Book Review- Brooklyn On Fire

An engaging historical mystery with a main character that is intriguing and entertaining.

My Rating for Brooklyn on Fire: 3 Stars

Mary Handley has closed one case with the Brooklyn Police Department and is determined to become a real detective in her own right. But when a client comes to her new office saying her uncle was murdered, Mary finds her second case is as complex as the first one was. Family scandals and secrets, politics, corruption and more cause Mary to stumble more than once. Add in a romance with one of New York’s elite, well the life of luxury is something Mary could get used to.  But Mary is determined to find out the cause of death and solve the mystery that has spawned not just one murder but three. Can Mary figure out the case before all she holds dear is gone in a puff of smoke?

My Book Review:

I have to admit I haven’t read the first book in the series, Second Street Station, and found myself a little lost at times when I read this one. I highly recommend reading book one first before you pick this one up. There are things mentioned in book two that took place in this book that if you didn’t read it, you’ll have a hard time figuring things out at times. With that said, I got to admit that I really liked this book, even with the above mentions from time to time. With a mystery that kept me intrigued to real life people showing up (Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, etc) to a time period that had me enthralled with the way everything was back then. This author does a great job in capturing it all within the pages of BROOKLYN ON FIRE. This author has a flair for describing events and people to the point where they come alive on paper, ready to step out of the book and into your living room. The mix of fiction and mystery was done masterfully and kept my attention at times to the point where I forgot to eat, sleep and more. It was highly entertaining. But there was a downside as well. The author puts way too much into this book plot wise as well as point of views jump all over the place. One minute you are following Mary as she hunts up clues and ten the next you are reading about politicians and their desire for more-money, land, power, etc. All those things just slowed the pace down and caused some minor confusion over who was ‘speaking’ in the book. I preferred reading Mary’s story line though I could have done without her forced romance with George Vanderbilt. It felt like the author was trying to tick off boxes with that. It didn’t seem real to me in the story line and was quite stiff.

Even with those few issues, BROOKLYN ON FIRE was an engaging historical mystery that kept my attention to the very end. If you enjoy a character that tries to turn social mores upside down and try to make her dreams come true, then you might enjoy this second book in the Mary Handley series. I do caution you that you should read book one as I mentioned as there is a large cast of characters that are mentioned as well as events that happened in book one as well. I think I might pick up book one, Second Street Station, and see if I can get into this story a bit better later on. I look forward to seeing where this author goes in the series.


Available at Amazon

I received this book from Blogging for books for this review and it is not an endorsement. 

About the Author:

LAWRENCE H. LEVY is a highly regarded film and TV writer who is a Writers Guild Award winner and two-time Emmy nominee. He has written for various hit TV shows such as Family Ties, Saved by the Bell, Roseanne, and Seinfeld. Brooklyn on Fire is his second novel.

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/223239/lawrence-h-levy

Book Review- Doctor Who: Deep Time

The Doctor and Clara are on another wild adventure and the readers are along for the ride.

My Rating for Deep Time: 3.5 Stars

The Doctor and Clara find themselves on a ship called the Alexandria where they find out that Dr. Tippy, an archeologist is sure they are on the path to find the last Phaeron road. With the Doctor and Clara joining them, this mission will show that some secrets are best left alone.

I enjoy the Doctor Who television show and this was the first book I have read based on the series. DEEP TIME is an engrossing story with an author who knows how to weave a spell around readers. The story is engrossing, action packed and quite enjoyable from start to finish. Sometimes if you base a book off a TV show it can be a hit or miss but DEEP TIME delivers on all levels. From capturing the characters complex emotions and personalities to a mission that will transform them in the end; The author does a great job in keeping the reader glued to the pages and you really get a sense of who these characters are within the pages. I did love how the Doctor and Clara are just as lively here as they are on the show.

The mystery of the Phaeron’s consumes the crew of the Alexandria. These ancient people were tasked in mapping wormholes and now with a few relics found by humans, they are determined to find out where this once ancient race went to. But sometimes secrets are best left undiscovered for the Doctor knows what terrible secret of the Phaeron the humans may discover, one that should never see the light of day. I liked the interactions between the characters the best. The mystery surrounding the Phaeron and each member of the crew has an agenda or secret while on this mission. I liked how the author captures all the characters completely and gives them a voice in the story. Are each member of the crew doing this mission for the greater good or is something else guiding them, something sinister and dark?

DEEP TIME captures the essence of the TV Show and keeps the pace up perfectly. This is a great blend of futuristic and action-adventure that I gobbled up in one day. I can’t wait to see what other books based on the show are out to read next. If you enjoy the show, Doctor Who, then you will definitely enjoy DEEP TIME. This was the first book from author Trevor Baxendale and I am looking forward to seeing what else he has in his backlist to enjoy.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

Book Review- Freedom's Child by Jax Miller

An exceptional story that will blow you away!

