the academy for a career in corporate law, believes he is moving too slowly on the case. She enlists the aid of Michael's mother's group of Mah Jongg players as amateur sleuths. But when their efforts uncover secrets buried in the past, Carrie and the others find themselves in grave danger.
Should Have Played Poker has a fast-paced plot with short chapters, enjoyable characters, and an abundance of red herrings. It touches on issues of aging, family ties, corporate responsibility, and religious tolerance, and culminates in a surprise ending that makes Carrie question most everything she has ever believed in.
Author Debra H. Goldstein is a former litigator and administrative law judge who lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband. A member of Sisters in Crime and author of the award-winning debut novel, Maze in Blue, she has spoken on Killer Nashville panels for the past three years in a row. Should Have Played Poker is the first in a new cozy series featuring Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg players, and it promises to be a winner.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Panther's Prey by Lachlan Smith / Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Panther's Prey on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Lachlan Smith
Panther's Prey by Lachlan Smith
Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier
Remember those old Ellery Queen whodunits that listed an extensive cast of characters at the front of the book to help readers keep track of who’s who? Well, if you read Lachlan Smith’s newest Leo Maxwell mystery, Panther’s Prey(Mysterious Press), you may want to keep such a list handy.
The book opens with Maxwell and fellow attorney Jordan Walker representing a client, Randall Rodriguez, a mentally ill homeless man whom they contend falsely confessed to the rape of a young San Francisco socialite. But once they get the man off the hook, their real trouble begins. Jordan is raped and murdered and Rodriguez, again, confesses to a crime he did not commit. Maxwell, whose gun was used in the murder, comes under suspicion as well and, to clear his name and identify the real killer, he must uncover a trail of clues from both his past and present.
The novel is a thickly layered, old-fashioned gumshoe mystery in which everyone has a motive for murder and a secret to be revealed that could help Maxwell solve his most personal case yet. It’s the fourth installment in the series and, for readers unfamiliar with Maxwell, the story can be a bit complicated at times because there is so much to catch up on. Smith does a good job relating the highlights of past books in the series, but the number of characters and intricate histories makes it a little challenging for the first-time reader to get fully up to speed.
That’s not to say the book isn’t enjoyable. Like a work by Queen, it’s a riveting mystery fraught with peril for our hero, and twists at every turn. The narrative moves at a swift pace, with plenty of action thrown in to keep the pages turning. An attorney himself, Smith uses his expertise in the courtroom to craft a believable and twist-filled plot: the thoughtful execution of clues and Maxwell’s persistence to learn the truth that will keep you guessing.
G. Robert Frazier is a writer and avid reader living in La Vergne, Tenn. He reads for the Nashville Film Festival and Austin Film Festival screenwriting competitions and is an active member of the Tennessee Screenwriters Association, Nashville Writers Meetup groups, and La Vergne Library Board. Follow him on Twitter @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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse / Reviewed by Kelly Saderholm
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find The Taxidermist's Daughter on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Kate Mosse
The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse
Reviewed by Kelly Saderholm
If you plan to read The Taxidermist's Daughter (William Morrow) by New York Times bestselling author Kate Mosse, be sure to allow yourself plenty of time, because once you pick up this Gothic thriller, you will find it difficult, if notimpossible, to put down.
Set in 1912, The Taxidermist's Daughter contains classic Gothic elements to make any fan of the genre happy: a decaying mansion on a remote English Coast; a vulnerable young woman caring for her ailing father; horses, carriages, servants, dashing young men, dark family secrets, moody atmospheres, and villains galore. Mosse also throws in a tantalizingly eerie Taxidermy Museum, a local ghost legend, and more than a hint of madness. But while she gives the reader the comforts of familiar elements, her vivid writing and compelling characters breathes fresh life into an old (and often overwrought) genre.
The eponymous character, Constantia (Connie) Gifford, is living with her addled and often-intoxicated father. After secretly viewing a strange gathering at the local church on Saint Mark's Eve, she finds the strangled body of a stranger. While the woman has obviously been murdered, Connie is surprised that there is no investigation into the crime. Other mysterious strangers are seen walking along the marshes, and Connie becomes convinced that these events are somehow tied to her own mysterious past—if only she could remember what that past was.
Especially compelling in this novel are well-rounded characters like Connie, who is not the typical naïve damsel in distress rushing into danger in a flimsy nightie. She is not helpless, and proves refreshingly resourceful. Other characters are equally interesting: good people with a dark side, a rogue turned hero, and more. We see how seemingly ordinary people react, either positively or negatively, in extraordinary circumstances, as we race along with the characters to the book’s exciting and stormy ending.
