Review: Between Black and White

Between Black and White by Robert Bailey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Giving Grisham some courtroom competition! You should read "The Professor" before reading this book.

I enjoyed the first book by Robert Bailey, "The Professor". Being the first book in a series, there was a lot of character building but the story was good. "Between Black and White" took this series to a whole different level! It involves a murder case, a black male accused of killing a former klansmen in Pulaski, Tennessee. There is suspense, danger and twists and turns you never see coming. I highly recommend "Between Black and White" as it depicts a "true 21st Century American South" where the ancient lines that were drawn in the 1950's still exist....but they are not respected as they were: and when it's all said and done, the truth is more important than all else.

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Review: Ashes

Ashes by Steven Manchester
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Forced together once again by the man that tore them apart, two brothers search for their life's understanding in a trek across the United States. Jason and Tom Prendergast once again find themselves victims of their father's cruel manipulation, but this time is the last.

Armed with their anger, their secrets, and their insecurities Jason and Tom are locked in a rented SUV traveling from New England to Seattle. As they travel from state to state rehashing the turmoil that they collectively refer to as "childhood", they remember that they were once brothers. They remember that they were once always there for each other. They remember that they once loved each other.

As they visit the many American cities across our nation, they not only re-examine the treasures of their youth, but the true value of their adult lives. Ashes, by Steven Manchester, is a scenic tour of the most intricate journey of the human soul. At its destination-- life's purpose.

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Review: The Devil Crept In

The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stevie is a normal 10-year old boy…well, maybe not COMPLETELY normal. He may have had a few episodes in his short life that made him do some weird, weird, WEIRD stuff…but inside, he’s a good boy. He misses his Dad, hates his Stepdad, his older brother has managed second place on the hate list; but he loves his mother and his cousin, Jude. Jude is Stevie’s blood and best friend and they do EVERYTHING together, until the night Jude disappears.

Though no one else seems to care, Stevie is determined to find Jude. So determined that he defies his mother, the town of Dear Valley and his evil stepfather that will jump at the opportunity to beat little Stevie into oblivion because he disobeyed his mother. Everyone wants to give up, but Stevie because Jude is his everything and he will challenge hell itself to get him back…but Stevie finds more than he bargained for…more than he could ever imagine. And what he found? It won’t seem to go away.

Stevie feels it is his duty not to give up on his best and only friend, Jude, and to get him back safely. Who better to track him down than the person that knows him better than anyone else? Though he’s in unchartered territory, he’s convinced on what is right in his quest and in what needs to be done. Will that prove to be a strength…or a weakness.

Ania Alhborn does a tremendous job in sharing Stevie’s strengths and weaknesses; his determination and his flaws; his fears and his courage. The Devil Crept In will scare you to your core!

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Review: The Devil Crept In

The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stevie is a normal 10-year old boy…well, maybe not COMPLETELY normal. He may have had a few episodes in his short life that made him do some weird, weird, WEIRD stuff…but inside, he’s a good boy. He misses his Dad, hates his Stepdad, his older brother has managed second place on the hate list; but he loves his mother and his cousin, Jude. Jude is Stevie’s blood and best friend and they do EVERYTHING together, until the night Jude disappears.

Though no one else seems to care, Stevie is determined to find Jude. So determined that he defies his mother, the town of Dear Valley and his evil stepfather that will jump at the opportunity to beat little Stevie into oblivion because he disobeyed his mother. Everyone wants to give up, but Stevie because Jude is his everything and he will challenge hell itself to get him back…but Stevie finds more than he bargained for…more than he could ever imagine. And what he found? It won’t seem to go away.

Stevie feels it is his duty not to give up on his best and only friend, Jude, and to get him back safely. Who better to track him down than the person that knows him better than anyone else? Though he’s in unchartered territory, he’s convinced on what is right in his quest and in what needs to be done. Will that prove to be a strength…or a weakness.

Ania Alhborn does a tremendous job in sharing Stevie’s strengths and weaknesses; his determination and his flaws; his fears and his courage. The Devil Crept In will scare you to your core!


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Review: The Neighbors

The Neighbors by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ania Ahlborn yet again produces a "horror-ible" tale involving a very patient serial killer...and Andrew Morrison is next in line.

