My Buy Essay

Posts Tagged ‘suspense’

The Crack in the Teacup, by C.M. Albrecht, is a mystery fiction novel with a slight seasoning of romance and suspense to spice things up. The story line is centered in a small Californian town where an 11-year-old boy, Jerry Beakey, goes missing on his way to a music lesson. Author C.M. Albrecht skillfully walks the reader through every aspect of the case and what happens in police departments, support centers and within the family of the missing person.

There are two main characters in The Crack in the Teacup. Detective Steve Music and his co-workers butt-heads with the FBI while working on the case. Lovely, and sympathetic, Shelly Lambert guards an awful secret and harbors a guilt that drives her to volunteer at the Missing and Exploited Children Coalition whenever she could get away from her job as a Notary.

Whenever Detective Music and Shelly meet during the investigation, something deeper between them happens. Neither of them seems to know what to do about it. Steve discovers Shelly’s secret when he looks into her past and creates a huge rift between them that could destroy their romance.

A classic who-dun-it written in the Agatha Christi style with a very unusual motive for child kidnapping. I suspected nearly everyone involved at some point in the book and I liked that the characters represented true society, with people of different races, ideals and backgrounds. The Crack in the Teacup has very little violence, but a lot of mystery and a happy ending.

ISBN#: 1-59466-037-9

Author: C. M. Albrecht

Publisher: Port Town Publishing

The dedication in this book is a work of poetry in itself. I had a distinct recollection of ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’ when reading this book, but this story has some very unique twists and turns. The characters seemed very real to me &ndash I live in a small town and we are just like that!

Here, we are shown the psychological cycle of the victim of domestic violence (Alison) and her growing awareness that some things can change for the better, trust can be had and given, and faith in inner strength can grow.

Like many who crawl out of hellish conditions, Alison did not do it on her strength alone, but through a few strong, giving individuals who contributed a gesture or a friendship along the way. Yet, most healing of all is to find a new, healthy love and good, solid relationships with others &ndash a most difficult thing for victims of abuse to do. If it was the author’s intent to use the main character to bring depth and understanding into what people go through in situations like these, then she accomplished this goal admirably!

Readers are shown how being rich, good looking and well-educated &ndash having all the benefits one could desire – cannot lead to happiness. Mr. Bruce Cockburn says it best in a song of his which says ‘though chains be of gold, they are chains just the same’.

Amey Tippett has accomplished a work of art with this book. I really felt like I was right there watching the children play during the festivals and feeling the pain and fright of impending danger, and endured the hellish nightmares along with Alison.

This was a fantastic read and I would not hesitate to recommend Alison’s Journey.

ISBN#: 1413740073

Author: Amey Tippett

Publisher: Publish America

Author of two books and many short stories, J.P. Ransom is busily writing a series of books called Colla’d Greens and two more upcoming books including a sequel to Born Evil.

Born Evil is a compact, 150-page book that is printed on acid-free paper &ndash which may be of interest to the environmentally conscious consumer. I would categorize this book as a chilling horror, which involves an infant that is born evil. Traumatized by early experiences, only compounds Jonathan’s natural inclination &ndash a cruel desire to cause harm. Unprepared for a disturbed child, his adopted parents are continually wallowing in deep pits of overwhelming uncertainty. Rick suspects the truth, but Trish finds it very hard to imagine or even accept that little Jonathon is capable of such hateful acts.

I think the book makes a good point that some people are simply born with a desire to do harm, with no abusive situation to attribute these urges to. Readers are also shown how these urges can easily be encouraged through socially acceptable entertainment and through being witness to violent acts.

While reading Born Evil, I experienced a wide range of emotions from anger to sorrow and shock. The conclusion was exceptional and I look forward to J.P. Ransom’s sequel.

ISBN#: 1410788520

Author: J.P. Ransom

Publisher: Author House

Jocelyn has an excellent knowledge and understanding of the writing craft. The author interweaves multiple, strong, leading characters and two completely different time frames masterfully. Crest of Eagles reminds me of some of the great works of Wilbur Smith. This book certainly ranks with some of the best that I have reviewed to date and I would not hesitate to give Crest of Eagles the highest rating available.

Mandhla is taken prisoner by terrorists during an attack of a mission run by white people with generous hearts for children who had no one to turn to. Everyone was mercilessly killed except those who could not be turned into soldiers or whores.

Peter Kennedy, leader of the top military team, set out to save the children, but in fouling the job, Peter earned the revenge of one very mixed-up boy. Kuru joins Peter in the war against the terrorists with the hope of saving his brother &ndash never dreaming that when he did meet Mandhla again, it would be as enemies.

Ancient tribal religion works its way into present day. The lives of Tcana, a high priestess, and Rebecca, a bombshell journalist, are connected in some kind of cosmic manor – though they live centuries apart.

Romance, adventure, suspense, ancient tribal history and modern day action &ndash this book has it all! Crest of Eagles is destined to be one of the most dog-eared fiction books in my collection.