Kelly Saderholm has written, blogged, and lectured about aspects of the mystery novel. She has moderated panels and presented papers at literary conferences, on both the Mystery Novel and Urban Fantasy. 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 is a recipient of a Kentucky Foundation for Women grant. She lives in South Central Kentucky with her family and two feline office assistants.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Bloodie Bones: A Dan Foster Mystery by Lucienne Boyce / Reviewed by Kaitlin Chaparro
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Bloodie Bones: A Dan Foster Mystery on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Lucienne Boyce
Bloodie Bones: A Dan Foster Mystery by Lucienne Boyce
Reviewed by Kaitlin Chaparro
In Bloodie Bones: A Dan Foster Mystery, Lucienne Boycepulls you in from page one with life-like characters that give feeling and promise to the story. The writing style and description in this work of historical fiction are simple but give you a very clear picture of what each character and setting looks like: I felt that I was right in the middle of everything going on.
The year is 1795, and there has been a murder in Barcombe Wood. Josh Castle, the gamekeeper of Lord Oldfield, has been found dead with fatal a blow to the back of the head as well as broken legs, arms, and ribs. Was it the poachers who feel their rights were taken away when the wood was enclosed? Was it this mysterious, eerie boogeyman “Bloodie Bones” that the townspeople keep talking about? Did the murder occur because of the victim's family history?
Whatever the reason, it is up to Bow Street Runner Dan Foster to figure it out. Dan goes undercover, changes his name, and joins a gang of poachers in order to find out what they know, and how far they are willing to go in order to get their stolen land back. How far will Dan have to go in order to figure out who killed Josh Castle and why? Bloodie Bones will have you staying up into the early hours of the morning alongside Dan Foster to bring the murderers to justice.
Lucienne Boyce, who has always been fascinated by the Georgian era, obtained her MA in English Literature with a special concentration in eighteenth-century fiction in 2006 from Open University. She published her first historical novel To The Fair Land in 2012, which was awarded the Awesome Indies Seal of Approval. She is currently working on the sequel to Bloodie Bones.
Kaitlin Chaparro is an avid reader who loves a good cup of coffee or tea and a book to fall into. A lover of music, she enjoys relaxation music and jazz, but also Spanish and light rock. She plans start a blog where she will regularly review books.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Perfect Days by Raphael Montes / Reviewed by Will Lasley
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Perfect Days on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Raphael Montes
Credit: Camilla Maia
Perfect Days by Raphael Montes
Reviewed by Will Lasley
“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
This quote from Friedrich Nietzsche prefaces Raphael Montes’ new thriller Perfect Days, and it couldn’t be more apropos. This novel follows Teo, an anti-social Brazilian medical student who lives with his invalid mother. The young man soon falls in love, for the first time in his life, with a young writer named Clarice. He kidnaps her and takes her on a cross-country trip, which mirrors that of the character in the screenplay she is writing. As the story progresses, we delve deeper into Teo’s madness and obsession as he attempts to drag Clarice down with him.
Perfect Days is harrowing to say the least, mainly because of the way Teo is written. His most demented thoughts are placed before us on the page in a way that is not only haunting, but also feels uncomfortably realistic. And that is part of what makes it brilliant. It’s the kind of writing that makes you question the author’s mental health, and you better believe I mean that as a compliment.
Special props must be given to Alison Entrekin, who translated the novel into English. Entrekin clearly shares Montes’ way with words and his acute ability to make the reader shiver. There is also an interesting journey in watching Clarice’s innocence dwindle as the stakes become higher and the circumstances more severe.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Perfect Days if you’re looking for a thriller that is creepy and thought provoking, but most of all, may just bring out the madness in you.
Will “Savage” Lasley is a writer and self-described horror junkie who simply loves a good story. He’s also met Bruce Campbell, so there’s that.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Just Fall by Nina Sadowsky / Reviewed by Emily Eytchison
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Just Fall on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Nina Sadowsky
Just Fall by Nina Sadowsky
Reviewed by Emily Eytchison
When cool, confident, beautiful blonde Ellie Larrabee meets Rob Beauman—Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome himself—they seem to be a match made in New York socialite heaven. That is, until debut novelist Nina Sadowsky gets her hands on them. As Just Fall(Ballantine Books) tracks Rob and Ellie’s love story from meet-cute to disrupted dream wedding and beyond, Sadowsky’s non-linear narrative strips away their Hollywood-perfect façades with the relentlessness of real life itself.
