Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Chanticleer 4 Star Book Review

THE SHERIFF: Book Three of The Druid Chronicles by A.M. Linden – Historical Fiction, Medieval England, Mystery

The Sheriff, the third installment of A.M. Linden’s Druid Chronicles series about 9th-century life in Anglo-Saxon England, fully immerses readers in that distant era with all of its joys, conflicts, and hardships.

Trained from his youngest years in the military, Stefan has learned both battle skills and leadership, with the ability to approach a situation without causing it to get out of hand. He is fiercely loyal, but continually denied a larger role in the kingdom’s army. His latest indignity came with the king assigning him as sheriff of Codswallow, a paltry village. With a retinue of less than 10 people including his slave, he has to collect taxes and keep the peace.

The novel shows two major episodes. The first follows his Codswallow days, including his relationship with Jonathan, owner of the Three Dragons Inn. Stefan learns that Jonathan is paying protection money to keep bandits away from the inn, and carries out a series of plans to discover who is, what we could call, the crime boss.

But Stefan stirs up yet more trouble in Codswallow.

A Druid priestess and her niece, relatives of Jonathan, take refuge in the Three Dragons Inn after their sacred shrine is discovered. The niece may actually be Jonathan’s child by his marriage to the queen’s sister, and things get complicated when Stefan, unhappily married with three children of his own, sets his eyes on her.

Before he can act on his romantic impulse, Stefan is summoned to track down a princess who went missing on the day she became betrothed to the ruler of a neighboring kingdom, possibly being abducted by that king’s enemies, or even killed. The possibility that she ran away to avoid being wed to the notoriously cruel king, was barely a consideration. It would take a person of Stefan’s many skills to find her and reunite her with her king, whether she wanted to or not.

Overall, The Sheriff is a well-rounded character study of Stefan himself.

We see him as a child, and when his warm family is torn apart by a searing dispute between him and his father. He is apprenticed to the military and is trained by Matthew, a devout Christian who sees in the youth the makings of a leader, later becoming his most loyal soldier.

Stefan shows his disappointment in the king not assigning him to the post that he deserves, but he handles trouble effectively, diffusing potential conflicts and becoming a careful investigator. He doesn’t reflect on himself, instead focusing on the problems of those around him.

This book takes time to fully establish the world and people of its stories.

Of the large cast, many characters have detailed backgrounds, some connected to previous books in the series. Thankfully, a detailed character glossary makes it easy to keep up with everyone.

The Sheriff succeeds most in its feel of authenticity.

While life in early England cannot be fully known, The Sheriff gives the reader enough granularity to help them imagine what it would be like to live there. It isn’t about the battles that often dominate history, but rather the regular people who could be our family, friends, and neighbors even though they exist in a time so far gone.

Readers who enjoy being taken away to the distant past, feeling as though they could breathe the air of something different from what they know, will find The Sheriff a fascinating and satisfying read.

January 31, 2024
WHEN YOU READ THIS I’LL BE GONE by Anne Moose – Mystery, Crime Thriller, Psychological Fiction

With unexpected twists, When You Read This I’ll Be Gone by Anne Moose ramps up a kidnapping escapade with a campus tragedy of life-altering consequences.

When You Read This I’ll Be Gone takes us on a gripping book-within-a-book journey. Valerie Hawthorne—an author and college professor—has written a note to her family about the vagaries of her own disappearance. One might even consider the book’s title to be the true opening sentence.

As Valerie recollects the events leading up to the rupture of her marriage and her disappearance, she sucks readers into a meta-narrative that lays the groundwork for Valerie’s published book, which becomes the very book that you are reading.

Through this fascinating narrative approach, the author takes an unfortunately common tragedy of campus rape and re-sensitizes readers to all the reasons why rape survivors find it difficult to come forward about their experiences.

Moose takes Valerie and her kidnapper down the remorseful road of “what-ifs” and “if-onlys” that haunt those whose small actions contributed to someone’s silence. Valerie must come to terms with the fact that she can’t go back in time and fix things—her marriage, her interaction with a student—but she can do something to make sure a victim’s story is told and bring to justice in their absence.

When You Read This I’ll Be Gone is equal parts thrilling and sincerely devoted to its premise, “How far will a person go to hold abusers accountable?” There is some question as to how the title itself factors into the story when it comes full circle. The reader is left unsure who it is for if not about Valerie. Is it coming from the victim of sexual violence, or the father seeking revenge on the men responsible for his child’s undoing? Leaving the question open-ended allows the reader to experience the kind of heartache that can be understood in multitudes.

