Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Chanticleer 5 Star Book Review

WRITING IS MURDER: An Emlyn Goode Mystery by Susan Lynn Solomon – Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Mystery Series, Women Sleuth

A perfect seasonal read, Susan L. Solomon’s mystery, Writing is Murder: An Emlyn Goode Mystery delivers a witty, intuitive red-headed writer who has many connections in her community, a handsome police detective-maybe-lover, a mouthy cat who keeps her grounded, and a Wiccan BFF whom she can trust with her most profound concerns. And, of course, magical abilities inherited from her ancestor, Salem’s legendary accused witch Sarah Goode, adds layers of mystique.

When Roger Frey interrupts Emlyn Goode battling her recalcitrant muse, she can’t be upset. Roger, aka Police Detective Roger Frey, her next-door neighbor and sometimes sleep-over boyfriend, stumbles on the hunt for coffee, a good-morning kiss, and a sympathetic ear, in that order. He’s bored at work and wants to complain.

She’s heard it all before. But soon, she sees something remarkable.

When Emlyn goes to her writers group, she experiences an out-of-body experience that takes her back in time. She travels across to the Crystal Beach amusement park, across the lake in Canada, where modern-day condominiums grow. There, she glimpses two couples, one unfamiliar to her, the other, her parents. Before she can process what she sees, one of Em’s writing cohorts jerks her away from the action, asking her a question.

The group takes a break, and Emlyn has a curious talk with Daniel Bennett, the newest writer in the group. Daniel shares with her a copy of an old document he found in his deceased grandfather’s possessions. She catches only a glimpse of it before Daniel gets spooked and puts it away – but she won’t forget.

The mystery sparks to life.

A few days later, on Halloween night, Em joins her writing cohorts for a ghost hunt. Their good fun turns to horror when they discover Daniel’s murdered body in an empty, historic home. Emlyn, to her dismay, might be implicated.

Susan Solomon skillfully uses a prologue to set Writing is Murder’s theme and mood. She introduces the reader to “perhaps one of the most haunted areas in the country,” relates the legend of an ancient Tuscarora curse and seemingly related murders, and includes accurate descriptions of historical places and events in western New York State. All this pulls the reader into the story and keeps them there.

As the story progresses, Emlyn realizes that the past and present must somehow converge before solving the murder. Thanks to Emlyn’s unique gifts, along with her friend Rebecca Nurse’s witchy knowledge and advice, she might do just that.

Writing is Murder: An Emlyn Goode Mystery will entertain readers who love their mysteries with a bit of paranormal in the mix. The plot twists and turns to satisfy even the most ardent sleuths. In addition, the burgeoning romance coupled with sometimes glib banter, and the notion that potions and spells may really work, highlight the characters’ charm.

Susan Lynn Solomon’s Writing is Murder: An Emlyn Goode Mystery won 1st Place in the 2019 CIBA Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards for Cozy and Not So Cozy reads.

October 25, 2021
TEVYE The MAGICAL THEATER CAT (Introduction to Community Theater) by Peggy Sullivan, M.Ed., Counseling – Children’s Performing Arts Fiction, Children’s Drama Books, Children’s Community Theater Books

An ordinary gray tabby discovers the behind-the-scenes magic of community theater in Peggy Sullivan’s, Tevye the Magical Theater Cat: Introduction to Community Theater.

Sullivan builds a straightforward, simple narrative on the foundation of a true story. ‘Cat’ the furry neighborhood wanderer happens upon a work-in-progress stage production at the local theater. She follows her curiosity, touring through the box office, the heavily curtained stage, a sound and lighting booth, and a group of gathering musicians.

Amidst the extraordinary wonders of a welcoming environment, the intrigued feline also finds a family of her own.

Cat takes special interest in the neighborhood cast who don wardrobes and makeup to undergo magical transformations. Any readers familiar with classic stage and screen productions will quickly recognize this community presentation as a rendition of the ever-popular “Fiddler on the Roof.” As the play unfolds, Cat decides to adopt the name of the central character who sings about his life and family. These local thespians – and the play itself – ignite Cat’s own longing for a sense of connection.

Sullivan’s inviting illustrations feature clean lines and bright and colorful imagery.

The sweet and longing expressions of the inquisitive Cat compliment the star-studded backdrops that highlight the harmony of cast and crew. A stellar ensemble performance grows from the bonding community effort. This kind of magic proves available for everyone, including our four-footed, furry friends.