The “Now” portion of the plot starts with Ellie mysteriously lingering in a hotel room with a dead man and a cryptic note from her brand-new husband Rob. What has happened here? the narrator asks, before disappearing as we shift into “Then” flashbacks, which gradually reveal the deeply disturbing stories in our golden couple’s pasts. (Especially Rob—his history of demented father figures could make The Great Santini cry.)
Sadowsky doesn’t ask us to feel sorry for her characters, though. Her focus is on exploring the doubt and disillusionment that often invade long-term romantic relationships, through the heightened circumstances of murder and treachery in St. Lucia. Complex, suspenseful, and character-driven, Just Fall's wild ride through missing persons cases, double-crosses, and severed lips reads like a modern-day Hitchcock thriller.
Although Just Fall is Sadowsky’s first novel, it is far from her first storytelling venture. A veteran screenwriter and producer, her sensibilities are given to sweeping panoramic visions of the island landscape and subtle, striking close-ups of important moments and details. Her opening scene in particular is a sensory experience so vivid it borders on intoxicating, and her capacity to conjure imagery seems to be witchcraft.
The camera may follow Rob and Ellie to bed one time too many, slowing the story’s progression somewhat, but for the most part, the narrative moves forward with the minimalist impatience of an action film. (So much so that the interludes following Detective Lucien Broussard’s subplot occasionally seems to inhibit the “real” story, until close to the very end.)
Just Fallwill be a movie before too long. That’s such a given it’s hardly worth mentioning, except to remind you that if you read it now, you’ll get to mentally cast the leads however you please. (My vote for Rob is Oscar Isaac, in case anyone in Hollywood is listening.)
Emily Eytchisonis a writer, actor, and artist based in Nashville, TN. She recently graduated with a BFA in Directing and a minor in English, and believes in the power of story to give the silenced a voice. You can find her @speaksponiards on Twitter, and @eytchface on Instagram.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Furious by T.R. Ragan / Reviewed by Lyn Farquhar
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Furious on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com
T.R. Ragan
Furious by T.R. Ragan
Reviewed by Lyn Farquhar
At the open of T.R. Ragan’s Furious, pregnant Faith McMann is driving home on Friday afternoon, looking forward to the weekend. When she arrives, she walks into a nightmare. Two men have bound and duct-taped her children, Lara and Hudson. Her husband is being tortured, as his attackers interrogate him: “Where is it?” Terrified, Faith is forced to watch as the assailants murder her husband. They then take her children and slice her jugular vein, leaving her for dead. When she wakes up, her children are gone and she has lost the baby.
Ten days pass in a drug-induced coma during which time both the police and FBI agents have talked to her, but her mind has become a giant blank slate. Ultimately, she remembers what the killers and kidnappers look like, and draws their faces on the walls of her house. Faith then begins a crusade to find her children. She alerts the media, offers a reward, and consults web sites, as well as the database of missing and abused children.
When she visits the detective assigned to the case, she is infuriated when he doesn’t even remember her daughter’s name. She hits him over the head with a computer keyboard, and is required to live with her parents and attend an anger management course where she meets Beast, a bounty hunter, and his friend, Rage. All the people taking the seminar are encouraged to take nicknames. Faith names herself “Furious”. Faith and her parents suspect that the children have been taken by human traffickers and learn that one locus for the business is in Sacramento, California. Beast and Rage join Faith’s quest to find her children.
Interspersed with chapters in Faith’s voice are chapters related by Miranda, a trafficked teenager held in an out-of-the way farmhouse under the sadistic control of “Mother”. Faith’s ten-year-old daughter Lara is also in the house, having been renamed Jean. Miranda eventually escapes and helps in the quest. As the traffickers learn, there is nothing more dangerous than a mother fighting for her children.
Ragan’s book is a treatise on fighting child sex trafficking. It is not an easy read, but is well written, moves quickly, and sweeps the reader up in Faith’s mission. All parents, grandparents, and anyone who cares for or about children, should read this book. God forbid it should happen to any of us, but if it did, you would want Faith McMann fighting at your side.
