KN Magazine: Reviews
Exhume by Danielle Girard / Reviewed by Garret C. Crowell
Exhume
By Danielle Girard
Thomas and Mercer
$15.95
ISBN 978-1503939301
Published October 1, 2016
Book of the Day
Exhume by Danielle Girard – the first book in a series that follows San Francisco Medical Examiner Annabelle Schwartzman – is a fast-paced read that surprises the reader with each turn of the page.
Dr. Schwartzman is our protagonist, and her relationship with her historically abusive ex-husband is rooted firmly in the realm of books like Gone Girl, or Girl on the Train. The similarities end there, though, because our good doctor is already well into her fresh start when we meet her, having begun a new life on the opposite coast from where her troubles began. Our introduction to the ex-husband is unconventional in that it follows the format of the best horror and thriller works. That is to say, the author doesn’t show us the monster right away; she makes us wait for the payoff. That revelation's a long time coming, but the influence of the dreaded Spencer (the ex from Annabelle’s past) is felt long before the reader meets him.
Exhume is perfectly paced and keeps the reader intrigued from start to finish. Girard’s love of books really shines through to the text (books factor into the plot, mood, and backgrounds). There's enough of the procedural protocols evident within the story to placate those of us who like our cops bagging and tagging and running down leads, but enough dark development to delight those who enjoy Denise Mina’s Garnethill books or Iris Johanson’s Eve series. I was further pleased with the strong-but-scarred good doctor, who is not plagued with the maladies that seems to afflict a lot of heroines in books at present. She feels like a real person, which is a refreshing change.
The book begins in San Francisco but ranges wide in terms of locale, so people who like a little bit of epic scope to their stories should feel satisfied with this. The story contains a big cast of characters that, despite multiple locations and identity questions, never becomes unwieldy or hard to follow.
Exhume is an exciting and memorable introduction to Girard’s series. Read it and be entertained. I was.
Note: You won't have long to wait for book 2 in this series. Excise will be available August 22, 2017!
Garrett C. Crowell is a Nashville native, Murfreesboro Librarian, husband, and father of two. He reads more than 100 books a year and likes some of them.
Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love by James Runcie / Reviewed by Bree Goodchild
Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love
By James Runcie
Bloomsbury
$28.00
ISBN 978-1632867940
Available 5/23/2017
Book of the Day Review
Booze, smokes, family, hot jazz, community, religion, PTSD: all pieces that fit together to create the puzzle that is Sidney Chambers. A Reverend Canon and amateur detective, this decorated WWII soldier-turned-priest continues to struggle between morality and the trauma of his past in Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love by James Runcie.
Concluding The Grantchester Mysteries series, Runcie–whose father was a decorated WWII soldier and former 101st Archbishop of Canterbury, and whom the character of Chambers is based on, delivers a story of intrigue, warmth, and perseverance that leaves you at the edge of your armchair asking, “Well, Chambers, whodunit?!”
The story begins as Sidney Chambers is enjoying a morning walk through Bluebell Wood with his young daughter and their dog. It’s 1971 in Grantchester, England. The morning dew glistens as the rising sun reveals the promise of a new day. But, the trio’s peaceful morning is interrupted when Chambers discovers a corpse along their path. Beside the body is a basket filled with various poisonous plants. It will take the skills of both Chambers and his friend, Inspector Georgie Keating, to solve the case that could rattle the lives of all the good folks of Cambridgeshire.
Runcie’s details of the culture of Grantchester, and the charming characters he creates are reminiscent of Agatha Christie. He fills the chapters with clever plot twists, complex love triangles, and witty dialogue. But, it is the underlying themes of forgiveness and love that truly sets this story apart from others in the genre.
Whether you have followed the series through from the start or started at the end and worked your way backwards, the life of Sidney Chambers is an enjoyable read at any point within his story.
Bree Goodchild is a recent graduate of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville with a BA in English and Theatre Arts. She currently lives in Washington state with her beagle mix, Molly. A fan of a wide genre of books and authors, most recently Temple Grandin, Ira Glass, Terry Moore, Sebastian Barry, and Zora Neale Hurston.
Blood Wedding by Pierre LeMaitre / Reviewed by Laura Hartman
Blood Wedding
By Pierre LeMaitre
MacLehose Press
$26.99
ISBN 978-0997211702
Published September 6, 2016
Book of the Day Review
Blood Wedding, by Pierre LeMairtre, is the story of Sophie Duguet, a woman in conflict. At the very least she is mentally unstable, but she is quite possibly a murderer. Somehow, she goes from being a happily married career woman to a fugitive in the blink of an eye, and she cannot understand how the whole thing happened to her.
It starts with little things: missing items, forgetting to do small errands, lost birthday gifts that turn up months later. These blips in memory lead up to horrible mistakes at work. Soon, Sophie begins to lose more than everyday items; she is missing parts of her day. She finds herself in places and situations, but she does not have a clue as to how or why she is there. Her husband is losing his patience, and she is sure that she has lost her mind.
Each slip of memory chips a sliver of Sophie’s psyche away until she does not know who she is anymore. It is not hard for her to disappear and reinvent herself when it becomes necessary; she does what she has to do. What is hard is finding a new husband whose name she can take to solidify her new persona. She has always known that somewhere, inside of her there is a strong, smart, woman. But, is there enough of that woman left to save her?
Enter Frantz, the shy, military man Sophie meets through a dating service. Frantz wants to help Sophie and she is relieved to find someone she can trust to take care of her. Even though she does not really love him—she needs him. He just might be her ticket out of the craziness her life has become—or is she jumping from the frying pan into the fire and making a pact with the Devil himself?
Unbeknownst to Sophie, a seemingly remote catalyst sets off a series of life changing events. Sophie pulls the reader along her descent into madness all the while hoping she will be able to claw her way back from to become the person she once was. All of this could happen to anyone if they are in the wrong place at the right time. It is terrifying to realize how easily Sophie’s life turned upside down and out of control.
