Simple Genius

By David Baldacci
ISBN-10: 0446580341
ISBN-13: 978-0446580342
Washington Political Thriller,  432 pages
Reviewed by Terry South, Quality Book Reviews 

 

The setting is Washington, D.C. and Virginia, and it all begins when Michelle Maxwell who is struggling with emotional problems and finds herself in the midst of a barroom brawl and ends up being arrested and put in jail.  Michelle agrees to seek therapy in a psychiatric private clinic.  Michelle has some demons that haunt her and she must seek help before it is to late, or before someone ends up dead.

Sean King is Michelle’s partner, they both are former Secret Service Agents, and as Sean watches Michelle’s decline he is in need of some very needed extra funds which he is lacking.  Sean accepts an assignment from an old girlfriend at her Investigation Agency and takes on the new assignment which is to investigate a mysterious death in Virginia.  His assignment takes him to a place called Babbage Town where he investigates the shooting near the CIA training center.  As the investigation continues Sean begins to discover more accidents and apparent suicides that have taken place.

Michelle checks out of the psychiatric facility and teams up with Sean in Virginia.  As the story continues to unfold Sean and Michelle are up against major corruption and must save an innocent girl before time runs out and they must expose the corruption that is occurring at the CIA training camp before it is to late.  Will they be able to save Viggie, and will they unlock the hidden dangerous secrets that seem to be locked in her memory? What is this major corruption?  Is our nation safe? 

David Baldacci’s characters are finely tuned and are well developed, compelling and memorable. He has a gripping plot and incorporates twists and turns that will shock you.  Baldacci has done a wonderful job in creating a thriller that is thought provoking and he manages to wrap everything up effortlessly so it all comes together.  Reviewing this title was a great pleasure and is a highly recommended read.

Wish Club
by Kim Strickland
Three Rivers Press
Crown Publishing Group
ISBN: 978-0-307-35282-8 (0-307-35282-X)
May 2007 | $ 13.95 Fiction
Reviewed by: Terry South

Wish Club is a zany and witty story that you are sure to love. It involves five women, Claudia, Lindsay, Gail, Mara and Jill who are members of a book club. Their book club seems just like any other book club, five women sitting around talking, drinking wine, and even discussing the book they have been reading. Things in their book club had been going rather well until one of the women in the group introduces a book on witchcraft. Being out of the norm, the women are intrigued and decide to go ahead and try their luck at casting a few spells. They start out with a small spell that is to chant and the rain will stop, so they begin chanting and the rain does indeed stop. So they then decide to cast a spell on a cat that is diabetic and the cat heals, its a miracle. So now they decide to embrace their new found powers, so they begin to pursue their new powers further. The women decide to just make wishes to help out themselves in their daily lives, they wish for money, creativity, a baby, time to themselves and a perfect man. This all should be harmless as they are only focusing in on positive thinking and making wishes right?

So now instead of being called the book club they are the wish club. Claudia is a school teacher and wishes to have a baby of her own as soon as possible, she also wants to write a novel; Gail is a housewife and a mother of three and she wishes to have peace and quite time and to get her life back; Lindsay is a socialite and has a trust fund, she wishes to lose weight and wants to be in the Women’s Foundation spring fashion show; while Mara, a former singer wishes for money and to resume her singing career once again; and Jill, an artist wishes for creativity and inspiration, and a perfect man in her life.

Now as the Wish Club members get all too consumed with casting spells in order to improve the various areas of their lives they find themselves in a web of wishes that have gone haywire. What started as an innocent and fun set of small spells has now turned their lives inside out, and everything is out of control. Now they turn to the only person they can think of who might be able to help them get their lives back under control and regain some normalcy, a real witch, someone who can undo what they have done, undo their spells, and finally return their lives back to normal.

Kim Strickland is a pilot for a major airline flying 767s. Kim Strickland lives in Chicago with her husband, her twin boys, two cats and a dog.

Kim Strickland has developed her characters so well and they are so believable and charming and funny. The story line is great, and I can find no faults with this novel. It has been very well written, (cleverly written) and is highly entertaining. Wish Club is an enchanting read, I am recommending it for our reading group. The story is funny, smart and so intriguing. This is a perfect book club read. It is a magical, intriguing, humorous story and give it an astounding 5 stars.

The Strangeling
by Saskia Walker
Juno Books
ISBN: 978-0-8095-5793-6 $9.95
Fantasy
Reviewed by Terry South for Bookpleasures

www.saskiawalker.co.uk/
http://ideaboutique.blogspot.com/2007/02/strangeling-by-saskia-walker.html
http://www.saskiawalker.blogspot.com/

The setting is Edren a fantasy world created by the author who has a magical imaginative spark in storytelling.

