Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: 5 Star Book Review

BALLAST POINT BREAKDOWN by Corey Lynn Fayman – Noir, Scuba Diving, Crime/Action/Adventure

Secrets buried at sea have a grave tendency to resurface in time. The incident happened twenty years ago. A Naval exercise has gone wrong at a rocky point near San Diego. Not just wrong, it was a complete Ballast Point Breakdown. Butch Fleetwood participated in that Naval exercise. He was a rebel. After so many years, Butch Fleetwood is an urgent problem for P.I. Rolly Waters now, even though Butch Fleetwood is dead.

There’s a well-attended party at the San Diego Bay Admirals Club. Guests are enjoying a celebration of the Navy’s top-secret dolphin divers program on the brink of its retirement, and the pending release of the trained dolphins. The sounds of music and conversation fill the air. Then the sound of a motor dominates. A speedboat traveling the Bay approaches fast and crashes the party, right through the frontage windows. Janis Withers crawls out from the explosive blaze, and with her last breath, shouts that Arion has returned.

P.I. Rolly Waters wasn’t at the party, but heard about it from a fellow musician who was playing the gig. Rolly is hired to investigate and soon connects Butch Fleetwood’s dog tags to Janis. He had been one of the first Navy divers working in the secret dolphin program. The local police and the FBI are wary as Rolly uncovers clues about several prominent, and also some shadowy individuals. The Navy is not happy that Rolly is asking questions about Arion. With so much against him, Rolly incurs insults and much worse. He views the abuses as expressions of the other person’s fears. What’s worse are the dire threats he faces. Despite the questions and deterrence from the authorities, this determined musician/P.I. follows the trail to its exciting crescendo.

This is the fourth novel in the Rolly Waters mystery series, and author, Corey Lynn Fayman paints fascinating glimpses into the world of music and into the contrasting world of Navy programs. This book is a refreshing and contemporary remake of the classic P.I. Genre, including a thrilling and diverse group of supporting characters and suspects. The narration is crisp and bold and is part of the driving force that moves the plot forward at a high velocity.

Building suspense into a real page-turner is this author’s forte, and the resolution at the end is nothing short of breathtaking. Rolly Waters reveals that what can be seen on the surface may be a mere reflection of what someone designs. He digs deep to uncover what really happened so long ago. Seeing through the murky water of lies, he finds a wave no one was prepared to ride.

April 22, 2020
DHARMA, A REKHA RAO MYSTERY by Vee Kumari – Cozy Mystery, Female Sleuth, Multi-Cultural Mystery

A complex murder mystery always requires a little spice. In Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery, that extra seasoning is provided by the casting of an Indian American woman as the amateur sleuth, despite her realistic fears for her personal safety.

Professor Rekha Rao is no Bollywood Mighty Girl. She’s a whip-smart American-born 32-year-old college instructor who must deal with her own PTSD after the murder of her father and her unstoppable passion for releasing the man wrongly convicted of her father’s slaying. That obsession is the reason Rekha was dismissed from her old teaching position. The scene is set for deep, personal involvement in the murder of a colleague, a fellow professor who is killed. And a rare, centuries-old statue excavated from an archeological dig in India is the murder weapon.

When Rekha, an expert in the art of ancient India, is asked by the Pasadena police for some background on the statue of Durga, a well-known goddess in India’s rich religious tapestry, she’s not content to limit her investigation to the narrow role assigned to her. Despite the handsome police detective’s warning to not continue the investigation, she turns over every rock to look for answers. She soon uncovers a galaxy of possible suspects: friends, colleagues, and students – many of whom may have motives to see harm done to the seemingly beloved professor. Art theft, a closeted gay man, a hidden affair, and even a little cross-dressing make their way into the mountain of evidence as Rekha works through territory that the police have not yet uncovered.

Rekha Rao is a well-drawn character with many facets to her personality. Her Indian heritage is evident in her food tastes, decorations, and family values. Still, she is clearly a modern American woman making her way in a very different culture. Rekha sets out to solve the mystery despite the fear that someone is stalking her – even as she stalks them.

Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery will also provide readers with a glimpse into the religious history of India’s gods and rich mythology. This is one of the hidden treats that makes the novel an enjoyable read for mystery lovers everywhere.

Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery won the Grand Prize for Mystery & Mayhem in the 2019 CIBAs!

April 17, 2020
UNDER the APPROACHING DARK: The King’s Greatest Enemy by Anna Belfrage – Historical/Biographical Fiction, Medieval Fiction, Medieval Romance

Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragedy of Edward the Second (1592) and Derek Jarman’s film (Edward II, 1991) fans will want to sit up and take notice of how Anna Belfrage navigates her way through this installment of the Under the Approaching Dark, the third book in The King’s Greatest Enemy series. With a vast cast and two kings from the same family to deal with, the challenges were immense. And she’s succeeded.

The narrative is built around two males – decades apart – who may or may not be alive or dead. Four-year-old Tom arrives at the home of his mother, Kit, and father, Adam – a knight of the realm – in a recently exhumed coffin. No one wants to believe the lad is dead, and William (a vicar; Adam’s brother) recommends not opening the lid to view the rotting remains but assures one and all that the corpse is most certainly the couple’s eldest boy. But Kit never gives up hope.

The second male, King Edward II, also has difficulty staying alive or dead. Deposed for outlandish behavior in the bedroom and at court, his long-suffering wife Isabella teams up with Roger Mortimer to rule the country and place Edward III on the throne while yet a teenager. To add further twists to the plot, Edward of Carnarvon – after reportedly being killed while under arrest – is provided a resurrection and exile to France.

Enemies to both Edwards abound. Henry of Lancaster is afraid of losing a considerable amount of land if peace is reached with the Scots and Godfrey of Broseley delights in inflicting pain and torture on anyone who would dare stand in his way to power and riches – man or woman. Kit’s half-sister Alicia is deft at playing both sides to her advantage. But her sibling is not fooled.

History buffs and devotees of political intrigue will enjoy this generously written account of the royals struggling to stay on the throne even as some of those in their court change allegiances whenever they see an opportunity for personal gain. Belfrage’s sense of pace, in-depth characterization of the principals – coupled with a few surprises along the treacherous journey to safety and security with the minimum of bloodshed – is a remarkable achievement. Her ability to convincingly weave together so many people and narrative threads will keep readers’ interest high and encourage them to snap up the next volume in the series.

Under the Approaching Dark won first place in the CIBA 2018 CHAUCER Awards for Early Historical Fiction.

April 15, 2020
NONE OF US THE SAME by Jeffrey K. Walker – Literary, WWI, Friendship

Five young friends from then-English Newfoundland and Ireland together join a regiment to serve in the war, as does a young nurse from Dublin. At first, a reader might be lulled into thinking this is a light-hearted Irish dialect-filled romp a la Finian’s Rainbow, but the novel takes us deep into the lives of its characters as they serve in the bloody trenches, convalesce, and try to live normal lives despite the physical and emotional damages they suffered.

Diedre, the tough but emotionally scarred nurse, Jack, who left “bits” of him on the battlefield, Will, with his invisible yet no-less devastating wounds—these are a few of the complex yet wholly identifiable characters who become alive through this novel’s pages. These are no simplistic people. Their humanness, their frailties confronted by the awfulness of the war, gives the book its special heart.

As much as we live through the late 1910s and early 1920s, there are few strictly historical passages. The characters live in those times, not declare them. There are no “war is over” scenes, only the heartbreaking aftermath of the war’s end on the characters. Yet, the book ends with the central characters’ futures well in hand, moving through the post-war era with the 1920s, Prohibition, and the foreshadowing of “the Troubles” beginning to play a part in all their lives.

