Reviews – Page 68 – Rosepoint Publishing

When the Reaper Comes – Review

When the Reaper Comes by John DeBoer

Publisher: Solstice Publishing

Publication Date: November, 2016

Submitted by author for review

When the Reaper Comes (Cover falls short.)

Like watching it play out on the big screen in full Technicolor and Dolby Sound, the action from the beginning pages of “When the Reaper Comes” by John DeBoer was so well laid out, it was difficult to hit the pause button until the last scene played out.

I do enjoy a good thriller and have read my share of both military and political themed novels, including stories that include the present day battle with ISIS. It seems that so much of the philosophy zooms over our heads and is usually far enough removed off our own soil that it is fairly easy to stick our heads in the sand and try to pretend it isn’t happening. Unfortunately, it is. America is no longer the isolated and protected country it once was. But don’t take my word–read the book. Continue reading “When the Reaper Comes – Review”

Maggie Elizabeth Harrington-Review

Maggie Elizabeth Harrington by C. J. Swykert

Genre: Currently #3071 in Best Sellers Rank for Kindle ebooks, Literature and Fiction-Historical

Publisher: Cambridge Books

Publication Date: March, 2016

Submitted by author for review

Maggie Elizabeth Harrington – Two Covers–One for print and one for Kindle. The Kindle cover includes a wolf in the background, but a modern-day woman.

This powerful story of thirteen year old Maggie Elizabeth Harrington was set in a copper mining town of Michigan in 1893. Maggie Elizabeth is the daughter of a miner who lives with her grandmother and her father (who against everything that Maggie Elizabeth believes in, drowns every new litter of kittens). Her mother passed in childbirth; the father barely speaks to her, the grandmother isn’t much better, and she attributes this to the death of her mother–which she considers must be her fault. Continue reading “Maggie Elizabeth Harrington-Review”

Lost Coast Rocket – Review

Lost Coast Rocket by Joel Horn

Genre: Currently #14083 in Best Sellers Rank for Kindle Store, Science Fiction and Fantasy

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, LLC

Publication Date: July, 2016

Submitted by author for review

Lost Coast Rocket – Cover and title conveys subject; Cover girl hints youthful age of characters

The debut novel, Lost Coast Rocket by Joel Horn, is classified as sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult; though it reads with such authority you’d swear is a non-fiction on rocketry that merely involves a story. Thank heaven we are introduced to the protagonist and “his team” as young children, albeit geniuses, as the subject of rocketry would otherwise have been well over my head. As is, it was broken down into easily understandable snippets of believable dialogue between kids. And kids, as well as young or old adults would enjoy this easy introduction into a fascinating subject. Continue reading “Lost Coast Rocket – Review”

Blacktip Island – Review

Blacktip Island by Tim W Jackson

Genre: Currently #3585 in Best Sellers Rank for Literature & Fiction-Action & Adventure-Mystery & Thriller-Crime

Publisher: Devonshire House Press

Publication Date: September, 2016

Submitted by author for review

Blacktip Island – Cover invites inspection and obviously conveys a Caribbean theme

Psst–want to have a fantastic Caribbean adventure and save some moola? How about an Islander hop to a fictional Caribbean, Blacktip Island? Ahh, the sun, the surf, the people…but what about the people? Well, that’s the thing, you see. Blake Calloway had it good, working in his dad’s investment firm, right up until he screwed up a few decimal points. An innocent mistake! Unfortunately, when he tries to disappear on a remote island with some cash, blending in with the other scuba enthusiasts, he accidentally rescues one of them–again–an innocent mistake. So much for blending! And just like that, the book has you within the first few pages. Continue reading “Blacktip Island – Review”

Forbidden Birth – Review

Forbidden Birth by William Rubin

Genre: Currently #1949 in Best Seller’s Rank for Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense, Medical

Publisher: Crystal Vision Creations

Publication Date: July, 2016

Submitted by author for review

Forbidden Birth – Cover conveys medically themed novel

I was sent this book by the author, Dr. William Rubin, as a medical thriller to read and review. After reading “Forbidden Birth,” however, I’m wondering if it shouldn’t have been classified as cross-genre, as there were also elements of horror, crime, and mystery; even sci-fi.