As a licensed mental health counselor and cat lover herself, Sullivan has written and illustrated a series of books with life lessons from a cat’s point of view. She draws on her experience and expertise to charm and teach her audience. This entertaining story features the emotional relatability and connection to humankind that those feline creatures offer.

In a heartfelt effort of community spirit, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to local community theaters. Tevye the Magical Theater Cat introduces local theater to young children, emphasizing the joy and magic of community and family.

A sweet, imaginative tale, with an earnestly shared message. Highly recommended!

Tevye the Magical Theater Cat by Peggy Sullivan, M.Ed. won 1st Place in the CIBA 2018 Little Peeps Book Awards for Early Readers.

October 22, 2021
COLOMBIAN BETRAYAL: A Bruce & Smith Thriller: Book 1 by Randall Krzak – Suspense Action, International Mystery & Crime Fiction, Terrorism Thrillers

Randall Krzak opens Pandora’s box on the world of Columbian cartels and Islamic terrorists in his latest thriller, Colombia Betrayal: A Bruce and Smith Thriller, Book 1.

On the first page of Krzak’s thriller, we are thrust into the dangerous world of a wealthy family, straddling the legitimate world of hotels and sugar cane fields and the illegitimate world of drugs and violence. Krzak places us in Medellin, Columbia, with the patriarch of the Zapata family, Jesus Pedro Zapata, on his way to a luncheon at his country club. With his eldest son by his side, he is ambushed and killed in a fiery explosion.

With her father and older brother murdered, Olivia Perfecta Moreno’s life is turned upside down, as she becomes the heir to the family fortune and businesses. She is determined to take charge, but she has large shoes to fill and a target on her back. With her son, Alonzo, her useless husband, Pedro, and her bodyguard Ramon on her side, she begins the change of power. But Krzak shows us the cracks in her armor, and we soon realize that Olivia shouldn’t be trusting any of the people she trusts most.

In a CIA office in Langley, Virginia, Agent AJ Bruce receives her next assignment.

Robert Lintstone, head of the counter-terrorism division, introduces Colonel Javier Smith, the advisor for the mission. A loner, she finds Smith attractive, but she refuses to be impressed by his Silver Eagles.

Lintstone informs them:

“There are indications the Islamic State is attempting to gain a foothold in our territory. They’ve already infiltrated a number of countries around the world. We’re trying to ascertain the validity of the intel before we make a move.”

This intel takes AJ and Javier to Columbia, where their search for the terrorists becomes embroiled with the Zapata families’ drug operations.

AJ and Javier dodge bullets and try to stop the terrorists before crossing the Mexican border into the US.

In a surprising twist of fate, Olivia ends up in the hands of Lintstone. Alonzo tries to rescue his kidnapped sisters as AJ and Javier unravel the whereabouts of the terrorists, saving Olivia’s daughters in the process. Olivia tries to escape captivity in Gitmo, and Krzak keeps us enthralled as we turn page after page to find out what will happen next.

Fans of Jack Slater and Barry Eisler will love this first installment of the Bruce and Smith series.

Krzak’s deft world-building skills and masterful orchestration of terrorists, CIA operatives, and the Columbia drug cartel will have readers panting for more. Since 2017, Krzak has cranked out six award-winning military and political thrillers, and this latest contribution sparkles as well. Uniquely qualified to build the worlds we find in Columbia Betrayal, Krzak’s experience as an Army veteran and a civil servant living abroad inform his rich, detailed description of the terrain and the architecture – right down to the weaponry used in the covert operations he describes in detail. Readers can’t help but be sucked into his page-turning stories.

Readers can follow AJ and Javier as they embark on their next assignment and thrilling adventure in book two, Revenge.

Colombian Betrayal won 1st Place in the CIBA 2020 Global Thrillers Book Awards for High Stakes Thrillers.

October 20, 2021
PLAGUE by C.C. Humphreys – Historical Thriller, Medical Thriller, Serial Killers

Captain William Coke lives as a thief with a conscience, in C.C. Humphrey’s historical thriller, Plague. Never loading his pistol with anything more than powder, he carefully selects his victims from the wealthy and the pompous. But he soon walks into crimes far more horrific than robbery.