For readers of Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me and Chanel Miller’s Know My Name, Anne Moose’s When You Read This I’ll Be Gone is full of fast-paced suspense that will have you revisiting the beginning to catch what you missed with renewed insight. Which, if we were to ask Valerie Hawthorne, is the point of storytelling all along.

*This book comes with a Content Warning for campus rape, revenge porn, and suicide

January 26, 2024
NEW LIBERTY by George Cramer – Crime Thriller, Police Procedural, Action

New Liberty by George Cramer is a police procedural for readers who crave a gritty story in a modern urban jungle. It is not for the faint-hearted.

In New Liberty, a (fictionalized) Arizona city, a war is heating up between two rival gangs: the Black 4-Aces and the Latino Los Scorpios Locos. The cops of New Liberty’s Anti-Gang Enforcement Unit (AGE) are working hard to limit the damage. From the start, life within each of these organizations is stressful and complex.

Hector Navarro, a young officer, joins the AGE unprepared. Despite his Mexican heritage, he grew up in Connecticut, doesn’t speak Spanish, and was looking forward to embracing his love of motorcycles by being assigned to the city’s motorcycle unit. He has no idea how to talk to gangs, set up snitches, or even dress to not be identified as a cop.

Hector is assigned to Davey Jones, a slovenly drunk, as his street mentor in undercover work.

His first assignment in breaking into the gang world is to get a massage parlor worker to solicit him for sex, but a blunder on his part results in a humorous exchange. The investigation eventually leads to a tragic shooting– a double murder– that changes Hector’s life and, more tragically, the death of his partner. It sets into motion a sequence of events that will drill deep into the hearts of both gangs as well as the police who watch them.

New Liberty tells the stories of gangs and cops with the sharp eye of a documentarian.

The gangs’ operations, their casual murders of friends and foes alike, and the cold-eye battles for leadership are told with an authenticity that places the reader amidst the characters. One story stands out: a young woman is kidnapped by the Los Scorpios Locos, becoming a sex slave for the gang, and eventually a police informant at great personal danger. She gives a rare glimpse of the horror of sex trafficking that young women, and young men as well, face in the shadows of the modern world.

This same unsparing look is trained on the police as well. A shooting tragedy, the death of an officer and a gang leader both involving young Hector Navarro, is shown to have its roots well beyond the actions of one officer. It winds up having grave ramifications for the entire New Liberty police management.

Readers see the detailed planning of each group.

Every action requires careful consideration, whether a police sting or a bloody raid on an opposing gang. The similarities in thinking between these three organizations are remarkable, even though some operate within a set of laws and others within the bounds of only money and violence.

This is a must-read for anyone looking for a great if harrowing story told with the unmistakable authority of someone who has been there and seen it all.

January 24, 2024
MISSING VALUES by Michael Grigsby – Crime Thriller, Amateur Sleuth, Mystery

Missing Values by Michael Grigsby is a story about corruption that allows evil to flourish, set against the spreadsheets and data that give one man with little power but an extreme drive a chance to check that evil.

At least for long enough to save his son. And himself.

Mark Twain famously proclaimed that “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.” Centuries earlier, Sir Francis Bacon said that “knowledge itself is power”. Ace statistical analyst Patrick Gray works at the intersection of those two famous quotes, using his ability to tease knowledge – or at least actionable information – out of myriad statistical data gathered on every human on the planet – or at least every human who has ever bought anything.

When a bloody massacre is discovered at the job site where his teenage son, PJ, was working, with two eviscerated corpses left in pieces on the floor, the police assume that PJ was a third victim. There’s so much in the way of blood, body parts, and other forensic evidence that no one is 100% sure of anything. Because PJ and the two confirmed victims were young black men, and those two victims were involved in gangs, the police rely on assumptions without caring to truly investigate anything at all.

Patrick knows his son wouldn’t get caught up in gangs or drugs. Most of the police dismiss this as parental wishful thinking, except for one local cop and one FBI agent who have both seen this pattern before – and are certain it leads to a criminal enterprise that no one wants to touch.

Especially when that enterprise, a national cartel known as the Red Rings, has so many cops and agents under its thumb or eating at its bountiful table.

