Lin Wilder's The Fragrance Shed by a Violet: Murder in the Medical Center Resulted in Extraordinary Addition to 2016 Personal Favorites!

There is no blame in God

                                                                                                   --Julian of Norwich*

...Julie paused and stared into the fire; the silence in the library was absolute, as if even the roaring fire were holding its breath. "And God help me, that is what I would have said on the stand had I gotten the chance." Now smiling grimly, she continued, "And I could have provided a great long list of detailed examples; but about a month after Lindsey was convicted, I learned that my oldest daughter is an alcoholic; she started drinking when she was about twelve. My husband and I had no idea--we found out by accident." Whispering, Julie said, "Mark Twain once described forgiveness as the fragrance shed by a violet on the heel that has crushed it."

~~~

Dr. Lindsey McCall grinned ruefully to
herself in mid sentence as she realized
that she had been praying Julie's prayer
out loud over and over; she'd lost count
of the number of times she had spoken
the words of a fifteenth-century saint.
Lindsey was frightened, and she had good
reason; the events of the last several
weeks had potentially calamitous conse-
quences for her, for Huntsville Prison,
and maybe even the entire prison system.
Yet she knew she had done the right thing.
Deep down, in places she'd never before
tried to access, she sensed that the risks
she had taken were known, understood,
and strangely appreciated. And she
wondered again at the prayer and the
serenity that seemed to overwhelm her
with each recitation.
~~~

