Category Archives: Reviews

Review of Susanne Leist’s “The Dead Game”

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ENTERTAINING & SUSPENSEFUL WITH GOOD CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

By the time you finish this suspenseful tale you feel as if you know the streets of the resort town called Oasis as well as all the people who live there. The one thing you don’t know, however, is who is what they claim to be and who’s not, whether they are good or bad, and what will happen next. There is an excellent mix of reality and paranormal which lends more credibility to the story. It gives you a lot to think about, particularly if you live by an old, seemingly abandoned house with a spooky reputation. If you enjoy moderately scary stories populated with a variety of characters you will enjoy this book. I particularly liked Mike’s sarcastic remarks which had me laughing out loud more than once.

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Review of “To Penetrate” by T.L. Chester

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To PenetrateTo Penetrate by Tl Chester
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This dark, gripping and occasionally gruesome tale was impossible to put down. It grabs you from the first page, taking you on a wild ride through the miasma of emotions roiling within a woman known as Sam who has killed her lover–exactly as he requested. Obediently following his last directive, she embarks on a mysterious quest in the form of a haunting roadtrip during which she discovers more about his sordid past with each mysterious stop. While trying to deny and suppress her guilt and inner turmoil she gradually confronts her demons and the various insecurities behind them.

This novella-length story is intense, believable and presented in a highly original style which takes you inside Sam’s psyche as if reading her diary as she pursues this dark journey of self-discovery. While the premise is tragic, it is nonetheless softened by an ample dose of humor throughout, even as it shields the protagonist from the maelstrom she’s experiencing inside.

I’m usually picky about such things as grammar and spelling but in this case any “mistakes” were effective as a deliberate ploy to capture the essence of this antiheroine as she spills forth her story in an utterly believable first person narrative. While it’s unusual to start a story with a murder where you know who the perpetrator was, the suspense throughout is nearly tangible, right up to the last heart-stopping page. This story’s depth is not to be trifled with, its impact troubling as you realize how, when all is said and done, that Sam could be the true victim of this clever albeit unsettling tale were it not for her transformation along the way.

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Pre-release Review of Elle Klass’ “Baby Girl 3: City by the Bay”

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Tomorrow, July 15, is the big day for Elle Klass’ latest sequel in the “Baby Girl” series. Here’s my review:

“Baby Girl 3: City by the Bay” continues the saga of Cleo, a girl abandoned as a child and on a quest to discover her true identity. This latest installment of the popular series of novellas finds Cleo, now known as Shanna Nu, in San Francisco where she hopes to uncover more information pertaining to the disappearance of the woman she knew as her mother. Cleo is acutely aware of cryptic letters the woman left behind warning her that her life could be in danger as she nonetheless persists, more determined than ever, to discover who she is. She conveniently obtains a job with a seasoned ex-cop turned private investigator named La Tige where she acquires a variety of new skills as well as access to new information in police files. As she gradually unravels the past the more tangled it becomes as she continues to pick through the various threads and close in on the truth.

This episode is filled with additional mystery, intrigue and adventure as the story and plot deepen. Amid the challenges and sometimes shocking revelations, Cleo is gradually discovering who she is at the core even if her actual identity still eludes her. Readers following this series will enjoy the ride as new dimensions of the story are revealed as well as witnessing Cleo’s evolving maturity. She still may not know her legal identity but she is beginning nonetheless to know exactly who and what she is, a discovery that everyone must encounter sooner or later.

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