Captain Coke and Dickon, a rescued street urchin, never expected to find their marks slaughtered on the road to London. Coke has never seen a killing like this, not even on the battlefield fighting to restore his king to the throne in the English Civil War. Pitman, a thief-taker, is likewise shocked by the brutality of the murders supposedly committed by the highwayman he has come to see as a gentleman bandit. Now, Pitman will stop at nothing to find Coke, who has become known as the Monstrous Coke after the notorious murder.

As the murders continue, the victims piling up, Pitman and Coke begin to realize that this criminal doesn’t just kill, but kills with religious symbolism. The two eventually team up to find the murderer. When the killer brutalizes and murders an actor, his wife and fellow actress, Sarah, becomes an ally of the men who are chasing him.

The would-be detectives face yet another obstacle when the Black Plague breaks out across the poverty-stricken parts of London. These unlikely heroes must now dodge not only the law, but a serial killer, a deadly illness, and a heretical cult who search for that which will take them from the gutters to the palace.

Coke, Sarah, and Pitman contrast one another, each with a well-developed character. Captain Coke first meets Sarah when he is fulfilling a pledge to visit and check on Lucy, the sister of his closest friend Quentin, a fellow soldier who was killed nearly twenty years prior. When Lucy finds herself unmarried and pregnant, Coke doesn’t hesitate to help her even though it means putting himself in harm’s way.

He has also taken in Dickon, a boy with both physical and mental disabilities, and will kill if need be to protect him. Coke is a criminal, but also a kind and gentle man. Pitman uses his remarkable abilities to stay ahead of his time with his crime scene investigations, and no one catches more thieves than him. As a constable, he must shut up the homes of plague victims with their families inside – infected or not – causing great distress to the big-hearted Pitman. In his kindness, he can see the impossibility of Coke committing the terrible murders, and though the two fought on opposing sides in the war and now live on either side of the law, they develop an easy friendship, trusting each other with their very lives.

Sarah Chalker owes much of her success as an actress to the protection of her husband, John. As childhood sweethearts, she and John have fought their way from the gutters of St. Giles to a place in the Duke’s Company, a theatre group frequented by Charles II himself. When John is killed, the sheer brutality of his murder drives Sarah on to find the vicious killer. She doesn’t hesitate to join with Coke and Pitman even though the search will put her in grave danger without the advantage of her male counterparts.

Religion plays a huge role in the novel.

On the heels of the English Civil War and the Restoration, London in 1665 is full of unrest. With the Act of Uniformity and the Act of Conventicles keeping dissenters from practicing anything other than the “accepted” Church of England within the city, all who choose to worship differently must do so in secret. This need for secrecy provokes many to violence, including the Fifth Monarchists, who seek to bring about the Apocalypse and the coming of Jesus.

With the year 1666 fast approaching, the Fifth Monarchists find the end times in every facet of the city. From its sprawling corruption to its massive poverty, London yearns for its brand of justice and a crescendo to the devil’s time. Among these “Saints” the serial killer hides, committing his atrocities in the name of his religion. The religious symbolism connected to verses in Revelation truly takes this thriller into the realm of the sinister. Chapters from the murderer’s point of view show this obsession for Apocalyptic cleansing of the sinful falseness of London. This obsession contrasts sharply with Pitman’s own faith. Pitman, a Quaker and therefore a dissenter himself, uses his religion and beliefs to practice strength and kindness. The near-complete lack of religion in the other characters keenly expresses the duality of the novel.

Plague takes the reader on a thrilling ride through the gritty parts of seventeenth-century London, and readers of history and mystery alike will enjoy its shocking twist ending.

October 18, 2021
ONE LONDON DAY by C.C. Humphreys – Technothrillers, Serial Killers, Contemporary Urban Fiction

A good thriller should be like the best-boxed chocolate sampler: the ones that not only offer you a great variety of tastes but allow you to sample and resample the chocolates you’ve discovered.

C.C. Humphreys’ noir thriller One London Day resembles that box of chocolates. The story takes you from delicious to delicious bits, round and round, until you have sampled everything and everyone once, twice, or even three times until you understand the full impact of this brilliantly dark – based on a true story thriller.

It begins, deceptively, with Mr. Phipps, who has a taste for the dark side of life. He’s a handsomely compensated and frequently used assassin. The first victim on this day will be Joseph Severin, a well-heeled real estate manager, married, and prominent member of London’s Jewish community. Severin keeps a double set of books in handwritten form—no computers, please—for a financial group which calls itself the Shadows, a name picked from comic books. The Shadows, a well-to-do collection of white-collar men, fund various illegal enterprises, the details of which Severin cleverly encodes in his books. When the Shadows discover Severin dabbling in their investments, it becomes clear; the bookkeeper knows too much. The Shadows move Severin from the credit side of the ledger to the debit side, so to speak. Goodbye, Mr. Severin.

