Our Friday Review - June 9th, 2012

Full Body Contact
by Carolyn McCray and Elena Gray
Review: 5 Stars

Full Body Contact by Carolyn McCray and Elena Gray is action rich romance with plenty of grit and suspense. Although it's touted as a thriller by many reviewers, I'm reluctant to throw that label around without the romance firmly affixed. Why? After finishing the novel, I felt the characters' relationships and psychology played a much larger part than the criminal investigation plot. Much of the suspense and most of the thrills arise from the dangerous relationship between the main characters Detective Alexis Reed and prime suspect Travis Dekker. This is in no way a negative. I just feel that simply calling it a thriller might not leave it open enough for other audiences.

Travis Dekker is a prize winning Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) champion and the prime suspect in the violent death of his girlfriend as well as others. Damaged by his reputation for losing control in the ring (and possibly during other violent activities), he no longer competes. Instead, he operates a gym to train future hopefuls. 

As the only detective with some MMA training, Alexis Reed is the best choice in her unit to investigate Dekker. While her coworkers Nick and Grace are both seasoned detectives, Alexis has the right look and experience to go undercover as Dekker's student. Neither of her colleagues are happy with the choice, Nick in particular. Having dated her, he's become protective which makes Alexis uncomfortable. But the girl detective is driven. She's had to work hard to get where she is and won't miss out on the opportunity. 

Almost immediately Alexis ('Lexie') gets caught up in Dekker's dangerous nature. She discovers she's attracted to his danger and begins to take extraordinary risks and rationalize Dekker's behavior. As her desire for the suspect escalates so does her own risk taking. Will her naïveté and inexperience jeopardize her investigation or lead her into something much worse?

Shorter than most novels but longer than a 'single', this is a good quick read. It's the perfect length for those times you crave a read but can't invest a lot of time - like during a road trip or air travel. Although the sex does get very steamy, so if you're a blusher, maybe not. Save it for the hotel room. 

For the romance part of the story, I would have preferred the ending to be a little longer. It also might have been nice to see a little more tension between the Alexis and Nick characters. I felt that relationship could have been fleshed out more (no pun intended) and it could have added a little more depth to the story depending on how it was tackled. However, as a quick light read it doesn't really need anything else, so I've reviewed it that way.

As a thriller, the action is tough and the fight scenes brutal. There's enough going on to keep the reader engaged and scrolling through pages right up until the end. All in all, it's a tidy little romantic thriller or thrilling romance - your choice - worth the cover price. So if you like your romances with kick or your thrillers with heat, this could be the novel for you.

Reviewed by: E. Bard
@itsyournovel

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Our Friday Review!

Widowmaker: A Thriller for Horror Buffs 

by Carolyn McCray and Elena Gray 

Review: 5 Stars

If you're ready for a good scare but it's not quite hot enough where you live to seek out the cool dank atmosphere of a movie theater, here's a great place to start: Widowmaker: A Thriller for Horror Buffs by Carolyn McCray and Elena Gray. This was a great fun read that starts with an idea that's been around before - a movie that can kill - but then twists itself into something altogether original and entertaining. Here's the story blurb from Amazon:

Terror in the Trees, the latest uber-low budget slasher flick is slaying people... literally. But is it all hype or is there an evil force behind the supposed deaths? Special Agent Bolder had best find out before the President attends the Hollywood premiere...

The blurb really doesn't do the story justice. There's just so much more to it. It has all the elements of a campy horror movie mixed with well developed believable characters, humor, nail biting suspense, conspiracy and a completely unpredictable ending. The story wasn't the only part of the novel with such a surprise ending either; the endings for several characters were highly creative (and of course, sometimes rather gory). But getting back to the ending - wow. I really couldn't have predicted that one.

When it comes to horror suspense novels, there's very little to complain about in this one. I recommend it. Particularly if you're a horror movie fan looking for something a little unexpected. The pace is fast. The characters are fun (Mitchell was my favorite). A lot of characters die, including some of the more appealing ones. But yes, I will admit that the Baxter brothers are kind of two dimensional as far as characters go - it just makes them fit the story better.