She lay listening to the unfamiliar night sounds: the pacing of other sleepless prisoners, the occasional echo of a heavy-footed guard making his rounds. Mostly though, she waited for the terror of the dream to subside, for the iron bands around her heart to loosen, and for the awful pressure on her chest to lighten so that she could breathe. And she waited for her heart to climb back down into her chest and out of her throat.
The dream was a familiar one. It had begun four years before following the sudden death of a fifty-two-year-old man whose heart she had catheterized. Dr. Lindsey McCall had surgical hands--a reference to the skill and dexterity that she brought to the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Houston General Hospital. A colleague had made the comment during rounds one day during her cardiology fellowship at Houston General, and it had stuck.
There had been no reason for his death. Nate Morrison was a healthy senior executive with Southwest Oil, one of the largest oil conglomerates in the world. During his annual physical, Morrison had been referred to Houston General for a work up based on nonspecific changes in his cardiac diagnostic tests. Upon reviewing his tests, Lindsey had suspected that the man's coronaries ight be clean--free of coronary artery disease. She was well aware of the numbers. Of the sixty thousand cardiac catheterizations performed each year in the United States, over 30 percent revealed clean coronaries; absence of plaque in the vessels supplying the heart with oxygenated blood. And the procedure was not benign. Complications of cardiac catheterization were not uncommon and ranged from mild hematoma to death. In twelve years Lindsey had done over five hundred cardiac catheterizations and more than three hundred angioplasties. She had never lost a patient...

~~~

The Fragrance Shed

  by a Violet:

Murder in the Medical Center

REMARKABLE!

By Lin Wilder

Dr. Lindsey McCall had never been able to get over the loss of a patient during a routine, for her, catheterization--the first in her career. It wasn't that she could not have accepted a death, if she knew the reason... But she knew "her technique had been flawless. She had been calm and confident through the two-hour procedure, explaining what she was doing to her patient and laughing at his quick-witted responses." But suddenly he had started fibrillating and though they continued to work on him, he had died. She was still having flashback nightmares going over and over the procedure...

It had been over a year since his death, but her mentor, the Chair of Medicine, had not been able to convince her to return to her work. Instead she was moving on, into research. Actually, she was returning to a special research project that she had been working on long before she had even acquired her credentials. Her doctoral work was exploring the alteration of the molecule for digitalis. While digitalis was used extensively by heart patients, there were side effects. Lindsey hoped to eliminate all of them!

How could she have foreseen that her decision not to continue her practice would lead to...jail...for the murder of her mother?!!

When I finished this book, one word immediately came to mind to describe it--Remarkable!

Now fully awake, lying on her cell bed, Lindsey considered the irony of her current circumstances. She almost laughed out loud in the dark at herself--at least the terror of this dream was familiar and lay buried in her past; her real nightmare was no dream, no mere memory. And she could feel the fear uncoil, stretch, and begin to take her over once again.
Closing her eyes, she began to pray:

Let nothing dismay thee. All things pass. God never changes. Patience acquires all that is strived for. She who has God finds that she lacks nothing. God alone suffices.

It was Kate Townsend who started it--an investigative journalist who was looking for that story possibly leading to a Pulitzer. And when she saw a small clipping and realized the significance, she knew she had it--if she could get approval to move on the story. She'd known nothing about it and knew that there had not been any other major stories--it must have been hushed up as much as possible. No wonder...

A top cardiologist at Houston General Hospital had been convicted of murder! Sure, there were many malpractice suits, but there had never been a time when a doctor was actually accused and arrested for murder! 

But she didn't want to just announce it with a one-time byline. She quickly put together a series outline, got approval, and had won that Pulitzer! But she couldn't let it rest. She had found out enough that made her question why Dr. McCall had been found guilty...

There are two kinds of truth, small truth and great truth. You can recognize a small truth because its opposite is a falsehood. The opposite of a great truth is another great truth. --Niels Bohr*

This is a book that I'd love to continue to share with you. There are so many brilliantly created characters that people the world around Lindsey, both before and after her arrest. This is not a murder mystery as much as many people coming together to prove the innocence of one they loved. In doing so, secrets are revealed, promises of silence are broken, and romance stirs in the hearts of those involved. 

Nearly 500 pages are all contributing to the movement forward of this novel to its inevitable ending. Wilder explains that fans of the first edition wanted more information about exactly what the Investigative Series disclosed, for instance... And an abandoned friendship is ignored as Julie, Lindsey's best friend, explains what Lindsey's early life was like and why things happening now could very well be because of that time. But the major issue was that, once Lindsey was in prison...she was the cause of a major lawsuit against the State! Wow! How many times can an innocent woman make it against the world???

I really loved this book, making it one of my personal favorites for 2016. The author has used her considerable medical expertise to create a medical thriller like no other. The story runs smoothly from event to event and quickly becomes a page-turner! It was well past midnight when I decided I had to stop and finish the next day. The plot is intriguing, filled with the potential for sensationalism if happening in reality. The only unfortunate thing is that story takes care of everything and doesn't need a sequel...But, hey, Lin...your investigative reporter could be continued! How about it...Don't let these wonderful characters just fade away! 

You Gotta Check This out! Truly!

GABixlerReviews

Lin Wilder is a former Hospital Director and presently a self-employed writer who works from her home in northern Nevada. She finds peace and channels her creativity in the remote valley that offers her just the right amount of silence, stillness and solitude. She has written throughout her entire adult life but made the switch from non-fiction to fiction in 2006. 

"I found, long ago, that the best way for me to understand something is to write about it.” Lin explains. Writing helps her to better comprehend even the most challenging subjects. Lin feels her line of work should be viewed like any other business, advising others, “In the beginning, expect to be in the red.” After years in the industry, she has learned the value of a good editor, finding that editing is far more than proofreading. "Writing is hard work and requires exceptionally thick skin. Once we decide to publish our work, we’re in the public domain where others can criticize, perhaps even in a hurtful way.” Wilder states. 

*Examples of quotes at top of chapters...

Mary Metcalfe's Excitingly Romantic...But Think "Fatal Attraction!"

"Good to see you too, Allison. How's your mother?" She tried to remember where the litter box was.
"She can't communicate at all. The stroke was so severe she'll probably never walk again."
"I'm sorry to hear that. You must be very worried about her." Carol stepped into the hall and moved towards the kitchen.
"Let's do a little tour then and make sure everything is ready..."
"You should know I've already put away everything of any value." Allison's eyes were hard.
"If you're referring to the con artist, he's now in prison for what he did." Carol smiled thinly. Allison hadn't even attempted to veil her snide comment. Most people weren't so blunt. "I'm sure the house is in showcase condition, but let's go have a quick look. It'll remind me of the features I want to play up." As Carol strode away, she didn't see Allison's piercing stare...
"The new owners will have a major redecorating project on their hands. I see some cars parked out front. Let's let the first visitor in." Time to get going, she thought, looking at her watch. As she opened the front door, she saw Devin Elliot striding up the walk. Of course, he'd be the first to arrive..."Hello, Devin Figured you'd be first."
"Hello, Carol. I need to warn you about something. This house and I have some history.
If Allison Wendover is here, it could get ugly."
"She's here. Should I call the police?"
"It won't get that ugly but--"
"What are you doing here, Devin?" Allison had come to the door and stood, legs akimbo, with her hands on her narrow hips. Carol glanced between the two of them, thinking she wasn't the only one who'd managed to get on Allison's bad side. She couldn't help but wonder what Devin had done.
"I'm here to see your mother's house, of course. It's a free world last time I checked."
"You are not welcome here." Allison's eyes blazed with anger.
"I don't have to be welcome. My money's as good as the next person's."
Carol watched in some alarm as the two titans suddenly squared off. "Allison. Can we please take this inside?" Carol could feel the electricity arcing off the two adversaries...Three couples on the sidewalk were watching the altercation with interest.
"He is not coming into this house."
"I most certainly am. I will simply call the police if you don't let me in to view this publicly advertised Open House."
Carol recognized the molten color of Devin's eyes. He was angry. Very angry. "Allison, you don't have a legal right to bar him from seeing the house. As your agent, I must ask you to step aside, let him in, and we'll go from there...
"When Allison moved to object, Carol cut her off. "Are we clear on this?
There are other prospective buyers waiting outside in the cold..."
!!! 

New Beginnings

By Mary Metcalfe

This is my favorite of the three read this weekend... Of course, you all know I go for suspense with my romance and this one has a female that I really enjoyed hating! What more could I want, besides a pair of lovers to watch come together! Carol Brock, best friend of Jennifer in Winds of Change comes to the "star" role in New Beginnings. She's had some bad experiences with men in the past and twice got burnt on the job because issues which really were not her fault. But, as we know, often that doesn't make any difference if there are others who resent you for some reason...

And Carol was somebody you either looked to as a role model...or hated, because she was so good at selling. Her activities with real estate in Boston had made her a very wealthy woman... During the last year, though, she had finally realized that she was not really happy. Her children, in college, were distant, not having had much time with her, due to Carol's hours on the job, even at nights and weekends when most people looking to buy were available and wanting to view the properties...

"When I met you and saw the fire in your eyes, you
reminded me of Aero and Sabrina. [horses] He traced
a finger along the line of her shoulder. "So high-
spirited and beautiful." Carol half closed her eyes
as his hand slowly explored under her sweater. "I
want us to take this slowly, Carol, but I don't think
I can. You've touched my heart in a way no other
woman has in many years...
"Outside, Aero and Sabrina nuzzled heads as the
eagles flew high in the soft November light..."
~~~

Right now, she's responsible for the sale of a beautiful Victorian home, whose owner is now in a rest home and who dies during the novel, making it even more of a...shall we say, challenge!