Patrick Grey and FBI Agent LaWanda Thompson look into the abyss of the Red Rings – and the abyss looks back to grab them both. They end up right where they need to be to expose the evil that destroyed LaWanda’s family and plans to destroy Patrick’s as well unless they bring it down – or become part of it.

Missing Values is a suspenseful thrill ride of a story told from two wildly divergent perspectives that meet in an explosive ending.

Patrick Grey and LaWanda Thompson are the heroes, whose involvement seems righteous – even as they swerve and stumble along their broken path.

Their investigation is a combination of the traditional police procedural with a riveting ‘lone wolf’ hunt for justice and a surprisingly fascinating peek into the world of math and statistical analysis. Patrick uses his expertise in a way that allows the reader to comprehend it, keeping them focused on a subject that takes on the uncharacteristic excitement of a thriller.

In opposition to Patrick and LaWanda, the reader dives into the dirt, mire, and pure evil of the Red Rings through the perspective of their chief agent, kidnapper, and ‘recruiter’ for special orders. It’s a journey through dangerous and depraved places, populated with even more depraved people, and is not for either the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.

In the end, Missing Values is a story of good versus evil, one where good has to get down in the muck to save as many as possible from an evil that almost drags them too deep to escape.

Readers who enjoy bloody suspense and mysteries that make one question all the characters and their motivations will be riveted by every twist and turn in this pulse-pounding thriller.

January 19, 2024
THINKING ABOUT THINKING: America’s Yeomanry and Cognoscenti by Thomas Christ – Comparative Politics, United States Politics, Social Theory

Thinking About Thinking is a literary endeavor by Thomas Christ to inform, educate, and bridge the clashing ideological trench in the United States.

Thomas Christ commits to a theoretical exploration that serves as both a political and social commentary – a mission to untangle the intricate web of ideologies that have driven American politics.

The twelve comprehensive sections of this work provide explicit responses to ideological polarization. Beginning with an exploration of interweaving technological, social, economic, and political constituents, Thinking About Thinking offers a theory of ideology in early twenty-first-century American politics. Drawing on Karl Marx’s core concepts, Christ offers an in-depth breakdown of how these constituents interact to have a substantial impact on society.

As the work further ventures into the intricate terrain of ideologies, a profound effort unfolds to discover their elusive origins. Demonstrating technology as a powerful catalyst for change, it explores the concept of “cultural lag” – the challenge cultural norms face in keeping up with technological advancements.

By disassembling the myriad forces that mold one’s convictions, Christ unveils the processes of belief generation, propagation, and assimilation. This leads to a profound quest into the realm of human psychology, to find the incentives that drive individuals to embrace broader ideas.

The next discussion focuses on ideologies as symbols of affiliation, examining two opposing worldviews in American culture: the Yeomanry (traditionalists) and the Cognoscenti (intellectuals). Following sections delve into the time of Donald Trump’s administration and its connection to the Yeomanry, revealing a nuanced view of the ideological shift in modern America.

Presenting a roadmap for overcoming ideological divides and promoting a reasonable, evidence-based approach to sensitive matters, the final section of this work is dedicated to discussing strategies to bridge this ideological rift.

In its presentation of ideas, Thinking About Thinking displays a graceful unity of coherence and clarity. The concepts it details are succinctly described, easily digestible despite their complexity.

A thoughtful perspective emerges, drawing from historical context and our own time’s challenges. Thinking About Thinking serves as a comprehensive resource for intellectual and sociopolitical dialogue. It encourages analytical thought and facilitates a thorough understanding of America’s ideological situation.

This venture into the convoluted realm of American political beliefs encourages empathy and understanding across ideological lines, empowering readers with a profound understanding of contemporary American politics. Thinking About Thinking is a call to action – a road map for a more united and peaceful America.

November 13, 2023
IF IT’S The LAST THING I DO by David Fitz-Gerald – Financial Thrillers, Historical Fiction, Small Town Fiction

If It’s The Last Thing I Do by David Fitz-Gerald tells the story of Misty Menard, a 69-year-old woman who in 1975 returns to her upstate New York hometown to attend the funeral of her beloved father. She is dumbfounded to find she has inherited his business, making wooden dowels and buttons.

