Reviewed for Readers' Favorite.

*****
Jade's father dies, then her mother commits suicide. Worried for her brother, Richie, whom she cannot locate and with whom she is to share her father's $30 million estate, Jade engages the services of private investigator, Nick Crane, in Cicero's Dead, by Patrick H. Moore. Nick enlists the assistance of his friend, Bobby Moore, a somewhat troubled soul, "225 pounds of rock-hard Vietnam vet, with an in-your-face attitude, who wears shorts 300 days a year showing off thick hairy thighs, and a titanium prosthesis, courtesy of a Vietcong Dole pineapple mine." Nick learns that Cicero, well known to have been drug dealing, did not die in the manner in which the reports indicated. Further, though Richie is found, the company he keeps, one Arnold Clipper, is of concern, as Clipper controls Richie, emotionally manipulating the impressionable and needy young man. Add in the family attorney, James Halladay, who may have an agenda of his own, a friend of Jade and Richie's who is murdered during the course of the investigation, complicated interpersonal relationships, and believable and engaging dialogue, and you have the makings of a great story.


Patrick H. Moore's Cicero's Dead, will keep you turning pages. Indeed, I was able to tick off all the points of a story well-told with this one: (1) I enjoyed my time reading and did not want to put the book down; (2) I looked forward to continuing whenever the opportunity presented itself; (3) the engaging story, complete with sometimes sympathetic, sometimes despicable, characters, lead me to a satisfying conclusion; and (4) I will look forward to reading more of Moore's work. If you are longing for an engaging adventure, well told, look no further than Cicero's Dead.

I received a free download of Phychophilia from Amazon.

As a writer myself, I know the sacrifices authors make to bring their work to others. There are the untold thousands of hours creating, planning, and perfecting their stories. There are the many hours and dollars spent to format, cover, and promote. Without listing all the expenses, there also are, of course, the lost potential revenues that might otherwise have helped the author recoup some of his expenses. These come when the author gives away copies, with the hope that readers will enjoy and will leave meaningful and thoughtful reviews that will encourage others to purchase copies. And so it is with these things in mind, that I leave this review in exchange for the free downloaded copy I received of Michelle Muckley's Phychophilia. Let me begin by saying that if you did not manage to get a free copy yourself, you might consider downloading one at whatever cost--today--because this one is absolutely worth it, particularly if you appreciate, as do I, a colorful "voice" to what you read.

Charlotte Astor is suffering. Depressed, and with an attempted suicide behind her, she tries to find peace in her troubled relationship with her husband, Gregory, who shows far too much interest in the Astor's housemaid, Ishiko. Then there is her doctor she must deal with, her pretentious neighbors, her former coworkers (whom she left behind at Gregory's urging), and Charlotte is lonely even when in the company of others.

My attraction to Psychophilia wasn't the story so much (though it is not lacking). It was due to Muckley's voice and her ability to so completely and believably "get into" Charlotte's troubled mind. I found myself highlighting line after line, just so I could find a passage later and thereby revisit a clever turn of phrase. Just a couple short and ready examples (of what must be hundreds) include:

"If we were a house, Gregory and me would never have made it past the planning stage."

"Occasionally I have felt the vomit rise in my throat but if I swallow down fast enough I can return it to a peaceful slumber, like a trained dragon, full of hot breath but no fire."

"It’s much harder to judge a crazy person when they know you too have been touched by the same affliction."

Consider this one:  "Cigarettes are not for show. They are to be hidden away, like he wishes he could do to me, but instead is forced to do to Ishiko."

Or this one:  "Dana’s compliments make you feel good, even if they are not always believable. Jemima’s always remind you of your flaws. To her I can’t look just nice. I have to look well, so that I remember at one point I didn’t. I don’t like her at all. She thinks of me as common, and I think of her as a bitch."

This one made me want to laugh and cry at the same time:  "I look like a moving version of a [f . . . d] up Picasso, my features out of line and two dimensional."

Finally, I note the insightfulness here:  "But by wanting out, trying to die, it was too much for him. It meant he was a failure. If I wanted to die, it meant he couldn’t be my everything. There was a better, more attractive alternative in death, than him. He can’t get past that idea, so he has found his own alternative. He didn’t even have to leave his home. But perhaps I shouldn’t be so hard on him. Coming second place to the finality of death? Perhaps there isn’t a man in the world that could understand or accept that."

There is an rough, yet elegant quality to Muckley's voice, a veracity to Charlotte's thoughts that give the story an almost "autobiographical" feel, and an honesty about life, relationships and feelings that is raw and real. A work absolutely and positively deserving of five stars . . . (so you might go get your copy now . . .)

