Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: 4 Star Book Review

The FORTUNE FOLLIES by Catori Sarmiento – Dark Fantasy/Horror, Alternative History – Sci-fi, Romance

In a dystopian future, two young women struggle for livelihood, love, and a better future in the very altered city of Seattle.

Sarah Igarashi came to Seattle out of desperation in 1949. World War II has ended, but not as described in our history books. It was won through the invasion of Japan by American military aided by metal robots known as Iron Boys, an invention of a manufacturing genius, Robert Sinclair. Sarah sees in the lights and new transportation systems of Seattle while she attempts to reunite with her cousin Penelope.

Both young women survived the internment camps during the war, but Penny, receiving the bulk of the family inheritance, lives in a large house shared by other relatives – a luxury compared to anything Sarah has ever known. She will have to work and pay rent to Penelope, which will mean long, dreary shifts in a Sinclair factory for pennies a day.

As Sarah begins to see what America has become, she longs for something better. Forced out on her own, she discovers that immigrants like herself are targets of violence and oppression. But a group calling itself the Patriots is quietly initiating a rumble of rebellion, speaking out for equality in a society that has become increasingly stratified. Sarah is gradually drawn to them despite the danger of involvement and the over-reaching power of the Sinclair-dominated system.

Awarding winning author Sarmiento was raised in the Pacific Northwest and has lived in Japan, so the settings and the diverse cultures of this fascinating fantasy are well within her ken. The most curious and attractive feature of her novel is that the plot is based around family failings and restarts, with the futuristic twists serving more as background and color for the personalities and their clashes and reconciliations. Instead of being “about” the new technologies that have changed the world for better or worse, as is generally the case in future fiction, The Fortune Follies is about people seeking comfort, safety, and some hope of success in an unpromising atmosphere of gloom and overarching avarice.

Japanese speech, characters, and culture provide a further layer of interest. The reader will see Penny’s search for love, slowly warming her cold, arrogant exterior, while Sarah’s determination to stop the greed machine will overcome her need for personal security. Though their differences are notable and a source of constant tension, both women find solace in music.

Sarmiento’s broad vision makes this novel work, with careful and smart details as the treatment of immigrants and the poor still rankle in today’s real America. The reader could envision a sequel involving a war between people and machines, but that, of course, if up to the author.

The Fortune Follies won First Place in the CIBA 2018 CYGNUS Awards for Science Fiction novels.

June 10, 2020
The SECRET of the MOON by Anthony Allaway – Metaphysical Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Myths & Legends

In a world once nearly obliterated by war, mankind has been put under the control of powerful religious forces. However, not all humans are convinced of the beneficence of their rulers. A young man named Axel is destined to combat the evil that pervades his realm.

Axel is an introspective young man, partner to Val, his beautiful true love, with whom he shares many secrets from childhood. He questions the meaning of life, the mysteries of the cosmos, even the works of God. His nemesis Lucinder is the offspring of a mother raped and savagely beaten by his priest father, leaving him with no feelings of love or compassion, only hatred underpinned by a deep cynicism. Now known as the Serpent Priest, Lucinder and his goddess-like lover Shira hold thousands in thrall, promulgating rigid religious doctrine. When Axel learns that Lucinder is planning a global upheaval, he knows he must act before Lucinder has a chance to exact his wrath.

First, Axel urges his little band of loyal companions to retreat by entering the Enchanted Forest.

The forest is seen as a mysterious, dangerous place, but Axel reveals that he spent time in the forest as a child and that there are forces of good within its shadows. From a Buddha-like human figure and heavenly visions, Axel will learn why he has been chosen and what sacrifices he will make in an epic battle against evil.

In this engaging debut fantasy, Anthony Allaway writes with an undeniable flair for the genre with tropes reminiscent of Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.

He uses Biblical lore, European mythology, and ancient folklore in his story, though all are clothed in illusion and metaphor. One example is the fruit tree that stands in the middle of the Enchanted Forest, the tree from which Axel and Val eat the fruit. As a consequence of taking and eating the fruit, the children are banished from the Temples of Avalon, where the monks reside. But from the fruit, in Allaway’s mystical depiction, Axel is given revelations about the powerful secret of the moon.

The author has created vibrant characters: innocent children; nefarious priests; memorable females like the generous-hearted Grace and the nasty-minded Shira; and angelic beings who seem a cross between the pure spoken of in religious literature and the all-seeing but humanly flawed celestial overseers described in Greek mythology.

