Review of THINK LIKE SHERLOCK

Think Like Sherlock

Peter Hollins

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

"Education never ends, Watson. It is a series of lessons, with the greatest for the last."

― Arthur Conan Doyle, His Last Bow

Hollins' book of how to think correctly is full of Educational information a young person should read and delve in. I was lucky enough to be trained by the best (Special Forces) at JFK Psychological Warfare Center in 1968 as my first Education after High School, so some of the principles he writes about, I knew.

However, as Sherlock might say, we learn something every day. How we use that lesson is crucial.  Hollins gives the reader much to mull over in a short space of time. You may want to re-read some ideas and put them to work.

Some are: how to critically think; working concepts of Pablo Picasso, Einstein, Henry Ford, and Holms, of course; Observations and Deductive Reasoning; Thinking Outside the Box; and much more.

Peter Hollins's writing is clear and concise. You will read, stop, and think about how you can use the principle in your world.  It is not a technical read, but one you will enjoy learning as you read.

I'll keep Think Like Sherlock in my Kindle as I have Conan Doyle's Holms shorts and novels, as you should too.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/35S1tzT

Review of Witch's Moonstone Locket

WITCH'S MOONSTONE LOCKET

MARSHA A. MOORE

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

I did not know what to think when I started to read this witch's tale, a fantasy? Well, I purchased it, read it, and enjoyed the storyline with strange happenings around the characters.

Owls and furniture spirits talked; winds controlled out of the north and the south; and a locket that helped a bereaved person speak to a dead parent. These are just a few of this chuck full of fun happenstances of a well-written journey into the life of witches.

Janice wants to talk to her mother who died before she could converse with her passing - to the spirit world. So, she goes to the witches' carnival to get answers.

Janice receives more than bargained.  She meets Rowe; the short love story brought on by the powers of the Moonstone Locket. 

This locket does more than bring them together. It is a cornerstone of a witches' coven and sets the tone for the mystical tale that follows, a war of a witch and the complications therein.

You'll have to read this fun adventure. I didn't know there were witches, did you?

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2OPTjOZ

Review of Trouble and Strife

Trouble and Strife

Ian Dodge Mystery, Book 2

Judy Nichols

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Cool, calm, and collective is Ian with his English accent is at the sight of an accident in the making, as it seems. A wealthy customer of a friend’s suntan spa is found toasted in Room #3 and 911 is called. The mystery begins.

Relatives of the customer sue the friend's spa and Ian Dodge, a detective, is asked to find out the facts. With his new assistant Ruth, he goes about his business wooing everyone around him including the instigator of the events.

Complicated family ties are the motivator of the mystery which unravels smoothly as Ian investigates. There is death, and the reasoning is understandable but tragic.

This mystery keeps your attention because of the well-written character's dialog and their personas. It has a few exciting events that help too.

I'll go back for another of Ian's adventures in the future. 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2MmcORE

Review of More Than Friends

More Than Friends & Forever: A Friends Novel

MONICA MURPHY

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Intelligent tit for tat of two senior High School students who find themselves as a couple. Even though they are in school, I did not read one 'Like' this or that, which I like.

What I didn't like is it is a series with never an ending even in the third book Forever: A Friends Novel. At the end of the Forever, the reader will get the impression that the couple might break up because of the sound of their words.

Jordan has been infatuated with Amanda since eighth grade. Because of a breakup, Amanda turns to the American football star, and they become an on/off again couple. He cannot communicate his feelings resulting in Amanda uncertainty in where the relationship will end.  

All the background stories enhance the main one, but I feel it is overwritten. The main dialog between Amanda and Jordan seems too intelligent even for honor students, as portrayed, but kept me wanting for more after reading More Than Friends.

I would have liked to have read one condensed book for this dramatic love story. More Than Friends is a tease and Forever: A Friends Novel is a bigger one.