The Strangeling is an erotic fantasy novel that revolves around Maerose, a beautiful young woman with magical powers. Maerose is the heroine and Bron is her hero. Bron is an elder and goes on the quest of rescuing Maerose from her captor, Veldor who is a former elder himself. Veldor’s intentions are malicious as he seeks to mate with Maerose in order to master the demons and rule the lands.Veldor is knowledgeable on the prophecy made around 100 years ago; the prophecy is one of a chilling nature where the undead armies of Crondor and Yaxlan rise up from the underworld with great power. As the prophecy has foretold of a maiden that can save the forest and the elders all believe this to be Maerose due to the revelations revealed about the prophecy. Will good conquer evil or will evil prevail in this fascinating fantasy?

The Strangeling is a short fantasy novel that is packed with vivid details and a precise amount of action. Walker writes the story with impact and the story is a superbly crafted erotic fantasy. The characters are well developed with detail and the author manages to tie the characters together well.

This is the first of the author’s works I have had the pleasure of reviewing and have to admit I am hooked. I look forward to her new release next month which is also a fantasy entitled “Unveiling The Sorceress”.

Saskia Walker is a British author of erotic romance, fantasy and erotica. Her idea for this novel began at a tender age of between 8 and 9 when she first became interested in paganism and her parents took her to visit Stonehenge.Saskia Walker earned her BA with honors from the University of Sussex, and has a MA in Literature and Visual Arts from theUniversity of Reading. She currently resides north of London with her true love Mark.

A Magical 5 stars for The Strangeling!

Gun Shy
by Ben Rehder
www.benrehder.com
St. Martin’s
ISBN:  0-312-35752-4
Reviewed by:  Terry South

Gun Shy is the fifth novel in this mystery series featuring game warden John Marlin.   The setting is Blanco County, Texas and it begins as the National Weapons alliance and director Dale Stubbs gear up for the big rally.  The rally is supporting Americans with the right to carry concealed weapons.  This is a controversial subject to say the least, but the author has brought humor into the mix and makes light of both sides, remember this is a work of fiction. This rally is expected to be on a grand scale and the NWA’s spokesman is none other than Mitch Campbell.

Mitch is hosting the rally at his Blanco County ranch and will be performing the NWA’s anthem and his number one hit single “My Cold Dead Hands”, but he is no real cowboy, in fact he is an impostor; his agent thought the persona would boost his record sales, deceitful yes.  This deceit could end up in a disaster or could make Mitch a big hit.  Mitch’s true identity is that of Norman Klienschmidt from Middlebury, Vermont so he is not even from Texas.  Will Mitch be able to keep up his hidden identity or will he falter and make a huge mistake?

Due to Mitch’s devious actions and all too fake persona, he has turned to drugs to cope and the drugs are clouding his thinking.  He soon becomes paranoid, believing his life is in danger and ends up shooting his gardener.  But when the dead Mexican turns up, game warden John Marlin and law enforcement officials are on the case.  As Marlin begins checking into the murder a new series of events begin taking place, these events may bring Mitch down as well as the NWA.

Rehder has well developed characters, a strong story line with a very good plot as well as sub-plots.  He has created some unexpected twists that will keep you guessing.  Rehder does not take an extreme position on questions of gun control and he pokes fun at both sides equally in the book.  He presents a comical crime fiction series, that is humorous and entertaining.

It was a great pleasure to review such a witty crime fiction series.  I now need to get the other four books in this series.  This was the first title I have reviewed from this author and now am hooked.  If your looking for a humorous and entertaining read I highly recommend picking up a copy of Gun Shy as it is an enjoyable read.

I believe this deserves a big star with 5 points, (here I am trying to be humorous).  A definite 5 stars!

QBR (Quality Book Reviews) has just opened a new forum dedicated to and for authors as well as readers alike. I would like to invite everyone to drop by check it out and offer any suggestions to make this a better place for all. The new forum has a little of everything including a place where authors may drop in introduce yourselves, introduce your works, new releases, upcoming titles, and add links to your sites and blogs.

http://terrysouth.proboards83.com/

For readers we are developing a reading group, reading guides, open discussions, etc...

The forum categories added so far include:
General
Books & Novels
Bookshelves
Readers
Quality Book Reviews

Under each of the forum categories is a wide variety of sub-categories for everyone's enjoyment.

We have also added a live chat and as we grow further would love to schedule live chats between authors and their readers.

We also would like to add to our schedule interviews with various authors to be placed on the forum as well as our site so that their readers can learn more about their favorite authors.

