Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: A Lock

TRACK TWO ON REPEAT by Rebekah N. Bryan – Y/A, Music, Friendship

Annette Amsel is not on the popular-girl list at her school. She’s obsessed with Fuchsia Fireball, an emo band least liked among her peers, and receives more than her fair share of ridicule, which often leaves her close to tears. It doesn’t matter that Annette consistently knocks out has near straight-A grades and is involved in sports (shot put, discus, and track). It isn’t that she lacks a friend, she has a few, but they are all too preoccupied with their boyfriends to notice her misery. Ugh.

Amid her uncomfortable environs, Annette learns that Fuchsia Fireball will be performing in a sketchy area of Milwaukee. Besides requesting a concert ticket for her upcoming sixteenth birthday, Annette goes through a series of deals (including getting her driver’s license) with her parents so she can attend. One major prerequisite is for her to go with a friend, which is easier said than done. That’s when she turns to a Fuchsia Fireball fan website and begins chatting with a guy who may be a hopeful means to an end. Whether or not he is who he says he is and holds to his word remains to be seen.

In the next installment of The Fandom Collection award-winning author, Rebekah N. Bryan dishes up a lead character with whom readers will easily relate. Annette is shy, somewhat socially awkward, and just a wee bit introverted. To her, fitting in at school is critical, yet she always seems to be doing the wrong things or liking the wrong bands or, well, whatever. And even though she knows she’s got brains, she doesn’t feel like she measures up to the other girls at school. In other words, Annette is the perfect target for bullies.

Bryan’s plot may sound stereotypical, and that’s what makes the story ring so true. In a world where pressures surrounding today’s young adults lands somewhere in the too-much lane, Annette embodies these struggles, and we get to see if and how she resolves/solves them. Woven with today’s added bonuses of live chat rooms, experimental music, and online-strangers who feel like friends, bullying is the monster it always was. Readers will focus on the narrative’s underdog and follow along on her journey as she strives for self-acceptance. Bryan’s writing style is sure—a harmonious intermingling of story and dialogue (including chat lingo).

Light verbal flirtatious innuendos with Annette’s chatroom “boyfriend” help to break the continual tension as Annette finds herself in a flurry of believable and often frustrating situations that appear to block her chances to enjoy high school social life, but more importantly, attend the Fuchsia Fireball concert.

Track Two on Repeat is an engaging read and a nice addition to Bryan’s collection and won First Place in the 2017 CIBAs, Dante Rossetti, for Young Adult Fiction.

March 15, 2019
TWO COINS: A Biographical Novel by Sandra Wagner-Wright – Biographies & Memoirs, Women in History, European History

Author Sandra Wagner-Wright brings to life a story rife with “politics, power struggles, and patriarchy” in her newest historical novel Two Coins.

Mary Pigot is Lady Superintendent of the Ladies’ Association Female Mission in Calcutta, India. Born and raised in Calcutta, Mary is well acquainted with the climate, culture, and customs of the locals. Her diligence to faithfully spread God’s Word to the peoples of India while showing respect to their traditions places her in high esteem among the Ladies’ Association in Scotland.

In walks William Hastie, the new principal of the Scottish College, ten years into Mary’s position. His mission is to “restore harmony” between the Scottish College and the Female Mission. The only problem is that his definition of “restoring harmony” has to reflect Scottish principles. William realizes from the get-go that he has significant work to do when he recognizes Mary’s relaxed and unorthodox ways. As a result, friction immediately builds between the two.

While Mary continually contends with William’s nitpickiness, things grow from bad to worse when querulous Georgiana Smail comes on board as Mary’s assistant. Unbeknownst to Mary, Georgiana makes a detailed account of Mary’s faults and sends her findings in a report to the Ladies’ Association in Scotland. Mary returns to Scotland to defend her good name. More issues brew, this time involving her worst enemy, William Hastie. In the process of finding a solution to her ever-rising problems, the last thing she expects is to take William to court for libel.

Award-winning author Sandra Wagner-Wright brings to life an unprecedented event of the latter half of the 19th century. Based on actual events, Two Coins grew to fruition when she got wind of the case of Pigot vs. Hastie amid her research on missionary work in India. Original sources proved Mary Pigot to be a woman ahead of her time as marked by her professional accomplishments and tenacity for upholding her rights.

