Chanticleer Book Reviews

Category: Reviews

  • DEADLY THYME by R.L. Nolen — a British whodunit psychological thriller

    DEADLY THYME by R.L. Nolen — a British whodunit psychological thriller

    A little girl is missing, but her mother is reluctant to talk to the police detectives who can help find her, leaving a twisted psychopath free to terrorize a Cornwall village with increasingly bloody deeds.

    Ten-year-old Annie Butler goes seashell gathering one Sunday morning and does not return. Her mother, Ruth, is fearful of reporting Annie missing to British law enforcement because of her own dark past. The fear of the possible fate of her missing daughter overrides any of Ruth’s own fears.

    Once Ruth levels with the police, she enlists the sympathy of Inspector Jon Graham, who has come to Cornwall on an entirely different assignment—to find out if corruption is the reason why the local police chief has suddenly come into a large sum of money. The search for Annie moves agonizingly slowly for her mother.

    The novel unfolds in stages, introducing Annie as a brave little soul and her mother as loving, but embattled. Ruth is convinced her own dark past has caught up with her. The locals include a steely-eyed police chief with a heart of gold and a bank account to match, and a plodding, plump but persistent cop who complains humorously about “Her Indoors” (his wife).

    Several people emerge as suspects in the kidnapping of Annie, even the aforementioned plodding policeman on whose property (a rundown trailer) visiting Inspector Jon Graham is staying in while on his assignment.

    Technology plays a vital role in the case, leading ultimately to an eerily recognizable shadow on a video. There are brief vignettes of the perpetrator, showing how deep into madness and sadism he has sunk; of Annie bravely trying to figure out how to send a secret message to her mother; and of Ruth herself, as she deals with her deepest dread.

    This is Rebecca Nolen’s second full-length mystery novel, and she writes dialogue like an old hand. She has mastered both the nuances of British English, including some rustic dialects, and the laid back American drawl of Ruth and her fresh-off-the-plane-from-Texas mother.

    The setting, a quaint West Country village in Cornwall by the swirling sea with high cliffs aplenty for falling off, is almost a character in itself.  Offering a plethora of red herrings to confuse even the most diligent mystery buff, Nolen’s engrossing complex storyline throws two budding love affairs and some exceedingly ghoulish crimes into the mix into this suspenseful whodunit.

    An intriguing British mystery with a slight Texas twang, Deadly Thyme is a psychological chiller with a myriad of plot twists, layered personalities, and at its center, one unusually clever, courageous little girl that will keep readers guessing to the very end.

     

  • WAKE ME UP by Justin Bog — a psychological mystery/suspense literary work

    WAKE ME UP by Justin Bog — a psychological mystery/suspense literary work

    A teenage boy lies in a coma, mentally reliving the events leading up to his attack by a gang of classmates on a random wilding spree.

    From his hospital bed, Chris Bullet suffers the aftermath of being cornered, mocked, and bludgeoned by boys who have correctly sensed his vulnerability (from their viewpoint)—he is gay, though Chris tries to hide it.  Comatose, Chris “sees” through closed eyes the hidden actions, fears, loves, and guilt of those whose lives intersect his.

    Why did Ellis, the boy Chris secretly desired, join his attackers?  Why is Geoff, Chris’ lawyer father, so depressed, and indeed, suicidal? Why does Chris’ poetess/professor mother clamp the lid so tightly on her feelings? In the middle of this triangle, is a visiting writer named Deepika who begins an affair with Geoff, is going to have his “love” child, Chris’s half-sibling. All the while, Deepika may be running away from her own fate. Somehow, Chris walks in the minds of these people and others, slowly comprehending what led to his attack. At times he accesses an alter ego, the main character in Deepika’s latest collection of short fiction—Sai, a quick-witted, openly gay newspaper reporter.

    The genius of author Justin’s Bog’s first full-length novel is that though everything Chris “knows” and recounts in his inner monologue is mysterious, maybe mystical, there is no hint of hocus-pocus, nor of the vague disjointed dream sequences one might expect from an unconscious protagonist.

    In the brief lead-up and denouement we see reality clearly: the attack and the aftermath. In between, everything that “happens” to Chris in his shut-off state is just as real and just as believable–but impossible. It would be hard to identify a literary precedent for this method of construction—Franz Kafka, perhaps, meets Lewis Carroll.

    Bog’s Wake Me Up is a mind-tickling read, combining a headline-grabbing story (defenseless boy battered to mental oblivion by brutish thugs), an over-arching theme (how do we as a society handle hate crime?), and a line-up of complex characters subtly analyzed and connected in the mind of a brilliant, hypersensitive, but comatose adolescent.