I first read this novel back in January and the copy I had was an earlier version that had formatting issues on my reader. In places it was difficult to read. I am happy to say that this updated linked version doesn't share those issues. It's a very good deal at its current price of $0.99 on Amazon, but I would pay more and feel it was money well spent. Five stars.

Reviewed by: E. Bard

@itsyournovel

*********************

"The Marks of Cain" by Tom Knox

When David Martinez receives an ancient map from his dying grandfather, he is led into the heart of the Basque mountains, where a genetic curse lies buried- and a frightening secret about the Western world is hidden. Meanwhile, London journalist Simon Quinn is investigating two violent murders. Both victims had once been interned in a top-secret Nazi camp-and both came from the Basque region.

My brother recommended for me to read Tom Knox’s book, “The Marks of Cain.” The blurb intrigued me as did the first chapter a disturbing look at Simon Quinn’s life, his descent into alcoholism and his brother’s violent, bloody attack on their mother.

The chapters jump from Quinn to Martinez, an orphan who’d dying grandfather gives him a map an and a mystery, one that leads him into danger, and back again, giving two sides to a very complex story. One that at times is hard to follow.

Here’s the thing about this book. The premise is truly intriguing, the idea of subspecies of human’s is a bit mind boggling but Knox blends the facts and fiction well. The action is fairly consistent and well paced, and the book is downright beautifully written despite much of the content involving rape, murder, torture and multiple holocausts. There is no denying that Knox can write, and write very well.

So why did I only give it 3.5 stars? Simple, I had no problem putting the book down. A fact which happened multiple times. For me, a true thriller grips you to the point where you HAVE to find out what happens next. That point didn't happen for me until around the 300 page mark and there are only 430 pages in the story. It was at that point that the pieces of the story began to make sense, that I began to truly want to find out what was going on.For me, there wasn’t enough in the beginning of the book to truly draw me in. The mystery just wasn't strong enough for me to care about. If I hadn’t been reading this book for a review, I’m not sure that I would have finished it and that would have been a shame as the last 130 pages were exactly what a thriller should be.

Fast.


Deadly.


Mind boggling.


Reviewed by Shannon Mayer


Twitter- @TheShannonMayer


Blog- Wringing out Words

Review of Resurrect by Kane Gilmour

Recently, I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of the action adventure novel Resurrect by Kane Gilmour for review.  I understand this is a first novel and to say it was impressive would be an understatement. It was a thrill read to say the least. Lucky for us, it's only the first in what promises to be a series of fictitious adventures featuring engineer and rock climber Jason Quinn.

Starting out like a well researched historical fiction novel, the reader is first thrown into 19th century China at the end of a rebellion. It was engrossing but after reading the novel synopsis I wasn't sure what to expect. What I can say is that this historical snapshot was a great introduction to the story. It let the reader know right away that they would be in for some very intriguing situations with just the right amount of detail and action. Jump ahead to a second, very different scene with an old man about to embark on a secret journey. Initially I was puzzled, like I was being handed torn pieces of a photograph to piece together, but that only drove me further into the story to find out what was going on.

It's after this part that the real story begins.

It's the present and a small team of archaeologists is on its way from a dig site near Xinning to Hong Kong via an old Xinjiang Airlines aircraft.  With the archaeologists' plane crashing far from its intended destination and what then turns out to be a series of narrow escapes from unknown assassins, the reader is introduced to the real hero of the story, Jason Quinn. Together with his friend Curtis Johnson, Jason takes it upon himself to protect the lone surviving female archaeologist from the pursuing assassins. Not surprisingly, she is the intended target and an unknowing part in a conspiracy that proves to be far reaching.

Now I don't know about every reader, but sometimes the more implausible the action scene the more I enjoy it. And there were plenty of those such action scenes. If you were thrown from a speeding train, then miraculously found your way over a mountain back on to said train only to be throw off again...  how good would you look? If you were Jason Quinn, pretty darn good.

For me, the action scenes were the best part of the book.

Over all I found it to be a very entertaining action thriller. Well paced and hard to put down, it reminded me of a few international thrillers that take the reader on an adventure from one exciting locale to the next. Well worth it if you love the genre.

 I should also point out that like many books in this genre, there is that possibly controversial aspect to it. It does paint quite a large number of people belonging to one particular culture in a villainous hue. So I guess it depends on how politically correct you like your fiction. Some readers are sensitive to that kind of thing while others remember that it's just fiction.

The reason I held back on the full five stars was that the ending seemed a little too abrupt for me. It wrapped up just a little too quickly and I really felt there should have been more - really, there should have been. But of course that's just my opinion. I can still see many readers giving it five stars. In fact, many have.

It should be a best seller. Here's the Amazon link.

Reviewed by E. Bard

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Review of Encrypted by Carolyn McCray

What would you do if the black plague suddenly appeared again, in your own backyard? What if it was put there by a “Higher” order who thought to cleanse the earth and remake it in their image? What if the only hope of survival for the ENTIRE planet lay in the hands of a Hacker, her quirky, flirty, fashion obssessed assistant and the FBI agent, said Hacker, should NOT be having a secret affair with?

These are just a few of the questions posed by Carolyn McCray’s new novel, “Encrypted”. The black plague once wiped out half the world, and someone has made plans to repeat the scenario, only this time with a weaponized strain that is deliberately placed so that it spreads . . .fast. The Robin Hood Hacker is the only one with enough brains, talent and OCD to crack the code IF she can get to all the pieces on time. With the “Hidden Hand” the organization who set these events in motion, dogging her every step, it’s hard enough for a girl to find the clues, not to mention have a split second to make out with the FBI agent she’s been lusting after for months.

"Encrypted" is fast paced. Make that Formula One fast paced. Don’t expect to be able to put it down. Filled with gadgets and gizmos that would make any techie weep with rapture, fire fights, chase scenes, close calls, deadly turns and laugh out loud humour, Encrypted kept me glued to my Kindle until it was finished.

I will say, that as a reader of not only thrillers, but romance too, I was hoping *fingers were crossed* for perhaps even just a little more lip action between the leads. But, since there is a sequel, Cipher (which comes out winter of 2012) I look forward to finding out how this completely star crossed couple manage their love life in the middle of the next crisis. Which I can only imagine will again have readers ducking and diving as if they too were in the middle of the chaos the characters will find themselves in.

If you love a fast, gadget riddled, great read, then Encrypted should satisfy those needs. You can find "Encrypted" on Amazon and it is currently only .99 for its launch.

5 STARS

*If you are looking for additonal books by Carolyn McCray, she has several for free INCLUDING "Encrypted" from March 14-18 only click HERE for the details*

Review of Fatal Exchange by Russell Blake

The Sexiest Main Character, EVER

A review by Landon Cocks

Some of you may have read my previous reviews of Russell Blake’s books and come to the conclusion that he and I are friends or relatives. The truth is, although I only met the guy a few months ago, I have a strange fascination with him and his writing.

I have two reasons for this fascination:

1) His sense of humor is uncommon and his jokes, diatribes and observations about life help me smile through the drool.

2) The man can write. Period. Like, demon powered.

If you haven’t read any of his stuff, do so, and do so now. Can’t decide which riproaringly crazily paced thriller to begin with? (Yes, another dangling preposition. Get used to it. That’s how we speak.)

Try this one: Fatal Exchange. Just when you think it’s about an international currency scam involving a small Asian country and the highest levels of the U.S. government, which it is, you get smacked in the face by the sexiest main character ever created, Tess Gideon. She’s a bicycle messenger on the streets of New York trying to “find herself” while working every muscle in her lean, taut and tattoo covered body in a race to deliver her daily intra-office correspondence on time. Not only is Tess beautiful, sensual and sultry she’s also quite intelligent and hides a soul that could change the world if it was released.

Don’t worry, there’s plenty of trademark Russell Blake action and suspense to go along with the breakneck pace of this novel as the story develops from a small apartment in Myanmar through a run down tenement building in New York City, finally erupting in the offices of the U.S. Treasury. Like all his books, Mr. Blake has chosen a plot that sounds too believable to NOT be true.

And there’s Tess. Dark hair, green eyes. And bad guys chasing her. Yes, please.

I give this book a five-out-of-five star rating. Great book.

Fatal Exchange can be found next to all of the Russell Blake titles on Amazon and his website, http://russellblake.com

If you'd like to learn more about the reviewer, please visit:

Website: jlandoncocks.com

Twitter: @JLandonCocks

Facebook: J Landon Cocks