Building a plot from first and secondary sources is nothing to sneeze at, especially when details need to be presented in a way that identifies a novel as historical fiction. To Wagner-Wright’s credit is her ability not only to collect details but also breathe life into them. One of the most notable aspects of Two Coins is that it is written in present tense, which allows readers to feel as though they are experiencing a past event in real time.

Wagner-Wright takes her story one step further by designing her narrative in the first person and then alternates it between viewpoints from Mary and William (mainly), and (periodically) James Wilson, a close associate, and friend of Mary’s. The constant shifting while following a steady timetable allows the narrative to flow freely from one chapter into the next.

Two Coins keeps to the vernacular of the era with all of its patriarchally-laced social norms. Here the author includes a well-developed cast of primary and secondary characters that are mostly, though not exclusively, composed of historical figures. Scenes are a lively mix of engaging dialogue delicately balanced with a backset of nuances befitting British India—extreme temperatures (heat to monsoons), food, living conditions, adaptations due to climate (i.e., mosquito netting, nutshell-filled mattresses to keep away rodents), and Hindi terminology.

Tension (sprinkled with sarcastically comedic moments) rises with the court proceedings that are intertwined with unexpected plot twists. Two Coins, with its overtones to women’s rights, is nothing less than a stellar and ageless novel.

January 11, 2019
DARK SIGHT by Christopher Allan Poe – YA Thriller, Horror, Occult

A strong-willed, gutsy teenager, Monique is one of two African American students in her white, uppity high school. Victoria, Monique’s white bestie since Kindergarten, may come from wealthy means, but her life is riddled with her own set of familial issues. All in all, the girls get along like sisters. They attend rally revival at Awakeners, a cult compound, and an argument ensues, leading to a car accident that leaves Victoria comatose and on life support. Ethan, the cult group’s son, gives Monique a talisman-looking necklace, which she uses to spark Victoria back to life.

Victoria, who is an artist savant, may be riddled with quirks, but her resurrection proves differently: she is not herself, especially when she feeds off the critters in the neighborhood. Based on “the new Victoria,” her friends deduce Victoria now bears the characteristics of a psychic vampire, or in layman’s terms—an energy-sucker.

Monique believes there’s a connection between Victoria’s altered condition and the cult group and seeks out Ethan for answers. Ethan responds with enough chilling information to indicate that Victoria’s life may be in danger. The only problem is, Victoria doesn’t see it that way—at all. To her, dead is just the beginning.

Rising paranormal author Christopher Allan Poe spins a wickedly twisted tale in his YA horror novel. Front and center of his tightly knit and well-rounded cast is a middle-class gal with plenty of moxie.

Besides creating a host of colorful characters—many of which are teens, Poe is a superb raconteur. He not only has a firm handle on defining his characters but also relaying a chilling tale. Poe’s writing style, which is both crisp and punchy, provides him the opportunity to state what he has to say, and at the same time suggestively highlight the plight of women, children, and racism.

Edgy dialogue scenes are the driving force behind Poe’s non-stop tension-filled chapters. Scenes are replete with a continual string of twists and turns, teen angst, and sexual lust. Poe provides light relief with Monique’s waggish tongue-in-cheek comments, as well as her sexually-laced similes and metaphors punctuated with infamous factual and fictional figures (i.e., Caligula, Jason Voorhees) and horror movies (i.e., Nightmare on Elm Street, Dark City).

Offering high appeal for YA and adult audiences, Dark Sight is a first-rate paranormal thriller with enormous Silver Screen potential.

May 2, 2018
DAIR DEVIL: A GEORGIAN HISTORICAL ROMANCE (ROXTON FAMILY SAGA, BOOK 3) by Lucinda Brant – Georgian Historical Romance

Alisdair “Dair” Fitzstuart, spy and war hero, wants to enjoy a carefree life now that his service to his country is over. After spending years creating the daredevil reputation that has earned him fame beyond his heroic war efforts, he’s eager to return to the London town life, sample the season’s beauties, and carouse with his lifelong friends, but when his latest escapade literally throws him into the arms of Rory Talbot, his plans are turned upside down.