Meanwhile, Severin meets a stunning woman named Lottie.

She’s a beautiful, sexy, for-hire pianist, and Severin impulsively offers a month’s free rent in one of his unoccupied flats. Of course, the offer comes with fringe benefits if only Severin can get over the fact that he’s about to break his marriage vows.

Lottie, of course, has her own story. She’s been dating a rising young black actor, Patrick, whom she loves. But Patrick loves kinky sex and arranges for a Russian hooker, Sonya, to join him and Lottie for a delicious threesome. Despite the pleasures of the moment, Lottie can’t stop thinking about Severin.

Sonya’s a highly paid hooker in London who needs to raise enough money for her daughter’s much-needed operation back in Moscow. She’s almost raised enough money to leave the escort business altogether and take care of her daughter.

Enter Bernard, who lost his wife and hires Sonja to hold and comfort him, not for sex. There’s somewhat of a complication here because Bernard is a member of the Shadows. Sebastien, another one of the Shadows, also craves an evening with Sonya.

The Shadows want Mr. Severin removed, but they need to recover Severin’s incriminating accounting books. Enter Mr. Phipps, who must collect the books that seem to have wound up with Lottie. However, recovering the books may not be as easy as he thinks.

C.C. Humphreys develops his story like a game of Mousetrap, requiring readers to pay close attention to every detail.

Characters and plot points circle, again and again, each time adding to a fuller picture of what happened on this one day. Greed and comeuppance play out in today’s London from someone who knows it well. Humphreys’ craftsmanship is unmistakable.

Read One London Day if you enjoy present-day noir thrillers. Read it if you enjoy well-crafted writing. Read it if you want a few hours of fun entertainment. But above all, just read it. You won’t be disappointed.

October 15, 2021
JERKWATER by Jamie Zerndt – Native American Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Ethnic & Regional Fiction

Three friends in Mercer, Wisconsin find ways to deal with their problems amid a racist town in Jamie Zerndt’s Jerkwater.

Shawna Reynolds’ life changed when her white stepdad murdered her Ojibwa mother. Now living with her Naan (grandmother), Shawna surrounds herself with those who make her feel most comfortable. Besides Naan, she clings to her horse Seven, her behind-the-scenes Ojibwa boyfriend Elmer, and two white friends: Kay O’Brien and her son Douglas. But racial tension cuts through the town of Mercer itself, galvanized by a fight over fishing rights.

Soon after the death of her husband Norm, sixty-four-year-old Kay O’Brien learns that she nears the late stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Norm’s sudden demise shocks her and Douglas to the point that she withholds her recent diagnosis from him. Kay has a few church-lady friends, but feels closest to Shawna, spending time together drinking foul-tasting Manhattans. Shawna divulges that she’s been accepted into veterinary school, and in turn, Kay discloses her Alzheimer’s.

Douglas, who blames himself for his father’s death, takes over his dad’s unstable car repair business more out of guilt than aptitude. However, amongst the apparent doom and gloom of their lives, Shawna connects with animals, Douglas develops his art, and Kay still has enough wits about her to create positive change.

The three friends share something vital: they understand pain.

Each one struggles with their own unresolved issues: Shawna, anger over her mother’s death; Kay, health problems and the loss of her husband; and Douglas, caught between guilt and his desire to be an artist.

Jenna, a newbie who runs a hippish coffee house in town, takes an immediate interest in Douglas and his artwork. In the meantime, Kay discovers Norm’s poems written to a secret French love. But this upsetting news gets lost in the “Alzheimer” translation. She believes herself to be the secret love and takes off on Seven, babbling in nonsensical French. Although the situation is nothing less than strange, the friends have no idea that this bizarre moment will initiate a flurry of unforgettable and life-changing events.

Raconteur extraordinaire Jamie Zerndt produces a witty yet moving story of friendship.

Alternating his latest novel between three third-person narratives, Zerndt weaves in the local information about the Ojibwa and their constant fight with racist fishing rights in the highly-populated white town of Mercer, Wisconsin. Zerndt paints a convincing and visceral picture of emotion through his principal cast on many levels: low self-esteem, depression (leading to alcoholism), anger, and fear. His characters stay grounded, unremarkable, and relatable, especially Kay who struggles with the fact that she has no control of her mental state – something the older generation dreads.

