FLIGHT OF THE SPARK

FLIGHT OF THE SPARK

Book 1 in The Outlawed Myth Series

EVELYN PUERTO

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

Despotism vs. Freedom is the central theme of this award-winning Young Adult Fantasy. It is how the Villages and Riskers unite or stay apart; a Villager can never question it.

Iskra, a fifteen-year-old girl, is a resident of the Villages. A nail-biting event brings her into the Riskers' homeland, where people can ask questions and do as they wish - it is another world.

In the Riskers' camp, there are sparks between Iskra and Xico. However, she must go back home. It is the rules.

The risky adventure begins. The leader of the Villages knows and must stop for all the villagers' safety and fairness.

She returns many times, the sparks become love, and a deadly adventure begins. The twists and turns of this whole story will have the reader thinking about current events.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3TfIGZH

Cavaliered to Death

CAVALIERED TO DEATH

A Barkview Mystery

C.B. Wilson

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

Catalina, CAT, is the only cat lover in the dog city of Barkview. She is the producer of her Aunt Char's Dog Show, an entertaining TV program that teaches people how to train their canines.

Everyone in Barkview has a dog, many with Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. A Champion dog competition has come to Barkview.

Two famous canines cannot be found, and the owner is dead. All indications say Aunt Char did the crime.

CAT is an investigation report in her past life; her new friend Russ is with the FBI, and Uncle G. is the sheriff with two dogs who follow him around.

The three's investigative skills are used in a long dog-days night crime wave, including a kennel burning. CAT's past explodes in the present with a deadly ending.

C.B. Wilson's writing is crisp and colorful but a little too detailed for me. However, if you love dogs, you will love CAVALIERED TO DEATH.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3wxeZKY

SLICE OF MURDER

SLICE OF MURDER

Rosie A. Point

Review by Author Roy Murry

SLICE is a fair setup for the series 'A Pizza Parlor Mystery Book 1.'  There needs to be more minor character development to make the story interesting.

However, the reader gets to know Gina, the main character, a bit. The author needs to be more in-depth in book 2 for the series to move on.

Gina returns home and fires the chef in her sick uncle's pizzeria after determining the place is mis-run. The next day, the chef is found dead in the closed shop with a piece of pizza in his hand.

Gina becomes a sleuth to no avail, finding a note and coming close with gossip. The participant in the crime unveils herself after her son confronts her about an explosive event.

A short read, 110 pages.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3Iopq6h

SEASONABLE DOUBT

SEASONABLE DOUBT

A Cass Leary Legal Thriller

ROBIN JAMES

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

This novel is a courtroom drama to prove that Santa did not do it. Cass is hoodwinked into a case to free a small town's favorite Santa Claus from spending years behind bars.

Santa is captured on video leaving the crime; he is fighting with the victim a few minutes prior, and the victim's government committee will take away his life's enjoyment.

Lastly, the case is tried two weeks before Christmas, with only those weeks for Cass to prepare a defense. Everything happens so fast that the reader will not put down the book.

The ending surprises Cass, the authorities, the client, the town, and the reader.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/4bGupwd

Hope in Hot Chocolate

The HOPE in HOT CHOCOLATE

Poppy Creek Novel

RACHEL BLOOME

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

CHOCOLATE is a typical romance - boy and girl do not initially like each other's lifestyle or philosophy. Sadie makes chocolate candies and loves the process.  Landon is a wealthy young man who is an anti-sugar crusader for personal and business reasons - his mother is ill, and he is starting a new sugar-free food venture.

He is opening a business next door to Sadie's shop. They compete in a town food fair and must share a booth directed by the mayor. 

The battles begin and end unusually. It is meant to be.

Each story stands alone in this Poppy Creek series, as this cute one does. The banter between Sadie and Landon is well-written and sometimes funny.

In one sitting, a romance lover will read.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3SKqypu

MELUSINE

MELUSINE

Book two of

The Heirs of Anarchy

 

G. LAWRENCE

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

"It mattered not my birth, experience, or my intelligence. What mattered was that I was less than them because I was a woman, not a man." Matilda, Lady of the English, 1135 AD. The Lady's Journey continues from Book One, which I read in 2020.

G. Lawrence's prose flows with these little nuggets throughout this novel of King Henry the First Daughter's battle to be Queen of England. In her mid-twenties, her father directs her to marry a newly knighted fifteen-year-old for political reasons - she is property, and her son is heir.

Matilda's fictional words include historical drama. Her psychological development moves into philosophy, which is sometimes wordy.

The novel is long but worth the historical adventure read.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3SQ5wXy

Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder

Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder

A Main Street Book Club Mystery

Amy Lillard

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

I have read many cozy mysteries, and this one hit some of the right buttons. However, the Book Club concept members will not continue in my readings.

Arlo owns a bookstore and receives a call that a man died in front of her establishment. The man committed suicide, or was it murdered, says the local police.

Chloe, Arlo's friend and partner in the bookstore, is arrested - all clues lead to her being the killer, says the police chief. Arlo and the club members go about investigating the crime.

Small-town relations go amuck and conflict with the dead man's wife and assistant. These quarrels and investigations lead to a tongue slip, revealing the unlikely killer to Arlo.

Ms. Lillard's writing is good, but I needed a timeline I could follow. Also, the characters of the book club needed more depth for Book #1 in the series.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/49nGbdf