Review: The Skull Ring

Title: The Skull Ring
Author: Scott Nicholson
Genre: Fiction, Suspense
Pub Date: March 2010, Ghostwriter Publications
Paperback, 327 pages
Book source: Received a copy for review from the author


Synopsis

Julia Stone will remember, even if it kills her.

Many years after the night her father disappeared, a night of chants, pain, and strangers in robes, the past follows Julia to the North Carolina moutnains when a mysterious silver skull ring makes her the focus of a shadowy, sinister cult. Walter, a local handyman, tries to help her, but he has his own secrets.

And the ring is closing in...

My Thoughts

Firstly, I would like to thank Mr. Nicholson for sending me a copy of The Skull Ring to review. This is the first book I've read that focuses on Satanic cults, though admittedly the story is more devoted to Julia Stone and her "relationship" to the cult. I have to say, parts of the story definitely gave me the creeps and I refused to read it at night, in the dark!

The suspenseful storyline is what carried this book and made it worth reading and at times, difficult to put down. There was the constant question of who Julia could really trust, though I did feel that many events that transpired were a bit predictable. I was reasonably sure who was to be feared throughout most of the book, though there were a couple of surprises I didn't see coming (as they related to certain characters, that is). As for the characters, they were all pretty good, basic characters but would have benefited from some further development and fleshing out to make the story even better. The friendship Julia finds herself forming with Walter felt a little hokey to me--not that it couldn't have happened, but I don't think enough of the book was used to really promote it to where the relationship made sense.

All-in-all, The Skull Ring is an easy read with a definitely "creepy-factor" that makes you want to know how the story is going to turn out.

My Rating:

Other reviews of The Skull Ring:

Book-Blog.com

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Audiobook Review: Paranoia

Title: Paranoia
Author: Joseph Finder
Genre: Fiction, Suspense
Pub Date: 2004, MacMillan Audio
Source: Free Download from iTunes

Synopsis

Adam Cassidy is twenty-six and a low level employee at a high-tech corporation who hates his job. When he manipulates the system to do something nice for a friend, he finds himself charged with a crime. Corporate Security gives him a choice: prison—or become a spy in the headquarters of their chief competitor, Trion Systems. They train him and feed him inside information. Now at Trion, he’s a star, skyrocketing to the top. He finds he has talents he never knew he possessed. He’s rich, drives a Porsche, lives in a fabulous apartment, and works directly for the CEO. He’s dating the girl of his dreams. His life is perfect. All he has to do to keep it that way is betray everyone he cares about and everything he believes in. But when he tries to break off from his controllers, he finds himself in way over his head, where nothing is what it seems and no one can really be trusted. And then the REAL nightmare begins.....

My Thoughts

Paranoia is my latest discovery in the world of audiobooks for my daily commute. I have to confess I've been on the hunt for reasonably priced (cheap) audiobooks after discovering that our library system is severely lacking in this category. With Paranoia it was hard to beat a free download from iTunes, and I figured I'd give it a shot--nothing lost, right?

When the story first started out, after a few chapters I wasn't sure I would be able to keep going. I got really, REALLY tired of the constant swearing. I'm not sure if it would have bothered me as much if it had been more off-hand, but as it was maliciously used by some characters when name-calling other characters in the corporate environment. In short, it really bothered me and I just didn't feel like it was a realistic representation of the way people in the corporate world behave--but what do I know? Additionally, I think hearing the word as opposed to reading it made me more sensitive to its use. (Here we have yet another case where a book can come across so differently on audio vs. the written words.)

In the end, I stuck it out and I have to say I'm glad that I did. I very much enjoyed listening to the narrator, Jason Priestley--no, I don't think he's THE Jason Priestley of 90210/Brandon Walsh fame--I did some searching to see if he'd ever read audiobooks and came up empty, not to mention that it didn't sound like his voice. Anyway, I thought THIS Jason Priestley did a great job on the various characters and really helped add to the suspense of the story with good inflection while reading. The story itself is pretty intense, as you might imagine if you read the synopsis. But best of all, there was a twist at the end that I absolutely did not see coming until right before it happened and for me, it really made the book. So while there is strong language that may offend some, I still recommend this book for the story alone and I am tempted to look into other books by Joseph Finder.

My rating:



Other reviews of Paranoia:

A Passion for Books

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Review: A Circle of Souls

Title: A Circle of Souls
Author: Preetham Grandhi
Genre: Fiction, Psychological Thriller
Pub date: June 2009, Sweetwater Books
ARC, 339 pages
Book source: Mr. Grandhi (kind thanks for the review copy!)

Synopsis

The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town's top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury's hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings' devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya's parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope.

The situations confronting Leia and Peter converge when Naya begins drawing chilling images of murder after being bombarded by the disturbing images in their dreams. Amazingly, her sketches are the only clues to the crime that has panicked Newbury residents. Against her better judgment, Leia explores the clues in Naya's crude drawings, only to set off an alarming chain of events.

My Thoughts

I am always interested in a good mystery or thriller, so when Mr. Grandhi contacted me about reviewing his debut book, I didn't hesitate to accept the offer. I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed!

Perhaps what impressed me the most about this book was the level of detail that Mr. Grandhi included, yet wrote it in a way that does not bog down the reader. His background in child psychology is obvious and makes this story that much more intriguing and intense. He has a great ability to write the story from a child's perspective when necessary and his own love of children is evident--he really writes those elements of the book with great care. So in A Circle of Souls, instead of finding a story that proves cold and cynical as is so typical with crime novels, Mr. Grandhi has managed to inject a lot of heart and soul into the story. Leia Bines, Peter Gram, and the various law enforcement officials are all warm beings with a strong desire to help and protect children.

More than a crime novel, A Circle of Souls also has paranormal and spiritual elements, as a young girl's dreams end up being clues to solve a brutal murder of another child. Here, Grandhi turns to Indian beliefs in the role of the soul and predestination, among other traditions. It truly makes for a fascinating read and a bit of insight into the Indian culture.

In the end I didn't have a very difficult time concluding who the murderer was, but Grandhi's writing keeps you turning the pages to see everything resolved. The chapters are generally short and shift the focus back and forth between the two converging storylines, which is a great momentum-builder. I really thought that A Circle of Souls was a great debut novel and I look forward to seeing what Mr. Grandhi has to offer in the future.

My rating:



Other reviews of A Circle of Souls:

Booking Mama ~ Cheryl's Book Nook ~ Brooke's Reviews
Book Reader's Heaven ~ One Librarian's Book Reviews

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REVIEW: The Chameleon Conspiracy by Haggai Carmon

Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Pub Date: April 2009, Leisure Books
Format: Mass Market, 365 pages
Source/FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received and my opinions are my own.

The master criminal and con man known as the Chameleon has eluded international law enforcement for twenty years. Dan Gordon was sure he finally had him, but he was left empty-handed. Now he won't rest until the Chameleon is stopped. The Chameleon is actually more than a mere criminal--he's an undercover sleeper agent. But Gordon is more than he seems, too. He's an experienced hunter, trained by the Mossad, working now for the CIA.

The trail leads Gordon to unforeseen locales and surprising alliances. His hunt for the slippery Chameleon will send him undercover to Iran, surrounded by danger and betrayal on all sides. What he learns could affect the world's balance of power...if he makes it out of Tehran alive.

MY THOUGHTS

I received an email from Garmon's marketing agency, looking to send me a review copy of this book, and I jumped at the chance. I've discovered that I really enjoy political/government thrillers, thanks to Jack Bauer & 24, as well as Vince Flynn. I definitely was not disappointed with The Chameleon Conspiracy, though let me tell you the story is almost overwhelming!

Haggai Carmon clearly knows his stuff, as the book is filled with so much detail with regards to the government, its agencies, and covert operations. Actually, I think I have a whole new respect for agents who go undercover after reading this book. There are many intense scenes that made me wonder how anyone can successfully assume a new identity--let alone have to do that all the time for their job. Even Dan Gordon commented once about keeping all of his identities straight--he dreaded running into someone he might have met from a previous case because he doubted he would know what name he had given them. To tell you the truth, I couldn't tell you how many different aliases he had in this one book!

If you enjoy thrillers, particularly anything involving terrorism and state relations, then I definitely recommend this book. I will say that at times I got bogged down in all the detail--sometimes the writing was a little too dry or informational to pull me into the story. But overall, I enjoyed it and was glad to have this opportunity to discover a new-to-me author. The Chameleon Conspiracy is the third Dan Gordon Intelligence Thriller, so I have a feeling I'll be checking out the first two, as well.

REVIEW: Sin & Vengeance by C. J. West

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Pub Date: October 2005, 22 West Books

Format: eBook

Source/FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received and my opinions are my own.

When his knee shatters on the playing field, Charlie Marston is plunged into turmoil. His perspective suddenly shifts from sports superstar to regular (albeit wealthy) winemaker. He enters the world of work by way of the family winemaking business. The closeness of day to day operations with his parents illuminates qualities in them that he had consciously denied until now. Soon his youthful passion seeks a new outlet to replace the football career he's lost and he finds a new friend named Randy Black. Randy is part stunt-pilot, part Casanova, and part drunken Pied Piper. Randy leads him into terrifying predicaments that become more exciting and more dangerous with each passing day. Charlie doesn't resist until an ill-conceived stunt, compounded by drunken judgment, explodes in consequences that chase Charlie and Randy back home to Massachusetts. Charlie must eventually decide where his moral boundaries should be drawn as he contends with the after-effects of a half dozen mistakes that threaten to engulf him and his family.
Sin and Vengeance is a grounded thriller, with realistic action that readers will believe. The book was titled Sin and Vengeance because the book's characters commit varying degrees of sin. The book follows the repercussions of those mistakes and explores how sins change the characters' lives and the lives of those around them. While the book's theme cautions us about sin and its effects, on the surface the book is an action-packed thriller with characters alternately tempted by evil and rushing away from the consequences of their decisions.

MY THOUGHTS

I first heard about this book when the author, CJ West, contacted me on my Book Blogs page. After reading the synopsis, I thought it sounded intriguing, especially since I've been getting more interested in thrillers lately. I still hadn't gotten around to getting a copy when I received an offer from West for the e-book version. By the way, this book is also going to be made into a movie and it's funny, while I was reading it I kept thinking it would be an awesome movie and then I remembered that it was going to be made into one. Silly me :-) Seriously, though, there are many scenes that I can't wait to see on the big screen.

I have to say that I'm really glad CJ West contacted me, because I'm not sure if I would have come across this book otherwise--at least not for awhile. I admit it starts out a little hot and heavy for me, but that is relevant to the plot and from there it leads straight into non-stop action. Be forewarned, it's a little graphically violent at times--I had to skim a few sections, just like I'll probably cringe away from the screen at the theater during the more bloody scenes. Oh yes, I plan to go see Sin & Vengeance when it's released, no doubt about it.

The plotting of this book is incredibly involved and detailed, with writing that is appropriately descriptive yet fast-paced. (Unfortunately, I came across a few typos, but nothing that detracted too much from the story.**UPDATE: Please see CJ West's comment to the post below--these typos are related to a Hidden Code Contest, how cool is that?!) Really, West's pacing is great, especially when you consider that this was his first book. He develops his characters masterfully--particularly Randy Black, and what a complex individual he is. Since I was working with an e-book, I found myself sneaking peeks at it during work yesterday, continued reading it last night and had to finish it this morning. If you like thrillers, then you will definitely enjoy reading Sin & Vengeance and I bet you'll find it hard to put down.