A receptionist for most of her adult life, with no business experience, she is at best ill-suited to the job. Personal problems hang over her as well, as a divorcee determined to keep sober and cigarette-free while in weekly therapy. But to keep her father’s memory alive, she is determined to keep the business afloat while she decides what to do with it in the long term. The last thing she imagined she would be doing on the cusp of 70 was running a business.

She turns the business into an employee-owned enterprise, an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan.) This gives her employees a shot at owning part or all of the business. The skill with which If It’s the Last Thing I Do integrates ESOP into its story, making it digestible, is among its many pleasures.

Her three-man management team is aggressively against it, and the local bank that hosts the trust and handles its transactions is resistant to providing loans to facilitate the deal. As the ESOP continues taking shape, the bank becomes its mortal enemy.

While those issues would be difficult on their own, the collapsing economy of that era pushes Misty’s company to the brink of insolvency.

Buyers emerge offering to purchase it on the cheap. There are unexplained incidents of vandalism on the premises. And in an almost Biblical moment, a huge storm brings raging floods that threaten to destroy the company’s physical foundations.

The decision to turn the company over to its employees, giving them a stake in its future, becomes more complex as the financial noose tightens.

Misty’s family life adds yet more weight to her shoulders.

Her husband abandoned her for another woman. One of her two sons is dead, leaving the other son to bring up his nephew, who in turn has a child. That child, a boy nicknamed Four, has ambitions to become an Olympic skater, but finds his path may not wind up as he envisioned.

Misty is filled with self-doubts. She makes decisions from the heart instead of from practicality. But her belief in the rightness of her decisions, her essential goodness, is one of this novel’s strengths. People both good and wicked drive this story, their motivations and machinations not always apparent at first.

Readers who enjoy a well-paced, gripping novel should put If It’s The Last Thing I Do on top of their reading list. Misty’s complex relationships with her family and her own mortality, combined with her efforts as a CEO, turn this novel into a true page-turner.

October 23, 2023
A VOICE From HEAVEN by Alexander V. Girman & Cynthia J. Girman – Spirituality, Overcoming Grief, Addiction/Recovery

Cynthia J. Girman shares transcendental conversations with A Voice from Heaven – her son Alec, who had tragically passed away a few months before.

During his life, Alec struggled with ADHD & Asperger’s (his preferred term). Social awkwardness made it difficult for him to connect with other people – a heavy emotional weight from which he fled through substance abuse. Though he supported himself with work as a programmer, fitting his special interests in computers and mathematics, he lived alone in DC and tried to hide his addiction from his family.

Cindy and Tom tried tirelessly to help their son. Through rehab centers and sobriety coaches, Alec began making gradual improvements, even as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed him into deeper feelings of isolation. But treating addiction isn’t a fair fight, especially with the ability of opioids to rewire the brain; Cindy and Tom’s greatest fear was realized when Alec used kratom without understanding the toxicity of its alkaloid components.

In the depths of grief after Alec’s passing, Cindy and Tom found hope in meetings with three mediums. These mediums channeled Alec and other lost loved ones, promising that Alec was at peace. Beyond that awakened hope, though, Cindy began to experience her own connections to the other side, until Alec’s spirit reached out directly to tell her of what he’d learned since his physical death.

Cindy allowed Alec’s spirit to work through her hands as she wrote this book, revealing the nature of the human soul.

Mortal life is a lesson that the soul wants to learn. One sliver of a full human spirit inhabits a body on Earth, unaware of its true self, so that the difficulties and choices of this life will teach it an important lesson. Each soul seeks to understand the same thing: how to become a being of love.

But the afterlife offers much learning of its own. Alec delves deeply into the mysteries of the universe, in a way that mortal humans never could, and even takes on the role of a teacher to other spirits. These roles and details of the afterlife are explained in great detail, and while the book repeats these details more often than it should, they’re nevertheless interesting to consider.

Between these explanations of the world beyond death, A Voice from Heaven threads wondrous imagery and comforting possibilities.

There is beauty that no mortal eye has seen, colors beyond physical vision, the playful music of other spirits, and even great cosmic wonders. Author Cynthia translates these otherworldly senses into evocative prose, giving readers a glimpse of the other side.

All this joy and bliss of the spiritual realm is shared with loved ones and friends – both from one’s latest life and those before. Alec connects with the family he knew and ancestors he never could have, even finding dear pets waiting for him. But as wonderful as this realm is, Alec insists that mortal life has purpose and beauty as well and that one should embrace it entirely.

