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Treachery and Justice

1/5/2014

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Tim Tigner has done it again with Betrayal, another of his three recent publications! He has provided a tale full of treachery, unexpected technological and chemical weaponry—and suspense. Three tales from Tim Tigner; three cheers for Tim Tigner!


When Special Agent Odysseus Carr (Odi) is given orders for a Special Forces operation, he and his team set off for Tafriz, Iran.  But, something goes terribly wrong.  By virtue of a fluke, a minor happenstance, Odi is the sole survivor of the mission.  He is rescued by Dr. Ayden Archer.  After the two discover the weapon used to take out Odi’s team members, they arrange for Odi to leave Iran clandestinely and to return to the U.S.  Once there, Odi will bring justice to those responsible.  Meanwhile, back home, Odi’s twin sister, Cassi, goes through the motions of a funeral service for her brother.  When she discovers Odi is actually alive, the two team up to bring a satisfying conclusion to the story.  It seems both Odi and Cassie may have trusted others too quickly and too thoroughly, others who had agendas of their own. . . .


Tigner has introduced complete and likeable—or despicable, as the case may be—characters, a carefully woven plot and, as in each of his other stories, the concept of an unusual pharmacological or chemical agent that may be used as a weapon.  The existence of this agent adds intrigue to the story and makes the reader wonder what the world would be like if such a weapon actually existed.  Often thrillers deal with the world as we know it; Tigner deals with the world as it could be if those who seek such weaponry are successful in their endeavors.


While the story missed just a half beat for me in light of some of Odi’s actions that I thought could have brought harm to unintended innocent persons, I found Betrayal to be a fast-paced, fully satisfying read that ought to be on every thriller lover’s bookshelf.  Tigner has a bright future as readers (including this one) are already clamoring for—more please!


Find out more about Tim Tigner on GoodReads here and on his website here.  Betrayal is available on Amazon here and on Barnes and Noble here.

Review also posted on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, GoodReads and BookLikes. Review added on Facebook, noted on Google+, tweeted and cover pinned.

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The Snake Pit and Other Stories

1/1/2014

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*****
Reviewed for Readers’ Favorite.

Introduction: This review was prepared for Readers’ Favorite, although I would like to add some additional notes to my review posted here. I wanted to take a moment to mention why I chose this book to review.

I do not know if it was due to having seen the 1948 film starring Olivia de Havilland, The Snake Pit, or from reading Will There Really Be a Morning?, the story of Frances Farmer, a movie star who ended up institutionalized, but I have long been intrigued by stories of the mentally ill. On further thought, maybe it was neither of those things. Maybe it was from representing a woman years ago, who may have been mentally ill. . . . In any case, some early experiences left me believing that the worst catastrophe that might strike me personally, would be to have a mental illness or to have a family member who is mentally ill. 

Too often in the last decades, there have been stories of catastrophe brought about by mentally ill individuals whose families have been unable to get assistance for them before tragedy struck. Current laws do not allow intervention on behalf of a mentally ill person who does not want help unless that person displays evidence that he is a danger to themselves or others. My heart goes out to the parents and families of those people. Where are they to turn when doctors may not discuss the details of a person’s mental illness unless that person allows it (assuming they are “of age”) but is unable to recognize the need? Where do those families turn when they fear for themselves or others but current laws will not allow them to take action when harm has not yet befallen someone? Where are they to turn when the stigma of mental illness causes them to keep things secret and when the mentally ill person himself may suffer from the inability to recognize his own illness? 

Now, to my review--

Tragedy strikes a family when a father and husband, well loved and respected, is diagnosed with cancer, undergoes treatment that does not go smoothly, and is then diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a mental illness that rarely makes its debut in one’s life later than early adulthood. Losing Dad, Paranoid Schizophrenia: A Family’s Search for Hope, is the story of Amanda LaPera’s family, with a forward by Dr. Xavier Amador that discusses “anosognosia,” a condition whereby a person is unable to acknowledge the presence of his own illness and need for treatment. 

“Dad” in this story is Joseph, re-married to Hilda and the father of three, who leaves the hospital following treatment for his cancer, a changed man. Eventually disappearing, the family later pieces together the story of what seems to have occurred over a series of years during which Joseph rarely made contact with them. While unable to completely substantiate Joseph’s claims, there is evidence that during his “lost” years, Joseph embarked on a trip involving four continents, thirty countries and thirteen wives. Along the way, he lived on the streets, proselytized to drug dealers and prostitutes and was even hailed a “prophet” by some, but he also lost his family, his career and his lifetime savings.

Amanda LaPera, a vocal advocate for people affected by severe mental illness, has met her goal of raising awareness in this open discussion of her own experiences. She has told a gripping story of fear and loss—of a search for hope—and of love. Losing Dad illustrates the pain felt by families that because of current laws, are unable to help their mentally ill relatives. Closing with a summary of those current laws and how difficult they make it to help a mentally ill loved one unless that person has exhibited that he is a danger to himself or others (which in some cases has come too late to avoid tragedy), LaPera’s book is timely. Parents, families, and even the larger community seek the means to humanely and respectfully assist the mentally ill who are unable to care for themselves and who may act out in their delusions, causing harm to others. The subject is mental illness; the time for discussion, is now. 


Find out more about the author on her GoodReads page here and her website here. Losing Dad is available on Amazon here and from Barnes and Noble here.

Also posted on GoodReads and BookLikes, added to my FaceBook page and to two Google+ review groups, and tweeted. Cover pinned.



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Thefts and other Criminal Acts

1/1/2014

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Reviewed for Readers’ Favorite.

Necessary Decisions, by Giacomo Giammatteo, is part of the Redemption Series, featuring Detective Gino Cataldi. The story opens with a robbery at a friendly poker game at which masked bandits, identifying one another only by number, rob the attendees of their money and jewelry. Included in their take is a watch Detective Cataldi wore, a watch given him by his wife in her dying days. Cataldi vows to find the culprits.

Necessary Decisions is a fast paced mystery that, while included within the Redemption Series, may be read separately of the others; the storyline of the tales is not a continuing one. With bits of evidence coming in from all directions, the readers are in the midst of the investigation as though it were happening in real time. Cataldi becomes more real as the pages turn.  Giacomo Giammatteo holds readers spellbound as tension builds. Mystery readers will be happy to know that Necessary Decisions is one of a series as, when turning its final pages, they will find themselves begging for more. 
  

Find out more about the author on his GoodReads page here and his website here.  Necessary Decisions is available on Amazon here and from Barnes and Noble here.

Also posted on GoodReads and on BookLikes, added to my FaceBook page and to two Google+ review groups, and tweeted. Cover pinned.



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    Patricia Reding

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