Review of The Sun Thief

The Sun Thief (The Theran Chronicles)

By Stephen Jennison Smith

Reviewed by Roy Murry

Will history repeat itself in the future?  In some ways, it has in the present where the weak are controlled by the powerful.

Lizzie is taken from her world and put into slavery in another. Her journey is to get back home. Like Dorothy in the Oz, her home is only a portal away. Finding the way is a little more complicated for Lizzie. She can’t just click her heels.

Mr. Smith’s first book in a series is a little slow at the beginning because he is setting up the world as it is in this fiction with some present-day themes. It may be difficult for the reader to understand the fictional terrain, but it is worth the effort.

Lizzie’s adventure goes through lands with strange characters that are different. She is a learning curve that should lead her home.

Taking that journey with her leaves you in a conundrum. Will then end be the end? Stephen has let you hanging, wanting more, as a good first book in a series should do.

The prose is colorful and easy to follow after you connect the names. The storyline does draw you in.

Purchase at Amazon: https://amzn.to/2rqCELS

Review Of DCI Jones Casebook: Raymond Collins

The DCI Jones Casebook:

Raymond Collins

By Kerry J Donovan

This is a fast-paced police story a la TV’s Law and Order without the Order. You see part of the crime; the chase is on, and then the criminal is abducted with some police blood lost.

The case is simple enough: a man, who has mother issues, kills a woman. In some ways, the young lady has some of his mother’s characteristics. The murder has psychological problems – he talks to his dead mother throughout his miss adventure.   

No frill, character-driven thriller, moves along quickly to a clear conclusion with a few surprises. It’s a good lead into a series because Mr. Donovan has developed his characters to the point that you want to know what will happen to them next.

Casebook: There will be new cases that the English police unit led by DCI Jones will investigate coming out. I’ll be looking for them to put on my Kindle.

Free Today on Kindle at http://amzn.to/1S1YVTP

Review of A Circle Around Forever

A CIRCLE AROUND 
         FOREVER

                 By

  Robert K. Swisher Jr.

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

From the silence of the mind, everything begins. This I got from Freud’s writings, trying to answers Socrates’ questions, and reading books about the power of positive thinking. A seed is planted in the silent mind, and something positive or negative is produced.

Mr. Swisher’s tells the story of a young man named Shannon, who had read the Bible by age six, completed the encyclopedia by age ten, and could understand all known languages as a teen. With all his education, he wants to know his purpose.

A Platonic love affair begins on the first day of school, and he is loved by his mother. But, Shannon can’t like either of them until he can understand why he is here on earth, because of the diverse voices talking to him.

He sees images, who are directing his life. Because of their connection to Shannon, his mother and his sweetheart Katrina see the pictures also - ghosts?

Before graduating High School, Shannon goes on his journey to answer the questions that Socrates used to stimulate his students: Why are we here? What is love? Who is God? , Et al. The events that follow lead to the end. Only you can decide if Shannon's questions are answered.

Mr. Swisher’s characters’ creative and somewhat challenging dialogs propel the story/journey forward. The dark thought that was put into the prose will keep the reader thinking. And the ending will surprise all.

I recommend this novel for those who have inquiring minds – seeds will be planted.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1muATFc

Review of Sentenced to Death

Sentenced to Death

By Lorna Barrett

Reviewed by Author Roy Murry

Ms. Barrett effortlessly tells the story of a murder that seems to everyone to be an accident. Her protagonist, Tricia Miles, is the owner of ‘Haven’t Got a Clue’ mystery bookstore in Booktown, Stoneham, New Hampshire.

In this quiet small town, on Founder’s Day, to the horror of the participants, the airplane that is promoting the event, crashes into the platform where the speaker is announcing the day’s itinerary. From this point, Tricia goes into here ‘What if…’ mode, using her sister Angelica as a sounding board.

The clues appear to Tricia, but everyone she confides in believes that she is way off base and that the deadly event was an accident and nothing more.  She is the only one convinced that there is more than meets the eye.

Tricia, in her dog-like light investigation, unravels the coincidences by just conversing with those involved with no abusive questioning. What she comes across will surprise all who read this somewhat witty Whodunit.

The prose is fast pace, nonabrasive, and rather comical in a New Hampshire sort of way. A small town, where everyone knows everyone, is a hard place to hide from a sleuth as Ms. Barrett’s Tricia.

This is my second time reading one of Lorna Barrett’s Booktown Mystery novels. If you are a Mystery Lover, as I am, check out one of her books at the local library or buy one ala Kindle: http://amzn.to/1muB17x

   

McNeff's review of The Audubon Caper

The Audubon Caper

By Roy Murry

Reviewed by Arizona Deputy Sheriff and ex-Defense Lawyer

Mike McNeff 's Review of The Audubon Caper on Amazon 8/17/2015

A story of danger, intrigue, and betrayal …

I had a long career as a cop, and during that time I laid out the infamous option of "work for me or go to prison" many times. Roy Murry tells his story of when that opportunity was given to him. He made the mistake of thinking that just delivering a kilo of cocaine would be a quick deal for the easy money. It was... until a federal agent came knocking on his door. Roy then found out he no longer controlled his life.

Murry tells his story with a keen wit, sharp observation, and personal soul-searching. The story starts out a little slow but then it grabbed me like a fast current and carried me into a turbulent sea of danger, intrigue, and betrayal.

You'll have to read this real story to figure out who created the conspiracy and who betrayed who.

If you are interested in stories of investigations of the central crime plots told from the inside, you must read this book. Based on my experience, I can say every word rings true.

A great read.

Purchase at Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ShFH40

In Too Deep

In Too Deep, A New Zealand Second Chances Romance

Written by Tracey Alvarez

Reviewed by Author Roy Murry

If you are like me, you like books that give you a different perspective of the mating ritual. New Zealand is a place I would like to venture to, and one of their islands is the center of this romantic novel. The way they mate is communal and somewhat frustrating because everyone knows each other.

The beautiful picturesque description of that country is the backdrop of a love affair between a National Police Woman Diver, Piper, who returns home to a small island tourism village, and her childhood sweetheart, a Free Diver named West. They both have conflicts, determining whether their love exists and how to sustain it considering their past performances.

As in all Romance novels, there are love scenes. But Ms. Alvarez has a knack for keeping you on edge, despondent that the couple cannot culminate the situation. This will maintain the reader involved to the end.

The dialogue is witty and somewhat intelligent if you don’t know the language. It’s English that you need to be acquainted with to get the full meaning of each encounter of the two mating and the community they grew up in.

However, Ms. Alvarez does an excellent job of bringing the story to a climax. I enjoyed the tit for tat of the New Zealand characters portrayed in this engaging novel that starts the Due South Series.

Purchased at: http://amzn.to/1S20oJU

Review of Lost Soul

Lost Soul

By Malika Gandhi

Reviewed by Author Roy Murry

For you Ghostbusters out there, this is a good book for you. A spirit has taken up residence in her father’s Indian mansion for the last hundred years. India’s religious superstitions come alive when some villagers want to banish the spirit.

The spirit’s story is of guilt for the loved ones she lost. At times, she, the spirit, appears to a few villagers, who become her ally in her endeavor to ‘Crossover’ after finding her soul.

Mores of the past and present come together to bring the story to an end, where being a person is more important than following some precedent set down by ancestors. Love finds each of us in deferent ways no matter what our cultural background is an underlying theme.

Ms. Gandhi does an excellent job in explaining the Indian culture that is interwoven throughout this delightful story of anguish. The spirit finds her way after the visit of doppelgangers of the people she loved and lost.

This is a ghost/spiritual story you will remember.

Buy at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1muBKFV