Title – Voices in the Wind
Author – Tony Manera
Genre – Mystery, Suspense
Word Count - 76,000
Rating – Five stars out of five
No. 37 - 2021
Posted 10/15/2021
My Impressions: Excellent tale of Greed and Corruption.
Main Characters:
Don Pasquale - fifty-five year old sophisticated mafia criminal.
Donna Rossa – Don Pasquale’s wife.
Turriddu – Journalist and Don Pasquale’s PR man.
The Count – Mysterious advisor and king maker.
Bellini – Police inspector, childhood friend of Don Pasquale.
Longo – Police officer
Voices in the Wind is set primarily around Palermo, Sicily.
Don Pasquale is a suave, egotistical criminal who fooled most prominent leaders. He’s been suspected of several unscrupulous financial criminal acts but was never charges and has no past criminal convictions.
He has connections to many underworld criminals including the Sicilian mafia and international crooks.
Although proclaiming to abhor violence, he has ordered several murders.
He is a wheeler dealer, but heavily in debt and was promoting a bridge from Sicily to Italy that had been proposed for hundreds of years. He invested ten million euros in that endeavor.
But not everyone looks up to Don Pasquale; his wife suspects he is a confirmed womanizer and that he had a fellow mafia member murdered. The man stood in the way of Don Pasquale’s cherished bridge project.
When the Italian government fails due to a no confidence vote on the presiding coalition, Don Pasquale is approached to become the new Prime Minister of a newly formed government.
Voices in the Wind has the usual indie author editing issues, especially with commas.
Sentence Structure is good.
Character development is thorough and defines the character’s personalities clearly
Thorough research or firsthand knowledge of the Sicilian locations is apparent in the details. The authors knowledge of firearms and suppressors (not silencers) is abysmal.
The plot is intriguing and convoluted.
I enjoyed this story of a sociopathic criminal and highly recommend it.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Tony Manera
Genre – Mystery, Suspense
Word Count - 76,000
Rating – Five stars out of five
No. 37 - 2021
Posted 10/15/2021
My Impressions: Excellent tale of Greed and Corruption.
Main Characters:
Don Pasquale - fifty-five year old sophisticated mafia criminal.
Donna Rossa – Don Pasquale’s wife.
Turriddu – Journalist and Don Pasquale’s PR man.
The Count – Mysterious advisor and king maker.
Bellini – Police inspector, childhood friend of Don Pasquale.
Longo – Police officer
Voices in the Wind is set primarily around Palermo, Sicily.
Don Pasquale is a suave, egotistical criminal who fooled most prominent leaders. He’s been suspected of several unscrupulous financial criminal acts but was never charges and has no past criminal convictions.
He has connections to many underworld criminals including the Sicilian mafia and international crooks.
Although proclaiming to abhor violence, he has ordered several murders.
He is a wheeler dealer, but heavily in debt and was promoting a bridge from Sicily to Italy that had been proposed for hundreds of years. He invested ten million euros in that endeavor.
But not everyone looks up to Don Pasquale; his wife suspects he is a confirmed womanizer and that he had a fellow mafia member murdered. The man stood in the way of Don Pasquale’s cherished bridge project.
When the Italian government fails due to a no confidence vote on the presiding coalition, Don Pasquale is approached to become the new Prime Minister of a newly formed government.
Voices in the Wind has the usual indie author editing issues, especially with commas.
Sentence Structure is good.
Character development is thorough and defines the character’s personalities clearly
Thorough research or firsthand knowledge of the Sicilian locations is apparent in the details. The authors knowledge of firearms and suppressors (not silencers) is abysmal.
The plot is intriguing and convoluted.
I enjoyed this story of a sociopathic criminal and highly recommend it.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Black Entry
Author – Regis Sheehan
Genre – War fiction
Word Count - 44,600
Rating – Five stars out of Five
No. 36 - 2021
Posted 10/8/2021
My Impressions: Fictional account of a war gone bad by incompetence and politicking.
Main Characters:
Many
Black Entry details the timeline of the Vietnam War effort of 1962 and 1963 in a mission named Project Tiger.
The CIA’s failed plan was to airdrop teams of Vietnamese agents into northern Vietnam to observe, spy and sometimes attack the north. The effort was hampered by spies in the Vietnamese groups the CIA had to work with to recruit team members and share insertion plans with.
Several hundred volunteers were captured or killed upon landing or within short periods of time soon after. But shockingly, the program continued for years even though it was failing monthly. How did this happen. Because of coverups, corruption, and incompetence at the highest levels.
The editing is decent with few errors
Sentence structure is good.
Character development is adequate considering the many characters.
Details indicate a high level of research.
The plot covers an actual war the US lost through arrogance, incompetence and political coverups
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Regis Sheehan
Genre – War fiction
Word Count - 44,600
Rating – Five stars out of Five
No. 36 - 2021
Posted 10/8/2021
My Impressions: Fictional account of a war gone bad by incompetence and politicking.
Main Characters:
Many
Black Entry details the timeline of the Vietnam War effort of 1962 and 1963 in a mission named Project Tiger.
The CIA’s failed plan was to airdrop teams of Vietnamese agents into northern Vietnam to observe, spy and sometimes attack the north. The effort was hampered by spies in the Vietnamese groups the CIA had to work with to recruit team members and share insertion plans with.
Several hundred volunteers were captured or killed upon landing or within short periods of time soon after. But shockingly, the program continued for years even though it was failing monthly. How did this happen. Because of coverups, corruption, and incompetence at the highest levels.
The editing is decent with few errors
Sentence structure is good.
Character development is adequate considering the many characters.
Details indicate a high level of research.
The plot covers an actual war the US lost through arrogance, incompetence and political coverups
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Never Grow Up
Author – Neil Ruttenberg
Genre – Thriller
Word Count - 58,000
Rating – Five stars out of five
No. 34 - 2021
Posted 10/1/2021
My Impressions: Excellent story with traces of horror and fantasy. Main Characters:
Lily Garnett – age 16, kidnapped.
Tink,- abductor
The Green Man – The Pan, Berton Getzel, a real nutcase.
Sad Eyes and Freckles – Two of the bad Lost Boys.
Pistol Pete – one of the nicer Lost Boys.
Kelso – TV producer
Roger Hook – ex-cop, washed up TV crime show producer.
In addition to being a thriller, this story has traces of horror and fantasy; but the author pulls it off to create an interesting tale.
Young girls around the age of sixteen are kidnapped and murdered on their eighteenth birthday. Glitter on the corpuses is the only thing tying the murders together.
Roger Hook was a tough head of homicide detective until he quit and became a TV producer of crime shows. When he became a drug addict and was tied to prostitutes, his career tanked, his weird wife divorced him, and he lost everything. But he wanted the good life back enough to detox and attempt to produce TV shows again.
He stumbled across a string of young murder victims that only he tied together into serial killings. Through good detective work he learned of a criminal enterprise headed by a nutcase who dressed in a green bodysuit and wore a mask of twigs. The loony tune thought he was Peter Pan, called himself The Pan, and had young girls kidnapped to be his ‘Wendy’. But when they turned eighteen, they were no longer children so he killed them and replaced them with a new, younger Wendy.
Hook and Croc team up to fight the crazies and prove both of them are a match for the evil they face.
A fun read if you don’t think too far past the impossible actions.
The editing leaves some missing words and comma issues, but those are overshadowed by the excellent story telling.
Sentence Structure is mostly good
Character development is good for dealing with a bunch of kooks and misfits: a legless midget, two muscular Asian torturers, a girl with a horrible scar on her face covered with a tattoo of a crocodile, Armenian criminal killers, a nutcase who soaks in a tub of blood for his fountain of youth, and other crazies.
Details are good because the story is weird and touches on fantasy
The plot is kooky, but I enjoyed it.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Neil Ruttenberg
Genre – Thriller
Word Count - 58,000
Rating – Five stars out of five
No. 34 - 2021
Posted 10/1/2021
My Impressions: Excellent story with traces of horror and fantasy. Main Characters:
Lily Garnett – age 16, kidnapped.
Tink,- abductor
The Green Man – The Pan, Berton Getzel, a real nutcase.
Sad Eyes and Freckles – Two of the bad Lost Boys.
Pistol Pete – one of the nicer Lost Boys.
Kelso – TV producer
Roger Hook – ex-cop, washed up TV crime show producer.
In addition to being a thriller, this story has traces of horror and fantasy; but the author pulls it off to create an interesting tale.
Young girls around the age of sixteen are kidnapped and murdered on their eighteenth birthday. Glitter on the corpuses is the only thing tying the murders together.
Roger Hook was a tough head of homicide detective until he quit and became a TV producer of crime shows. When he became a drug addict and was tied to prostitutes, his career tanked, his weird wife divorced him, and he lost everything. But he wanted the good life back enough to detox and attempt to produce TV shows again.
He stumbled across a string of young murder victims that only he tied together into serial killings. Through good detective work he learned of a criminal enterprise headed by a nutcase who dressed in a green bodysuit and wore a mask of twigs. The loony tune thought he was Peter Pan, called himself The Pan, and had young girls kidnapped to be his ‘Wendy’. But when they turned eighteen, they were no longer children so he killed them and replaced them with a new, younger Wendy.
Hook and Croc team up to fight the crazies and prove both of them are a match for the evil they face.
A fun read if you don’t think too far past the impossible actions.
The editing leaves some missing words and comma issues, but those are overshadowed by the excellent story telling.
Sentence Structure is mostly good
Character development is good for dealing with a bunch of kooks and misfits: a legless midget, two muscular Asian torturers, a girl with a horrible scar on her face covered with a tattoo of a crocodile, Armenian criminal killers, a nutcase who soaks in a tub of blood for his fountain of youth, and other crazies.
Details are good because the story is weird and touches on fantasy
The plot is kooky, but I enjoyed it.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Recycled Love
Author – George Henry
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller,
Action Adventure
306 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 35 – 2021
Posted 9/26/2021
My Impressions: Weird characters, great ending, steeped in Buddhism, reincarnation, lots of action.