At the same time, Carol, who has stayed away from men since the last few have caused much havoc in her life, meets a new one, who convinces her she's made the right decision! Because when she met him, in a parking lot, he had parked too close to her vehicle, and knocked off her side mirror! Carol couldn't even get into her car, so she promptly took a camera, sent it to the police and called a tow truck!

Off course the owner came just as the tow was to begin and took the brunt of her anger quite nicely, apologized, and finally started to laugh at her! Well...any woman knows how Carol reacted to that laughter!

But from bad beginnings...

It soon got worse!

Devin Elliott, architect, Boston's most eligible bachelor, and destroyer of vehicle mirrors, wants to buy the Victorian home for which Carol is responsible! And he wants an early viewing, which she refuses. Then, when he's the first at the open house, the daughter of the owner, refuses to allow him to enter! Carol stands in the midst of their screaming, while other interested customers watch from the sidewalk! Another real estate nightmare for Carol! But Allison has friends and connections... And, this time, Carol is suspended!

Now that should leave you hanging and wanting to know more, right? Well, let's just say that Devin used to date the owner's daughter, but it's been years ago. Only to Allison, she has never gotten over him...and if Carol has any type of relationship with him, even if just professional, Carol is now part of all that must happen!

Compelling drama, outrageous stalking, arson and much, much more! I loved it and think you will too! See yesterday's review for Debut Winds of Change and next in series Road to Tomorrow here tomorrow!

GABixlerReviews

Originally from the Toronto-Hamilton area of Ontario, Canada, Mary moved to Ottawa to study journalism and fell in love with the region. Shortly after graduating, she met and fell in love with her soul mate.

In addition to being a full-time novelist, Mary edits memoirs, fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. She's adopted the moniker Lakefront Muse to reflect (pardon the pun) her love of living by a small lake and gaining inspiration from nature in her rural surroundings. While her novels are set in or near Boston, she lives in the foothills of the Laurentians in Quebec, Canada.

Please visit Mary on her blog at www.lakefrontmuse.blogspot.ca for weekly interviews with authors from around the world and musings about writing and publishing in general.

Learn more at www.marymetcalfe.ca.

Blackie Noir Presents the Long and the Short of It...

Click to Read Review for Requiem...

Blacktop Styx:
A Novel of Savage Suspense
  and

Who Mourns for Maggie

By Blackie Noir


There something about Noir's stories that speak to me... It certainly is not the extreme violence--rather it is the justice, the payback--dare I say the revenge? At least for me, fiction gives me the satisfaction of feeling all those feelings, without the reality of acting for myself! LOL... There will never be a time for me that I would not be rooting for good to win over evil. Yes, I recognize that there can be some gray sometimes... But not if it's written by Blackie Noir! Once I had finished Blacktop Styx, I needed a little dessert...and finished with Who Mourns for Maggie! Both are very cool stories! Let me tell you about Blacktop Styx first...

They called him Jimmy Gee... He was alone now, but had received word that Inga, his ex-wife had sent him a message...He had a daughter! Her name was Peril... And she was in trouble!

Now the fact that the message was delivered by the man who had taken Inga away from him, or that he and his present girlfriend were dead before Jimmy left, is just part of that life...

He unzipped the other bag and pulled out a pint of Beam.

Breaking the seal with his thumbnail Jimmy removed the 

cap and took a long hit, gasped, then took another. Capping the

pint, he laid it flat on the battered dresser, and lit a Winston. 

Looking around, Jimmy figured this had probably been a nice

place, like maybe back in the 1940’ s.

As he smoked he walked around the room turning on the lamps. 

Shit, three lamps and they barely threw enough weak , yellow 

light to illuminate the dump. Cheap fuck probably had

forty watt bulbs in his old lamps. Jimmy looked, snorted, 

and shook his head. Wrong, they were twenty-fives.

The dim light revealed stained walls interspersed with cracks. 

There were three inexpensive prints hanging askew. 

Two were poorly done floral arrangements, but the third

was of Wyeth’s ‘Christina’s World’. T.I.’ s daughter Clarissa

had tried, with limited success, to introduce Jimmy to the 

joys of fine art in the years that Jimmy had looked after her,

while T.I. served out a nine year bit in the joint. ‘Christina’s 

World’ was one of the works that had never left him. 

Although Jimmy was surprised to see a print of it here,

he felt it somehow was a good fit...

Two hours later, Jimmy had worked his way through most

of his pint, and half a pack of Winstons. 

Inga had given him two addresses, one of her home

in Signal Hill, the other of a bar in Long Beach. 

Within minutes of one another, both places were less 

than two hours away from the desert crossroads 

where Jimmy sat, sat and brooded about Peril. 