Rory, the granddaughter of England’s Spymaster, enjoys her quiet existence cultivating pineapples and spending time with her grandfather. Because of a crippling birth defect, she’s spent her entire life on the sidelines, secretly falling in love with the handsome Major Fitzstuart, who happens to be her brother’s closest friend. She never expects Dair to notice her, but after their chance meeting at the beginning of the novel, Dair can’t seem to get the beauty off his mind. However, his womanizing past complete with an illegitimate son, has everyone, including Rory, questioning Dair’s sincerity. The two must battle the odds if they dare to have a future together.

With a complicated storyline and abundance of character-rich scenes, Lucinda Brandt delivers in Dair Devil another volume of the Roxon Family Saga. For those unfamiliar with Brandt’s brand of historical romance, this is not a frivolous read. The narration and dialogues are lengthy and complex, the weaving storyline on top of storyline in a masterful fashion, therefore we strongly recommend starting with the first novel in the series, Midnight Marriage, and move on from there. Those who are familiar with Brandt’s work will submerge themselves in the interweaving storyline and swoon to Alex Wyndham’s voice as he narrates series.

Both Rory and Dair break the typical romance novel mold. Rory’s physical disability is a refreshing change to the typical perfection of the romance heroine. Though still feisty and spunky, Rory’s life is far from the easy existence of the regular heroine; however, her issues don’t hold her back. Rory’s never allows her physical problems to stand in the way of whatever she wants to accomplish, creating an inspirational protagonist, which is uncommon in the traditional romance novel.

Dair challenges the romance norm as well: he has an illegitimate son, not uncommon in the Georgian time period, but unusual for the heartthrob of this genre. Though typically seen as the hunky bad boy, heroes of romance novels don’t often have illegitimate children, much less a child that plays a role in the plot. Dair not only has a son, he shows his fatherly love repeatedly, again testing the tried-and-true conventions of the “normal” historical romance.

Lucinda Brant has created a complex story where strength lies in family, and history is more than a setting. Whether siblings or cousins, these characters rely on their bonds and show that love triumphs despite the odds, and although this theme is not unusual within the genre, Brant’s use of familial bonds saturates the plot and creates a web of stories to delight readers of romantic fiction.

March 6, 2018
The SECRET LIFE of ANNA BLANC by Jennifer Kincheloe – Mystery Thriller, Female Sleuth, Victorian

An intractable and pampered debutante with plenty of pluck turns detective in Jennifer Kincheloe’s award-winning debut The Secret Life of Anna Blanc.

The year is 1907 in Los Angeles. Anna Blanc may be privileged and beautiful, but the one thing she lacks is freedom. Escaping from her possessive father is more difficult than she thinks since she keeps getting caught in humiliating circumstances, which only taints her social status. Regardless, Anna has a mind of her own and determines to get involved in one area that is entirely unladylike: police work.

Finding an ad in a local paper, Anna finagles her way into an assistant matron position at the LAPD. While on her first assignment at a local brothel, Anna overhears a conversation between of a police officer and a coroner as they examine the corpse of a prostitute. Although the men rule the young woman’s death a suicide, Anna is convinced that the cause of death is murder, especially when she learns that the harlot’s death is just one in a string of murders.

Anna commences undercover investigations, which she keeps under tight wraps. In the meantime, the LAPD sets up a sting operation to catch a rape fiend. Anna volunteers, working alongside the handsome but unpredictable Joe Singer. While romance seems to brew between the unlikely pair, Anna’s father makes plans for her to marry a wealthy banker, Edgar Wright. Amid the strange love triangle, Anna hopes to nab both the rape fiend and prostitute murderer. Whether or not she can convince the LAPD of her sleuthing capabilities before another murder occurs remains to be seen.

Kincheloe does a killer job keeping her audience hooked from one page to the next as her protagonist heroine whose insular life evolves as she faces perils of one kind or other. Kincheloe’s highly-developed cast includes only a handful of supporting characters while the bulk of her cast is made up of colorful foils and red herrings, coming in every shape, size, sex, and demeanor imaginable that befits an early 20th-century setting.

Tight sentence structures dripping with rich metaphorical descriptions and hyperbole laced with sarcasm, wit, and humor grace the pages of this award-winning debut novel. Scenes heavily peppered with romantic tension, sexual innuendoes, replete with unremitting twists and turns shift between characters resulting in a mighty fine read.

A top-rate novel “inspired by police matron Alice Stebbins Wells, who in 1910 became the first woman police officer in Los Angeles,” The Secret of Anna Blanc has all the elements of going beyond the bookshelf and onto the Silver Screen.

