Against a Darkening Sky: A Novel by Lauren B. Davis

Against a Darkening Sky: A Novel.  Lauren B. Davis. ChiZine Publications.  May 2015. 300 pp.  ISBN#: 9781771483186.

Wilona, the only survivor of a plague that destroyed her family, travels to the village of Ad Gefrin where she becomes the apprentice to Touilt, a seithkona or seer/healer.  Many people come to Touilt for her medicine treatments and Wilona learns quickly.  This is King Edwin’s medieval kingdom in a time of great transition with the coming of Christianity.  It is believed that when all convert, the kingdom will prosper as natural progression from belief in the triune God.

Before that occurs, however, we have an account of Wilona’s training which is lovely reading.  In between learning about how nature provides healing properties, we realize how dark, cruel and primitive are the conditions under which these people live.  Touilt sees many visions which the reader may find frightening but which Touilt interprets as life-giving, protective and wise.  Wilona herself has visions of an owl which is to be her guide, totem or daemon.

We next meet Egan, a devout monk whose Christianity is bounded by his own humility or scrupulosity.  His superiors take his bumbling errors in stride at first but then decide his humility reeks of excessive pride.  At the same time they recognize his timid kindness and speech as a great tool to be used in servicing the King’s desire that all come to Christ. 

Wilona and Egan develop an uneasy friendship at first.  When the town villagers come to destroy Touilt’s spirit drawings and figures and physically beat her, Wilona trusts no one.  She believes it is only time that awaits her own torture to force her to convert.  Egan insists otherwise.

The remainder of the novel dwells on changing circumstances that change the people’s certitude about Christianity.  The results of these challenges are riveting as the ending reveals a new way of dealing with how spiritual beliefs fit into the vicissitudes of daily medieval life. 

Very nicely crafted – recommended fantasy historical fiction that challenges adamant religiosity!

Lost and Gone Forever: A Novel of Scotland Yard's Murder Squad by Alex Grecian

Lost and Gone Forever: A Novel of Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad.  Alex Grecian. Penguin Publishing Group (USA). May 2016. 384 pp.  ISBN#: 9780399176104.

Inspector Walter Day was kidnapped and held for one year by a man named “Jack.”  Whatever the latter inflicted upon Day, he no longer has any memory of his previous life.  Now he manages to escape, although he does so with great trepidation as he fears Jack is just around every corner waiting to grab Day and return him to his imprisonment.  Little by little, he inches his way back into society, shaping and selling old cigarette and cigar butts he has reformed into new products.  He even manages to enlist homeless urchins to assist him and pays them for their efforts. 

Day’s old friend, Nevil Hammersmith, a former Sergeant who lost his job over a case that also involved the disappearance of Day, has formed a private investigation agency with two female assistants.  Although he takes on new cases, his obsession is finding Day.  He even hires two bounty hunters to find and eliminate Jack, believing if he is removed Day will reappear.  However, the two chilling bounty hunters are about much more than heeding Hammersmith.  The reader wonders if this “Saucy” Jack is really Jack the Ripper, the killer who was feared by every decent British citizen. 

Even Hattie, Hammersmith’s assistant, gets involved in the missing persons search.  The owner of a brand new, gaudy and innovative department store (new for that time period of the late 1800s) is also involved accidentally and undergoes a dramatic transformation. 

The mystery will be solved but one must journey through several harrowing scenes and a very handy, albeit somewhat contrived, resolution for all characters that should greatly please lovers of the crime/thriller genre.  This reviewer has not read the previous books in the series, but that doesn’t matter as this is a fine stand-alone mystery that will probably draw readers to read the other novels as well.  Nicely crafted, Alex Grecian!

The Thing Is by Kathleen Gerard

The Thing Is.  Kathleen Gerard. Red Adept Publishing. December 2015. 276 pp.  ISBN#: 9781940215587.

