“Wreck of the Nebula Dream” by Veronica Scott

Publication Date: March 13, 2012

Special Forces Captain Nick Jameson messed up his last mission and is seen as a kind of a burn-out by his commanders. He boards the luxury spaceship Nebula Dream, not so interested in the ambition of the crew to break space travel speed records. He just wants to get home and even considers going into stasis for the trip. Nick suspects problems with the ship that are confirmed when the liner crashes in enemy territory. Too few lifeboat pods leave 8,000 passengers stranded. Can Nick and his small band of two children, a socialite, a contracts expert and a mercenary survive and make it home? Wreck of the Nebula Dream is a re-imagining of the Titanic disaster in future space.

When I read the description of this novel to my husband he said, “Starship Titanic – it’s been done.” Starship Titanic’s novelization was written by Terry Jones based on the adventure game by Douglas Adams. While both wonderfully written, Wreck of the Nebula Dream could not be further from “Starship Titanic” if the authors had plotted together to be as different as they could.

Wreck of the Nebula Dream follows Captain Nick Jameson and never shifts point of view from that primary character. Nick is the undisputed leader of the pack of survivors and while he’s not perfect, he’s the one to which the others defer as someone who can get them out alive (though one or two need some convincing). For the first quarter of the novel, Scott sets up her story and acquaints us with Nick. He has had a troubled past and messed up his last Special Forces mission. He is extremely lonely and on a bit of a downward spiral. Scott cleverly uses the time in which she aquaints us with Nick to set the progression of her story. He is a military officer and as such has a guided tour of the ship. He’s accustomed to traveling in gravity tubes. In his spare time he saves a child and contemplates spending some empty time with a woman who works hard to appear vacuous. Scott also uses the time to introduce Nick to the key players that will accompany him later in the story.

The key players are all indeed key players. None of the characters are marginalized or along for the ride. Even the 3-year-old acts to further the story-line. There are no shrinking violets or wilting lilies. None of the characters are robbed of their moment to shine just because strong and handsome Nick is running the show. Scott accomplishes quite the feat by introducing a warrior bound by ritual and his service to the Red Lady and yet gives him a trust and bond with Nick that serves to get the survivors where they need to go. Never for a moment do any of them doubt Nick’s experience.

The women in Wreck of the Nebula Dream are strong in spirit and character. Mara is a contracts expert who bravely does what she needs to do without regard to her own safety. She refuses to board a life boat insisting that there’s plenty of time to leave once she makes sure the children (trapped in their room with their mother at this point) are safe. Twilka, the socialite desperately trying to seem vapid, may have her own interests and own priorities but when she’s needed, she steps up to action. Twilka is given realistic moments of panic but she pulls herself together and trusts that if she does what she’s asked, she can’t help but win.

While the action story-line is constant after the 25% mark, there is a love story element that is well done and doesn’t unrealistically distract from the peril these characters face. There’s no time to duck into a closet and have graphic sex and it does not happen to pander to an audience. What Scott presents us is well thought out and sensibly constructed. She shows us the world in which she’s writing rather than telling us and that world is so complex, I have to think that there was a story board involved.

Had I not gone into this novel knowing the Titanic parallel, I might not have recognized it. The lack of life boats may have called the tragedy to mind but really whether inspired by the disaster of a century ago or not, Scott presents us with a story that feels independent and new.

Wreck of the Nebula Dream was a novel I truly enjoyed and even post-poned a nap to finish. I recommend this novel for everyone. Even if you’re not a sci-fi lover, give this one a try and let me know what you thought.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

For more information about Veronica Scott and her work, follow the links below:

Website: http://veronicascott.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @VScotttheauthor

“Asterion” by Kenneth Morvant

Publication Date: February 6, 2013

Taylor Scott and Christine Summers are scientists in a not so distant dystopian future that have created a hybrid beast of burden to work in the fields and grow crops. The government sees great potential in the beast as a weapon and the scientists find themselves hunted by their own creation.

Asterion is a work of speculative fiction.