March 5, 2018
The VITRUVIAN HEIR by L.S. Kilroy – Y/A Steampunk, Fantasy

It is the 23^rd century. Eighteen-year-old Lorelei (Lore) Fetherston lives in Vitruvia. This area, once known as the United States, is under a monarchist regime that dictates Victorian and Edwardian principles, including the subordination of women on various levels. One issue that greatly affects Lore, is the custom of parents to arrange their children’s nuptials. Lore is earmarked to marry Gideon, a man she does not love, in three weeks time. If she were to have her way, she’d marry Fallon, a man her parents have dismissed. Added to this, Lore’s talent for writing is summarily squelched under the iron hammer of Vitruvian’s laws against freedom of speech.

While trying to figure out how to escape her upcoming marriage, Lore becomes the recipient of her grandmother’s tiny music box that contains information on Artemis Klepes. Meeting with the supposed crazed scientist, Lore receives from him a journal, which transforms into a suitcase filled with her grandmother’s controversial book collection. Although the banned literature is nothing less than eye-opening, it doesn’t change her current situation. Lore still must find a way to escape her arranged marriage.

Kilroy’s futuristic realm, replete with a repressive quasi-Orwellian setting, is riddled with everything sinister. Among her mix of developed and elusive characters and creatures (i.e., yoctos, minuscule beasts; galateans, humanoids), Kilroy keeps readers wondering who can be trusted.

While punctuating her narrative with cruel and brutal scenes, Kilroy weaves in Lore’s gift for story writing. Amid oppressive situations, Lore collects the personal accounts of repressed women—stories she hopes one day will be made known to the world. It is in the shaping of this heroine as a lover of humankind that makes Lore such a unique and appealing character.

A natural storyteller, Kilroy engages her audience on a deeper reading level from the get-go through inferencing. This powerful tool enables readers the opportunity to create the necessary puzzle pieces that will aid in completing the plot.

Balancing familiar with unexpected description and a smooth narrative voice, this is a Y/A classic in the making and has the power to develop a loyal readership.

December 4, 2017
CORRALLING KENZIE: BOOK 4 of the WINTERS SISTERS by Joanne Jaytanie – Genetic Engineering, Fantasy, Romance, Psychics

Jaytanie veers off the sister track with her introduction to brand-new characters in her latest sizzling Winters Sisters Series read, Corralling Kenzie.

Kenzie Vaughn leaps out of her bed in the dead of night, responding to a cry from her horse. She discovers Boone shot and bleeding out. Kenzie contacts her neighbor, Victory Winters, who happens to be the closest vet in the area. While Victory is tending to Boone and Kenzie, Logan Mendoza, one of the DNA-enhanced Special Operations Command team (SOCOM) who investigates her ranch, is confident that the notorious Kaleidoscope Group (KG) used the mysterious shooting to get to Kenzie. Further probing indicates that Kenzie’s background may provide essential clues, particularly from her brother, Marcus who was sent to an institution when he was seven.

It is during an attempt on Kenzie’s life that she encounters Marcus. He, in turn, sets up a meeting with SOCOM to divulge the connective tie with KG. Indeed, KG is in the process of furthering their diabolical DNA experimentation, and Kenzie is a key player. More information unfolds with each day as Kenzie develops friendships with the Winters sisters. During Logan’s assignment to guard Kenzie, the two become close, and their friendship evolves into a steamy romance. Logan determines to keep her safe even while he’s away on a brief mission. But upon his return, Kenzie is not around. She’s been kidnapped!

For fans who are caught up in the lives of the Winters sisters, they are in for a big surprise with Jaytanie’s fourth installment. Up to this point, books one thru three have mainly concentrated on Victory, Payton, and Willow and KG’s sinister schemes directed toward the girls. But with the addition of the sisters’ neighbor Kenzie, Jaytanie opens the door to a whole new world of outsiders who have fallen prey to DNA tampering. Although pseudo-realism in design, this chilling realm into the dark side of medicine is reminiscent of the grisly experiments on children throughout history.

Jaytanie does a stellar job balancing the bad and ugly with the good, and “good” comes in various forms, the most obvious from the alpha-male SOCOM team and the Winters sisters. But on a deeper level, Jaytanie has created relatable characters; their near-realistic personas are riddled with strengths and weakness, even on a romantic playing field. Certainly, when Logan and Kenzie get their mojo on, it’s steamy. Leading up to those moments, Jaytanie sets an example of what a beautiful friendship should look like—slow but steady.