If you are going to read this story, go for it, and read all the books in concession. 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2OXnKDA

Review of Fiji, A Novel

Fiji

A Novel

LANCE & JAMES MORCAN

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Fiji is an island adventure where the west meets natives that have little in common on the surface. Underneath the limited verbal communication, people are mostly the same when it comes to loyalty, friendship, and the fight against evil.

The Drakes (Rev. and his daughter) are missionaries and an industrious trader named Nathan arrive on a Fiji island where cannibals wait in the background. A group of them attacks the somewhat civilized natives which the westerners are coming to meet.

The visitors seem to have chewed more than what they bargained for when they decided to go to this particular island - Nathan to trade guns for a precious item and the Drakes to spread the word.

All placed in a battle for survival they want to get through fast.  A love story is a part of the struggle and a key to why Nathan does what he does, putting his life on the line for the good of the natives and Susannah.

The prose and the background are so enjoyable that the reader will feel the drums, follow the action, and feel for the natives with waiting eyes. It is a short read of a long narrative, well done.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2OErN7P

Review of A Grave Misunderstanding

A Grave Misunderstanding

A Simon Grave Mystery

Len Boswell

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Spiffy, strange, satiric are just a few words to describe this murder mystery. The characters are bizarre, and the background is full of unusual happenings.

Detective Grave, Boswell's protagonist, is presented with a strange murder situation. The subject is laid out with a hand cut off and no apparent deadly blow in a mansion built for a primeval king with Artificial Intelligence walking around like servants. 

Even more abnormal, when Grave arrives at the scene, the Medical Examiner is investigating the bloody stairwell while people are locked in a second story room making noise to be let out.  Lastly, more import to the eccentric owner of the castle is the theft of a trophy from the room.

The detection begins, and Grave interviews the occupants of the locked room. Each of these characters is abnormal in their way and add little to Grave's dilemma - Who secured the people in the room, stole the trophy from it, and killed the woman?  

How Detective Grave gets to the conclusion of this mystery which is a mystery in-its-self. The twist and turns are fun to read, but in the end, the reader will understand the findings.

MISUNDERSTANDING is an enjoyable quick read.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2LNL9bX

Review of Catherine and the Wind

Catherine and the Wind

A Meredith Series Sequel

AMANDA GALE

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Catherine, a somewhat recluse who is a Chocolatier, meets Wes, who at one time was Meredith's lover but she is happily married to Nick. Each of their families knows each other for various reasons, but distance keeps them from daily communication.

Wes, an up and coming lawyer in the community, goes to dinner with beautiful and quirky Catherine, who enjoys things 1930 vintage and Brahms. She is delightful and pikes his interest - one, two, three - marriage and a baby.

She fits him, not like Meredith, according to Wes' mother. The only problem is Wes is hiding something in his heart.

This story is a complicated one, well-written novella ready for the small screen. I will cut to the chase. Wes does know what he wants in a woman, and the ladies of the family know best. It takes Wes to go through a deadly event to realize what he has is best.

CATHERINE and the WIND is a pleasant long read into the way people interface and the way Catherine overcomes her battle with a little know mental affliction. Meredith, on the other hand, is an active player who overcomes family adversities.

If they don't meet again in the second book in this series, it is a crime. I enjoyed the tit for tat.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2NTZ0uM

Review of Bridge to Caracas

THE BRIDGE TO CARACAS

VOLUME ONE OF THE KING TRILOGY

STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

An excellent start to a trilogy about the King family in the oil business up until reaching Caracas, Venezuela. How this first volume evolves sets the tone for the rest.

The love story of Mr. King and his childhood friend culminates after he and she have not very good marriages. Her husband is the key to crime in the international oil business which conflicts with King's rise to the top on the legal side.

These conflicts become confrontational because of jealousy, greed, and control of her husband leading to violent events. At each turn of this thriller, the reader will not be waiting long for a result - positive or negative.

Mr. Douglas' characters are well defined, and the final clash when a billion-dollar decision brings this adventure to an end. It should bring back the reader for volume two which should be a fast-paced crime thriller as this. I will wait my turn.

Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2OrJJT9

Review of A GREAT WAY OF LIFE

A Great Way of Life?

JOE GLASGOW

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

I got drafted into the Army and re-enlisted. I was called nuts. The rest is history - Green Beret and medals, and I am still alive.

Joe Glasgow's protagonist’s family and friends have mixed feelings about his joining the military - nuts to a great job.  Opinions abound.

We follow the candidate through the process of moving into the Air Force, A Great Way of Life. For those who have been there, memories will come back, and for those that have not, you will enjoy his transition from civilian to Airman.

Funny and quick, the story was well put together, keeping me laughing. Looking for a unique point of view, this is for you.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2tDU5cA

Review of Trust & Treachery

Trust & Treachery

Echoes of Sol, Book 1

CHARISSA DUFOUR

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Larissa is an indentured slave in the future when traveling to Mars from Earth is normal, but not for her kind. Through circumstance, she is turned over to a new owner and ends up on a freighter carrying important cargo into space with a crew of eighteen men.

In this rough environment of space merchant marines, she starts to become a woman because of the kindness and respect she receives from the captain, his brother, and many of the crew. This beginning of a romance situation is the background to an adventure Larissa never imagined being part of at the age of twenty-two.

There are attacks by pirates, confused personal relations, and Sci-Fi adventure that Ms. Dufour writes in an easy to read style - slow at times but gripping at others. Not being a Sci-Fi buff, I may join Bit's, Larissa’s nickname, heroic adventure in the future.

I have read another of Ms. Dufour’s books, 'LIFE SUCKS,' and will return for more.

Purchase, free: https://amzn.to/2uV61DL

Review of LOVE FOR SAIL

LOVE TO SAIL

A Connie Barrera Thriller

C L R DOUGHERTY

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Two items attracted me to this novel: I had lived in St. Thomas, USVI for two years in the hospitality business and the Caribbean for twenty-eight. Moreover, I did a little sailing around the islands, mostly when I was living in Charlotte Amalia at the Virgin Isle Hotel as Asst. General Manager. Lastly, my sister's name is Connie.

Mr. Dougherty brought back memories with Connie doing what she learned to love - sailing, to the point she gets her Captain's license.  Upon acquiring her permit, with money dropped into her hands through cunning, she buys a 49,000-pound yacht, which she never sailed into open waters before.

Sailing that boat from the Chesapeake Bay to the US Virgin Islands turns into a disaster.  She takes on a temporary crew of two - a man and a woman to help her make the journey, because her man friend, ex-cop, sailor, and an excellent cook, could not make the trip.

Connie's crew has their illegal reason to make the trip that includes working for a mob figure. The male crew member presents a problem that leads to a deadly event.

From this point on, this thriller goes into rough waters. Will aid arrive on time? While waiting for it, the reader is kept on the edge of his or her seat wondering if any help is coming.

Fast pace, nautically correct, and well written with a character like Connie, you’ll be wanting to follow her the next journey. I highly recommend LOVE FOR SAIL for those who enjoy adventure and traveling, as much as I do.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2LdfktL

Review of CUTTHROAT

A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS

A Savannah Martin Mystery, Book 1

JENNA BENNETT

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Savannah is a newly minted Real Estate Broker who finds herself and a childhood acquaintance standing over the dead body of one of her cohorts, blood everywhere. She calls 911, and the mystery begins.

What makes this particular multilayer whodunit different is the characters, which are colorfully defined by the author.  Savannah, the lead, is your typical Southern Bell who has the propensity to evaluate the situation at hand, and she goes through some difficult ones.

The cast comes in all shapes and sizes.  An example is Savannah's childhood hunk of a bad-boy man friend who becomes an integral part of the situation at hand and the shade of a possibility of a romantic attachment, mostly on his side because her mother's words are in her head.

He and Savannah come in contact throughout this adventure which leads to an unlikely killer with a well put together ending that will have the reader wanting to go on. Book 2 is right around the corner.