As he drank and smoked Jimmy stared at

“Christina’s World.” Seeing the woman, half-sitting, 

half-laying in the partially mown field, staring

at the farmhouse in the distance, he felt he was

viewing his daughter. Mysterious, her demeanor, 

her body language, all so hard to fathom..."

~~~

http://arthistory.about.com/od/famous_

paintings/ss/andrew_wyeth_christinas_world.htm

Jimmy quickly contacted his two best friends, T.I. and Griz and filled them in on what he's just learned. T.I. and Mona had a daughter, Clarissa  who Jimmy had always been close to. Now he found he was happy to consider having a daughter who'd be just about Clarissa's age.

Inga had contacted him by letter, but when Jimmy had gone to visit her, both had acknowledged that there were still feelings. Jimmy later told Peril that they had talked about trying it again...

But now it was too late; Inga had been murdered...

And when Jimmy later saw her body, he immediately went after her killer, knowing he wouldn't have the time to spend with him and repay the torture... But at least he'd be dead!

Jimmy Gee did make one mistake, though, he trusted the wrong man...

Good thing none of his friends did...

Now, I do need to say something about Peril...

She is one bad-assed female. She grew up believing that her father was dead; Inga had given her a picture with Jimmy, T.I., and Griz, and Peril clearly could see that he looked like her father--had his "nose..." LOL So enamored with him, Peril had always chosen to try to mold her actions, based upon her perception of what Jimmy Gee would have done...

I won't try to describe her, except to highlight that her eye teeth were purple...LOL

To match her car...

Actually, I think she did a pretty good job of imagining, because when she finally met him, she wouldn't let him leave her...

Had to throw in this fun video. As I was writing earlier, a phrase came to mind that my brother used to use when we were small... He always liked the cowboy movies prevalent at that time and would want to watch the "shoot-em-up-bang-bang" movies.  Who knew that others must have like the phrase and even created a short version of what we meant! Loved It!

And you can bet that Blacktop Styx is a "shoot-em-up-bang-bang" story! It's a chase story, mostly, but there are clear lines between the good and bad guys, for the readers at least... but the faces presented by a number of the men should not be taken for granted, as will be discovered!

Sure, it had a happy ending...and quite satisfying to this reader in the justice, payback and revenge areas! LOL

http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2007/02/homeless_woman_.html

Friday, February 16, 2007

Homeless woman burned to death in SF

Read more here: http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2007/02/homeless_woman_.html#storylink=cpy

There really was a Maggie... It's hard to review a book when, upon seeking pictures to accompany, you find that a homeless woman had already suffered the exact atrocity as was described by the author... Her name wasn't Maggie, but it was clear that Blackie Noir was writing in honor of those like this woman who died in 2007!

Maggie is the main character in a short story about the murders of homeless men and women by burning them to death. We open to find Maggie, unwell, looking to steal some vodka from another...all she has to do is follow him until he passes out...

He fell one time, but got up...walked on, falling again but on the railroad tracks! Well, after she took everything she wanted off of his body, she did try to move him from the tracks, but only got him halfway off... She had tried... now he'd have to help himself! But before she was out of there, she heard the trail whistle...and she ran back, and with super-strength, got him off!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indiana_Rail_Road_train_coming_to_Bloomington_-_P1100038.JPG

She was half   a block away when she heard the train whistle. Shit. Go back? No fuckin way. Guy passed out on the tracks, whose fault was that? Not hers. Hey, she’d tried to move him. Damn near busted her back. Couldn’t be done. She’d done her part. Rest was up to God. Except for one thing. Maggie had this theory: sometimes God takes naps and bad shit happens. Was this such a time?

When the train sounded its whistle again, she stopped, turned, shrugged out of her back pack, dropped it to the ground. She could see the train’s headlight a half mile down the tracks, hauling ass. Could she cover half a block, faster than a speeding freight could cover half a mile? She didn’t know, but she’d sure as shit give it a good goddamn whirl.
Praying as she ran, she felt herself getting winded. Ignoring her pain, she ran harder, prayed harder still, then; her prayers were answered. Two thirds of her alcohol soaked, crystal-meth fueled, cigarette poisoned, years melted away, and she was seventeen and fleet again. Running with her daddy’s blue-tick hounds across the holler, getting stronger with every stride, knowing she could outrun the wind itself.
Fuck that train..."
~~~

When the veteran finally woke up, Maggie was still there...and they talked...

Another day came and Maggie was another homeless person murdered, burned...

Get this short story! The homeless deserve justice too! Highly recommended...and a special recognition to the homeless woman burned for her little bit of money on February 16, 2007...

GABixlerReviews

Biography

Decades ago Raymond Chandler taught me the only French word I know . . . 'noir.'

Ever since, I've been jonesing for dark, hard-boiled, pulp style, crime fiction. From the genre's original innovators: Chandler, Hammett , Cain . . . to today's neo-noir stalwarts: J. L. Burke, Connelly, Pelecanos, Leonard, Teran, Lehane, et al.

Call me voracious. I devoured their work. Inhaled the dark smoke permeated ambiance where it all played out.

I read, and continue to read, them all.

It was while reading the newcomers, the young turks, that I decided . . . reading was no longer enough. I had my own tales to tell. Characters that kept nagging at me, urging me, beseeching me, demanding that I bring them to the page. Those who have met them through my work know . . . these are not gentle folk. Their petitions aren't meant to be taken lightly. So, in an attempt to appease those raucous demons, I sat down in 2000 and began my first novel . . . "Freeway Pigeons."

I completed "Freeway Pigeons" in 2001. That was the opening of a mysterious and magical door. Just what was behind that door? Lady, or tiger? Funny, I'm still not certain. Still, I wouldn't change things. I'd cross that threshold again in a heartbeat . . . undaunted. And why not, I've been blessed with a cornucopia of encouragement.