    Wake Me Up is a trip through the brain of an injured teenage boy whose supercharged perceptions expose the secret sins of those he wants to love and hopes to believe in.

  • JACKIE by John Tammela, a coming-of-age memoir– WWII era

    JACKIE by John Tammela, a coming-of-age memoir– WWII era

    From the first chapter of this delightful coming-of-age memoir, it’s clear that Jackie is a little boy with a big imagination. Whether he’s donning a homemade crown for his mock coronation or building a snow castle to defend the neighborhood, Jackie finds magic in the simplicity of everyday life.

    The author begins his story – Jackie’s story – in the late 1930s in his home town of Niagara Falls, Canada. It’s an era of innocence and promise. And for 6-year-old Jackie, it’s the beginning of an age of life lessons and remarkable discovery. Like most children, some of the adventures and lessons in his path seem big and scary. But, be it facing a trip to the dentist, crossing a bridge for the first time or taking an aero car ride high above the Niagara whirlpool, Jackie learns that reflection, investigation and trust in the people around him can help him overcome his fears.

    Jackie’s new-found knowledge is not limited to how he interprets to the external world. The author also offers a glimpse into Jackie’s emotional and sexual awakenings from his first crush to the touch of a girl’s skin. Jackie’s perceptions of his physical and emotional reactions to each encounter are completely believable for a boy of his age, providing a level of honesty that make them feel innocently real.

    Jackie’s story continues into the early 1940s. The simple games of hide and seek that he and his friends play take on a new dimension with “sides” and “prisoners.” But the World War is always at a safe distance and, although farms are short of manpower with women filling in where they can, the reality of war does not invade or overpower the story.

    In the tradition of “Stand by Me,” “Jackie: the adventures of a little boy trying to grow up” transports the reader to a simpler era in which children are allowed to follow the lead of their imaginations and create their own fun.

    And as we join Jackie in his adventures we gain insight by taking the lessons he learns to take to heart. Targeted at middle graders, John Tammela’s memoir is an enjoyable snapshot into a young boy’s life. And with a well-considered Q&A at the end it’s the perfect vehicle for parent-child sharing and discussion.

  • LIFE ON BASE: QUANTICO CAVE by Tom and Nancy Wise,

    LIFE ON BASE: QUANTICO CAVE by Tom and Nancy Wise,

    Life on Base: Quantico Cave is a riveting portrayal of the lives of children whose parents serve in the armed forces. Being a teenager is hard enough, but adding the constant uprooting and moving from base to base adds its own unique challenges as well as rewards.

    The story focuses around young Stephen, a “military brat”—a term that these children use to distinguish themselves from their civilian counterparts. Stephen finds himself uprooted once again from his most recent home in California and moved across the country to Quantico Bay, Virginia. His father is a Marine and relocating often has become a part of Stephen’s life. However, becoming accustomed to something is not the same as liking it. And Stephen didn’t like it. No matter the location the houses looked the same, the colors were the same, even the base housing furniture was made from the same Naugahyde vinyl. However, the faces did change and, like most of the other kids; Stephen knew the drill about making friends quickly, along with finding his place in the military-influenced hierarchy of who is who among the kids.

    Quite frankly, Stephen was becoming complacent about the continuous moving and felt that life was becoming the same old same old, but that was all about to change.

    An old acquaintance from Stephen’s past has returned and things are not perfect between the two. From day one of their renewed “relationship,” Rick is determined to make life difficult for Stephen. What was Stephen to do with someone that constantly wanted to fight? This rivalry sets the background for a story that all middle school to high school children can relate to—there always seems to be a bully or a hotheaded kid to contend with and no way to avoid the inevitable conflicts.

    For those unaware of the surroundings of Quantico Bay, authors Tom and Nancy Wise give a good background in the introduction. The USMC base is located near the Potomac and was built right over top of old Civil War encampments. This setting provides the local military brats with trench works, cannon balls, and makeshift bunkers that, simply put, make it an irresistible place to hang out.

    The story takes a gripping and unsuspected twist when a hurricane hits the base. When Stephen goes exploring the next day, amidst the uprooted trees and overflowing creeks, he discovers a mysterious cave. Little did he know how much of an integral role that this cave will take in his life and the lives of his cohorts.

    This book not only does an admirable job of giving readers an insight on military base life for a youth growing up, it also gives an accurate portrayal of life as a kid today. Challenges exist, personalities will clash, and there will always be that one person that tends to resort to bullying to prove that he or she is king/queen of the hill.

