Lost in the Blue Room, by Richard Barone

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MWSA Review

More realities circling in tandem then a stack above LAX International. If you love philosophy, guns, sex and flights of imagination, then follow Richard Barone down the rabbit hole and into the Blue Room. You'll find him in there, lost in existential angst.

One of my favorite words is perturbation. Barone uses it and knows what it means. In fact, “Lost in the Blue Room” weaves past and future possibilities into a tapestry of extrapolations only a government agent, hashish smoking, deadheading airline marshall with too many hours at 35,000 feet can imagine. That much time and intellect will have anyone agitated, not to mention foot high lovers with a penchant for chaos.

Let’s be honest, you won’t remember all the details, there are way too many unless you are compulsive enough to re-read once or twice, but there is no way to forget this read either. It will live in your memory and blossom into a flavor and brew uniquely your own. What a lovely gift beyond the read itself!

Reviewed by: Carmen Stenholm (July 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Would the Twin Towers still be standing if federal air marshals were flying on September 11, 2001? Ex-sky marshal Jack High thinks so, and he’s about to make the government and airlines pay for their gross negligence. Armed with a top-secret smart gun, he hijacks a new blended-wing airliner and demands that the passengers take a journey with him back to 1970 when the original sky marshals flew.

With a taste of ashes still in their memories of 9/11, the passengers savor first class meals and comply with the skyjacker's demands. 

Andrea flies first class for a living, compliments of the besieged airlines. He is a college professor, a plastic surgeon, a Buddhist monk, or anyone a sky marshal can be, except, of course, a sleeping passenger. To survive boring hours of wakefulness, waiting for a skyjacker to strike, she writes a journal that challenges the man of her past with the woman of his present. Highly addicted to the anonymity of the job, Andrea explores drugs, violence, and sex, loses sight of the destination, and turns the story into a terrorism of obscurity--the very thing the passengers are helpless to destroy.

Written by a former sky marshal, this book takes place in jumbo jets, communal apartments, hotel rooms, and blue rooms. Boardrooms and courtrooms are not on the itinerary. 

Seven Lives to Repay Our Country, by Edward H. Carpenter

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MWSA Review

At MWSA, we applaud original thought and creativity. Ed Carpenter, a US Marine, steps into the skin of his characters -- once enemies -- and makes them come alive as real people. Things like culture and military training melt away in the extremety of war and we become alike in our humanity. At the end of the road, prey and preditor become simply people choosing whether to live or die. An intense, lovely story that invokes thought.

Reviewed by: Joyce Faulkner (2012)

Author's Synopsis

The battle of Saipan pitted US Marines and Allied soldiers against the island's Japanese defenders in one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific War. In this short story written by a US Marine, a pair of Japanese soldiers on Saipan confront the inevitability of defeat in different ways.

This story mixes fact and fiction to examine the nature of humanity in modern warfare. Please note that this is a short story, written as a submission to the Kindle Singles collection, and priced accordingly. It is 9 pages long (approx. 3000 words) and contains author's notes that highlight the historical and fictional influences that drove the story.

I hope you enjoy the story, and thank you for supporting independent, self-published literature. Your candid reviews, Tweets, blog posts, Facebook sharing and recommendations to friends are all greatly appreciated!

Small as a Mustard Seed, by Shelli Johnson

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MWSA Review

Small as a Mustard Seed is a momentum building, emotional rollercoaster read. Shelli Johnson’s impressive ability to make her main character, Ann Marie, so credible led to my believing that I was reading an autobiography. This is a very well written story of a young girl growing up in a dysfunctional family in the sixties and seventies.  With a father suffering from physical and serious emotional injuries as a result of his participation in the Korean War, and a seemingly uncaring mother, Ann Marie and her sister try to cope with life.     

While the story explicitly depicts the possible effects on a family of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the author does so without making PTSD the central theme of her book.  The family and its flaws make up the setting for the story.  The story is about Ann Marie and her struggle to understand.  The majority of the novel is set in the years Ann Marie spends growing up with her parents, but the author does a good job of bringing the story back together at a point when she is a lot older.

In Small as a Mustard Seed, Shelli Johnson has written an extremely good story that I highly recommend to any fan of fiction. Put it on your list of “must reads.”

Reviewed by: Bob Doerr (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

As a child in 1960's rural Ohio, Ann Marie Adler finds herself caught between her father, Frank, a veteran who survived the war in Korea but with devastating post-traumatic stress, and her mother, Adele, who is blindsided by the mental illness that accompanied him home. In a series of escalating dangerous episodes, Frank confuses reality with soul-searing memories, believing he's still a soldier fighting for his life in battle-torn Korea. During the delusions, Ann Marie and her younger sister, Jolene, become the enemy, which leaves them fearing for their lives. Unable to fully protect her daughters, Adele scrambles to keep order while her husband's threatening and unpredictable outbursts slowly tear the family apart.