Meredith Mancuso is fiercely grieving as her fiancé has passed away.  She used to be a successful novelist whose romances and stories were and are best sellers that it seems everyone knows. But Meredith has become a recluse and is ignoring calls from her agent and publisher because she’s just so bogged down in sadness.  It’s more than grieving; it’s rock solid depression.  That is until her accountant, CPA, numbers driven sister, Monica, rings her door – or actually is banging on the door like she’s going to break it down if Meredith doesn’t open up.  Before Meredith can blink her eyes, Monica is pushing a furry dog into her arms – a Yorkshire terrier called yes, Prozac!

This then is the story of Meredith’s baby-sitting venture with Prozac whom she is constantly trying to get rid of but whose attachment slowly but surely grows immensely – albeit pushed by bribery, threats of imprisonment for doggie abuse, and other hilarious scenes that are sheer delightful reading! 

For Prozac is a “Spirit Guide Dog,” that is one who is sensitive to the moods and feelings of wounded folks and able to heal them with his vibrant, loving presence.  He has a weekly schedule – he actually belongs to Meredith’s aunt who is recovering from surgery - of visiting but I won’t spoil that but let you discover the craziness of each spot they visit.    Of course, Meredith doesn’t really realize that she’s a tough project for Prozac but he gives her a healthy dose of her own stubborn rejection which is absolutely hysterical. 

The Thing Is has no linear plot; it just happens.  While that might trouble some readers, it is actually pleasant to just “go with it” along with Meredith and Prozac.  It’s a nice, light read that you’ll want to re-read just to enjoy the laughs all over again! Nicely done, K. Gerard!

Havana File: Book Six of the Shake Davis Series by Dale A. Dye

Havana File: Book Six of the Shake Davis Series.  Dale A. Dye. Warriors Publishing Group. May 2016. 304 pp.  ISBN#: 9781504037099.

Shake Davis is a retired U. S. Marine gunner.  Once a Marine, always a Marine; and when another Marine is in trouble, he or she is never left alone.  So even though Shake is planning on building a wood shed in Texas with his wife where he can design and build pieces associated with the military, he is shaken to hear that a former buddy and fellow warrior may have been killed in Cuba.  The story takes place in contemporary America where the government is considering having an open and unrestricted relationship with the Cuban government.  Shake and other Marines are clearly against this policy because they know that the Cuban government has the support of Russia in establishing secret communications between Al Qaeda and ISIS terrorists throughout the world as well as from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

It turns out that Shake’s buddy’s body was just a cover and a bad one at that.  Not to give away the story, but Shake and a bunch of fellow Marines are sure their buddy is alive and set about making a plan to rescue him.  At the same time, this rescue is vital because they will then have proof of Cuba’s duplicitous plans for terrorists and America. 

It’s rare to have a plot that is so contemporaneous.  It’s only in the last six months that this policy change with Cuba has begun and still has far to go before anything solid is set in stone.  The realistic picture Dale Dye depicts might be read by those who are part of this decision-making scenario; it certainly opens another side of the debate that needs attention!  Other than that, this is an action-filled, adventurous read about some very spunky characters whose military skills ramp up the action considerably!  Enjoyable, intense read!

I Let You Go: A Novel by Clare Mackintosh

I Let You Go: A Novel.  Clare Mackintosh. Sphere Publishing. May 2015. 371 pp.  ISBN#: 9780751554151.

Jenna and Jacob, mother and son, are so very close.  Jenna delights in her son’s zest for living, and despite a failed marriage Jenna devotes her life to her son.  She’s always so careful with him when they are out until one day she lets go of his hand and Jacob is violently hit by a car who then veers away and leaves the scene of the crime.  Words cannot convey the depth of Jenna’s grief at that moment and in the days that follow but this author conveys the awfulness of that moment with great skill.  Jenna’s life literally comes to a halt with that moment and although the police immediately try to find the hit and run driver, they are unsuccessful. 

With that last vestige of hope, Jenna decides she has to get away from their home and that street with its traumatic memories.  But one can’t run away from memories!  Jenna picks up her life and few belongings and escapes to a small Welsh seashore town where she finds a home far from people.  Unknown to her, Investigator Ray Stevens and his team are determined not to stop looking, although the media and police are moving on to more current tragedies. 

