Dragon Sword by Susan Brassfield Cogan

November 21, 2014 By 1 Comment

DRAGO
Dragon Sword by Susan Brassfield Cogan
Black Jade Dragon Series #2
Publisher: CoganBooks
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (244 Pages)
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Here we go again! Angie Tanaka can’t seem to stay out of trouble. She finds herself haunted by a cute little hungry ghost and a not-so-cute demon who has a special hell kept warm just for dragons.

Angie Tanaka is, as she herself admits, “the one woman crime wave.” She has a need to steal and needless to say, that gets her into trouble. She lives on Shaolong, the Land of Nine Dragons, and now the island is in real trouble. The Chinese ambassador is visiting and soon the Chinese will be taking over. This would mean the end of the dragons as well as the current culture on Shaolong. Angie’s particular skills are needed.
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I like Angie. True, she is a thief, but she is a very interesting one and when the dragons are threatened her loyalties are all in the right place. The action is fast paced and there are lots of exciting scenes with dragons and some very scary demons. The suspense grows throughout the novel, coming to a very exciting conclusion.

I really liked the way the dragons are portrayed. They are always dragons, but they can, and most frequently do, assume human form. To me this makes them even more believable and who’s to say that we don’t still have dragons in this world. The descriptions of the transformations from human form to dragon form and back are very realistic and when Angie is carried with a dragon, she fully experiences some of that transformative power.

The dragons themselves are as they should be and each of them has a very different personality. Humans can’t lie to a dragon which makes for a number of complications for Angie, but the ability to detect lies would certainly be a wonderful talent to have.

Dragon Sword is the second book in the series, following immediately after Black Jade Dragon. While it can stand alone, I highly recommend reading the books in order. After all, why miss a single minute of Angie’s adventures. In fact, I have the third novel in my reading queue and plan to start it shortly.

Dragon lovers are in for a real treat with this novel. It is unique, both in its use of dragons and in the nature of its main character, and as a result it is a delight. Don’t miss the excitement!

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Night Watch: An Em Ridge Mystery Book One by Linda Hall

November 18, 2014 By Leave a Comment

NIGHT
Night Watch: An Em Ridge Mystery Book One by Linda Hall
Publisher: Alexandria Publishing Group
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (273 Pages)
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Desolate Maine shores… Murder… And peace slipping away on the outgoing tide…

For yacht delivery captain, Em Ridge, having a billionaire’s daughter go overboard on her first captaining job is not a good beginning. The sailboat is new, state of the art, her crew on this trip include two close sailing friends. But an unknown fourth, who can’t even tie a bowline, and the unruly owner’s daughter turn the idyllic trip into an adventure not wanted.

Two years ago Em buried her husband, her soulmate, her sailing buddy, and with him buried a secret. As hours on the open seas slide by, secrets are resurrected that tie Em’s past to a present, awash with murder and deception.

Will Em’s career go overboard? Will the investigating detective help her or hurt her? Any why does the best boat delivery captain on the east coast pull at her heart strings?
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The oft foggy coast of Maine holds secrets it does not want to give up, and a lot of bodies can be hidden in The Pine Tree State’s largest city.

Captain Em Ridge is thrilled to have her first job since she got her Coast Guard captain’s license, but after a week underway, it looks as if it might be her last. A billionaire’s daughter, Kricket, goes overboard and if that weren’t bad enough, she was dead before she hit the water, killed by mushroom poisoning.

The plot takes a number of unexpected turns, which include Em’s discovering that her husband’s death two years earlier, supposedly from a kayaking accident was no accident. Was her husband having an affair? Was everything she thought she knew about him a lie?

Em is a very strong character, well-defined, with strengths as well as weaknesses. She really resonated with me and I was hooked from the opening of the novel when Em is wakened from a dream about her dead husband to discover that Kricket is missing.

I learned a lot about boats, small and large, power and sail, and all the details added to the authenticity of the tale. The mystery is very well crafted, with plenty of suspects, so that Em is caught wondering just whom to trust. She takes on more of the investigation than is safe, but she is so worried about her husband’s death that she keeps searching, keeps asking questions, keeps getting in deeper and deeper.

The pacing is excellent, as the tension builds bit by bit. We see Em as she interacts with a number of people, so I felt as if I really got to know her. And I liked her neighbors, the sisters who argue, the aged widower, and others. They lent an authenticity and believability to the entire story.

The setting is very well-drawn and the fact that Em lives on a remote piece of land which requires a ferry at high tide adds not only realism but suspense. She doesn’t live far from Portland, Maine, but the geography becomes an added character in the story as Em has to navigate the terrain.