The blend of heady philosophy and an action-packed plot forms a colorful, page-turner-of-a novel. Allaway’s story is the stuff dreams are born out of, easily envisioned in cinematic images that will appeal to all imaginative readers.

May 29, 2020
DARED to RETURN: A Kate Anderson Mystery (Book 2) by J.J. Clarke – Cozy Mystery, Female Sleuth, Humorous Mystery

Kate Anderson has an exciting new life in Tampa Bay, Florida. An aspiring writer with a new book recently released, she’s left behind her old life as a court investigator in Kingseat, Missouri. But when she receives a frantic call from her ninety-two-year-old grandfather, Theodore, she hops on a plane back home.

Just five weeks earlier, Kate’s step-grandmother, Helen, died. Not long after Helen’s death, Kate’s grandfather was thrown out of his house and sent to the Squaw Valley Nursing Home, a place where old people go to die. Unbeknownst to Kate, most of Helen’s two-million-dollar estate has been left in trust – and not to her husband of twenty-five years. The trustee is a corrupt secret society known as HOGG, a group of important town officials who con elderly citizens out of their money, distribute it to charities and take a considerable percentage for themselves.

The elderly in town believe they are contributing to the betterment of the community. Kate refuses to sit idly by and teams up with her spunky publicist, Susie Jones, and former US Marshal and newly appointed Kingseat Police Chief, Reese Matthews, to exact revenge and bring down this ring of corruption. With a family feud, a suspicious trust, and a fiery sleuth, what could possibly go wrong?

Raised by her biological grandfather and step-grandmother, Kate hasn’t had what anyone would call an ordinary life. With a degree in law enforcement, she worked as a bond investigator until she became the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Using her law knowledge, she gave the U.S. Marshals a merry chase as she worked to clear her name.

Now, with two deaths tied to her, Kate is a tough nut to crack, and she isn’t about to let the evil forces at work in Kingseat get away with stealing from her grandfather. Her tenacity even causes her to punch a lawyer in court (and get away with it), and her endless costume closet presents unlimited chances to catch her prey red-handed initially in some humorous ─ and oddly satisfying ─ ways. She and Susie make a modern-day, irreverent superhero duo, righting the wrongs done by the evil, dominating force of HOGG.

Clarke delivers the second book in the Kate Anderson Mystery series with a lead character that will capture the imaginations of many. And while preying upon our seniors is a despicable act, what Kate does to right the wrongs will bring satisfaction to readers. This “beautiful little town with an underbelly of evil” hits close to home for some, and Kate’s fight for her grandfather is a fight for us all.

January 20, 2020
DRAWN BACK by Keith Tittle – Alternative History, Murder Mystery, Family Drama/Romance

Anyone who has fantasized about what it would be like to be a time traveler or have had a strong desire to put on a thinking cap then solve a puzzling murder might well find both of these wishes fulfilled vicariously through Keith Tittle’s début novel, Drawn Back.

Set in Portland, Oregon, this tale of greed, corruption, ruthless murder and love that spans many decades shifts back and forth between 1929 as the stock market crash approaches and the much-less calamitous year of 1991.

A dreadful murder takes place at the beginning of the novel to kick off the action in 1929; a preamble of what’s to come. Fast-forward to 1991 as Professor Patrick O’Connell is just beginning his tenure at Portland State’s history department, with a wage that’s not quite a living wage and a desire to find a place to live while he grades papers and contemplates his failed marriage. The answer comes sooner than expected when he meets the beautiful and charming Rachel Wirth, whose wily grandmother, Julia, insists that he move into her family home gratis instead of paying rent.

In his 10-Question Author Interview, Tittle admits that his approach to storytelling is strongly influenced by his love of movies from the 1930s and ‘40s – and a very good influence indeed. Tittle weaves a solid who-dun-it character-driven story, a multifaceted mystery incorporating elements of romance and time-travel. Despite the need for one more editorial pass, Drawn Back invites the readers to “…explore its characters’ motivations and morality in the darkest of circumstances.” A Matter of Justice, the author’s second title won the CIBA 2016 Clue Awards for Mystery and Suspense novels.

Unable to truly comprehend his newfound luck with these two remarkable women, O’Connell wanders about the otherwise empty house (both women live elsewhere) and literally steps back into the same dwelling 62 years earlier and becomes the sole witness of a well-planned murder. Then, by intervening with a critical piece of “placed” evidence, the wheels are set in motion for an incredible journey through time where any wrong move by the “guest” could have disastrous ramifications in the future yet to come.