If you look up a list of suspenseful thrillers—Blood Wedding should be at the top of the list. I could not turn the pages fast enough to see what would happen next. The plot is so solid that I could not find an unanswered question. The supporting characters are relevant and memorable without overshadowing the story line. Their interactions with the main characters enhance and help to advance the plot. The main characters are fully developed, multi-dimensional, and demand the reader’s attention.
Nothing and no one is what or who they seem to be as the plot swirls around Sophie and Frantz. LeMaitre expertly grabs the reader and drags them into the depths of Sophie’s despair and the plotting mind of Frantz. He then takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through a house of mirrors at breakneck speed. The reader will question the ideas they had when they first met Sophie and Frantz. This adventure is one that readers live for. No one will be disappointed.
From the first page to the last, the suspense never stops. I love this book. The lightning fast pace, perfect plot, and characters that are unerringly realistic are reminiscent of a Hitchcock movie. Each page helps to build the tension until the story explodes in the final chapters. The ending is satisfying—leaving no loose ends begging for explanation—which is perfection.
Pierre LeMaitre is an acclaimed, award winning author and screenwriter. His books are originally written in French, but many have been translated to English. Blood Wedding is the first novel I have read by LeMaitre, but it will not be the last.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from the publisher/author in connection with Killer Nashville in return for my review. Copyright © 2017 Laura Hartman
Laura Hartman is a short story author and book reviewer. She has work appearing in A Woman’s Touch: 11 Stories of Murder & Misdemeanors and The Killer Wore Cranberry, A Second Helping. She began reviewing books for GenReviews in 2011 and currently reviews for publicist Maryglenn McCombs, Penguin First to Read and NetGalley. She is a writer by day and a reader by night.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from the publisher/author in connection with Killer Nashville in return for my review. Copyright © 2017 Laura Hartman
Grace by Howard Owen / Reviewed by Robert Selby
Book of the Day Review
Grace, by Howard Owens, grabs you from the opening paragraph and refuses to let go. The main character, Willie Black, is a blue collar, crass and colorful reporter following a murder in the neighborhood. The first several “graphs” report a newspaper employee holding the editor hostage with an unloaded gun, and propel the story line toward the killer of his brother. The murder of a young and aspiring black teenager turns quickly into the investigating a couple of decades of similar young boys that have disappeared; and Willie is following that thread.
The most captivating aspect of this book is the development of the main character, and his story may be more compelling than the story he’s following and trying to unravel. In fact, unraveling is apparently something that Willie is most talented at achieving. He does so with an ever-mounting sense of protectiveness that grows in the reader, trying to ‘will’ him not to head off the deep end. He is at times throughout the story line more detective than reporter, but his hunches and ability to put together the clues far outclass the local law enforcement.
More often than not, the local police chief has about had it with Willie and comes close several times to 86’ing the reporter from any interaction with himself or his officers. Ultimately, this hardscrabble reporter stays a step or two in front of the investigating officers and becomes the guy that puts the defiant police chief in his place by solving 20 years’ worth of unsolved murders. Owens has created a reoccurring character who is similar to Sam Spade—especially in regard to his penchant for colorful— and use of— challenging language, particularly when he’s been over served. He picks up on clues that elude others as often as he picks arguments that others would avoid.
At the climax of the story line, a celebrity and local philanthropist is gruesomely murdered in his estate and Willie recognizes that this can’t be coincidental. As he continuously puts himself in danger with nearly every other character in the story in some fashion or another, it becomes a large part of the suspense for the reader as to whether Willie can solve the puzzle before he implodes upon himself. There seems to be more impetus for Willie Black to destroy himself than there is to be the hero of the tale. Those that enjoy a great wordsmith and a unforgettable character in a classic whodunit style will enjoy this next reporter’s tale.
Robert Selby is a screenplay writer, book reviewer, and volunteer at Killer Nashville
Poisoned Justice by Jeffrey Lockwood / Review by Jeanie Stewart
Poisoned Justice
By Jeffery Alan Lockwood
Pen-L Publishing
$14.99
ISBN 978-1683130086
Published October 11, 2016
Book of the Day Review
Cross a hard-drinking, hard-nosed, hard-boiled 70’s PI with a guy who likes bugs and classical music and you get C. V. Riley. Riley, the hero of Poisoned Justice by Jeffrey Lockwood, copes with the vermin of 1970’s San Francisco with neither regrets nor excuses.
When an ecology professor is found dead in his Los Angeles hotel room, his death is chalked up to natural causes—but his widow thinks otherwise. And after examining insects from the room, so does Riley. Promised a princely sum for his favorite charity, Riley, an ex-cop turned pest exterminator, agrees to help the widow find the truth. His investigations lead him from the conference attendees in LA, to the professor’s friends and enemies in Berkley, and even to the drug trade in San Francisco. He has run-ins with professors, pot-growers, drug-dealers, radical ecology-activists, and sexy teaching assistants. The list of suspects grows when he learns the dead professor had plans to bomb a chemical plant. Could the politically connected bigwigs in the chemical business have put a hit out on the professor?
Riley’s backstory, carefully woven into the fast-paced action, reveals his motivation to rid San Francisco of vermin—both the 6-legged and the 2-legged kind. But how will he do it? Will he go the legal route or take care of business in his own way?
Lockwood’s book fits well into the tough PI genre with seedy bars, fist-fights, and even the practice of giving suspects the third degree. The characters, though a bit insensitive, are true to the attitudes and turmoil of California in the late ‘60’s. Fans of the fictional characters of Raymond Chandler or Robert Parker will enjoy this tough but sensitive lover of booze, bugs, and Beethoven.
