Shadow of a Distant Morning by William Topek

Shadow of a Distant Morning written by William Topek is a mesmerizing read. Written with a dry humor and a keen sense for keeping the suspense and action going, this is a detective novel that will have you wondering who dunnit, who has it, and who is playing who right up to the satisfying ending.

Devlin Caine is a private investigator making a living serving subpoenas and investigating questionable insurance claims in 1934 Kansas City. He’s a former Pinkerton agent and served as part of the Signal Corps in the war. He’s a stand up guy who analyzes everything, but in his line of work it just goes with the territory. Caine knows his way around the business and has a way of looking at life in general that can’t help but get you chuckling.

Affluent and successful business man Richard Graham sends Thomas Lundquist to Caine’s office looking to hire the private eye to investigate a potential business partner. Caine, against his better judgement, decides to take the lucrative job offer; despite the fact that the previous man on the job has turned up dead. However, from our intrepid gumshoe’s point of view, one week’s worth of work should be a breeze. Yet things aren’t as simple as Caine initially thought, and the original job soon morphs into an assignment to locate an item of interest, and act as a bodyguard for Graham’s daughter. Caine’s pretty ordinary life is about to take an extraordinary turn.

It isn’t long before Caine finds himself up to his neck in a world populated with gangsters, murder, threats of bodily harm, dirt naps, and the whims of the rich and powerful. He also finds himself falling hard for his boss’s daughter, Melinda Graham. As the body count rises and Caine realizes he might not make it out of this assignment alive, it is made abundantly clear that the item of interest is a very hot commodity.

This is a fast paced mystery thriller filled with more than its fair share of suspense, secrets, lies, subterfuge, manoeuvring, blackmail, intrigue, danger, and even romance. There are many twists and turns and nothing appears as it seems, and everyone it seems is after the same thing, which puts Caine in an awkward situation. Throw in his feelings for his boss’s daughter and we have ourselves a fine pickle. One thought became prevalent in my mind. How was Devlin Caine going to get himself out of this one alive?

The protagonist Devlin Caine is a likeable fellow, charming and possessed of a dry sense of humor and sharp wit. He has no small amount of boldness complete with a dash of reckless courage even. He demonstrates quite clearly that he is quite adept at pitting all sides against the middle and flying by the seat of his pants. He’s smart, and daring enough to make you worry about his well being as he goes for broke. He’s a character that has no problem playing a pretty high stakes game of cat and mouse with some dangerous players.

While reading this book, I felt a constant sense of the pressure Caine was feeling. There was a tangible increase in tension that kept me turning pages with an urgency to get to the end to finally find out if Caine succeeds. Well written, authentic, and with just enough historical tidbits to give its setting a rich tapestry feeling, this detective story definitely kept my interest piqued. It’s a book that has believable and not over the top, good old gumshoe narrative, some ominous characters, and a plot that will leave you guessing.

Shadow of a Distant Morning is book well worth the read and will leave you pondering the things people are willing to do, and the lengths people are willing to go to for greed, vengeance, and ultimately, love.

Shadow of a Distant Morning is available for download now at ireadiwrite Publishing.

HeartsBlood by Carolyn McCray

From the clever pen of Carolyn McCray comes a paranormal adventure with a devastating romance that will leave you stunned. In HeartsBlood, McCray takes us to the beautiful city of San Francisco; from the gorgeous panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge, the lush and dense beauty of Golden Gate Park, to the bleak starkness of Alcatraz, McCray tells a story that will test the very boundaries of both your beliefs and disbeliefs in science, magic, and love.

Salista Calon is an emergency room doctor at the San Francisco General Hospital. Headstrong, dedicated, and practical, Sal believes in science and the logic that it brings. With a promising career ahead of her and engaged to a successful, respected, and handsome clinician, Sal is firmly entrenched in the world of reality. Until one night of horrific tragedy changes her life and her perceptions of the world around her forever.

Tyr Deadblood is a hunter and warrior from another place and another time; he is also a talented wielder of a magic known as Praxis. He is a man who’s purpose in life is to put an end to anything that disrupts the balance of existence. He is also a man who’s lineage is disdained, and his very existence is an abomination to the very people he is honor bound to protect. He is also haunted by a past of his own making that still has the power to torment him.