Main Characters:
Dan Palmer – 39 year old ex doctor, spent 4 yrs. in prison, 1 yr. in Africa treating AIDs patients, now is sick.
Kapoor – Indian police superintendent, gay and in love with Dan.
Charlie – 20 year old woman who falls in love with Dan
Recycled Love could be titled ‘Everyone Loves Dan Except For Those Who Want to Kill Him’.
There are too many important characters in Recycled Love to list them all. Dan Porter has converted to Buddhism and joins a tour group visiting numerous Buddhist shrines in India and Nepal. The group is a mix of eccentric characters from murderers to druggies, a son who hates Dan, Dan’s ex-wife who hates him and an evil matriarch escorting two young beautiful women. One evil character is there to kidnap Charlie and two others are there to protect her. It makes for a totally scintillating cast of psychopaths and sociopaths among the few normal folks.
Dan is a reluctant tough guy who is forced to defend himself and those he soon cares for and takes under his liberal wings. In prison his cellmate was a gay man he came to love. Then Police Superintendent Kapoor falls madly for him. Do they have an intimate relationship? It’s not clear so you’ll have to decide if you want them to.
The plot is wildly action packed with calming breaks as Dan discusses his religious beliefs and lies to people in the hope of helping them or postponing their troubles.
After an extremely long string of violence the ending was a complete surprise.
There is a lot of sex talk but nothing graphic. Near the end two emotional sex scenes are beautifully written, but again not graphic. The F bomb is used abundantly.
The editing is very sloppy with numerous missing, extra and wrong words. Often sentence structures needs rewriting.
Glock handguns do not have safety switches, and the manufacturer of a gun cannot be determined by examining a fired bullet. These issues indicate a lack of firearms knowledge and thorough research.
There are numerous issues of continuity. Dan walked to a bar then spoke of the taxi driver who took him there.
Charlie is attacked by a rapist and almost cuts his penis off. The description indicated there was blood everywhere but a naked Charlie escaped without a drop of blood on her and her knife disappeared. The entire scene was contrived and poorly thought out.
In spite of the faults in Recycled Love I enjoyed it, although the in-depth religious aspect was a bit over the top for me personally.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – George Henry
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller,
Action Adventure
306 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 35 – 2021
Posted 9/26/2021
My Impressions: Weird characters, great ending, steeped in Buddhism, reincarnation, lots of action.
Main Characters:
Dan Palmer – 39 year old ex doctor, spent 4 yrs. in prison, 1 yr. in Africa treating AIDs patients, now is sick.
Kapoor – Indian police superintendent, gay and in love with Dan.
Charlie – 20 year old woman who falls in love with Dan
Recycled Love could be titled ‘Everyone Loves Dan Except For Those Who Want to Kill Him’.
There are too many important characters in Recycled Love to list them all. Dan Porter has converted to Buddhism and joins a tour group visiting numerous Buddhist shrines in India and Nepal. The group is a mix of eccentric characters from murderers to druggies, a son who hates Dan, Dan’s ex-wife who hates him and an evil matriarch escorting two young beautiful women. One evil character is there to kidnap Charlie and two others are there to protect her. It makes for a totally scintillating cast of psychopaths and sociopaths among the few normal folks.
Dan is a reluctant tough guy who is forced to defend himself and those he soon cares for and takes under his liberal wings. In prison his cellmate was a gay man he came to love. Then Police Superintendent Kapoor falls madly for him. Do they have an intimate relationship? It’s not clear so you’ll have to decide if you want them to.
The plot is wildly action packed with calming breaks as Dan discusses his religious beliefs and lies to people in the hope of helping them or postponing their troubles.
After an extremely long string of violence the ending was a complete surprise.
There is a lot of sex talk but nothing graphic. Near the end two emotional sex scenes are beautifully written, but again not graphic. The F bomb is used abundantly.
The editing is very sloppy with numerous missing, extra and wrong words. Often sentence structures needs rewriting.
Glock handguns do not have safety switches, and the manufacturer of a gun cannot be determined by examining a fired bullet. These issues indicate a lack of firearms knowledge and thorough research.
There are numerous issues of continuity. Dan walked to a bar then spoke of the taxi driver who took him there.
Charlie is attacked by a rapist and almost cuts his penis off. The description indicated there was blood everywhere but a naked Charlie escaped without a drop of blood on her and her knife disappeared. The entire scene was contrived and poorly thought out.
In spite of the faults in Recycled Love I enjoyed it, although the in-depth religious aspect was a bit over the top for me personally.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Wendall’s Lullaby
Author – Kip Loelsch
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller - Science
515 Amazon Pages
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 33 – 2021
Posted 9/17/2021
My Impressions: corrupt military, black ops, incompetent politicians, love story, animal lovers, conflict, intrigue.
Main Characters:
Dr. Angela Clark – Director of Marine Mammal Health & Stranding
Director Jack Hamilton – Angela’s boss.
Dr. Robin Nicely – So. African skier, Dolphin expert, Angela’s boyfriend.
Rear Admiral Lawrence Collins, retired – Still active in national security.
There are many more characters with mile long titles and govt. acronyms. Makes reading difficult.
Wendall’s Lullaby takes place in Galveston, Texas – Virginia Beach, Virginia – Tampa, Florida & Mozambique, Africa and deals with the unheard-of numbers of Bottlenose Dolphins beaching and stranding themselves.
Scientists strive to determine the cause of the deaths of so many dolphins and are dumbfounded by the never before recorded behavior of the mammals.
Several people are alarmed when elite Naval units are ordered to assist with the rescue operation and suspect foul play. Several people are familiar with the government’s past programs striving to use dolphins in security operations.
As is often the case, the military is portrayed as the antagonist willing to subvert individual’s civil rights for their extreme views of national security. But are the military’s objectives right or wrong? You’ll have to make that judgement in the end.
The story has fast action and many twists in the plot. Woven through out are stories of personal tragedies, success and failure and love affairs.
Whether you are attracted to animal stories or not, I’m not, Wendall’s Lullaby is a compelling read and I strongly recommend it.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Kip Loelsch
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller - Science
515 Amazon Pages
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 33 – 2021
Posted 9/17/2021
My Impressions: corrupt military, black ops, incompetent politicians, love story, animal lovers, conflict, intrigue.
Main Characters:
Dr. Angela Clark – Director of Marine Mammal Health & Stranding
Director Jack Hamilton – Angela’s boss.
Dr. Robin Nicely – So. African skier, Dolphin expert, Angela’s boyfriend.
Rear Admiral Lawrence Collins, retired – Still active in national security.
There are many more characters with mile long titles and govt. acronyms. Makes reading difficult.
Wendall’s Lullaby takes place in Galveston, Texas – Virginia Beach, Virginia – Tampa, Florida & Mozambique, Africa and deals with the unheard-of numbers of Bottlenose Dolphins beaching and stranding themselves.
Scientists strive to determine the cause of the deaths of so many dolphins and are dumbfounded by the never before recorded behavior of the mammals.
Several people are alarmed when elite Naval units are ordered to assist with the rescue operation and suspect foul play. Several people are familiar with the government’s past programs striving to use dolphins in security operations.
As is often the case, the military is portrayed as the antagonist willing to subvert individual’s civil rights for their extreme views of national security. But are the military’s objectives right or wrong? You’ll have to make that judgement in the end.
The story has fast action and many twists in the plot. Woven through out are stories of personal tragedies, success and failure and love affairs.
Whether you are attracted to animal stories or not, I’m not, Wendall’s Lullaby is a compelling read and I strongly recommend it.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Sakura Spark, Assassin Flame, & Judas Blaze
Author – Tomson Cobb
Genre – Spy Crime Thrillers
Word Count ???
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No.30-2 - 2021
Posted 9/10/2021
My Impressions: thoughtful, gritty action, international intrigue, interesting characters.
Main Characters:
Jago Hale – Investigative journalist, Special Forces training
Frank Thompson – Jago’s father-in-law, publisher
Mr. Yamada – Mysterious owner with many interests.
Natsuco Yamada – Mr. Yamada’s beautiful daughter and Jago’s love interest.
La Polpo – Assassin
The three titles are in a boxed set, one long story broken into three sections.
Jago’s wife, Franki, and her father work for the British government under cover of a book publishing company, thwarting crime and terrorism around the world. Jago is an investigative reporter unknowingly covering much of the same ground as Franki and Frank. When Franki is murdered, Jago blames himself because he believes he was the target and not his wife.
Jago chases an organization set on controlling the world. In his travels, he stops in Japan and meets Natsuco. She quickly becomes his love interest.
An assassin is hired to kill Jago, but the quirky assassin falls in love with him and ends up protecting him. She even forces him to have sex with her. The assassin escapes near the end and I assume she will return in future books.
The story is full of interesting characters and conflict between them, and the action is abundant.
The editing and sentence structure are fairly good, but there are errors.
Character development is good for the main characters. There are numerous minor supporting characters.
Details are adequate.
The plot is great and held my interest throughout.
The writing style is fast paced, thorough and descriptive. The action scenes are well choreographed and intense.
This book set is an exciting read and I recommend it. I rate it a strong 4 star.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Tomson Cobb
Genre – Spy Crime Thrillers
Word Count ???
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No.30-2 - 2021
Posted 9/10/2021
My Impressions: thoughtful, gritty action, international intrigue, interesting characters.
Main Characters:
Jago Hale – Investigative journalist, Special Forces training
Frank Thompson – Jago’s father-in-law, publisher
Mr. Yamada – Mysterious owner with many interests.
Natsuco Yamada – Mr. Yamada’s beautiful daughter and Jago’s love interest.
La Polpo – Assassin
The three titles are in a boxed set, one long story broken into three sections.
Jago’s wife, Franki, and her father work for the British government under cover of a book publishing company, thwarting crime and terrorism around the world. Jago is an investigative reporter unknowingly covering much of the same ground as Franki and Frank. When Franki is murdered, Jago blames himself because he believes he was the target and not his wife.
Jago chases an organization set on controlling the world. In his travels, he stops in Japan and meets Natsuco. She quickly becomes his love interest.