Reviewed for NetGalley. 

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For those looking for a good ghost story, The After House, by Michael Phillip Cash, delivers. Captain Eli Gaspar, a whaler, left his young wife and family to go on a hunt, believing that the need to provide them with material possessions trumped the importance of simply being with them. On the final leg of his last-planned journey, he takes on a mighty bull whale that lobtails, surprising the crew. The hunt leaves him and a young boy who accompanied him on the journey, the sole survivors. The Captain is surprised when he returns home, to learn of events regarding his wife and children. Ridden with guilt, he inhabits his family home, where he remains for over a hundred years, unable to face what awaits him if he moves on. Enter Remy Galway, fairly recently divorced and the new property tenant, her daughter, Olivia, her parents, and Hugh Matthews, her new love interest. When strange goings on occur at the house, readers will wonder: is it the Captain? Or, is there something less ethereal--and more sinister--going on.

The After House offered a refreshing change of pace. Although the ghostly events seemed a bit stretched with respect to the Captain's ability to manipulate physical things, I was willing to believe for the sake of the story.  I liked Remy and Hugh. Their ability to forge a relationship, finally allowing Remy to leave her past behind, encouraged me. Olivia was a gutsy child. Finally,  the dog that Remy's father gave to her helped create a believable family dynamic. If you like your stories to "haunt" you after you have turned the last page, look no further than The After House.

 

Reviewed for NetGalley. 

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My Battle Against Hitler, by Dietrich von Hildebrand and John Henry Crosby, was for me a bit of a stroll down memory lane. Back in my college days, I studied philosophy. I probably read some von Hildebrand in those days, though truth to tell, I do not recall for certain. At any rate, I appreciated the opportunity to read about his life in these pages, and the things he did to circumvent the propaganda of Hitler’s Third Reich.

Choosing exile to remain safe when the Nazi’s took power, von Hildebrand wrote extensively about the evils of the Nazi ideology. Much of the information in My Battle Against Hitler came from his 5000 page memoir—which he never intended to be published. Yet those writing set the stage for his story, as told by John Henry Crosby. Following it, are excerpts from some of von Hildebrand’s materials that were published in a variety of places over the years.

One of the things I found most interesting is that while von Hildebrand came from a family that considered “religion” only insofar as it might be represented in beautiful works of art, he showed signs of his personal belief and commitment to God from as early as the age of five. Eventually, he became a serious member of the Catholic Church and was highly influential in that community. Deemed a “personalist,” in accordance with which his philosophical thought centered around questions of human existence and the dignity of man, von Hildebrand focused much of his commentary on the evils of the Nazi ‘s, who stood opposed to the interests of the individual man.

For those looking for a unique perspective of the Nazi days, and for those who enjoy a good philosophical argument, I highly recommend My Battle Against Hitler.

Reviewed for NetGalley.

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At the outset, it bears noting that the cover for Hands Off My Gun, by Dana Loesch, is positively striking!

Loesch provides a summary of her experience with firearms, from the time she was a young child to the present, concentrating on issues of personal responsibility and the need to protect herself and her family in light of the many threats she has received. It is interesting that some from among the ranks of those seeking greater gun control laws, are so quick to bandy about the very threats that leave others (like Loesch, who merely seeks to voice her own position on the issue), convinced of the need to carry arms for protection. (I shudder to think what would happen if words of a similar nature were spoken, or written, or tweeted as the case may be, by those who seek to guard and preserve Americans’ Second Amendment rights.)

Hands Off My Gun provides a discussion of the importance of teaching others, including children, about firearms and firearm safety. I, like Loesch, grew up in a home where these lessons were taught. We knew, as Loesch says, that “guns aren’t toys.” They are tools of self-preservation and of self-protection. If this were not the case, why would so many of those who seek to disarm Americans, surround themselves with paid, gun carrying, bodyguards?

Loesch shares statistics that speak to where most gun crime is committed and she shares stories of some who have been saved because they or someone else carried. As a current-events case-in-point, we can only wonder how many more would have been harmed in Oklahoma when Traci Johnson was recently beheaded at Vaughan Foods, had a gun-carrying hero not shown up at the scene.

I commend Loesch for providing summaries regarding the passing of the Second Amendment, and of the history of gun control laws and race relations in America. Had Martin Luther King been allowed to carry—as he sought to do, but was denied—he might have lived to provide an even greater impact on American society and race relations.