Lyn Farquhar is the co-author of the Mae DecemberMystery series, under the penname Lia Farrell.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
The Great Forgetting by James Renner / Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find The Great Forgettingon Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
James Renner
The Great Forgetting by James Renner
Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
In his latest novel The Great Forgetting(Sarah Crichton Books), author James Renner once again defies the rules of commercial fiction, crafting a unique tale that will not be pigeon-holed into any specific literary genre. Having already befuddled his marketing team with his dark, time-traveling murder mystery The Man from Primrose Lane, Renner again gives his imagination free reign in The Great Forgetting. The story is an alternative reality where all the world’s great mysteries are explained, while civilization is on the brink of destruction.
The novel hooks readers with itspeculiar opening near the 9-11 crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The mystery of why a severed primate’s hand is cradling a watch belonging to one of the crash victims would be compelling enough, but the fact that the watch has an engraving from 2012, eleven years after the high-jacked jetliner fell, makes said mystery irresistible. The terror attacks that define modern American history are left dangling, as the story moves to Ohio to focus on history teacher Jack Felter.
Returning home to help care for his ailing father, Jack is recruited by his high school sweetheart to locate her missing husband Tony, Jack’s former best friend. Jack quickly discovers that Tony, a psychologist believed to have committed suicide, is alive. His whereabouts are known only to one of his patients, a young kid residing in the local mental facility. Jack partners with him to follow clues purposely left behind, which lead them to an unknown island in the Pacific.
In searching for his friend, Jack uncovers an ongoing global conspiracy to wipe the population’s memory clean of a disgraceful past in order to secure a more productive and fulfilling future. Jack and his friends are faced with the choice of whether to wake the masses to the truth or let the amnesia continue.
Renner will be back at it in May, releasing a true crime memoir of sorts titled True Crime Addict, a book Killer Nashville 2015 Guest of Honor M. William Phelps blurbed. Renner has earned the title “serial killer hunter” from some media outlets because of his extensive reporting on unsolved murders and his past body of true crime work.
Clay Snellgrove is the author of The Ball Player. He's a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. A former professional baseball player, Clay holds an MFA in creative writing from Converse College.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Baggage by S.G. Redling / Reviewed by Shelley Haley
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Baggage on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
S.G. Redling
Baggage by S.G. Redling
Reviewed by Shelley Haley
We all have a past. It can be good or bad; nonetheless, it is there as sure as your shadow. The trick is to find a way to embrace the sun. Anna Ray, protagonist of S.G. Redling’s Baggage (Thomas & Mercer) has yet to embrace her sun—which she offsets by embracing wine or beer in large quantities. Nonetheless, she manages to maintain a semblance of normalcy as she starts a new life in a small town in southern West Virginia. Baggagepulls the unsuspecting reader into the storyline headfirst, causing them growing curiosity and concern.
The beautiful, snow-capped Allegheny Mountains become a soothing balm for Anna's aching heart, but memories of her youth, and of the recent dissolution of her marriage, continue to hold her captive. This bottomless pit of pain profoundly intensifies every February 17th, the anniversary of not one, but two horrific past life experiences. Anna’s cousin Jeannie Conroy anticipates her urgent need for companionship and comfort on this dreaded day, and arrives for a visit. The two decide to spend the night out on the town, riding out the darkness together with food, laughter and alcohol.
But on a day that should be dedicated to much-needed recovery, Anna walks into a crime scene upon her arrival to work. Art professor Ellis Trachtenberg—who just happened to be handsome and available—has been murdered and mutilated, creating a maelstrom of turmoil for the community as well as for Anna.
The brutality of the crime is unexpected in this quiet, snow-covered town, and the gossip and subsequent police inquisition brings with it a flood of tragic memories and reprises Anna’s disdain for the police. A well-kept secret has been unearthed, set free by a maniacal mind with a profound need for “justice”. With only her cousin Jeannie and “mother hen” boss Meredith alongside her, Anna tries to maintain her composure. An investigation is never pleasant, especially when one becomes a suspect…
We all carry some “baggage”. The question remains: how does one effectively unload it? It is difficult to carry the day-to-day weight of emotional burdens whilst never uttering a word to a soul. S.G. Redling’s Baggage offers a direct view into a struggling young woman’s life; so effectively that one desires to carry the baggage for her! A fascinating read with a dramatic conclusion, this compelling emotional roller coaster is not to be missed!