Morvant’s writing style has a feeling of disconnect from the flow of the story. His dialogue is wonderful if, at times, a bit stilted and his descriptions are detailed but with a sense of being a step away from the scene. We’re not watching the action but someone is telling us the action is happening. On the other hand, Morvant sends a flow of information into the novel that is almost overwhelming at times. The world has changed, and with the decline in people who go to church, the Book of Revelations isn’t as known as it once has been. My mother, who is constantly talking about the coming World War III and the fate of Christians, would lap up the setting and the world as it is in the novel but she’s made a study of what she feels is the inevitable fate of the world.

Taylor and Christine are part of the religious underground. They are Christians in a time when it’s not a good thing to be a Christian. Taylor and Christine meet when he hires her to work on his project. His boss suspects that the reason she was hired is because she’s hot, and while he denies that reason, this reader thought that to be a reason as well. Their romance has a “last two people on earth” quality about it. While Morvant goes to great lengths to develop the characters, it is evident that his true comfort zone is the science of the novel. I am no scientist but a lot of what he wrote seemed to this reader like something that could happen in the advancement of science. Certainly, the part when government takes the research and uses it to their own ends seems realistic. Global politics are a push and react business, and the person who has the bigger and better weapon holds all the cards.

To be fair, this may not be a novel with which I can connect on anything more than a literal level. I understand that some classic sci-fi authors write with the step-back philosophy but I have not read those authors, so I have not had that experience. If informational sci-fi is your thing or you’re interested in the religious aspect, Asterion is for you.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

For more information about Kenneth Morvant and his work, follow the links below:

Website: http://www.kennethmorvant.com/

Twitter:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6884245.Kenneth_Morvant/

“Zuri: A Baby Rhino and the People Who Love Her” by Ruth Harris

Publication Date: April 28, 2012

Zuri is a baby rhino who witnesses the murder of her mother by poachers. She is injured in the brutal attack. When Renny, director of an animal orphanage, and Starlite, a young Veterinarian, come upon the injured rhino, they know that they must do whatever they can to save her. ZURI: A baby rhino and the people who love her is a story of love, loss, revenge and fighting for what is right.

Ruth Harris provided me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.

ZURI: A baby rhino and the people who love her is a story that encompasses a rainbow of emotions. Reading the murder of Zuri’s mother was a hugely emotional experience. I felt like the child watching “Bambi” for the first time. ZURI: A baby rhino and the people who love her is the sort of novel that changes lives and inspires people to act for their planet. Written for both adults and children, ZURI: A baby rhino and the people who love her by Ruth Harris is a novel that should hit your reading list and be at the top of the TBR pile.

The character of Zuri, the baby rhino is beautifully written. She is a baby but has seen the “tourist creatures” before but not the ones with the “shiny sticks that make a boom noise.” When the poachers cut off her mother’s horn and the first chapter ends with her calling out for her mother, I was sobbing. There is a recovery period where the animal must build trust. As Zuri recovers, Renny and Starlite’s relationship deepens. There’s a beautiful scene in which the pair watches Zuri sleep and Renny identifies with her nightmares. Starlite probes lightly and reveals information Renny didn’t realize anyone knew. The conversation is casual and yet intimate and shows a great talent for those emotionally driven moments. Harris is an author who knows when to give with both guns but to also hold back which drives the reader to bond with the character.

Underwritten in ZURI: A baby rhino and the people who love her is a great deal of information. Harris had to have gone deep in her research of this novel. Harris gives us the realistic and detailed look at both poaching and animal protection. Making the novel seem less like an instructional manual is a beautiful and subtle love story between Renny and Starlite. To be honest, this reader fell a little in love with Renny as well as he built a bond with both human and animal.

I absolutely loved ZURI: A baby rhino and the people who love her by Ruth Harris. It was quite the departure from this reader’s usual consumption and worked on all levels. Pick this one up today!

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

For more information about Ruth Harris and her work, follow the links below:

Blog: http://ruthharrisblog.blogspot.ca/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4597223.Ruth_Harris

Twitter: @RuthHarrisBooks

“Heavy Mental” by P.J.Morse

Publication Date: November 30, 2012

Clancy Parker is a P.I. by day and a rock guitarist by night. As her landlord says, she has two real jobs. When Clancy is hired by a sexy socialite to find a necklace she thinks the case will be a breeze. Can Clancy solve the case, battle her feelings for her client’s sexy psychiatrist and make it out alive?