Mystery lovers are in for a real treat with Night Watch, which is promised to be the first in a series. I sure hope more books follow quickly as I really want to travel the seas with Em again soon.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Deadline for Murder: The Hilary Adams Mystery Series

November 17, 2014 By 5 Comments

MURDER
Deadline for Murder: The Hilary Adams Mystery Series by Linda Y. Atkins
Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (384 Pages)
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

Defending a crime reporter accused of a double-homicide puts Hilary Adams to the test once more. Can she meet the deadline for murder?
***
Attorney Hilary Adams makes the difficult decision not to run for another term as Louisville’s top prosecutor. She’s determined to return to the defense side of the justice system. The only hitch is that her newfound resolve isn’t resonating too well with her husband Peter Elliott, Louisville’s police chief.

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Then, in quick succession, another murder victim turns up. Blake’s new boss is found brutally beaten and stabbed in exactly the same manner as the young woman. Evidence, including DNA left at each of the crime scenes, points to only one person as being the culprit in both slayings—Hilary’s errant client, Blake Hunter.

As always, Hilary has her work cut out for her. Once again, she’s up to the challenge.

Hilary Adams has just left her position as the Commonwealth Attorney in Louisville, Kentucky after she decided not to seek re-election. Instead she accepts an offer to head up a new criminal litigation division at a very prestigious law firm. Her first case is to defend a prominent journalist, Blake Hunter, from a murder charge after he wakes up one morning in a seedy motel totally unable to remember how he got there.

Hilary is a very smart lawyer and she is now married to Peter Elliott, Louisville’s police chief. He’d wanted her to run for re-election since it made sense to him that both of them would be on the same side, namely the prosecution of crimes. Hilary loves Peter, but finds it unfair that he should expect her to change her career. I thought that the interactions in this complex issue were handled very realistically and sensitively and it was fun to watch the two of them work this out. This side issue made the characters much more real and three dimensional.

The plot is very well-developed and Hilary has to match wits with a sociopath who has worked out what appears to be a full-proof plan to frame Blake Hunter. I was especially impressed with the way the tension developed, with excellent pacing, so that by the end, events reached the point of sheer terror.

The shifting point of view from Hilary to the murderer is extremely well done. The reader can see what’s happening, although the who is kept well concealed, and I was on the edge of my seat trying to ‘will’ Hilary to the solution. I needn’t have worried. She is well equipped to handle the situation even with a number of side distractions.

Deadline for Murder is the fourth in the Hilary Adams series, but it works fine as a standalone. I highly recommend it, and indeed the entire series. Linda Y. Atkins has crafted a fine main character with lots of interesting supporting characters in a deviously fiendish murder mystery.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Black Jade Dragon by Susan Brassfield Cogan

November 14, 2014 By Leave a Comment

DRAGON
Black Jade Dragon by Susan Brassfield Cogan
Publisher: CoganBooks
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (204 Pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

The Way that can be traveled
is not the eternal Way.

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Angie says:
Thievery isn’t actually my vocation. It’s really more of a pursuit. It’s only my day job. I’m really an actress … just kidding.

Angie is a thief, a good thief. She’s on the run from the Hong Kong police and she pays the captain of a fishing boat to take her anywhere else. Once they are out to sea, they get caught in a storm. The captain is forced to land on Shaolong Island, the home of nine dragons. Angie’s relief at getting away from the Hong Kong police is short lived. She still has her grandfather’s sword and a cache of stolen diamonds, but soon she is involved in the affairs of dragons.

Angie is a spunky, sassy heroine. She is not out to save the world, but just to get whatever she can for herself, or so she thinks. The dragons don’t pay much attention to her and really don’t care whether she is there or not, but when a sweet old lady gets murdered as Angie watches, and the weapon is Angie’s sword, Angie just steps up to figure things out. She feels very guilty because the woman was killed in the middle of Angie’s attempt to steal a very valuable pearl. Soon, Angie is trying to avoid the Silver Dragon, the husband of the murdered woman.

The pacing is excellent, with non-stop action. There are many plot twists as well, which kept me guessing. Angie denies that she wants to help, but her actions belie her words. There is also a nice overlay of Buddhist sayings which really fit the various situations. The world on Shaolong Island seems very real and I felt as if I, too, were being chased by dragons.