Undoubtedly, sadness abounds from one page onward. But so does humor, love, and tenderness.

The humor arrives in darkness and sarcasm, as the characters face death and hate coming from a town dripping in racism. Sometimes, you have to laugh at pain in its face, and that’s precisely what Shawna, Kay, and Douglas do. Love unfolds awkwardly as an escape for Shawna and as a revelation for Douglas. Religion also comes into play as Kay bounces her thoughts of God between her relationship to the Catholic church, the church ladies she chums with, and a hippish priest who offers his services in an unorthodox way.

While chapters close on cliffhangers and tension builds with each character, Zerndt offers very little in the way of clues to the story’s apex. Instead, he uses the element of surprise, which allows readers to experience the depths of Shawna, Douglas, and Kay in ways they may not think possible.

Kudos to Zerndt for a brilliant literary work! Jerkwater is an absorbing read from beginning to end.

Jamie Zerndt’s Jerkwater won 1st Place in the 2019 CIBA Somerset Book Awards for Contemporary and Literary Novels.

October 8, 2021
The SIGHTLESS CITY by Noah Lemelson – Gaslamp Fantasy, Steampunk Fiction, Post-Apocaliptic Sci-fi

The city of Huile burns with trouble in Noah Lemelson’s dieselpunk novel The Sightless City.

Four years ago, the United Confederacy of the Citizens Resurgence defeated the Principate in a devastating war. Marcel Talwar lost his leg to that conflict but became a national hero for saving Huile. Now he’s settled down to work as a private detective. However, the schematics to a strange device throw his temporary calm into disarray.

Marcel relentlessly investigates the true nature of the documents and the death of their owner. His investigation robs him of all certainty, forcing him to question what he once thought he knew about his world, his role in the revolution. Especially troubling is his friendship with Lazarus Roache, a fellow hero and now the richest, most powerful man in town.

As a dieselpunk novel, The Sightless City embraces a more 20^th Century feel of industrialization than Victorian steampunk.

Darkness saturates the world with unimaginable cruelties of forced labor camps and grim images of factories pumping out clouds of dark smoke – and people too terrified to ask what goes on within those walls. Magic joins this industrial world, where cities once floated above the earth, where “Engineers” have the “Knack” to refashion metal and other dense materials with their minds, and a mysterious red substance pumped out of the earth, called sangleum, serves as the city’s lifeblood and its source of wealth. Other darker powers include a drug derivative that can turn people into drones, subject to the commands of a single man.

Amongst this dense and complex world, Marcel’s investigation keeps the story centered, as he discovers the secrets of the documents while navigating industry and magic.

In the search for truth, Marcel meets Sylvaine, an Engineer who discovers that her Knack allows her to repair machines and build bombs with her mind. Many more characters boast strange tools and powers. The monk Kayip has long been at war with Roache, wielding a bracelet that can, by his thoughts, transforms into a broadsword or collapse back around his wrist. Meanwhile, the evil Verus keeps a patch over one eye, concealing not an eye socket but a window into an unimaginable dark universe.

Lemelson’s world-building hits the mark for an intricate and complex storyline.

Beginning a revolution will change everyone’s life. The battle sprawls, thanks in no small part to Marcel, Sylvaine, and Kayip, who form a partnership to bring down the malignant forces that enslave the city’s factory workers. Marcel’s investigation leads to a detailed, engaging dystopian novel.

Those who love their dieselpunk with a dark and gritty edge will find immersion in a world very different and yet just a few steps away from our own in The Sightless City. This title won 1st Place in the CIBA 2019 OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction.

October 4, 2021
The MOON and STAR: Lessons From a Cat by Peggy Sullivan – Children’s Literature, Children’s Cat Books,

In Peggy Sullivan’s award-winning book, The Moon and Star: Lessons From a Cat, readers learn how a charming, tiny white cat finds solace in her connection with the Moon as she goes through life’s challenges and changes.

Star lives happily with a tall girl and two other cats. She runs, dances, and hunts for goldfish in a backyard pond. But this mindful cat soon realizes that life is full of unpredictable circumstances. Though she moves to a college town and has new and fun experiences, Star feels sad when she loses a feline friend, even more so when the tall girl goes off on her adventures.