Who encouraged me?

Every writer, genius or plodder . . . visionary or hack, who ever made me laugh or cry, rage or sigh, become more aware or escape the doldrums. Every scribe, word-weaver or poet who had my heart trying to bang its way out of my chest or sing with the angels.

All of them. Man or woman, fresh or ancient, who moved me emotionally. Entertained and educated me. Kept long and sometimes lonely vigils with me. Gave me the unmitigated joy of a good read. THEY encouraged me . . . every last one.

I owe them.

I believe the best way I can repay that debt is through you, you the readers.
If I can deliver the joy, the escape, the spiritual catharsis of the coveted 'good read' to you, then at least a part of my debt has been paid.
* * *

Standard bio stuff: Started life on the cold coast (N.Y.C.) wended my way west to the land of sunshine, surf, and strange (L.A.).

Interests: Books. Books! Books!! Books!!! BOOKS !!!!!

Other interests: Music (as played / sung by others). Movies. Physical activities (running, free-weights, hiking). BIKES! (Harleys & old-Triumphs).

Bottom line: Family. (what it's all about)

*

Spent the Weekend with Moe Prager! 2 Reviews for Reed Farrel Coleman

"I undressed and showered. The shower wasn't so much to rinse away the sweat and grime, but to wash off the remnants of the people with whom I'd shared the day. It's no wonder that good cops sometimes turn to the darkness. When you spend more time with the worst people imaginable than with your family, it rubs off on you. You can't go down into the sewer and not come up smelling like shit yourself. If I could have scrubbed out the linings of my lungs, I would have. I remembered talking with Mr. Roth about the camps, about how he said the worst part of it all was the breathing...
Reed Farrel Coleman (Photo credit: Mark Coggins)

Hurt Machine 
 A Moe Prager Mystery


By Reed Farrel Coleman


I happened to pick up Hurt Machine first of the two Moe Prager books I had received. Innocent Monster is the second... I'm not one of those readers who must read series books in sequence, and, in this case, I was happy that I read the latest book first. Prager is a very introspective main character and Coleman writes from his POV. I had to wonder how much of Prager was really Reed Coleman, since readers begin to feel as if we know Moe and would like to discuss some of the issues he explores personally, if only we could...

Hurt Machine leaves readers hanging as to Moe's future. I'm hoping the series goes on, and will be looking forward to it. You see, Moe has a tumor in his stomach and throughout the book, we are privy to all of Moe's feelings as he deals with, first, the realization that his life may be soon cut short, and then through all of the myriad of issues that must flow through our minds, if we were in a similar situation. To a small extent, yes, it is depressing, but in so many more ways, it is inspirational, in its realism as an individual decides how to deal with his future.

Moe works a case, mostly because he was asked to by his ex-wife and former PI partner Carmella. He has never lost his physical attraction to Carmella, but he still had not forgiven her from taking his son Israel away from him and moving to Canada.There is a poignant story line that runs through the book about their history that shares much of Moe himself as he ponders his past and we learn that Moe is a caring, family oriented man that can forgive even if he doesn't forget. But he works to avoid his attraction, even while agreeing to do the investigation Carmella has requested.

Alta, Carmella's older sister had been murdered. She was an EMT and she and her partner had gotten into trouble when they had refused to help when a man had passed out in a restaurant and then died... Later, in a different restaurant, she had entered and died, having been attacked outside. Carmella was upset because it didn't seem that the police were doing much to find out who had killed her. Worse, many were saying that she deserved it!

Prager is looking forward to his daughter's wedding in a few weeks, deciding not to tell her about the cancer; but, during this investigation, as he looked tired and had lost weight, he did share a little. For what he was finding was much more than the basic murder. He had to explore the histories of all those involved, helping in some ways, but, in the end, he once again stumbled into what had actually happened to Alta...

Moe admits that he is not a good investigator--he gets hunches, he plods along, and sometimes stumbles into much more than he had ever thought to become involved with. For readers, what that means is that we have a complex, twisted mystery to which pieces are slowly added. Thus keeping the tension edgy and constant...

Coleman claimed me as his newest fan when I finished this...No wonder he's an award-winning author! If you, like me, had not yet read Reed Farrel Coleman, I highly recommend that you do!

"What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to say you'll go talk to Candy...She wants
 to hire you to help find Sashi..."
"Sarah, You're precisely why I won't do it. I'll take the
guilt over Katy's murder to my grave, but that guilt's just
background noise compared to the hurt I've felt for the last
seven years over what happened between us. Even in the
worst of times, when your mom miscarried, when our
marriage collapsed, when my friend Larry Mac committed
suicide, I always had you and your love to hang on to. We
were a team, me and you kiddo. You were always the best
part of me and as long as you loved me, I knew there was
hope in the world. Well, the world and me, we've kinda
parted ways since you parted ways with me..."
"It was the first time she had let down the barrier between
us since we buried Katy, and I knew right then there would
be no thinking about it. I was back in the game."

Innocent Monster
 A Moe Prager Mystery


By Reed Farrel Coleman




Moe Prager, in his 60s, had been a cop until he had his knee shattered. He went into the PI business for awhile and then retired to work with his brother as owners of wine businesses. He is quite bored with what he does in the latter, so when he agreed to join him, he made arrangements that he could take a case whenever Moe wanted to. This time, his brother didn't seem to mind.


He knew that his daughter must have already talked to him...