True Surrender, by Tracey Cramer-Kelly

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MWSA Review

War and its aftermath is a deep, deep well for stories about devotion to duty, sacrifice, strength of character, friendship and love as well as violence, betrayal and loss. Perhaps it’s the uncertainty of war that brings this urgency to situations and depth to characters. 

Tracey Cramer-Kelly successfully weaves these emotions together in her poignant book, True Surrender, where we enter the world of Major Aaron Bricewick. After enduring capture and torture by terrorists in Afghanistan, and ultimate rescue by his fellow soldiers, Bricewick returns to the states wounded both physically and mentally. As may be typical of combat veterans, his stubbornness and outward self-confidence mask his vulnerability.

Perhaps it’s because of the author’s Army Reserve medic experience, but I found the descriptive side story of Bricewick’s leg amputation with its phantom pain, adjustment to prosthetics, acceptance of the reality of a lost limb and the limits it places on career and personal life, to offer raw insight into a world too many of our war wounded face and so few of us civilians can imagine.

Bricewick’s amputation brings him together with his former lover, Holly Rossiter, a prosthetist (artificial limb maker) at Holbrook Medical Center in California. But the amputation also serves as a metaphor for his life at this point: cut off emotionally from those around him, caught off balance by the betrayal of those he trusted, and in need of support from loved ones, no matter how painful it is for his independent self to admit.

Mix this with a mystery to be solved, an endearing and sensual love story, and a renewal of faith that had been long forgotten and True Surrender becomes a compelling and entertaining story.  I couldn’t put it down.

Reviewed by: Gail Chatfield (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

When Major Aaron Bricewick is rescued from Afghanistan terrorists, he thinks the worst is over. But his personal journey is just beginning... The first surprise is the amputation of one of his legs. The second is the woman he left behind, now a widow with a 4-year-old son - and his new prosthetist (artificial limb maker). He vows that losing his leg won't derail his career. But maintaining his outward appearance as a got-it-together officer becomes increasingly difficult as he faces one personal demon after another - and sees his career aspirations slipping away. And though he has no intention of expanding his life to include a woman, his heart has other ideas - and he finds himself questioning the very foundation of his personal beliefs. When violence - and unexpected redemption - touch his life again, Aaron must make a stand. Which will he choose: duty or love?

Bittersweet Colony, by David Michaelson

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MWSA Review

The third book in the series will most certainly be anticipated as human nature requires answers and will want to know how the adventure develops. Will the two races be able to understand each other or will the destruction of one ship, or both, be the end result of a minor misunderstanding? Many of the problems are here today and will only in time become worse, colonization of another planet is inevitable and needed, will any lessons have been learned?

The sequel is here, how the story unfolds is only pages away in “Bittersweet Colony” Michaelson’s follow up to “The Centauri Intervention” the second book in the trilogy. Generations have gone by, over 1900 years and the new planet can be seen through Pegasus’s powerful telescopes.

Set in a distant future it carries many of today’s problems with it. Prejudice, slang and insulting terms continue to be part of the makeup of the survivors of the Earth. Communication and basic understanding have been reached between them and the Odeon’s who have indicated that the planet that is there destination will be fine for them as the Odeon’s have no use for it.

Arrival at their new home brings dangers that could not have been foreseen. This is not Earth, nothing is the same and death comes in strange ways. This, the second volume will make you want to read the third in the trilogy. What will become of these intrepid travelers from a world they no longer remember?

This part of the story winds down to an end that rejoices in the first birth and the discovery of more life in the landing pods.

Reviewed by: Jim Greenwald (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Nearing the end of a tragic 20,000 year journey to Alpha Centauri, the starship Pegasus is escorted to mankind's final destination by the mysterious and powerful resident aliens. Once shuttled to their new planet the humans discover the terrifying reasons why the Odeons never settled the plane the human race now calls Bittersweet Colony.

The Centauri Intervention, by David Michaelson

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MWSA Review

Michaelson though not alone in the idea behind the story presents an interesting future. The concept of settling another planet for humans is a growing idea in many. A strong belief in planet wide destruction as a result of man’s foolish actions is in our news daily.

War, catastrophic events, and two races each alien to the other add to the intensity of the struggle for mankind’s survival. He weaves a tale of potential problems and issues that will arise. You can conceivably place yourself in the situations that arise and communication is tops on the list.

The books that follow will most certainly be anticipated as human nature needs answers and will want to know how the main characters develop. Will the two races be able to understand each other or will the destruction of one ship or both be the end result of a minor misunderstanding. Many of the problems are here today and will only in time become worse, colonization of another planet is inevitable and needed, will any lessons have been learned? 

Reviewed by: jim greenwald (September 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Out of control human population and a depleted Earth has created a need to seek another planet to colonize. The trip to Alpha Centauri in the starship PEGASUS will take 20,000 years. Near the end of the long journey, the aliens (Odeons) finally make their appearance. We are now in their backyard. The two species cannot communicate in any way, resulting in a tenuous warlike situation between starships. Two unlikely young heroes emerge—one human, the other Odeon. Together they take clandestine steps to recreate an ancient dialogue technique in the hope of establishing meaningful communications.

To make matters worse, the humans suffer from catastrophic cryogenic failure, losing many of their brightest minds. When morality wanes, The Church Of The Eternal Insight, led by the Good Vidhali, sets the standards of behavior for the surviving humans, as the final leg of their journey brings unprecedented grief and sadness.

The Warrior Among Us, by Dick Hrebik

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MWSA Review

Sci-fi, the term alone conjures up memories of Star Trek and Star Wars. The Warrior Among Us can be added to your collection. Aliens whose world is destroyed by immigrants to it come to our planet not to harm it but in a twist of the often plied plot they came to save not destroy us. Sci-fi appeals to humanities penchant for conflict, conflict in which we the inferior defeat the superior. Hrebik sets the stage of a dystopian future in which aliens become benefactors.

Space ships, telepathy, the ability to inhabit other bodies, what is not to like about this story. All the elements are present in “The Warrior Among Us.” Add to that the Sarnificans have a much longer life span than earthlings and after their 100th. birthday they are able to blend in with the local population real well.

The Sarnificans make their initial homes under the ground, where in the U.S they meet a civilization of rather short people that live al la Jules Verne in the center of the earth. They make friends with the Rincons who aid them in building their new cities.

Of course the immigrants to Sarnificus who called themselves Sarnifikites have also arrived on earth and take up residence in the Middle East. Having totally destroyed the planet they had both lived on.

Deke the Administrator of the Sarnificans and Ali Khan the leader of the Sarnifikites settle their score in one last final battle in which Deke wins. The questions of course are unending. Is violence a solution to anything? Does war really accomplish anything? Is the loss of millions of lives justified? The reality to this reader is no to each question.

The reader will identify this book readily with the political issues of our times. A battle between Muslims and all Non-Muslims ensues; some items in the book have already come to pass. The question is, will the rest?

Reviewed by: Jim Greenwald (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

The Warrior Among Us is a science fiction, political novel about the future. After a nuclear war annihilates an entire civilization on the planet Sarnificus and the United States falls off the international stage when Congress becomes impotent after years of increased partisan politics, and is unable to function. The world becomes a battleground centered in the deserts of the Middle East. Finally, Deke, a U.S. Marine, takes up arms with another nation's army in an attempt to save the world from itself by the year 2025. Can he save Earth? Discover our destiny in this suspense filled novel.

Wraith, by James R. Hannibal

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MWSA Review

Wraith is a masterful telling of a story that is current and extraordinarily believable in its authenticity. Hannibal has revealed the secret s behind the curtains of weapon strategy and tactical employment in a terrifyingly real scenario. He brings his own experiences and skills into his saga that leaves no doubt that he knows of what he writes. Realistic and believable dialogue enhances the readability of this story and pulls the reader into the tale. His characters are well developed and the reader feels that he knows them and feels their emotions as the characters interact.  The development of the plot from weaving diverse individual stories that merge into the final climax and brings all the charters together in a thrilling ending leaves the reader satisfied and wanting more from this author. A thoroughly engrossing, action-packed tale of authentic characters fighting for their beliefs while demonstrating personal emotions that make the reader empathize with each one.  This is a story that can be enjoyed by all.

Reviewed by: Franklin Evans (August 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Bestselling thriller writer Clive Cussler has enthusiastically endorsed WRAITH, a new techno-thriller and first novel by former Stealth Bomber pilot James R. Hannibal: 

"Hannibal brings together a terrific mix of real air technology with intrigue and nonstop action. A true suspenseful story that will keep you turning the pages until the exciting finale; it really is a great tale."

Black Wings, by Kathleen Jabs

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MWSA Review

Jabs novel “Black Wings” weaves a tale of intrigue around the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD., complete with secret societies, plots and the ever present need to maintain the image of the Academy.

Loyalty, honor and friendship are strong threads and often we find ourselves torn in our decisions based on one or all of them. Bridget Donovan focuses on finding out what really happened to her roommate and friend Audrey Richards whose untimely death in an apparent botched carrier take-off leaves many questions behind. Deciding what is most important is a trial of who we are and what we are made of.