Tittle delivers a most believable narrative that finds its focus around corporate greed, villains who are willing to do whatever it takes to “win,” and two women who are waiting for their hero to uncover the truth.

The question becomes, can our hero right the wrongs of the past without destroying the future? Readers will delight in the answers.

August 16, 2019
BREACHING the PARALLEL by MWAnderson – Military Sci-Fi, Alternate History, Time Travel

A one-way trip from the near future to the distant past forces one army unit to adapt to a life they could never have dreamt. Their flight into history will forever change the future that they know. Once there, they discover they are not the first to make the journey, and history as they knew it, has gone far, far off course.

As the story opens, the U.S. 4th Armored Cavalry Regiment is conducting an incursion into North Korea during the Second Korean War – an event that seems all too plausible based on 21st-century tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world. But their journey is interrupted by an explosion that interacts with time and space, instantly transporting the 500 men and women from the 21st century A.D. to sometime between 1,000 and 500 B.C.E. Their world is gone – and there’s no way back.

Their initial contact with a nearby village is peaceful until they are forced to decide whether to attempt to preserve the future, a future they are familiar with, or whether they should integrate themselves into their current circumstances and let future history take care of itself.

A local warlord has been regularly raiding their village and conscripting young men for soldiers. None have ever returned. This time it’s the warlord’s men who don’t make it back to camp. They are wiped out by 21st-century weaponry in a matter of seconds. It comes as no surprise, then, when a more substantial unit arrives on the scene to investigate.

Just as the soldiers begin to settle in, building homesteads, relationships, and new lives for themselves, they discover that they are not the first people to travel back in time. Those who have come before are enemies – old enemies.

As the story begins, the circumstances in which the 4th Armored Cavalry finds themselves in are reminiscent of two classic works of alternate history/time travel science fiction, Island in the Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling and 1632 by Eric Flint. In both of those series openers, an unexplained event transports a location, leaving the time travelers to adapt to their changed circumstances and figure out a way to thrive in the past.

The setup is a good basis for a Sci-fi. What makes Breaching the Parallel stand out from the rest is the interesting approach MWAnderson takes, by revealing that our protagonists are not the first to arrive and that people who traveled to the past before them, have become the dominant power in their brave new/old world. Breaching the Parallel sets the characters up for renewed conflict in a future book in this prospective series – a pretty interesting set of characters at that.

Breaching the Parallel is a military sci-fi with a clever twist that both thrills and intrigues. MWAnderson shows his knowledge in detailing how an explicitly military mission would conduct itself in a situation where the mission has changed out of all recognition. Those who love a good military sci-fi need look no further – MWAnderson delivers in spades.

Breaching the Parallel by MWAnderson won 1st Place in the CIBA 2017 Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction.

July 15, 2019
The MIDNIGHT CALL by Jode Millman – Female Sleuth, Police Procedural, Suspense/Thriller

In this fast-paced legal thriller, young attorney Jessie Martin faces multiple crises in both her personal and professional lives when her former high school teacher and beloved mentor calls in the middle of the night to confess a crime. He has just committed murder.

Jessie feels compelled to help Terrance Butterfield, after all the many times he has come to her aid, so she rushes to his side over the protests of her fiancé, and in spite of her third-trimester pregnancy.

When she arrives, she finds herself plunged into the depths of a nightmare that has only just begun. The ending will either make or break Jessie and everything she holds dear. As well as the lives and careers of everyone caught up in the bloody mess.

Although this story begins with Jessie receiving the titular midnight call, the pace of the story is driven by the investigation into the crime, the defendant, and eventually into Jessie herself.

The maneuvering of both legal teams sets a frenetic pace, as the District Attorney is driven to prosecute what turns out to be a high-profile case in the press as well as the courtroom. While the defense attorney sees the case as a way to solve his financial problems, feed his adrenaline addiction, and put himself back on top as the maverick defender with a nose for finding the weak spots in any case.

The punch and counterpunch between the rival legal teams push the story forward at a high-speed, as they maneuver both in and out of the courtroom. The revelation of new information, about both the crime and the people involved in it, is nothing short of fascinating.

As the case builds, Jessie’s life falls apart, and all her long-held secrets are laid bare. During these instances, the pacing slows a bit, in juxtaposition to the back-and-forth battles between the legal teams. The legal strategy and the courtroom battles create an intense page-turner of a book.