An assassin is hired to kill Jago, but the quirky assassin falls in love with him and ends up protecting him. She even forces him to have sex with her. The assassin escapes near the end and I assume she will return in future books.
The story is full of interesting characters and conflict between them, and the action is abundant.
The editing and sentence structure are fairly good, but there are errors.
Character development is good for the main characters. There are numerous minor supporting characters.
Details are adequate.
The plot is great and held my interest throughout.
The writing style is fast paced, thorough and descriptive. The action scenes are well choreographed and intense.
This book set is an exciting read and I recommend it. I rate it a strong 4 star.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – A Death Most Quiet
Author – Jeff Hahn
Genre – Crime Fiction, Thriller
Word Count - 90,000
Rating – 4 stars out of 5
No. 32 - 2021
Posted 9/3/2021
My Impressions: Excellent plot and writing.
Main Characters:
Anslem Winterbottom – eccentric mathematical genius with a score to settle.
Capt. Edward McCuen – head of Crime Scene Response Unit.
Lt. Thomas Whelan – detective under McCuen and his heir apparent.
Maya Adams – investigator.
Alejandro Salas – head of Mexican drug cartel, on trial in New York City.
Carlos Javier Lopez – main suspect in a series of gruesome murders.
Unidentified reporter – works for the N.Y. Times, stays off stage but observes and reports throughout.
Anslem Winterbottom observes minute details in the spirit of Sherlock Holmes. He then combines the details to offer directions to be followed by the police. Winterbottom is also the creator of computer programs used by the police to trace criminals. He is also an eccentric billionaire.
The unnamed NY Times reporter telling the story came to know Captain Eduard McCuen of the NYPD because he was at all the major crime scenes. Then a man began to accompany McCuen but remained inconspicuous and unidentified. This stranger infrequently accompanied McCuen; he only appeared at obvious serial killings. A series of these grouped killings are the basis of Winterbottom’s involvement.
Finally we learn why the curious arrangement and loose friendship between these two men exist. Winterbottom’s wife and daughter died when a hit and run driver in a black Mercedes sedan ran them down. He witnessed the crime and began a hunt for the man. His reward for assisting the NYPD on serious crimes was information only McCuen could provide him with.
The editing is the only flaw. It’s not terrible or I wouldn’t have reviewed it, but it has frequent errors.
Sentence Structure is good.
Character Development is thorough and definitive.
Details are adequate but not overdone.
In depth research is apparent in multiple areas explored by the author.
The plot is unique and complicated.
The writing style is slick and sophisticated.
I rate this story a strong four star and highly recommend it.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Jeff Hahn
Genre – Crime Fiction, Thriller
Word Count - 90,000
Rating – 4 stars out of 5
No. 32 - 2021
Posted 9/3/2021
My Impressions: Excellent plot and writing.
Main Characters:
Anslem Winterbottom – eccentric mathematical genius with a score to settle.
Capt. Edward McCuen – head of Crime Scene Response Unit.
Lt. Thomas Whelan – detective under McCuen and his heir apparent.
Maya Adams – investigator.
Alejandro Salas – head of Mexican drug cartel, on trial in New York City.
Carlos Javier Lopez – main suspect in a series of gruesome murders.
Unidentified reporter – works for the N.Y. Times, stays off stage but observes and reports throughout.
Anslem Winterbottom observes minute details in the spirit of Sherlock Holmes. He then combines the details to offer directions to be followed by the police. Winterbottom is also the creator of computer programs used by the police to trace criminals. He is also an eccentric billionaire.
The unnamed NY Times reporter telling the story came to know Captain Eduard McCuen of the NYPD because he was at all the major crime scenes. Then a man began to accompany McCuen but remained inconspicuous and unidentified. This stranger infrequently accompanied McCuen; he only appeared at obvious serial killings. A series of these grouped killings are the basis of Winterbottom’s involvement.
Finally we learn why the curious arrangement and loose friendship between these two men exist. Winterbottom’s wife and daughter died when a hit and run driver in a black Mercedes sedan ran them down. He witnessed the crime and began a hunt for the man. His reward for assisting the NYPD on serious crimes was information only McCuen could provide him with.
The editing is the only flaw. It’s not terrible or I wouldn’t have reviewed it, but it has frequent errors.
Sentence Structure is good.
Character Development is thorough and definitive.
Details are adequate but not overdone.
In depth research is apparent in multiple areas explored by the author.
The plot is unique and complicated.
The writing style is slick and sophisticated.
I rate this story a strong four star and highly recommend it.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – The Solicitor
Author – Sean Keefer
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
330 Amazon pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 31 – 2021
Posted 8/28/2021
My impressions: Noah Park’s actions were inconsistent. On one hand he was a good lawyer, then he acted like a fool.
Main Characters:
Noah Parks – Attorney, murder suspect.
Anna Beth Cross – girlfriend, sensible
Rebecca Martin – Secretary to Andrew
S. Bart Michaels – Lawyer, politician, nerd.
Noah’s best friend is murdered while running for the office of Solicitor. With circumstantial evidence Noah is charged with his murder and sets out to prove his innocence.
Noah Parks character was too inconsistent. While in jail he created disturbances until a prisoner punched him out. He did dumb things. Thankfully calm thinking Anna Beth was there to shut him down.
The antagonist was someone who stayed under everyone’s suspicion until their evil was shown at the end.
S. Bart’s character didn’t live up to its potential and came off as weak and dumb at the end.
How does rain spatter on a garage door indicate it hasn’t been opened?
Detective Gabriel cleared the first floor but didn’t check the pantry where a dead body lay. Contrived for a future scene.
Noah and Anna Beth sat, then Brady invited them to sit.
Time references to the election were inconsistent and didn’t add up.
Blank lines are needed between major scene changes.
Editing and sentence structure are sloppy, in need of professional review.
Character development is alright.
Details are overdone.
The plot is interesting and in depth.
The writing style is sloppy and wordy.
Continuity is lacking and often confusing.
The Solicitor deserves 3.5 stars but no one does half stars so it gets bumped up to a 4.0 It’s a decent read if the raised issues don’t turn you off.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Sean Keefer
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
330 Amazon pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 31 – 2021
Posted 8/28/2021
My impressions: Noah Park’s actions were inconsistent. On one hand he was a good lawyer, then he acted like a fool.
Main Characters:
Noah Parks – Attorney, murder suspect.
Anna Beth Cross – girlfriend, sensible
Rebecca Martin – Secretary to Andrew
S. Bart Michaels – Lawyer, politician, nerd.
Noah’s best friend is murdered while running for the office of Solicitor. With circumstantial evidence Noah is charged with his murder and sets out to prove his innocence.
Noah Parks character was too inconsistent. While in jail he created disturbances until a prisoner punched him out. He did dumb things. Thankfully calm thinking Anna Beth was there to shut him down.
The antagonist was someone who stayed under everyone’s suspicion until their evil was shown at the end.
S. Bart’s character didn’t live up to its potential and came off as weak and dumb at the end.
How does rain spatter on a garage door indicate it hasn’t been opened?
Detective Gabriel cleared the first floor but didn’t check the pantry where a dead body lay. Contrived for a future scene.
Noah and Anna Beth sat, then Brady invited them to sit.
Time references to the election were inconsistent and didn’t add up.
Blank lines are needed between major scene changes.
Editing and sentence structure are sloppy, in need of professional review.
Character development is alright.
Details are overdone.
The plot is interesting and in depth.
The writing style is sloppy and wordy.
Continuity is lacking and often confusing.
The Solicitor deserves 3.5 stars but no one does half stars so it gets bumped up to a 4.0 It’s a decent read if the raised issues don’t turn you off.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Sakura Spark
Author – Tomson Cobb
Genre – Spy Crime Thriller
Word Count 103/000
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No.30-1 - 2021
Posted 8/20/2021
My Impressions: thoughtful, gritty action, international intrigue, interesting characters.
Main Characters:
Jago Hale – Investigative journalist, Special Forces training
Frankie Hale – Jago’s dead wife
Frank Thompson – Frankie’s father, publisher
Mr. Yamada – Mysterious owner with many interests.
Natsuco Yamada – Mr. Yamada’s beautiful daughter
Alexsi Petrov - Assassin
When Russian Oligarch Comrade Volkof, his driver, and bodyguard are viciously murdered in England, Jago Hale is commissioned to investigate the deaths. The investigation quickly pulls Jago into British intelligence and takes him from England to Hong Kong and Japan. In Hong Kong, Jago has to deal with a young paid assassin. But Japan holds a bright side for Jago when he meets Mr. Yamada; a beautiful daughter captures Jago’s interest and a relationship is sure to heat up in the following story.
A vicious worldwide Russian mob known as The Organization, and referred to as Chetwynd by British intelligence, has its tentacles in governments and businesses across the globe.
Throughout the story, Jago is stalked by Alexsi Petrov a highly trained and confident assassin. Petrov murders one of Jago’s best friends and shoots his dog before he and Jago meet in close combat.
At the end of the story, Jago learns why the organization has an interest in him and secrets about past events that were held from him are exposed.
The editing and sentence structure aren’t terrible but there are errors.
Character development is good for the main characters. There are numerous minor supporting characters.
Details are adequate.
Research is mostly good, but calling a Glock pistol an automatic instead of a semiautomatic is sloppy.
The plot is great and held my interest throughout.
The writing style is fast paced, thorough and descriptive. The action scenes are well choreographed and intense.
Many Japanese words are not in the English dictionary and left me guessing.
Sakura Spark is an exciting read and I recommend it in spite of the editing issues. I rate it a strong 4 star.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Tomson Cobb
Genre – Spy Crime Thriller
Word Count 103/000
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No.30-1 - 2021
Posted 8/20/2021
My Impressions: thoughtful, gritty action, international intrigue, interesting characters.
Main Characters:
Jago Hale – Investigative journalist, Special Forces training
Frankie Hale – Jago’s dead wife
Frank Thompson – Frankie’s father, publisher
Mr. Yamada – Mysterious owner with many interests.