This mystery keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figuring out the who, and why the crimes were committed. Savannah turns into a better sleuth than a Real Estate Broker.

Good Read:   https://amzn.to/2uzyiPX

Review of Two Rivers

The Peacemaker

TWO RIVERS

ZOE SAADIA

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

A warrior thinks and believes in other ways than his tribe; a young adopted foreigner upsets the comfort zone of the same tribe, and a young tribal woman is confused with the warrior's abilities and is interested in the foreigner. Enlightenment is in the mind of the warrior while the youngsters are coming to grips with their existence.

The plot is simple: each is upsetting the norms of the people who they live with on a daily basis, the warrior with his ideas and the young adults with their attraction to each other. The harmful elements of the tribe come ahead, and the Chief Warrior makes a decision that changes all three lives forever.

Some violent actions bring this story to a life-changing ending and into a new horizon: an inviting one which will lead the reader into the second book. 

TWO RIVERS is a novel that is easy to read because of the thought used in writing the story. It is full of nuggets of reasoning and understanding of what life should be in the world.

The prose flows nicely with some exciting events. The reader's attention will speed to the end in one sitting. As usual, Zoe Saadia has written a beautiful novel. I have read three or four; I have lost count.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2KKAJKy

Review of Six Easy Pockets

Six Easy Pockets

Cindy Blackburn

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Jessie is at it again in one of Blackburn's A Cue Ball Mysteries. She is snooping.

Receiving a telephone phone call on a landline from a wealthy friend who "Misplaced" his girlfriend, Jessie is distraught because the person misplaced is her 'Girlfriend' also. The mystery begins when she, the by day Romance writer, goes to the estate that is humongous, her words not mine.

Wilson, Jessie's hubby, does not get involved until her and another detective cannot come to grips with the missing person event, and the investigation becomes a deadly one. The large staff at the estate, family members, and Jessie's condo friends are included in the overall whodunit episodes.

The enjoyable way Ms. Blackburn brings her characters alive, including the villain, downplays the crime a bit but has the reader loving the main characters including the cats. Jessie, as in other Blackburn mysteries, ends up in the final act that is somewhat comical and deadly at the same time.

Will the villain come to justice? Only by reading this fun novel will you find out.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2MwVaqx

Review of Enlightenment NOW

Enlightenment NOW

The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism,

and Progress

STEVEN PINKER

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Put your thinking hat on your head. I am somewhat intelligent. LOL. To read this book, you need to be a person with cognitive intelligence.

It will be normal, when reading this extensive delving into the history of man's development through today's diverse world, to disagree or agree with some of the author's premises of that evolution.  A little background in Philosophy and Psychology will help you understand some of his ideas.

However, a reader, with limited knowledge of the above, will be educated by some for Mr. Pinker's detailed evaluations and defenses of his ideologies about the case studies enclosed which are liberal progressive leaning. In all instances, you will stop reading and think about the commentary whether you like it or not.

Apart from some of the author’s pontificating, the read was worth the price. I disagree with Bill Gates, it’s not the best book I ever read, which is subjective.    

Purchase at: https://amzn.to/2I8uV7x

Review of DARK WATER

DARK WATER

TW LAWLESS

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Peter Clancy is about to leave on a trip to a quiet place to write a book about his journalistic prowess when he receives a call from a family tie in Australia. Sam won't tell him the reason, but it is crucial.

When he arrives, nothing seems to have changed from his home township that he was 'Run out' of years ago, and there is still hostility by the ex-sheriff now politician festering.  A project that Sam is in an uproar over that politician is in the middle.

Peter evaluates the situation with Sam’s help and decides to use his abilities and goes to the town's newspaper to write an article denouncing the project. All hell breaks out when it is published leading to riots, more murders, and upsetting corrupt people that are behind the project.

How they resolve problems 'Down under,' is interwoven throughout this story to the 'Bloody end' in the Dark Waters of crocodile infested Outback. The suspense and intrigue will keep the reader involved to that end.

I enjoyed the characters that will lead the reader into the next book in this series. However, the novel stands on its own. It is straightforward prose with Aussie humor and ‘Way of life’ examples.

Good Read; Purchase: https://amzn.to/2J6bZeS

Review of What Happened in Vienna,Jack?

WHAT HAPPENED IN VIENNA, JACK

DANIEL KEMP

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

There are strange bedfellows in war and clandestine work. In “What Happen in Vienna, Jack?” it's a prince and the ruler of Germany meeting before World War II. The results of their encounter start a private Royal event kept out of the public eye.

Only a hand full of people knows the truth, which leads to criminal actions that fester. Influential people in the United Kingdom want the result of the seed to go away into perpetuity. Moreover, this quest is put into the hands of a few led by Jack Price and his recruit Patrick West.

This adventure, Mr. Kemp interwove a thrilling intergovernmental plot that leads to disaster for a few high-level intelligence agencies and wealthy people. His prose keeps you on your toes to the end following a spy expert and a newbie muddle through events at hand.

All-in-all, the novel kept me involved and gave me a vital view of understanding how the British 'Get about.' It may be the making of another James Bond movie, using the formable newbie.

Review of STORM COUNTRY

Storm Country

Book 1

JOYCE DEBACCO

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Dallas lookout; here comes STORM COUNTRY. Ms. Debacco's novel has all the ingredients that the famous American TV program drama Dallas had in the 80s and 90s.

There are characters you will love and others you will hate - white hat and black hats, cowboys of Montana. In this case, a matriarch Bonnie rules the Storm family of two men and a young lady with a soft but firm hand.

The men run the operations which include a large ranch and a hotel. The young lady is finding her way, and it is she that invites a stranger home to join the workforce.

He is overqualified which raises some suspicions with Bonnie, but she lets them go after his interview.  There is something familiar about him. The family adventure begins with love-hate relations brewing leading to a climax that entices you to read book two.

The well-developed characters bring this book one alive for the reader wanting to know what will happen to their future. The Storm family have a lot going on leading to suspense and a hook, by the writer, at the end that reader will want to continue to book two.

I enjoyed the prose and may purchase book two in the future which is not normal for me.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2kysu4M

Review of RUSH

Three Seconds to RUSH

Piper Anderson Legacy Mystery

DANIELLE STEWART

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Tara is near death with a needle in her arm, and her child, a distance away from her, nearing pneumonia, when the police find her.  When she wakes up in the hospital, the detective is reading her 'Her Rights.'

Using her only call, she calls a friend who she hadn't seen in ten years when she was fourteen and he sixteen.  Luckily, he is an excellent defense, but he doesn't believe her.

Their childhood plays an integral part in how they move in the right direction as to solving Tara's legal problems. However, Reid has a problem acquainting himself with what they meant to each other and for each other. 

They both have issues in dealing with society. Reid is a workaholic and lives like a hermit. Tara tries to do everything on her without a support system. 

With conflicts and reevaluations of their selves, they meet in the right place, leading to a conclusion the may not see coming. With support, the story ends in their favor.

The characters are thoroughly developed; the plot is interesting; there are twists, and the prose is thrilling until the end.

Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2Gskb2U

Review of Pancakes and Corpses

Pancakes and Corpses

A Peridale Cafe Mystery

AGATHA FROST

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Julia South is an exceptional baker, and everyone in a small town goes to her coffee shop to enjoy her delectable pastries and cakes.  Then one day a reporter tells her about a negative review of her store that the local newspaper is printing tomorrow.

She goes to confront the possible author of the article when the unexpected happens - Julia is in the middle of a murder. She dogs her way around town following leads.

In the process, she meets a man, the detective assigned to the murder case. They clash, and then they dance.

Julia's abilities have her ahead of her new friend in solving the case. He is new to the English town, so she has the advantage.