Morse says in her biography that she writes “cozies that your nana might not like.” I suppose the main character in this novel could be looked upon as edgy in a sense. She’s a woman working as a P.I. which is rare in the genre. She starts out fairly impressively as a character that gets things done and then devolves as the story progresses to a character that doesn’t make things happen but to whom things happen. There is something eerily familiar about her. She says at one point in the novel that Wayne forgot a rule of life, “Most people who are weirdoes and freaks don’t know that they’re weirdoes and freaks.” (Kindle Edition – Page 79). The sentence gave me pause while reading because I was starting to think things about Clancy and maybe I was supposed to have those hesitations with her character. She is a female Peter Pan. Clancy is a hipster without acknowledging anything so base or pretentious. She wrote a song in legalise for goodness sakes.

Clancy has an overload of whacky all around her. Her overly involved mother has a flask on hand at all times for emergencies and is extremely accident prone. She constantly has a break or sprain and has her slings and casts custom designed by artists to match what she’s wearing. Her father is an overly involved man who stages an intervention with her ex. He just wants her to settle down or come to work for him. The drummer in her band is a commitment-phobe with a loose zipper. Another band mate is a stoner whose “true love is his bong.” Clancy’s client is a waterfall of crazy and the client’s husband is a fat professor who is a menace behind the wheel. Clancy’s car is named “Cherry 2000.” I know lots of folks who would love these characters. Perhaps as they develop in the course of the series we’ll see their eccentricities evolve into something less grating.

Both of my Grandmothers are gone but I don’t know why they wouldn’t have read this book. There’s lots of swearing and some somewhat public sex that isn’t graphic. The violence couldn’t be called gory either. As I read the book the thought kept arising that Clancy thinks she’s edgy but she really doesn’t come off that way in narration. Perhaps the plan for other novels or later in the series is to be graphic but I’d send this novel to my Dad without blinking twice. The story-line was consistently maintained though not very exciting. Once we meet the character driving the sub-plot, the reader has a good sense of where the story is going. There are no real surprises. I would be interested to see, now that Morse has developed the characters, where she goes next in the world of Clancy Parker.

The bottom line for Tammy Dewhirst is that I didn’t connect in any way with Clancy or the characters in the novel. Normally a connection is not a necessity. Clancy is 28-year-old and is doing well though she seems to lean toward the “New Girl” sort of mentality which I know a lot of people love but I just don’t get. Looking at life through wide-doe eyes is not something Clancy does but she does kind of look askance at people with a plan. I do believe that if you enjoy shows like “New Girl,” “The Mindy Project,” or characters like Stephanie Plum, you will like this novel.

If you have a holiday coming up that will involve pool-side reading, Heavy Mental: A Clancy Parker Mystery is a light read and is the perfect book for you.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

“Dead Ever After” by Charlaine Harris

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

When Arlene returns to Merlotte’s to ask Sookie Stackhouse for her job back, Sookie can’t believe her nerve. It wasn’t so long before that Arlene conspired with friends to kill Sookie by hanging her on a cross. When Arlene is found the next morning in the dumpster behind the bar, Sookie is naturally the prime suspect. Can Sookie beat the rap that the police are so ardent to pin on her? As her life gets more complex, Sookie’s relationship with Eric is fizzling. Can they get their love back on track or are some things just not worth saving?

Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel is the final book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

I recently read an interview in EW Magazine with Charlaine Harris about the end of the Sookie Stackhouse series and came to the belief that the author’s series declined when she got caught up on the idea of celebrity. She says to the interviewer that women of a certain age look to her because she became famous as an older woman. She, in effect, is their icon. As much as people might like what they see on the screen in “True Blood,” the book series that Harris wrote revolving around Sookie Stackhouse was, at a time, better than the show could ever hope to be. Where the show was about the violent and sexual side of vampires and paranormal beings (always look toward the bigger and better), the book series was about a young woman strugging to fit in and trying to find someone with whom she could share her life and be happy. To have all of those things that she thought she should have. Harris lost sight of that young lady after the series started and gave us a jaded woman but one who is accepted in her community. In Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel I think Harris is trying to give us that sense of a character come full circle. What she thinks she wanted may not have ever been what she needed and she now has all she needs.