Dr. Christopher Ravello has given up a lucrative medical practice to join the newly formed Medical Crimes Division as a homicide detective of the New York Police Department. Compelled to fight crime on the street level after the brutal murder of his mother, he moves his well-to-do family to a blue-collar hood of questionable security and works with childhood buddy Kev Kennedy as they bump up against a serial killer known as The Giver. The antagonist is presented as extremely intelligent and, indeed, we get to know him well as he rationalizes the necessity for the work he is doing and the status he’ll achieve when his work becomes known. Continue reading “Forbidden Birth – Review”

Beyond the Red Carpet-Heart of Stone – Review

Beyond the Red Carpet/Heart of Stone by Debbra Lynn

Genre: Heart of Stone is #653 in Best Sellers Rank for Mystery, Crime Fiction, Murder

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Publication Dates: December 2016/June 2016

Submitted by author for review

Because I was sent these two books of the Hollywood Lies series together, I’ll review both here beginning with Beyond the Red Carpet, a debut effort by Debbra Lynn. Though I am not usually one to read a book with some serious “adult content,” (language and sexual content) this book caught my attention with an interesting plot that was laid out by flashbacks setting the ground work for the present (2015) scene–describing a well planned, or “perfect” murder. Both covers are dark and set the stage for murder mysteries.

The initial protagonists don’t all stay in that position as the plot progresses. Not the first time a marriage has been misrepresented as a beautiful, loving couple, Marcus and Sophia have their share of conflicts that escalate into ever-increasing paranoid revelations by Marcus. He has become involved with Sophia’s best friend, Cat, who is definitely no friend, getting her claws into Sophia’s husband, who is a wildly successful and powerful Hollywood director. Continue reading “Beyond the Red Carpet-Heart of Stone – Review”

Molding Men – Review

Molding Men by Ray Ronan

Genre: Currently #279 in Best Sellers Rank for Historical Fiction, German

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, LLC

Publication Date: November, 2015

Submitted by author for review

Dark, foreboding cover easily gets across the supernatural/occult insinuation.

Interesting choice for the title. This dynamite, hard-driving suspense novel, “Molding Men” by Ray Ronan is a winner from page 1. Molding Men could as easily have been Molding Character.

The abominable living conditions created by war-torn Germany points to all the directions men take in response to the worst that man can do to man–or is it always human? What form can evil actually take? In this supernatural thriller, evil takes the form of Historian, Herr Brandt, as he weaves in and out of multi-plotted cataclysmic historical events combined with the fictional German family of Terrell Engels. It is no secret that Adolph Hitler, ergo his Nazi party, had a fascination with the occult and although other novels have been penned using the knowledge, this tale takes a unique twist. The story weaves in the fictional “Historian” character, whose principle is that he does not record history; he creates it. Continue reading “Molding Men – Review”

Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie-Review

Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie by Mark Nolan

Currently #1 in Books, Mystery, Thrillers, Spies & Politics, Assassinations

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Publication Date: January, 2016

Submitted by author for review

Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie – great cover, but I wish he’d have included the dog beside him (in proper “heel” formation, of course).

Tired of books that end before you have a chance to get to know the characters, the motivation, the plot? Look no further than “Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie,” by Mark Nolan. Once I really got into this book, it became a reward for the day–Jake Wolfe is the really bad-assed good guy–ex-Marine. He’s been there, seen it all. His attitude evolved with each new scar on his well honed body. He has the confidence to handle any situation and his sense of propriety leans towards the “Good Samaritan” side. His job as a photojournalist has given him access to a fine network of people, although his closest friends are those who served with him. He shares a relationship with Terrell that only men together under fire can understand and appreciate. Their conversations are good-humored and natural; dialogue as would happen between loving and respectful men.

But here’s the thing: The book you think you are getting at the beginning changes. There are twists, yes, but even more than that, these characters mature. His coincidental assignment locations have almost given him “first responder” position to two unusual homicides–lawyers murdered in creative ways by an assassin known as “the Artist.” Jake’s forensic eye offers intimate intel to his buddy, Terrell, a SFPD lieutenant and Terrell’s partner, Beth Cushman. Continue reading “Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie-Review”