When the two come together, the case, in an unusual way, comes to a conclusion the reader will enjoy. 

The story is straightforward, but the reader is in the dark unless they understand Julia's explanation of the town people. The main characters are complete for a second novel in the series. They are likable.

Purchase:    https://amzn.to/2KCjK8L

Review of An Unexpected Nanny

An Unexpected Nanny

Constance Masters

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Twist of faith brings Curtis and Vi together. He needs a nanny, and she has the feeling to be a mother. They connect on many levels.

Curtis and Vi clash, coming from different backgrounds. However, there is something about her that draws him to her.

Vi connects right away with his child Rose. The two love each other at first sight which endears Curtis.

There are some twist and turns to the story, but the conclusion is simple to understand from a reader's close understanding of soap operas - love is in the air.

The characters are well defined while the prose leads you on to an ending which the reader probably knew from the middle of the book. The story is a bit of a tear-jerker.

Enjoyed. Purchase at  https://amzn.to/2rR1TUA

Review of Travess Blood

Travess Blood

Quinn Larson

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

'How the west was won?' is an intraocular part of USA history. Development continued because good concorded over evil.

In Travess Blood, the younger is wild and wants to live life to the fullest without abiding by the law. His elder brother is a lawman.

Their conflicts started in their youth but come to a turning point for the worst when Clint, the older of the two arrests his brother and friends robbing a Stagecoach and Troy goes to prison for his part. Every day in jail Troy's revenge grows to uncontrollable evil.

A Stagecoach robbery and murders happen weeks after Troy's and friends are released from their long terms in a strict discipline house of correction, which didn't seem to rehabilitate the criminal. Clint investigates this crime to find out, according to Troy's boss at the Circle-G where Clint's ex-lover lives married; Troy had not left the property.

Circumstance leads to other full investigations that produce an ending that Westerns are known for on the Big Screen. Throughout this sager, the tensions built to where good should overcome evil.

But does it? Not always. You'll have to read this raw human western story to find out.

Purchase:     https://amzn.to/2Ihdjva

Review of Rejection

REJECTION

A Lou Drake Mystery

Thomas K. Matthews

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

What would you do get published by a major house? Murder to become famous?

Lou Drake, at one time, was a detective. He got demoted to paroling the city with a partner, screwed up and was sent to The Cage for the few months he had left on the job.

How he got demoted is a significant part of his story and the background to this novel. He was a meticulous sleuth before he messed up a murder case. Why, is the unknown?

While working in the holding cage, a serial killer is on the loose who is murdering literary agents in unusual ways. Drake, a writer who can't publish his novel but keeps on going, starts to use the crimes as the basis of his new endeavor.

The events that transpire after he starts writing and investigating this string of killings upset the city police department where he works. The FBI joins the fray leading an investigation of the department.

How that end is an exciting and rejuvenating for the reader and Lou Drake's future. Not all ends well, but you, the reader will want to read more of his mysteries.

This is a book one of a series, but I don't see what characters will be carried over to two. 

Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2KqNLZP

     

Review of Mirror, Mirror

MIRROR, MIRROR

A Legal Thriller

DEBORAH HAWKINS

Review by Roy Murry, Author

Jeff, a big-time lawyer, past brings him down to earth. He loses everything because of it even though he claims the charges are false.

It seems that the legal world is one hundred percent against him. Jeff's life is turning upside down but being the fighter, he is, he muddles through and gets a plum case on his own against the people who brought him down.

The case and the people change him for good, leading to many conflicting emotions. He is a different man after a rollercoaster ride psychologically.

This change brings the reader to a surprising conclusion in a thrilling court case that one did not see coming. He finds out who genuinely cares for him.

Some of the main characters are prime for a sequel. The twist and turns of Jeff's existence in this novel will keep you awake all night as it did to me.

I enjoyed the writing much. Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2KmjH1n

FIERCE LOVE

FIERCE LOVE

Barrington Billionaire Series

Book One

DANIELLE STEWART

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

The Romance Genre is not my thing to read. However, I must expand my horizons by reading other than mysteries, my passion.