Tyr comes to Sal’s world to vanquish a terrible enemy, a creature that is killing innocent people. It is a horrendous creature consumed by hatred, searching for the power that it needs to destroy the worlds. Thrown together by danger, Sal and Tyr must work together to destroy a rabid beast that is literally consuming the memories of victims and bleeding them dry. Sal is challenged to believe that magic is the only way to destroy the beast, and that magic lies in the very essence of the blood that courses through the veins of man, woman, and child; if only she can discover how to harness it. Yet can Sal come to terms with the existence of magic in her world of science? And can she do this before the beast that hunts both herself and Tyr for the power of their HeartsBlood succeeds in destroying them?

Devastated by betrayal and death, Sal struggles to believe the reality of having Tyr in her life and the new world he has awoken her to. She bravely throws herself into danger to aid Tyr, but is she brave enough to surrender to love and risk the chance of losing it? Torn between duty and loyalty, Tyr must choose between honor and the woman that he loves. No matter the danger that lies ahead, Sal and Tyr test their bond, hoping that love will prove to be the strongest power of them all.

Right out of the gate, I knew that this book would challenge me to believe in the possibility of magic and the impossible. Is it possible to alter reality simply by using the mantra of mind over matter? My heart raced just knowing there was a paranormal terror on a rampage through San Francisco. Terror, intrigue, and magic became par for the course in this thriller. HeartsBlood is a unique, fast paced paranormal tale with an original storyline and a shocking twist of an ending that will leave you breathless.

HeartsBlood is available for download at Smashwords!

The Noricin Chronicles by Mark Sheldon

The Lost Boy is the first of 12 installments in The Noricin Chronicles series by author Mark Sheldon. It is a tale of riddles, lineage and super humans, and will have you turning every page rapidly.

Meet 12 year old Daniel Regal, lonely, different than everyone else around him, and an orphan living in a Boston orphanage. Right off the bat we get into it, and we learn that although Dan may feel lost and alone, he is a child that is in possession of a rare gift. He is part of a super human race called Norcinites, or the New Race, and is descended from a rare bloodline known as Margatheans.

After a tragic incident involving a bully on Dan’s twelfth birthday, Nevar Loeren arrives at the orphanage and extends an invitation to Dan to attend a special school for Norcinites named Snisnar. The school was founded by the first Norcinite Steven Noricin, the first Norcinite ever to come into existence. The purpose of the school is to help young Norcinites learn to master their abilities. It also helps the Norcinites to live a life under the radar of the Commens, also known as mere mortals, who would surely persecute them if they found out about the existence of a race of super humans. Despite doubting his sanity and having trepidations about starting a new life, Dan accepts the offer of the school’s principle, the enigmatic and powerful Nevar Loeren.

That September, Dan’s new life as a student of Steve Noricin’s School for the New Race commences, and so too does the mystery of who Dan is and why is someone trying to kill him.

Amongst claims of Superman being a Noricin, a special boarding school for gifted children, and a child of an elite bloodline with rare abilities even amongst his own people,  I couldn’t help but feel excited to read this first novel in the series. The Lost Boy was like a hybrid of Harry Potter meets X-Men, and Nevar Loeren reminded me of Dumbledore and Xavier all rolled into one mysterious character. The main character Dan was a boy I liked right away, and his adventure was fast paced and interesting, and I was a willing participant on his journey of self discovery.

The Lost Boy explores themes of tolerance and fear, the struggle for enlightenment, the vagaries of acceptance and discrimination due to social status, the desire to find one’s place in the world, and accepting your true nature and therein finding your worth. Dan Regal must determine for himself if he has what it takes to embrace and conquer his fear, and he is a character that the reader will definitely root for.

The story gives the reader an intimate view of what it would be like before a super hero became a super hero. It seems there is a learning curve, and watching Dan come into his own, discover his talents and capabilities and hone his craft so to speak, as well as find a place where he finally belonged was an enjoyable endeavour. Mark Sheldon does a great job of combining humor with wisdom and wit, and has created a new world for readers to enjoy.

The Lost Boy is filled with ominous foreboding, puzzling riddles and challenges, secret passageways and dark corridors, nightmares and monsters, and an eclectic group of enigmatic and eccentric professors. There are struggles and rivalries amongst foes, and the close bonds of friendship, and a bevy of exciting, psychic and paranormal super powers. Not only is there an assassination plot or two, but in addition to eluding and helping to ferret out a would be murderer, Dan must unlock the secret of his past and discover the origins of his family. I for one have a keen interest to discover just who is the lost boy Dan Regal and what is his destiny? I will be eagerly awaiting the second installment in The Noricin Chronicles, definitely an intriguing new series by Mark Sheldon.