Andrew is a young man attempting to escape a horrible situation in search of a sitcom family, a home full of love. He had it at a young age but everything fell apart when his father hopped in truck with a strange lady and never, ever returned. In turn, his mother became a raging alcoholic forcing him to be the man of the house. Finally tired of "being the adult", he seeks refuge from a childhood friend, Mickey Fitch, who himself had some terrible life struggles. His friend welcomes him in...but the reception he receives in not quite what he'd expected.

Meanwhile, next door, Andrew gets to know Harlow and Red Ward...the sitcom family with the perfect house he's always sought. As they get to know each other, the Wards treat Andrew like the "son they never had?" and they warn Andrew about his sully roommate. Mickey, however, has some choice words about the Wards as well. Which should he believe? What is really going on? He'll find out soon enough!

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Review: Normal

Normal by Graeme Cameron
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Graeme Cameron creates a fascinating character in the novel, Normal. He is interesting, very handsome, extremely intelligent and just so happens to be a serial killer. (Can't be perfect, right?)

His life screwed up since a small lad, he clearly states to one of his victims, "The truth is I hurt people. It's what I do. It's all I do. It's all I've ever done." And this rings true...until he meets the woman of his dreams.

How long can a complicated man, such as himself, juggle work, kidnapping, murdering and love all at the same time? Can he tell her the truth? Can she KILL his murderous desires? Focus keeps things in line...LOVE makes things sloppy. Will he have to kill her?

Soon, EVERYONE wants a piece of the mad man! His lover, his rescue, his hostage...and, oh yeah, the police. It's hard to stay one step ahead while regularly putting feet in graves. (Even if they are not his own!)


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Review: Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open by Ted Dekker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ted Dekker never fails to make you question everything in front of you and in Eyes Wide Open, he did it again.

Imagine accidentally being trapped in a mental ward where every tells you that you are someone else. When you don't agree, they all think you are crazy...which is why you are there! This is what happens to Christy Snow, a beautiful young teenager who doesn't know who she is and she is being told by everyone on the ward, her name is Alice!

The story line is great and if you are an avid reader of Dekker, you'll be revisited by a few characters that you've met long ago in Paradise.

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Review: Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open by Ted Dekker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ted Dekker never fails to make you question everything in front of you and in Eyes Wide Open, he did it again.

Imagine accidentally being trapped in a mental ward where every tells you that you are someone else. When you don't agree, they all think you are crazy...which is why you are there! This is what happens to Christy Snow, a beautiful young teenager who doesn't know who she is and she is being told by everyone on the ward, her name is Alice!

The story line is great and if you are an avid reader of Dekker, you'll be revisited by a few characters that you've met long ago in Paradise.

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Review: The Fire Gospel

The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

The first book by Michel Farber I read was "The Book of Strange and Wonderful Things". In that book, Faber literally dictated the struggle of belief/non-belief as well as faith vs understanding. With that in mind, I sought out a copy of "The Fire Gospel".

Follow the path of Theo Grippin* as he reveals the newly discovered testament of Malchus, an "untapped" disciple of Jesus that was with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane and on Golgotha as the Savior died. Malchus' account, however, does not "at all" jive with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Being a Christian, some of it was hard to read...felt blasphemous. Nevertheless, Faber again painted a brilliant portrait of religion...the believers, the atheist and agnostic. The book was structured as a quick read, however, it held a wallop of emotion between the covers. Please understand, however, THE BOOK IS A WORK OF FICTION...but it will make you ask questions.



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Review: The Shuddering

The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Do you know those kids that like to take so much time, effort, care and detail in building a sand castle on the beach only to find pleasure in dismantling and destroying it with vigorous enthusiasm? I'm wondering if Ania Alhborn was one of those kids...

"The Shuddering" is a story of five friends (well, three friends, one tag-a-long and one outsider) that are to spend a few days together, one last time, before they each take their fork in the road that leads to the rest of their lives. They do so at a luxurious cabin on a snow capped mountain owned by the father of twins, Ryan and Jane. Everyone had ulterior motives for which all others seemed to know, but ignored out of friendship (an attempt not to ruin this last outing). Who was to know that their hidden secrets and desires that would ultimately unfurl would pale in comparison to monstrosities they would have to encounter!

I realize how much a book has reached me when I find myself getting angry with the author. I found myself cursing the author several times while reading "The Shuddering". She would magically open a door into the lives of her complex characters; feeling intimate with their plight...all for the pleasure of gut punching you when she takes it all away!

"The Shuddering" was a great tale which will have you frustrated, excited and sometimes numbed by the scenes that unfold before you!