Jeanie Stewart has been a mother, grandmother, speaker, freelance editor, teacher, and library director, but before, during, and after these, she was a writer. Her first novel was published in 1997. Eight books followed in Bantam’s SVU series, including thrillers: Don’t Answer the Phone and Deadly Terror. She has published 9 children’s books for Steck-Vaughn and Rigby. Ten Book Summer won the Missouri Writer’s Guild 2002 award for Best Juvenile book. New Coach Blues won the same award in 2004. Shifting Ground won MWG’s award for best book about Missouri. She has also published numerous short stories and articles for children and adults
Another Day Another Dali by Sandra Orchard / Review by Kathleen Cosgrove
Another Day Another Dali
By Sandra Orchard
Revell
$14.99
ISBN 978-0800726690
Published October 18, 2016
Book of the Day Review
Another Day Another Dali by Sandra Orchard, is the fun and fast-paced sequel to A Fool and His Monet. The story’s hero, Serena Jones, is an art fraud investigator with the FBI. When she takes on the case of a forged Salvador Dali painting at the request of her grandmother, she sets in motion a chain of twisting events that does not stop until you reach the last page. It is chock-full of interesting characters, including an aunt who keeps turning up in unexpected places, and a nice little love triangle that doesn’t resolve in the end, giving the reader hope for more in this series.
Orchard introduces the action right away and paces the novel in such a way that the reader wants to keep turning the page. But she does not allow the action of the story to bog down the plot or exhaust the reader. Her detailed research gives the reader a behind-the-scenes look into the world of art forgery and fraud. There is plenty of humor and lightness to balance the dire undercurrent of villainy and perhaps even corrupt police officers.
All in all, this is an clever mystery with a smart, believable and—above-all—an immensely likable hero that will give the reader a fascinating look into the world of art and the people who love it, steal it, or forge it—sometimes all at once
Center Stage by Denise Grover Swank / Reviewed by Jeanie Stewart
Book of the Day Review
Center Stage is aptly named. Denise Grover Swank’s main character, Magnolia (Maggie) Steele, is always center stage—not only in her career, but in her life. Maggie attracts drama the way a magnet attracts iron. At times it flies at her hard and fast, and the impact is beyond her control. When an on-stage blow-up with a cheating understudy sends her Broadway career crashing like the scenery around her, she’s left with nothing.
With no money, no job, and no place to live, Maggie is forced to go back home to Franklin, Tennessee. Her mama takes her in, but there is no sweet reunion. Maggie had fled Franklin ten years earlier in disgrace, and even she doesn’t remember the details of the awful night that still gives her nightmares.
Before Maggie can get her bags unpacked, Mama, insists she help out at the party she’s catering for a country music star. There, while serving crab puffs to the Nashville movers and shakers, Maggie stumbles across the body of a sleazy agent she’d once sent to the hospital and had recently threatened. She immediately becomes a person of interest to the Franklin police.
The only way to prove her innocence is to find out who really killed the sleaze. The deeper she digs, the worse things get. She starts getting threatening emails. Her brother hates her. People from her past are angry about the way she ran out on them years ago. She meets new people but doesn’t know who to trust. And then there’s a second murder.
The author’s fast-paced writing and weaving of the past and present keeps the story moving. CenterStage is the first of four books in the Magnolia Steele Mystery series. Act Two and Call Back are available now and the final book, Curtain Call, will be published this fall.
Readers who like strong heroines will root for Maggie. Who wants to harm her? Will she stay in Franklin or go back to New York City? And how will she cope when she finally remembers the horror of the night she left her past behind?
Jeanie Stewart has been a mother, grandmother, speaker, freelance editor, teacher, and library director, but before, during, and after these, she was a writer. Her first novel was published in 1997. Eight books followed in Bantam’s SVU series, including thrillers: Don’t Answer the Phone and Deadly Terror. She has published 9 children’s books for Steck-Vaughn and Rigby. Ten Book Summer won the Missouri Writer’s Guild 2002 award for Best Juvenile book. New Coach Blues won the same award in 2004. Shifting Ground won MWG’s award for best book about Missouri. She has also published numerous short stories and articles for children and adults
The Widower's Wife by Cate Holahan
The Widower's Wife
By Cate Holahan
Crooked Lane Books
$25.99
ISBN 978-1629537658
Published August 9, 2016
Book of the Day
The Widowers Wife, a thriller by Cate Holahan features an interesting blend of third person/first person viewpoint. The events leading up to Ana Bacon’s death are related in first person as they occur. The subsequent insurance investigation trails her death by some 4 months, and is written in third person. The book features an intricate plot that leaves the reader wondering which thread will unravel, and what it might disclose.
When does an accidental drowning arouse suspicion? In this thriller, when the insurance investigator is a former policeman turned private eye. Ryan Monahan just can’t put his finger on it, but with millions of dollars at stake, he follows his hunches. Monahan is a private eye straight out of the Peter Falk as Columbo mode, complete with the obligatory “just one more question” as he interviews witnesses.
All signs point to an accidental death, but something still bothers him. Was it depression that drove the young wife and mother to jump? Or was the husband shopping around for a newer model? Was she having an affair with her boss, or was he a would-be lover, blackmailed by her? And was her husband, an unemployed and disgraced Wall Street trader, the manipulator behind her death?
The plot is filled with twist and turns, each seemingly the right path only to cross another, equally plausible answer. As the two viewpoints come closer to the same time and place, even more surprises await the reader. It’s difficult to put down – don’t begin it late at night or the next day will be rough.
While Holahan’s mixing of person is unique, buried nuggets can be found throughout the volume. An example is “For someone like her, the stares of men had to be like sunrays: something that happened in daylight and not worth noticing unless overly hot or oppressive.” The reader will come across them, and cannot help but pause and read them over, adding to the overall enjoyment.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year private sector career, he’s (maybe) finally settling down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services manager for a Huntsville, AL based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives, and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Normal by Warren Ellis / Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Book of the Day
In the very near future, public and private interests will hire individuals to spend their days considering, foretelling, and predicting events, trends, challenges, and unavoidable disasters soon to impact the human race and the world. In his new novel Normal, author Warren Ellis introduces us to a collection of these professional prognosticators at a secluded rehab facility called Normal Head where they grapple with the insanity that their career has prompted. When one of the patients at the facility vanishes from his room, leaving behind only a swarm of strange insects in his place, Normal Head’s newest arrival, Adam Dearden feels called to solve the mystery of the disappearance.