Thank you and I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Terry

Quality Book Reviews

Anatomy of Fear

By Jonathan Santlofer

ISBN:  978-0-06-088197-9  $24.95

William Morrow

An Imprint of Harper Collins

10 East 53^rd St., New York, NY 10022

www.HarperCollins.com

Reviewed by Terry South for Bookpleasures

As an added bonus be sure to check out the video trailer starring the author Jonathan Santlofer and his artwork:
http://www.jonathansantlofer.com/anatomyvideo.html

(also on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaL97PkP1hs)

Also check out the HarperCollins sweepstakes where the winner gets their portrait sketched by Jonathan Santlofer:
http://www.harpercollins.com/features/anatomyoffear/

The setting is New York and Terri Russo a detective for the NYPD is called to the scene of a murder where she discovers a sketch of the victim alongside the body.  Russo is aided in her investigation by Nate Rodriguez, the police sketch artist.

Nate’s father was an undercover narc for the NYPD, Nate still very much disturbed by his fathers death, has managed to avoid doing any on the scene police work.  All this is about to change as Nate is drawn into the case, and maybe even further than he could have imagined.  Nate begins piecing together the face of the killer and he himself then becomes a target.

The killer also sketches people, his victims, and he uses his abilities to turn the investigation in a different direction.  You will find this story erupts with some explosive twists, so hold on for a heart pounding ride.

Jonathan Santlofer is also an artist and has his works displayed in several locations including museums.  He received his Masters of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute.  Santlofer began writing in 1989 after a gallery fire claimed five years of his works.  Anatomy of Fear contains both of his talents; his artwork enhances the strong compelling and intriguing plot, each complementing the other.

Santlofer has a steady flow of action and suspense with enough twists and turns to leave you with anticipation.  The characters are distinctive and interesting with qualities that make them believable.  The scenes are written with such a compelling impact that is gripping and makes this a genuine page turner to the end.

A guaranteed 5 star read.

Lost Echoes

By Joe R. Lansdale

Crime thriller

ISBN: 978-0-307-27544-8   $13.95

Vintage Books

A Division of Random House Inc.

1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

www.RandomHouse.com

Reviewed by Terry South for Bookpleasures

Lost Echoes is a story about a man named Harry Wilkes, who at the tender age of six came down with the mumps and developed a severe ear infection which affected his brain.  Harry’s mind would fill with images of past crimes and he could see the events taking place as well as see the faces of the people involved in the crimes.  Harry eventually develops a taste for alcohol as it helps him to suppress the images as well as the sounds contained within his mind.

Harry is in a bar one evening when he notices three men taking a drunk out through the back.  Harry knows what is getting ready to happen and decides to step in.  The drunk is Tad Peters and immediately he and Harry become friends.  Soon after Kayla, Harry’s first love comes back into his life, now a police officer she is determined to find her fathers’ killers.  With Harry’s ability he soon figures out that the men responsible for Kayla’s fathers’ death are connected to other unsolved murders.

Joe R. Lansdale has penned several novels in the genres of suspense, horror and westerns.  He has won many awards throughout his career.  He currently resides in Texas with his wife and children.

                   
Lansdale writes scenes with high impact and vivid details and accounts.  He incorporates the correct intrusive amount of twists and turns that leave you breathless and drawing you into the heart of the story.  The characters are so believable and you feel as if you have known them for quite some time, he is descriptive and adds that human touch to his characters.

An indubious 5 star read.

Pattern of Vengeance
A Maria Sanchez Thriller
By C. Hyytinen
Echelon Press Publishing
9735 Country Meadows Lane 1-D
Laurel, MD 20723
www.echelonpress.com
ISBN: 978-1-59080-520-6 $12.99
April 2007 286 pages
Reviewed by Terry South for Quality Book Reviews

The setting begins in Minneapolis and then moves between LA, Minneapolis, as well as some scenes set in Florida. Agent Stan Bauer has been murdered and believed to have been a Mafia hit. Detective Maria Sanchez is on the case. Her partner is Tom Powders who is nearing retirement and he has been acting very odd lately, Maria is not sure what he is up too, but begins to speculate as the story continues. They believe there is a leak in the department and no one can be trusted. Special Investigator Joe Morgan is Maria’s husband of ten wonderful years.

Chief Sandra LaSalle is the new chief having moved from New York only a year ago, she is a petite redhead in her fifties and is not very well liked and has earned some names since arriving as the new Chief in Minneapolis. Due to the nature of the crimes being committed, the possibility of a leak within the department LaSalle has made the decision to assign the case to Sanchez and partners her with Morgan.