Shelley Haley is an eccentric artist, reader of novels, writer of chronicles fueled by an insatiable fascination with history and the lessons that lie therein, prone to wanderlust and born under the sign of Aquarius.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Hap and Leonard by Joe R. Lansdale / Reviewed by Britany Menken
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Hap and Leonard on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Joe R. Lansdale
Hap and Leonard by Joe R. Lansdale
Reviewed by Britany Menken
Joe R. Lansdale’s Hap and Leonard features a Texan crime-fighting duo, who throw around rich comedic one-liners while solving mysteries of proportions as huge as their home state. Through this collection of short stories, we meet a pair of close-knit friends: Leonard, who’s all bark and all bite, and Hap, who’s happy to bite but has a sensible way about it.
In stories like “Dead Aim”, the meat and potatoes of the book, we see well-developed, polished characters trying to protect a woman from a disgruntled future husband—or so it seems, at first glance. As the story continues, the two men find themselves in a predicament, which includes a dodgy lawyer and a mountain of debt owed to thugs.
Now a SundanceTV original series, the book draws the reader in by creating comedy and crime-related tension in every nook and cranny of each story. With all the mystery, humor, and sharp-shootin’ mixed in, you meet characters so easy to connect with, you forget you’re reading a book and feel like you’re simply just getting to know someone. Brothers by bond, Hap and Leonard’s different skin colors have never stopped them from solving cases together. Though Leonard is gay, he ignores the social norms that come with it, and isn’t afraid to shove a man’s head through a wall during a heated bar fight. Hap’s red headed darling Brett spices up the collection with her sassy southern charm.
As the stories progress, we learn of Hap and Leonard’s humble beginnings, and their struggle with prejudice against Leonard’s color and sexual preference of men. This everlasting friendship catapults into a fighting duo, with the help of Brett’s vanilla cookies and crisp Dr. Pepper. If you find yourself on the wrong side of Hap and Leonard, be cautious, because they are quicker than a rattlesnake, and their bite is just as bad. If you find yourself an innocent bystander looking for a great book to read, you’ve come to the right place.
Britany Menken graduated from Tusculum College in '14 with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in British literature. Besides being an avid reader, she enjoys working for different book editing/reviewing outlets online. Other skills include making a mean pot of coffee and being a mom to a gray and orange tabby who occasionally helps her review books. (Said tabby is quite picky.)
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Annabel Lee by Mike Nappa / Reviewed by Sharon Marchisello
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Annabel Leeon Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Mike Nappa
Annabel Lee by Mike Nappa
Reviewed by Sharon Marchisello
Eleven-year-old Annabel Lee speaks English like a redneck but is actually well-educated and multi-lingual. She has no idea why her Uncle Truck, the mysterious man who raised her, has stashed her in a secret underground bunker with a man-killing German Shepherd who is a true soldier, fiercely loyal to his master. During her confinement, Annabel deciphers a journal written in German, which holds the key to why mad scientists and government agencies are sending soldiers and mercenaries to hunt her down and fight to the death to capture her.
Mike Nappa’s Annabel Lee (Revell) is a fast-paced thriller, alternating viewpoints between Annabel Lee, The Mute, and Trudi Coffey. The Mute is a former army sniper who owes his life to Annabel's Uncle Truck. His mission is to find the girl and keep her safe—especially out of the hands of the diabolical “Dr. Smith”, who has led the search for her.
Private detective Trudi Coffey becomes involved when an important clue to Annabel Lee's location is found in a book of the works of Edgar Allen Poe, a gift from her former husband and ex-business partner, Samuel Hill. Samuel Hill moonlights for the C.I.A., and once served in the army with Truck. Coffey and Hill are forced to pair up again to solve the riddle, rescue the girl, and stay alive in the process. Their sexual tension and past hurt feelings add interest and complexity to the story.
Annabel Lee is the first mystery in a new series featuring detectives Coffey and Hill, a pair that promises to entertain, solving crimes while bickering like Castle and Beckett. Author Mike Nappa, a former youth pastor, has had a successful career as an inspirational writer, but this is his first foray into the thriller genre. Annabel Lee contains a touch of a Christian theme (mainly portrayed through a character's faith), but is in no way preachy or off-putting for an audience who does not read that genre. Thriller readers will not be disappointed.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
The Bursar's Wife by E. G. Rodford / Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
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The Bursar's Wife by E. G. Rodford
Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
The Bursar’s Wife(Titan Books) by E.G. Rodford (pseudonym) is the first detective novel by the award-winning author Mischa Hiller. Private detective George Kocharyan is scratching out a living chasing cheating spouses and insurance fraud perpetrators around Cambridge, England, when the story begins. When the beautiful Sylvia Booker, wife of the bursar at Morley College, hires Kocharyan to follow her daughter, whom she believes has fallen in with the wrong crowd, he suddenly finds himself immersed in a decades-long blackmail ordeal, triggered by sexual assault and ending in murder and suicide.
