Archive for category Paranormal
Review: THE PORTAL by Christopher Allan Poe
Posted by Dorothy in Crime, Paranormal, Suspense on November 11th, 2011
The Portal
Christopher Allan Poe
Black Opal Books
ISBN: 978-1-937329-13-6
Copyright 2011
293 pages
Reviewed by Dorothy Francis
Most readers may be relieved to know that THE PORTAL is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons is entirely coincidental. Before reading this paranormal thriller, please be prepared to suspend your disbelief and prepare for a page turner that will keep you reading long after you decided to go to bed. Even if you went to bed you probably wouldn’t be able to get to sleep.
Also, prepare yourself to tolerate four-letter words throughout the book, sometimes several on a page. If the writing in the book wasn’t so skillfully done, one might consider the off-color words a poverty of language since only a scant dozen or so were used from a multiplicity of colorful choices.
The author has created memorable characters that are easily recognized by a few characteristics. Who could forget Mr. Vincent, the teddy bear with the dangling eye? Or Jarod with a claw-like hand? The characters are easily recognized as good guys or bad guys, and the author is adept at creating evil that lurks in many forms.
Cody Carmichael and his mother, Vivian Carmichael, (good guys) have been hiding in the San Bernardino Mountains. Their selected hideaway lies far distant from any towns, cell phone towers, or cameras as they seek refuge from Cody’s father and her husband, Jarod Carmichael (bad guy). Vivian has good reason to believe that Jarod may murder her and Cody, and she tries to protect herself and her son at all costs.
Four-year-old Cody is a different kind of child, one who can remember things that happened long before he was born, one who can carry on relevant conversations with Mr. Vincent, his teddy bear.
There are other good guys and other bad guys in the story, but every time Vivian seems about to succeed in keeping Cody safe from Jarod, the bad guys step forward and she lands in more spine-chilling danger than ever. The reader must read to the last page to discover the family’s dark secret and how Vivian and Cody deal with it.
Author Christopher Allan Poe is a writer to be aware of. The writing world will be waiting to read his future books, to see where his writing career will take him.
Copyright 2011 Dorothy Francis
Review: MURDER IN THE 11th HOUSE by Mitchell Scott Lewis
Posted by Laura in Murder Mystery, Paranormal on October 20th, 2011
Murder in the 11th House
Mitchell Scott Lewis
Published by Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN-9781590589502
239 pages
$24.95 Hardcover
Reviewed by Laura Hartman
Mitchell Scott Lewis introduces us to David Lowell in his debut novel, Murder in the 11th House, the first in his Starlight Detective Agency Mysteries. Lowell is an eccentric self-made millionaire that relies on astrological charts to guide his daily life, determine what stocks to purchase or sell and solve murders.
In an effort to spend more time with his daughter Melinda, Lowell agrees to help her prove the innocence of an accused murder. Melinda’s client, Ms. Johnny Colbert is accused of murdering a judge that she threatened in open court. Melinda believes her brash, loudmouthed client is innocent and Lowell’s charts confirm his daughter’s opinions. When someone resorts to attempted murder to get the Starlight Detective Agency off the case, the action heats up from a simmer to a boil.
This was a fun book. It was unlike other mysteries, due to the astrological angle. Whenever Lowell met someone new, he asked their birthdate and time of birth so he could work up a chart on them to better understand them. Who hasn’t read their horoscope in the paper at one time or the other? I wanted to contact Lowell with my birth info to have him “read” me! And it was interesting to look behind the curtain a bit by learning what the 11th house (and other houses) represented in the astrological world.
Lewis was spot on creating cool characters for his novel. He promises more by crafting different personalities that mesh and conflict in and out of the the detective agency. I can’t wait to see his next book.
Copyright © 2011 Laura Hartman
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.