Above all, the book is about enduring friendships and the nature of being human. The author compels us with his characters and how they rally together in times of crises and stand up for one another when the going gets tough. There is no sugar-coating what happens to them, and yet their long-standing bonds are what pulls them through for readers to form a special connection with one and all of them. The reader may be better for having met them all. Certainly, None of Us the Same will stay with the reader long after the book is put down.

None of Us the Same is the first of three novels in the series entitled “Sweet Wine of Youth,” and won First Place in the CIBA 2018 GOETHE Awards for Historical Fiction.

April 10, 2020
BLOOD MOON: A Captive’s Tale by Ruth Hull Chatlien – Native American Literature, U.S. Historical Fiction, Western Fiction

Ruth Hull Chatlien’s historical novel Blood Moon: A Captive’s Tale shines a light on two worlds trying to coexist in the 1860s Minnesota, that of Westward Expansion and white settlers, and that of the complex network of Sioux tribes dealing with starvation and disease. We follow her protagonist, Mrs. Sarah Wakefield, as she is thrust unwillingly into the midst of the Indian Wars.

Based loosely on the life of real captive, Sarah Wakefield, Chatlien explores both sides of this conflict, through the eyes of our terrified hero, who does what she must to save her life and the lives of her two small children. The first-person narrative in present tense places us in the thick of Wakefield’s narrow escapes, and the presence of the constant threats to her and her children.

Sarah Wakefield has one goal, to save her children, and if that means dressing like a Sioux and helping her captives gather water, forage and cook food, and set up the teepee, so be it. Her fellow captives, mostly women and children maintain their prejudiced and racist attitudes, but Wakefield does not. She sees her captives as human beings, not “savages,” who are trying to survive just as she is.

Chatlien expertly exposes the mindset between members of the Sioux tribe who had converted to Christianity and those who refused to convert. She exposes the injustices of an American Government that defaulted on treaty promises, causing starvation, illness, and death among the tribes, and the solution that many tribal warriors felt was their only recourse—war.

Wakefield sees the dichotomy of those warriors who want to fight and those who have converted to Christianity and become farmers. She feels the losses endured by those who didn’t want to fight because of their beliefs, but she realized that death would be their penalty if they refused.

The underlying themes in Chatlien’s novel provide us a complex and multidimensional read that captivates. Sarah is married. But her marriage is rocky—okay. Rumors of her past don’t help her present situation. But the woman she becomes as she survives her terror and provides for her children is a woman who will go to battle for a Sioux warrior in a court of law, even if it means losing her marriage and becoming a social pariah. At times readers may wonder if Wakefield might be an unreliable narrator suffering from “Stockholm Syndrome.” Nevertheless, she fights for the warrior who protected her and fights to save his life as he had saved hers.

The injustices Chatlien shines her fictional light on are bound to grate on the progressive-minded reader of 2020, and the conclusion to this narrative based on real events will undoubtedly leave us wondering how little has changed in race relations in the USA. Chatlien shows how simple gossip and the petty mindsets of the “normal” Christian women were as big a detriment to Wakefield’s survival in the Indian Wars.

Blood Moon: A Captive’s Tale won Grand Prize in the CIBA 2018 LARAMIE Awards for American Fiction.

April 3, 2020
CAMPARI CRIMSON: Franki Amato Mysteries, Book 4 by Traci Andrighetti – Private Investigator Mysteries, Vampire Mysteries, Cozy Mysteries

Texas transplant Franki Amato has only lived in New Orleans for only a year and a half, but she has already seen some pretty strange things. As a private investigator for Private Chicks, she has had her share of oddball cases and clients, but this one is blood-curdling – a vampire serial killer is stalking The Big Easy. With Halloween only days away, the initial robberies of local blood banks by a caped figure seem more prank-like than serious until a fraternity member of Delta Upsilon Delta is found drained of blood in one of the city’s above-ground crypts with the message “Campari Crimson” scrawled on the wall in his own blood. Franki wants nothing to do with the cryptic case, but when a psychic gives Franki a chilling impromptu reading from a restless spirit who claims someone drained and drank his blood and then warns her the same thing is going to happen to her brother Anthony, Franki fears she will be drawn in anyway. Her fears are confirmed when Josh Santo, a multi-millionaire millennial, hires Franki to find the real culprit after he is accused of the thefts. Josh’s bizarre behavior of dressing up as infamous self-proclaimed NOLA vamp Compte Jacques de Saint Germain – all while living in the house belonging to the bloodsucker – attracts the attention of Detective Wesley Sullivan and Franki thinks Josh may be more guilty than innocent. As the case escalates with yet another killing, Franki faces danger at every turn and finding the killer becomes entirely too personal. The Crescent City on the eve of a blood moon Halloween, what could possibly go wrong?