The detective’s moral compass points mostly straight and true throughout the novel, and his need to right wrongs fuels his search for the truth as much as his commitment to his client. Kocharyan’s ailing father is eventually connected to the mess, as is a recent client, making the detective a person of interest for the police.
Readers quickly find traits in Kocharyan akin to other popular sleuths to grace bedside tables and beach chairs worldwide: Cormoran Strike, Harry Bosch, Spenser, Robicheaux, Philip Marlow. But while Kocharyan can feel all too familiar, he is an easy hero to cheer for as he bumbles about. His wife has left him for a woman. His wardrobe is frumpy. He struggles with technology. He lives alone in his parents’ house that still displays decades-old décor. He leans heavily on his assistant and her college-age son, but with their help, Kocharyan slowly puts the pieces together.
The Bursar’s Wife benefits from the author’s mastery of craft in his previous novels (as Mischa Hiller), works described as ambitious and important. The story unfolds effortlessly and is as pleasing as any popular primetime TV cop drama. The book might not be singled out by readers but will be fondly remembered someday when it stands on the bookshelf next to the tenth Kocharyan mystery.
Clay Snellgrove is the author of The Ball Player. He's a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. A former professional baseball player, Clay holds an MFA in creative writing from Converse College.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty / Reviewed by M. K. Sealy
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
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Adrian McKinty
Credit: Anna McGuire
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty
Reviewed by M. K. Sealy
Thanks to Rain Dogs(Seventh Street Books), Adrian McKinty’s latest installment of his Detective Sean Duffy novels, Northern Irish crime fiction has firmly established itself as one of my preferred genres. Fast-paced and riveting throughout the entire novel, Rain Dogs has elegant dialogue and descriptions that immediately pull readers into the many beautifully described locations. McKinty, with his knowledge and experience, was able to create an intimate, engaging world that had me feeling as though I had once visited Carrickfergus Castle in a dream.
Additionally, McKinty has crafted a believable detective with believable struggles—with Detective Sean Duffy, readers quickly come to realize that solving the crime is only half of the equation. Duffy has had to deal with several cases that he solved, but was unable to take to court. McKinty dabbles not in the realm of glamorized crime fiction; instead, he creates a gritty, true-to-life crime-solving atmosphere. The inclusion of realistic struggles in addition to the larger-than-life feeling of the plot creates a dynamism that had me turning the pages as quickly as possible, as I became more familiar with Detective Duffy and the difficulties he faces throughout the novel.
When is a suicide not a suicide? has been one of the most familiar themes of crime fiction, yet, with Detective Duffy, McKinty breathes new life into a tired plot device. When Detective Duffy becomes involved in an investigation into a crime that is not at all what it seems (as fictional crimes rarely are), readers are dragged quickly and deeply into McKinty’s world. With his settings, characters, and the motivation that sits on the breastbone of those characters, McKinty creates a world that is rooted in reality, but that is enveloping enough for readers to forget their own.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Cracked by Barbra Leslie / Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Cracked on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Barbra Leslie
Cracked by Barbra Leslie
Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier
If it weren’t for the unexpected death of her twin sister, Ginger, Danny Cleary—the heroine of Barbra Leslie’s new novel Cracked (Titan Books)—might still be holed up in her apartment mindlessly wasting away on crack cocaine. Sadly, her sister’s death is just the shot in the arm Danny needs to kick the habit—at least for a chapter or two—and seek vengeance on the person who killed her.
Hooked yet? Thought so.
Leslie has created an anti-hero to root for in the vein of Walt White from Breaking Bad: a tormented, down-on-herself woman who would much rather seek solace from the fumes of her crack pipe than deal with people face-to-face, or with life in general. (She doesn’t even have to go out to get her drugs; they are delivered straight to her apartment by courier just like a hot pizza.)
But when her sister’s own twin sons are kidnapped as well, Cleary abandons the relatively safe confines of her half-life to embark on a trippy, vigilante-styled quest for vengeance that takes her from the streets of LA to Toronto to a family cabin in the Maine wilderness.