Natsuco Yamada – Mr. Yamada’s beautiful daughter
Alexsi Petrov - Assassin
When Russian Oligarch Comrade Volkof, his driver, and bodyguard are viciously murdered in England, Jago Hale is commissioned to investigate the deaths. The investigation quickly pulls Jago into British intelligence and takes him from England to Hong Kong and Japan. In Hong Kong, Jago has to deal with a young paid assassin. But Japan holds a bright side for Jago when he meets Mr. Yamada; a beautiful daughter captures Jago’s interest and a relationship is sure to heat up in the following story.
A vicious worldwide Russian mob known as The Organization, and referred to as Chetwynd by British intelligence, has its tentacles in governments and businesses across the globe.
Throughout the story, Jago is stalked by Alexsi Petrov a highly trained and confident assassin. Petrov murders one of Jago’s best friends and shoots his dog before he and Jago meet in close combat.
At the end of the story, Jago learns why the organization has an interest in him and secrets about past events that were held from him are exposed.
The editing and sentence structure aren’t terrible but there are errors.
Character development is good for the main characters. There are numerous minor supporting characters.
Details are adequate.
Research is mostly good, but calling a Glock pistol an automatic instead of a semiautomatic is sloppy.
The plot is great and held my interest throughout.
The writing style is fast paced, thorough and descriptive. The action scenes are well choreographed and intense.
Many Japanese words are not in the English dictionary and left me guessing.
Sakura Spark is an exciting read and I recommend it in spite of the editing issues. I rate it a strong 4 star.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Acceptance First: Revenge Second
Author – Robert Schobernd
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Word Count 83,500
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 30 - 2021
Posted 8/13/2021
My Impressions: Brutal, betrayal, vigilante justice, extreme revenge, mesmerizing
Main Characters:
Carter A. Johnson – Saint Louis, Missouri, detective.
Kate Menke – Saint Louis, Missouri, detective
Irene Compton – Wife of murdered assassin.
Acceptance First: Revenge Second takes place in the Missouri Ozarks near Table Rock Lake. Two murders are committed at the beginning where the reader learns Robert Compton is a hired assassin. Soon after, Robert is killed when his and Irene's house explodes. Then the real action begins as Irene sets out to learn why her husband was murdered and who was responsible. But the killers aren't satisfied; they want Irene dead too. She thwarts several attacks, and then enlist the services of J&M Investigations. Carter Johnson and Kate Menke and their support staff begin the arduous task of gathering evidence that will lead to the perpetrator of Robert's murder.
But after taking the case, the detective staff is suspicious of Irene's motives. They feel she is withholding information from them that would make their job faster and less expensive.
Get ready for a fast paced, action packed ride as Irene and the detectives are attacked by the criminals they are pursuing. When petite, diminutive Irene suddenly disappears and people begin to die, the case takes an unexpected turn.
The editing and sentence structure are outstanding.
Character development is thorough for main and supporting characters.
Details are above adequate to maintain interest.
Thorough research is apparent in the use of firearms and explosives.
The plot is complex and held my interest from the beginning.
The writing style is crisp and fast moving and delves into individual personalities.
I can highly recommend Acceptance First: Revenge Second for hard-core action and crime fans.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Robert Schobernd
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Word Count 83,500
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 30 - 2021
Posted 8/13/2021
My Impressions: Brutal, betrayal, vigilante justice, extreme revenge, mesmerizing
Main Characters:
Carter A. Johnson – Saint Louis, Missouri, detective.
Kate Menke – Saint Louis, Missouri, detective
Irene Compton – Wife of murdered assassin.
Acceptance First: Revenge Second takes place in the Missouri Ozarks near Table Rock Lake. Two murders are committed at the beginning where the reader learns Robert Compton is a hired assassin. Soon after, Robert is killed when his and Irene's house explodes. Then the real action begins as Irene sets out to learn why her husband was murdered and who was responsible. But the killers aren't satisfied; they want Irene dead too. She thwarts several attacks, and then enlist the services of J&M Investigations. Carter Johnson and Kate Menke and their support staff begin the arduous task of gathering evidence that will lead to the perpetrator of Robert's murder.
But after taking the case, the detective staff is suspicious of Irene's motives. They feel she is withholding information from them that would make their job faster and less expensive.
Get ready for a fast paced, action packed ride as Irene and the detectives are attacked by the criminals they are pursuing. When petite, diminutive Irene suddenly disappears and people begin to die, the case takes an unexpected turn.
The editing and sentence structure are outstanding.
Character development is thorough for main and supporting characters.
Details are above adequate to maintain interest.
Thorough research is apparent in the use of firearms and explosives.
The plot is complex and held my interest from the beginning.
The writing style is crisp and fast moving and delves into individual personalities.
I can highly recommend Acceptance First: Revenge Second for hard-core action and crime fans.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – J159
Author – Renee Logan
Genre – Suspense, Psychological Thriller
246 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 29 – 2021
Posted 8/5/2021
My impressions: cruel, unusual & unwarranted punishment, progressive liberal socialism run amuck.
Main Characters:
Eddie – J159, whiney wimp, nerdy, erratic, paranoid.
Jack – Eddie’s friend and savior.
The plot of J159 is simple but frightening. To guarantee an uncontaminated pool for juries judging major crimes citizens are involuntarily isolated in solitary confinement for periods of three to five years. The Pure Juror System. The ‘prisoners’ have no contact with any humans, not other jurors, guards, or even cleaning crews, and no access to news media during that time. Eddie compares life there as feeling he was in a high-end prison. The staff provides an almost unlimited choice of gourmet food items on or off the menu Everything the confined jurors need is provided. Supposedly, the life they were yanked away from will be maintained and ready for them when they are released. But as Eddie’s confinement goes on and on, his paranoia runs amuck and he begins to wonder if he’ll ever be released. Jurors are not allowed any indication of the passage of time and all of the TV shows and movies are old reruns It’s as if he is frozen in a time warp where time stands still while he ages.
After a time, portions of the plot became redundant and boring. Eddie ordering and eating three meals a day or recounting the details of the live criminal trials he was required to judge by TV connections became repetitious.
His character evolved into a pathetic and paranoid person it was hard to have empathy for.
Overall, I felt compassion for the Eddie character, especially near the end when the truth was revealed about the Pure Juror System.
The story ends in a cliff hanger for the reader to add the conclusion they choose.
The editing is almost perfect as is the sentence structure.
Character development is confined to the main character who is clearly defined by the book’s end.
Details are complete but sparse as Eddie survives in a small luxurious ‘cell’ with a small grassy space enclosed by a tall brick wall.
The plot is fresh and frightening.
The writing style is detailed but confined by the singular location of the setting and the lone character.
There is a single lapse of continuity near the end when Eddie and a crowd are outside a TV station and then suddenly are inside the newsroom.
At the end, nerdy, clumsy Eddie had to perform like an action hero and was completely out of character.
Overall, I recommend the story to patient readers looking for a glimpse into a possible future gone wrong.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Renee Logan
Genre – Suspense, Psychological Thriller
246 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 29 – 2021
Posted 8/5/2021
My impressions: cruel, unusual & unwarranted punishment, progressive liberal socialism run amuck.
Main Characters:
Eddie – J159, whiney wimp, nerdy, erratic, paranoid.
Jack – Eddie’s friend and savior.
The plot of J159 is simple but frightening. To guarantee an uncontaminated pool for juries judging major crimes citizens are involuntarily isolated in solitary confinement for periods of three to five years. The Pure Juror System. The ‘prisoners’ have no contact with any humans, not other jurors, guards, or even cleaning crews, and no access to news media during that time. Eddie compares life there as feeling he was in a high-end prison. The staff provides an almost unlimited choice of gourmet food items on or off the menu Everything the confined jurors need is provided. Supposedly, the life they were yanked away from will be maintained and ready for them when they are released. But as Eddie’s confinement goes on and on, his paranoia runs amuck and he begins to wonder if he’ll ever be released. Jurors are not allowed any indication of the passage of time and all of the TV shows and movies are old reruns It’s as if he is frozen in a time warp where time stands still while he ages.
After a time, portions of the plot became redundant and boring. Eddie ordering and eating three meals a day or recounting the details of the live criminal trials he was required to judge by TV connections became repetitious.
His character evolved into a pathetic and paranoid person it was hard to have empathy for.
Overall, I felt compassion for the Eddie character, especially near the end when the truth was revealed about the Pure Juror System.
The story ends in a cliff hanger for the reader to add the conclusion they choose.
The editing is almost perfect as is the sentence structure.
Character development is confined to the main character who is clearly defined by the book’s end.
Details are complete but sparse as Eddie survives in a small luxurious ‘cell’ with a small grassy space enclosed by a tall brick wall.
The plot is fresh and frightening.
The writing style is detailed but confined by the singular location of the setting and the lone character.
There is a single lapse of continuity near the end when Eddie and a crowd are outside a TV station and then suddenly are inside the newsroom.
At the end, nerdy, clumsy Eddie had to perform like an action hero and was completely out of character.
Overall, I recommend the story to patient readers looking for a glimpse into a possible future gone wrong.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Serenity Avenged
Author – Craig Hart
Genre – M, S, T, Vigilante, Crime
38,000 words
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 28 – 2021
Posted 8/1/2021
My impressions: short even for a novella, tough old retirees, truly bad antagonist, needy ex-wife.
Main Characters:
Shelby Alexander – ex-boxer, CIA agent, retired.
Leslie – Shelby's pregnant daughter.
Helen – ex-wife
Mack – Shelby's retired cop friend.
Darkmore – evil, diabolical, criminal, psychopath.
Shelby's daughter is rushed to a hospital with pre-delivery complications. When Shelby arrives his sarcastic ex-wife is already there and they exchange nasty jabs. Shelby soon learns Helen is in trouble after her recent divorce; a gang member has been threatening her to collect a large sum of debt owed for gambling.
Conveniently, Shelby's friend Mack comes to visit and together they take on the bad guys intent on getting their money or killing the debtor. There is some violence and the potential for a rekindled love.
There is minor cursing and no sex.
The editing and sentence structure are very good.
The development of characters is okay, considering the story's short length.
Details are sketchy but enough to carry the story if you're not concerned with descriptions of cars, firearms etc.
The plot is simple but engaging.