Having listened to and seen Dana Loesch on numerous cable and radio interviews, I quickly picked up on her “voice” in this work. It is a voice with which I am comfortable—even (especially?) including the sarcasm it oft-times presents. I do find myself wondering, however, how influential a work of this nature might be if told “straight.” That is, I wonder to what extent others would entertain a fair reading of the history and meaning of the Second Amendment if they did not “hear” the voice of the one telling it, one they’ve been warned in advance, to ignore . . .

Reviewed for NetGalley

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Dear Leader, by Jang Jin-Sung, is a thoroughly enlightening tale. It presents a unique opportunity to “visit” North Korea firsthand.

As a young man, Jin-Sung rose to the level of “poet laureate” to Kim Jong-il. Artists enjoy a privileged position in North Korea, where they are used as tools of the totalitarian state. Indeed, Kim Jong-il stressed that he ruled “through music and literature.” Jin-Sung reports that Jong-il was not “a dictator by means of physical control, but . . . in a more subtle and pervasive sense—through his absolute power over the cultural identity of his people.” This is a sobering idea for citizens of a free society to consider. The principles regarding the importance of free speech, of a media that is responsible to the people and not to the government, and of representatives who are to see first to the interests of their constituents and not to the State, take on new meaning . . . 

When Jin-Sung, a favored citizen, is summoned to meet his “Dear Leader” personally, he discovers to his surprise, that Jong-il is—human—just a person like any other—who, shorter than Jin-Sung had imagined, even wears two-inch heels so as to appear taller. Eventually, these facts are added to the knowledge Jin-Sung gained from having read literary works from the free world. He begins to seriously question things. When circumstances occur that leave him in fear for his life, he escapes.

From the opening pages, in which Jin-Sung discusses the procedures used to take him and others to a meeting with Jong-il, Jin-Sung displays the awful truths of North Korean society. It is startling to consider the lengths the regime goes to in order to keep the truth from its people and to protect its “Dear Leader.” Citizens are taught that their loyalty to the leader is the supreme goal, second to nothing—not to themselves and not to their families or children. Jin-Sung expands upon the practicalities of the North Korean system, from the use of food distribution centers to the starving of the masses, to the special treatment the favored receive. Tragically, North Korea’s people live with the everyday truth that their lives are of no value to their nation’s leadership. 

Jin-sung tells his story of escape from North Korea, a harrowing experience. He underscores the particular evils that North Korean women face as victims in the world’s sex-slave market. Overall, this was an engaging and enlightening read. It emphasizes the vulnerability of our own free society in the face of any who would argue for the value of the State over that of the individual . . . 

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Hello from the Gillespies is scheduled for publication, November 4, 2014.

* * * * *

It is hard to know where to begin with a review for Hello from the Gillespies, by Monica McInerney, as there was so much to enjoy about this story. When Angela Gillespie sits down to write her annual Christmas letter, just as she has done every year for the past thirty-three years, she is overcome with frustration and hurt. Rather than write her typical missive, one that tells only good news, Angela takes the opportunity to vent. She is frustrated with her grown children who can’t seem to get things in order, with the fact that her ten-year old son still has an invisible friend, and with her husband, who has been ignoring her. Angela has no intention of sending her letter out. But when her youngest is hurt in an accident, she must rush him to the nearest hospital many miles from her family’s outback sheep station. Shortly thereafter, she is surprised when she begins to receive email responses to her letter, and she is devastated to learn that several readers have even passed the letter on to their friends. Angela knows she cannot keep the secret from her family forever, and when her husband and children learn the truth about what she has been thinking and feeling, she has a lot of questions to answer. So, what will they do when later, Angela suffers from confabulation, a condition whereby she forgets her real life and believes that the fantasy-life she’s been living in her mind, is real?

Hello from the Gillespies tells a tale that could certainly happen and does so with heart. I don’t know if it is a consequence of reaching a “certain age,” but it seems there comes a time in life when the surface truths are not enough—when a person longs to just tell it like it is. Oh, but the consequences can be troublesome! In this story, readers will find out the many ways that truth can be hurtful—and healing.

The characters in this story were fully fleshed out and their relationships every bit as complicated as family relationships can be in real life. I appreciated the willingness of Angela’s family to pull together, and their ability to find understanding . . . and healing . . . and forgiveness. Hello from the Gillespies had me at “Hello” and entertained me all the way through to “The End.”  

I received a copy of The Butterfly and the Violin, by Kristy Cambron, from NetGalley. In exchange, I offer this, my fair and honest review.