Luckily Star is a cat with an attraction to the Moon. Its magical glow helps the little cat gain a sense of calm. The peacefulness Star feels stays with her, regardless of changes in her life or surroundings. Though Star and the tall girl move many more times, this sensitive cat realizes the light of the Moon offers a unique sense of serenity wherever her journey takes her.

In the first story, Midnight and Moonlight, Sullivan focuses on friendship and differences.

In this next adventure, the author shows us positive and relatable life lessons explored through the eyes of our furry friends and shares them in a gentle and entertaining format. While it can be challenging to write for a young audience and tell a well-crafted story with little words, humor, and grace, all while relating a universal message, Sullivan has the knack. Her background and experience as a mental health counselor and child advocate make for a rich and holistic reading experience.

As in all of Sullivan’s Children’s books, the images match magnificently with the story.

Here the text is easily followed, and accompanying drawings feature the colorful antics of an adorable, big blue-eyed Star. Several images of this gentle little cat pondering a quiet respite beneath the night’s starry, moonlit sky are sure to help deliver an essential message to youngsters. Ultimately the Moon serves as Star’s sanctuary and ideally reveals to readers that small moments of comfort and joy surround us if we just take the time to look.

The Moon and Star: Lessons From a Cat by Peggy Sullivan won the GRAND PRIZE in the 2017 CIBAs for the LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards for Children’s Literature.

October 1, 2021
The CONSCIOUS VIRUS: An Aedgar Wisdom novel by Miki Mitayn – Native American Literature, Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction, Magic Realism Fiction

Dr. Nerida Green travels across Australia, tending to struggling communities and connecting with her wife Mari – as well as the three spirits who Mari channels through her body, in Miki Mitayn’s climate-fiction novel The Conscious Virus: An Aedgar Wisdom Novel.

Nerida works sporadic jobs as a doctor, from the mining community of Newman to the small town of Fitzroy Crossing, and back east to a disappointing stint at a naturopathy clinic in Byron Bay. Between her working hours, Nerida speaks with M’Hoq Toq, the Native American medicine man, Bartgrinn the Celtic druid, and Aedgar, an ancient being of the Earth. Nerida asks the spirits for their opinions on topics as broad as climate change and as narrow as her personal matters, engaging them in deep conversation.

While Nerida and Mari travel, the Coronavirus makes its appearance on the world stage, and shortly after that, Australia. Nerida manages to find them a safe place to live through quarantine, but her role as a doctor weighs heavily on her as the pandemic picks up steam. She turns to the advice of her ephemeral friends, who at once soothe her heart and spark her worries.

The Conscious Virus tackles current global issues, both through Nerida’s personal experience and the wisdom of the spirits.

Climate Change hurts the vulnerable people whom Nerida cares for, and as the spirits tell her, disrupts the natural systems and energies of the planet. Covid-19 spreads amongst people who are profoundly unprepared for a pandemic, while the entities try to communicate the metaphysical nature of the pandemic.

All three spirits have distinct voices, filling their conversations with personality and the unique word-choice of people who haven’t walked the Earth in centuries. Their beliefs mesh with Nerida’s as often as they clash. She connects with them through their philosophy and deep thoughts on the world, but she struggles to understand their often very unscientific perspectives. How much of what they say is metaphorical, and how much is literal? Will Nerida side with the wisdom of the spirits or with the research and knowledge of her peers?

Between Nerida’s lengthy conversations with the spirits, she and Mari experience the beauty and difficulties of the material world. Mitayn paints Australia with beautiful descriptions, full of color and heat and smells. The world becomes tangible as Nerida walks and drives through it. Her life with Mari is a grounded and realistic one, concerned with whether the air conditioning will keep working, how they’re going to find a place to stay along their travels, and how they should treat each other to maintain a relationship of love and respect. They meet and reconnect with many interesting people, creating a collection of vignettes across their journey.

This story explores many facets of the modern world and its struggles.

The lives and work of Aboriginal people often take center stage, as Nerida – an Aboriginal woman herself – understands the unique challenges they face. Nerida, Mari, and the spirits tell an engaging and deeply thoughtful story about LGBT+ identity, racist systems, and how entire groups of people are pushed down by the interests of the rich and powerful. Mitayn takes none of these issues lightly but instead gives them the time and consideration that they deserve.