You know you’re not reading a great book when while reading on lunch break the boss brings you some things to go over and you’re grateful for the interruption. There was a time I travelled from Ontario and searched bookstores all over the metro-Detroit area to find Sookie books sold out. I once told a friend who was confused at the introduction of a “fairy godmother” to just wait, Harris has a plan and Claudine’s character would be expanded. These days I don’t have that sort of faith in that author and throughout the book there was an overwhelming sadness both in the actual text and in myself.

We start Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel exactly where the last book left off. Sookie has saved Sam and Eric is angry. Sookie is in denial about her feelings both for Sam and Eric. I know folks love Eric but to be true to the great character he was, it would never have worked out – but you’ll have to read to see if Harris makes it work. In her community she’s not the freak she once was. She’s planning to be an attendant in her brother’s wedding and she goes shopping with Tara. When she returns to Merlotte’s people are happy to see her and share with her. The isolated and hated woman we saw in Book One that everyone thought was a freak? They have since learned that there are much stranger things in Bon Temps than a pretty girl who can read minds. Harris ends the novel with “I’m Sookie Stackhouse and I belong here.” This is what any reader who has been with the series from the first novel knows that this is what the character has always wanted. She has the confidence but has she truly found her place?

As with the last novel, the overwhelming feel of Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel is of an author tying up loose ends. We do have a story of revenge and some action but mostly it’s Sookie marking things off of her checklist. Fairies are gone, check. Relationships as sorted as they’re going to get, check. All of the characters are getting a bit of a wrap up. Tara is happy with JB and the twins. Terry Bellefluer, the Vietnam Vet and cook at Merlottes, is getting married and will be an instant grandfather. Perhaps its just that I haven’t paid attention in the past but there also seemed to be quite a few more television references in Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel. CSI is mentioned at one point and within a few paragraphs Dirty Jobs is also invoked. The whole cast of characters returns to the point where the characters serve no real purpose other than to do a walk-on and wave to the audience. Perhaps it’s unfair but my thought while reading was of a scene from a Police Academy movie where characters are calling each other and saying, “Commadant Lassard is in trouble!” and racing to his side. One character shows up for a hot second to talk about his coming baby … and to help Sookie. Another character talks about his new girlfriend … and stops in to help Sookie.

Much has been made of the pairing that ends this novel. Harris announced on her Facebook page that a fan in Germany had posted spoilers many weeks before the release (The majority of her fans on her FB page would not have known had she not said anything). If you were firmly in a prospective partners camp, you may be disappointed. If you’ve been around for a while, especially the last few books, you probably saw the end coming. As a fan, I didn’t mind the partner she chose just perhaps the Harlequin-like way that their story unfolded. You can’t be with one man unless you completely decimate the other always rings false with me as a reader and smacks of a certain lack of creativity.

Overall, I’m glad this series is over and there are worse ways Harris could have ended it. If you’ve read Sookie all along, pick this one up to round out the experience. If you haven’t read the series, start from the beginning because it is mostly a very good and tightly written series. Kudos to Harris for acknowledging that this horse was indeed dead and buying it instead of trying to continue to ride.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

“Chemical Attraction” by Christina Thompson

Publication Date: August 28, 2012

Dr. Maddie Pierce is worried about dangerous chemicals that appear of the order rolls for her department at a medical research lab. Research into the other departments and their order rolls has led to her calling the FBI for help. The FBI sends Agent Joe Roberts – a man with ties to the small western Michigan town. The attraction is instant but now that animals are attacking and killing their owners, the stakes are even higher. Can Maddie and Joe solve the case without their chemical attraction getting in the way?

