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Book Trailer: Black Feathers by Joseph D'Lacey

I'm listening to the audio version of this book right now. Stop back soon for a full review!

Short Story Review: Extraction by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Ah, Agent Pendergast. That spindly, silver-eyed southern gent. How I do love your stories. Preston and Child's Agent Pendergast books always rank near the top of my to-read list every time one is released, and in truth, they do pump them out rather frequently. I've nearly read them all, in fact, I'm currently reading the tenth title in the series, Fever Dream. They just released the twelfth in the series, Two Graves, and it along with #11, Cold Vengeance, lie in wait on my Kindle. But nevertheless, prior to releasing Two Graves, the duo released their first ever original short story featuring the iconic investigator, Extraction.

While Agent Pendergast and his ward, Constance Green, are waiting for dinner to be prepared, Pendergast purveys a story to Constance from his youth in the French Quarter. The tale focuses on Pendergast's younger brother, Diogenes, at a time when he loses a tooth. According to local legend, Diogenes has to take the tooth and set it in a box on the doorstep of a nearby recluse. Legend says that if you lose a tooth and you do not appease the man with the tooth, he will exact his retribution. 

Diogenes is not one to tempt fate, so he makes his way to the recluse's house to make his deposit. But, Pendergast is not convinced and sets out to prove to his younger sibling that the legend of this "tooth fairy" is a lark. What happens is a pivotal point in the complicated relationship between the two brothers and a truly entertaining read indeed. It was such a great short story, I was left wishing it was longer.

I give Extraction ***** out of *****. It's everything a short story should be and then some!  Pick it up for your Kindle today -- it's only $0.99!

Book Review: Virginia Creeper by Blaine Pardoe

I love me a good serial killer story, so when I was approached to review Virginia Creeper by Blaine Pardoe, I jumped at the chance. The publisher generously provided me with a .mobi file of the book and I immediately put it on my Kindle and started reading.

Then, a funny thing happened when I was about 20% through the story. The book's print font on my Kindle suddenly changed. It became almost unreadable. The print was either way too large or way too tiny. And it was only happening with this book. Other books retained their fonts. I tried deleting it and reloading it to no avail. I was already caught up in the story, so there was no way I was not going to finish it, so I ultimately had to load the file on to my Android smartphone and I was able to finish reading it using the Kindle reader app, which allowed for a more comfortable font size to be used.

The story takes place back in the 1980s during the time of the Clinton White House scandal and it focuses on the Route 211 Killings in Virginia and the process in which the killer, Andrew Fitzwater, was brought to justice. The author, Pardoe, launches into the tale from his own point of view as the book is written as a play-by-play to the "real-life" events as they supposedly happened and he played a significant role in the killer's due process.

I was immediately drawn in to the story as Pardoe did an excellent job of giving it a deepening sense of dread while continually warning the reader of the unexpectedness that lied in wait. Early on, the story's intrigue and the fact that this notorious killer has been virtually erased from America's encyclopedia of serial killers kept me wanting to find out exactly what the hell happened up there on Pignut Mountain.

The details Pardoe injected into the book left me wanting to know more about this case, but just like he says, you just can't find any information about the killings or Andrew Fitzwater. Since the Clinton debacle was taking center stage at the time, the local serial killer story became page six news. Nevermind the fact that America has an incredible fascination with serial killers; Andrew just happens to have been the latest in an entire family of serial killers that nobody, including anybody on the Internet, seems to know anything about. I was starting to wonder just whether or not Pardoe was pulling my leg in the "true-life" direction he was trying to lead me in.

Ultimately, Virginia Creeper is a tale of two books. The first half of the book is incredibly intriguing and it encourages you to keep reading. But, the second half of the book started to get a little repetitive. Throughout the second half of the book, Pardoe makes countless, and I mean countless, mentions of how busy he was dealing with clients and working on projects and traveling for meetings and just how much work he's always doing. It started to feel as if some lines were thrown in just to make the word count as they didn't add to the story at all. Next, the second half of the book is littered with typos and misspellings to the point that it started to take away from the enjoyment of the story. I mean, I couldn't get through a single page without at least one grammar or spelling miscue. Since Pardoe is a professional writer by trade, I'm hoping that the mistakes are just due to the usual e-book formatting headaches because if they aren't, then he seriously needs to re-read his material or at least hire a better editor before putting out another book.

