Tag: thriller

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#BookReview: People To Follow by Olivia Worley

Four POVs. Three Big Ideas. Two Interesting Twists. One Technically Error Free Book.

Ok, so the title may have been a bit of a stretch there.

There are absolutely four primary POVs here across our 10 “influencers” (my God I both despise the term and indeed the entire concept, despite some authors labeling *me* as one), and while it can at times be confusing when switching between them early on, as the characterizations and “voices” get set, it does in fact get a bit easier.

The Big Ideas here are all various flavors of social commentary on the idea of the “influencer”, though so much as mentioning them begins to get too close to spoiler territory for my own comfort in writing this review.

The two interesting twists are deep in the book and *absolutely* spoiler territory to discuss, but I found them fairly well done and truly intriguing.

And yes, ultimately there are no technical flaws here. Yes, there were absolutely different things that different readers may have problems with – including the multiple POVs. But there was nothing wrong that begins to approach a universal, objective level, and thus the book retains its full five stars. Very much recommended.

This review of People To Follow by Olivia Worley was originally written on December 27, 2023.

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#BookReview: Kingdom by Jeremy Robinson and Kane Gilmour

And So It Ends As It Began. If you go into this book expecting a long, drawn out farewell ala The Return Of The King… 1) you don’t know Jeremy Robinson very well and 2) you’re going to be disappointed.

Instead, what we get from this tale is, while still a series finale, yet another typical Chess Team balls to the wall, running and gunning, always on the move either chasing or being chased action thriller with several scifi elements. In other words, everything that has made the series so amazing since its inception – when I initially scoffed when Robinson told me what he was working up, but have found supremely enjoyable since reading the very first words of the very first book, PULSE – is back in spades here. I’m not going to say anything remotely specific about the plot of this tale in this review, as I am among the very first with the honor of reading it. Just know that Robinson and Gilmour do in fact stay true to the spirit of this series and give it the ending it deserves. It has been an amazing what, 14 or so year run with this series? And while I’m sad to see it go, this really, truly was one amazing final chapter in this team’s storied adventures. If you’re into frenetic balls to the wall action + a few scifi creatures along the way… you’re going to want to read this book. If you like more technothriller type action tales… hell, Robinson and Gilmour have you covered there too, in ways somewhat reminiscent of some Matthew Mather, Dale Brown, and Tom Clancy tales, But if you haven’t read this series before… there are some pretty significant spoilers for prior books in this one, from throughout the series. So go back and start with PULSE, and be ready for one of the wildest rides of you life. For those who have already read the rest of the series, welcome home. You know what to expect here, and you have my word that Robinson and Gilmour do in fact deliver in some of the best possible ways. Very much recommended.

This review of Kingdom by Jeremy Robinson and Kane Gilmour was originally written on December 19, 2023.

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#BlogTour: The Vacation by John Marrs

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a complex, interwoven thriller with a lot of moving parts. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Vacation by John Marrs.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Complex, Interwoven Thriller With Numerous Characters And Flashbacks. Hell, the one thing to knock this book on is just how sudden the flashbacks and returns can be. Other than that, this is one of those twisty, complex, interwoven tales more about the people that find themselves at a particular hostel at a particular moment than any titular “vacation” – though, as you’ll come to see, every single one of them is truly on a “vacation” of sorts, so the title *does* work. I simply think the original title of “Welcome To Wherever You Are” may have actually been a more apt title for the tale.

If you want a single, simple plotline with a one or two true main characters and maybe a supporting cast… this isn’t that kind of tale. If you want a tale where there are definitive answers and everything is black and white… this isn’t that kind of tale. If you want an absolute mind fuck of a tale that makes you question your sense of reality… this isn’t that kind of tale, either.

Instead, this truly is one of those more interesting in between tales that shows a more accurate depiction of humanity and how we’re all flawed and we all have our own stories both before and after any given encounter, this simply happens to be the tales of those people who wind up being in the same Los Angeles area hostel at the same moment in time at the particular moment of the story here. If you’re looking for *that* kind of tale… congratulations. You’ve found one of the better examples of it I’ve ever come across in my own reading.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Vacation by John Marrs”

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#BlogTour: Pray For Her by Holly S. Roberts

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a pulse pounding thriller with one of the best prologues I’ve ever encountered. Seriously, this prologue makes the case for *every* book having one. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Pray For Her by Holly S. Roberts.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Goodreads, Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

Now THAT Is How You Do A Fucking Prologue! Seriously, I don’t normally tweet out or contact the author when I’m reading a book. After *this* prologue, I immediately had to tweet out how awesome it is, particularly given the various discussions in Boolandia regarding how many readers skip prologues or don’t enjoy them or whatever. I don’t mind books that don’t have them, but a well written one can really get a reader curious and/ or excited about the story, and this is one of the best written ones I’ve ever encountered.