The writing style is quick and to the point, few extra words are wasted here.
The story is okay for a light piece of fluff with a tough protagonist and a sick antagonist.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Craig Hart
Genre – M, S, T, Vigilante, Crime
38,000 words
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 28 – 2021
Posted 8/1/2021
My impressions: short even for a novella, tough old retirees, truly bad antagonist, needy ex-wife.
Main Characters:
Shelby Alexander – ex-boxer, CIA agent, retired.
Leslie – Shelby's pregnant daughter.
Helen – ex-wife
Mack – Shelby's retired cop friend.
Darkmore – evil, diabolical, criminal, psychopath.
Shelby's daughter is rushed to a hospital with pre-delivery complications. When Shelby arrives his sarcastic ex-wife is already there and they exchange nasty jabs. Shelby soon learns Helen is in trouble after her recent divorce; a gang member has been threatening her to collect a large sum of debt owed for gambling.
Conveniently, Shelby's friend Mack comes to visit and together they take on the bad guys intent on getting their money or killing the debtor. There is some violence and the potential for a rekindled love.
There is minor cursing and no sex.
The editing and sentence structure are very good.
The development of characters is okay, considering the story's short length.
Details are sketchy but enough to carry the story if you're not concerned with descriptions of cars, firearms etc.
The plot is simple but engaging.
The writing style is quick and to the point, few extra words are wasted here.
The story is okay for a light piece of fluff with a tough protagonist and a sick antagonist.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Russian Love and the American
Author – Robert E. Baily
Genre – Crime Thriller
Word Count - 86,000
Rating – Four stars out of five
No. 27-3- 2021
Posted 7/24/2021
My Impressions: Rough and stupid people converging to a bitter end.
Main Characters:
Tim Maclean – Screenwriter, 50 years old. One of life’s failures.
Grigory Gregoriev – Brutal Russian gangster and wannabe revolutionary.
Dominika (Nika) – Russian hooker and all around strange young woman who professes to be religious.
Jonny Singh – Producer and one of many who want to and do screw Nika.
Amelia – Singh’s wife
Tom’s life was falling apart: no work in three years, wife divorced him, his house was being foreclosed for lack of payment. Then he met Nika. She’s a beautiful, slutty tramp who crawls in bed with any good looking guy who is nice to her.
But Nika BELONGS to Grigory a thuggish Russian gangster who likes to rape and beat people to death. Nika and Grigory ran scams on Nika’s rich sex partners and extorted money from them to keep the indiscretions quiet.
Tom is foolishly in love with Nika even after being warned to stay away. They run off together, but Grigory’s crew finds them after killing two of Tom’s longtime friends. Tom is beaten as punishment but still won’t let her go.
Eventually he gets fitting revenge.
But in the meantime, Nika has taken up with Jonny, a wealthy movie producer. His wife leaves him before he comes to his senses and dumps Nika.
There are cursing and sexual situation throughout.
I had to really stretch to award this story four stars.
The editing and sentence structure are not terrible but are consistently bad throughout.
Character Development is good to adequate for the main characters.
Details and research are adequate.
The plot is quirky and somewhat different from most stories
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Robert E. Baily
Genre – Crime Thriller
Word Count - 86,000
Rating – Four stars out of five
No. 27-3- 2021
Posted 7/24/2021
My Impressions: Rough and stupid people converging to a bitter end.
Main Characters:
Tim Maclean – Screenwriter, 50 years old. One of life’s failures.
Grigory Gregoriev – Brutal Russian gangster and wannabe revolutionary.
Dominika (Nika) – Russian hooker and all around strange young woman who professes to be religious.
Jonny Singh – Producer and one of many who want to and do screw Nika.
Amelia – Singh’s wife
Tom’s life was falling apart: no work in three years, wife divorced him, his house was being foreclosed for lack of payment. Then he met Nika. She’s a beautiful, slutty tramp who crawls in bed with any good looking guy who is nice to her.
But Nika BELONGS to Grigory a thuggish Russian gangster who likes to rape and beat people to death. Nika and Grigory ran scams on Nika’s rich sex partners and extorted money from them to keep the indiscretions quiet.
Tom is foolishly in love with Nika even after being warned to stay away. They run off together, but Grigory’s crew finds them after killing two of Tom’s longtime friends. Tom is beaten as punishment but still won’t let her go.
Eventually he gets fitting revenge.
But in the meantime, Nika has taken up with Jonny, a wealthy movie producer. His wife leaves him before he comes to his senses and dumps Nika.
There are cursing and sexual situation throughout.
I had to really stretch to award this story four stars.
The editing and sentence structure are not terrible but are consistently bad throughout.
Character Development is good to adequate for the main characters.
Details and research are adequate.
The plot is quirky and somewhat different from most stories
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Nuclear Time Bomb
Author – W. Michael Hewitt
Genre – Techno thriller
Word Count - 96,000
Rating – 4 stars out of 5
No. 27-2 - 2021
Posted 7/17/2021
My Impressions: Good action/adventure techno thriller.
Main Characters:
Estelle (Essie) Openwaters – Kootenai Indian, 21 years old, two PhDs in chem. Eng. & earth sci.
Brett Stevens – Mgr. at WRNL
Ty Rettig – Ex Senator, Under sec. US Dept. of Homeland Security, billionaire, crook, drugs & human smuggling.
Dr. Edward Morwitz – US Sec. of Energy
At age twenty-one, Essie Openwaters has earned two PhDs from Stanford university and was hired at the Washington Research National Laboratory. She’s a loner and that doesn’t sit well with her boss or the rest of the staff. Her second assignment is to look for and explain any differences in results from two seismic analysis programs. Her research uncovers problems in the old program vs. the newly developed program causing its predictions to be off by twenty percent.
She buys an old wooden desk scrapped by the lab years ago. Inside she discovers a letter from a former nuclear plant supervisor warning of a potential time bomb in a sealed tunnel holding old nuclear materials.
Essie’s nosiness gets her deeper and deeper into information Ty Rettig hid fifty years ago.
Ty Rettig has spies monitoring everything Essie does and orders her to be eliminated. However, she outsmarts and out fights the trained mercenaries at every encounter.
Eventually, Essie meets and receives the backing of the president of the United States to do whatever is necessary to prevent a nuclear explosion that would possibly kill thousands of people, devastate a vast area of several states, and affect the country’s economy.
The editing and sentence structure are far from professional level with extra commas, missing words, and other issues throughout the story.
Character development is good for all the main characters. There are many support characters.
Details and research indicate a thorough knowledge of the subject matter.
The plot is unique and involved.
Nuclear Time Bomb is a good read for action/adventure and thriller fans. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – W. Michael Hewitt
Genre – Techno thriller
Word Count - 96,000
Rating – 4 stars out of 5
No. 27-2 - 2021
Posted 7/17/2021
My Impressions: Good action/adventure techno thriller.
Main Characters:
Estelle (Essie) Openwaters – Kootenai Indian, 21 years old, two PhDs in chem. Eng. & earth sci.
Brett Stevens – Mgr. at WRNL
Ty Rettig – Ex Senator, Under sec. US Dept. of Homeland Security, billionaire, crook, drugs & human smuggling.
Dr. Edward Morwitz – US Sec. of Energy
At age twenty-one, Essie Openwaters has earned two PhDs from Stanford university and was hired at the Washington Research National Laboratory. She’s a loner and that doesn’t sit well with her boss or the rest of the staff. Her second assignment is to look for and explain any differences in results from two seismic analysis programs. Her research uncovers problems in the old program vs. the newly developed program causing its predictions to be off by twenty percent.
She buys an old wooden desk scrapped by the lab years ago. Inside she discovers a letter from a former nuclear plant supervisor warning of a potential time bomb in a sealed tunnel holding old nuclear materials.
Essie’s nosiness gets her deeper and deeper into information Ty Rettig hid fifty years ago.
Ty Rettig has spies monitoring everything Essie does and orders her to be eliminated. However, she outsmarts and out fights the trained mercenaries at every encounter.
Eventually, Essie meets and receives the backing of the president of the United States to do whatever is necessary to prevent a nuclear explosion that would possibly kill thousands of people, devastate a vast area of several states, and affect the country’s economy.
The editing and sentence structure are far from professional level with extra commas, missing words, and other issues throughout the story.
Character development is good for all the main characters. There are many support characters.
Details and research indicate a thorough knowledge of the subject matter.
The plot is unique and involved.
Nuclear Time Bomb is a good read for action/adventure and thriller fans. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Words Kill
Author – David Myles Robinson
Genre – Coming of age and adult thriller.
Word Count 91,400
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 27 - 2021
Posted 7/2/2021
My Impressions: Starts as a coming of age story and continues as a man grows to his seventies.
Main Characters:
Russell Blaze – Young Caucasian liberal who becomes a writer for a magazine.
James Cordell – Young Black man who is Russell’s best friend and starts a magazine for young people.
Paulette – Beautiful Black woman who eventually marries Russell.
Leo Blaze – Russell’s psychopathic white supremist, murderer brother.
Cody Blaze – Russell’s second son.
Amanda Rutledge – A young terrorist from a wealthy family with important ties to the end of the story.
The story begins after Russell Blaze’s death. It’s told through Russ’s memoir.
At age twelve Russell’s father died. Later his mother married Mark, an aspiring actor. The actor’s career took a nosedive and he turned to heavy drinking. When drunk, he routinely beat Russell’s mother.
In his junior year of high school, Russ became an inseparable friend to James Cordell and Paulette, two of only three Black students in his school.
One evening when Mark was beating his wife, Russ made a comment that someone should kill his stepfather for the way he abused their mother. Thirty minutes later, Leo walked behind his stepfather and shot him in the head. Leo went to juvenile prison.
The following year, Russ went to Height-Asbury and lived the life of a young hippie. One afternoon he had a chance encounter with a girl calling herself Gloria. Russ left Gloria alone in the apartment he shared with three others and left the building. As he stood across the street, police and FBI personnel swarmed the building and shot two terrorists suspected of bank robbery. Authorities searched for a missing female terrorist Russell surmised was Gloria. She would remain on the back burner of his life until his death.