Real terror meets comedy that forces the reader to hang on with both hands in this fast-paced romp through one of America’s most enigmatic cities. From the sixty-something ex-stripper and nudist Glenda to Pam the hippie with her sweater-wearing Dachshund, this novel is one fun ride. Around every corner, it is sure to surprise like a Gothic cabaret funhouse. The vividly drawn characters are a genuine joy, and the city is celebrated in fine fashion. Anyone who has ever visited and loved this famously irreverent place will appreciate how NOLA becomes a living, breathing entity. Set against the backdrop of voodoo, cities of the dead, and history ripe with vampire lore, New Orleans is intricately woven into every aspect of the plot. One aspect of the city that comes through loud and clear is the idea of “live and let live.” First appearing on a necklace worn by one of the characters, this theme extends throughout the plot from a priest’s “judge not” advice to Raven the vampire’s philosophy of only feeding on willing donors. A feeling of acceptance for all permeates the atmosphere of N’Awlins and thus the novel. “Let the good times roll” is more than a motto; it’s a way of life for the New Orleanians.

What do you get when you cross a meddling nonna with a slacker brother? For Franki, you get family. When Franki is bulldozed by her mother into taking in her grandmother and brother (despite the fact that she has only a one-bedroom apartment), she doesn’t send the two packing back to Texas. Although an unwilling participant in this new “get Anthony a life” scheme, Franki still agrees to take them and even gives up her bed for her nonna, a force of nature in black weighing in at less than a hundred pounds. Nonna’s constant meddling in Franki’s love life, or lack thereof, and her case are both an annoyance and a sweet reminder of an Italian grandmother’s love. Regardless of the problems they cause, both Nonna and Anthony are family, “[a]nd among Italian-Americans, family [is] everything.” It’s an endearing part of the story that will make the reader love Franki Amato even more.

Campari Crimson: Franki Amato Mysteries, Book 4 by Traci Andrighetti won First Place in the CIBA 2018 M&M Awards for Mystery and Mayhem novels.

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March 27, 2020
EVIL UNDER the STARS: The Agatha Christie Book Club (Book 3) by C.A. Larmer – British/Irish Cozy Mystery, Humorous Literary Fiction, Cozy Mysteries

Who commits a murder in a crowd of a hundred people relaxing in a park, and how did the Agatha Christie Book Club miss the entire thing from only a few feet away? In the trendy Sydney suburb of Balmain, Kat Mumford, social media interior design star, has been murdered during the inaugural Cinema Under the Stars. Her distraught husband, Eliot, is clearly the prime suspect, but at the time of Kat’s strangulation, he is nowhere near her. In fact, no one was sitting near Kat, and the crowd seems to have been so absorbed by the movie, Agatha Christie’s Evil Under Sun, that no one saw a thing out of the ordinary.

When Alicia Finlay and her book club realize the murder occurred right under their noses, there is no way they can just let the police handle it. When Alicia’s boyfriend, Detective Inspector Liam Jackson, actually calls her for information, she and her club decide to do a little investigating of their own. Despite being told to butt out, Alicia, Lynette, Claire, Missy, and Perry go undercover to find the killer, but the twists, in this case, will lead them down a strange path to find a crafty killer. The club must sift through the suspects: a smarmy barman, a detestable reverend, a pregnant domestic abuse victim, a mystery mustached man, a dead junky, and a hipster hubby. With few clues but many dead ends, the club will meet their most challenging mystery yet!