The story flips back to academy days and back again, the tale unwinding slowly and painfully. Thriller readers will love Jabs novel and military folks will be caught up in things all too familiar to them.   

Reviewed by: Jim Greenwald (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Lieutenant Bridget Donovan suspect the worst when her Naval Academy roommate, Audrey Richards, perishes in a botched take-off from an aircraft carrier. The Navy says it's an accident, but facts don't add up. Could it be a suicide, or murder? Donovan's unofficial investigation into what really happened, both during their past Academy days and Richards' final hours, forces her to examine the concepts of honor, justice and the role of loyalty in pursuit of those ideals.

Rogue Crusader, by John R. Monteith

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MWSA Review

The best praise an author can receive is that readers want to read more of his work and I certainly do. I didn’t realize when reviewing Rogue Crusader that this is the third book in hopefully a long-lived series about ex-U.S. naval officer, Jake Slate. It’s not necessary to have first read the other two installments as author Monteith gives enough background on this rogue hero and his friends that the reader can, pardon the pun, dive right in.

Monteith is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who served aboard a Trident Missile submarine and as an instructor of combat tactics at the U.S. Naval Submarine School which makes me wonder if some of his plot lines are written from experience. If so, that authenticity makes for an engrossing and exciting action story mixed with the horrifying feeling that deep water combat terrorism threats happen and the rest of us just don’t know about it. But it also means that Jake Slate might be based on some real person and we have that sort of fearless, kickass expertise on our side.

Monteith is able to balance the highly technical descriptions of submarines and submarine warfare for those who understand such things with just enough additional information for those of us who don’t. Monteith is a rousing storyteller and master and commander of this genre. I am eagerly awaiting Jake Slate’s next adventure.

Reviewed by: Gail Chatfield (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

A hijacked Israeli submarine. An unprovoked attack against a U.S. Navy destroyer. A civilian oil tanker with a secret cargo of nuclear weapons. Together, they add up to an ingenious plan to penetrate the ballistic missile defense of the United States.

Standing in the path of destruction is a crew of mercenary submarine sailors, led by ex-U.S. naval officer, Jake Slate. Exiled for crimes that should have earned him a military execution, Slate is not anyone’s idea of a hero.

But he’s all we’ve got….

Mining Sacred Ground, by David E. Knop

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MWSA Review

Peter Romero--a Marine veteran, former military policeman, and disgraced tribal policeman for the Cochiti pueblo--is an unlikely and reluctant hero in this murder mystery set in the world of the Arizona desert. When Romero's cousin is murdered, no one seems interested in pursuing justice except Romero and an odd old Apache, Tag Taza. Bad things keep coming from all sides: meth-dealing biker gangs, assaults, arrests by the local police, a sniper, pot thieves, and a disgruntled wife. At one point, Taza says "I look for trouble and there you are."

Like in Tony Hillerman's novels set on the Navaho reservation, the reader is immersed in the way of life and belief systems of the pueblos and the Apache. Soon Romero's present day becomes populated by sightings of Coyote, the trickster, as well as visions of his dead cousin and other ghosts. Rather than leading our protagonist safely through trouble, these send him into more danger and disconnect him further from anything normal until the reader wonders if modern day troubles can be confronted and defeated using spirits of the past or will the mortal clay of Peter Romero be destroyed.

David E. Knop has written a fast-paced, gritty novel of a spirit warrior's journey to find a killer so his cousin's ghost can finally rest on sacred ground.

Reviewed by: Marcia J Sargent (February 9, 2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Ancestral spirits demand that Marine veteran Peter Romero protect the secrecy of a sacred burial ground, and the world becomes a stranger place than he’d ever understood. He is pitted against a psychotic anthropology professor in a life-and-death struggle through the hills, arroyos, and caves of central Arizona, and into another world. 

When Romero’s cousin is murdered, the former military policeman is astonished that the local sheriff shows no enthusiasm for solving the crime. He is forced to recognize that, after a military career, greater danger lies ahead in his civilian life.

Romero takes up arms to mete out his own justice, but he must decide if he belongs to the world he sees, or to a spirit world in which he discovers the strength of his ancestors. He makes their power a part of his being. As a spirit warrior, Romero battles self-doubt, his wife’s threats of divorce, and local law enforcement who plan his murder. He confronts an armed gang bent on revenge, skirts federal agents intent on stopping him, and evades the deadly fire of a deranged sniper. 

Aided by a wise tribal elder, Romero uncovers a tangle of clues that link his cousin’s death to trafficking in ancient treasures and a deadly conspiracy that centers him in their crosshairs. Romero combines his combat experience and the fighting skills of his ancestors to dispatch his enemies and protect an ancient secret.