Beyond the prologue, this is a tremendous tale, one that has been set in motion since the very beginning of this series – everything is now coming to a head, and Bennett and her team are about to be challenged like they’ve never been challenged before… and by the one person who terrifies Bennett more than any other.

Filled with pulse pounding action and intrigue, this is one of those mystery/ police procedural tales that really shows the true power of how great these particular types of stories can be – and yet, still, to get the full impact here, you really do need to begin at Book 1 and read through this point. Trust me, when you do you will absolutely devour this particular tale as well.

Overall a remarkably strong tale that could well serve as a series finale – or, equally, could simply serve as a trilogy conclusion and allow the series to continue on. I for one am very curious to see which direction Roberts (and possibly her publisher) will go there. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Pray For Her by Holly S. Roberts”

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#BlogTour: Our Sister’s Grave by B.R. Spangler

For this blog tour, we’re looking at the latest pulse pounding thriller in BR Spangler’s Detective Casey White series that introduces a new idea into the series for the first time. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Our Sister’s Grave by B.R. Spangler.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Pulse Pounding Thriller In And Out Of The Water. This is one of those coastal murder tales where there is actually quite a bit happening both in and out of the water – and our team is right in the thick of all of it, after a diver dies underwater. With this tenth entry into the series – written loosely enough that if one doesn’t mind spoilers about the team’s relationships, nothing about (most) of the prior mysteries is spoiled here, meaning it is mostly ok for new fans to start here and work their way back, should they so choose – Spangler actually manages to incorporate a few things not seen in prior books in this series, including a few particular cultural touchstones that it is genuinely surprising that it took him this long to use, given the region he has chosen to set this particular series. And man, when he *does* incorporate them… he almost makes me want to drive up I-95 a few hrs and get to the Outer Banks this weekend myself. Even though I am in no way, shape, or form a diver of any sense involving diving underwater. 😀

Overall another solid entry in this series, one where yet again the stakes are raised in so very many ways. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Our Sister’s Grave by B.R. Spangler”

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#BookReview: The Innocent Angels by Alison Belsham

Another (Mostly) Solid Entry In Series. This was a solid entry in the series for the most part, though perhaps it did have a touch of pacing issues. And yet I’ve struggled for nearly a week now to come up with words to put “on paper” about my experience with the book. Perhaps that is more on me though, as I really do think I’m reaching the limits of my own “hyper reading” abilities as new/ more pressing interests and needs come to bear in my life.

The book itself was intriguing in so many ways. The manner of murder, the placement, the investigation… and the personal, for the team. Specifically, I actually particularly enjoyed how an injury Lexi suffers at the beginning of the tale is worked throughout this story and isn’t just some random detail to make her “more relatable” – although it certainly does, to anyone who has ever trained for and ran a half marathon themselves. (Though to be clear, I managed to run 2 of them – separated by several months – completely injury free, back in my own running days. But getting injured during training or racing is actually a very common thing that I simply managed to be lucky enough to avoid.)

There were enough callbacks to the earlier books here to link it in series without being a spoilerfest for those books, so readers new to the series actually *could* enter it here – but I still recommend going back to Book 1 and entering the series there. On the other end, there wasn’t any real sense of continuation *needed* by the reader, so while I hope this series continues, it also wouldn’t feel incomplete if it ended as a trilogy. Still, here’s hoping we get many more books here, as I really do like the writing style and characterizations.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Innocent Angels by Alison Belsham was originally written on November 15, 2023.

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#BookReview: The Babylon Plot by David Leadbeater

Complex Heroes + *Dark* Villains + Taut Suspense = Winning Combo. While this particular tale almost seems like the ending of at least Phase 1 of these heroes (and you should absolutely start at the beginning of this series, rather than jumping directly into this book), this is also a book that features some of the most complex and complicated heroes I’ve come across in fiction – which is a worthy aim as an author, and one Leadbeater pulls off remarkably well. It also has some of the most brutal, sadistic killers I’ve ever come across in fiction – which is another win, certainly for those who like that particular type of villain. And seriously, from pretty well Page 1, the stakes are sky-high and never really drop, even as different team members get different parts of this particular tale to truly shine in. Truly one of the better crafted team-based adventure series I’ve ever come across. Very much recommended.

This review of The Babylon Plot by David Leadbeater was originally written on October 19, 2023.

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#BookReview: The Defector by Chris Hadfield

Former International Space Station Commander Channels Spirit Of Tom Clancy. Growing up, I *loved* Tom Clancy’s writing – and yes, I was reading it as a young teen, including Without Remorse in just 8th grade. Here, Hadfield – he the Canadian who rose up the astronaut ranks in NASA to have quite a remarkable career in actual space – brings us a historical fiction / alternate history spy thriller that truly does channel Clancy in both the spycraft and the technobabble. Yes, there are some intensely thrilling fighter action scenes, particularly in the early and late phases of the book. But while there is no 10-pages-covering-the-first-nanoseconds-of-a-nuclear-detonation level intensely detailed technical description… there is quite a bit more than at least some readers will prefer. I personally enjoyed it… but I’m also a guy that wrote a HS paper on the technical specifications and capabilities of the F-14 Tomcat fighter. Overall, the tale as told works quite well, though in the end it does almost feel like this was always meant to be the middle tale of a trilogy. As such, it does have quite a few spoilers for Book 1, The Apollo Murders, so those who are particularly sensitive about those things should absolutely read that book first. But then this book picks up soon after, and trust me… you’re gonna want to read this one too. Very much recommended.

