#recommendedreading – Page 108 – Rosepoint Publishing

Solomon vs Lord by Paul Levine – a #BookReview

Title: Solomon vs Lord (Solomon vs Lord Legal Thrillers Book 1) by Paul Levine

Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Legal Thriller, Literature & Fiction, Humor & Satire, General Humor

Publisher: Nittany Valley Productions, Inc.

Publication Date: March 6, 2014

578 pages

ASIN:B007RTS9VE

Source: BookBub

Title and Cover: Solomon vs Lord – Legal thriller–tilt!

Book Blurb:

“LEGAL THRILLERS SHOULDN’T BE THIS MUCH FUN!”

Victoria Lord follows all the rules…
Steve Solomon makes up his own…
Defending a murder trial, they’ll either end up in ruin, in jail…or in bed.

Steve Solomon is the sharpest lawyer to barely graduate from law school. Victoria Lord toils for an ambitious D.A., before Solomon gets her fired. Thrown together, they defend a sexy young widow charged with killing her kinky husband in Miami’s steamiest trial of the century.

“Hiaasen meets Grisham in the court of last retort. A sexy, wacky, wonderful thriller with humor and heart.” – Harlan Coben

***My associate reviewer has been fully engaged in reading the free offerings from BookBub, many of which have been outstandingly delightful, resulting in laugh out loud passages and recitations to me. As this one seemed exceptional, I asked that he provide a review even though the book published in 2014 could constitute a proper Throwback Thursday offering. (The author released Bum Deal, the 13th and final book in the Jake Lassiter series, in June. )

The C.E.’s Review:

Levine’s writing is comical and engaging from the beginning.

Stephan Solomon is a rogue lawyer working against a rookie prosecutor. The abrasive repartee between Steph and Victoria Lord is immediately humorous and engaging and quickly builds into an excellent story. Solomon has a number of rules he has created for his practice. Rule #1 When the law doesn’t work, work the law.

Victoria was at the top of her class in law school and prepares well and documents everything. His lackadaisical style aggravates her immensely when she is trying to do everything by the book while Solomon as the defense lawyer is nearly impossible. They wind up in jail for getting into a scuffle in court which results in a contempt charge. Steph wants to “tutor” her in the finer elements of jurisprudence. His motto is, “A lawyer who’s afraid of jail is like a surgeon who is afraid of blood.”

In the first offering of the series, these two find themselves on opposing tables in court. She is a rookie state’s attorney and as opposites attract while offering friction, he’s smitten and thinking she’d be a great partner (in more ways than one). Lord has other ideas (and guys) and isn’t ready to give up either. It’s not long before a trophy wife ends up in trouble with Lord pushing to take her case and Solomon rushing to help.

The banter and sexual tension between the two is not a new stratagem and the dialogue often goes from funny to silly, but the well-plotted story grabs and holds interest and doesn’t flag as it develops a sub-plot. Solomon is well developed, showing a multi-dimensional personality as he cares for his nephew. Victoria Lord is well educated but still very naive.

C.E. Williams - Associate Reviewer The characters have been compared to Hepburn and Tracy and the story is fun and fast-paced; hard to put down. I highly recommend it.

Free eBook provided to me by BookBub. C. E. Williams

Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars

The Author:

(Bio truncated from Amazon) Eleven of [Paul] Levine‘s thrillers have hit Number One bestseller status on Amazon in their genres, and in June 2015, he was the Number One bestselling author on Amazon Kindle.

BUM RAP was a Number One bestseller out of six million books in the Amazon Kindle Store. The setup: Lassiter has had it with sleazy clients, shifty prosecutors, and a legal system out of whack. He’s about to hang up his shingle when Victoria Lord calls. Solomon has been arrested for murder. What’s worse: the only person who can clear him has disappeared. Now it’s up to Lassiter and Lord to track down the witness–a stunning Bar girl–before she’s roped in by the feds…or eliminated by the Russian mob.

Levine’s first novel, TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD, introduced the world to Jake Lassiter, an NFL linebacker turned hard-nosed lawyer. Lassiter has been described by Booklist as “one of the most entertaining series characters in contemporary crime fiction.”

Levine’s other series features squabbling lawyers – and lovers – Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, who duel in and out of court. The Chicago Sun-Times praised “Solomon vs. Lord” as “remarkably fresh and original with characters you can’t help loving and sparkling dialogue that echoes the Hepburn-Tracy screwball comedies. A hilarious, touching and entertaining twist on the legal thriller.”

