The Fourth Awakening

by Rod Pennington and Jeffery A. Martin

ebook version

Published by Integration Press

ISBN 1-57242-000-7

Reviewed by Marlene Pyle

This novel is what I call an Olive Garden book. It’s like this: you have a craving for Italian food, so you go to your favorite authentic Italian place, but the line is out the door. The hostess says it will be a 45 minute wait and you know that means an hour, if you’re lucky. Your husband is hungry and he’s at that stage where he’s getting grouchy. So you cave and go to the Olive Garden and it’s not bad, it’s pretty decent actually, but it’s definitely not the best you’ve ever had and you’re a little disappointed.

It’s the same thing with an Olive Garden book. Two of the great loves of my life are excellent Italian food and really good mystery novels, so I can be a hard sell. This one was interesting and stylish. it’s not making the top 10 or even the top 20, but that’s a tough list to make.

I like my mysteries a little gritty. That doesn’t mean there has to be a dead body in every chapter, but I like realism, even in my fiction. This story starts out with a main character,

Penelope Spence, who was an ace reporter twenty years ago. She gave up journalism to get married and raise a family. Now she’s a divorced, middle-aged mom with plenty of money and

too much time on her hands. Then, out of the blue, an old college buddy who happens to be the editor of The Washington Post, calls her with a story lead. In the interest of national security, government officials have asked him not to pursue it, so he can’t assign it to one of his staff writers. Still, he knows his competitors are hot on the trail, and he wants to be ready when the time is right. So…Mr. Washington Post calls Penelope, who’s been busy with the PTA for two decades. Is that going down easy for you? Because I had a little trouble with it…just saying.

Anyway, Penelope enlists the aid of her best gal pal, Joey, and now Lucy and Ethel…er, I mean Penelope and Joey, are off chasing after crooked senators and assorted other bad guys. In the end, it all works out. The world as we know it continues on, Penelope gets her story, and the bad guys get what’s coming to them, but it’s all a little too bland. Its like taking good home-made pasta and dumping a jar of Ragu on top of it. It’s still spaghetti, but it’s missing something.

Disclosure of material connection: I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep in consideration for preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.

Got No Friend Anyhow

Peggy Ehrhart

Five Star Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-59414-932-0
$25.95
240 pages

Reviewed by Amanda Capper

There is no better mix for a book, at least in this reader’s point of view, than music and murder. The blues blend into the background of Got No Friend Anyhow, creating a soundtrack for Elizabeth (Maxx) Maxwell and her quest for recognition in the competitive music business. She almost makes it.

But then Rick, Maxx’s new lover and (hopefully) producer, is found dead and there’s a whole list of suspects. An old flame; long-forgotten band mates; Rick’s business partners and did I mention the rooster? I didn’t totally rule him out either.

Sandy, Maxx’s ex-boyfriend, lingers around the edges as she becomes more involved with the search for Rick’s killer and her hard-earned CD. She doesn’t believe the police’s theory of Rick’s involvement in music piracy so Maxx does some investigating of her own, and thinks she has it figured out… until a showdown in a tree house shows her how wrong she was.

Got No Friend Anyhow is a well paced read, with an interesting set of characters and a realistic chain of events that lead to an almost satisfying end. I have to throw the “almost” in there because… and I don’t want to give anything away… of the motives of one suspect who is part of the showdown at the end of the book. In my opinion the motive wasn’t strong enough to commit murder, or even valid enough for scare tactics, because ******* was dead. But maybe that’s just me. Read it and decide for yourself.

Copyright © 2011 Amanda Capper

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION

I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.