In Ms. Stewart's FIERCE LOVE, there is a little mystery. Libby, the lady who confronts James, the CEO of West Oil, is a mystery to him. Moreover, she is keeping those facts under cover until the covers come off.

Libby becomes James' executive assistant under false pretenses, and he seems to get the feeling that something is not right. All he can think about is getting her in bed, but he does not sleep with employees.

They go tit for tat over this fact until the pressure explodes. Then the truth comes out about a business agreement James did not know existed between Libby's family and his father who is in a coma.

Their new sexual involvement might go to the next level, but doubt seeps in, and they separate. Libby meets with an ex which leads to an explosive ending.

This novel has some clean sexual encounters if there is such a thing. The main characters are well developed, which will propel the series forward into other circumstances that billionaires find themselves in. I can only imagine.

Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2K6dS8f

Review of Cherry Pie or Die

Cherry PIE OR DIE

A Baker Street Mystery, Book 1

CEECEE JAMES

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Georgie, a young lady, moves to a small town to live near her grandmother who runs the Baker Street Bed and Breakfast. She is a tour guide et al. at the B&B, taking the visitors to historical sites around town.

The house is full, and Georgie guides a group to a Civil War haunted house. The tour ends with the murder of a guest that leads Georgie into her whodunit mood.

This novel is fun to read because of the character Georgie who is getting over a tragedy and is light-hearted about her surroundings but heavy-hearted about past events. She uses that to undo the mystery of Mr. Greens murder.

Without present-day computer search, which she uses, the mystery would have been almost impossible to unravel. However, the answer arrives with a 'Deadly Intent,' not dealing with modern equipment but because of a Civil War book.

This novel slants towards an Agatha Christie mystery. I'll be reading more of the series in the future.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2HPAR6I

Review of A Gambler's Jury

A GAMBLER'S JURY

VICTOR METHOS

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Dani Rollins has a client whom she believes is innocent because of his mental impairment. He cannot be a purveyor of drugs and pull off a deal.

The police arrest him in the act. How could this be? It had to be one of the other boys with him. Moreover, why does the District Attorney want and is trying her client as an adult when he is seventeen?

All the right questions to get answers to in this character-driven novel. Dani is a smart defense lawyer who pushes the envelope when it comes to judges and the prosecution.

They cannot see what she can. This kid does not have where all to have committed this crime. In court, she will prove it. However, can she?

All leads point to her client except the one no other person is seeing including Dani's private detective, who cares for her. Dani's family life is in the background of this quick read.

A Gambler's Jury is laid out in a way the reader may pick up the clues Dani and her detective missed up until the jury is in, which leads to an exciting ending. A good lead-in novel to a series.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2HjhamH

Review of Finding Claire Fletcher

Finding Claire Fletcher

LISA REGAN

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

A child abducted in plain sight, but the witness doesn't have a complete picture of the crime. The child is kept alive for ten years in a state of psychological indecision by a serial pedophile.

Claire tells a stranger who she is in the third person, sleeps with him, not having sex, and leaves her home address with the man. Intrigued and somewhat affected by the encounter, he, Detective Parks, goes to the address to find that she has been missing for ten years.

Finding Claire Fletcher is not only Park's investigation into where she is or went for ten years but also Claire's evaluating of her existence and finding herself. That assessment defines her decision mechanism. In the end, she rises to the occasion and so does her new involvement with the detective.

The story has many twists and turns that keep the reader asking why Claire is not running away. At each, there is an answer as to why with a surprise result. Just one event changes everything for Claire leading to traumatic endings separated by another game of the pedophile. 

FINDING is a fast-paced, quick read that devils into the mind of a pedophile and his victims. The read is worth the dime.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2H28qkE

Review of The House of Fez

The House in Fez

DIANNE NOBLE

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

“The clashes of two worlds” is the theme of this engaging story of two sisters who visit their mother in Morocco after not hearing from her for some years.  What they encounter, what they perceive to be, and how they cope with the people in the House in Fez gives the reader an education in differing cultural attitudes.