ISBN#: 0976773252

Author: Jocelyn Howe

Publisher: A Better Be Write Publisher

When I first read the basic theme of the book, I thought seemed far-fetched. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, the last 30 pages were so spell-binding everything else in my life had to wait until I finished the book. Author Margaret Lenois takes on a difficult task with this serial killer story line. Deadly Duplicates is a fiction novel about super-natural identical Siamese twins that would fit in with the genres of suspense and psychological thriller.

Separated Siamese twins Deborah and Doreen Price were the subjects of gossip for hospital staff from the moment they were born &ndash and it was not being identical or their scars that set them apart. As young children, their mother’s mind snapped after several frightening and horrifying events including witnessing her own parents being burning alive in her childhood home. Yet she must rein over her self-imposed comatose state in time to save her girls.

Has their mother been absent so long that she cannot make a difference? Can the love of two detectives &ndash the very men who adore them at home, but investigate the murders by day – save them? Read the book and find out!

ISBN#: 0976773244

Author: Margaret LeNois

Publisher: A Better Be Write Publisher

What certainly stood out for me in Barry Southers novel, Queens and Crescents, was his strong and deep feelings for his family that Barry made apparent in the dedication for this book. The love and appreciation he shares here is actually quite touching. The introduction does a good job of setting up the book through a discussion of happiness and success in today’s society.

Readers will find plenty of action and suspense in this murder romance novel. The main character here is Sean Martinez, a 28-year-old divorcee who works a mundane position in a mortgage broker firm. For Sean, life is just one day blending into the next. He just could not get over his wife leaving three years ago with her old lover. If there were a need for an example of a man in dire need of a vacation, Sean would be chosen.

Spurred on by a radio commercial one excruciatingly hot day, Sean’s vacation destination is decided for him. There, he finds true love, fascinating passion and discovers the power of intuition and fate. Cruel crime lords fighting for position, bloodcurdling hired killers and a heavy loss bring Sean back into living life for what it is.

I was impressed with Barry’s writing style because I could really picture the scenes in my head. I felt he delved deeply into the psyche of his characters, making them seem much more real than many authors are able to do. Queens and Crescents may take readers only a day or two to read, but the characters will remain alive in their minds for a number of days.

ISBN#: unknown

Author: Barry Southers

Publisher: Publish America

Keith Sinteris and his wife Malena (the brains of the operation) hire three skilled accomplices (Stony, Bartolo and Duane) to kidnap three hostages from a monastery along with the holy tabernacle containing consecrated “bread”. For all her planning, Malena had no way of knowing just how awry the hostage taking could go.

Detective Jessica Harding and FBI Agent Rob Dexter are on the case. Strong willed and quick witted, Jessica puts the FBI agent in his place from the moment the two were introduced. Intrigued, Rob cannot get her out of his mind. With so few clues, the odds are stacked against the two “good guys”, yet they struggle on while the immense ransom demands continue to haunt the Catholic Church.

This is a well-told story line involving a mysterious home on an island that has a distinctive secret. The author uses scenes such as the fantastic cave hideout, the lung-busting chore of stashing loot and a magnificent storm to heighten interest.

There are several unique aspects to this suspense-filled novel over others in the adventure crime thriller genre. For one thing, the two women are the strongest characters – both leaders and quick thinkers, but on opposite sides. The Island off Stony Point certainly conveys the inherent goodness of people but also shows the great lengths that desperate and driven people will pursue. I also thought it was interesting that this is actually the second novel involving the leading hostage character, a Father Martin &ndash who was in Regis’s first novel, The Oculi Incident.

Kudos to author Regis Schilken for this excellent novel!

Author: Regis Schilken

Publisher: Bridgeway Books

ISBN#: 1-933538-13-9

Pages: 220

Marshall Frank, author of six books, has proved an exceptional ability to write absorbing who-dun-it’s time and time again. According to his website he is able to do this by embellishing on real life experiences during his 30-year career investigating homicides in the Miami-Dade region of Florida. In doing so he creates a realistic, action-packed, suspenseful detective story with his recent release, The Latent &ndash a fiction novel, that I found difficult to put down.

The Latent focuses on one main character – the completely stressed out, heart-broken police investigator, Rock Burgamy. Haunted by a childhood experience and the loss of his young son, Rock battles an inclination to numb his sorrow and stress with booze. And these are not his only secrets. Twice divorced, Rock is slammed regularly with alimony and child support payments for his two other children. In order to keep up with it all, Rock must take as much overtime as possible. Unfortunately, with all of this happening at once, he delves further and further into the bottle. But he is a good man, a stubborn man who will not let a case go unsolved without giving it his all &ndash even if it means his life or sacrificing love.

A chain of gay men killings appear to have a connection and over-worked Burgamy is assigned the case. Plots thicken as the investigation deepens and poor Burgamy walks into several situations that set him up for a fall so big that he cannot get out alone.

Fantastic and intriguing insight into the underground street-sex establishments is only one of the many angles in this book. Problems within the police department from budget constraints and personal temptations to office politics is another. I am confident that The Latent will take readers inside this dark and dangerous world so smoothly that everything else fades away unnoticed.

ISBN#: 1-4137-9890-x

Author: Marshall Frank

Publisher: Publish America

Published: 2006