Fantasy lovers, especially those who enjoy dragon tales, are in for a treat with Black Jade Dragon. The story has a completely fitting ending, but I’ve learned that there is another book in the series, Dragon Sword, and I’ve already added it to my list of must read books.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , ,

The Dybbuk’s Mirror by Alisse Lee Goldenberg

November 6, 2014 By Leave a Comment

MIRROR
The Dybbuk’s Mirror by Alisse Lee Goldenberg
Publisher: Prizm Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (227 Pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

It has been nearly two years since the events in The Strings of the Violin, and Carrie has adjusted to life as a university student far from her friends. However, when the path to Hadariah is sealed, she starts to fear malevolent forces may be behind the other strange occurrences around her. After trying to contact Lindsay and Rebecca to get help in unraveling the mystery, Carrie discovers that her friends are in fact missing. With no way of knowing who to trust, Carrie must find a way back to the land she once saved to rescue her friends from the dybbuks’ clutches. Reuniting with the dybbuk princess Emilia, and finding a new friend in the mysterious farmer Mikhail, Carrie must once again do battle with Asmodeus’s forces, and help stop the chaos that threatens to overtake the land while striving to save both Lindsay and Rebecca. For the first time, Carrie is working without the two friends who have helped her through every major decision in her life. Carrie must learn to rely on herself, and find her own strengths to save those she holds dear.

Carrie can’t understand why no one seems to remember her best friends, Lindsay and Rebecca. Her parents try to convince her that those names belong to the imaginary friends she had when she was little. Her college friends have no memory of Carrie’s ever talking about them or their visits to her at college. Has the whole world gone mad? Is Carrie all alone now? Why can’t she find a portal through to the land of Hadariah, a land she and her friends saved two years ago. And now, to add to her growing anxiety, she is being stalked.
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Carrie’s character is well developed and her worries are certainly understandable and very real. When her supposed stalker turns out to be Mikhail, a guard sent by the dybbuk princess, Emilia, to protect Carrie after Rebecca and Lindsay have been kidnapped, Carrie demands information and soon, she is back in the land of Hadariah trying to rescue her friends.

The action is fast-paced and very exciting. Carrie, Emilia, and Mikhail run into one adventure after another and the rescuing of her friends soon looks like an impossible task. The three of them work well together, each bringing a particular skill or perspective.

My only complaint is that I found the dialogue to be rather unnatural and wooden at times. I found myself saying more than once that a person would never have said something. The dialogue just doesn’t always ring true, and it doesn’t help to build the tension and excitement.

This is the second novel, following The Strings of the Violin, and I certainly hope that a third novel will be forthcoming very soon as I want to know what happens next. This novel ends at a reasonable stopping point, but certainly the story is far from over.

Fantasy lovers will find a lot to enjoy in this novel as Carrie has to stand on her own and lead the rescue mission. She holds her friends’ lives in her hands. Will she succeed in saving them?

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , ,

The Village Green by M. A. Foxworthy

November 3, 2014 By 1 Comment

GREEN
The Village Green by M. A. Foxworthy
Publisher: Astraea Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA
Length: Short Story (133 Pages)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Kelsey stood in a long line of ragged people as she did every week, waiting to receive her weekly rations. But the rations were getting smaller and the people were worried. Had life always been like this: hunger, want, and disease? As far as Kelsey knew, it always had, but when she finds the journal of Henry Martin everything begins to change. Will she be strong enough to fulfill a prophecy?

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This kind of equality pervades every aspect of Kelsey’s life, including education. “’Equality calls for sameness. Those who are more gifted must come down to the level of the least in their group of peers. Sameness will bring peace.’ This was one of the many laws all citizens memorized as children. And why it was such a rare thing for anyone to leave the village and go on to higher education.”

When Kelsey finds the journal of Henry Martin, she realizes that things haven’t always been like this. I found Kelsey to be a very believable character. She is faced with some hard facts demonstrating that the system, which was originally set up to protect Mother Gaia, is in fact corrupt and abusive. A few are living well at the expense of the masses. Kelsey’s reactions to the ideas in the journal are realistic. And when she discovers that she is meant to fulfill a prophecy, she is understandably shaken. At the same time, she realizes the importance of what she must undertake.

The village is described in great detail and felt altogether too real for anyone’s comfort. I really rallied behind Kelsey and the others in the underground resistance. The pacing is excellent and there are twists and turns within the plot which build tension. The ending of the novel does bring the events of the book to a suitable stopping point, but I sure hope that the author is going to write a sequel to let us know what happens to Kelsey.