My rating for Freedom's Child- 4.5 Stars

Freedom Oliver has secrets. She killed her abusive husband, is in witness protection and put her children up for adoption. All in all, the life of Freedom Oliver in this small town in Oregon is basically a lie. Freedom hates that the deal she made with the feds cost her so much but missing her kids is the worst pain a mother can have. But when she hears that her daughter is missing, presumed kidnapped, well Freedom is determined to find her kid and try to survive because Freedom isn’t the only one with secrets and danger is following her every mile she gets closer to Kentucky.

I love, love, love this book. It is a fast paced wild ride from start to finish. With a main character that talks like a trucker, is determined to make amends for her past and more we get a story that will alternately keep you on the edge of your seat to gasping in shock over a few twists in the story that the author blinds you with. With each page, I was drawn into the world of Freedom Oliver. She was a bad ass who killed her abusive husband twenty years before, did her time in prison and went underground after she got out. The writing style of this author is just plain amazing. They have a gift of drawing the reader into the story, falling in love with Freedom and the rest of the crazy cast of characters. This was the first book from this author I have read and after finishing FREEDOM’S CHILD, I had to see if they have any more out or coming up. The characters are what makes this book so dang enjoyable. They are as different as can be and full of antics that leave you shaking your head as you flip the pages to see what they do next. But ultimately this is Freedom’s journey and you will hold on tight as you go alongside her as she atones for her past even as she tries to find her daughter she gave up.

Meet Freedom Oliver. All around bad ass who has done some things she isn’t proud of but is determined to make things right. Finding out your abusive husband’s family has her on their radar is just as creepy as finding out that the family she gave her children to has some shocking secrets of their own. Freedom is someone you can not help but love. She has a quick wit, swears like a sailor and is determined to right the wrongs she feels she did. I love this character to pieces. You couldn’t help but empathize with her and see her point of view.  Her interactions with the other eclectic characters were a treat to behold and quite entertaining. The author does a great job in capturing just who the essence of Freedom real is and it transcends well within the story. The other characters are just as well written and multi-dimensional as Freedom was.

FREEDOM’S CHILD is pure entertainment from start to finish. I can’t go on enough about it. With the right amount of back story, mystery/thriller to keep my attention, I lost track of time as I flipped the pages and was shocked to see several hours passed when I finished the book. FREEDOM’S CHILD can be a grim and dark read but there are times of lightness that balances it out. The suspense portion was perfect and kept me on my toes till the end. I am looking forward to seeing where this author goes in the future.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement. I got this book from Blogging for Books.

Book Review: the World Before Us by Aislinn Hunter

An interesting yet weird story....

The World Before Us by Aislinn Hunter
Available at Publisher
Literature Mystery

My rating for The World Before Us: 3 Stars

When Jane Standen was just 15 and a temporary nanny, the little girl she was watching, Lily, disappeared. Now many years later she is back in the area, working at a natural history museum that is closing up. Jane is determined to find the answers to Lily’s disappearance as well as the disappearance of another girl who disappeared over a hundred years before. What Jane finds is more than answers to the disappearances but also who she is. As secrets and more come out into the open, the life Jane only dreams of becomes a reality…if Jane lets herself believe again.

Okay first and foremost this was a complex and complicated book for me to get into. As much as I enjoyed this author’s writing style, the story left much to be desired. There was just enough detail to keep the reader interested and the characters were well written. What I had issues were how this author would go off and leave the questions unanswered, then go off to another question. It was so open ended that after I finished I still didn’t have a clear idea who or what those answers were. The answers to Lily’s and the other girl’s disappearance were never answered and I felt the author had all the tools to give the reader a great story but fell far short in the end.

The characters were well written but there were too m any point of views, constant time shifts from one era to another and it felt like I needed a score card to keep track of them all. This was a confusing book overall for me to read and finish. I kept putting it down, picking it up, putting it down again. There were scenes that I thought would meld into the story but never went anywhere. The author tries but it seems she has all these ideas she wants to incorporate into the story that at times, I felt a bit lost while reading THE WORLD BEFORE US. The constant point of view shifts, the mindless scenes where questions you thought might be answered are not and more are what really put me off from giving this a higher rating. The author tries but I felt they fell just a bit short of the mark they wanted to hit with this book.

If you have a few quiet days and like to read some interesting literature, then I would recommend THE WORLD BEFORE US.

I received this book from Blogging for books for a review

About the author:

AISLINN HUNTER’s acclaimed collection of stories, What’s Left Us, was a finalist for the Danuta Gleed Award and the ReLit Prize. Her poetry, Into the Early Hours, was shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Prize and won the Gerald Lampert Award. Her second collection of poetry The Possible Past was shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and the Pat Lowther Award. Her novel Stay (2002; reissued in 2013 by Anchor Canada) was a Globe and Mail ”Top 100″ book, a finalist for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and has recently been made into a feature film starring Aidan Quinn and Taylor Schilling. The World Before Us is her first book of fiction in twelve years. After travelling to London and Edinburgh over the past few years to study for a PhD, Hunter now lives and teaches in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Book Review: Black Moon by Kenneth Calhoun

A story that will either chill you to the bones or completely confuse you!