Maria was once married to Jack Sanchez known as The River Rat and was the father to her daughter Tess. He was also father to a boy named Tony, whose mother died and Maria and Joe adopted him, after all he and Tess are brother and sister. Tess is in college and is twenty years old, Tony is a teenager about sixteen. It is nearly Christmas and Tess has finished with finals and comes home to stay for a month, which is just in time as the case heats up for her parents. Will they finally be able to put an end to all the mafia’s crimes? Will anyone else die as a result of this investigation? Will the person responsible for leaking the information to Marco be discovered in time?

LaSalle brings in Etina Altmark a Russian from New York to go undercover as a runaway, she is twenty eight but looks as if she is only fifteen. Hyytinen has a way of leaving you on the edge of your seat, she has incorporated vivid details and accounts throughout the story, making this one that you have to read from front to back non-stop. The chapters are short and each chapter leaves an inevitable hook at the end leaving you with the desire to read one more and then another. The author has superbly written scenes with impact, with a steady flow of action and suspense. This story is so relentless, gripping and intriguing and a genuine page turner. The characters are so finely tuned, believable and real, you find yourself cheering them on, hoping for the best, and feel these are people you have known for quite some time. You will find yourself thinking of the characters long after finishing the book. The story erupts with explosive twists and delivers a powerful ending that will leave you breathless. This is a must read, I will warn there is mature themes including language, but I have no hesitation in saying I highly recommend reading The Maria Sanchez Thrillers. If looking for an explosive read you will not want to miss this one.

It has been a great pleasure to read and review Pattern of Vengeance and I truly cannot wait to read the first in the Maria Sanchez Thrillers, and look forward to all her new releases.

Toaster Pond
By Peter de Witt
Fantasy/Adventure
ISBN: 1-933255-21-8
www.toasterpond.com
DNA Press
PO Box 572 Eagleville, PA 19408
www.dnapress.com
Reviewed by Terry South for Bookpleasures

Toaster Pond is a wondrous adventure for children. The setting is a place called Waterville. In Waterville during the summer the teens are ready for their championship game of Hide and Seek. But this is not your normal regular game.

The story will captivate your child’s imagination. You can discover within the pages six toed fairies, as well as a wealth of different characters. The stories main characters include Doug, Skip, and Pierce, and they are on the Hide and Seek team termed the best team. Peter de Witt transports the game to a magical place of Sangerfiled, here the main characters must put their expert skills into action. Will they be able to save Sanger Castle? To find out you will need to pick up a copy of this great adventurous tale, you will not be disappointed.

Toaster Pond is a quick compact read, once your child has started they will not be able to put this one down. This is Peter de Witt’s debut and is an excellent creation and there will be a high demand for more. This is one enchanting and magical read that the entire family will want to read. This title will win the parents approval, and will be captivating families for generations to come.

Peter de Witt is an author, a adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Education at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY., and he is also has been teaching elementary school for eleven years. He currently resides in New York.

Ladykiller

By Lawrence Light and Meredith Anthony

ISBN:  1-933515-05-8   $23.95

Suspense/Thriller    240 pages

Oceanview Publishing

Reviewed by Terry South for Bookpleasures

Ladykiller is the debut suspense novel by Lawrence Light and Meredith Anthony, the husband and wife writing team, and what a unique writing team.  They have penned a novel that is a must for crime enthusiast.   

The setting is the streets of New York, and the year is 1991.  Four women have been murdered from all different walks of life, including a cheerleader, stockbroker, a housewife and a prostitute.  Homicide detective Dave Dillion of the NYPD is on the case and must solve these murders or risk losing his job.  Dave encounters a beautiful social worker by the name of Megan Morrison, the two join forces in search for the serial killer, and romance ensues.

The press is calling the serial killer “Ladykiller”.  The killer has left no clues and no trail behind to follow.  The murders always take place in some out of the way place where no witnesses can be found.  There are never any signs of the victim being taken against her will and no signs of a struggle with their attacker, and the murders all appear to be personal in nature.  Will Dave find the killer before its too late?

Lawrence Light is an award-winning journalist and is currently the Wall Street Editor for Forbes magazine.  He graduated from Columbia School of Journalism and is the author of the Karen Glick novels.  He currently resides in Manhattan with his wife and co-author Meredith Anthony.

Meredith Anthony has written for a variety of sources including film, television, print and the web.  She graduated from St. John’s College and also received a MA from The Johns Hopkins University.

Ladykiller is an intriguing, compelling and suspenseful crime novel packed with enticing twists and turns to keep you on the edge.  The authors have created a powerful thriller that tantalizes with a sense of suspense and a steady flow of action.  The characters are believable, finely developed and engaging.  Ladykiller is superbly crafted with vivid detail that draws you into the story. 

An astounding 5 stars!