The ending of the case does an excellent job of making the reader – and the defense team – question every single thing that came before.

The Midnight Call won First Place in the 2014 CIBAs in the CLUE Awards.

May 21, 2019
The TRIAL of CONNOR PADGET by Carl Roberts – Legal Fiction, Literary, Fiction

When is murder justified?

If you ask the district attorney of this affluent Louisiana community where a man has shot and killed another man, and the murder captured live on TV, there is no justification.

Jack Carney sees it differently. An affluent middle-aged civil attorney, he considers the killing to be the result of a man pushed beyond his limits by another who seemingly destroyed his marriage, kidnapped his son, and might have been planning a horrible fate for the boy he stole.

There are real-world consequences to Jack’s taking the case. The shooter, a childhood friend, has no money, so Jack volunteers to take the case free of charge. Jack’s law firm is dismayed, his wife is unhappy with his decision, but Jack’s conscience, his religious convictions, and his military honor will not let him ignore his troubled friend.

There is no question about whether Connor Padget committed the crime. The real suspense is whether Jack can still lessen the charge of murder to manslaughter when the DA is determined to show no mercy to the defendant; when Connor’s wife and Connor himself put obstruction after obstruction in front of Jack in his determination to have the law do right by his friend.

While the crime story is suspenseful, it is nearly matched by other nuances that lift this novella well beyond the usual legal procedural.

Rarely does a book about the law take you this close into the mindset of an attorney. Carney isn’t a criminal attorney but his ability to think “legal” demonstrates how a well-trained mind can work even in a foreign territory like criminal law. His familiarity becomes our familiarity. This is not a blockbuster case; no mob bosses will fall; no bombastic courtroom duels await. What is showcased here, however, is good lawyering, legal competence, and a writer’s commitment to sharing his love of the law with his readers.

Familiarity also extends to the book’s Louisiana setting. With small but well-crafted touches, you are introduced to the writer’s south, not so much of a bus tour as a first-person sharing of the places where the characters live. You know he knows and loves his south and brings you along for a first-person ride.

Two marriages—the client’s and the lawyer’s – are central to understanding the fates of both Connor and Jack. Neither is happy nor conventional. Jack’s marriage is particularly at odds: his wealthy wife plans to build a home in an affluent neighborhood and live there whether Jack joins her or not. Their sexuality flourishes, but will the marriage survive? As for Connor’s marriage, the fact that the murdered man played a part in the dissolution of his marriage is clear, but what part remains an open question. Unlike the portrayals of the law and the south in this novel, the path ahead for both marriages remains mysterious throughout.

This reader can only hope the author rescues Jack Carney from the obscurity he seems determined to want and bring him back for another round or two of tussling with the law and his conscience.

May 7, 2019
NOWEVER by Kristina Bak – YA. Coming of Age, Paranormal/Magic

When 17-year-old high school student, Stevie Wales, suddenly blossoms, she and her best friend, the ever-popular Winter, have some adjusting to do. Sometimes, however, adjusting to new information between friends isn’t possible.

In their case, Stevie winds up alienated from Winter and the group in her Puget Sound Island community. She decides to become what she believes they all see – the weird girl. As her oddity status rises, so does her anger. When she takes a job at an equine therapy ranch, tending the horses used in the program, she discovers her unusual ability to take away pain in both animals and humans.

As she begins to feel needed, she lets go of some of that anger, but then, an accident with one of the horses leaves Stevie seriously injured. Her life becomes a twisted version of an already blurry existence as she struggles to find “normal” again.

Stevie embarks on a journey to find her father, a man the world believes dead. She convinces her mother and therapist that she needs to go to Australia, the place where the wreckage of her father’s boat washed ashore. Her search takes her to a strange continent, and though this exploration becomes much, much more, she may find a truth she isn’t ready to accept.

Despite being set in a not-so-distant future, Stevie’s teenage world isn’t so different from now. Mean girls are still mean girls, and the smart, shy students often feel like they don’t belong. So many teenagers, both male and female, may find Stevie’s (partially self-imposed) alienation relatable. Her artistic talents and her empathy for others are endearing traits that help bring Stevie to a culminating awareness. Both of these carry Stevie full-circle to find her version of normal, her definition – not the world’s. Seeing Stevie evolve into a confident young woman through her efforts is nothing short of inspirational.

While Stevie can take away the pain of others, she struggles to keep her gift and the consequences of using it a secret. However, it is only when she stops trying to keep it under wraps, is she able to heal herself as well as those around her.