For it was Sarah who had come to him, asking that he take the case of finding the daughter of a former neighbor who had once babysat Sarah. Moe had known that it had to be important; after all, Sarah had pulled away from her father years ago...when her mother had been killed and she had blamed him.


Now she was coming to him because a little girl was missing, possibly already dead, since she had been gone for three weeks. Still, in that type of situation, it was almost as important to find out, to be sure.


But, once again, Moe was finding out much more than he ever wanted to know about people. He had never liked Max Bluntstone, Sashi's father and when Moe first talked to Candy, it was alone and he quickly knew that Max did not know that she had contacted Moe.


Sashi had started painting when he was very young and now she was being touted as a prodigy. But there were many critics of her work, not only that she might not be painting, or was being helped, and also that even if she was painting them, she could not possibly know that she was painting in abstract mode and understand what it was she was painting. So, naturally, Moe had to find out more about her critics, as well as her parents. He soon found out that the parents were nearly close to bankruptcy.


Then there were those who claimed Sashi as a prodigy, purchasing her works as investments. They, too, could have been involved. After all, the rumors had already started that the works of dead artists automatically became more valuable...


Moe's interviews were stirring up trouble and his car was demolished. The police investigator was ecstatic since that showed that somebody was getting nervous...


Moe meets a new love interest in this novel, who carries over into Hurt Machine. Her story is another family subplot and a young man enter's Moe's life, as well as Sarah's. The back stories are dramatic additions to the mystery and helps readers to learn more and care about the characters. Moe's self-awareness and internal communication is a very important addition to these books. Readers can't help but come to love him and want the best for him and his daughter.


Now here is my only quandary about this new character...Normally, I would go back and pick up the earlier books in the series and get to know the main character even more....but what if we are nearing the end, per Hurt Machine. I would hate to have him gone just as I was getting to know him...Hmmmm, any others reading Moe Prager? What should I do? In the meantime,


Innocent Monster is a unique perspective of those who criticize, sometimes based on nothing more than their own opinions or losses and sometimes due to mental illness. Can an innocent monster kill? And can solving a case help the innocent? Surprise ending was not to my liking and many readers will be disappointed to... Coleman creates characters that we want to win--sometimes they just don't... Highly recommended!




GABixlerReviews

About

Reed Farrel Coleman is the award-winning author of the Moe Prager series and other novels.

Biography

Called a hard-boiled poet by NPR's Maureen Corrigan, Reed Farrel Coleman is the former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America. He has published twelve novels—two under his pen name Tony Spinosa—in three series, and one stand-alone with award-winning Irish author Ken Bruen. His books have been translated into seven languages.

Description

Reed is a three-time winner of the Shamus Award for Best Detective Novel of the Year. He has also received the Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards, and has been twice nominated for the Edgar® Award. He was the editor of the anthology Hard Boiled Brooklyn, and his short fiction and essays have appeared in Wall Street Noir, The Darker Mask, These Guns For Hire, Brooklyn Noir 3, Damn Near Dead, and other publications.

Related articles

• An interview with Reed Farrel Coleman

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• Hurt Machine by Reed Farrel Coleman

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Julia Madeleine Stops Today on Tour--To Read My Review!

Scarlet rose. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Truth
  About
    Scarlet Rose




By Julia Madeleine




In spotlighting Julia during her blog tour and on my blog this month, I read somewhere that as she was writing this book, Scarlet Rose, one of her characters, took over...

Although I can never figure out what a writer means when she says this, I must admit that this novel "proves" that it is possible. Else, why did I enjoy reading this novel about such a hateful woman?!? I keep using the picture of a scarlet rose--such a beautiful image. And, if you read Scarlet Sins, you will find that Sylvia became Scarlet Rose when she started to dance at a local club... But, like a rose, when the season is over, she dies... Sylvia was now dead to everything good in the world...

She had already killed one man...

The Truth of the matter is that, Sylvia married Charlie at one point and they later divorced. She then forced her daughter, who was now just as beautiful as Sylvia once was, to begin bringing in money working as a stripper as well. Fiona was a teenager at the time...

The Truth of the matter was that Sylvia was never meant to be a mother and Fiona was never meant to be a burlesque dancer. In fact, Fiona had stayed closer to her stepfather Charlie than her mother. As the daughter she was, Charlie was generous with his money. Sylvia knew that she had to be Charlie's lover--why else would a man financially support a young girl. In fact, in her mind now, Fiona had seduced Charlie and had been the cause of the divorce!

You can't help but begin to feel sympathy for Fiona...

Fiona truly loved her stepfather and spent as much time with him as possible. He was supporting her and did buy her presents; but they were never involved in any way. But then Charlie was murdered...

And all eyes turned toward Fiona...

Fortunately, Fiona was open and honest with the police and they soon were using her as more of an informant, bouncing ideas off her related to the remainder of the family as well as with what else Charlie had been involved. But while Fiona was struggling with her personal loss, she also discovered memories from her past when a young man turned up claiming to be Charlie's son and heir!

Like the Tattoo artist that she is, Julia Madeleine was confronted with a bitter, angry woman, a sociopath who never cared for anyone other than herself. Madeleine let her run with her life's desires for as long as possible, but, like a bad tattoo, she had to go... But not before Scarlet Rose had entered a new life, with new seductions to be made...

Wow! I could almost feel how Scarlet Rose had taken over this novel--she was a woman, committed to get everything she deserved...and in the end, no big climax, no major...Oh Yeah, you think this woman would quietly go away?