Picture a rock star on the stage calling out, “THE BEST FANS IN THE WORLD ARE RIGHT HERE IN (YOUR CITY)!”. The roar is deafening as pride rolls through the assembled fans who so want to believe that they are the best of the best. That’s how I feel when I see the little corner of Michigan in which I grew up mentioned in literature. I am a Ypsilanti girl always, but lived and worked in Ann Arbor for a number of years as well. Ann Arbor gets a very minor shout out in this novel but, as always, it caused my pulse to race a bit. You somewhat crazy book fans (like me) will know what I’m talking about.

Thompson writes characters that a reader wants to know. The good guys are affable and fun. We get them on down time singing karaoke, eating and having beer and eating again. Instead of wishing that Thompson would rush the action, those moments are fun with friends. Thompson very cleverly gives everyone a back story, no matter how brief. In one scene we have a grandmother with her grandson at an animal auction. Thompson tells us that her husband died in a flu epidemic but she is ready to move on and has her eye on someone. The background story of her is priceless because as the scene progresses, her grandson is in the path of danger and our hearts bleed for her – we know she suffered enough, don’t take her grandson! There’s an emotional investment that is invaluable in this sort of story.

The plot-line is wonderful. Animals are turning on their owners and killing them. At the start of the novel a young corn detasseler (and what young person in Michigan or Ontario wouldn’t know all about corn detasseling – often a teens first job here) finds a body in the field that has been attacked by emus and subsequently died of a stroke. The young woman puts her hand through his chest and the description is beautifully gory and yet not overly graphic which sounds perhaps a bit contrary. There is a solid and believable scientific base for the story and there are few superhero moments. These are good people doing their best.

I do have a bit of a bone to pick with Thompson, the catty female. I hate the female that serves no real purpose but to be catty in a story and Rita is that character with bells on in Chemical Attraction. The character designed to cause a minor stress between the characters. Especially, in case of this novel, she came too late to be believable and not only serves to counteract the strong and smart female characters, but to shove these women back into a weak and petty stereotype. We get it, Joe is hot. That’s established. Any female in the novel would sleep with him in a heart-beat. Rita was just unnecessary.

Chemical Attraction was a fabulous read. If you like romantic thrillers in the spirit of Sandra Brown you cannot do better than this novel. It was a wonderfully written and plotted story.

The next book in the series, “Chemical Reaction” is coming soon.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

For more information about Christina Thompson and her work, follow the links below:

Twitter: @ChristinaPOV

Website: http://www.christinakthompson.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/48fourteen

“The Complete Asshole’s Guide to Getting Laid Online” by I.M. Telling

Publication Date: February 16, 2013

A handy guide for assholes who wish to get laid online.

Telling opens his work with “Let’s begin under the assumption that you are an asshole, otherwise you would not be reading this book.” To clarify for my readers, I am not an asshole. I am a person who started out reviewing another book, but when I went online to look for publication dates, could not resist the title of this book. Telling starts with supposition that you want sex because it will make you prettier, healthier, more successful and irresistible to the world around you. People will want to be you. This is a brilliant move on Telling’s part. Everyone has sex and everyone from time to time wants sex. You are immediately in the asshole’s position whether or not you are in fact an asshole or are even actively looking for sex online, you want to be that person that Telling is saying you can be.

Telling gives the reader information on varied swinging sites, and how to conduct oneself at the sites. He gives tips on how to filter out those just messing with you and to always make sure that you show up because nothing is worse than someone who doesn’t have their schedule clear when they set a meeting. Telling advises the “attached asshole” to be honest with his or her spouse and to set comfort zones. Telling stresses that in a marriage and an extra-marital relationship, trust is key. I like that Telling reminds the reader that whatever profile pic you put up is available for viewing by EVERYONE.

The Complete Asshole’s Guide to Getting Laid Online may be intended as an instructional manual but I found it quite entertaining. If you’re a person who wants to find sex online, it’s probably a pretty helpful little guide. Unlike Telling’s other stories, this tome is sex education rather than erotica. The information contained is good common sense presented in a light and humorous way.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

For more information about I.M. Telling and his work, follow the links below:

Twitter: @I_M_Telling

Website: http://latenightpublishing.biz/

“The Christmas Exhibition” by V.T. Vaughn

Publication Date: November 27, 2012

Jill and Matt have been dating a little shy of a year when Jill comes home from a holiday work party drunk. She was a bit of an exhibitionist at the party and the boss’s son insulted her. She got a peek at his penis and becomes obsessed with desire for him and the idea of humiliating him. Will telling Matt ruin what she has with him or take their relationship to a new level?