This review of The Defector by Chris Hadfield was originally written on October 19, 2023.

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#BookReview: Baal by David Wood and C.B. Matson

Wild Ride Action Adventure. This one has everything – exotic (at least to American audiences) locations throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, unintentional/ intentional skydiving, long distance endurance swimming, running from bad guys via various means, lots of guns, a few explosions here and there… and a touch of the mystic, just because this *is* Maddock and Bones and, well, that’s kind of what they do these days in particular. 🙂 This time, they’re back with the more complete team, and as such this *is* one of the longer, more involved adventures – this isn’t one of the shortish adventures that may be able to be read in an hour or two, but it also isn’t so long as to feel out of place in the overall series or genre. So sit back, strap in, and enjoy the ride. Very much recommended.

This review of Baal by David Wood and C.B. Matson was originally written on September 16, 2023.

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#BookReview: Nemesis by Jeremy Robinson

τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας Νέμεσις. In one of the more famous Biblical passages amongst at least certain American crowds – and, based on Jonathan Edwards’ Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God and Dante’s Inferno (itself based on earlier works by St. Thomas Aquinas and non-Biblical yet popular Apocalypse tales that circled in the early centuries within the Christian community), possibly among the more famous Biblical passages in all of Christendom, St. Paul once wrote in his Epistle to the Romans “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NIV/ NKJV)

The title of this review is actually Robinson’s spin on that particular verse, which he essentially used to reboot and retell the story of Νέμεσις – Nemesis, the ancient Greek god of vengeance he originally crafted a balls to the wall kaiju action series around in PROJECT: NEMESIS. Which led to his very *first* ‘Avengers Level Event’ (my term for it) collaboration at the end of that series. If you want the actual translation of the title… you’re gonna have to read the book. Though this review so far should give you a pretty good idea of what it says. 😀 I can honestly say that the very first time I saw that particular phrase in the book, I IM’d Jeremy directly immediately and said “this *has* to be your next image in your TeePublic store“. It was that awesome. 😀

And the rest of the story is equally amazing, unexpectedly bringing back yet another creature from the Robinsonverse – whose origin even in its standalone tale was tied to an “alternate dimension” Nemesis + another connection to yet a third Robinsonverse tale, and whose origin remains intact (in at least these two respects) in this tale. Indeed, the unexpected just keeps coming within this tale, as the presence of this particular creature – and specifically how it is created here – draws Nemesis herself in for yet again more very creative monster/ kaiju fighting. Indeed, even for long time fans of Nemesis herself… old girl’s got some new tricks here, particularly since this is a *different version* of her. 😉 And not just Nemesis. Other features of those books also get entirely rebooted, including a new “Betty” with some interesting new abilities that turn our heroes into in some cases even more badass versions of a particular red and gold Marvel superhero. Also note to be missed is Robinson’s commentary on a particular 2010s era movie that may or may not have included one particular scene that may or may not have been *eerily* reminiscent of the earlier Nemesis tales, in one exact moment in particular.

One thing I need to make 100% crystal clear though: Old fans, new fans, whoever you may be: This is a 100% standalone book. You don’t need to know *anything* about literally anything to enjoy this tale as it is written. You don’t need to have read every Robinson book (or nearly so). You don’t need to have a deep knowledge base of Christian thought. You don’t even have to have any knowledge of pop culture (and in some cases, some relatively obscure areas that wouldn’t necessarily be described as overly “popular”, more along the lines of “cult” at best). This is still the New God of Science Fiction doing what he does best, and that which he does better than anyone else I’ve ever come across – giving you kick ass, balls to the wall, science fiction action/ thrillers that sometimes make you think, often times have connections all around that don’t impede the story, and are always upping themselves in just how creative their creator can be.

It is actually quite funny me in particular. Yet again, Robinson said “I’m working on this new concept” and said what it was. Yet again I was skeptical. And yet again, Robinson earned every praise I can ever give his storytelling and world crafting abilities. (I famously did this with the Chess Team/ Jack Sigler Adventures when he first told me about them – and they became one of his greatest early career innovations.)

Truly a fun bit of escapist science fiction that will nearly be as deep as you want it to be – and no more. Exactly what the best science fiction has always done. Very much recommended.

This review of Nemesis by Jeremy Robinson was originally written on August 23, 2023.