Pursuing her own purpose, Cynthia J. Girman researches the development of treatments for Substance Use Disorder.

She explains promising technology to the reader – transcranial magnetic stimulation (TEMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) – which could become invaluable in undoing the brain chemistry alterations of addiction. Her drive to make a difference for people who struggle as Alec did is inspiring, and grounds this book’s ideas of prioritizing love in one’s life.

Though a spiritual guide, Alec maintains a sense of humanity throughout these conversations.

Alec’s mortal struggles are easy to empathize with, especially for neurodivergent people. For such readers, and any who have faced addiction in themselves or their loved ones, Alec’s words offer a sense of resilience and understanding. On the other side, he recognizes his mistakes but also works to forgive himself for them, as all souls must do. This personal connection gives a real emotional weight to A Voice from Heaven’s image of the afterlife.

This book seeks to give peace to those readers reeling from loss, hope that such loss is not forever, and the message that one should embrace their passion and let go of their fears.

October 18, 2023
MADDIE Q by Allan Havis – Political Fiction, Contemporary Social Issues, Psychological Literary Fiction

Maddie Q by Allan Havis illustrates one woman’s transformative journey through a web of dangerous beliefs.

The personality of conservative Maddie Crawford takes center stage as she finds an epiphany in the stormy aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riot. Existing beliefs collide, casting her into a churning sea of contradictory feelings. The author entwines her internal struggle of belief and identity with the contentious QAnon theory. Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 Pandemic, this fusion gives rise to a storyline that harmoniously links personal introspection with societal upheaval.

The backdrop of the “Stop the Steal” march and the chaotic events of January 6th propel Maddie into disillusionment. Conspiracy theories and extremist beliefs entice her away from reality, radicalizing her. Maddie becomes convinced that only drastic measures can confront what she perceives as a corrupt establishment, exemplified by her attempt to kidnap a school trustee in the name of her skewed sense of justice.

Pushed to the brink of despair, she wrestles with the solitude that her beliefs brought her and even contemplates ending her own life. The question lingers as Maddie navigates her never-ending search for meaning: will she be able to conquer the engulfing darkness of past demons and find the way to illumination?

Havis investigates the complex interplay between personal challenges and the search for larger significance.

Many of the characters must form undying resilience. Hortense, Maddie’s aunt, faces challenges that go beyond her physical ailments. She dreams vividly of existential concerns and mortality, proving her desire for enlightenment and life beyond the material world. Parallel to these two women’s struggles is Maddie’s sister Heather, a transgender woman who contributes to the story’s exploration of gender dynamics. The author aims to highlight the underlying thread that connects these characters – their defiance, reflection, and search for meaning.

Maddie Q shifts between different moments in time and points of view, enabling readers to grasp the internal and external battles that lead to each character’s beliefs.

This story delves into the complexity of political extremism and the individuals who are caught in its wake. Family dynamics, especially between Maddie and her aunt Hortense, underscore the intergenerational sharing and changing of values. Exploration into politics and conspiracy theories highlights the sheer power of extremist beliefs to control individual thought, paired with the tremendous reach of such views in the digital era. Readers are encouraged to challenge their perspectives and to look for common ground in the rich tapestry of varied ideologies.

Maddie Q navigates a plethora of beliefs and their immutable impacts on the psyche, emphasizing the human desire for understanding even under the heaviest convictions.

September 6, 2023
THE GREEN REAL DEAL by Bill Herrington – Climate & Energy, Political Influence, Energy Systems

In the face of environmental activism’s raging tides and the ruthless blitz of external propaganda, The Green Real Deal by Bill Herrington highlights the need for a long-term comprehensive energy policy.

Many nations drive for sustainable energy, and scramble to preserve their environments. As Germany stands against Sweden’s embrace of nuclear power, it grapples with the reliance on Russian natural gases. Meanwhile, internal strife and external interference strives to sway the energy policy of the United States. The Green Real Deal proposes a clandestine mission of nuclear diplomacy. This book is a call to transcend rhetoric before it engulfs the nation.

The author’s argument is meticulously composed of three important sections.

An interaction with a protest against fossil fuels serves as an epiphany for Herrington. He reflects on his own perceptions, leading him to reevaluate. Section one focuses on the past, examining the historical relevance of pipelines and nuclear energy in America. It emphasizes the issues and complications surrounding these resources. This provides readers a strong foundation to understand the energy landscape, laying the groundwork for further research.