Review: CAESAR’S FALL by Dorien Gray
Posted by Amanda in Crime, GLBT Fiction, Paranormal on January 7th, 2011
Caesar’s Fall
Dorien Grey
Zumaya Publications
ISBN: 978-1-936144-08-2
234 pages
Paperback $14.99; ebook $6.99
Reviewed by Amanda Capper
A long-dead collaborator helps solve the murder of a newly-dead millionaire in Dorien Grey’s third Elliott Smith and John mystery, Caesar’s Fall. I enjoyed it, so now I have to look up the first two in the series, His Name is John and Aaron’s Wait. If I keep reviewing books, I’m going to have to add on to the house. Or finally give in and buy an e-reader.
Elliott Smith takes neglected, dilapidated historical Chicago buildings and turns them into handsome, stylish apartment buildings. Bruno Caesar wins the lottery and moves out of his old, neglected historical building and into the same condominium as Elliott. Shortly after they meet, and Bruno sets Elliott up to restore his previous residence, Bruno falls from his 40th floor balcony leaving Elliott to wonder how Bruno, a man so scared of heights he never ventured onto any of his three balconies, could fall off one. John is a friend of Elliott’s who apparently dies in the first book of this series, and now visits when Elliott is sleeping, acting as a link between Elliott and limbo. In this capacity John acts as a go-between for Elliott and Bruno to help solve who pushed Bruno.
This touch of paranormal is deftly handled by the author, as is the romance between Elliott and his partner, Steve. Not an easy feat even for experienced authors but Mr. Grey manipulates the scenes between Elliott and John with a light-hearted finesse that helps the reader accept it may be quite possible to communicate with the dead. The romance between Elliott and Steve is sweet, humourous and keeps you hoping throughout the book that all works out well for the lovers.
Caesar’s Fall is Mr. Grey’s seventeenth published work, an easy and enjoyable read well-suited for beaches and bathtubs. On my lengthy list of what-to-read-next, I’m going to track down something from his Dick Hardesty series. Stay tuned.
Copyright @ 2010 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.
Magic, Mensa & Mayhem by Karina L. Fabian
Posted by Agnes in Christian Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Paranormal, Speculative Fiction, adventure on April 2nd, 2010
Magic, Mensa & Mayhem
Karina L. Fabian
Swimming Kangaroo Books, March 2009
Paperback, 232 pages
$13.99
Reviewed by Agnes Dee
Vern is a dragon, subdued by St. George. He is now around half his former size, and though no longer possesor of “The Knowledge of the Ages”, Vern has learned to put his trust in the Lord. His partner is Sister Grace; a nun gifted as a mage who works God’s magic with a beautiful singing voice. That’s the way it is in their Faerie principality, an alternative of our own, and that’s the way it would stay, if a rift hadn’t opened between their world and ours.
On this side of the rift, Vern has found a calling as a private eye, and that is what he is in most of Karina’s stories. This time, however, he and his partner get to watch over a group of Fairie folk at a Mensa convention - without even getting paid.
There’s no telling how the customs and idiocyncracies of the Faerie world, and of our world, clash. Vern and Sister Grace do a good job of keeping everything runing smoothly - if you don’t count the Elvish war declared against Florida, or the enviornmental uproar over Vern’s late-night snacks.
Karina manages to weave in some wonderful ideas about the nature of quantum physics, the nature of time, and the dangers of artificial sweeteners: That, and many funny situations. Throughout the book, her ideas remain faithful to christian thought, Catholicism in particular. This book is a funny read all the way through, engaging in the smaller as well as the larger parts of the story.
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.
Review: AARON’S WAIT by Dorien Grey
Posted by Gray in Cozy mystery, GLBT Fiction, Paranormal on October 6th, 2009
Aaron’s Wait
by Dorien Grey
Zumaya Boundless
Trade Paperback, 240 pages
$14.99
ISBN 978-1-934841-40-2
Booklovers who enjoy mysteries and the supernatural are going to love this fun novel that combines both. The book can also be categorized as “gay genre.” That said, I think mystery lovers of any sexual orientation will enjoy this read.
The protagonist, Elliott Smith, comes from a wealthy family, which allows him to work at leisure in a field he loves; he buys and restores historic homes in Chicago. When I read, I like enough historical information and description to picture the setting, understand the back story and make the book “come alive” without being bogged down in page after page of “fluff” information. The author is adept at satisfying me with just the right amount of detail.