Two different types of people have been forcibly detained at Normal Head. Foresight strategists are civil employees that gaze into the abyss and search for strategies that might help the human race avoid the coming doom. Strategic forecasters are the hired guns of corporations that brainstorm ways clients can prepare and survive the doom that is imminent. Dearden’s blurry past seems to include interaction with both sides of the profession which puts him in a unique position to seek information and guidance from longtime residents of the segregated rehab facility.
A successful author of comic books, Ellis aptly creates a compelling, graphic, and surreal setting in this bold, suspenseful tale. Fans of the author will love the intricate sociocultural commentary that is woven seamlessly throughout the narrative. As Dearden avoids the staff and ongoing surveillance in his efforts to discover the truth behind his fellow patient’s disappearance, he interacts with a cast of futurists that share the observations and visions that broke them, caused them to develop the “abyss gaze,” a symptom that signals the person needs to be committed.
As readers learn the tragic fate of our world through these conversations, they will find that the writer’s imagined culture not only feels possible but close at hand. Ellis takes risks in crafting this bizarre story but ultimately succeeds with the help of a brilliant, conspiratorial ending. Every sentence feels important, requiring a focused eye in order to absorb the smart, tightly packed prose.
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.
Escape Velocity by Susan Wolfe / Reviewed by Laura Hartman
Escape Velocity
By Susan Wolfe
Steelkilt Press
$29.99
ISBN 978-0997211702
Published October 4, 2016
Book of the Day
Escape Velocity has been described as being approximately 33 times the speed of sound on earth. That defines the pace of this second novel by Susan Wolfe.
Georgia Griffin is a daddy’s girl. She loved spending time with him at their home in Piney, Arkansas. Taking care of their horses and learning how to read and manipulate people were activities he taught Georgia and her younger sister Katie-Ann. They have his skills, but didn’t use them. But when one if his cons goes bad and sends him to prison, Georgia knows she has to make some drastic changes to survive. Things go from bad to worse after her mama takes up with a real creep. Georgia set a goal and is determined to see it through. Getting a job in Silicon Valley is the first step, and then saving enough money to get her younger sister out of harm’s way is the second. Katie-Ann is only in high school and too much of a temptation for her mom’s latest boyfriend, so Georgia is on a tight timeline to accomplish what may be near impossible with only a paralegal certificate.
Lumina Software could be her big break. She has interviewed with several companies, but nothing has panned out so far. But this interview is different. She is so convinced it might be the thrust she needs to begin her escape velocity, she is willing to put just a little of what her daddy taught her into play to give herself an edge. She immediately clicks with her potential boss, and finally getting the break she has been looking for; the job is hers.
The pay is great, her boss is even better than she first imagined, but some of the others in the company seemed to have personal agendas. The deeper she becomes involved; the more Georgia feels she needs to channel her daddy to make sure the company is a success. After all, if the company has problems, she might lose her job, then how would she get her little sister out of the mess of a life she has in Arkansas? Georgia is good at finding things out and using them to her advantage. If she pulls one small con to help the company, how could that be wrong? First she needs to find a vulnerable spot or two in a few obnoxious execs, then play them just like daddy would. But could she find out something that might put her in more danger than the business losing a bit of money? Certainly these boardroom bullies wouldn’t go as far as to kill someone – or are the stakes higher than Georgia imagined?
I love the mind games the characters play with each other. After working in an office for over twenty years, I could picture a few of my former unsavory co-workers taking things a step further than they should and then over the line. Fortunately in my life that never happened, but the realistic settings, events and characters in Wolfe’s book bring the schemers and scammers to life. I love hating the bad guys in this book and kept turning the pages to find out if and how they get what they deserved.
Anyone who likes twists, turns and intrigue will love this book. It was fun trying to figure out just who was bad and who was good until the very end. There is nothing better for a mystery reader than not knowing all of the answers until they are revealed in the final chapter, and then realizing the clues were there all along.
Laura Hartman is a short story author and book reviewer. She has work appearing in A Woman’s Touch: 11 Stories of Murder & Misdemeanors and The Killer Wore Cranberry, A Second Helping. She began reviewing books for GenReviews in 2011 and currently reviews for publicist Maryglenn McCombs, Penguin First to Read and NetGalley. She is a writer by day and a reader by night.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from the publisher/author in connection with Killer Nashville in return for my review. Copyright © 2017 Laura Hartman
Order to Kill by Kyle Mills / Reviewed by G. Robert FrazierKiller Nashville Book of the Day
Book of the Day
Vince Flynn’s CIA agent Mitch Rapp is in good hands with author Kyle Mills, who takes Rapp to the limit in his latest novel, Order to Kill ($28.99, Atria Books). This time around, Rapp is called upon to ferret out the location of nuclear fuel stolen from a half dozen Pakistani warheads and prevent the fissile material from being detonated in a series of dirty bombs.
Rapp goes deep undercover, taking on the identity of an American ISIS recruit. In doing so, he subjects himself to a ferocious beating at the hands of a friend in order to mimic the wounds inflicted on the actual recruit by interrogators. Apparently there is no easier way to play the part—there are no makeup artists on hand—showing the lengths that Rapp will go for God and country.
At the same time, Rapp is desperate to discover the identity of a Russian assassin who has critically injured his friend, Scott Coleman. Grisha Azarov, who is in the employ of Russian President Maxim Krupin, has an agenda of his own—specifically the death of Rapp—setting the stage for a knockdown kill-or-be-killed faceoff between the two.
Mills writes with authority and skill, making him a worthy successor to Flynn, who died in 2013. His prose literally puts you in the middle of the action so that you feel like you are ducking bullets right alongside Rapp.
While Rapp isn’t known for sentiment —this is an action-thriller, after all—Mills does a good job attempting to humanize him somewhat in this outing. For instance, when his friend Coleman is nearly killed, Rapp is clearly upset. He shirks orders just to bring Coleman home, even though it means letting his adversary get away.
Despite all of that, you never feel like Rapp is in any mortal danger. That’s the downside to a series character like Rapp or James Bond or Jack Bauer. You know that no matter what happens, he’ll survive and he’ll get the bad guy. It takes a bit of the suspense out, but not much. Because in the end, what readers really want from adventures like these is a hero kicking butt and taking names, which Rapp is.