To my knowledge, V.T. Vaughn is not related in any way to my father or myself.

When I think of erotica as a genre, The Christmas Exhibition is the kind of work I picture. I don’t think that true erotica could ever be made into any sort of movie besides XXX. The sex is constant and forces the story-line so there’s no way to edit it and maintain the spirit of the story. Jill comes home and tells Matt about the work party as they have sex and the events of the party heighten their satisfaction. There is no wham bam thank you ma’am in this story; the main characters have the staying power of superheroes. When you hear people who can go all night, these are the people.

I read an article today in which suspected killer Amanda Knox talks about her sexual life when she got to Italy. She says (paraphrased) that her sexual adventures were about empowerment and control and not about if she liked her partner or not. This quote describes Jill’s motivation to perfection. Matt is consumed with desire and yet the fear that the much more experienced Jill will become too comfortable stepping out of their relationship. Jill, on the one hand, wants to be desired and on the other hand, wants to be debased. She hates Sean but wants him because he looked on her with revulsion because she wasn’t a woman who could be bought by his money. Several times in the novel Matt hates himself and hates Jill for what he suspects she’s doing and she, on the other hand, seems to hate him. Jill tells us throughout the story, as Knox said, that her desire for Sean is about control but is it really more a reflection of her lack of self-control? Is Jill truly just a slave to her obsessions?

I find the psychology of this couple absolutely fascinating. They love humiliating each other, the idea of perversion and the idea of cheating in spirit. The Christmas Exhibition is the first in a series of books featuring Jill and Matt several years into the future. We know in the future based novels that Jill and Matt engage in the swinging lifestyle so at some point Matt becomes comfortable (or more so) with Jill actually being with another man. In the end, it’s for the reader to decide, is Jill really getting the upper hand on Sean or is she simply a slave to her need to be wanted – her need to be an exhibitionist.

I think fans of erotica will really like The Christmas Exhibition. The sex is very graphic and drives the plot.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

For more information about author V.T. Vaughn, follow the links below:

Independent Author Network: http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/v-t-vaughn.html

Twitter: @vtvaughn_writer

“The Mayonnaise Murders” by Keith A. Owens

With apologies to the author, it took me longer than it should have to review this novel and, as always, it’s the best ones that are delayed.

Publication Date: September 24, 2012

Vee, the reporter and Vid the problem solver – both critters – happen upon a very dead human Johnny Beardy. Notable upon Beardy’s body is mayonnaise, which has been illegal for years on Planet 10 as it becomes a potent drug when mixed with an unnamed chemical. What develops is a deep plot of revenge that has Vid and Vee traveling the universe and landing in Colorado. Will they do the right or the easy thing?

“Chicken revenge is a serious thing.” (Kindle location 673)

As serious as chicken revenge may be, The Mayonnaise Murders isn’t. Owens novel was a whacky and off the wall read that isn’t for everyone. David joined me on this adventure only to abandon the novel a few chapters in saying that he “just didn’t get it”. If you think everything that you read should be relatable, this may not be the book for you. If you like good fun, cheesy plotlines and wisecracking characters, The Mayonnaise Murders is the novel for you. As we know, Jasper Fforde is my favorite author and the novel that locked in my love for him was one in which Jack Spratt of fairy tale glory was a detective of fairy tale creatures. “The Mayonnaise Murders” rejoices the absurd. Told in the snappy patter of a 50s’ PI movie and from the perspective of Vid, the narrative resonates with wisecracks worthy of Jim Rockford.

Owens doesn’t bog us down in expansive detail about his world and how it began. He gives us exactly what we need so that the novel has a filled-out feel of setting and time. The author assumes that we as readers are smart enough to extrapolate the rest. To do anything else would not have been true to the Vid character. Vid is moving forward, always. Vee has a vested interest in finding out about the mayonnaise as she and MayoMadd have a complicated history that has taken her from the “Very Very” (she is the daughter of a noted and successful scientist) to the streets of Planet 10. Owens very cleverly expands her back-story without weighing the readers down with information they don’t need to solve the crime and keep the story-line moving.