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Review: The Resurrectionist

The Resurrectionist by Matthew Guinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Matthew Guinn has penned an astounding novel dealing with the ugly years of American medical history. A time when medical schools utilized shady practices in order to train their medical students...body snatching.

Jacob Thacker is a tarnished doctor forced to serve his penance as an administrative public relations director at South Carolina Medical College. The extenuating grunt work becomes front and center when the reconstruction of the administration building uncovers a mass of skeletons in its basement. Skeletons put there by a slave of the medical school named Nemo Johnston, "The Resurrectionist". The discovery soon turns into a public relations nightmare in which everyone is looking for a way to profit from it or cover it up. The school would do anything or sacrifice anyone to keep hidden a dark secret that is not so much a "secret" to its victims' community.

The more Jacob researches, the more sinister the story becomes and even though the crimes were committed 150 years earlier, someone in the present day is going to have to take the fall.

Rich in history, The Resurrectionist is a wonderful historical thriller!

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Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Neil Gaiman does not need my review, however, I have to reign him "King of the Allegory". I loved this story! So very deep...deep as...an Ocean?

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Review: The Bird Eater

The Bird Eater by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the aspects that has drawn me to Ania Ahlborn's writing is that each horror story is plausible. You don't have to stretch your imagination to find yourself in the shoes of her characters. In, "The Bird Eater" she exposed my darkest fear...losing the ability to trust my mind!

Aaron Holbrooke has lived his whole life on borrowed time. Doomed from birth, his whole life is plagued with tragic losses. However, when he loses his son, there is no more hope for his sanity. To find his center, he is persuaded to go back to where it all began, his hometown of Ironwood, Arkansas - where he'd literally vanished 20 years prior.

He returns to the house in which he'd lived 14 years with his Aunt Edie; prepared to renovate it and "maybe" sell it. With the full intention of getting a hold on his life, Aaron is preparing to wage war against his inner demons. What he finds out is that he is severely outnumbered. There are more demons than he ever imagined; some real, some imaginary, but all of them SINISTER! In his downward spiral, Aaron learns the truth about his friends, his family and himself and in the end NO ONE will be the same.



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Review: Sweetness Undone

Sweetness Undone by Chris Grams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My mother used to tell me, "Son, be cautious of a quiet woman...she's thinking of a way to take you out." Someone should have told this to Emma, the skinny, hateful bully that chose to pick on the innocent and "very chubby" Sweetness.

Chris Grams paints a cute little picture of a seemingly ordinary family get-together that turns sour in a hurry; with an ending that is "bittersweet"!

Get the free ebook at http://www.chrisgramsfiction.com/#!sw.... It's a steal!

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Review: Seed

Seed by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"It was I, it was me. It was us, it was We!"

Seed is another great masterpiece of Ania Ahlborn! Set in the deep south (between Georgia and New Orleans) Seed delves deep into the very source of evil and evokes the age old question, "Is it nature or nurture?"

Like a psychotherapist, Ahlborn takes you deep into the mind (and the highly guarded past) of Jack Winter, a loving father of two beautiful girls and a decent husband to his lovely, delicate wife. Happy together in a small house, making ends meet, all is sustainable until the night of the accident. Jack swerves to miss something in the road and flips the vehicle carrying himself and all three of his girls! They all come out physically unscathed...but I can assure you - they are NOT ALL RIGHT!

The presence causing the whole fiasco turns out not to be a surprise foe, but a very old fiend (or friend - take your pick) that has spent many "Winters" with our man Jack. And when all is said and done, there will be no more secrets left to tell and likely no more ears to hear the wails!

Seed is an awesome thriller for which I hope will spawn a sequel!

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Review: Brother

Brother by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ania Ahlborn, The Voice of New Horror...
www.aniaahlborn.com
When I read this, I thought to myself "That's a tough statement to back up!" Then I read Brother and said, "Well, I think I'm convinced!" Having read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Joe Hill, Ted Dekker and so many others, I'm always looking for someone new and different. I believe I've found it in Ania Ahlborn!
Brother is the story of young Michael Morrow, kidnapped at 4 years old to be used as a pet for Ray/Reb -- his "older brother". To say the Morrow family is a bit twisted would be an understatement. The whole family knows their role. Claudine the evil "mother", Wade the submissive "father", Ray/Rebel the "brother" and brains of the operation, Misty Dawn the lonely "sister" and Michael, the pet, the cleaner, the "brother" and protector of Misty. The brothers are forced (at least one of them is forced) to kidnap young girls to be tortured and murdered by Claudine, their demented mother. Michael maintains his role in the family until he meets the love of his life, Alice...better known as "Snow White".
It is true that love breaks all bonds and Michael gains incredible strength as his love for Alice grows...but can he bring her into the family fold? Rebel thinks so, but not in the way Michael wants.
I can't tell you any more because telling you too much will destroy the incredible twists and turns the story takes, several that hit me from left field...I never saw it coming!
An incredible storyteller, Ahlborn crafts a tell of horror that shakes you to the core, not only because it's scary...but because its totally plausible! Ania Ahlborn, I'M A FAN and am looking forward to reading other yarns you have spun!

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Review: Lust of Innocence

Lust of Innocence by P.J. MacDowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm sure if you look at my other books, you probably thought this book was placed on my feed by accident. Well, it wasn't. I had a short exchange this morning with the author, P.J. MacDowell and was intrigued...so I loaded it in my queue.

Though this is not my normal genre, I have to tell you, once I got started...I couldn't stop. Though there are some racy elements to the story, it is a good story. Ms. MacDowell describes herself "As a writer of tasteful, short, erotic-historical stories.." and I profess she hit every single note.

With full attention to the era, I was taken to a European countryside where sibling rivalry is taken to a whole different level. Male and Female siblings struggle for the favor of their father whilst competing for the affection of the sensual, statuesque slave girl, Syreena.

"Lust of Innocence" was not what I expected but I was very, pleasantly surprised. It is the beginning in a series of upcoming books by Author P.J. MacDowell. I can say that I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment.

For more info, visit http://www.pjmacdowell.com.

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Review: The Girl In The Ice

The Girl In The Ice by Robert Bryndza
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I came across this book by accident. I read the synopsis and said "What the heck? Why not?" So, I got it. Man, aren't I lucky I did!

"The Girl In The Ice" was a gripping story of murder, sex, political influence and betrayal. As I went through this novel, I literally suspected every single character as the murder except the main character, DCI Foster. Robert Bryndza did an excellent job in writing the story and I'm looking forward to the next one, "The Night Stalker".

Mr. Bryndza, you have a new fan!

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The Rockin' Chair - Steve Manchester



From the early years, boys adore their mom and love their dad. As they get older, they still adore mom and tend to "admire" dad. As they become men, they still adore mom and they have "respect" for dad. What happens to the 10 year old boy who kisses his dad "good night"? Why do dad and son become "fierce" adversaries rather than being "bonded" for life? Its not because they don't love one another, because they do. Mom becomes the only glue that binds them together.

But what happens when the glue begins to fade?

Grampa John McCarthy and his son, Hank McCarthy have gone through all of these phases, answered all of these questions and their roads have taken different directions...preferably the farthest away from each other! They find out that even though they thought they were traveling in opposite directions...their destinations seem to have the same horizon. They realize that even thought their "glue" is fading, it is still much stronger than either ever recognized!

I have read and reviewed hundreds of novels in my life. Many of them have given me new perspective but NONE have ever "changed my life"...except this one. Steven Manchester's book, "The Rockin' Chair" not only changed my life, but I believe it changed the lives of my family for generations to come. This book soulfully examines that "hidden" family love we all have, but are afraid to share...especially between a father and a son.

"The Rockin' Chair" taught me not to be ashamed of expressing my love for anyone...man or woman. It taught me that love is not love unless it is GIVEN. If there were such a thing as "Father & Son Book Club's", this would be the ultimate pick. Men and women alike, I urge you to allow this book to touch your soul as well. I promise that you won't regret it!

Robert Denson
Sunpiper Book Review

The Mind of a Genius by David Snowden

What in the world could possibly be of interest to MI4, the CIA, the British Secret Service, and Scotland Yard? British Scientist Malcolm Prince had just completed work on a secret formula--so secret no one really knew what the secret formula was or what it would do. But, when Prince dies without having formally announced the details of this formula, world agencies go berserk.

Snowdon weaves us through a tale that follows one particular MI4 agent and his efforts to find out everything he can about the formula through seducing Prince's widow, Laura--and, at the same time, protect her from all the people wanting to get their hands on the secret information.

What we get is a mind-blowing race...I won't ruin the ending by revealing who wins!

A quick, satisfying weekend read.

Darlene Oakley
The Sunpiper Book Review
Freelance Editor & Suspense Fiction Writer

www.darscorrections.com