Another Colorado Kill, by Bob Doerr

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MWSA Review

Fun, fun fun!

I read this book in one day -- so intrigued that I ignored phone calls and snapped at the delivery man who brought a QVC package to my door and maliciously rang the doorbell. In fact, I was so into Jim West and his mystery-packed sojourn in Colorado Springs that I forgot to eat lunch -- and trust me, that NEVER happens.

I had read one of author Bob Doerr's earlier Jim West novels, so I already loved the humble, likeable, and insightful protagonist. A retired OSI detective, Jim is as comfortable as a bathrobe and a cup of chai tea latte. But don't let that low-key charisma fool you. He always ends up in the thick of things and if you are going to solve a msytery, that's where you want to be if you are an armchair puzzler, like me. Knowing all these things, I saved Another Colorado Kill for a cold, cloudy day with no other plans.

So this morning, I curled up in my tempur-pedic with Rosie (my poodle) and tore open the envelope that brought this novel to me. The cover is deceptively lovely -- you KNOW the book is a mystery/thriller by the huge, blood-red title -- but there are mountains and blue skies and a shadowy lake. 

"Cool," I told Rosie. "A mystery and a vacation."

I opened the book and right off the bat, I knew that Jim's golf trip with buffoon-buddy Perry Mason (I kid you not) is going to go awry. I'm okay with that because, let's face it, dead bodies are a lot more exciting than eighteen holes of golf. Before long, Jim has met hot-mama police Lieutenant Michelle Prado and they hit if off  before the corpse in the john reaches room temperature. Jim is such a nice guy that I was rooting for him to get the girl -- any girl, but Lt. Prado seems to be his perfect match. She's smart, connected, witty -- and she has eyes that make West tingle. A good start, if you ask me.

The plot is as twisty as a piece of liquorice. There's a hospital maze, a kindly old woman named Doris, an exciting jeep toss, bodies dropping left and right, a mysterious black-helmeted motor cyclist with a gun, an eccentric waiter, a couple hot waitres...er...servers, a strange FBI agent wearing sunglasses inside the hotel, and a muscle-bound, sharp-eyed young forensics expert named Ollie. Then it REALLY gets exciting.

What makes a Bob Doerr novel so engaging is that we see the problem through Jim's trained eyes. We have all the same pieces of the puzzle, but Doerr makes sure that we don't figure it out too soon. He keeps us noodling along, matching our ability to sort through a spiralling array of facts, suggestions, images, and background clutter with Jim's. And -- in the end -- there's always a promise of more.

Another Colorado Kill is a guilty pleasure on the same level with the ID Channel and anything chocolately. 

Reviewed by: Joyce Faulkner (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Another Colorado Kill is the fourth book in the Jim West mystery/thriller series. In this fast paced story, Jim and friend Edward “Perry” Mason are in route to Colorado Springs to play some golf when they discover a dead body, an apparent murder victim, at a rest stop along the interstate highway. Perry’s stress levels hit the max during the subsequent police interview. He has a heart attack and the golf outing falls apart. 

When the police find two more murder victims the next day, both killed with the same weapon that killed the victim whom West had discovered the day before, and the female victim has his name written on a notepad in her purse, their focus on West intensifies. West explains that by chance both the female victim and he had eaten at the same restaurant, but at separate tables, the night before. She had been with two men at the restaurant and had left before he had a chance to talk to her. They had met a few times in the past, but weren’t close. A Sheriff’s deputy, Lieutenant Michelle Prado befriends West, and the two work together in an effort to find the real murderer. As their relationship develops, West finds himself physically attracted to her, but does she feel the same way? 

Soon an attempt is made on Jim’s life and he realizes that for some reason the killer, like the police, believes that West knows more about the killings than he has admitted. Jim finds himself playing “cat and mouse” with the killer while trying to convince the police that their focus on him is a waste of time and resources. 

When the FBI moves in to help out, the pressure to solve the case mounts. West and Lieutenant Prado discover the local murders may be connected to a larger, nationwide FBI investigation into organized crime and political corruption. West finally has permission to go home to Clovis and is about to leave when the killer shoots Ollie, a young female Deputy whom had become friends with West. The killer leaves her to die on a dirt road. The killer had gone too far. As Michelle leaves with Ollie’s crumpled body in her back seat, West picks up Ollie’s issued 9mm and heads off into the woods to track the killer. The time had come to stop the killings. If he can catch up with the killer, only one of them will return alive.