When he’s not working on his own novel or screenplays, G. Robert Frazier writes about other writers and their works on his blog and other sites such as BookPage and US Review of Books. He is a script reader for both the Austin Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival screenwriting competitions and is a member of the Tennessee Screenwriting Association. He used to write and edit stories for several newspapers in the Nashville area until the industry caved in on itself and set him free. And he once won a flash fiction contest in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, so there’s that.
A Negro and an Ofay by Danny Gardner / Reviewed by A. Grace Miller
Book of the Day
A Negro and an Ofay by Danny Gardner, set in Southville, IL in the 1950s, delves into the world of crime and race in a way that feels new and fresh. Mixed-race Elliot Caprice has been restless since the day his mother abandoned him with his Uncle Buster. But when he wakes up hung over and at the end of his rope in St. Louis’ notorious, desegregated jail known as the Meat Locker, he’s about to realize there really is no place like home.
Elliot Caprice has hit rock bottom – except things keep getting worse. Once a Chicago cop, his attempts to do the right thing have brought him nothing but trouble and, after being on the run for a year, he has no place left to go. Caprice heads home, but once there, learns the family farm has been repossessed and his uncle’s health is failing. Desperate to put things right and make up for abandoning the uncle who raised him, Caprice finds a job serving papers for a local attorney—the son of the Jewish mobster Caprice collected for in his younger days. In an attempt to make extra money, Caprice agrees to hunt down missing chauffeur Alistair Williams in order to close a client’s last will and testament. It should be an easy job, but Elliot quickly realizes that everyone, including the mobster, is looking for Williams. As another body drops, the stakes get higher. Soon, the job to find Williams is just one of the seemingly impossible tasks Elliot needs to complete in order to get his life back.
Gardner’s writing electrifies the action and will enthrall you from page one. The spunky dialogue, written in dialect, makes every character colorful and unique. Gardner’s characters pop off the page. He melds the rich back-stories of his characters and the history of Southville so well that you will feel like you have known the people and the town for years. Meanwhile, the plot is packed with increasingly dangerous confrontations with impossible odds that will keep you turning pages until the end, and then wishing for more.
The deeper into the mystery Elliot gets, the less likely it seems that he will be able to survive. With the help of an unlikely crew—a mix of old friends and new, some lawmen and others outlaws—Elliot must learn to live with the many ghosts of his past in order to move forward with his life.
Grace Miller is a freelance writer and editor.
Disruption by Chuck Barrett / Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Look for DISRUPTION from Switchback Press on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Available now!
DISRUPTION by Chuck Barrett
Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Disruption is the fourth installment in author Chuck Barrett’s action-packed Jake Pendleton series. Pendleton, a Navy Intelligence Officer turned covert operative, is tracking a super-hacker known only as Boris. Only after Boris manages to barely avoid capture does Pendleton and his team discover the hacker is aiding an international terrorist in his plan to throw the world’s digital landscape into chaos. This chaos, known throughout the cyber community as disruption, will leave the world’s strongest countries crippled if put into motion, unable to see or defend against incoming attacks. A reset button will be pushed on existing global power structures.
Fans of the Pendleton Series will be unable to put down this newest addition to the franchise. Early in the narrative, tension rises between Jake and his trusted partner, his girlfriend goes missing after a targeted bombing, and the stress of constantly battling enemies of the state is taking a toll. Jake hints at retirement if he can manage to finish the current mission alive.
Barrett does not just pander to his long time readers. He shows his chops by quickly fleshing out his cast of characters so that readers new to his hero can easily invest in the journey. Barrett is masterful at building suspense and developing political intrigue. The writer pens this fantastic plot, which includes top-level hacking and a missing passenger jet, in such a way that readers can’t help but fear such that calamity and conspiracy might easily be the world’s reality in the near future. Readers will surely hope that similar off-the-books, clandestine operatives are on our own president’s speed dial (or perhaps just the speed dial of the head of the CIA).
While Disruption is a page-turner, the story takes readers on a tour of Europe as Pendelton and his partner Francesca follow clues in search of a missing computer wizard that can stall the terrorist’s plans. Without letting up on the throttle, Barrett allows readers to drink in interesting European locals where the bullets and blood continue to litter the landscape.
As his body of work grows, author Chuck Barrett continues to make his case that he belongs at the same table with the masters of the political thriller. Readers can only hope that this is not the end for Jake Pendleton, but if it is, they can be sure Barrett will continue to provide wild, heart-pounding entertainment with new heroes on into the future.
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.
The Devil's Bible by Dana Chamblee Carpenter / Reviewed by Kelly Saderholm
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Look for The Devil's Bible from Pegasus Books on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Release date: March 7, 2017
The Devil's Bible by Dana Chamblee Carpenter
Reviewed by Kelly Saderholm
Fans of Dana Chamblee Carpenter's Bohemian Gospel (Pegasus 2015) will be thrilled that the wait for more of Mouse's adventures is over. The Devil's Bible (Pegasus 2017) offers more of Mouse’s story in this beautifully crafted and extraordinarily well-researched novel which begins where Bohemian Gospel ends, in 13th century Bohemia—a setting that Carpenter brings to life with her smart, lively writing and attention to historical detail. For those not familiar with the first work, Mouse is an orphan left at a monastery. She has a mysterious origin and odd powers—powers that even the holy place’s residents cannot identify or explain.
In the Devil’s Bible, we flash forward into the modern day. Mouse is a professor and scholar working at an American University. When a former student of hers presents research on the mysterious Devil’s Bible, Mouse realizes that he is dangerously close to the truth of her own existence. The relic is a hand-written bible from medieval times that is shrouded in mystery and legend. As the name would suggest, the book is rumored to be written by the Devil himself. Through the centuries it has called out to scholars and those seeking power. It is whispered that those who come in contact with this ancient book are never the same afterward.
Hoping for a normal life, Mouse goes into hiding. All too soon she realizes that she has been found and that those close to her are in danger. She also learns that certain pages of the Devil’s Bible are missing, and she suspects those pages hold the key to the resolution of the conflict from which she’s spent centuries hiding—a conflict that is revealed to us in a series of deftly-crafted flashbacks.