Sadly, it's because of the problems that plagued the second half of book that I have to give Virginia Creeper *** out of *****. The first half was stellar, but the mistakes and unnecessary self-promotion in the second half kills the book's momentum like the fictional Fitzwater family kills Virginia co-eds.

Audiobook Review: Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

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Book Review: The Five by Robert McCammon

I've been a huge fan of Robert McCammon's work for a long, long time, so when his novel The Five was released back in May of 2011, I was quick to order it. I also quickly devoured it, savoring every chapter, every word. It's been a while since I finished it, and I'm finally getting around to reviewing it, so Mr. McCammon, I apologize for the delay.

Let me start by saying The Five is unlike any other story written by Mr. McCammon. This novel is largely grounded in reality, with a slight supernatural angle, if it can even be called that. The events that occur are eye-opening, world-shattering, and oddly-enough at times, touching.

Artwork by Vincent Chong

The story follows a small indie rock band called The Five as they struggle with the hardships of being a small band with a small, but stable following, as they are making their way across the country on a tour that is most likely going to be their last. The band is made up of five castaways from other bands, some more successful than others, and the music industry has taken its toll on each one of them. The band goes through the progressions and gets through the shows until one night in the American Southwest, things change.

During a televised interview with a local car salesman, the band is noticed by a veteran of the Iraqi war who has not come home 100%. Guided by his ghostly "Sergeant," the veteran makes it his mission to kill the five members of The Five.

Artwork by Vincent Chong

The Five is a remarkably poignant story of love, friendship, loyalty, terror and violence, all set against the rich backdrop of the American Southwest and the gritty rock-and-roll lifestyle. Beautifully written and a pure pleasure to read from cover to cover, I loved this book and give it my highest recommendations. If you have read any of Robert McCammon's work previously, then you're going to be surprised by The Five, and not in the way you might expect.

I give The Five a full ***** out of *****. Pick up a copy today and prepare to be blown away.

Book Review: Niceville by Carsten Stroud

Niceville by Carsten Stroud is an odd little book. Part crime story and part supernatural mystery, Niceville is not your average friendly read - and like Martha Stewart says, that's a good thing.

Stroud, author of such novels as Black Water Transit, Cobraville: A Novel, and Lizardskin, among others, fills his story with a number of wily characters doing all sorts of nasty business, from grand theft and blackmail to cold-blooded murder and throughout it all is the spectre of something weird.

You see, Niceville has a tinge about it. There's something wrong here. Some say that it has something to do with Crater Sink, the thousand-foot deep circular crater filled with black water that lies on the edge of town. There are all sorts of tales and theories about that crater, and none of them are good. There's also the unsettling fact that in Niceville, 179 people have mysteriously vanished over the past 100 years.

This book, which is the first in a trilogy, begins with the disappearance of Rainey Teague. Security camera footage shows the boy standing in front of a store window looking at an old mirror one minute and the next, he's gone. Detective Nick Kavanaugh, an ex-special forces soldier, takes on the case. Meanwhile, a trio pulls off a deadly high-stakes robbery that quickly goes bad. The stories then branch out and weave through each other in the most unusual of ways. Everything is linked and everything is linked to Niceville's past.

I was immediately drawn into Niceville by its weaving storyline, straight-shooter dialogue, and realistic characters. This is a gritty novel that is different from anything out there right now. Creative, unique, and complex, Niceville is one of those novels that people are either going to love or hate, for those very same reasons. I happened to really enjoy my visit to Niceville, even though the people there aren't the "nicest." I was glad to learn that it is the first book in a series because the mystery of Crater Sink is largely avoided here. It is more of a background piece in Niceville. And while the book does have an ending, there are a few things left unexplained, which I hope the author plans to wrap up in the two planned sequels, The Homecoming (June 2013) and The Departure (June 2014). 

All in all, Niceville is a compelling story unlike anything I've read before. I give it **** out of *****.

Check out the book trailer for Niceville below: