Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
DREAM REACHERS II
DREAM REACHERS II
by Betty Dravis and Chase Von
Von Chase Publishing
ISBN: 978-0982346471
The authors’ motto is: “Only those who stretch to reach their dreams find themselves living them.” Very profound and borne out by this second installment of the Dream Reachers books by Betty Dravis and Chase Von. Encased within are fascinating interviews with 33 celebrities across a vast range of public personalities, including actors, musicians, authors, a psychic, female boxer, singers, artists, entrepreneurs, and many others. Some have reached their dreams and others are well on their way, but a peek into their personal philosophies and the stories behind their dreams is intriguing and so inspiring to those of us who are still on that road to our own personal dreams.
Dravis and Von do a great service to us dreamers by sharing these inspiring stories of hard work and determination driven by a positive and persevering attitude. This is one book to be placed nearby instead of on a bookshelf for constant motivation or simply to be uplifted by the optimistic words and wise outlooks of other dreamers.
by Betty Dravis and Chase Von
Von Chase Publishing
ISBN: 978-0982346471
The authors’ motto is: “Only those who stretch to reach their dreams find themselves living them.” Very profound and borne out by this second installment of the Dream Reachers books by Betty Dravis and Chase Von. Encased within are fascinating interviews with 33 celebrities across a vast range of public personalities, including actors, musicians, authors, a psychic, female boxer, singers, artists, entrepreneurs, and many others. Some have reached their dreams and others are well on their way, but a peek into their personal philosophies and the stories behind their dreams is intriguing and so inspiring to those of us who are still on that road to our own personal dreams.
Dravis and Von do a great service to us dreamers by sharing these inspiring stories of hard work and determination driven by a positive and persevering attitude. This is one book to be placed nearby instead of on a bookshelf for constant motivation or simply to be uplifted by the optimistic words and wise outlooks of other dreamers.
VALLEY OF OBSESSIONS
VALLEY OF OBSESSIONS
by Betty Gordon
L&L Dreamspell
London, TX
ISBN: 9781603182829
Desiree Roberts talks her best friend Sandy Olson into sharing her lifelong dream of visiting Egypt. While there, the two take a boat drip down the Nile, where Desiree makes friends with mysterious Italian Mike Lapuccio and loner Richard Daniels, an advertising executive from Houston, TX, as well as two Egyptian couples. But Desiree provokes the ire of English businesswoman Amanda Pritchard, who is jealous of the relationship between Desiree and her niece. When Desiree and Sandy return to the Cairo Hilton, Desiree begins to date Lapuccio and Daniels. After clubbing with Lapuccio one night, she never makes it back to her hotel room. Lapuccio claims he left Desiree at the elevator after which she was seen getting into the taxi of her friend Femi, who holds a law degree yet makes his living driving a cab. Her body is found in Opet’s Chapel in Karnak dressed in authentic Egyptian clothing except for the head gear. Sandy hires Vicki Sanders to come to Egypt to investigate the murder, and Vicki finds herself mired in a plethora of suspicious characters who surrounded Desiree. When her life is threatened, her boyfriend, fellow investigator Paul Barlow, joins her in Egypt and Vicki, Paul and Sandy begin looking into the backgrounds of the people with whom Desiree had contact, upping the number of suspects and placing their lives in danger.
Betty Gordon has penned a fine mystery here packed with plenty of red herrings and nail-chewing suspense. Her descriptions of Egypt and its historical monuments are captivating and enhance the plot. Characterization is well-done and the page-turning story well-written.
by Betty Gordon
L&L Dreamspell
London, TX
ISBN: 9781603182829
Desiree Roberts talks her best friend Sandy Olson into sharing her lifelong dream of visiting Egypt. While there, the two take a boat drip down the Nile, where Desiree makes friends with mysterious Italian Mike Lapuccio and loner Richard Daniels, an advertising executive from Houston, TX, as well as two Egyptian couples. But Desiree provokes the ire of English businesswoman Amanda Pritchard, who is jealous of the relationship between Desiree and her niece. When Desiree and Sandy return to the Cairo Hilton, Desiree begins to date Lapuccio and Daniels. After clubbing with Lapuccio one night, she never makes it back to her hotel room. Lapuccio claims he left Desiree at the elevator after which she was seen getting into the taxi of her friend Femi, who holds a law degree yet makes his living driving a cab. Her body is found in Opet’s Chapel in Karnak dressed in authentic Egyptian clothing except for the head gear. Sandy hires Vicki Sanders to come to Egypt to investigate the murder, and Vicki finds herself mired in a plethora of suspicious characters who surrounded Desiree. When her life is threatened, her boyfriend, fellow investigator Paul Barlow, joins her in Egypt and Vicki, Paul and Sandy begin looking into the backgrounds of the people with whom Desiree had contact, upping the number of suspects and placing their lives in danger.