As with all of the books in this series, Corralling Kenzie functions perfectly well as a stand-alone read. There is richness when readers start from the very beginning of the series. Let’s just say that Jaytanie is a master of all things and will thrill and delight new readers as well as her loyal fans with this new installment.

The exciting aspect of this series is that book four does not complete the set. Closing on a major cliffhanger, Jaytanie has much more in store for her beloved audience. Stay tuned!

October 29, 2017
WILLOW’S DISCOVERY by Joanne Jaytanie – Romantic Thriller, Military, Genetic Engineering

More danger lurks around the Winters Corporation with Willow as the next target in Willow’s Discovery, book three of the romantic thriller series by Joanne Jaytanie.

Willow enters her office one morning to find it completely trashed. Fortunately for them, the Winters Corporation’s files weren’t touched. But Wyatt Farraday, Tristan’s brother, believes that this was an inside job and he thinks Willow should use her newfound aura skills to interview the corporation’s staff in an attempt to uncover a mole. The interviewing process leads to clues that Biotec (connected to the infamous Kaleidoscope Group) is indeed spying on the Winters Corporation.

Meanwhile, Willow plans to meet with a potential buyer for her parent’s old complex. But when she gets there, things go from eerie to dangerous as a strange man attempts an attack. Although Willow narrowly escapes, she can’t shake the memory of the event – which is understandable – but moreover, there is something about the man that seems familiar… Willow is shocked to realize she knows the man’s voice. Now, if only she can place it.

Willow’s experience is nothing less than unnerving. Yet, she has no idea that there will be more attempts on her life. Amid unsettling scenes, a burgeoning romance ripens between Willow and her protector, Wyatt. Whether or not Wyatt can successfully shield her from harm remains to be seen, especially when she finds herself face-to-face with her stalker.

Winters series’ fans have much to look forward to in Jaytanie’s third installment. Willow’s Discovery is a nail-biter and as more familial secrets surface, danger mounts for Willow! Jaytanie surrounds Willow with both favorite and dark characters from the previous novels—plus a few new members—and then places her cast within settings that are a balanced mix of engaging dialogue, suspense, romantic tension, and steamy love scenes. Of course, as with Victory and Payton in books one and two, Willow not only discovers but also must find a way of embracing her own set of telepathic abilities in order to survive the road ahead.

Joanne Jaytanie aptly incorporates back-stories from the previous books a little at a time and savvy readers new to the series will want to go back and read from the beginning. Each book is truly a stand-alone story, but readers of the romantic thriller genre won’t want to miss one word of Jaytanie’s hot, steamy action scenes and compelling storylines. Jaytanie closes Willow’s Discovery with an eye-opening cliffhanger—a perfect set-up for book four, Corralling Kenzie.

Thrilling and tantalizing, Joanne Jaytanie’s third book in the Winters Sisters series, is sure to please loyal fans and have new readers begging for more in Willow’s Discovery.

August 24, 2017
HEART-SCARRED by Theo Czuk – Literary Western, Coming of Age

Author Theo Czuk provides a refreshing wave of storytelling in his award-winning literary Western debut novel, Heart-Scarred.

Rory Casso works as a shotgun freighter with the Pinkerton Detective Agency alongside his partner, Juke Bauque, running capital (i.e., money, furs, gold) up and down the Platte for the Reynolds Savings and Loan payroll. Because bandits lay traps along the way, the partners travel separately. Rory, who lived among the Hunkpapa Indian tribe when he was a boy, uses his skill of trail scouting to keep away from the gang. Juke may be part Native American, but he isn’t familiar with indigenous skills since he was “privately tutored and socially cultured.”

Enter Bronwyn Mason, a childhood friend of Rory’s who plans to open the first one-room school house in Rawlings. Although she hasn’t seen Rory in years, Bronwyn is relieved to meet Rory’s partner, Juke so that she can hire him to be one of her drivers to transport three wagon loads of school material. Bronwyn’s joy about establishing a school house quickly turns to sorrow when she hears that the Thompson gang murdered her father, the esteemed Marshal Isham Mason. Even though she is grief-stricken, she is determined to fulfill her mission. Bronwyn’s traveling band faces various calamities en route, especially when they get held up by Indian warriors. What she doesn’t expect is that the person who comes to the rescue is none other than Rory. Romance blooms between the childhood friends and all appears to go well until the Thompson gang catches up with them.