This third book in The Agatha Christie Book Club series is one crazy ride. Anyone who loves a good whodunnit will adore this novel. C.A. Larmer makes it easy for readers to learn who’s who in the Agatha Christie Book Club. There’s Claire, the vintage clothing shop owner; Missy, the pink-haired librarian; Perry, museum PR organizer; Lynette, self-trained food blogger; Alicia, online journalist; and even the reluctant Anders, the doctor who pronounces Kat dead on the scene. They all create a fantastic cast of characters who genuinely engage the readers from the first page. Like Christie’s beloved Miss Marple, the book club members are amateur sleuths who rely on a stealthy approach to crime-solving and often go undercover. DI Indira Singh, the no-nonsense, by-the-book detective in charge of the case, is not amused – on more than one occasion. The ease with which the author introduces this kooky crew of curious minds will make it simple to jump in headfirst and enjoy this fast-paced roller coaster complete with plenty of red herrings and dead ends, eventually leading to a killer who manages a daring, deadly crime in the middle of hundreds of witnesses.

An unexpected plus in the plot is the romance between Alicia and Liam. Having just broken up with another club member Anders (creating tension among the book club), Alicia’s fledgling relationship with hunky Liam experiences some bumps when she interferes with his case. Still, the respect he has in her abilities–and that of the club–adds depth to what appears to be solely a mystery novel on the surface. Liam seeks out Alicia’s help, valuing her abilities, and not attempting to control her. Being the less attractive of the Finlay sisters, Alicia is often “eclipsed” by the beautiful blonde Lynette, but she never feels anything less with Liam. He makes it “crystal clear which sister he prefer[s] in his orbit.” Liam even takes Alicia “on the beat” to track down would-be suspects and leads, partly because he needs her and partly because he knows she will love it. This symbiotic-style relationship is sweet in a mature way that romance readers will appreciate. In short, Larmer will delight her followers with this third installment of the series, and have new fans ordering up the first two books in no time! Highly recommended.

Evil Under the Stars won First Place in the CIBA 2018 Mayhem & Mystery Awards.

March 25, 2020
BICKER and the SOOLIVANS by Jenna Hestekin – American Civil War Era, Historical & Heartwarming Romance, Family Drama

The Soolivan family is split apart by the Civil War, but when the ugly side of fate intervenes, a silver lining appears to bring a broken family back together again. While Andy Soolivan is convalescing in the hospital with his new friend, Bicker, he receives news that his uncles have all been killed. In a letter explaining the details, August Soolivan urges his son Andy to come home. The family has suffered enough.

As the Soolivan family comes back together, a one-armed Bicker arrives like a lost pup looking for a home. He is welcomed into a family that values togetherness above all else. Penelope, the oldest daughter, catches his eye. The only problem is Penelope. She’s hiding the fact that she is engaged to her beau, who is still fighting in the war. She agonizes, though, because he hasn’t written in weeks. But she isn’t the only daughter in the family with secrets to keep. Will fate allow the Soolivan family to find peace when the war has taken so much from them, and will the emerging feelings between Penelope and Bicker be allowed to flourish? Fate and family are at the heart of Bicker and the Soolivans, and everyone from the casual reader to the critic will feel their heart warmed throughout this authentic feel-good story.

Hestekin’s greatest strength is her ability to create well-developed, engaging characters that fuel a wonderfully character-driven story. The majority of the novel takes place at the Soolivan home and in the nearby small town of Alma, Wisconsin. The characters drive a gripping tale of a family coming together to heal from the losses of a devastating war and the splitting apart again to follow love’s new beginnings.

Bicker and the Soolivans will sweep you off your feet, make you forget about the current state of world affairs, and fall in love with the antics of a midwestern family in Civil War-era America.

Jenna Hestekin’s Bicker and the Soolivans earned Semi-Finalist status in the CIBAs 2018 for American Western Fiction, the LARAMIE Awards.