In The Devil’s Bible, Carpenter has crafted well-rounded and complex characters. The novel’s plot is interesting and fast-moving. She provides gorgeous historical detail, without bogging down the novel’s pacing. Carpenter’s prose is detailed without being convoluted, and she weaves plotlines and histories together into a masterfully crafted tapestry of a tale. The history, the rich details, the folklore, and legends, with a dose of magical realism are reminiscent of Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian and Umberto Eco’s the Name of the Rose.
Carpenter based The Devil’s Bible on the true-life medieval manuscript Codex Gigas, (Giant Book) or, as it has been known throughout history, “Devil’s Bible,” a name it received due to a large portrait of the Devil inside the manuscript. There is also a legend about a monk who sold his soul to the Devil in order to complete the work. There is more to this ancient tome than just the canonical books of the Bible; it also contains history, medical information, magic spells and other mysterious works. Carpenter cleverly uses all these pieces to conjure a riveting tale and memorable characters. She casts a spell over readers who, once they start reading, will find it nearly impossible to put The Devil’s Bible down.
Dana Chamblee Carpenter’s debut novel, Bohemian Gospel won the 2014 Killer Nashville Claymore Award. Her short fiction has appeared in The Arkansas Review, Jersey Devil Press, and Maypop. She is a professor in Nashville, Tennessee and is currently at work on another novel.
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 writing a non-fiction book dealing with Folklore in the American South. She is a recipient of a Kentucky Foundation for Women Writer’s grant. She lives in South Central Kentucky with her family and two feline office assistants.
Weregirl by C.D. Bell / Reviewed by Ashlyn Duke
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Weregirl by C.D. Bell
Reviewed by Ashlyn Duke
C.D. Bell presents a unique twist on a werewolf story in Weregirl. This is the story about Nessa Kurland, an ambitious girl who is striving to get an athletic scholarship to go to college by running track. Her goal changes somewhat once she realizes that she can no longer be just a girl striving for college.
Weregirl is set in small town Tether, Michigan. After Dutch Chem had their way Tether was left a poison wasteland, and many people from Tether had to move. That is until the white knight Paravida shows up to save the day. Everything should be perfect now - until something slips. It’s up to Nessa to save Tether, but she has a problem of her own.
This is a book that is not focused on a love story, but of Nessa transforming into a stronger person. She doesn’t focus on guys, like her best friend Bree seems to. Her priorities are more focused on beating her rival Cynthia at the meets and getting the best running time. Nessa is a unique character that smashes the typical teenage stereotype. The evildoers in the story even have a unique motive.
Weregirl is a book for anyone looking to enjoy comedic/suspenseful/action filled book. The questions to be asked are: Will Nessa be able to control herself? What are they really doing in the labs? Can Nessa uncover the mystery of her little town or will she have to roll over and play dead?
Ashlyn Duke will graduate from Tennessee Tech in December 2017 with a Bachelors Degree in English Literature. She always has a book handy on her for those just-in-case moments. She also enjoys drawing, and going on hikes with her Australian Shepherd.
If you have a book you would like featured, send a digital ARC for consideration to books@killernashville.com. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the assistance of Liz Gatterer and credited guest reviewers.
*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.
Marry in Haste by Susan Van Kirk / Reviewed by Britany Menken
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Marry in Haste by Susan Van Kirk
Reviewed by Britany Menken
In the mystery, Marry in Haste, by Susan Van Kirk, a retired English teacher from Endurance, Illinois gets drawn into a murder case of an abusive loan shark and discovers that a secret floor board could be the key to clearing a past students name. Grace Kimball, retired teacher, has a simple life with her boyfriend, Jeff Maitlin, until a string of events lead her into helping a former student, Emily Folger. Trapped in an abusive relationship, Emily indulges her husbands every whim to avoid his hand on a daily basis. The bruises on her body imply no whim of his will ever be satisfied as she savors alone time while he’s away at work, discriminating against people who come to him for loans. Grace often wonders about Emily, one of her brightest students who had a concrete future full of promise. From the outside, Grace sees a secluded life with a man not suited for one of her favorite students and questions her life choices.
When Grace learns of her blue-eyed beau’s newly purchased house and the history behind it, she can’t resist her longtime hobby of writing historical articles and decides to amass as much research as she can on the Lockwood Home. Unbeknownst to her, the research could become clues in this wonderfully written murder mystery. Abandoned and turned into multiple things throughout the decades, she finds a one-hundred-year-old secret in the form of a diary. Grace discovered it once belonged to a young girl, Olivia Lockwood. Olivia was married to Judge Charles Lockwood and realizes the predicament of Olivia and Emily are uncanny; Both abused and treated like the bits and pieces section in the back of a newspaper. Grace sees the resemblance in both stories in hopes it could be the key to proving Emily’s innocence. Two pains in the same dignity, stretched out one-hundred years apart from each other, both suffer the same cruelty, one hidden underneath an old floor board and the other living it on a daily basis.
The only thing stopping Jeff from pursuing his dream of the Lockwood home is signing a few papers to finalize his loan and must pay a visit to Conrad Folger, a depictable man in the workplace and at home to his wife, Emily. At the meeting, Grace reads him and his fake exterior as Conrad chats with the pair, making it more obvious he would be a reasonable candidate for murder. TJ Sweeney, Endurance’s only female detective and a longtime friend of Grace, is on the case of solving the murder. The well-off tycoon stemming from a rich family has a number of enemies, such as a pair of Grace’s old students who opened a new restaurant together but were denied a loan because of their sexual orientation. Or maybe it was relative after more than money. Was it any of Conrad’s disgruntled customers? After reading this book, it’s easy to see Van Kirk has a knack for mystery and a deep understanding of women from any time period. If you haven’t picked up your copy of Marry In Haste, I strongly urge you to do so and be prepared to enjoy this hard-to-put-down mystery.
If you have a book you would like featured, send a digital ARC for consideration to books@killernashville.com. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the assistance of Arthur Jackson and credited guest reviewers.