Those who enjoy dystopian fantasy are sure to be captivated by The Village Green.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Guardian by Aneta Cruz

October 29, 2014 By Leave a Comment

GUARDIAN
The Guardian by Aneta Cruz
Publisher: Imagineer
Genre: Historical, Paranormal, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (304 Pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Dr. Josef Stein was trained as a man of science and rationality, but after a tragic experience, he believes that there is something within—or even without—the human body sciences cannot explain. And Stein would do anything to witness it! When his patients begin seeing a ghost, and a woman suspected of killing her child even accuses this spirit of the crime, Stein takes it upon himself to investigate. Unexpectedly, evidence of a supernatural phenomenon starts to mount. The good doctor’s quest to see is ignited with fervor. He thinks he is on the verge of uncovering the veracity of a thousand-year-old myth when his research gets interrupted by the Gestapo. Stein turns to his colleagues and friends for help, but they begin to suspect that the doctor’s determination may have unhinged his mind. Has Stein, after years of treating the crazy, gone mad himself?

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Now, Dr. Stein feels that time is against him. He searches for answers about the nature of the soul. When his young son died in his arms after an epileptic seizure, “Stein thought he saw his son’s soul take its leave. He was certain he saw a luminous vapor of some sort, ascending from his son’s body. It was the something he couldn’t explain. He would never forget that experience, for it had changed him forever. From then on, he wanted to learn about the body, to understand the soul, so that he could one day find his son’s. But he would never admit that to anyone.” He is still trying to find answers, but will the Gestapo allow his work to continue?

Dr. Stein is a rich and complex character who hooked me from the very beginning. I could feel his drive to uncover the truth behind the mental illnesses of his patients. I felt his fear every time the Gestapo stops him. And I believed in his theory that Magdalena, the Guardian of Unwanted Children, is real, that somehow a women named Magdalena who had died in the year 1002, is still looking after children who are in distress, taking their souls to a better place.

The pacing in this novel is excellent and by the end, I was totally immersed in this world, watching in horror as the Gestapo has its way against helpless victims. I felt that the historical information is accurate as well as vivid. The supernatural events are spine-tingling.

If you enjoy an historical mystery with a supernatural element, then be sure to check out The Guardian. It is one you won’t want to miss.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Waves in the Wind by Wade J. McMahan

October 28, 2014 By Leave a Comment

WAVES
Waves in the Wind by Wade J. McMahan
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (199 Pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

It is an age when kings and gods rule Ireland. The sun, but a pale orb, labors across somber skies; the moon and stars, distant memories. Ash falls upon the land like fine gray snow, while crops wither in the fields and famine creeps into every home.

It is an age of endless wars and chaos. Kings, great and small, fight among themselves for land, wealth and power. Ships from distant lands bring plague to coastal villages and certain death for all who fall ill.
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Families cower about their fires calling upon their gods, the old and new, for salvation. Yet, the old gods of the Druids, the Lords of the Sidhe, are falling back in the face of the irresistible Christian incursion.

Within this maelstrom of inevitable change, Ossian, a Druid among the Eoghanachts, battles Christian priests and their Holy Trinity, but risks losing everything he holds dear—including the eternal love of a goddess.

Richly steeped in the sights, sounds and emotions of the sixth century, this historical novel allows a glimpse into an Ireland that exists today only in conjecture, and gives insight into the people whose presence may only be felt and never seen—like waves in the wind.

Ossian had been training all his life to follow the path of a Druid. His father had begun his training when Ossian was very young, and at the age of twelve, Ossian is accepted by Master Tola the head of the Druid school at Dún Ailinne. Ossian proves to be an excellent student, rapidly advancing in his studies. He even succeeds in building his first sacred fire in the pouring rain after Master Tola remarks, “I cannot recall the gods challenging an acolyte with a more difficult trial. To succeed you must maintain confidence in yourself, keep your mind clear and apply the knowledge we instilled within you.” Ossian rises to the challenge, the first of many in his life. He is soon fighting for all Druids and their gods as Christianity tries to destroy Druid practitioners and believers. All the time Ossian is fighting he wonders, “If gods can hold all men in their hearts, why can’t men hold all gods in theirs? Perhaps that is a singular failing of men. Perhaps our hearts simply aren’t large enough to contain more than one faith. What a pity. I fear it will prove a bane for humanity throughout all time.”

Ossian’s world comes alive for his readers and I truly felt as if I were back in sixth century Ireland. All of my senses were engaged and I could feel the darkness that overtook this world, causing fear and panic to rise as the food supplies dwindled. The actions rang true. Some turned greedy and violent while others tried to help. People are fighting for their gods, as if the gods wouldn’t exist if there were no believers. While this novel is set in the far distant past, the conflicts remain with us in the present day. I watched Ossian grow from a man filled with hatred and revenge to a man who began to understand what was truly needed for all to survive.

Lovers of fantasy as well as those who enjoy ancient history are sure to find Waves in the Wind to be both exciting and thought provoking.