Western enthusiasts in search of a refreshing take on their favorite genre have much to look forward to in Czuk’s award-winning novel. Czuk adds verisimilitude to his story by incorporating a host of realistic characters. Veering away from stereotypes, Czuk presents protagonists that mimic the educational and societal waves taking place during the mid to late 1800s.

Czuk creates three different people from three different educational backgrounds. Rory is a white man whose comes from a dysfunctional home but finds stability living among Native Americans. Juke, who is half black and half Native American, is brought up in the cultural surroundings of Boston—the antithesis of what would traditionally come out of western tribes. Bronwyn—who learned everything she needed to know about life through her father—in many respects reflects an “Annie Oakley” figure, but much more feminine.

There is more to the Old West than being chock-full of rough and tough characters. Much of the gruff personas came from merely surviving day to day. Czuk aptly weaves in plenty of historical information that shines a light on the differences of what life was like between the eastern and western territories. While pointing out Native American history (including connections with Ireland during the Great Potato Famine), Czuk gives attention to education, or the lack thereof, especially in the West, and thus Bronwyn’s desire to develop a one-room schoolhouse.

Czuk offers a well-balanced mix of storytelling, history, engaging dialogue, and thought-provoking themes that go beyond the good, bad and the ugly in his novel, “Heart-Scarred.”

August 15, 2017
PAYTON’S PURSUIT, The WINTERS SISTERS, BOOK TWO by Joanne Jaytanie – Paranormal/Military Romance

A diabolical plot brews in the midst of a steamy romance in author Joanne Jaytanie’s second Winters’ sisters’ novel, Payton’s Pursuit.

Continuing where book one left off, Victory and Tristan marry, and Morgan and Collin—Lawrence Braxton’s DNA guinea pigs—join forces with Tristan’s team and the Winters Corporation in Washington State for book two. Payton Winters, one in a set of triplet sisters, learns from Victory that her ability to detect and inadvertently calm Collin’s unstable emotional levels has something to do with the specially formulated fertility drug their mother used for conception.

Concurrently, Braxton, his company Biotec, and the clandestine Kaleidoscope Group remain at large, which means that Victory (and quite possibly all of the sisters) is still a prime target because of her powerful telepathic ability to communicate with animals.

Payton attends dog shows with the last person she would want assigned to be her bodyguard: Collin McBain, the very same man who kidnapped Victory when she was held captive at Biotec (in book one).

During one of the dog shows, Collin finds out that his young stepsister, Emma, may be in trouble and assigns a team to keep an eye on her. After connecting the dots, he and Payton learn that the Kaleidoscope Group runs the boarding school for specialized students, and that the group has chosen Emma for more reasons than Collin and Payton realize. What’s even worse is Victory’s discovery of their mother’s fertility research, which has ties to none other than Biotec.

Needless to say, close quarters breeds love, and Collin and Payton fall in love. Amid their burgeoning romance, Braxton relentlessly searches for Emma. Providing for Emma’s safety, however, turns out to be a more complex problem than Collin and Tristan’s crew thought.

Many returning characters, as well as a new supporting cast, grace the pages of Jaytanie’s second book in the Winters series. Punctuated with aspects of book one, Chasing Victory, Payton’s Pursuit clearly can function as a stand-alone, yet, it is highly recommended for readers new to Jaytanie’s Winters series to start with book one to appreciate the series’ plot dynamics. One of the most important plot dynamics is in understanding how telepathy plays into the sisters’ lives. This begins with Victory who first discovers that her gift—which is heightened when she meets her future husband Tristan—goes well beyond working with animals. Of course, Jaytanie does not dwell on the details of Victory’s story—kidnapping and romantic ties to Tristan. So, first-time readers will miss out on those nerve-racking and spicy tidbits.

Payton’s Pursuit plot tension builds slowly while throwing in a whole bunch of twisty turns that will have your engines racing until the very end. Consistent with her series is Jaytanie’s writing style, including a well-defined cast, woven together with engaging dialogue and riveting scenes.

June 20, 2017