Even as a desire for revenge becomes a new obsession for Cleary, though, old habits die hard. In between endless questions from nosy cops and increasingly violent confrontations with drug dealers and potential suspects in her sister’s death, Cleary all too readily indulges in her next fix. Readers, in turn, can’t help but wonder if she can stay straight long enough to get to the truth and, perhaps more importantly, turn her life around.
The first-person narrative allows readers to get deep inside Cleary’s thoughts and experience her feelings firsthand, including her sudden urges for a line of coke. While some might see Cleary’s more than occasional hits as an excuse for a pick-me-up, Leslie doesn’t downplay the effects the drug habit is having on Cleary’s mind and body. As Cleary points out early on, “for a crack addict, the coming down is so bad that you’d rather keep going until there is no going left.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Leslie piles on enough twists and turns and action-packed shoot-‘em-ups to keep readers turning pages late into the night.
Cracked marks Leslie’s second book—following her previously published novel, Nerve, and a screenplay for Straightedge Films—and is the first in a planned trilogy of adventures featuring Danny Cleary.
G. Robert Frazier is an author and screenwriter living in La Vergne, TN. Follow him on Twitter @grfrazier23 and visit his Adventures in Writing blog at https://grfrazier.wordpress.com for more reviews and stories about the writing life.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
The Unfortunate Englishman by John Lawton / Reviewed by Kelly Saderholm
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
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John Lawton
Credit: Nick Lockett
The Unfortunate Englishman by John Lawton
Reviewed by Kelly Saderholm
Although John Lawton’s newest book The Unfortunate Englishman(The Atlantic Monthly Press) is the second in his Joe Wilderness series, it works quite well as a standalone novel—though Lawton’s characters are so intriguing, they will undoubtedly send the reader looking for the first in the series, Then We Take Berlin. The Unfortunate Englishman is a spy novel in the best le Carré fashion: no whiz-bang James Bond flash and gadgetry, but rather the chillingly realistic mind-games, intrigue, and political maneuvering of the Cold War era.
The Unfortunate Englishman opens with the main character, Joe Wilderness, mistakenly shooting someone in what he thought was self-defense (nothing is ever what it seems), and landing in a West Berlin Prison in early 1963. His only chance for freedom is to sign a pact with the devil, or, in his case, his father-in-law Alec Burne-Jones, who happens to be a senior Agent at M16. Burne-Jones takes the wayward Wilderness back to London and plants him firmly behind a desk. But of course, Joe is again called into action, back to Berlin.
Lawton gives us the compelling back-story of two spies, both unfortunate Englishmen in their own ways, caught on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain. It is Joe’s mission to make what is seemingly a simple exchange. But Cold War intrigues are not simple, and when Joe further complicates things by trying to turn a profit on the side, the plan starts to unravel even as it begins.
Although the nonlinear narrative is initially a bit jarring, the stories of the two spies are beautifully done and well written. Lawton deftly picks up the loose ends of the story and weaves them into a captivating narrative that keeps the reader hooked. Along the way, he adds many historical details, providing the reader with an informative and entertaining read.
Kelly Saderholm has written, blogged, and lectured about aspects of the mystery novel. She has moderated panels and presented papers at literary conferences, on both the Mystery Novel and Urban Fantasy. 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 is a recipient of a Kentucky Foundation for Women grant. She lives in South Central Kentucky with her family and two feline office assistants.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Pegasus Down by Philip Donlay / Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
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Philip Donlay
Photo Credit: Pamela Sue Martin
Pegasus Down by Philip Donlay
Reviewed by G. Robert Frazier
Before you crack open Pegasus Down (Oceanview Publishing), the new novel by Philip Donlay, you better buckle up: You’re in for a hell of a ride. This action-thriller soars from start to finishwithpage-a-minute suspense and thrills to keep you riveted to your seat, just like an on-screen summer blockbuster.
Donlay drops readers, and one of his main characters, right into the fray in his opening chapter as a CIA-operated Learjet crashes behind enemy lines somewhere in Eastern Europe. On board are Special Agent Lauren McKenna, code name “Pegasus”, and a recently liberated American scientist who possesses technological plans for a new stealth jet capable of delivering a nuclear device. McKenna manages to swim free of the wreckage, and must immediately go on the run from foreign forces and a terrorist group that will stop at nothing to obtain the technology.
Half a world away, the CIA is reluctant to expose its presence and risk a political backlash between countries, but they don’t mind letting McKenna’s husband, billionaire Donovan Nash, in on events. Nash swiftly calls in a few favors and assembles a crack team of operatives to join him on a clandestine rescue operation. Once in Europe, he cashes in another chip to enlist the help of an old friend who would rather see him dead.