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Politics Can Be Murder: A Hilary Adams Mystery by Linda Y. Atkins

October 20, 2014 By Leave a Comment

MURDER
Politics Can Be Murder: A Hilary Adams Mystery by Linda Y. Atkins
Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (320 Pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

When the law clerk for the chief justice of Kentucky’s Supreme Court dies in a mysterious hit-and-run, tongues begin to wag. After all, everyone knew about the justice’s penchant for young women, and this one was as beautiful as she was smart. Concerned that her death could be linked directly to him, Chief Justice Langford appeals to Hilary Adams, now Louisville’s Commonwealth’s Attorney, to keep him informed about any new developments that may crop up in the ensuing investigation. But when Hilary refuses, Langford angrily elects to pursue another route—one that effectively circumvents Hilary’s office, but one that ultimately leads to the chief justice himself falling victim to murder.

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Faced with mounting pressure to solve the murders of both the chief justice and his wife—and to determine whether their murders had anything to do with the untimely death of the justice’s law clerk—Hilary, Homicide Lieutenant Peter Elliott, and investigator Sam Monroe unwittingly find themselves plunged into a complicated and twisted plot that, when unraveled, exposes an insatiable lust for uncompromising greed, a double whammy of double-crossing deceit, and a diabolical scheme of deadly blackmail, all carefully intertwined to advance a political agenda that has become cruelly out of control.

Hilary Adams, Louisville’s Commonwealth Attorney, turns down a request from the chief justice of Kentucky’s Supreme Court. Chief Justice Langford actually demands that Hilary keep him informed about the progress in the investigation of his law clerk’s death in a very strange hit-and-run. Hilary doesn’t even hesitate before she refuses to provide the information. However, the request makes her curious, and soon she, along with homicide lieutenant Peter Elliott and investigator Sam Monroe, is deeply involved in not just one, but three murders, with plenty of suspects, and a lot of political chicanery.

I really like Hilary Adams. She is a well-drawn, believable character. She is what I’d like to hope all lawyers could be, namely, strong, resourceful, loyal, smart, and most importantly, completely honest, with the highest integrity. Her friends and associates, Peter and Sam, also possess these qualities, which enable them all to keep ahead of the villains.

The action is fast-moving, with murder following murder. Hilary discovers that she has to work behind the scenes, trusting no one, as corruption in the mayor’s office and the police force is rampant. This all felt very real to me, and I suspect there is a lot more corruption in those places than any of us would want to believe. That’s why people like Hilary, Peter, and Sam are so important, and I worked right along with those three to solve this case. The ending took me by surprise. I’d narrowed down the suspects, but the actual solution and the reasons behind it were complex, something I really like in a mystery. I believed in the motives, as reprehensible as they were, and I understood the sick logic that resulted in the murders.

Mystery lovers are in for a real treat with Politics Can Be Murder.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Brain Matters: An Alie McCull Mystery by J. R. Scott

October 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment

BRAIN
Brain Matters: An Alie McCull Mystery by J. R. Scott
Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (320 Pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Reporter Alie McCull faces a political tempest of murder and deceit behind the backdrop of two corrupt government agencies. It is then that Alie discovers the Brain Matters.

One high-profile assassination. Two government agencies competing to bridle society with blackmail, mind-control and social engineering. And one vengeful reporter who will move heaven and earth to protect her stepson accused of a savage murder.

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Alie McCull is an established crime reporter who now has to research a crime that her stepson has been falsely accused of. She is very smart as well as determined, which makes her a dangerous adversary for the criminals.

Alie is a very believable character with a lot of depth. She inspires confidence and loyalty in her family and friends. Even the criminals show a healthy respect for her abilities, and there is never any question of her integrity and honesty, something that turns out to be a rare commodity.

The plot is riddled with corruption and deceit, making the mysteries extremely complex and convoluted. I wasn’t any faster than Alie at figuring out just what was going on, and the ending leaves many questions.

The novel is set in 1958, and the setting is vividly described with complete accuracy. I really felt as if I had been transported back in time. Every detail fits with the period, making the action realistic and believable. The pacing is excellent, fast-moving and exciting. For example, the description of a car chase through Detroit is so vivid that I felt as if I were watching it in a movie. The chase really gets the adrenaline pumping.

The plot deals with a lot of political corruption and drug induced mind controls which makes the story very scary indeed and while the setting in the 1950’s might seem to distance the reader from the realities of some very scary politics, we all know that the possibilities are still very real. I found the story disturbingly frightening and very powerful, and I really admired Alie for standing up for what she knows to be right in spite of pretty daunting odds.

Mystery readers who love thrillers are sure to be captivated by Brain Matters. Beware though, if you pick it for a bedtime read, you may not get much sleep.

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