*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.
Wolf: A Jessica James Mystery by Kelly Oliver / Reviewed by Joseph Borden
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Purchase your copy of Wolf: A Jessica James Mystery.
Wolf: A Jessica James Mystery by Kelly Oliver
Reviewed by Joseph Borden
Jessica James, a quick-witted Montana cowgirl turned philosopher, and star of Kelly Oliver’s Wolf: A Jessica James Mystery, wants only to successfully defend her thesis and earn her degree—an achievement that would be a slap in the face, of sorts, to all those who doubted she could survive the rigors inherent in the patriarchy that is academia. But when she discovers Professor Wolfgang Schumtzig’s—her thesis advisor—dead body in a bathtub, she becomes entangled in a web of lies, secrets, mystery, and murder from which the only way out is through. For Jessica, survival begins to take on a new, and deadlier, meaning.
Enter Dmitry Durchenko, university janitor and former-heir to The Oxford Don’s Russian mafia syndicate. At the age of eighteen, Dmitry cut ties with his family and fled his homeland with two of his father’s most prized possessions—antique Russian paintings valued at several million dollars apiece. He’s kept a low profile for decades, but after Schumtzig’s death, he realizes his life, and his family’s lives, are at stake.
Dmitry’s actions serve as the impetus for the story, but, of course, Jessica and her ragtag group of friends—Amber, a tech-savvy hippie, Jack, a wise-cracking stoner, and Lolita, Dmitry’s smart, seductive, and fearless daughter—are the stars of the show. And each of have a long row to hoe if they want to unravel this mystery.
Simultaneously heartwarming, irreverent, clever, suspenseful, and humorous, this novel moves quickly and keeps the reader glued to the page. Oliver’s characters—particularly the women—are fierce, unique, and largely unpredictable. Unlike many mysteries, even those with women protagonists, Jessica does not rely on the good graces of a knight in shining armor to save her—which is refreshing and commendable. With the help of her friends (and a lot of luck) Jessica is more than equipped to handle the likes of the Russian mob, fratty, would-be rapists, and the difficulties inherent in navigating the academic world. Clever, funny, brave, and endearingly awkward, Jessica James is a character that readers will not be able to get enough of.
Oliver’s Wolf is just the first enthralling installment of (hopefully) many more Jessica James mysteries to come. Wolf and Coyote (the second book of the series) are already on sale, and Fox is set to release in February 2017. Pick up your copies today; you won’t be disappointed.
Joseph Borden graduated from Tusculum College in December of 2014 with a degree in Creative Writing. Previously, he’s served as Managing Editor for The Tusculum Review and as an advertising specialist for a The Hickman County Times. He spends most of his time reading and writing fiction—his short story “Hell or High Water” was Editor’s Choice for the 2014 edition of Din Magazine. His hobbies include playing guitar, singing, people watching, and riding his motorcycle. He currently lives in Lyles.
If you have a book you would like featured, send a digital ARC for consideration to books@killernashville.com. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the assistance of Jonathan Nash and credited guest reviewers.
*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.
Clay Stafford Revisits “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Clay Stafford Revisits "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Many years ago—okay, decades—I was forced in school to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”. Why they assign books like that to kids, even high-schoolers, is beyond me. I don’t recall having a good feeling about it. I couldn’t remember the story, but I’m pretty sure I aced the book report. Then those brain cells died.
“The Great Gatsby” was referenced three different times from three different sources this past week, which is my usual “sign from God” that I should read or re-read something. Decades after the first pass, I did.
After reading it, I understood why I hadn’t cared for it as a youth: it is a masterpiece that no one who hasn’t lived to some degree could possibly understand. I read it a second time. After reading it twice, I also watched the movie (I chose the Mira Sorvino starrer directed by Robert Markowitz and adapted for screen by John McLaughlin.)
The plot appears to be a love story. Looking on the jacket, you’ll see phrases like “playing Cupid” and “former love”. Without telling my wife anything about it, I asked her to watch it with me. She was delighted because—even after seeing it with me—she described it to our son as “a type of love story”. Her description matched the jacket. My response? It is anything but a love story.
Character Nick Carraway narrates the story of two former lovers spiraling down to murder. It’s an ensemble cast where we get to know these incredibly dysfunctional characters, learn the secrets of their pasts, feel the tension in the present moment, and know at the end as things unravel (suspense) that this was a Shakespearean tragedy from the start. From a writer’s perspective, the use of the setting (time and place) as a character itself is masterful in its craftsmanship and something missed in most modern day writing. The characters, all of them, are so well-distinguished that—even without the movie—they are solid in our minds.
It’s a short novel (mine, the Matthew J. Bruccoli edition) comes in at a mere 135 pages, which is interestingly close to the 120 page script of any feature movie. Seeing it that short, I wondered what it would look like as a film, what would be changed, what would be added or removed. I chose the Mira Sorvino version for no other reason than I liked the movie poster / DVD jacket. McLaughlin’s script and Markowitz’s directing, as well as the stellar performances of all the actors, superbly visualized what I myself had seen in the novel itself. I think Fitzgerald, who died thinking his novel was a failure, would have been one of the few writers who looked at the screen version of their work and said, “That’s just as I envisioned it.”
If you haven’t read “The Great Gatsby” or it has been years since you were forced to read it, I’m recommending it to you now to experience it by choice. If you prefer to watch the TV, rent the movie or pick it up at your local library. Like me, you’ve probably got some age on you and you will find yourself filling in all the parts of life that are masterfully left out by Fitzgerald to bring it into this tight 135 pages making it truly an interactive experience, a growing realization, and one of the most reader/viewer involved experiences (for you actually become Nick in your deciphering of what is going on) as you could possibly experience. As you read, note how skillfully Fitzgerald manipulates your loyalties beneath the watchful eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg.
Three times it was mentioned to me. Three times I experienced the story (2 times with the book, once with the movie). It is a miracle of an experience.
Clay Stafford is a writer, filmmaker, and founder of Killer Nashville. Learn more about him at ClayStafford.com
If you have a book you would like featured, send a digital ARC for consideration to books@killernashville.com. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the assistance of Arthur Jackson and credited guest reviewers.