Paulette attended college in New York and Russ became a writer for a new magazine James was the editor of. Eventually Russ and Paulette married and became a mixed race couple and had a son, Cordell.
From there the story picked up speed and provided intense thrills to the end.
I won’t spoil the ending by telling more, but it is exciting and painful throughout.
The editing and sentence structure are professional grade.
Character development is excellent and detailed for the several main characters.
The details are rich with personal pain and achievement.
Research of places and issues is thorough and apparent.
The plot is intense and far reaching and cover a lot of painful issues.
The writing style is unrushed and adapts to the changing times and issues. I highly recommend this raw story even though I don’t agree with all of its portrayals and the opinions expressed.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – David Myles Robinson
Genre – Coming of age and adult thriller.
Word Count 91,400
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 27 - 2021
Posted 7/2/2021
My Impressions: Starts as a coming of age story and continues as a man grows to his seventies.
Main Characters:
Russell Blaze – Young Caucasian liberal who becomes a writer for a magazine.
James Cordell – Young Black man who is Russell’s best friend and starts a magazine for young people.
Paulette – Beautiful Black woman who eventually marries Russell.
Leo Blaze – Russell’s psychopathic white supremist, murderer brother.
Cody Blaze – Russell’s second son.
Amanda Rutledge – A young terrorist from a wealthy family with important ties to the end of the story.
The story begins after Russell Blaze’s death. It’s told through Russ’s memoir.
At age twelve Russell’s father died. Later his mother married Mark, an aspiring actor. The actor’s career took a nosedive and he turned to heavy drinking. When drunk, he routinely beat Russell’s mother.
In his junior year of high school, Russ became an inseparable friend to James Cordell and Paulette, two of only three Black students in his school.
One evening when Mark was beating his wife, Russ made a comment that someone should kill his stepfather for the way he abused their mother. Thirty minutes later, Leo walked behind his stepfather and shot him in the head. Leo went to juvenile prison.
The following year, Russ went to Height-Asbury and lived the life of a young hippie. One afternoon he had a chance encounter with a girl calling herself Gloria. Russ left Gloria alone in the apartment he shared with three others and left the building. As he stood across the street, police and FBI personnel swarmed the building and shot two terrorists suspected of bank robbery. Authorities searched for a missing female terrorist Russell surmised was Gloria. She would remain on the back burner of his life until his death.
Paulette attended college in New York and Russ became a writer for a new magazine James was the editor of. Eventually Russ and Paulette married and became a mixed race couple and had a son, Cordell.
From there the story picked up speed and provided intense thrills to the end.
I won’t spoil the ending by telling more, but it is exciting and painful throughout.
The editing and sentence structure are professional grade.
Character development is excellent and detailed for the several main characters.
The details are rich with personal pain and achievement.
Research of places and issues is thorough and apparent.
The plot is intense and far reaching and cover a lot of painful issues.
The writing style is unrushed and adapts to the changing times and issues. I highly recommend this raw story even though I don’t agree with all of its portrayals and the opinions expressed.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – A Lawyer’s Story
Author – Paul Carlin
Genre – Thriller
Word Count - 115,000
Rating – 5 stars out of 5
No. 26 - 2021
Posted 4/25/2021
My Impressions: James - Devious, Lying, Psychopathic killer.
John – Naive, weak.
Main Characters in 1947:
John Farrelly – 24 year old lawyer
James Farrelly – John’s fraternal twin, psychopathic brother who professes to be a physician but isn’t.
Ava Brownlie– works in a gentleman’s club.
In 2005:
John Farrelly – now 82 years old.
Shirely – John’s secretary and now his wife.
Brian Farrelly – John and Shirley’s son, a lawyer in the family law firm.
Isabelle – Brian’s daughter, also a lawyer in the law firm.
In 1947, John Farrelly is a twenty-four-year-old lawyer. He has fallen in love with Ava, the first woman he was intimate with, but she has no feelings for him. John is naive and dominated by his forceful father in their law firm. James coerces John to defend Ava at her trial for murdering a rich old woman, but their father puts an incompetent lawyer as the lead council.
John’s psychopathic killer brother conceives a plot to kill an old woman for her fortune and blame Ava for the death. He was instrumental in getting her hired at attend his target. John suspects James murdered the old woman but is torn between his love of Ava, family loyalty, and his being a weak coward.
During Ava’s trial, John is berated by his brother and father and keeps quiet and lets Ava be hanged.
Switch to 2005.
John is a successful, wealthy eighty-two-year old attorney with his own law firm. His son and granddaughter are both partners in the firm. Brian is practically useless, and Isabelle has plans to force the old man out and take over the firm.
But then fate steps in. Isabelle makes and immature mistake and will pay a steep price.
Ava’s family threatens to sue John because they believe Ava did not have a proper defense during her trial. A negative judgement against John would destroy his reputation and his legacy.
Shirley is declining with dementia and adds to John’s issues.
Then the story jumps to 2012 Switzerland.
John adds facts he feels to be true about everything from Ava’s era up to his business and personal problems during the past seven years.
Then James rears his ugly head again. (Surprise, Surprise, he didn’t die.)
James takes the stage to relay what really happened throughout the entire tale; and it’s not what John was duped into believing.
The editing and sentence structure are fair but drag the story down.
Character development is thorough, often with too much detail for my taste.
Details of all things are overly abundant, especially the frequent weather reports.
The plot is interesting and takes place in 1947 before jumping to 2005 and then to 2012.
The writing is extremely wordy and slow paced.
If you like extremely wordy, detailed narrative you may like this twisted tale of evil manipulation. I struggled through it but rated it truthfully.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Paul Carlin
Genre – Thriller
Word Count - 115,000
Rating – 5 stars out of 5
No. 26 - 2021
Posted 4/25/2021
My Impressions: James - Devious, Lying, Psychopathic killer.
John – Naive, weak.
Main Characters in 1947:
John Farrelly – 24 year old lawyer
James Farrelly – John’s fraternal twin, psychopathic brother who professes to be a physician but isn’t.
Ava Brownlie– works in a gentleman’s club.
In 2005:
John Farrelly – now 82 years old.
Shirely – John’s secretary and now his wife.
Brian Farrelly – John and Shirley’s son, a lawyer in the family law firm.
Isabelle – Brian’s daughter, also a lawyer in the law firm.
In 1947, John Farrelly is a twenty-four-year-old lawyer. He has fallen in love with Ava, the first woman he was intimate with, but she has no feelings for him. John is naive and dominated by his forceful father in their law firm. James coerces John to defend Ava at her trial for murdering a rich old woman, but their father puts an incompetent lawyer as the lead council.
John’s psychopathic killer brother conceives a plot to kill an old woman for her fortune and blame Ava for the death. He was instrumental in getting her hired at attend his target. John suspects James murdered the old woman but is torn between his love of Ava, family loyalty, and his being a weak coward.
During Ava’s trial, John is berated by his brother and father and keeps quiet and lets Ava be hanged.
Switch to 2005.
John is a successful, wealthy eighty-two-year old attorney with his own law firm. His son and granddaughter are both partners in the firm. Brian is practically useless, and Isabelle has plans to force the old man out and take over the firm.
But then fate steps in. Isabelle makes and immature mistake and will pay a steep price.
Ava’s family threatens to sue John because they believe Ava did not have a proper defense during her trial. A negative judgement against John would destroy his reputation and his legacy.
Shirley is declining with dementia and adds to John’s issues.
Then the story jumps to 2012 Switzerland.
John adds facts he feels to be true about everything from Ava’s era up to his business and personal problems during the past seven years.
Then James rears his ugly head again. (Surprise, Surprise, he didn’t die.)
James takes the stage to relay what really happened throughout the entire tale; and it’s not what John was duped into believing.
The editing and sentence structure are fair but drag the story down.
Character development is thorough, often with too much detail for my taste.
Details of all things are overly abundant, especially the frequent weather reports.
The plot is interesting and takes place in 1947 before jumping to 2005 and then to 2012.
The writing is extremely wordy and slow paced.
If you like extremely wordy, detailed narrative you may like this twisted tale of evil manipulation. I struggled through it but rated it truthfully.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – My Father’s Son
Author – Robert Plotkin
Genre – Mystery, Suspense
Word Count - 70,000
Rating – Four stars out of five
No. 24 - 2021
Posted 6/12/2021
My Impressions: Liars, violence, murder, curiosity, good intentions.
Main Characters:
Cole Spear – His father is said to have been a criminal who committed suicide. 38 Y.O.
Jessica Spear – Cole’s mother, 77 Y.O.
Sarah – Cole’s girlfriend.
Ray Marcus – Ex-Army Officer, Iraq. Mental health field
Karen – Ray’s girlfriend.
The plot of My Father’s Son is presented in two parallel stories that merge at the very end.
Cole Spear has been told since childhood his father was a financial genius but a crook who stole money from his friends and partners. When on the verge of being caught, he was said to have committed suicide.
Cole is a mental health-care therapist who deals with other people’s problems daily. He ponders if he, like his father, might someday commit suicide too. His life’s personal mission is to find and validate the truth about his father.
Ray and Karen move to a new location and discover a box in the basement containing old pictures and a woman’s expensive wedding ring. Ray commits to locating any living heir and passing the heirloom to them. He has no idea of the snake pit he is about to enter to fulfill his good deed.
The two men on similar quests are drawn to like paths to reach the worthwhile goals they have set.
The editing is poorly done with extra commas, missing words, wrong words, and extra words throughout.
Several sentences need to be restructured for clarity.
The author frequently switches between past and present tense in the same sentence. It’s confusing at best.
The plot is unusual and is laden with mental health issues.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Robert Plotkin
Genre – Mystery, Suspense
Word Count - 70,000
Rating – Four stars out of five
No. 24 - 2021
Posted 6/12/2021
My Impressions: Liars, violence, murder, curiosity, good intentions.
Main Characters:
Cole Spear – His father is said to have been a criminal who committed suicide. 38 Y.O.
Jessica Spear – Cole’s mother, 77 Y.O.
Sarah – Cole’s girlfriend.