One of the most engaging parts of the novel is Stevie’s time in Australia. This exotic, culturally diverse continent becomes a character unto itself, drawing Stevie into the adventure of a lifetime while giving her the closure she desperately needs. Pulled into the mysterious murder of a boy she meets, Stevie encounters others who inspire and help her find her father. She learns true contentment by assisting the family of the dead boy all while searching for her own history. Ironically, amid death, she finds life as she navigates a land as wild as her emotions.

May 6, 2019
AGED in CHARCOAL: A Stu Fletcher, PI Mystery Novel by Jeffrey Ridenour – Noir, Mystery, Detective Mystery

Aged in Charcoal by Jeffrey Ridenour is a classic hardboiled detective novel set in 1960s Bay area California. This novel features dirty cops, bribes, an inept justice system, and Stu Fletcher, an ex-cop turned detective, who despite his jaded outlook wants to do the right thing.

Fletcher has been hired by Maggie Ogilvy following her husband’s apparent suicide to find his long-lost sister, Bernie. Maggie doesn’t let Fletcher know what she plans to do once Bernie is found, only that she wants to know her whereabouts. It seems to have been her husband’s last wish to see his sister because Charles Ogilvy—a wildly successful architect who had his eye on running for lieutenant governor before his death, strangely didn’t leave behind any sort of suicide note. Instead, his last writing was a note to himself reading: “Find Bern. Must apologize.”

With nothing much more to go on, Fletcher finds himself embarking on what feels like a wild goose chase and more than once realizes he has run into a wall and must backtrack. He soon gets the idea to ask a local artist to draw pictures of Bernie, each one progressively aging her so that he may be able to show people what she possibly looks like now. But the closer he seems to get to finding Bernie, the farther away he gets from what is to be expected from a case like this. Along the way, Fletcher also has to contend with the local mob and soon finds himself in mortal danger.

This is the first book in the Stu Fletcher, PI thriller series. And while Ridenour unravels his story at a leisurely pace where nothing seems to happen quickly in the world of private investigating, the plot doesn’t want for twists and turns. This mystery uses slang from the time period in which it’s set, the ‘60s, and as such, some modern readers may cringe at some of the time-authentic slang. What readers will also find is a large cast of characters who serve to flesh out the setting, and an often-stark writing style that wastes no time in getting right to the point.

Aged in Charcoal reveals the seedy underbelly of the justice system—from dirty cops to inefficient courts. And in the end, the only good ending may be the justice you make for yourself.

Aged in Charcoal won First Place in the CIBA 2017 Clue Awards for Mystery novels.

April 19, 2019
Magic of the Pentacle by Diane Wylie – Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Romance, Historical Romance

Richard Blackstone, aka The Mesmerist, is a successful magician working in San Francisco, but in the city of millions, he is truly alone because Richard has a secret. He is immortal. Centuries ago, as a medieval knight in King Edward’s service, Richard’s life changed when he met a traveling magician and stole an enchanted amulet that granted him immortality, magical abilities, and the power to sense others’ emotions. But magic comes with a price.

After an enemy kills his wife and sons, he sees how miserable his long existence will be and gradually becomes determined to never love again rather than feel the heartbreak of loss; but following on overnight stay in a psychiatric hospital for an incident in a bar, Richard meets a woman who challenges his long-held beliefs.

What began as a bargain to help a patient becomes so much more for Dr. Juliana Nelson. After agreeing to attend one of Richard’s magic shows, Juliana can’t keep her mind or her hands off the sexy magician who is as mysterious as his magic show, but when she learns his secret, she is uncertain whether she can believe the tale. If it is untrue, Richard should be committed, but if she allows herself to believe it, she should be committed. If he is immortal, Julianna will inevitably be forced to give him up, and she is left to wonder if love can conquer time.

One strength of the novel is the paradoxical irony of Richard and Juliana’s relationship. After spending five hundred lonely years, he has now found his love redemption with Juliana, but in order to fully immerse himself, he must let go of the family he watched die in the fifteenth century. If Richard ever wants to find happiness in his present life, he has to free himself from his past life, and Juliana may be the key to his freedom.

But can this new couple’s found love balance a future of pain and loss?

A mixture of romance, the paranormal, and historical fiction, this novel has something for everyone. Romance lovers get their literal knight in shining armor. History fans will get to experience a fifteenth-century battle in a video game style quest, and paranormal buffs will love the power of the amulet. All in all, a fine read.

March 22, 2019