This is soooo unique that I loved it! Enter into the Burlesque world of the beautiful and watch Scarlet Rose dance through her deadly life... Drama at its highest!


GABixlerReviews

Title Story Ready for Screenwriting For Great Crime Drama Movie!

Image by Niklas via Flickr

"I'm Arthur Petorik, homeless person deluxe,
and any identification I might make of your
suspects will be of no use to you. Someone
like me as a material witness will be as
unreliable as if I had merely phoned in
anonymously, the information that I told you
five times now. For the sake of argument though,
I strongly suspect you have someone in mind
for this crime. I didn't get much of a look at the
guys who killed the officer...

The Petorik Thesis and


Tales of the Global West


By W. Jack Savage




In just 80 pages, Jack Savage, jams more into a short story, The Petorik Thesis, than many do in a lengthy novel! In fact, it is a complex, intricate drama that is weaved together so tightly that it must be closely followed to believe...and one that is worthy of a TV or movie presentation....


What do you do if you are not sure whether a character is good or bad? We all know the potential risks for police and other individuals who deal daily with those involved in crime and political corruption. Do good guys some time get caught up into something unplanned and, perhaps, go astray? Well, for Savage, he provides us with a couple who you may question but who are "not so bad" to root for! And the male lead character is a homeless man by the name of Arthur Petorik.


Only he's not Arthur Petorik...


Petorik had been trespassing on the grounds of an Industrial Center and had witnessed a man being beaten. He had pulled the man into his sheltered area when the men had left the scene, though they had also later returned to get rid of the body. The man was still alive when rescued but later then died. It was discovered he was an undercover cop--a cop had been killed!


"Normally" when a cop is murdered, it results in a major hunt for the killer! With Petorik's description, the hunt was on... Detective Gloria Hernandez began by grilling and investigating Petorik's background as well as his story...and that's when readers get pulled into a tale of corruption that is so compelling and unbelievable that you begin to...believe it!

I think what most attracts me about Savage's work is his creation of characters that are so life-like and, seemingly, like the "man on the street." And yet, they get into such strange conversations or situations!


Take the man who had somewhat of a traumatic experience in grade school--a little girl in his class threw up and the boy was so disgusted by seeing vomit for the first time that he was, thereafter, unable to eat any food that was yellow... Funny how childhood experiences can affect us for the rest of our lives--I think you'll enjoy the first story in the book, "Yellow Food"!

Life experience was also featured in another story, Sally's,  which I particularly enjoyed when a man, who had been in the service, visits a hometown restaurant of his close buddy who had been killed, and winds up sharing the "real story" of his death to not only his father but the entire town!

Scenes where two or three characters talking comprises the entire story is another skill of Jack's that I finding amazing. He creates insightful contemporary fables, with people you seem to know or have heard about. Consider, "Howie and Katherine" with the intriguing line: "Howie, Pull the f..... nails out of your hands and feet long enough to say goodbye at...Apartment 14."

"I miss her more than I thought I would,
you know," he said. "I didn't think I
would. I mean it was just f.......
'Tupperware,' after all. But I guess, after
your experience, maybe it was more
than that. You know it's kind of funny.
I still use the 'Tupperware," It, ah, it
doesn't seem like a big deal any more.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Tupperware_Ultraplus.JPG

Or...consider "Tupperware" that pulls readers into the world of male-female live-in relationships when the men who become involved with a certain woman decides whether it is possible to live with her and her little...issues...

The last story, "Awards" was personally a revelation to me since I found, perhaps, that I could have been the main character who is an author and finds that getting recognition makes him realize that "life would never be as good for him as in the stories he created." Of course, as a reader, all I had to do was replace "stories he created" with "stories I read..." LOL

My favorite story was "Christmas at Fort Leonard Wood" which tells about a young man who is still in basic training and who innocently asks his sergeant what options he had, since, as an orphan, he had no home to go to... This heartwarming tale shows that the celebration of His love can be found anywhere!

When you can find yourself in a short story, or perhaps see your friends or life situations you have experienced, most with a hidden moral, then, you realize that you have found a rare gift given by that author. I commend W. Jack Savage to you. He keeps getting better and better and his stories more creative and insightful. If you haven't read any of Savage's work and enjoy crime fiction, I suggest you try this book as your first--a highly recommended read!
 

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Audio Version of Karin Slaughter's Fallen Provides Great Dramatic Reading!

Fallen


By Karin Slaughter


I listened to Fallen via AudioGO

Narrated by Shannon Cochran

A note about the narration: Shannon Cochran does an outstanding "performance" as she maneuvers through the many different characters, giving each a personality that we could begin to "recognize." I was amazed at her ability to move from character to character so fluently that there was no disruption to the listener...Shannon certainly added greatly to the enjoyment of this book!

 I included Karen Slaughter as a favorite author many years ago, so was happy to find her audio version of Fallen offered to Amazon Vine members. Listening to the book in audio form was a completely enjoyable experience, although it is not as easy to review, since you have no easy and immediate way to highlight spots within the book--I confess, I've turned down the corner of thousands and thousands of pages over the years, LOL...

Karin Slaughter never fails to provide a wonderfully satisfying read!

And Fallen is just as exciting and intriguing as her readers fully expect!

I think one of the main things I noticed about this novel was that there was no emphasis on one main character. You might say that police officers were spotlighted...but not all of them were "good cops."

