Recent Reviews
Title – Death by the Devil’s Hand
Author – Michael L. Patton
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Word Count 78,000
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 47 - 2018
Posted 11/30/2018
My Impressions: violent, underage killer, rape, murder, humor, justice.
Main Characters:
Dan Williams – Machine shop owner
Wally Williams – Dan’s elderly uncle, an ornery old cuss.
Syd – Dan’s Australian Shepard
Frankie Ramirez – A sixteen-year-old runaway.
Angie Bartlett – Phoenix police detective.
DeCicco- Las Vegas detective
Tammy – Dumb, but pretty manipulator out to steal Frankie’s money.
Sixteen-year-old Frankie Ramirez changed his name to Blackie the night he ran away from home. Almost immediately, we recognize the mental anguish haunting the young man. A kind, middle-aged man gives Blackie a ride and pays dearly for picking up a demented hitchhiker.
At an Arizona truck stoop, the soon to die working man talks to Dan and Wally Williams about the ’68 Ford F100 pickup he’s driving. They part and go their separate ways. Wally has no idea that the casual meeting of a man in a parking lot will lead him to involvement in a multistate investigation to catch a vicious murderer. Nor does he realize his involvement with put a bull’s-eye target on his back.
On the police side, Detectives Angie Bartlett and DeCicco play the perfect foils to an arrogant FBI agent heading up the murder investigation.
Tammy is a brainless, beautiful waitress who wants to steal the young man’s stolen money after he flashes a large amount to impress her. She’s in her thirties and flirts shamelessly with the immature sixteen year old.
The action is fast-paced and abundant with lots of self-introspection by several characters.
The editing and sentence structure are very good, and continuity flows well.
The plot is violent with lots of action as the killer searches for his primary victim.
I enjoyed Death by the Devil’s Hand and highly recommend it for crime fiction fans.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Michael L. Patton
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Word Count 78,000
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 47 - 2018
Posted 11/30/2018
My Impressions: violent, underage killer, rape, murder, humor, justice.
Main Characters:
Dan Williams – Machine shop owner
Wally Williams – Dan’s elderly uncle, an ornery old cuss.
Syd – Dan’s Australian Shepard
Frankie Ramirez – A sixteen-year-old runaway.
Angie Bartlett – Phoenix police detective.
DeCicco- Las Vegas detective
Tammy – Dumb, but pretty manipulator out to steal Frankie’s money.
Sixteen-year-old Frankie Ramirez changed his name to Blackie the night he ran away from home. Almost immediately, we recognize the mental anguish haunting the young man. A kind, middle-aged man gives Blackie a ride and pays dearly for picking up a demented hitchhiker.
At an Arizona truck stoop, the soon to die working man talks to Dan and Wally Williams about the ’68 Ford F100 pickup he’s driving. They part and go their separate ways. Wally has no idea that the casual meeting of a man in a parking lot will lead him to involvement in a multistate investigation to catch a vicious murderer. Nor does he realize his involvement with put a bull’s-eye target on his back.
On the police side, Detectives Angie Bartlett and DeCicco play the perfect foils to an arrogant FBI agent heading up the murder investigation.
Tammy is a brainless, beautiful waitress who wants to steal the young man’s stolen money after he flashes a large amount to impress her. She’s in her thirties and flirts shamelessly with the immature sixteen year old.
The action is fast-paced and abundant with lots of self-introspection by several characters.
The editing and sentence structure are very good, and continuity flows well.
The plot is violent with lots of action as the killer searches for his primary victim.
I enjoyed Death by the Devil’s Hand and highly recommend it for crime fiction fans.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Valhalla’s Whisper
Author – Cameron Stone
Genre – Actrion-Adventure, Crime, Terrorism, Military, Thriller
Word Count 80,000
Rating Four stars out of five
No. 41 - 2018
Posted 11/23/2018
My Impressions: Well written, love story, action, hate passed through generations, 1982 Ireland & Falkland Isl.
Main Characters:
Robert Sterling – Ex-Special Boat Service warrior now with a disability.
Ken Rickerby – Married Robert’s childhood love.
Julie Rickerby – Married to Ken, but still loves Robert
Valkyrie - Assassin
Cormac – IRA terrorist and killer
Robert Sterling is an ex-soldier who was injured in the 1982 Falkland Islands war between England and Argentina. He left home for the military because he hated work on the family’s sheep farm. After his injury he had no choice but to return home.
With a speech impediment, he is soon misunderstood and ridiculed by the narrowminded neighbors and villagers. Robert left a girl behind and she married a worthless lout, but still loves Robert and is finally reunited with him due to her young daughter’s inquisitive mind and actions.
Throw in the IRA fighters and an assassin and the action picks up quickly.
The story was difficult to read due to the use of many slang words not in the mobi reader American dictionary. Some sentence structures seemed unorganized and incomplete.
Formatting was hampered by missing blank lines between many, but not all, of the scene changes.
Some action scenes near the end occurred out of the blue and left me wondering how the people involved suddenly appeared in the scene without prior warning. At times the actions devolved into unrealistic action hero status.
The editing was good with infrequent errors. But with the heavy U.K. English/Irish writing it was hard to determine if the writing was correct in the other language or if they were errors.
Character development was good as were details and research.
The plot was original, and the writing style was crisp and professional with descriptions flowing like a welcome, cool summer breeze.
I enjoyed this story and recommend it.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Cameron Stone
Genre – Actrion-Adventure, Crime, Terrorism, Military, Thriller
Word Count 80,000
Rating Four stars out of five
No. 41 - 2018
Posted 11/23/2018
My Impressions: Well written, love story, action, hate passed through generations, 1982 Ireland & Falkland Isl.
Main Characters:
Robert Sterling – Ex-Special Boat Service warrior now with a disability.
Ken Rickerby – Married Robert’s childhood love.
Julie Rickerby – Married to Ken, but still loves Robert
Valkyrie - Assassin
Cormac – IRA terrorist and killer
Robert Sterling is an ex-soldier who was injured in the 1982 Falkland Islands war between England and Argentina. He left home for the military because he hated work on the family’s sheep farm. After his injury he had no choice but to return home.
With a speech impediment, he is soon misunderstood and ridiculed by the narrowminded neighbors and villagers. Robert left a girl behind and she married a worthless lout, but still loves Robert and is finally reunited with him due to her young daughter’s inquisitive mind and actions.
Throw in the IRA fighters and an assassin and the action picks up quickly.
The story was difficult to read due to the use of many slang words not in the mobi reader American dictionary. Some sentence structures seemed unorganized and incomplete.
Formatting was hampered by missing blank lines between many, but not all, of the scene changes.
Some action scenes near the end occurred out of the blue and left me wondering how the people involved suddenly appeared in the scene without prior warning. At times the actions devolved into unrealistic action hero status.
The editing was good with infrequent errors. But with the heavy U.K. English/Irish writing it was hard to determine if the writing was correct in the other language or if they were errors.
Character development was good as were details and research.
The plot was original, and the writing style was crisp and professional with descriptions flowing like a welcome, cool summer breeze.
I enjoyed this story and recommend it.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Sweat Street
Author – David J. Swykert
Genre – M. S. T. Crime Noir
Word Count 68,100
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 40- 2018
Posted 11/15/2018
My Impressions: Crude, evil killers, raw, realistic, vicious
Main Characters:
Yukisha ‘Yuki’ Morgan – Scared, druggie street whore who witnessed a double, coldblooded murder
Ted Rogers – reporter for the News.
Raymond Little – Mysterious good guy/bad guy.
Det. Bonnie Benham – Detroit homicide cop
Det. Lagrow – Detroit homicide cop
Sweat Street is set in Detroit, Michigan. Sweat Street is the hooker’s name for Mack Street in a bad part of town. The story opens with Yuki letting two johns drive her away from her safe zone for sex. They both roughly use her at the same time, then the biggest, meanest of the pair assaults her when they are finished.
Scraped and bleeding, Yuki starts back to Sweat Street. Shortly, she sees a fellow hooker who offers her a ride if she’ll wait till the snitch meets with the cop she is informing to.
Yuki waits in the shadows. Suddenly, another car stops, and two men hastily exit it and scurry to the car where the meeting is taking place. Both late arrivals shoot into the car and kill Yuki’s friend and the cop. Yuki gasps and looks straight into the eyes of one of the killers. She runs and escapes, but the killers know what she looks like and intend to track her down and kill her.
There are many changes of direction and the tension and conflict escalate with every page. The reporter and two good cops search for and find Yuki and hide her away until she is ready to identify the killers. But everything goes bottom up and the plot gets more involved with multiple deaths happening as the killers search for Yuki.
The story would rate five stars were it not for the overall poor editing. The street slang spoken by the druggies and hookers is acceptable on its own but there are enough other editing no-nos to drag it down a notch.
The plot is involved and realistic.
Character development is good and defines the people aptly.
Details are adequate to paint a colorful background to the plot.
The story is about rough people existing in a life few of us have experienced or care to be involved in. I enjoyed Sweat Street and recommend it highly in spite of the lack of editing.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – David J. Swykert
Genre – M. S. T. Crime Noir
Word Count 68,100
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 40- 2018
Posted 11/15/2018
My Impressions: Crude, evil killers, raw, realistic, vicious
Main Characters:
Yukisha ‘Yuki’ Morgan – Scared, druggie street whore who witnessed a double, coldblooded murder
Ted Rogers – reporter for the News.
Raymond Little – Mysterious good guy/bad guy.
Det. Bonnie Benham – Detroit homicide cop
Det. Lagrow – Detroit homicide cop
Sweat Street is set in Detroit, Michigan. Sweat Street is the hooker’s name for Mack Street in a bad part of town. The story opens with Yuki letting two johns drive her away from her safe zone for sex. They both roughly use her at the same time, then the biggest, meanest of the pair assaults her when they are finished.
Scraped and bleeding, Yuki starts back to Sweat Street. Shortly, she sees a fellow hooker who offers her a ride if she’ll wait till the snitch meets with the cop she is informing to.
Yuki waits in the shadows. Suddenly, another car stops, and two men hastily exit it and scurry to the car where the meeting is taking place. Both late arrivals shoot into the car and kill Yuki’s friend and the cop. Yuki gasps and looks straight into the eyes of one of the killers. She runs and escapes, but the killers know what she looks like and intend to track her down and kill her.
There are many changes of direction and the tension and conflict escalate with every page. The reporter and two good cops search for and find Yuki and hide her away until she is ready to identify the killers. But everything goes bottom up and the plot gets more involved with multiple deaths happening as the killers search for Yuki.
The story would rate five stars were it not for the overall poor editing. The street slang spoken by the druggies and hookers is acceptable on its own but there are enough other editing no-nos to drag it down a notch.
The plot is involved and realistic.
Character development is good and defines the people aptly.
Details are adequate to paint a colorful background to the plot.
The story is about rough people existing in a life few of us have experienced or care to be involved in. I enjoyed Sweat Street and recommend it highly in spite of the lack of editing.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Lie With Me
Author – Andy Lanyon
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Word Count 53,000
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 39- 2018
Posted 11/2/2018
My Impressions: pathetic, wimpy males, strong, aggressive women. Cliffhanger, tension, conflict.
Main Characters:
Alex Leidner – Psychiatrist age 32
Sarah Leidner – Alex’ wife
Jamie Baumann – Alex’ patient age 23
Wendy Baumann – Jamie’s older sister
Blair – Alex’ longtime friend, recently back in his life
Phillip – Wendy’s boyfriend
The story takes place in Melbourne, Australia. Alex and Sarah have been in a boring, distant, childless marriage for five years. Neither is happy, and Alex thinks of her with distain. Alex buried his homosexual inclinations when they married, but his preference is soon awakened by a young man who becomes his patient under false presentences.
Shortly after Alex and Jamie become intimate, Alex receives pictures of their intimate coupling along with a threatening note demanding $100,000 or his affair with a patient will be exposed to his wife, family, and the medical board. From then to the conclusion we learn the extend of a complicated plot to extract money from Alex. The story is involved and full of tension and conflict and lies heaped upon lies.
The editing is very good except for minor differences between USA English and British English. When Americans toss something down inside a building it falls on the floor. The author throws it on the ground. We spell no one as two words, the author hyphenates it to no-one.
The author likes to throw adjectives in with abandon. To me an undulating cliff sounds like an avalanche. And I haven’t figured out how to look at a handwritten note and decide it was written in a disinterested hand. Then there are pine trees with needle like leaves. But in spite of the laughable descriptions the basic plot is complicated and held my interest.
The character descriptions are in depth and clearly define a despicable group of sub-characters.
There is minimal cursing, and the homosexual love scenes are handled with compassion and at a distance. There are no graphic descriptions.
I highly recommend this story except for those readers who are seriously put off by gay relationships.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Andy Lanyon
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Word Count 53,000
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 39- 2018
Posted 11/2/2018
My Impressions: pathetic, wimpy males, strong, aggressive women. Cliffhanger, tension, conflict.
Main Characters:
Alex Leidner – Psychiatrist age 32
Sarah Leidner – Alex’ wife
Jamie Baumann – Alex’ patient age 23
Wendy Baumann – Jamie’s older sister
Blair – Alex’ longtime friend, recently back in his life
Phillip – Wendy’s boyfriend
The story takes place in Melbourne, Australia. Alex and Sarah have been in a boring, distant, childless marriage for five years. Neither is happy, and Alex thinks of her with distain. Alex buried his homosexual inclinations when they married, but his preference is soon awakened by a young man who becomes his patient under false presentences.
Shortly after Alex and Jamie become intimate, Alex receives pictures of their intimate coupling along with a threatening note demanding $100,000 or his affair with a patient will be exposed to his wife, family, and the medical board. From then to the conclusion we learn the extend of a complicated plot to extract money from Alex. The story is involved and full of tension and conflict and lies heaped upon lies.
The editing is very good except for minor differences between USA English and British English. When Americans toss something down inside a building it falls on the floor. The author throws it on the ground. We spell no one as two words, the author hyphenates it to no-one.
The author likes to throw adjectives in with abandon. To me an undulating cliff sounds like an avalanche. And I haven’t figured out how to look at a handwritten note and decide it was written in a disinterested hand. Then there are pine trees with needle like leaves. But in spite of the laughable descriptions the basic plot is complicated and held my interest.
The character descriptions are in depth and clearly define a despicable group of sub-characters.
There is minimal cursing, and the homosexual love scenes are handled with compassion and at a distance. There are no graphic descriptions.
I highly recommend this story except for those readers who are seriously put off by gay relationships.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Murderland, A Crime Novel
Author – Joseph Mark Glazner
Genre – MST
Word Count 100,000
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 38 - 2018
Posted 10/27/2018
My Impressions: drunken, druggie playboy, habitual gambler, too much filler.
Main Characters:
Harry Holiday – twenty-nine-year-old egotist, womanizer, loser.
Pilot – an old ‘fixer’ who worked for Harry’s dad and granddad.
The story opens with Harry being beaten by two collectors sent by his bookie for a large debt he owed. Harry is a compulsive gambler who always knows he is on the verge of winning. He is neither evil or saintly but vacillates somewhere between the two extremes.
An attempt was made to kill Harry’s father and he lies comatose in a nursing home. Harry suspects his stepmother and her lawyer of committing the attack on his father but has no proof.
The Murderland Museum is going broke. It displays crime memorabilia from the most ruthless killers of their day. To keep the museum’s doors open, Harry has been selling the memorabilia piecemeal to weird collectors. It’s to the point where there’s nothing left to sell. But each time Harry gets his hands on a large sum of cash he gambles it away or an old debtor claims it.
Early on there are hints that the museum never took in enough money to stay viable. So where did the funds come from? Pilot holds the answer.
It was hard to develop any respect for Harry. His only interactions with women were for frequent sex.
I didn’t like Harry’s character; he is a pathetic example of a human with few redeeming traits. The story picked up steam in the second half. I was torn between a 3.0 rating and a 4.0 so it gets the four.
The story contains some cursing and detailed but not graphic sex scenes.
Editing and sentence structure are very good.
Character development is good.
Details are overdone. Frequent war accounts about involvements of Canada and the US during the war of 1812 amounted to filler as did long details about the articles Harry sold.
In depth research is apparent.
The plot is involved and has many unexpected twists.
In addition to the genres listed I will add satire and coming of age.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Joseph Mark Glazner
Genre – MST
Word Count 100,000
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 38 - 2018
Posted 10/27/2018
My Impressions: drunken, druggie playboy, habitual gambler, too much filler.
Main Characters:
Harry Holiday – twenty-nine-year-old egotist, womanizer, loser.
Pilot – an old ‘fixer’ who worked for Harry’s dad and granddad.
The story opens with Harry being beaten by two collectors sent by his bookie for a large debt he owed. Harry is a compulsive gambler who always knows he is on the verge of winning. He is neither evil or saintly but vacillates somewhere between the two extremes.
An attempt was made to kill Harry’s father and he lies comatose in a nursing home. Harry suspects his stepmother and her lawyer of committing the attack on his father but has no proof.
The Murderland Museum is going broke. It displays crime memorabilia from the most ruthless killers of their day. To keep the museum’s doors open, Harry has been selling the memorabilia piecemeal to weird collectors. It’s to the point where there’s nothing left to sell. But each time Harry gets his hands on a large sum of cash he gambles it away or an old debtor claims it.
Early on there are hints that the museum never took in enough money to stay viable. So where did the funds come from? Pilot holds the answer.
It was hard to develop any respect for Harry. His only interactions with women were for frequent sex.
I didn’t like Harry’s character; he is a pathetic example of a human with few redeeming traits. The story picked up steam in the second half. I was torn between a 3.0 rating and a 4.0 so it gets the four.
The story contains some cursing and detailed but not graphic sex scenes.
Editing and sentence structure are very good.
Character development is good.
Details are overdone. Frequent war accounts about involvements of Canada and the US during the war of 1812 amounted to filler as did long details about the articles Harry sold.
In depth research is apparent.
The plot is involved and has many unexpected twists.
In addition to the genres listed I will add satire and coming of age.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – A Young Man's Game
Author – Paul Blake
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Spy
Word Count 78,000 245 pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 37 - 2018
Posted 10/13/2018
My Impressions: Action packed spy/love story set in Berlin, Germany.
Main Characters:
Alec Foster – M-16 British Spy
Claudia – Also at M-16
Authur – Alec’s boss
Plus many, many more.
A Young Man’s Game cast Alec as a fifty-one-year-old spy for Britain’s M-16 organization who gets a second chance at life after years of burying himself in a bottle. A plot has been hatched to murder a high-ranking British official.
Alec tells Authur he plans to meet with his counterpart in the Russian SPG to learn the details of the plot. At the meeting place his contact is murdered and Alec barely escapes. He spends the night eluding several Russian thugs, the German police and British Embassy security.
Eventually he goes to the apartment of a long-lost love and the romance angle kicks in.
In the end Alec unravels the mystery of who had the Russian murdered and why.
The editing and sentence are both good, above average for newbie writers.
The plot is twisted and clever except for the long winded, detailed descriptions of every street Alec walks down and many of the land marks on each side of the street.
Character development of the main characters is detailed.
The writing spent far too much time on descriptions of Berlin that had little to do with the plot.
I enjoyed the story and recommend the read for thriller fans.
There is some reference to sexual situations but they are mild.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Paul Blake
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Spy
Word Count 78,000 245 pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 37 - 2018
Posted 10/13/2018
My Impressions: Action packed spy/love story set in Berlin, Germany.
Main Characters:
Alec Foster – M-16 British Spy
Claudia – Also at M-16
Authur – Alec’s boss
Plus many, many more.
A Young Man’s Game cast Alec as a fifty-one-year-old spy for Britain’s M-16 organization who gets a second chance at life after years of burying himself in a bottle. A plot has been hatched to murder a high-ranking British official.
Alec tells Authur he plans to meet with his counterpart in the Russian SPG to learn the details of the plot. At the meeting place his contact is murdered and Alec barely escapes. He spends the night eluding several Russian thugs, the German police and British Embassy security.
Eventually he goes to the apartment of a long-lost love and the romance angle kicks in.
In the end Alec unravels the mystery of who had the Russian murdered and why.
The editing and sentence are both good, above average for newbie writers.
The plot is twisted and clever except for the long winded, detailed descriptions of every street Alec walks down and many of the land marks on each side of the street.
Character development of the main characters is detailed.
The writing spent far too much time on descriptions of Berlin that had little to do with the plot.
I enjoyed the story and recommend the read for thriller fans.
There is some reference to sexual situations but they are mild.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Armed Men & Armadillos
Author – John Earl Sharp
Genre – Western
Word Count 77,300
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 36 - 2018
Posted 10/1/2018
My Impressions: a large cast of frontier children and even more bad guys in the mid 1800’s..
Main Characters:
Vernon – Bounty Hunter
Billy Washburn – Bounty Hunter
Danial – 15 year old with two siblings. His father is a drunk before he disappears.