Due to the snappy patter in which Owen writes, The Mayonnaise Murders is a very fast moving tale infused with wonderful pop culture references. Cops are keystones, the Beatles are remembered and appreciated, the Weekly World News is alive and well. Vid and Vee have a kind of Maddie and David thing going on (“Moonlighting”). All of the elements brought together makes for a very interesting and fun read that doesn’t take itself too seriously. That’s not to say that there’s not something of a hidden message in the light-hearted text. If you’re going to look down on folks, how quick will they be to help you when you need it?

Even if you’re not into sci-fi, give it a shot. The Mayonnaise Murders is a brilliantly tongue in cheek mystery sure to please a lot of fans. Originally sold in a serial three-novel format, The Mayonnaise Murders can now be purchased in one complete edition and that edition is linked here.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

For more information about Keith A. Owens, follow the links below:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6564454.Keith_A_Owens?auto_login_attempted=true

Twitter: @Kaoblues

“Disturbing Clockwork” by D.L. Morrese

Publication Date: April 20, 2013

Benkin, an inventor, finds clockwork automatons on a deserted island. Benkin sees the machines as a key to unlock the world’s mysteries. The clever and ambitious Snyde, a fugitive and notorious baddie, sees the machines as the key to ultimate power. Can Trixie , Kwester, Muce and Prince Donald save Benkin from Snyde’s clutches in time?

D.L. Morrese continues the stories of Westgrove introduced in Defying Fate – Two Tales of the Warden and Amy’s Pendant in Disturbing Clockwork.

There is a whimsy in the way Morrese writes that could be called light fantasy. His work is infused with humor and intelligence and general good fun for the reader. Morrese presents us with characters that we’ve come to know and enjoy each time we meet. The reader evolves with the story and knows secrets of the world to which the natives aren’t privy and all story-lines tie together and yet stand on their own.

Over the course of the novels, the evolution of Prince Donald is startling. Trixie notes his transition from bumbling oaf to capable leaer and he is someone who will one day rule Westgrove. Donald doesn’t use his putative responsibility as an excuse to sit back but is fully part of the action. Action that the author writes very well. Is Morrese the sort of author who would kill a main character? Morrese is an author that I know will one day break my heart. I am connected with his vividly written cast. Did he break my heart in Disturbing Clockwork? You will simply have to read to find out. I’m not a reader who keeps a storyboard when I read a series of books but if I did the result would be a consistently evolving character in an ever-expanding story-line.

Disturbing Clockwork has what readers want. Action, adventure, humor, a hint of romance and great promise of continued adventures. A reader can spend a wonderful day touring Westgrove with Trixie and her friends. The plot-line in Disturbing Clockwork is direct. Any reader who read the fabulous Amy’s Pendant (not necessary but recommended) before this story will know have an inside scoop on the driving force of this story-line.

Much of the story revolved around finding the bad guy who was indeed very cleverly portrayed. Snyde has been able to evade those who wish to make him pay for his crimes fairly easily in the medieval world but not without great cunning on his part. Snyde is not a bad guy just tossed in because we need one. He is a fully developed continuing character who might actually be able to stay on the run forever if that was something he desired. Morrese not only tells us that he’s clever, he shows us that Snyde is clever which is a far more difficult thing to do.

I am a big fan of Douglas Adams and Jasper Fforde who play off of the real world enhancing with words that exist beside ours that most people don’t care to discover (in the novels). Morrese writes with the same spirit as these authors. The slightly absurd that so enchants this reader. If you like sci-fi, you like D.L. Morrese. Pick up the entire Westgrove series today but especially the cherry on the sundae that is Disturbing Clockwork.

If this sounds like a book for you, you can order it through Amazon.com by clicking on the image or book title anywhere in this review. Links for Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk appear below.

For more information about D.L. Morrese and Westgrove, follow the links below:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5128601.D_L_Morrese

Website: http://dlmorrese.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @DLMorrese

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