Betty Gordon has penned a fine mystery here packed with plenty of red herrings and nail-chewing suspense. Her descriptions of Egypt and its historical monuments are captivating and enhance the plot. Characterization is well-done and the page-turning story well-written.
WEB OF TYRANNY
WEB OF TYRANNY
by Laurel Rain Snow
BookSurge Publishing
ISBN: 978-1419656866
As a child, Meg Graham does not understand her father’s cold, overly harsh attitude toward her and wants nothing more than to escape from her strict fundamentalist upbringing. College offers her the chance but Meg ends up in a similar situation when she marries a man who is controlling, overly critical and manipulative. Meg finds the strength to leave the marriage with her toddler son in tow and begins life anew as a social worker, subsequently changing her name to Lainey. She joins the protest movement and through a feminist group meets supportive women, enjoying the freestyle life of San Francisco during the ‘60s, experimenting with sex and drugs. Ultimately, Meg/Lainey questions her problems with intimacy, which she can only overcome via the use of alcohol, and enters treatment. Through therapy, she confronts the demons of her past and allows her repressed memories to emerge, learning why she continues to sabotage her own happiness.
With great skill, Snow captures the essence of the ‘60s via her depiction of that era’s fashions, vernacular, sexual mores, protests against the Viet Nam War, and women’s efforts for egalitarianism through the feminist movement. Although two separate subplots at times threaten to overpower Meg’s story, this does not happen, and the unveiling of the relationship between Rainbow and Natasha enhances more than takes away from the plot. Young adults of today would be well-advised to read this novel if only to get a good grasp of what life was like for women during this fascinating, history-changing time period.
by Laurel Rain Snow
BookSurge Publishing
ISBN: 978-1419656866
As a child, Meg Graham does not understand her father’s cold, overly harsh attitude toward her and wants nothing more than to escape from her strict fundamentalist upbringing. College offers her the chance but Meg ends up in a similar situation when she marries a man who is controlling, overly critical and manipulative. Meg finds the strength to leave the marriage with her toddler son in tow and begins life anew as a social worker, subsequently changing her name to Lainey. She joins the protest movement and through a feminist group meets supportive women, enjoying the freestyle life of San Francisco during the ‘60s, experimenting with sex and drugs. Ultimately, Meg/Lainey questions her problems with intimacy, which she can only overcome via the use of alcohol, and enters treatment. Through therapy, she confronts the demons of her past and allows her repressed memories to emerge, learning why she continues to sabotage her own happiness.
With great skill, Snow captures the essence of the ‘60s via her depiction of that era’s fashions, vernacular, sexual mores, protests against the Viet Nam War, and women’s efforts for egalitarianism through the feminist movement. Although two separate subplots at times threaten to overpower Meg’s story, this does not happen, and the unveiling of the relationship between Rainbow and Natasha enhances more than takes away from the plot. Young adults of today would be well-advised to read this novel if only to get a good grasp of what life was like for women during this fascinating, history-changing time period.
WEB OF TYRANNY
WEB OF TYRANNY
by Laurel Rain Snow
BookSurge Publishing
ISBN: 978-1419656866
As a child, Meg Graham does not understand her father’s cold, overly harsh attitude toward her and wants nothing more than to escape from her strict fundamentalist upbringing. College offers her the chance but Meg ends up in a similar situation when she marries a man who is controlling, overly critical and manipulative. Meg finds the strength to leave the marriage with her toddler son in tow and begins life anew as a social worker, subsequently changing her name to Lainey. She joins the protest movement and through a feminist group meets supportive women, enjoying the freestyle life of San Francisco during the ‘60s, experimenting with sex and drugs. Ultimately, Meg/Lainey questions her problems with intimacy, which she can only overcome via the use of alcohol, and enters treatment. Through therapy, she confronts the demons of her past and allows her repressed memories to emerge, learning why she continues to sabotage her own happiness.