When Elliott purchases his next renovation project, he discovers the reason the current owners were so eager to unload the old Victorian. There is an uninvited tenant on the second floor, Aaron. And Elliott won’t be able to sell the building or get rid of Aaron until he helps the man solve a mystery. Why did Aaron’s partner, Bill, disappear four years ago? Bill left the apartment one day and never returned, leaving all his earthly possessions behind. Problems are, Elliott is a reluctant P.I., and Aaron is not a very good communicator. Oh, and he’s dead. Is Bill dead, too, and if so, who killed him? The search for Bill evolves into a who-done-it that keeps the reader guessing and turning the page.
Of course, Elliott wouldn’t be able to solve this case without some help. Enter the homicide detective brother-in-law, the intuitive boyfriend (and artist) Steve, and friend John. John is especially helpful in trying to communicate with the dead. Because John’s dead, too. Elliott mostly comes to John in dreams, but Elliott can also feel John’s presence in the waking world. Aaron’s Wait is the second in a series, and I “can’t wait” to buy the first book and find out exactly how Elliott met John and how the relationship grew.
You know how you get to the end of some books and feel kind of sad that it’s over? How you miss the characters and wish you knew more about this or that angle? The author piques the interest of the readers in just such a manner. How will Steve and Elliott’s relationship develop? Will Steve’s own intuitiveness develop into something more? Why hasn’t John moved on into the next life? These questions and others will have me rushing out to buy the first book in the Elliott Smith mystery series.
The book cover instantly lets you know this is a dark mystery. The title is easy to read, the white pops against the blue-grays, and the lone figure backlit in the window is creepy. The cover begs a reader to pluck it from the shelf for further investigation. My only cover complaint is that the picture is of attached townhouses, and the book takes place in a detached Victorian. Of course, no one would know that until they started reading the book… Oh, picky, picky me.
I love the premise for Grey’s series—the unlikely team of the living and the dead working together to solve mysteries—and greatly look forward to the next book.
Copyright ©2009 Gray Bridges
Review: HIS NAME IS JOHN by Dorien Grey
Posted by Marlene in Crime, GLBT Fiction, Paranormal on July 9th, 2009
His Name Is John
Dorien Grey
ISBN 978-1-934841-04-4
Published by Zumaya Boundless 2008
Paperback, 212 pages
$13.99
Reviewed by Marlene Pyle
If you’ve never read an Elliott Smith mystery before, as I hadn’t, you’re missing out. I should tell you, in case it matters, that the character of Elliot is gay, but there are no graphic sex scenes. Elliott dates quite a bit and he is a little promiscuous—he has a habit of cruising the bars in a Chicago neighborhood called “Boy’s Town” which may or may not really exist. I’ve been to Chicago, but if there is a real “Boy’s Town” I’ve never heard of it. Then again, I’m a married, middle-aged mom, so what do I know?
Elliott is an interesting character. He is independently wealthy thanks to family money, but he spends his time buying and refurbishing elegant old apartment buildings, which he then sells or rents. He is close to his sister and her kids and has plenty of friends. Elliott is a contented, happy man with a fulfilling life.
At the beginning of this novel, he is in the emergency room being treated for a minor head injury after an accident. While Elliott is a patient, another man dies in the ER, the victim of a gunshot. The man has no identification and no one has reported someone of his description as being missing. His spirit appears to Elliott and speaks to him, often in dreams while Elliott is asleep.
This is all a little much for Elliott. He thinks he has either lost his mind or was seriously hurt in his accident, but he soon comes to realize that the recently deceased is communicating with him for an important reason. He has no memory of what happened to him or why, and no knowledge of his life on Earth. He doesn’t know who he is, and desperately wants Elliott’s help to learn his identity. Elliott, being a decent guy, feels compelled to do what he can, even though his search introduces him to some unsavory Chicagoans and causes problems in his own life.
The writing is clear and fast-paced and the characters (especially Elliott) are well-defined. Elliott seems like an old pal, and you will look forward to meeting up with him again.
Copyright ©2009 Marlene Pyle
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