Jumping between past, present, and future, The Conscious Virus creates not just a compelling image of the modern world – but also of how the future might play out depending on whether people face their trials with wisdom and compassion – or something so pointless as greed.

September 27, 2021
The KURDISH CONNECTION, Bedlam Series #1 by Randall Krzak – Military Thriller, Terrorism Thriller, Political Thriller

International writer Randall Krzak addresses one of the world’s saddest ongoing tragedies in The Kurdish Connection, a thriller about the plight of the Kurdish people and a desperate plan to free them from their fate.

In a world awash with refugees, perhaps no greater tragedy exists than the ongoing fate of the Kurds of the Middle East, roughly 30 million sect members spread between Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Connected by language, religion, and history, this group has no country to call their own. The Kurds have been the subject of several attempts by international agreements to help them create a haven, the most recent in northern Iraq’s no-fly zone. Meanwhile, all four host countries have ruthlessly suppressed Kurdish hopes and dreams politically and especially militarily.

Among the most vicious suppression efforts were those of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who used deadly sarin nerve gas against them, most notably in the village of Halabja, in which up to 5,000 Kurds perished and another 10,000 were wounded.

The Kurdish Connection takes us deep inside that struggle.

Two young Iraqi Kurds, Dersim and Ismet, scavengers by trade and refugees from Halabja with searing memories from their youth of Saddam’s gas attack, accidentally stumble on a large cache of sarin gas canisters leftover by Saddam’s army. The pair are stunned by the possibilities of what can be done with it. They, in turn, make their finding known to a group of Kurdish mullahs who find themselves torn by the possibilities of how the weapons can be used.

Eventually, they agree that the sarin gas might help them free a powerful mullah named Muhammed Baziyan, imprisoned for many years under tight security by the Turks. The Kurds believe that this one man could be the leader to pull them together and unite them as a single voice.

Meanwhile, half a world away, a new international counterterrorism group called Bedlam assembles in Washington D.C. to explore a rumor from on-the-ground intelligence that an Iraqi sarin gas cache exists. Its goal becomes a frantic effort to locate the canisters, disable or destroy them, and stop them from falling into the wrong hands.

With few intelligence assets on the ground, Bedlam assigns their operatives to travel to Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Using various identities such as amateur archeologists, members of MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders), and cultural tourists, they use their limited information plus sophisticated chemical detectors to try and locate the deadly cache.

At the same time, the mullahs make plans to use the gas to disrupt Turkish military forces and other pressure tactics, including kidnapping foreigners to show the world some of the brutal tactics used by military forces against Kurds. In the most recently reported event, they want to show the world how Syrian troops viciously put down a peaceful Kurdish demonstration over bakery prices, which the Syrian government claimed was an attack instigated by the Kurds.

The mullahs’ overall plan is to instigate several near-simultaneous attacks in Turkey to draw out Turkish military forces and disguise their main effort, to free the mullah Baziyan from his well-guarded Turkish prison. Using sarin gas to kill Turkish troops seems like a good plan, but no one wishes to harm civilians. Not everyone agrees with the deployment of sarin gas.

The action is set against the exotic, fairytale-like landscape of Capadoccia, Turkey, with its soaring natural towers, and Gobekli Tepi, an archeological dig of an ancient temple built 6,000 years before Stonehenge. Equipped with sophisticated chemical detectors, built James Bond-like into their gear, the Bedlam teams ready themselves for their mission. A further refinement of Bedlam’s plans is to substitute phony sarin containers for their more dangerous counterparts.

Randall Krzak delivers an exciting cat-and-mouse game between the Bedlam team, suspicious Kurds, and equally suspicious Turkish government spies.

The Kurdish Connection soars in the detailed accounts of towns and villages, the people there, and even the weaponry and vehicles used. Readers will find themselves in the middle of the action as the Kurds successfully bomb a Turkish oil field, terrorize a soccer stadium, and stage a murderous assault on the prison where the mullah is kept. Krzak takes us into the dank caves and sewers where the Bedlam teams go to locate and sabotage the horrific sarin canisters from being used by anyone.

Above all, The Kurdish Connection offers readers a compassionate look at one of the world’s most intractable social conflicts, wrapped in the pages of a thriller that will keep readers glued to its pages until the final sentence. The Kurdish Connection is the first book in Krzak’s Bedlam series. Please read our reviews of the following books by clicking on their titles: Dangerous Alliance and Carnage in Singapore.

September 23, 2021