Meanwhile Jenna meets Patrick Mathews who finds her engaging but who also senses her ambivalence about any kind of relationship. He’s got his own story as well.  When Ray Stevens begins to get a sense of who the killer might be, the story takes some wild twists and turns and the reader is totally unprepared for the shocking ending. 

It’s hard to call this book a “thriller,” especially with so mind-numbing a topic as the death of a 5 year-old child but this story evolves into just that name of psychological thriller.  The pain and tension are so intense it’s like the reader has become part of these characters’ lives.  Read this heart-ripping, romantic (yes, a wee bit of that midway) and satisfying mystery.  Amazing first novel, Clare Mackintosh!!! Highly recommended!

Vulnerable (Morgans of Nashville #4) by Mary Burton

Vulnerable (Morgans of Nashville #4).  Mary Burton. Kensington. March 2016. 384 pp. ISBN#: 9780786039418.

The opening scene is downright creepy.  A pervert manages to awaken the sexy side of young Elisa, a stranger who had shared a few cups of coffee.  The scene that started as hot and sexy becomes cruel, then scary, and finally fatal.  The stranger thinks to himself there are many Elisa’s.  That is just the start of this horrific tale!

The story in some ways is familiar.  Young girls getting attention from a charm who sprays them with compliments.  The warnings from others are ignored with the usual comment, “I know what I’m doing.”  Warnings that morph into realistic out-of-control attack and then death!

Georgia Morgan is a forensic technician working with the Nashville Police Department.  She’s known as superb at her work and never gets rattled when testifying at trials. She’s also a sexy singer on the side. Now Amber, the only girl to survive the disappearance of three young girls in the woods near Nashville, appears and wants to find the girls who were never recovered.  Georgia wonders why Amber, who had a very bad concussion from the event, would return to get involved in what she can’t remember.  

Amber was suspected of knowing more than she was saying, so much so that she went out of town and got a college degree. But now that she’s returned, how can she possibly help?  She gets mugged on her first night home. But the tale is really only just beginning for Amber knows so much more than she is letting on and bad liars leave traces of their activities. The reader, however, will be unable to figure out Amber’s role in the kidnapping and murders as well as her motives and those of a guilty male.

It’s a great story but it’s definitely not a romance!  It has just enough spins and twists to keep the reader guessing.  Very fine, realistic murder mystery!

The Yoga of Max's Discontent: A Novel by Karan Bajaj

The Yoga of Max’s Discontent: A Novel.  Karan Bajaj. Wisdom Publications MA. May 2016. 336 pp.  ISBN#: 9781594634116.

Max is a successful financial analyst on Wall Street.  He lives and breathes numbers, whether at work or at home.  But upon the death of his mother, he suddenly finds his life is purposeless.  He begins to wonder what his mother and other people’s suffering and joy is all about.  It strikes him as a noisy, chaotic rat race.  Eat, sleep, work and die – is that really what it’s all about?  A local street food seller stands outside in the middle of winter without a shirt on and Max questions him about this obviously insane act.  It turns out that Max is the one living an in-sane (not sane) life without one shred of letting go and living at oneness with body and mind that this cook has.  Little by little, Max begins to read and hear about gurus and ashrams in India where one may aspire to a different experience of life.  On one day when he’s being highly pressured to come up with a financial analysis which will dramatically cut costs for his company, he says, “I can’t do this right now,” and quits!

Off to India Max travels; the only thing is he’s arrived in the beginning of winter, not a time to be trying to get to the high ranges of the Himalaya Mountains.  However, Max signs on with the right guides and begins a daunting trek up the mountains.  Not to spoil the story, suffice to say that he meets teachers and practitioners of yoga who invite him to experience the life he seeks.  There he will learn that it is possible to let go of rational thought when necessary and be one with the environment.  It’s a brutally dangerous and irrational journey Max takes, one which he almost abandons at times but one in which he finally finds peace, one where he finds himself to lose the “worry” and stress of a lifetime and just “be.”

Nicely done Karan Bajaj!  This is a novel that may not drive people to India but just may pose enough questions to provoke a different search for the same ends!