Solomon’s Men, by Glenn Starkey

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MWSA Review

Solomon's Men is a fast-paced and enjoyable read.  Glenn Starkey’s protagonist, Greg Valdez is an art thief with a shadowy past.  Commissioned to steal a priceless artifact from an ancient Portuguese monastery, Valdez soon discovers that possessing the artifact puts him and his family in danger.  Hunted by a secret sect of Templar Knights and the secretive millionaire who hired him, Valdez has to use all of the skills from his past to save his son, himself, and the woman he loves. 

Glenn Starkey’s writing reminds me of other great authors in the genre.  I couldn’t put this book down and wanted to keep reading it.  If you liked The Saint series or Tom Clancy, you’ll love this book.  The ending will surprise you. 

Reviewed by: Edward Cox (November 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Greg Valdez operates just the other side of the line, as a thief for private collectors. He's known as the best in the business. You name it, he's stolen it-from jewels to fine art. Now his mission takes him to an ancient monastery in Portugal, to steal a priceless artifact-the true Shroud of Turin-from beneath the altar. Centuries-old oaths and traditions come into play as modern day Templar Knights launch an international search for the thief and the Shroud. Glenn Starkey has written a book that will put you on the edge of your seat and keep you there. A real thriller in the tradition of the genre, Solomon's Men will take you on a roller coaster ride you'll wish would never end. You'll be asking yourself when Glenn Starkey's next book will hit the stands.

Silent Enemy, by Thomas W. Young

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MWSA Review

Don't bother to set your alarm clock... you'll still be reading this book when it goes off in the morning!

Thomas W. Young's Silent Enemy is a real page turner. After a terrorist bombing leads to a mass casualty event, the US military hastily arranges a medevac flight from Afghanistan to Germany, where patients--both American and Afghan--can receive the medical attention they so desperately need. By chance this flight (in a specially-configured C-5 Galaxy cargo jet) reunites the two main characters from Young's earlier novel, "The Mullah's Storm." 

Captain Michael Parsons (now C-5 pilot and aircraft commander) and Sergeant Major Sophia Gold (who was slightly injured in the terrorist bombing) have every reason to expect an uneventful flight; but what unfolds on that flight is anything but "normal." Shortly after takeoff, they learn that a bomb and perhaps other "surprises" have been placed on their jet and that they're not the only ones in this predicament. As a result, no country wants the stricken jet to land on its territory. This leads to a near globe-spanning journey that repeatedly tests the abilities of all onboard. Rather than droning along at high altitudes on autopilot, the crew and passengers face a harrowing series of challenges: bombs, hurricanes, irate Venezuelan fighter pilots, volcanoes, suicide attacks, and much more face this hapless C-5 crew. 

The reader gets hints throughout the book of an existing relationship/attraction between Parsons and Gold--especially given the ordeal through which they had to struggle during the first novel. However, no one has time to work on relationships when they must deal with a seemingly endless series of life-threatening events, which are thrown at the crew in quick succession. 

If you crave nonstop action, Silent Enemy will not disappoint.

Reviewed by: John Cathcart (2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Four years after the events of The Mullah's Storm ("an irresistible adventure story"-USA Today), jihadists strike the Afghan National Police training center in Kabul, killing many and wounding others, including Sergeant Major Sophia Gold. The injured are hurriedly loaded onto a C-5 Galaxy bound for Germany, but once airborne, the commander, Major Michael Parson, receives a message. The jihadists have placed bombs on some planes leaving Afghanistan, and the Galaxy is one of them. If Parson tries to descend-the bomb will go off.

Parson, Gold, and everybody else aboard are trapped at altitude, until either they or someone on the ground can figure out what to do. They can refuel in midair, but not indefinitely. The aircraft is deteriorating, the condition of the patients is worsening, the crew is tiring-and their biggest challenges are yet to come. 

Child Finder: Revelation, by Michael Angley

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MWSA Review

Child Finder: Revelation, the third in award-winning novelist Mike Angley’s Child Finder Trilogy, lives up the promise of its two predecessors and then trots another mile down the road. Back are the protagonists readers have come to know and love―synesthetic psychic Pat O’Donnell and family, John Helmsley, Colonel Swank, and Woody Davis. This time, the good-guy cast includes such luminaries as the President of the United States and the Pope. The antagonists aren’t just any old kidnappers or run of the mill psychopaths. Lurking stage left is North Korea’s Dear Leader and his minions. At stake are the lives of two precocious, psychic little girls―twin daughters of the US Ambassador to South Korea.

Like Angley’s prior volumes, Revelation is filled with secrets―codes, equipment, paint, airplanes, weapons, abilities, and adventures. The characters are both tough and sensitive. Their stories explore the usual thriller theme―good and evil. Their battles are cataclysmic, their issues primeval. It’s the stuff of superhero action movies with dark undertones. 