My rating for Black Moon: 2.5 Stars

Biggs is trying to figure out why everyone has insomnia, even his wonderful wife, Carolyn. The tell tale red rimmed eyes. The slurred speech. A cloudy mind. All signs of this dreaded phenomenon and yet Biggs can still sleep and dream. So he sets out into the world where he discovers others like him, who can sleep and dream, which fight the tide of insomnia and try to discover what is causing this while searching for his wife. But as sleep becomes more precious than gold, some will even kill to have it.


My personal review:

I really, really tried to get into this book but for the life of me, what I thought would be an interesting read turned out to be one confusing mess of a story, so much so I had to put it down more times than I can count in order to read something that made sense to me. Mr. Calhoun’s writing was tight and sharp yet the way the story played out left me scratching my head in confusion many times.

The characters start off interesting then turn into oblivion as they go off and the author doesn’t let the reader know what happens to them. The sleeplessness doesn’t turn people into zombies but something similar or so that was what I got from this yet it isn’t a zombie novel. Cue the head scratching again. Then we get half way through BLACK MOON and the author totally twists the story inside out and has characters popping up, leaving, no direction whatsoever and more, we get vested into them and they leave. No idea where they went, what happened to them or anything, which annoyed me. I like being invested in the characters as it makes the story richer, fuller and just more enjoyable. Yet Mr. Calhoun completely threw his characters under the bus as he weaves his story so there is no follow up, no completion or anything. If you are invested in a character in BLACK MOON then be prepared to find that they seem to just go away with no by your leave.

BLACK MOON could have been a really good story if the author stayed on point, kept his characters on track and let the reader imagine a world where life as you know it collapses as people succumb to insomnia and the effects it can cause as well as the people trying to solve that mystery ailment. I just wish the author kept on track with this one and I would have enjoyed it more. Over all, if you enjoy complicated weird stories, then you will enjoy BLACK MOON but if you are like me and enjoy a rich dynamic storyline then I would pass on this one.


About the Author

KENNETH CALHOUN has had stories published in The Paris Review, Tin House, and the 2011 Pen/O. Henry Prize Collection, among others. He lives in Boston, where he is a graphic design professor at Lasell College. Black Moon is his first novel.
Links:
http://www.randomhouse.com/author/177469/kenneth-calhoun

I received the book via Blogging for Books for this review

Book Review: The Ballad of a Small Player

The Ballad of a Small Player by Lawrence Osborne
Hogarth
Suspense Fiction

My Rating for The Ballad of a Small Player: 2.5 Stars

As the lights of Macau come alive, Doyle-‘Lord Doyle’ to his cronies- descends into a casino to see if lady luck is with him. A lawyer who escaped prosecution, he fled to the East and found a place to call home in Macau while spending his nights gambling, drinking and his days trying to shake off the night before’s excess all the while trying to stay one step ahead of his past. Doyle’s fortunes rise and fall all on the whim of Lady Luck and when he meets Dao-Ming, he thinks he finds a soul mate as she gambles alongside him in various casinos. But as Doyle tries to find love amid the garish lights, he finds that all is not as it seems.

This was the first book by author Lawrence Osborne that I have read and I have to admit I am on the fence on his latest book, THE BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER. The setting is gorgeous and lush. The exotic world of the Far East and Macau resonate throughout the book. The author does a great job in capturing the lure and the appeal of high stakes gambling within the pages and the addictive power it can have over some people. What didn’t work for me were the characters, specifically Doyle. This main character felt unfinished in a sense that the author didn’t know which way to go with him. At times he was quite confusing to figure out and other times, he was so one dimensional it felt like the character didn’t have any personality at all. I felt disconnected to the characters and really didn’t care for them at all. Doyle was boring, repetitive and felt very unfinished as a character. There wasn’t much for me, as a reader, to care about in regards to him. The secondary characters were just blips in the story. They didn’t do much to the story in full and felt like fillers to me.

THE BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER was at times confusing, intriguing and yet a book I kept putting down to go read something else. It just did not grab my imagination though I have to admit; the author’s descriptions of Macau and the Far East were quite intriguing. It just wasn’t enough to hold my attention till the very end. Add in some ghostly parts and you get a mashed up story that felt like the author was unsure which way to go with it. Overall, THE BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER will resonate with some readers and not with others. If you enjoy a mashed up genre of a book where the main character is not as likable as you would think, then you just might enjoy this latest book by Lawrence Osborne.


I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Buy link:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ballad-Small-Player-Novel-ebook/dp/B00FO60AUU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Publisher: http://www.randomhouse.com/book/229136/the-ballad-of-a-small-player-by-lawrence-osborne

About the Author

Lawrence Osborne is the author of one previous novel, Ania Malina, and six books of nonfiction, including the memoirBangkok Days. His journalism and short stories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the New Yorker,Newsweek, Forbes, Tin House, Harper’s, Conde Nast Traveler, and many other publications. Osborne has led a nomadic life, residing for years in France, Italy, Morocco, the United States, Mexico, and Thailand. He currently lives in Istanbul.