    Authors Tom and Nancy Wise effectively use this book, while telling a suspenseful story, to show middle grade readers that there are positive ways to handle these situations without sounding preachy or admonishing. Avoiding physical confrontations, resolution of disagreements with the help of others, the value of real friendship, and the importance of family are issues that are wrestled within this captivating and enlightening book that will appeal to parents and children alike. All of this is delivered in a truly engaging and spirited story—the first installment of the “Life on Base” series—that will ring true to young people of all walks of life about the challenges that they face every day.

     

  • THE RED RIBBON by Rachel B. Ledge, an 18c. British historical thriller

    THE RED RIBBON by Rachel B. Ledge, an 18c. British historical thriller

    Julia King has begun to have haunting visions of the horrific event she witnessed at the last masquerade ball of London’s 1772-1773 social season, a scene she has been trying ever since to forget—her lover, Roland de Claire, murdered her best friend Annie in cold blood.

    Julia considers herself lucky to have found someone willing to wed her after being embroiled in the dreadful courtroom drama surrounding Roland’s crime, in which she was tapped as the only eyewitness.

    Now comfortably, if not precisely happily, married to successful, socially acceptable Charles King, she roams her idyllic estate with her sister Lennie, trying to discourage the younger girl’s obvious interest in a dashing sea captain, and suppress her own romantic memories of Roland. Recurring visions of Annie’s murder, however, give Julia the discomfiting sense that all is not as it seems.

    When Lennie falls pregnant and has to leave the country in disgrace, Julia is alone with Charles, who is gradually revealed as cunning, ruthless, and utterly domineering. He claims he is the long-estranged brother of her now hung sweetheart Roland, and takes her to the de Claire estate to prove it. There, driven by her nightmares, her suspicions of his motives become so apparent that Charles has her locked in a madhouse.

    Author Ledge has constructed a stirring, twisted tale in which something unexpected occurs in almost every chapter. Some readers may find that the beginning of the story moves slowly, but they will be rewarded for their patience when the suspense builds the work into a page turner. She writes equally vividly of grand masked balls, scurvy goings-on in London’s back alleyways, and the creaking decks of a ship at sea. And she neatly ties together all the plot threads into a satisfying ending. 

    The Red Ribbon proves a satisfying romp for fans of historical fiction, with its glittering ballrooms, bloody frays, mysterious subplots, mistaken identities, and voices from the grave.

  • MAUI WIDOW WALTZ by JoAnn Bassett, a humorous cozy mystery

    MAUI WIDOW WALTZ by JoAnn Bassett, a humorous cozy mystery

    Nervous and demanding brides are nothing new to wedding planner, Pali Moon. She’s been in the business long enough to know how to calm nerves and cool tempers. But nothing in her skill set has prepared her for Lisa Marie Prescott, a spoiled, demanding uber-rich kid who insists on the “perfect” Valentine’s Day wedding. A wedding that comes with more than a few complications and one sticky little detail – the groom is missing and presumed dead.

    Lisa Marie, however, insists that her fiancé, Brad, will show up on time. And if that fails, she has a back-up plan. GQ-handsome Kevin – Brad’s business partner – is going to stand proxy at the altar for Brad.

    With bills piling up, her house in foreclosure and her business being pulled out from under her, Pali isn’t in a position to question the legality of Lisa Marie’s crazy plan. Or the fact that Lisa Marie expects a paparazzi-worthy ceremony complete with one thousand origami paper cranes in just nine days. Then Lisa Marie’s father, known as the “Godfather of Garbage,” shows up with a warning: he’ll focus his talent for making people disappear on Pali if she doesn’t deliver on her promise of the perfect wedding.

    Pali’s desperate financial situation coupled with her strong sense of survival keeps her moving forward with arrangements for the big day. And with Lisa Marie’s demands escalating as her grip on reality crumbles, Pali is trapped in a no-win situation, struggling to keep the wedding-from-hell from turning into another Saint Valentine’s Day massacre.

    In this highly entertaining first installment of the “Islands of Aloha” mystery series, author JoAnn Basset delivers a well-rounded cast of intriguing, eclectic characters. The author’s use of first-person narrative invites the reader into Pali’s inner circle, her “ohana” or “family” of caring friends that give the book a cozy, close-knit feeling of community. And with crazy Lisa Marie driving the runaway bridal train, the author provides a hilariously unique twist on the “Bridezilla” theme.

    Wit and humor shine through the author’s savvy blending of endearing characters and incomparable island beauty. And with a fast-paced, cleverly-crafted plot, “Maui Widow Waltz” promises to be a hands-down favorite for cozy mystery enthusiasts!

  • HIGHER GROUND by McKendree Long, third novel in Western series

    HIGHER GROUND by McKendree Long, third novel in Western series

    In 1870, we meet up with Boss Melton and Dobey Walls during a trip to Kansas where, intent on vengeance, they are on the trail of a man named Penn. Penn and Red are the two remaining survivors of a gang of six white men who raped Dobey’s wife and killed her mother, Boss’s wife. The hunt takes Dobey and Boss to Hays, Kansas, where they are in the right place at the right time to save Wild Bill Hickok’s life. The men then head for Abilene on the train, still intent on killing Penn. Big William, left behind to tend the wagon and horses, creates two fake graves for Dobey and Boss at Boot Hill, hoping to head off the Pinkerton agents, who are still on their trail for the theft of the Yankee payroll just after the war.

    Those who have read McKendree Long’s first two novels will recognize these characters and events, and will once again have the opportunity to visit with such old friends as the Watsons in Santa Fe, Dobey’s mother, and Count Baranov. From the daily adventures of the men, to an edge-of-your-seat, blow-by-blow account of the Battle of Little Big Horn, (aka Custer’s Last Stand), the author combines his wonderful talent for storytelling with in-depth historical research, placing the reader right beside these men in their final days.

    Long’s ability to represent the vernacular of the time and his clear-eyed vision of the historical events leading up to Little Big Horn, will enthrall as well as educate.

    Walls and Melton embody the best of human values, exemplified through the valor of their actions, their honesty, and their determination to fight for what they believe to be just and right. These men leap off the page, remaining memorable long after the reader finishes the book.

    But above all, this is the story of men who meet and become friends, and whose characters are shaped by a series of dramatic historical events that defined our country.

    This novel goes beyond the typically simplistic view of the Civil War, delving into the divided loyalties of the homesteaders in the American West who found their families and friends fighting on opposite sides of the war. Long accurately portrays the dangers and shifting alliances of the Old West during the war, exposing the reader to a very different view of the war’s effects on the western states. 

    No Good Like It Is, Dog Soldier Moon, and Higher Ground create an award-winning trilogy of stories about the Civil War-era Western frontier that will leave readers feeling as if they spent many a pleasant hour with a cast of admirable and memorable characters who tell of their adventures and journeys. 

     

  • THE TREASURE OF OCRACOKE ISLAND by John Gillgren, third book in the Adventure of Cali Family Series

    THE TREASURE OF OCRACOKE ISLAND by John Gillgren, third book in the Adventure of Cali Family Series

    What could be more engaging for children and their families than a featured villain who impersonates the infamous pirate Blackbeard? Gillgren’s third book The Treasure of Ocracoke Island in The Adventures of the Cali Family series brings back old villains, introduces new plot twists, and puts more at stake to find lost treasure.

    It is the early 1700s, and Blackbeard prides himself on wreaking havoc, while also being an intelligent ladies’ man. However, his reign ends when a British ship invades, leading to his beheading at Ocracoke Bay; his treasure’s location is supposedly lost at sea. The year 1942 sails in, depicting the Russian ship Saratov being sunk by two torpedoes, which concealed a footlocker of gold that was going to pay the United States for war supplies.

    The reader is brought back to present day with the Cali family, who are forced to search for the lost treasure of Ocracoke Island. When the women in Carmine’s family are kidnapped by a sinister man resembling Blackbeard, him, Snail, Tommy Osawa, and NCIS Special Agent Moki Loo Tsing must battle against time to save their loved ones.

    Gillgren creates a stunning cast of villains that engage with the Cali family. The Blackbeard offender is both shocking and silly as he uses his faux accent to intimidate the women he kidnaps. Gillgren also brings back the dastardly villain Mr. Chang, who is determined to have his revenge on the Cali family for cheating him of money and opium. It becomes apparent as the novel progresses that Mr. Chang wants more than just wealth.

    This series continues to craft daring heroes and heroines. The women in the Cali family show resistance and strength against Blackbeard’s threat; emulating a sort of Charlie’s Angels attitude against a wannabe pirate with a ridiculous costume. Gillgren also continues to develop characters from his previous books, particularly in regards to Snail. Snail is a youth who shows great maturity when the kidnapping situation becomes intense, and he inspires the older men of the family to follow suit. Such characters are a great inspiration to how families come together in times of adversity.

    The novel contained enough tension and suspense to sink Blackbeard’s ship Adventure. The story contains multiple perspectives of different characters, leaving the reader with many cliff-hangers when the point of view shifted. Each character introduced new waves of anticipation.

    Gillgren’s children’s series The Adventures of the Cali Family offers another treasure travel story that pushes mystery, family, and adventure into new depths of fun.

    This reviewer highly recommends this book for children and their families who are interested in historical stories about adventure and family. Oh, and an ending that twists the tides of a plot.

  • I ONCE KNEW VINCENT by Michelle Rene, a historical fiction novel

    I ONCE KNEW VINCENT by Michelle Rene, a historical fiction novel

    Seven-year-old Maria Hoornik already knows more about life than she should, hiding in a curtained alcove whenever her alcoholic prostitute mother, Sien, brings customers home. One day, Sien brings home a different kind of man—an unknown artist, Vincent Van Gogh.

    Vincent, longing for stability amidst his frustrations and failures, is determined to create a cock-eyed semblance of family life with Sien, who is pregnant with another man’s child, and her daughter Maria, with whom he immediately bonds, admiring her critical honesty and calling her “Little Cat.”

    The three, and then Sien’s baby Wilhelm, form a fascinating ménage in new author Michelle Rene’s speculative novel based on considerable historical fact. Rene depicts Maria as a prodigy who comprehends her mother’s self-destructive habits all too well. Rene elucidates, through Maria’s curious gaze, the made-up family’s grinding poverty, Vincent’s stubborn insistence on doing his art his way despite his lack of economic success, and the constant quarrels over money and morals.

    The child unwillingly absorbs the distress when Vincent’s arrogant parents refuse to continue supporting their son’s liaison with a known whore, forcing Sien to revert to her old ways to provide food. Maria’s maturity is underscored in troubling vignettes: she sells her hair so they can all have one Christmas dinner, sacrifices a piece of cake to make a “soup” to feed baby Wilhelm when Sien’s milk runs dry, and rushes home in a thunderstorm to try to stop Vincent from discovering that Sien is once again up to her old tricks.

    Rene has designed Maria’s story with verve, splashing colorful images across a well-planned canvas: “Silence crept into the room and pulled up a chair for a nice long visit.” She deftly conveys a child’s perception of Van Gogh’s mental miasma: “Knowing what mood he would be in became a fine art in itself. I quickly became a master of that art.” The text is satisfyingly interspersed with the artist’s actual sketches and paintings of Sien, a notably ugly woman, and Maria, a serious, self-contained little girl rocking a cradle or sitting quietly while her mother sew; a little girl who, like Vincent, clearly wishes for the security of a real family.  

    Told through the eyes of a child, I Once Knew Vincent offers an imaginative study of a tormented genius who would create some of the world’s most recognized artworks. ​ ​

     

  • AGNES CANON’S WAR by Deborah Lincoln — a Civil War Novel

    AGNES CANON’S WAR by Deborah Lincoln — a Civil War Novel

    Agnes Canon is too intelligent, and too stubborn, to let others make decisions for her. No matter what the consequences, her choices will be her own.

    In this complex historical drama, schoolmarm Agnes Canon, refusing her father’s choice for a husband, leaves the safety of her Pennsylvania childhood home for the wilds of Missouri in the decade before the outbreak of the Civil War.

    On the way she meets, and eventually weds, Jabez Robinson, a medical man who has seen the wonders of the world and war at its foulest. Living in a territory with loyalties on both sides as the national conflict heats up, Jabez and Agnes, equally matched in intellect and stubbornness, abhor the Southern institution of slavery, but also despise the greed and interference of the North. Their struggles are real, and the chaos endured will pit their marriage against a dramatically changing civilization.

    ​Agnes is the pivotal character in this multi-layered story. She endures the pangs of childbirth and the deprivations of family life in a war zone. She watches as friends and neighbors go different ways in the war, and good men fight each other on the home front. She supports Jabez even as his publicly stated political ideals open them to harassment from violent, unprincipled militants.

    Deborah Lincoln, who has based this novel on the life history of her great grandparents, writes with emotional intensity about dark times in an embattled landscape.

    Unlike many Civil War sagas, this one takes no obvious sides. The focus is on Agnes—a vital, strong woman with feminist ideals, and Jabez, the only man smart and determined enough to gain her love. The romance is not overdrawn, though, and there is a complex skein of subplots providing scenes of rousing action and rich historical context.

    Agnes Canon’s War reminds us that war produces equal measures of bravery and barbarism, and those in its midst who hang on to their principles are rare and admirable. An excellent read that explores  love and societal schisms grown in the roots of cultural and political battles between the North and the South.