Don’t let the drama fool you.

Angley’s story explores politics and religion with the same sense of fun and what’s-under-the-lid excitement as Steven Spielberg did with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. Who are these girls? Why do they matter so much that the President is willing to risk Pat―an important resource for the US (and all mankind)? Why do they matter so much that the Vatican gets involved?  They are so cute, so sweet―so adorable. But they are just little girls―aren’t they?    

Readers are seldom treated to such a clever, thoughtful and intriguing tale. The suspense takes two forms―action and philosophy.  I mean it―philosophy.  Not just the who, what, when and where of things, but the why. For those of us who seldom go through a day without pondering the mysteries of life, Angley’s sojourn into alternate possibilities is delightful. In particular, I love the short discussion about fiction toward the end of the piece. I have always found fiction to be the more eloquent genre―because the author is free to interpret his message―and to offer his version of the world to the reader as entertainment.  Angley’s coy suggestion that the classified Level 4 secrets revealed to Pat O’Donnell are really true makes the reader chuckle but five minutes after finishing the book, persistent thoughts tease the cerebellum like feathers tickle the nose. Could it be? Let’s see what Google does say about The Speech of the Unknown….Hmmm.

Reviewed by: Joyce Faulkner (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Child Finder: Revelation is the highly-anticipated conclusion to the Child Finder Trilogy. The Library Journal called the series first novel, Child Finder, a compelling debut novel, and, a real find, and placed it on its prestigious Summer Reads List for 2009. Both the debut novel and the trilogy s second story, Child Finder: Resurrection, earned national level book awards. In Child Finder: Revelation, United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Patrick O Donnell faces his most challenging and life-threatening mission. North Korean terrorists stage a brazen attack on the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, stealing his twin daughters in the assault. The eight-year-old girls are powerful psychics with amazing extrasensory gifts, and it is clear that the North Koreans abducted them because of these abilities. Only one man can rescue them. Patrick O Donnell is the government s top agent with his own psychic abilities...skills crucial to finding the Ambassador s daughters deep inside North Korea. From the outset of the operation, O Donnell senses there is much more about these girls that goes unspoken. Head nods. Winks. Secrets shared between his boss, the President of the United States, and the Vatican. These are all signs of a mystery to which he is not privy. One thing is made clear in abundance: he must rescue the girls and bring them back to America with an urgency he has never experienced before. He seeks guidance and counsel in his Catholic faith, and during his recitation of the Holy Rosary, the Virgin Mary speaks to him. Her words carry as much seriousness about the rescue as his conversations with his mentor and the President. The one thing the Mother of God seems unwilling to tell him; however, is whether or not he will come back from his mission alive. Will Agent O Donnell be successful in rescuing the Ambassador's daughters? If so, will he return with them to see his family again? Will he be able to unravel the intrigue between the Oval Office and the Vatican? Other than their obvious psychic abilities, what makes the twins so special that their rescue consumes Washington, DC and Rome? Perhaps O Donnell will receive a revelation that will explain it all...and if he does, it may be something he wishes he never knew.

Aldric & Anneliese, by Harry E. Gilleland Jr.

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MWSA Review

You can find just about anything you’re looking for when you read this special story.  If you want the thrill of victory on the battlefield, you’ll find it; if you want the gruesomeness of war, you’ll find it; if you want romance, intrigue, betrayal, tragedy, revenge, hopelessness, and ultimate redemption, you’ll find it.  Aldric and Annelieseis a tale for young and old.

Set in Eastern Europe during times of kings, knights, and fair ladies, it is a compelling story of the elderly King Reinhardt who grooms his son, Edmund, to succeed him. To guard and watch over him, Reinhardt choses the young warrior, Aldric, the son of a faithful servant who had died defending his King.  Edmund and Aldric became friends and vow to never let the other one down.  They travel to Western Europe to study.  Both convert to Christianity and make vows of chastity and chivalry until they find their true loves.  Upon their return home Edmund becomes King.  He learns also that a marriage for him to Ursula, the daughter of the leader of a wayward tribe, has been arranged so that the tribe will be willing to peacefully join the five nations that King Reinhardt has already brought together. 

After Ursula and Edmund are married, she is more impressed with Aldric’s strength, both mentally and physically.  She is amused with her fascination for him. 

Untimely and tragic events spell the death of Ursula’s father leaving her jealous brother, Deitmar, to convince her to betray her new husband so they can rule the new nation themselves.  King Edmund dies on the battlefield and a wounded and despairing Aldric cannot forgive himself for not being able to keep his King safe. 