The Lost Boy is available January 11, 2011. Visit http://noricin.webs.com for more information, and join Mark Sheldon on Facebook. Enjoy the book trailer for The Lost Boy below!

Lily by LM DeWalt

I just finished reading Lily by LM DeWalt and published by ireadiwrite Publishing, and let me tell you, this book ended before I was ready to say The End.

Lily is a tale about a lonely female vampire living in Oregon who longs for a release from the desolate isolation she faces each and every day of her immortal life. The problem is, her very nature means she must hide herself away, never allowing herself to feel what it would be like to have a relationship of any kind. After being abandoned by her maker who she had loved intensely both as a human and as a vampire, she has been a loner, never staying in one place very long. After a brief encounter with a human male in the apartment building where she had manged to live for two years — the longest amount of time she had ever stayed anywhere — Lily packs up her meager belongings and takes off. Finally tired of her hermit-like existence, she decides she will try and find others of her kind. Perhaps she would be able to find a place where she could belong, if only for a little while.

Before long, Lily finds herself not only expected by a loving vampire family, but also meets the love of her life. Could all this mean the end of her lonely existence? Tentative yet hopeful, Lily embraces the love and warmth of her vampire family. Not wanting to think about tomorrow or consequences, Lily also indulges herself in a romantic love that cannot be. All to soon, Lily realizes her past has the power to destroy her future. And all too soon, Lily finds herself in a fight for her life and all those she loves.

As soon as I started to read this book, I felt Lily’s keen sense of isolation and loneliness and despair. She is a character that I liked right away, and she reminded me of both Lestat with her world weary nature, and Louis in the ways in which she made her nature palatable to her conscience. I felt this keen yearning to know Lily completely, but the author unfurls every nuance of her character slowly, leading you willingly along on Lily’s journey. At times I couldn’t help the feeling of foreboding that crept over me, things felt deceptively easy and so normal, but I kept waiting for that proverbial other shoe to drop. But it also had me chuckling. I, for one, will chuckle whenever I think of coffee or a park bench. And it also has moments where you will say, “Awww.”

It was refreshing to read a vampire story from a female protagonist’s perspective. The only thing I found challenging was suspending my disbelief long enough to believe in love at first sight. I’ve discovered I’ve become cynical in this regard, unfortunately. This cynicism just made me want to believe in it all the more, if only to prove to myself that I haven’t become too jaded in my old age. When have any of us encountered true love? The kind of love that loves unconditionally and accepts you for exactly who and what you are, flaws and all, no matter what they may be? This book asks you for a moment to imagine what it would be like to bare your true self and leave everything exposed. That kind of vulnerability is very frightening, but empowering as well. It will make you want to take a closer look at all the important relationships in your life.

The question of nature vs. nurture also arose for me. Lily was still so young in a vampire sense, and unsure of herself. She was so much like an abandoned child who out of necessity must learn to fend for herself, but desperately needed the bond of love and family. Would she have been more confident and more immune to the feelings of loneliness and isolation if her maker had been a better nurturer who gently guided her? Or was this sensitivity just her nature?

Lily brings the suspense like a thriller, but it is also a sweet story about finding true love and finally finding a family to call your own. It’s about the bonds of trust and loyalty, and moving beyond the things that hurt us deeply and embracing our future. It has endearing characters, rivalry, and a villainous villain you will absolutely love to loathe. You will also be posed with the inevitable question; but you will have to read the book to find out what that question is.

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

Now that Anne Rice has quit Christianity, can we hope for a film version of her #1 National Bestselling novel The Witching Hour? The Witching Hour is a feast of witches, the devil, and a secret society, so I definitely hope this spine tingling book will be made into a film!

A Paranormal Secret Society

A while back I heard somewhere that The Witching Hour was going to be made into a movie, or at the very least, a miniseries. There is even a script purportedly written by Anne Rice herself floating around out there. Needless to say, anticipation and excitement filled me at this prospect, but I have as of yet to see or hear anything more. What’s the hold up, I wonder? This book would be amazing to watch! This is not The Witching Hour of 1996 and addendum to The Craft with Robin Tunney and Neve Campbell. This is the book. The Witching Hour is written by the famously talented Anne Rice, the author of that little vampire tale about a wickedly jaded vampire named Lestat, and the vampire he created, the eternally tormented Louis. If you haven’t read either book, I suggest you read them. If you have read The Witching Hour, you know what I am talking about. For the Mayfair virgins out there, here’s a quick rundown. [Read the full story...]