Section two goes into the complex world of environmental activism, unraveling the web of motivations, disruptive techniques, and potential acts of terrorism.

Herrington examines the details surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrations, including underlying discontent of American Indian tribes regarding land rights. The chapters in this book theorize on possible connections to foreign players, unreported dark money in environmental groups, and the impact of US energy policy. They conclude by emphasizing the importance of oil, gas, and pipelines in protecting Western democracy, advising against moves that could cause the US to lose competitiveness.

Alarm bells are rung against policies that could play into Russia’s favor. As this section reveals Russian tactics of propaganda and psychological warfare, it advocates balancing environmental concerns with the political usefulness of fossil fuels.

The last section offers an “autopsy” of the ambitious Green “New” Deal, presenting a comprehensive narrative of the GND’s origin, rollout, and future developments.

This section emphasized the importance of diversifying beyond renewable energy. It encapsulates the author’s thesis about a balanced plan for the future of energy infrastructure. Pointing to the use of liquefied natural gas, and the promise of nuclear energy, Herrington advises against over-reliance on a single resource. He provides real-world examples to support his claim, such as Sweden’s effective usage of various energy strategies.

The Green Real Deal mixes energy & environmental study with political observation.

This book presents historical events through articles, government documents, photographs, and descriptive language, in order to paint a vivid picture of protests and other important moments.

It should be noted, however, that there is no solid evidence for the claimed links between environmental groups and dark money, nor the undeclared influence this would have on political outcomes. Due to this lack of concrete evidence, the alleged activity of Russia must be viewed with skepticism.

Herrington documents the evidence of Russian social media propaganda targeting American energy, specifically pipelines and hydraulic fracturing, and builds a case for the connection between environmental groups and dark money, but he does not provide concrete evidence of cash exchanged. These points prompt the reader to continue their own investigation of energy systems. The Green Real Deal is a passionate wake-up call, advocating for a balanced approach to a sustainable future – a harmonious coexistence of energy, environment, and society.

August 16, 2023
COMMUNITY 215 by Dr. M.K. Black – Sci-fi, Dystopian, Romance

Dr. M.K. Black’s Community 215 is a fast-paced, sci-fi/dystopian novel about a world that was torn apart, and the people struggling to survive it together.

Black gives us two teen protagonists, Rhea and Brooks, whom we grow to love. She creates a world both believable and terrifying. As our heroes collide with life inside and outside of the community, their world leaves readers wondering who the two can possibly trust.

Rhea once tried to climb the wall to get out of their community when she was a little girl. But her father, the leader of the community, caught her and has since that day drilled obedience to the rules into her head. However, she takes the risk of disobedience again at eleven years old, when she catches someone climbing the wall into the community. He begs for her help. She’s caught again and disciplined for trying to protect Brooks, a boy who seeks refuge from the Outcasts who live outside the wall.

Black masterfully develops Rhea’s community, and the people within it.

Though Rhea’s is only one such community of hundreds, Brooks is a reject of them all. Having lived outside of any community, he is considered a dangerous Outcast. He tries to convince Rhea that another world exists beyond the walls, a world where people are free and make their own decisions. But Rhea’s education, and the painful brand she received for saving Brooks, have taught her that only obedience and total honesty to her community will keep her alive.

Over several years, Brooks and Rhea grow close. The testing time is upon them, ready to determine the paths of their lives. Rhea hopes that, like her father, she will become the next leader. And, though she has never heard the word ‘love’, she wants the tests to show that her mate will be Brooks.

Brooks, however, knew that it was love “at first sight” when he laid eyes on Rhea, as children. He could have opened the gates and let in the leader of his Outcast tribe of warriors right then, but he waited, taking the time to train Rhea in hand-to-hand combat, preparing her to survive the attack.

Brooks thinks only of Rhea and her well-being, and of their future together outside of the walls of the community.

Will Rhea believe him when he finally tells her that the communities are actually prisons to keep people docile at the mercy of the leaders? Their survival in this dangerous world is threatened by Rhea’s struggle to discover what is true. Whom should she believe, Brooks, or her father, the only leader she’s ever known?

Black’s enthralling plot will keep readers turning page after page. The ending of this story seems a bit abrupt, but Black could very well be setting us up for a follow-up book in what would be a dynamite series.

July 19, 2023