Ray Marcus – Ex-Army Officer, Iraq. Mental health field
Karen – Ray’s girlfriend.
The plot of My Father’s Son is presented in two parallel stories that merge at the very end.
Cole Spear has been told since childhood his father was a financial genius but a crook who stole money from his friends and partners. When on the verge of being caught, he was said to have committed suicide.
Cole is a mental health-care therapist who deals with other people’s problems daily. He ponders if he, like his father, might someday commit suicide too. His life’s personal mission is to find and validate the truth about his father.
Ray and Karen move to a new location and discover a box in the basement containing old pictures and a woman’s expensive wedding ring. Ray commits to locating any living heir and passing the heirloom to them. He has no idea of the snake pit he is about to enter to fulfill his good deed.
The two men on similar quests are drawn to like paths to reach the worthwhile goals they have set.
The editing is poorly done with extra commas, missing words, wrong words, and extra words throughout.
Several sentences need to be restructured for clarity.
The author frequently switches between past and present tense in the same sentence. It’s confusing at best.
The plot is unusual and is laden with mental health issues.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – Rembrandt’s Angel
Author - Steven M. Moore
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
422 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 23 – 2021
Posted 6/4/2021
My Impressions: tongue in cheek, humor, lovers, caring, action, violence.
Main Characters:
Ester Brookstone – Scotland Yard agent over art thefts, age about 60.
Bastiann van Coevorden – Interpol agent, age about 40, Ester’s lover
Gerhardt Dunst – owns pharmaceutical companies. Chasing bioweapon to eliminate enemies of a Fourth Reich.
Karen Lietzke - art dealer, and leader of Nazi plot to rule the world.
Rembrandt’s Angel has strong undercurrents of satire. The interactions between Ester and other characters is entertaining and provides humor among the violent acts of resurgent Nazis in 2023 Germany.
Ester is an art expert and chases art thieves with a vengeance. Following a trail to verify the existence of the painting Rembrandt’s Angel stolen by Nazis in WWII, she and Bastiann travel across Europe and to South America dealing with Nazis, Islamic Terrorist and the leader of a drug cartel. They learn a fresh group of determined Nazis plan to rule the world with a Fourth Reich as their despotic idol Adolph Hitler attempted.
Ester has been married three times and survived all three husbands. She unashamedly loves her sex bouts and finds good sex as necessary as food and wine. Bastiann plays a support role as Dr. Watson did to Sherlock Holmes.
There are several minor errors in details and research. BMWs are not made in England but in Germany.
With bags over their heads for a ride in a helicopter, how could Ester know what the terrain was like?
Stainless Steel flatware does not corrode.
Ester and Bastian’s escape from a stone cellar was a bit contrived and unrealistic.
The editing and sentence structure are excellent.
Character development is good for the main characters.
The plot is fresh and pulls the reader in quickly.
Rembrandt’s Angel is not a great story but is thoroughly entertaining.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author - Steven M. Moore
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
422 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 23 – 2021
Posted 6/4/2021
My Impressions: tongue in cheek, humor, lovers, caring, action, violence.
Main Characters:
Ester Brookstone – Scotland Yard agent over art thefts, age about 60.
Bastiann van Coevorden – Interpol agent, age about 40, Ester’s lover
Gerhardt Dunst – owns pharmaceutical companies. Chasing bioweapon to eliminate enemies of a Fourth Reich.
Karen Lietzke - art dealer, and leader of Nazi plot to rule the world.
Rembrandt’s Angel has strong undercurrents of satire. The interactions between Ester and other characters is entertaining and provides humor among the violent acts of resurgent Nazis in 2023 Germany.
Ester is an art expert and chases art thieves with a vengeance. Following a trail to verify the existence of the painting Rembrandt’s Angel stolen by Nazis in WWII, she and Bastiann travel across Europe and to South America dealing with Nazis, Islamic Terrorist and the leader of a drug cartel. They learn a fresh group of determined Nazis plan to rule the world with a Fourth Reich as their despotic idol Adolph Hitler attempted.
Ester has been married three times and survived all three husbands. She unashamedly loves her sex bouts and finds good sex as necessary as food and wine. Bastiann plays a support role as Dr. Watson did to Sherlock Holmes.
There are several minor errors in details and research. BMWs are not made in England but in Germany.
With bags over their heads for a ride in a helicopter, how could Ester know what the terrain was like?
Stainless Steel flatware does not corrode.
Ester and Bastian’s escape from a stone cellar was a bit contrived and unrealistic.
The editing and sentence structure are excellent.
Character development is good for the main characters.
The plot is fresh and pulls the reader in quickly.
Rembrandt’s Angel is not a great story but is thoroughly entertaining.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – The World Without Crows
Author – Ben Lyle Bedard
Genre – Horror, Apocalyptic
300 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 22 – 2021
Posted 5/29/2021
My Impressions: simple, emotional, psychological suffering, death, hope.
Main Characters:
Eric – age 16, escaping Athens, Ohio after the Vaca B epidemic, heading for the backwoods of Maine.
Birdy – age 8
Brad
Sarah
John
Sergio
Lucia
For those who shy away from anything supernatural, sci-fi, occult, I suggest you take a look at this apocalyptic plot. Zombies in these stories are only the catalyst to cause the interaction among the survivors of a world disaster. The remaining people are the heart of the story. If you can get past the thought of zombies, the important story is about relationships between the people Eric attaches himself to and the vicious gangs terrorizing the good guys.
This story is a coming of age tale of sixteen year old Eric. The world is overrun by zombies caused by the Vaca Beber, a white worm from Brazil that invades human bodies and destroys the brain. Eric is an immature, fat, nerd. After his mother dies from the worms’ effects, he starts a twelve hundred mile trek, on foot, across the country headed for Maine.
Eric is ill prepared for the arduous trip and must learn and mature as he goes. His adjustment to the growing attachments to new friends and then their loss is well written and draws sympathy to the young man.
I don’t normally read occult, sci-fi or horror stories, but find these apocalyptic tales interesting because of the relationships of the survivors.
The editing has a few word errors and in some instances the sentence structure needs work.
Character development is good for the main characters.
Details are sketchy.
The plot is interesting and fast paced.
Writing Style – simple, sometimes repetitive, unorganized and out of order.
There are several continuity issues. Multiple times Eric had no gun then suddenly had one without explanation.
There is abundant cursing in the story.
I enjoyed The World Without Crows and recommend it.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Ben Lyle Bedard
Genre – Horror, Apocalyptic
300 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5
No. 22 – 2021
Posted 5/29/2021
My Impressions: simple, emotional, psychological suffering, death, hope.
Main Characters:
Eric – age 16, escaping Athens, Ohio after the Vaca B epidemic, heading for the backwoods of Maine.
Birdy – age 8
Brad
Sarah
John
Sergio
Lucia
For those who shy away from anything supernatural, sci-fi, occult, I suggest you take a look at this apocalyptic plot. Zombies in these stories are only the catalyst to cause the interaction among the survivors of a world disaster. The remaining people are the heart of the story. If you can get past the thought of zombies, the important story is about relationships between the people Eric attaches himself to and the vicious gangs terrorizing the good guys.
This story is a coming of age tale of sixteen year old Eric. The world is overrun by zombies caused by the Vaca Beber, a white worm from Brazil that invades human bodies and destroys the brain. Eric is an immature, fat, nerd. After his mother dies from the worms’ effects, he starts a twelve hundred mile trek, on foot, across the country headed for Maine.
Eric is ill prepared for the arduous trip and must learn and mature as he goes. His adjustment to the growing attachments to new friends and then their loss is well written and draws sympathy to the young man.
I don’t normally read occult, sci-fi or horror stories, but find these apocalyptic tales interesting because of the relationships of the survivors.
The editing has a few word errors and in some instances the sentence structure needs work.
Character development is good for the main characters.
Details are sketchy.
The plot is interesting and fast paced.
Writing Style – simple, sometimes repetitive, unorganized and out of order.
There are several continuity issues. Multiple times Eric had no gun then suddenly had one without explanation.
There is abundant cursing in the story.
I enjoyed The World Without Crows and recommend it.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – The Three Monkey’s
Author – Robert Schobernd
Genre – Detective, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
77,800 Words
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 21-2021
Posted 5/22/2021
My impressions: hardcore, loving relationship, tenacious, violent, gruesome.
Main Characters:
Carter A. Johnson – vigilante turned private detective.
Kate Menke – vigilante turned private detective.
Deline Durand – wealthy author, lawyer, receptionist, girl Friday.
Paul Peltier – wealthy attorney, grandfather, radical Constitutionalist.
Anastasia Dubois – domestic-servant
Johnny Peltier – grandson of Paul Peltier
Capt. Harlee Davis – St. Louis, Missouri, Homicide Police Captain
The Three Monkeys takes place in and around St. Louis, Missouri.
The story opens with the discovery of three naked, mutilated bodies hung on the side of a barn a short distance from St. Louis.
Then the plot moves to the East Coast where vigilantes Carter and Kate are about to terminate a child trafficker who supplies children to pedophiles. Carter receives a cryptic message to stand down; the vigilante group has been compromised. Being Carter and Kate, they finish the job before retreating. A week later they meet with Harrison J. Withers and learn the circumstances causing the abandonment of the vigilante organization.
Out of a job, they are forced to make a career change. Months later the detective agency of J&M Investigations opens in St. Louis, Missouri. A new character is added to the series; Deline Durand is the enigmatic employee hired as the new agency’s receptionist. Her vibrant French character stands out and rivals those of Carter and Kate. Kate’s thought at Deline’s interview was ‘Somehow, we’ve managed to attract either Wonder Woman or the employee from hell.”
The agency’s first major case is The Three Monkeys. After many interviews and false leads, the investigators are left with two sets of suspects. One is Paul Peltier and his grandson Johnny.
After two threatening episodes, Deline is attacked and injured as she leaves the office. By then another new character has been introduced, Police Captain Harlee Davis is the detective’s tie to the St. Louis police department.
Eventually, there are more killings and the search narrows down to the final suspects. I’ve learned to appreciate the action scenes in this series. The actions are well planned and realistic.