Levine has won the John D. MacDonald fiction award and has been nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Macavity, the International Thriller Writers Award, the Shamus Award, and the James Thurber Humor Prize. A graduate of Penn State and the University of Miami School of Law, he was a trial lawyer before becoming a full-time novelist. He divides his time between Santa Barbara, CA and Miami.

Here is a list of Levine’s novels that have hit Number One bestseller status on Amazon in their genres:

LEGAL THRILLERS: “To Speak for the Dead,” “Solomon vs. Lord,” “Fool Me Twice,” “Illegal,” and “Bum Rap.”

MYSTERIES: State vs. Lassiter, The Deep Blue Alibi, Kill All the Lawyers and Mortal Sin.

SERIAL KILLERS and INTERNATIONAL CRIME: Night Vision.

HARD-BOILED MYSTERIES: Mortal Sin.

ORGANIZED CRIME THRILLERS and SPORTS FICTION: Paydirt.

The “Solomon vs. Lord” series:

Solomon vs. Lord
The Deep Blue Alibi
Kill All the Lawyers
Habeas Porpoise (previously titled Trial & Error)

OTHER ENDEAVORS: Paul wrote 21 episodes of the TV series “JAG” and co-created the Supreme Court drama “First Monday,” both on CBS.

More info at http://www.paul-levine.com
Follow Paul @Jake_Lassiter
Visit Paul’s updated Facebook Author Page for the latest news: https://www.facebook.com/PaulLevine

(From Goodreads) NEW and available in print, e-book and audio editions: Paul Levine’s latest legal thriller, BUM DEAL, debuted June 2018.

A Pirate’s Road to Key West by Michael Reisig – a #BookReview

Title: A Pirate’s Road to Key West – Lafitte’s Gold – Book Nine

Genre: Caribbean and Latin America, Action and Adventure, Sea Adventures, Historical Fiction, Travel

Publisher: Clear Creek Press

259 pages

ASIN: B07JHJXF6V

Publication Date: Happy Publication Day!! October 17, 2018

Source: Author request

Title and Cover: A Pirate’s Road to Key West – Beautiful cover hints at island setting

Book Blurb:

In the ninth novel of his bestselling “Road To Key West” series, Reisig once again locks his readers into a careening odyssey of hidden fortunes, mercurial romance, conscienceless villains, and bizarre friends.

From Caracas to New Orleans, into the dark fringes of Haiti, down through the Windward Islands, then back into The Florida Keys, Kansas Stamps, Will Bell, and The Hole In The Coral Wall Gang chase a stolen Pre-Columbian treasure. Then there’s the Voodoo-practicing drug boss, a vengeful Columbian Don, and a highly artful assassin. Before you can catch your breath, it all rolls together into a turbulent Key West Fantasy Fest finale.

So, sit back, pour yourself a margarita, and slide into the islands one more time. You’re on “The Road” again.

My Review:

You know it’s going to be a fun read when the name of the bar is Eddie’s Bar and Swill.

I was introduced to the author, Michael Reisig, some years ago and have been a solid fan ever since. Mr. Reisig has a poetic way with words, his prose is almost beautiful. The man can spin a yarn and has a winning series in his Key West books, this being the ninth. Once again, he brings in intrepid protagonists Will Bell and Kansas Stamps as they involve the Hole in the Coral Wall Gang in the latest crazy South American adventure.

Whether Reisig sets the scene in the Caribbean in 1821 or Key West in 1989, you get that these two have a long history of adventure and survival, finding treasure, losing it, and regaining it. Will and Kansas have each other’s back and a high standard of morals–cleaving more right than wrong. They have a wonderful cadre of close comrades, several of whom are ‘Nam veterans who have survived whatever life threw at them. In their recent adventure, they picked up a new companion (besides Shadow, Kansas’s dog) named Arturio whose method of survival included a game that well prepared him for any that Will and Kansas were involved in. Arturio is an amazing character, street smart and fast.

Sundance was also recently introduced, a figure left in the shadow who has a habit of emerging with the most propitious timing. Sundance is a confirmed hypochondriac whose constant battle with the latest that he is suffering rises to new heights of hilarity. And Sundance has a peculiar way of securing free meals. (Another testament to the sense of humor the author infuses in his novels.) Still, with characters well developed or fairly new to the series, each entry to the series are different standalone adventures with new and heinous antagonists and luscious women best kept on the outside–looking in.

No strangers to the jungles of Venezuela, the boys have retrieved a treasure previously discovered, only to lose it, and form plans to get it back–again. The fun is in the execution–and I use that term advisedly. Reisig’s books always capture your attention immediately and then prepare you for a non-stop roller-coaster adventure that includes beautiful and quotable prose along the way.

“The gladiator rarely sleeps well the night before he salutes Caesar.”

“The wind pulled at me like a desperate lover.”

“It was like doing business with a viper–you watched the head at all times and hoped it bit the enemy.”

“…as selfish as it sounded, I didn’t want someone else’s life with me in it. I wanted my life with someone else in it.”

Descriptions set such a vivid scene, the reader is caught wincing at desperate situations or melting at the sight of a gorgeous view of the ocean and the calming sounds of the sea. Dialogue sets a solid feeling of menace or tender feelings of love with unerring tenderness and believability. These characters are so real you believe this all may have happened, the characters real persons, real experiences, and you are in the middle of it. Wild escapades, sometimes laugh out loud comical situations, but always entertaining.

Each time a new Reisig book comes out, it becomes my new favorite. I truly loved this one; such a rich experience, compelling and easy to read right straight through. I received an ARC from the author and, as always, thrilled and delighted to read and review. Recommended for any who enjoy action-adventure, sea adventures, pirate and treasure adventures, travel and exotic locations, and wild tropical thrillers. Shed your old tropes and discover excitement!

Rosepoint Publishing: Five BIG Stars

The Author:

Michael Reisig has been writing professionally for 20 years. He is a former Caribbean adventurer turned newspaper editor, award-winning columnist, and best-selling novelist.
After high school and college in Florida, he relocated to the Florida Keys. He established a commercial diving business, got his pilot’s license, and traveled extensively throughout the southern hemisphere, diving, treasure hunting, and adventuring.
Reisig claims he has been thrown out of more countries in the Caribbean Basin that most people ever visit, and he admits that a great many of the situations and the characters in his novels are authentic – but nothing makes a great read like experience…
He now lives in the mountains of Arkansas, where he hunts and fishes, and writes, but he still escapes to the Caribbean for an occasional adventure.

The Enigma Source by Breakfield and Burkey – a #BookReview

Title: The Enigma Source (The Enigma Series Book 10) by Charles V Breakfield and Roxanne E Burkey

Genre: Suspense, Technothrillers

351 Pages

Publisher: ICABOD Press

ASIN: B07GD6S9SP

Publication Date: August 11, 2018

Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title and Cover: The Enigma Source – Techno-cover

Be prepared for a multi-layered sophisticated, intelligent, and well-plotted technothriller when you crack open this book! I don’t even know where to start…but if I did, and I do, it appears to begin simply enough by painting an idealistic picture of an extremely happy and peaceful couple enjoying their life down on their Georgia farm. They feel, for the most part, safe and secure in their contrived cocoon, appearing to the outside world as any other couple happy to break from the crazy world and slow the pace. Continue reading “The Enigma Source by Breakfield and Burkey – a #BookReview”

Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly – a #BookReview

Title: Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly

Genre: Thriller and Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Noir

Publisher: Grove Press

Publication Date: October 9, 2018

Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Open Your Eyes–great cover

This book grabs you almost immediately and doesn’t really let go the hold until the shocking but satisfying conclusion.

I can think of few scenarios more visually horrifying than that of being shot in the head. By a nail gun. Not once. Twice. Once that mental picture is captured in your own head, it’s awfully tough to get out. Left in the car with his two children in the back seat, they were momentarily stalled from leaving when the neighbor catches his attention and proceeds to vent yet another complaint about their cat. His wife, Jane, was just asked to run back in to retrieve some fortifying liquid to help Leon get through his forty-six birthday party with his mother–yet another he did not wish to attend. Jane may have stalled inside just a bit. She’s is not a person who enjoys confrontation and is tired of neighbor Lawrence’s tirades, but when Jane gets back to the car, something is wrong. Really, extremely wrong. Continue reading “Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly – a #BookReview”

High Crimes by Libby Fischer Hellmann – a #BookReview

Title: High Crimes (The Georgia Davis PI Series #5) by Libby Fischer Hellman

Genre: Mystery, Thriller and Suspense, Political, Conspiracy, Spies & Politics

Publisher: The Red Herrings Press

Publication Date: To be released November 10, 2018

ASIN: B07GD2N3BW

Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title and Cover: High Crimes – Super cover equals 1,000 Words

Book Blurb:

How do you solve a murder when there are 42,000 suspects?
That’s the task facing Chicago PI Georgia Davis, hired to hunt down those ultimately responsible for the assassination of Resistance leader Dena Baldwin at a demonstration fourteen months after the 2016 election. The gunman, on a nearby hotel rooftop, dies within minutes of the shooting. As Georgia sifts through Dena’s 42,000 Facebook followers, she discovers that unknown enemies hiding behind fake profiles have infiltrated the group. She finds others who will do whatever it takes—including murder—to shield right-wing, wealthy elites. When Georgia begins piecing together the facts, relatives of both victims mysteriously disappear, and the danger escalates. Threats and bruises have never frightened Georgia, but she’s side-swiped by the sudden reappearance of the mother who abandoned her when she was a child. Can she survive an emotional family crisis at the same time she pursues killers whose only goal is to protect themselves? (Click to view Ms. Hellmann’s book trailer on Goodreads.)

Continue reading “High Crimes by Libby Fischer Hellmann – a #BookReview”

#ThrowbackThursday – Land of Hidden Fires by Kirk Kjeldsen

#ThrowbackThursday - Fall

Renee began the #ThrowbackThursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out. And, if you’d like to join the fun, you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic from her website. Just provide the link back to her please).

This week I am highlighting Kirk Kjeldsen, the author who wrote Land of Hidden Fires, which was read and reviewed by my associate reviewer this month. This novel was published by Grenzland Press on January 24, 2017.

Review posted to Goodreads September 25, 2018

Book Blurb:

“A fine wartime tale of survival and resistance.”
– Dan Fesperman, author of The Letter Writer and The Arms Maker of Berlin

Occupied Norway, 1943. After seeing an allied plane go down over the mountains, headstrong fifteen-year-old Kari Dahlstrøm sets out to locate the wreck. She soon finds the cocky American pilot Lance Mahurin and offers to take him to Sweden, pretending she’s a member of the resistance. While her widower father Erling and the disillusioned Nazi Oberleutnant Conrad Moltke hunt them down, Kari begins to fall for Lance, dreaming of a life with him in America. Over the course of the harrowing journey, though, Kari learns hard truths about those around her as well as discovering unforeseen depths within herself.

His Review:

Kjeldsen weaves an intriguing tale of rescue in Nazi-occupied Norway during WWII. Keri, a young lass, watches as an allied plane crashes into the hills beyond their farm home. Kjeldsen paints a sympathetic picture of the humanity of the occupied Norwegians population. Despite her father’s instruction to leave the situation alone, she goes out to find out the fate of the pilot.

Major Lance Mahurin is dangling helplessly from a tree by his parachute. Kari gets him down and helps to escort him through their frozen territory to neutral Sweden. She risks everything, including her life, to help him escape occupied territory. Kjeldsen carefully describes the dangers of trying to help the allies, but it is a brutal winter and a near impossible trek ahead. Young Kari is smitten with Lance and imagines him as a potential knight in shining armor.

Rewards are available to people in occupied Norway for assisting the Germans in capturing downed airmen. A local never-do-well sets out to assist the Germans in an effort to obtain the reward and in foiling Keri’s plan.

Daydreams are one thing, however, reality is another. As a boy growing up in post-war America, I had often imagined what I would do in similar circumstances. This book is a spellbinding shocker. The plot is well developed and the outcome unpredictable. Keri is remarkably sensitive and resilient and hoping to escape her harsh life with Lance to a new life. The narrative splits into separate POV’s including that of Keri and the pilot, Keri’s father’s search for her, and the German searching for the pilot. Beautiful descriptions of the Norwegian countryside and tension between their escape and the effort to find and stop them.

C.E. Williams - Associate Reviewer We received this free book through BookBub and greatly appreciated the opportunity to read and review. Recommended for any interested in WWII stories and coming of age or stories that center in Norway. You will not be disappointed in the book and find it very difficult to put down. 4.5/5 CE Williams

About the Author: Kirk Kjeldsen received an MFA from the University of Southern California and is currently an assistant professor in the cinema program at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts. He has also taught at Fudan University in Shanghai, the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (dffb), and the Polish National Film School in Łódź. His novel “Land of Hidden Fires” was named one of the ten best books of 2017 by the New Jersey Star-Ledger. He also wrote and produced the feature film “Gavagai.” He lives in Germany with his wife and children.