Clem – 14 year old girl who packs a revolver. Has one brother and a senile mother
Armed Men and Armadillos takes place in southeast Texas after the Civil War. It’s a remote area bordering western Louisiana where settlers try to eke out a living while plagued by harsh conditions, conmen, and vicious outlaws. Native Indians have been evicted years earlier and are not a threat. The Civil War has been decided and survivors of both armies strive to exist in the aftermath of the ruthless fighting.
The plot centers on the children of two families with single parents. One family’s mother is senile and the other’s father is a drunk. The children generally run amuck but manage to survive without getting into serious trouble. Details are interesting because they tell how the kids live on corn mush and an occasional squirrel stew and handouts from an aunt.
A few honorable men are set against a large cast of lowdown murders and general scum of the earth.
There is a lot of action involving the numerous villains. Some of them are depicted as good guys who just like to kill, and others are downright ruthless killers with no redeeming virtues.
The book’s editing is okay with minor errors. Sentence structure is mostly good and character development is detailed.
The plot dwells on the harsh condition and the worst of the human element vs. people struggling to live from day to day.
I enjoyed the story and recommend it for fans of western and coming of age genres.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – John Earl Sharp
Genre – Western
Word Count 77,300
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 36 - 2018
Posted 10/1/2018
My Impressions: a large cast of frontier children and even more bad guys in the mid 1800’s..
Main Characters:
Vernon – Bounty Hunter
Billy Washburn – Bounty Hunter
Danial – 15 year old with two siblings. His father is a drunk before he disappears.
Clem – 14 year old girl who packs a revolver. Has one brother and a senile mother
Armed Men and Armadillos takes place in southeast Texas after the Civil War. It’s a remote area bordering western Louisiana where settlers try to eke out a living while plagued by harsh conditions, conmen, and vicious outlaws. Native Indians have been evicted years earlier and are not a threat. The Civil War has been decided and survivors of both armies strive to exist in the aftermath of the ruthless fighting.
The plot centers on the children of two families with single parents. One family’s mother is senile and the other’s father is a drunk. The children generally run amuck but manage to survive without getting into serious trouble. Details are interesting because they tell how the kids live on corn mush and an occasional squirrel stew and handouts from an aunt.
A few honorable men are set against a large cast of lowdown murders and general scum of the earth.
There is a lot of action involving the numerous villains. Some of them are depicted as good guys who just like to kill, and others are downright ruthless killers with no redeeming virtues.
The book’s editing is okay with minor errors. Sentence structure is mostly good and character development is detailed.
The plot dwells on the harsh condition and the worst of the human element vs. people struggling to live from day to day.
I enjoyed the story and recommend it for fans of western and coming of age genres.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Quick Fix
Author – J. Gregory Smith
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Word Count 70,000
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 35- 2018
Posted 9/23/2018
My Impressions: violent, kidnapping, gullible greedy characters.
Main Characters:
Kyle Logan – ex-soldier, divorced, looking for easy money, gullible.
Ryan Buckly – ex-soldier, hustler, gets in over his head.
Kyle Logan is divorced but still loves his wannabe rich ex-wife and hates the scum-bag lawyer she lives with and is engaged to. His childhood buddy, Ryan Buckly, convinces him to get involved in a shady deal where Ryan will make a bundle of money and Kyle will receive $50,000 just for going along. Of course, everything goes wrong and the pair find themselves in trouble with the local mob, a Mexican drug cartel. and then when they run the scam again, with Bolivian mercenaries. When the thieving pair come up short of the money they owe the crooks they are dealing with, Kyle’s ex-wife becomes involved in the scam and gives him more incentive to straighten things out.
A couple of the sub-characters were interesting and added to the menagerie.
The action is fast and intense
I recommend the story.
The editing is good, but the sentence structure is so, so.
Character Development is detailed and paints a clear picture of the main characters.
Details are adequate
The Plot is interesting and kept me engaged.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – J. Gregory Smith
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Word Count 70,000
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 35- 2018
Posted 9/23/2018
My Impressions: violent, kidnapping, gullible greedy characters.
Main Characters:
Kyle Logan – ex-soldier, divorced, looking for easy money, gullible.
Ryan Buckly – ex-soldier, hustler, gets in over his head.