*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.
Purgatory Road by Samuel Parker / Reviewed by Joseph Borden
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Purgatory Road on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Purgatory Road by Samuel Parker
Reviewed by Joseph Borden
In Purgatory Road (Revell, $14.99), author Samuel Parker seamlessly melds elements of thriller, suspense, and the supernatural to create a scorcher of a debut novel.
The book primarily follows vacationing couple Jack and Laura, two middle-aged yuppies looking for adventure in the form of a Las Vegas vacation. Nearing the end of their getaway, the couple decides to rent a slick, fast Mustang and take it for a spin in the Mojave desert. Jack drives and drives, up winding hills and down, ever deeper into the desert sands until, suddenly, the car stops dead in its tracks. Mysteriously, the couple’s cell phones have died, too. They are stranded, cut off from the world, and from all help.
That is, until a strange, old hermit arrives in the nick of time and hauls them off to his dilapidated shack nestled in the heart of the Mojave. But it isn’t long before the couple realizes that the man is more than he seems, a force to be reckoned with. And he’s the only thing protecting them from something much, much worse than the desert heat.
When a runaway teen, who has just escaped the clutches of her murderous abductor, arrives at the hermit’s shack, Jack and Laura realize the true gravity of the situation they’re in. They’ve been dragged into an age-old battle of good versus evil, man versus nature, versus himself—and there’s no telling who will come out on top.
Parker’s pacing of this novel is masterful; he piecemeals details of this mysterious desert landscape—and the secrets it holds—into a compelling and cohesive narrative, without being cryptic, and without beating the reader over the head with exposition. Purgatory Road is a page-turner, and the chapters move quickly, with inevitability. This breakneck progression of the novel serves, in a way, as a reflection of the ancient struggle present within the story proper, a war between light and dark that has waged for millennia toward an immutable conclusion.
Parker’s greatest accomplishment in this novel is not the nail-biting suspense that takes form as the protagonists face off against those who wish to do them harm. Rather, it's the way Parker treats his characters that makes the story truly memorable, and the people within it worth investing in. No one character is a cut-and-dry bad guy or good guy (well, maybe one is). And, while many of the characters feel like familiar literary tropes, they’re each nuanced in ways that humanize them. These characters, unlike many in works of similar genres, have a sincerity about them that sharply contrasts with the surreal otherworldliness of the desert—which really helps to drive the story home and lend it an immediacy that it might otherwise be lacking.
Samuel Parker has shown himself to be an adept storyteller with an excellent command of the line, and an in-depth understanding of what it means to be human—or at least what it means to explore the human condition. His debut novel Purgatory Road is an exciting addition to the genre, and to the world of literature writ large.
Purgatory Road is set to release January 3, 2017.
Joseph Borden graduated from Tusculum College in December of 2014 with a degree in Creative Writing. Previously, he’s served as Managing Editor for The Tusculum Review and as an advertising specialist for a The Hickman County Times. He spends most of his time reading and writing fiction—his short story “Hell or High Water” was Editor’s Choice for the 2014 edition of Din Magazine. His hobbies include playing guitar, singing, people watching, and riding his motorcycle. He currently lives in Lyles.
If you have a book you would like featured, send a digital ARC for consideration to books@killernashville.com. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the assistance of Jonathan Nash and credited guest reviewers.
*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.
Blonde Ice by R.G. Belsky / Reviewed by Jonathan Nash
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
Find Blonde Ice on Killer Nashville's affiliate, Amazon.com*
Blonde Ice by R.G. Belsky
Reviewed by Jonathan Nash
A recent string of murders has New York City on edge in R.G. Belsky’s latest Gil Malloy novel, Blonde Ice.
Malloy, ace reporter for the New York Daily News, has the scoop on a series of peculiar murders. However, the more he investigates it appears that the murderer has the scoop on him.
Belsky allows the reader to unravel the case through the eyes of Malloy, whose life becomes hectic after an unexpected visit from Veronica Issacs. While her appearance resurrects nightmares from Malloy’s past, it proves to serve that he has much bigger problems ahead.
Malloy soon finds himself on the frontline of a serial killer investigation. He is forced to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of journalism while juggling his personal life, job opportunities, and, ultimately, his safety.
The novel is a suspenseful read from start to finish. The reader gets to pull back the layers of the investigation with Malloy, and the twists and turns of each chapter leave the reader wanting to bite in. Belsky delicately toys with the readers psyche as they try to solve the murders alongside Gil.
Belsky’s attention to detail throughout the novel is much like a journalist painting their story. Each detail, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time, plays a part in the suspenseful reveal. Much like watching a movie again to see what you might have missed, Blonde Ice leaves the reader wide-eyed and eager to start back from the beginning.
Reading Blonde Ice through the first-person perspective of Gil Malloy provides everything a reader can ask for. Malloy’s witty humor and sarcasm pairs perfectly with the seriousness of the murder investigations. The reader is also given a window to see past his snarky, outward persona and into his flawed and doubt-filled conscious. His doubt and internal dialogue makes the reader question the mystery as much as the character does.
As the investigation unfolds, the reader is pulled closer and closer to the edge of their seat. Each character's prerogative and motives fall into question, and anyone can have a hidden dark side. As Malloy notes, “you never know what demons are inside people.”
Blonde Ice is an exhilarating read and is on sale now. Put yourself in Malloy’s shoes and witness how the story unravels. One way or another, Gil Malloy is sure to end up on the front page.
Jonathan Nash is the Special Projects Coordinator for American Blackguard, Inc. He graduated from Tusculum College in May of 2014 with a degree in Journalism and Professional Writing. He has previously served as a Copy Editor for the Citizen Tribune newspaper in Morristown, TN. In his free time, he enjoys being outdoors, playing music, and writing. He currently resides in Nashville.
If you have a book you would like featured, send a digital ARC for consideration to books@killernashville.com. The Killer Nashville Book of the Day Reviews are coordinated by Clay Stafford with the assistance of Jonathan Nash and credited guest reviewers.
*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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