The editing and sentence structure are far above average. Character development is thorough as colorful pictures of each person are painted.
The central plot involves gruesome murders and is offset by the romance between Kate and Carter.
The story contains mild sexual descriptions and minor cursing. Much of the bantering between lovers Carter and Kate is funny and lighthearted.
This series is one of my favorites and I can strongly recommend The Three Monkeys to crime thriller fans who are not turned off by the gory killings.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Robert Schobernd
Genre – Detective, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
77,800 Words
Rating 5 stars out of 5
No. 21-2021
Posted 5/22/2021
My impressions: hardcore, loving relationship, tenacious, violent, gruesome.
Main Characters:
Carter A. Johnson – vigilante turned private detective.
Kate Menke – vigilante turned private detective.
Deline Durand – wealthy author, lawyer, receptionist, girl Friday.
Paul Peltier – wealthy attorney, grandfather, radical Constitutionalist.
Anastasia Dubois – domestic-servant
Johnny Peltier – grandson of Paul Peltier
Capt. Harlee Davis – St. Louis, Missouri, Homicide Police Captain
The Three Monkeys takes place in and around St. Louis, Missouri.
The story opens with the discovery of three naked, mutilated bodies hung on the side of a barn a short distance from St. Louis.
Then the plot moves to the East Coast where vigilantes Carter and Kate are about to terminate a child trafficker who supplies children to pedophiles. Carter receives a cryptic message to stand down; the vigilante group has been compromised. Being Carter and Kate, they finish the job before retreating. A week later they meet with Harrison J. Withers and learn the circumstances causing the abandonment of the vigilante organization.
Out of a job, they are forced to make a career change. Months later the detective agency of J&M Investigations opens in St. Louis, Missouri. A new character is added to the series; Deline Durand is the enigmatic employee hired as the new agency’s receptionist. Her vibrant French character stands out and rivals those of Carter and Kate. Kate’s thought at Deline’s interview was ‘Somehow, we’ve managed to attract either Wonder Woman or the employee from hell.”
The agency’s first major case is The Three Monkeys. After many interviews and false leads, the investigators are left with two sets of suspects. One is Paul Peltier and his grandson Johnny.
After two threatening episodes, Deline is attacked and injured as she leaves the office. By then another new character has been introduced, Police Captain Harlee Davis is the detective’s tie to the St. Louis police department.
Eventually, there are more killings and the search narrows down to the final suspects. I’ve learned to appreciate the action scenes in this series. The actions are well planned and realistic.
The editing and sentence structure are far above average. Character development is thorough as colorful pictures of each person are painted.
The central plot involves gruesome murders and is offset by the romance between Kate and Carter.
The story contains mild sexual descriptions and minor cursing. Much of the bantering between lovers Carter and Kate is funny and lighthearted.
This series is one of my favorites and I can strongly recommend The Three Monkeys to crime thriller fans who are not turned off by the gory killings.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – The Sporting House Killing
Author – G. Reading Powell
Genre – Western Legal Thriller
Word Count - 85,000
Rating – Five Stars out of five
No. 20 - 2021
Posted 5/14/2021
My Impressions: Intense emotions played out against personal grief and prejudice.
Main Characters:
Catfish Calloway - Revered and reviled Waco Attorney.
Harley Calloway – Catfish’s son and lawyer.
Miss Peach – The Calloway’s secretary.
Cicero Sweet – Accused of murdering a prostitute.
Waco Texas, 1894. The ‘Reservation’, a zone set off in Waco where prostitution was legalized and licensed.
Cicero Sweet and a friend sneak away from Baylor College for a night of beer drinking and debauchery. Inside the whorehouse, his friend gets cold feet and leaves the establishment to wait outside for Cicero. When a gun shot is heard from inside the house of ill repute, the friend is terrified and runs back to Baylor.
The next morning, everyone learns Cicero is being charged with killing one of the prostitutes with her gun.
Cicero’s father, Henry Sweet, is a civil war comrade of Catfish Calloway and insist the lawyer take the case to prevent Cicero from being hung for murder. Catfish tries to beg off taking the case but is indebted to Henry.
Catfish, Harley and Miss Peach investigate but can not tie the crime to anyone but Cicero.
In court, Catfish’s behavior is erratic as his personal demons swamp his mind with past memories of an earlier murder case he lost.
The editing leaves many comma issues and several word problems, but it is not as terrible as most indie books are.
The sentence structures are well done.
Character development is above average.
Abundant details of the time frame indicate in depth research.
The plot is different and retains the distain for the ‘working girls’ even by the men who frequent them.
In spite of the editing shortfalls, I highly recommend this legal thriller set at the end of the old west era.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – G. Reading Powell
Genre – Western Legal Thriller
Word Count - 85,000
Rating – Five Stars out of five
No. 20 - 2021
Posted 5/14/2021
My Impressions: Intense emotions played out against personal grief and prejudice.
Main Characters:
Catfish Calloway - Revered and reviled Waco Attorney.
Harley Calloway – Catfish’s son and lawyer.
Miss Peach – The Calloway’s secretary.
Cicero Sweet – Accused of murdering a prostitute.
Waco Texas, 1894. The ‘Reservation’, a zone set off in Waco where prostitution was legalized and licensed.
Cicero Sweet and a friend sneak away from Baylor College for a night of beer drinking and debauchery. Inside the whorehouse, his friend gets cold feet and leaves the establishment to wait outside for Cicero. When a gun shot is heard from inside the house of ill repute, the friend is terrified and runs back to Baylor.
The next morning, everyone learns Cicero is being charged with killing one of the prostitutes with her gun.
Cicero’s father, Henry Sweet, is a civil war comrade of Catfish Calloway and insist the lawyer take the case to prevent Cicero from being hung for murder. Catfish tries to beg off taking the case but is indebted to Henry.
Catfish, Harley and Miss Peach investigate but can not tie the crime to anyone but Cicero.
In court, Catfish’s behavior is erratic as his personal demons swamp his mind with past memories of an earlier murder case he lost.
The editing leaves many comma issues and several word problems, but it is not as terrible as most indie books are.
The sentence structures are well done.
Character development is above average.
Abundant details of the time frame indicate in depth research.
The plot is different and retains the distain for the ‘working girls’ even by the men who frequent them.
In spite of the editing shortfalls, I highly recommend this legal thriller set at the end of the old west era.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Title – State of Redemption
Author – Richard McKeown
Genre – Crime, Suspense
Word Count - 122,000
Rating – Four stars out of Five
No. 19 - 2021
Posted 5/6/2021
My Impressions: Redemption vs. Punishment, Justice vs. Injustice, Truth vs. Cover-up
Main Characters:
Matt Matheny – Plagued by an ordeal he can’t shake.
Maryanne Carpenter – Matt’s friend and staunch supporter.
Tommy Branscum – District Attorney & potential State Governor with a dire secret in his past.
T. Bently Branscum III – Egotistical, controlling patriarch of an old New England family.
Father Mitch Potter – Catholic Priest with a sin to conceal.
Warren Andrews – Retired District Attorney who followed his religious belief.
Thirty years prior, Matt Matheny saw something his ten-year-old mind couldn’t fathom and a face he could never forget. By the age of forty, he had lost his only child; then his wife slowly succumbed to cancer. Seeking a fresh start, he moved back to his original home Milford, Vermont. Soon he met Maryanne, the daughter of a crusty, old neighbor across the street from the house he rented. Eventually, he confided in her the story of an event he’d witnessed when he was ten years old. Wondering what happened to the person he’d seen being attacked late at night, they soon learned a fifteen-year-old girl had been beaten to death during the attack Matt had witnessed thirty years prior.
By chance, he saw a photo of a seventeen-year-old local sports star from that same period. He was agast.
He and Maryanne began investigating on their own and soon incurred the wrath of the killer’s protector. Attending a funeral for a friend let him to meet with Warren Andrews who instilled in Matt the fact that he and Maryanne could be in danger for resurrecting the thirty-year-old crime and putting a face and name to the well-known and popular killer.
I highly recommend this excellent story despite its many editing and formatting flaws.
The editing is not terrible but is plagued by missing and extra commas throughout. Additionally, there are too many missing, extra, misspelled, and wrong words. Those are a shame because the quality of the story deserves better.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Richard McKeown
Genre – Crime, Suspense
Word Count - 122,000
Rating – Four stars out of Five
No. 19 - 2021
Posted 5/6/2021
My Impressions: Redemption vs. Punishment, Justice vs. Injustice, Truth vs. Cover-up
Main Characters:
Matt Matheny – Plagued by an ordeal he can’t shake.
Maryanne Carpenter – Matt’s friend and staunch supporter.
Tommy Branscum – District Attorney & potential State Governor with a dire secret in his past.
T. Bently Branscum III – Egotistical, controlling patriarch of an old New England family.
Father Mitch Potter – Catholic Priest with a sin to conceal.
Warren Andrews – Retired District Attorney who followed his religious belief.
Thirty years prior, Matt Matheny saw something his ten-year-old mind couldn’t fathom and a face he could never forget. By the age of forty, he had lost his only child; then his wife slowly succumbed to cancer. Seeking a fresh start, he moved back to his original home Milford, Vermont. Soon he met Maryanne, the daughter of a crusty, old neighbor across the street from the house he rented. Eventually, he confided in her the story of an event he’d witnessed when he was ten years old. Wondering what happened to the person he’d seen being attacked late at night, they soon learned a fifteen-year-old girl had been beaten to death during the attack Matt had witnessed thirty years prior.
By chance, he saw a photo of a seventeen-year-old local sports star from that same period. He was agast.
He and Maryanne began investigating on their own and soon incurred the wrath of the killer’s protector. Attending a funeral for a friend let him to meet with Warren Andrews who instilled in Matt the fact that he and Maryanne could be in danger for resurrecting the thirty-year-old crime and putting a face and name to the well-known and popular killer.
I highly recommend this excellent story despite its many editing and formatting flaws.
The editing is not terrible but is plagued by missing and extra commas throughout. Additionally, there are too many missing, extra, misspelled, and wrong words. Those are a shame because the quality of the story deserves better.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
