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.

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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.

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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