More Throwback Thursday Blogs

Renee at Its Book Talk

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Rebecca at The Book Whisperer

Lynne at Fictionophile

Sam at Clues and Reviews

Holly B at Dressedtoread

Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Annie at The Misstery

Mischenko at Read Rant Rock and Roll

Laurie at Cozy Nook Books

Ann Marie at LItWitWineDine

Susan at Susan Loves Books

Cathy at What Cathy Read Next

Cathy at Between the Lines

Amy at Novel Gossip

Diana at A Haven for Booklovers

Malice by Jennifer Jaynes – a #BookReview

Title: Malice by Jennifer Jaynes

Genre: Psychological Thrillers, Murder, Women’s Fiction Contemporary

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publication Date: Happy Publication Day! September 25, 2018

Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Malice – Dark subject matter

Book Blurb: The perfect life becomes the perfect nightmare in a twisting novel of psychological suspense from #1 USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Jaynes…

Dr. Daniel Winters is living a fairy-tale life. He has a beachfront home in Malibu, a career as a respected pediatrician at a thriving Los Angeles practice, and a gorgeous new wife, Mia. For a man whose past was rife with mental illness, addiction, and thoughts of suicide, it seems too good to be true.

Then Daniel learns that a fellow pediatrician and his family were found slaughtered in their home. It’s just the first chip in the facade of Daniel’s perfect life. Little by little, everything starts to fall away. At work, his career becomes at risk when he’s asked to remain silent about a dangerous new drug. At home, Mia has gone from an affectionate newlywed to a mysterious woman carefully hiding secrets—and possibly a lover.

Then, another doctor is found dead, and as Mia’s behavior becomes increasingly suspicious, Daniel begins to wonder: Is paranoia getting the best of him…or has his fairy-tale life become a nightmare worse than he could have ever imagined? Continue reading “Malice by Jennifer Jaynes – a #BookReview”

Cast No Shadow: A Short Story #Review

Title: Cast No Shadow: A Short Story by Brandon Dragan

Genre: Literature & Fiction, Short Stories, Westerns(?)

Print Length: 65 pages

Publication Date: June 22, 2018

Source: Direct author request

ASIN: B07DHB437Q

Title and Cover: Cast No Shadow – Super cover reflects the timbre of the book

Dark and disturbing, this short story packs a wallop. Set in an early ’80s Texas locale, a Vietnam vet lives with his wife and nine-year-old son. He has a cadre of his military buddies close by and is together engaged in an unusual activity, creatively borne of a passionate love of country, military comrades, and the state of their world upon return with the brutal knowledge left by their collective/respective war experience.

First, you should know the dialogue is written in the style of Cormac McCarthy, a tribute by the author to McCathy’s particular style of writing. Dragan’s own style is clipped and adult or child appropriate and while the absence of quotation marks on dialogue is present, it quickly becomes part of the natural story progression and doesn’t cause a lot of tripping. The narrative is written in first person account, which lends you a strong masculine sensitivity to his personal backstory. (There are, of course, many words considered seaman worthy and the reader should also be aware of some adult activity.)

That said, there is an obvious love between protagonist Beau Moreland and his wife Annabelle and their son. He has been honest with his wife and she is aware of his “extracurricular” activities, sans specific details. His son loves to play ball and he is careful to interact with him in practice and attend games.

His after-hours activities involve members of his ex-troop who feel the need to pursue a fight against an inexorable and deadly activity despoiling their population. They will take a stand where justice fails. The author has an interesting descriptive manner and the short narrative doesn’t need to be broken up into chapters, but engages you immediately. You need no commercial breaks to march through to the heart-stopping conclusion.

This is not the first vigilante offering I’ve read of late but is certainly one of the most powerful and again seems to offer up the opinion that this form of justice may come at too great an extreme cost. Is it still wrong if you are trying to right a wrong?

This is a well-paced short story, devastating, haunting, and heartrending. The poignant love and lesson a father bestow to his child takes on epic proportions. This is a conclusion you can’t see coming, like a ninja in the night, it’s a black warrior, and it leaves you crying NOOO…(take it back!). But there are no do-overs, only unanswered questions.

I received this download from the author and greatly appreciated the opportunity to read and review. It is one that leaves an impression on your heart and a chill down your arms.

(Crap! Can we get a new ending? Please?)

Recommended for those who appreciate short stories, literature and fiction, thrillers, crime fiction, and vigilante justice.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five of Five Stars

The Author: Brandon Dragan grew up in New Jersey, just miles from the Lincoln Tunnel.

At eighteen he left home to attend Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

He draws on a wide range of influences—from literature to history, to philosophy—to craft meaningful and often surprising narratives that challenge the status quo and reach for a deeper understanding of what it means to be human.

Brandon and his wife Jami live in the Nashville area with their two daughters, Natalie and Brooklyn.

He enjoys road cycling and is an avid supporter of Arsenal Football Club.