Review of Lady of Conquest

Lady of Conquest

TAMARA LEIGH

Review by Roy Murry, Author

 "Keep Your Friends Close, But Your Enemies Closer," is a saying that is appropriate to describe the Lady of Conquest's main character, a Norman knight who was part of the invasion of 1068 Saxon's England. Knight Maxen keeps Lady Rhiannyn, a Saxon, close until he can find out who killed his brother. He died in her arms, and she doesn't know who threw the knife that did the deed.

The crux of the story is how close they get after many conflicts and disputes they and their countrymen have. Maxen and Rhiannyn learn that their people, as well as themselves, have common ground that can be built on.

Rhiannyn's beauty and her ability to sway Maxen’s strong-minded ebullient positions to do the right thing on many levels bring the two together over a period. Killings stopped, and a bright future is over the horizon happens when they bond to change the King's mind.

This medieval romance is not a normal one with its culture conflicts. I believe that the proper English language and decorum are used but not overwhelmingly.

Lady of Conquest is an enjoyable love story to read.

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Review of Murder of the Maestro

Murder of the Maestro

Georgie Saw Cozy Mystery #6

Anna Celeste Burke

Review by Roy Murry, Author

If murder can be fun to read about, Ms. Burke does a great job making it so. Her characters are interesting and engaging, especially Georgie’s husband who detects and the cats who at one point find a clue.

The clues of The Maestro's murder lead everywhere, one could conceive but not directly to the killer.  Only one conversation does that, and if you do not read many whodunits, you will miss the reaction of that character – the accidental killer of the maestro.

Another crime is in play which confuses the reader following the murder of a witness. Ms. Burke hides this well, and one may feel the killer is the same person, which may or may not be true.

Don't fret, Georgie will summarize after all is said and done at dinner on the veranda with hubby and friend. You will be amazed at Georgie's deductive thinking.

Murder is a fun read, so don’t peek.

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Review of The Intuitionist

The Intuitionist: A Novel

Colson Whitehead

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

The Intuitionist is the story of bias and racism in the world and a profession one would not think of - city elevator inspection. A woman of color becomes the first woman of color to get a badge as a City Inspector when new elevators were going up and down all over the city.

Lila Mae is an Intuitionist, which has a 10 percent higher accuracy in evaluating elevators as opposed to an Empiricist. Intuitionists are a negative group according to the guild, who don't believe you can communicate with an elevator.

One of Lila Mae's client's mechanism does a dead drop which leads to a significant professional upheaval. She turns into a sleuth to find the cause of the accident, hiding from the public and her cohorts.

In her investigation is a tale of corruption, deceit, bias, white male domination of a profession, and union battles. Where her story ends, is a surprise, the reader will applaud.

Articulate prose with racial allegories. Metaphors that will delight the reader, and images relating to a mundane subject as an elevator that is disturbing but understandable.

Intuitionist is an excellent read for the thinking mind.

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Review of CAT'S CRADLE

CAT'S CRADLE

KURT VONNEGUT

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

If you want to think and like satire, as I sometimes do, this read is for you. Not the thriller, mystery, or romantic type of novel one usually read.

The chapters are short chunks of defecation on humanity and where it is going - religion is all lies according to his invented religion Bokononism which is a lie too.  You will laugh but cry inside. Science sold and manipulated by man will destroy humanity – end of the world.

Global Climate Change was not invented science yet in 1963 when Cat’s Cradle was published. If Vonnegut were around today, I would think he would be a "denier," based on his opinions within.

Vonnegut's John is writing a book about one of the men who invented the atomic bomb. In his investigation and interviews with the man's children and others on an island, he confronts questions of why humanity goes on complicating itself. 

When reading this novel, you should have some knowledge of the Cold War to understand Vonnegut's strong points of view which come through clearly in his dancing around the subjects of why we are who we are. At the time, nuclear war with the USSR was near. (North Korea and Iran today?)

This novel is a must-read for people who are intellectuals and those who think they are. Which are you?

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Review of LUKEWARMING

    LUKEWARMING

    The New Climate Science

    That Changes Everything

    Patrick J. Micheals

                 and

Paul C. Knappenberger

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

I have listened to Main Stream Media and heard many debates concerning Global Warming over the last fifty years. Moreover, when President Donald J. Trump pulled us out of the Paris Accord, I started to think about it again. Was he right in doing so?

LUKEWARMING came up in an interview. If you hated President Trump, like many, you would call him and others "deniers" and pay up accordingly to an agreement, not a treaty that President Obama signed because he could not pass it through Congress.

The wording of the original document was President Obama's dilemma. He signed another executive order in essence. Hail to the Chief.

The two scientists from the CATO Institute who penned LUKEWARMING, in so many words debunk the notion that the world is in danger of over warming to the point of the coastal loss in Florida (a 1989 prediction by Al Gore and others) and other HOT predictions. They write their truth about those government paid prognosticators whose "Sky is falling" ideas brought the craziest surrounding their predictions.

Using mathematical and logical comparisons, these CATO scientists present a simple understanding of what is happening to the earth that an individual like myself can understand. You will find too.

Cut to the chase: President Trump is right as these scientists suggested before him taking office - the Paris Accords would hurt only the USA and the EU. The rest of the world would receive funds for the wrong reasons.

Easy to read, with short paragraphs and uncomplicated descriptions of their observations. The read is worth the price, but it should be free so people could know the truth.

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Review of ON THE HOOK

On the Hook

Smith and Westen Mysteries

Book 1

Cindy Davis

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

This mystery was a fun book to read, because of the characters investigative abilities which were nil, according to their interpretation. Smith and Westen are engaged to find a missing Picasso because of a friend's position as an insurance underwriter when the painting got stolen.

Each of the women has their problems and need the finder's fee, so they proceed to do due diligence in their quest. That search leads to some enjoyable confrontations, by interviewing the people involved in the action that brought about the theft.

The two detective ladies ask the right questions, but it is their ingenuity and visual perception that lead them in the right direction. Their combined talents would make Sherlock smile - they think out of the box and outsmart professionals in the task at hand.

I enjoyed the banter amongst the two and the prose of the author.

I'll be back sometime to see if Smith and Westen will shoot straight again with little bloodshed. 

Purchased at $.99: https://amzn.to/2zsvw1l

Review of Under Dark Skies

UNDER DARK SKIES

        NightShade

Forensic Files, Book 1

A.J. SCUDIERE

Reviewed by Roy Murry, Author

Eames has abilities an average person does not have and her newbie partner Donovan shifts from man to wolf. Both FBI Agents are assigned to a case in the unit NightSade.

They are the main characters that the author spends much time evaluating - the case, each other, and themselves. Their stories are interesting and strange but give the basis of a good character driven book one in a series.  

Although the story of a cult they are investigating is good and suspenseful, I found too much repetition about the characters. The author keeps you wanting more, but the ending was anti-climactic not with a proper lead into book two, which I'll pass on.

Purchase: Free on Kindle  https://amzn.to/2D0sqFd