Kyle Logan is divorced but still loves his wannabe rich ex-wife and hates the scum-bag lawyer she lives with and is engaged to. His childhood buddy, Ryan Buckly, convinces him to get involved in a shady deal where Ryan will make a bundle of money and Kyle will receive $50,000 just for going along. Of course, everything goes wrong and the pair find themselves in trouble with the local mob, a Mexican drug cartel. and then when they run the scam again, with Bolivian mercenaries. When the thieving pair come up short of the money they owe the crooks they are dealing with, Kyle’s ex-wife becomes involved in the scam and gives him more incentive to straighten things out.
A couple of the sub-characters were interesting and added to the menagerie.
The action is fast and intense
I recommend the story.
The editing is good, but the sentence structure is so, so.
Character Development is detailed and paints a clear picture of the main characters.
Details are adequate
The Plot is interesting and kept me engaged.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Hispanicus: Abandoned Road
Author – Eddie Cisneros
Genre – Literary Fiction, Erotica
Word Count 51,255
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 34- 2018
Posted 9/11/2018
My Impressions: Suffering, death, murder, underbelly of humanity, drug dealers and addicts.
Main Characters:
Antonio Pintero – Teenaged drug dealer selling marijuana to school friends.
There are too many sub-characters to list.
The opening of Hispanicus- The Apostate Life of Antonio Pintero presented Antonio Pintero as an adult lying in a slum hotel with a crack whore. His thoughts told of a past life equal to that of a rock star with fancy cars, jewelry, and women. However, this book Hispanicus: Abandoned Road only covers his life from age fourteen to about seventeen.
The story presented is a character study of a teenager living a life of drugs and death. He is portrayed as a decent person who learns to live a vicious, deadly life with drug dealers and addicts while interacting with relatives living that life. There is violence, deception and betrayal at every turn.
This second story follows Antonio as he recruits a group of his teen friends to control the marijuana sales in his crime ridden, drug infested neighborhood. But Antonio is ambitious and eager to move up to selling cocaine and heroin. Near the end, he is portrayed as wanting to leave the drug culture, finish high school, and start a new life.
Cursing and talk of sex is abundant but not graphic.
The story has word editing issues because it being written in street jargon with broken English.
Character development is good for Antonio and adequate for most of his close friends.
The plot takes the reader into the lives of the low-level street drug people as opposed to the drug cartel leaders. It's a brutal, depressing existence.
The writing style is extremely wordy and emulates the language of the street people portrayed.
My rating of the second book still wavered between a 3.0 and 4.0 so I'll go with the higher rating but with the same reservations. It's hard to read and portrays a gutter lifestyle.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Eddie Cisneros
Genre – Literary Fiction, Erotica
Word Count 51,255
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 34- 2018
Posted 9/11/2018
My Impressions: Suffering, death, murder, underbelly of humanity, drug dealers and addicts.
Main Characters:
Antonio Pintero – Teenaged drug dealer selling marijuana to school friends.
There are too many sub-characters to list.
The opening of Hispanicus- The Apostate Life of Antonio Pintero presented Antonio Pintero as an adult lying in a slum hotel with a crack whore. His thoughts told of a past life equal to that of a rock star with fancy cars, jewelry, and women. However, this book Hispanicus: Abandoned Road only covers his life from age fourteen to about seventeen.
The story presented is a character study of a teenager living a life of drugs and death. He is portrayed as a decent person who learns to live a vicious, deadly life with drug dealers and addicts while interacting with relatives living that life. There is violence, deception and betrayal at every turn.
This second story follows Antonio as he recruits a group of his teen friends to control the marijuana sales in his crime ridden, drug infested neighborhood. But Antonio is ambitious and eager to move up to selling cocaine and heroin. Near the end, he is portrayed as wanting to leave the drug culture, finish high school, and start a new life.
Cursing and talk of sex is abundant but not graphic.
The story has word editing issues because it being written in street jargon with broken English.
Character development is good for Antonio and adequate for most of his close friends.
The plot takes the reader into the lives of the low-level street drug people as opposed to the drug cartel leaders. It's a brutal, depressing existence.
The writing style is extremely wordy and emulates the language of the street people portrayed.
My rating of the second book still wavered between a 3.0 and 4.0 so I'll go with the higher rating but with the same reservations. It's hard to read and portrays a gutter lifestyle.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.