Evelyn Mitchell had been an officer but had retired under suspicion. In fact, many of the officers under her command had been arrested for corrupt activities, including skimming money from the various scenes of busts they made. But there had not been sufficient evidence to indict her, although many had felt she was just as much on the take as those who had been arrested. Instead, she had just retired and quietly the whole issue had died.

Except for another cop, Will Trent, who also happened to be now partnered with Faith Mitchell, Evelyn's daughter. Trent had been part of the earlier investigation and had never been willing to accept that Evelyn had gotten off. At the same time, he was committed to his partner Faith. And so when she was faced with the toughest situation she would probably ever have to face, Will was dedicated to help Faith through it all...

Because her mother was missing--kidnapped or already dead. All Faith knew was that she had come home, saw blood on the exterior door, walked in and saw a dead man...on to find a man beating another man. She shot the first man and when the other ran out of the house and fired near neighborhood children, she had killed him. Her mother was gone! She had found her baby locked into the gun storage facility, undoubtedly placed there for safety by her mother as she armed herself. But she had been unable to fight off the men who had invaded her home...

Faith was off the case, SOP for the two kills she'd made...While police officers stayed there at her home to handle the potential call from kidnappers, Faith of course began her own investigation, not sharing what was happening with anybody, including Will. For Faith had discovered that the abductors were making contact with her son via Facebook!

Faith had never believed that her mother had been on the take, so when the investigation turned toward somebody trying to get back some of the money she had earlier stolen, Faith did not accept this as a possibility. She knew her mother had no major source of money! Still, what had been happening in her mother's home? Tatoos on those killed proved that drugs and gangs were involved in this...but how, and why, were they after her mother now after so many years of her being retired?

A delightful, yet heartbreaking side story spotlights a developing relationship between Will and the ME, Sara Linton. Sadly Will is married to a woman with whom he'd had a relationship as they had both gone through children's services. Both had been terribly hurt and Will had once thought he loved her enough to marry. But his wife had never moved past that destructive environment and now was abusive to Will, whenever she chose to come home. Readers will find this love story a wonderful highlight and a needed break in the tension...

The surprise ending caught me completely off guard...I love when that happens! Full of action and suspense, Slaughter covers several important social issues, including child services and police corruption, that once again reveals an excellent and compelling drama that pulls you completely into the tale until the last page! If you haven't read Karin Slaughter yet, try the audio version...you'll become so involved that I guarantee that you'll miss at least one turn if you're listening while driving...Enjoy!

Book received via
Amazon Vine


GABixlerReviews

Harlan Donnally Novel is Fantastic New Series Character!

Author Steven Gore, the man
behind My New Hero!

Note to the Reader: The idea for the story told in Act of Deceit arose out of a number of events...


Act of Deceit


By Steven Gore


Steven Gore hit on so many of the issues that are facing the world today in Act of Deceit. Then I found that he had personal knowledge of everything he had covered, based upon his own career.For many reasons, his Note to the Reader held even more drama than the novel itself...

As I started reading and getting into the novel, I began to wonder just who and what this Harlan Donnally was. By the time I got to the end of the book, he was my...Hero...

ACT OF DECEIT

Coming September 1st!

The former detective swore he'd never play anyone's postman. But a dying friend's plea takes Donnally bearing a letter alive with tragedy toward a sister long dead—the victim of the bizarre criminality of a counter culture that had lost its way.
Stunned to learn that her killer was never prosecuted, Donnally soon finds himself in battle against a broken justice system and on a trail of evil into a dangerous borderland in which the falsely pious and the wealthy abuse the young and the poor. And though each step takes him farther down a perilous path that wrenches him between his inner demons and his mission to redeem a brother's love, he won't stop until he knows the truth.
For Donnally made a promise to a dead man, and he'll keep it—or die trying. (Back Blurb)




Now here was the issue...Donnally's friend dies, sharing a deathbed secret. He's asked him to deliver a message to his long-estranged sister, who would receive his inheritance...

When he looks for her, the woman is dead, murdered.

Now, let's face it...most people would stop right there. There are no living relatives now...too bad...

But not this new Hero of mine...He starts looking for who murdered his friend's sister... He discovers that the individual who was accused has become lost "in the system" for more than 20 years! Perfect example for my coined phrase "Mindless Bureaucracy."

Even worse, the man, who has been shoved around all his life related to psychiatric issues, is probably not guilty...

Does my hero stop there?

Nooooooo...and what a mess he got into thereafter! Donnally follows a trail to find the accused murderer and gets him into the hospital, working to get him on the proper medication...

Piecing his story together takes Donnally into drug country, a commune where some members were known to be hiding from the law... and then, finally, into the life of a corrupt psychiatrist, child abuse and sex trafficking!

"It's less running than hiding." Melvin (a priest that was formerly abused by a priest) said. "I didn't realize until after we talked in Vancouver that prayer is a phenomenal form of repression, and I've spent the last decade praying like my sanity depended on it, which it did. I didn't understand until now why so many priests become alcoholics. It's prayer in a bottle..."

Not only does my hero identify everybody involved...but...

Well, let's just say that you'll love the irony of the surprise ending!

Wow! I loved this one! Can't wait for the next Harlan Donnally Novel! If you finding novels that deal with today's main issues, spotlighting corruption where it is found, whether in government, the church, or corporations, then you'll discover, like I did, a new must-read author, Steven Gore!



Book Obtained
Via Amazon Vine


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