**You can purchase a copy of Bicker and the Soolivans directly from the author’s website, by clicking here.

March 23, 2020
JETTY CAT PALACE CAFÉ by Judy Keeslar Santamaria – Magic Realism, Psychological Literary Fiction, Literary Fiction

Judy Keeslar Santamaria’s skillfully crafted debut novel, Jetty Cat Palace Café, takes the reader from the sophisticated urban areas of Washington state to its remote cranberry coast, accompanying professor Morgen Marín on a life-altering quest.

Like a present-day recipient of a DNA test gone wrong, when 34-year old Morgen, celebrated pianist and music professor, leaves after visiting her elderly grandmother Eleanor, her mind is spinning. Eleanor, preparing for the inevitable, shared family history, documents, and longstanding questions, which blindsided her granddaughter.

Everything Morgen believed about herself is wrong—not an uncommon experience, but still . . .

For Morgen, clarity is often elusive. She frequently misperceives the world around her. Like Alice, after she walked through the looking glass, Morgen exists in a kind of alternative universe. While Alice’s experiences were novel, magical even, Morgen’s are not. She lives on the autism spectrum.

Setting out with her mother’s restored Volkswagen bus and the keys to a storage unit containing family papers and memorabilia, Morgen has a clear sense of purpose. She is on a single-minded journey to find her mother’s stolen cremation urn, learn the identity of her biological father, and free herself from the man who has dominated and abused her for years.

Her search takes her to a remote fish camp on Washington’s cranberry coast, miles away from the hectic, affluent areas bordering the Puget Sound. The cast of characters she meets are society’s flotsam and jetsam who drifted in on random currents and found safe harbor in this isolated place, straight into the Jetty Cat Palace Café. With the locals’ claims of the place being haunted, the café binds the motley group together with unseen ties.

How these random people, in this unlikely place, are melded into parts of Morgen’s past and future creates a story that stretches readers’ credulity and imagination. And, as in looking glass land, Morgen learns that things are not always as they seem, random events have meaning within their own context, and actions from the past exist as long as there is someone left to perceive them.

In Jetty Cat Palace Café, Judy Keeslar Santamaria’s often lyrical, meticulous writing, engaging characters, vivid imagery, and intricate plot work together to create a winner.

March 20, 2020
CONFESSIONS FROM the CONSORTIUM of ROGUE GENE SCIENTISTS by Charles and Cassandra Doe – Metaphysical Science Fiction, Medical Fiction, One-Hour Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads

Confessions from the Consortium of Rogue Gene Scientists is presented as a letter to guide the surviving children of a pair of married scientists who have died as a result of a mysterious genetic illness. The letter is an attempt to prepare the children, explain who and what they are, and what they will likely encounter and why.

I would be remiss if I didn’t start with what Confessions from the Consortium of Rogue Gene Scientists isn’t before I try to describe what it is. It isn’t a novel or novella. It is around 6,200 words. In literary terms, that’s about 25 pages. It is a mixture of poetry and rational reasoning that borders on brilliant.

The children’s parents are genetic engineers and researchers. The children are the products of their parents’ work. They are genetically engineered, even though the practice is against the law. Despite the intense societal backlash against the genetic engineering of people, it was the only way to assure the children would not be afflicted with the diseases that killed their parents.

Confessions from the Consortium of Rogue Gene Scientists is written in the first-person, past tense in the voice of the children’s last surviving parent, their father. The observations within it are revealing; observations on the nature of man, the nature of life, and the root of why things are the way they are. This short story will open your eyes and make you think, and maybe make you a little sad.

In a sense, this remarkable, thought-provoking treatise serves as a chilling warning to what the children can expect in the future—a warning, perhaps, not only for the scientists’ children but for us all. In a very real way, the letter feels like the start of something bigger, a strong foundation for a groundbreaking work. We can only wait and see. What is certain, the work may be short, but it will stay with you for a very long time.

March 20, 2020