With great skill, Snow captures the essence of the ‘60s via her depiction of that era’s fashions, vernacular, sexual mores, protests against the Viet Nam War, and women’s efforts for egalitarianism through the feminist movement. Although two separate subplots at times threaten to overpower Meg’s story, this does not happen, and the unveiling of the relationship between Rainbow and Natasha enhances more than takes away from the plot. Young adults of today would be well-advised to read this novel if only to get a good grasp of what life was like for women during this fascinating, history-changing time period.
by Laurel Rain Snow
BookSurge Publishing
ISBN: 978-1419656866
As a child, Meg Graham does not understand her father’s cold, overly harsh attitude toward her and wants nothing more than to escape from her strict fundamentalist upbringing. College offers her the chance but Meg ends up in a similar situation when she marries a man who is controlling, overly critical and manipulative. Meg finds the strength to leave the marriage with her toddler son in tow and begins life anew as a social worker, subsequently changing her name to Lainey. She joins the protest movement and through a feminist group meets supportive women, enjoying the freestyle life of San Francisco during the ‘60s, experimenting with sex and drugs. Ultimately, Meg/Lainey questions her problems with intimacy, which she can only overcome via the use of alcohol, and enters treatment. Through therapy, she confronts the demons of her past and allows her repressed memories to emerge, learning why she continues to sabotage her own happiness.
With great skill, Snow captures the essence of the ‘60s via her depiction of that era’s fashions, vernacular, sexual mores, protests against the Viet Nam War, and women’s efforts for egalitarianism through the feminist movement. Although two separate subplots at times threaten to overpower Meg’s story, this does not happen, and the unveiling of the relationship between Rainbow and Natasha enhances more than takes away from the plot. Young adults of today would be well-advised to read this novel if only to get a good grasp of what life was like for women during this fascinating, history-changing time period.
THE IMPALER by Gregory Funaro
THE IMPALER
by Gregory Funaro
Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 9780786022137
The impaled bodies of two male victims are discovered in a cemetery with the cryptic message “I have returned” on their torsos. When the impaled body of a criminal defense attorney is subsequently found, the killer is given the nickname The Impaler, named for Vlad the Impaler, upon whom Bram Stroker’s Dracula was based. This is the first case for FBI agent Sam Markham since his promotion to Raleigh, North Carolina. Markham, still grieving his wife’s death, tries not to be distracted by the execution date of her killer looming in the near future. He immerses himself in the investigation, frustrated by the lack of DNA or trace evidence at each crime scene. He begins to suspect the serial killer’s reason for impaling his victims has nothing to do with Vlad Tepes but is connected to a stolen Babylonian seal and the god Nergal, guardian of the underworld. At first the victims seem to have nothing in common but Markham finds a connection and he and his team begin to close in on their killer whose kills are escalating and who always seems one step ahead of them. As Markham zeroes in, he’s unaware the Impaler is now focused on him.
Funaro came out swinging with The Sculptor and does not disappoint his readers with The Impaler. Although some scenes are gruesome, they are intrinsic to the plot and well-executed. The characterization of the serial killer is fascinating as the reader learns of past traumas he experienced that formed him into the deranged monster he is. One sympathizes with Markham and his ongoing bereavement of his wife’s violent death. The plot is complicated yet so well-written readers will not have trouble following along. Rarely does this reviewer read a book that captures the attention so thoroughly. Characterization, plot, and dialogue excel. Funaro proves himself worthy of status on the best-seller list with this intense, electrifying thriller which deserves more than 5 stars.
by Gregory Funaro
Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 9780786022137
The impaled bodies of two male victims are discovered in a cemetery with the cryptic message “I have returned” on their torsos. When the impaled body of a criminal defense attorney is subsequently found, the killer is given the nickname The Impaler, named for Vlad the Impaler, upon whom Bram Stroker’s Dracula was based. This is the first case for FBI agent Sam Markham since his promotion to Raleigh, North Carolina. Markham, still grieving his wife’s death, tries not to be distracted by the execution date of her killer looming in the near future. He immerses himself in the investigation, frustrated by the lack of DNA or trace evidence at each crime scene. He begins to suspect the serial killer’s reason for impaling his victims has nothing to do with Vlad Tepes but is connected to a stolen Babylonian seal and the god Nergal, guardian of the underworld. At first the victims seem to have nothing in common but Markham finds a connection and he and his team begin to close in on their killer whose kills are escalating and who always seems one step ahead of them. As Markham zeroes in, he’s unaware the Impaler is now focused on him.
Funaro came out swinging with The Sculptor and does not disappoint his readers with The Impaler. Although some scenes are gruesome, they are intrinsic to the plot and well-executed. The characterization of the serial killer is fascinating as the reader learns of past traumas he experienced that formed him into the deranged monster he is. One sympathizes with Markham and his ongoing bereavement of his wife’s violent death. The plot is complicated yet so well-written readers will not have trouble following along. Rarely does this reviewer read a book that captures the attention so thoroughly. Characterization, plot, and dialogue excel. Funaro proves himself worthy of status on the best-seller list with this intense, electrifying thriller which deserves more than 5 stars.
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