Leaving England, the twins, who also have not been close over the years, go to Fez to partially get away from their lives' circumstances - both have marital problems.

Arriving, their mother has changed and so is her living arrangement. She is now docile, married to a younger man who has another wife half his age.

This snowballs into the fact that the husband's whole family, his mother included, will move into the House in Fez. The twins have never had a family, according to their narrative, which rubs the women differently.

Muslims and Christians have deep-rooted ways of evaluating life and how one should live it. Ms. Noble does an excellent job of interpreting those conflicts in the story told within the pages of The House in Fez.

It is worth the read for pleasure's sake.  However, the content, the twin's narratives, and the way their mother copes for love will keep the reader evaluating each side's struggle to understand the other's. The ending is unpredictable but logical.

Purchase:  https://amzn.to/2qfYmxp

Review of Hidden Currents

HIDDEN CURRENTS

Lantern Beach Mysteries,
Book 1

CHRISTY BARRITT

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

A light-hearted mystery headed by a female veteran detective hiding from criminals on a tourist island is the theme. Everyone is easy going on the island except for Barritt's protagonist, Cassidy, her aka.

Being the person, she is, and an officer of the law in another State of the USA, she gets involved with a murder on the beach. Intermingling with the locals and the tourists, she finds herself involved in a way she never had before: meeting friendly people, one of which she helps immensely.

Keeping her wits about, she engages people she would otherwise not in her other life and feels better about herself. Investigating the crime is the center of her ambition, but maybe feelings for another could endear her to the island life, he, helping Cassidy to try and solve the murder.

Some twists and turns that keep the reader engaged. The characters are developed enough to move into a second book in the series.

When I came to the end of this novel, I thought, "Is that all there is?" Well, of course not, because there is Book 2 in the series.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2I2zLTW

Review of the BEAUTY SHOP

The BEAUTY SHOP

SUZY HENDERSON

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

As a Vietnam Veteran who has seen cohorts die from injuries, this novel rang true with the atrocities of war. This story is about the cruelty of burn patients in World War II and how one man helps changed their lives for the better.

B17s or flying fortress was the backbone of the Allied bombing effort against Germany. The men that flew in them and other planes had accidents that caused life-threatening burns.

The BEAUTY SHOP is the story of a burn victim, a lieutenant and his lady. How they met; how he ended up scared with burns; and how they each met the doctor of the beauty shop.

It is a love story intertwined with the horrors of war. This story is full of surprises and human reactions to the realities of war particularly that of how we treat our wounded veterans physically and psychologically.

At the time, they did not understand PTSD, as they do know. It plays a part when the lieutenant, after a burning episode returns to duty. The strength of his love becomes a significant factor in the ending of this well put together Chronicle of a man who cared for and operated on burned warriors.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2ueIoJ4

Review of Intrinsic

INTRINSIC

JERRY COLLINS

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

The Creator has a problem that he created in the name of Derideon (The Devil.) After numerous efforts, Derideon's army is about to rise again in the 20th Century with the help of one Kragon, a powerful sorcerer.

Unbeknown to Kragon, he is being used by Derideon. Kragon does not know that he comes from a long line of Good Sorcerers. The Lineage is presented to the reader, but Kragon is concealed from those facts.

With Kragon’s help, Derideon may rise again. Only time will tell because this seems to be the first in a series.

I found the book a bit wordy but fun to read. Mr. Collins lofty prose seemed to indicate the higher level a spirit like the two mentioned here in this review. It is at above us mortals - they talk an elevated level above ordinary people.   

The Bible's Old Testament type of godly killing of innocents is prominent for the promotion of world power by both sides of these fictional prognostic characters, interestingly put together.

If you like pure action, this is for you.

Purchase: http://amzn.to/2plQMAJ