It’s clear from the outset that Donlay’s characters are no pushovers. Each is highly skilled, highly trained, and committed to the task at hand. Lauren in particular is no damsel in distress, and can hold her own in a fight, but the question quickly becomes one of how long she can outlast the hordes of troops searching for her.
The roller-coaster action reaches a thrilling aerial climax as the team pursues one of the scientist’s stealth jets before it can drop its payload on Russia and spark a world war. Donlay’s firsthand knowledge in the pilot’s seat—he learned to fly at age seventeen and has logged over six million miles since then—is evident as he details the aerial maneuvers in an easily relatable way for readers. He’s an accomplished writer, too, with five other critically acclaimed Donovan Nash books already under his belt.
G. Robert Frazier reads and writes in La Vergne, TN. Follow him on Twitter @grfrazier23 or 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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
The Shut-Eye by Belinda Bauer / Reviewed by M. K. Sealy
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find The Shut Eye on Killer Nashville's associate, Amazon.com*
Belinda Bauer
© Johnny Ring
The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer
Reviewed by M. K. Sealy
The Shut Eye(Grove Atlantic), the latest from CWA Gold Dagger winner Belinda Bauer, had me on the edge of my seat from page one. Not only does The Shut Eye have engaging characters and a plot that immediately reeled me in, but it also boasts well-written dialogue and description. I found myself becoming greedy for each chapter, stealing moments to read whenever I could. With some of the best descriptive work I have seen in a long time, each page breathes new life into the last, bringing the characters, settings, and plot to life and to the forefront of the reader's mind—you’ll still be thinking about The Shut Eye long after you've finished reading it.
Bauer’s newest novel follows the fascinating, albeit heartrending, desperate acts of a mother searching for her missing son. This novel explores the question, When all other options are gone, what can Anna Buck do to find out what happened to her son?, and offers an answer that most would consider unorthodox: consult a psychic. Though all logic points in the opposite direction, and though it would be easier to believe that the “shut eye” is a phony, Anna is forced to face uncomfortable and undeniable truths.
Belinda Bauer is a crime fiction force to be reckoned with. The Shut Eye, with its fast pace, well-developed characters, and amazingly crafted dialogue and description, offers readers an escape from reality, through a suspense-filled story that will have them soon devouring Bauer’s other works as well.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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.
Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon / Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Try Not to Breathe on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Holly Seddon
Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Debut novelist Holly Seddon gives readers a compelling mystery in Try Not to Breathe. Using fifteen-year old memories from the victim’s perspective, Seddon cleverly doles out disturbing tidbitsof the seedy seduction and brutal assault of an underage girl without identifying the culprit. Seddon leaves that discovery to her tortured protagonist Alex Dale.
Journalist Alex Dale, once a highly respected and well-paid columnist for the Times, is now chasing lowly freelance work in and around London. A barely functioning alcoholic, Alex has lived a life filled with scenes that belong in the Academy Award-winning film Leaving Las Vegas. Her daily battle with the demons of addiction is visceral and heartbreaking.
While interviewing a scientist who claims to be able to communicate with brain-dead patients, Alex finds herself at the bedside of comatose assault victim Amy Stevenson. The unsolved crime grabbed headlines fifteen years earlier, and Amy’s familiar face draws Alex’s interest, turning the profile piece into an investigative jaunt to discover whodunit.
Alex proves a competent investigator during her few sober hours each day. She coerces Amy Stevenson’s teenage sweetheart, the only person from Amy’s past who continues to visit her, to aid the investigative efforts. She rips open the deepest wounds of her alcoholic past to further her search for answers, contacting her ex-husband, a policeman with access to the old case files. While Alex ultimately puts together circumstantial evidence that points to the perpetrator, the prosecution hinges on new-age neuroscience techniques that can draw answers from unresponsive patients.
Try Not to Breathe is a tightly constructed mystery. Seddon demonstrates her literary chops without ever taking her foot off the accelerator. She creates suspense easily, and keeps stakes high without having to resort to over-the-top action or unbelievable behavior. Readers will be eagerly awaiting the author’s next effort.
Clay Snellgrove is the author of The Ball Player. He's a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. A former professional baseball player, Clay holds an MFA in creative writing from Converse College.
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 Emily Eytchison and credited guest reviewers.
For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleBookCon, 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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