A winding tale of near death, survival and despair brings Aldric to the beautiful Anneliese.  The noble Aldric rescues her from a life of indentured servitude following the deaths of her father and brothers in the same battle where King Edmund died.  Anneliese renews Aldric’s spirit, but he keeps his vow of celibacy until they marry.  The tale continues with more intrigue, sorrow and problematic justice in the midst of great emotional turmoil.  Finally, it leaves us with the everlasting hope that good can overcome evil.

Review by Fran McGraw (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

When honor was everything, and your word, a binding contract, Aldric was knight and champion to the king. A tale of love and devotion, chivalry and honor, this great tale held me captive through to the end. I personally feel this item is good read to younger children, as a bedtime story, young adults venturing into reading for themselves, and adults as a light tale of true honor and integrity. There was no one part of the book I liked above the other, except for the morals and integrity listed within. Through action and word, Aldric is a prime example of a true friend, a great leader, and a person true to their word. Once it was over, I wanted more stories from this author. The tale was fast paced and one I couldn't put down. I felt transported back in time to a year where life was physically hard, and not always rewarding. Lessons learned often came at a high price. I would recommend this book to all readers. It is one that whisks you away into another world. It transports you through great imagery and action. A whole new adventure to be found. The author is very talented. I will be searching other books out from this author and adding them to my collection.

A Wound in the Mind, by Francis J. Partel

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MWSA Review

Every boy who dreams of being a Sailor or a Marine should read this book.  The story is fiction, but is dedicated in part to Lance Corporal Dana C. Darnell, USMC, who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross in Vietnam in 1967 for heroic action at Khe Sanh. 

The author, Francis J. Partel, Jr., weaves a tale of intrigue following the arrest of Lance Corporal Cachora who had won the Navy Cross at Khe Sanh for heroic action during those intense battles now known as The Hill Fights.  The young, quiet marine who was recovering from wounds, was on R&R in Hong Kong with his buddies when he suddenly went berserk at the sound of exploding firecrackers thrown behind his group by a passerby.  Sadly, Cachora swung at whoever was near and broke the jaw of a superior officer.

Anytime a military man hits a superior officer it is serious business, and there seemed to be only trouble for the Defense Team.  The story of how the Defense Team was chosen endears you to those Navy men.  Then, how they came about finding the truth and presenting it through their courtroom endeavors so to convince the jurors makes an incredible story. 

 The courtroom scenes take place aboard a ship off the coast of Vietnam and all the while the business of war goes on.  This story brings to light the pain and suffering of young men who find themselves in a place they didn’t choose to be in, and by civilized birthright are, as the author states, "conscientious objectors of killing." 

 And so I repeat, every boy who dreams of being a Sailor or a Marine should read this book.  Every military man who has suffered post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as every doctor treating those who are diagnosed with PTSD should read this book.

Reviewed by: Fran McGraw (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

It is 1968.  The US naval war in Vietnam is at peak level of intensity.  USS Ticonderoga, Attack Carrier 14, is in the Gulf of Tonkin for her fifth combat cruise of the war prosecuting Operation Rolling Thunder.  The historical naval novel has moved forward from the Napoleonic Wars of C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian to the modern Navy

The ships and weapons may have changed, but time-tested traits of courage and leaderhip remain very much in demand. Ltjg. Cannon has just returned to his stateroom when Gunnery Sergeant Mates phones him to take on the defense of a marine's marine who won the Navy Cross in the brutal Hill Fights of Khe Sanh in 1967.  LCPL Cachora is charged with assault and battery while on liberty in Hong Kong.  Ltjg. Cannon along with Ens. Chase take on an uphill struggle to defend their client.  With the odds stacked against them, they creatively mount a spirited defense.  This is the thrilling drama of Cahora's court-martial.

Pass in Review-Duty, by Brian Utermahlen

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MWSA Review

If you love a long read, if you want to get to know the characters in this story better than your best friends, if you like reading informed dialogue, dive into "Duty." Brian Utermahlen knows human nature and he knows his history. Dave Nolan, soldier, husband, lover and father takes you into the trenches of WWI France and into his heart. Loyalty and honor are as natural as breathing to him and he did not learn those at West Point. He brought those qualities and a brilliant mind with him when he left his river town in Pennsylvania.

Utermahlen takes his reader into Army ranks and personalities and sheds new light on people who shaped American destiny. Whether you follow Nolan into the battlefields of Europe or Army bases with two women who have captured his heart, you will not want to put this book down until you discover Dave Nolan's choices in love and loyalty.

Reviewed by: Carmen Stenholm (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Pass in Review is a trilogy about men and women totally involved in the love-hate relationship of military service to country. This is a saga of a 20th Century military family … three generations and their contemporaries – some famous, some not, but all of them intensely American. Pass in Review – Duty is the story of Dave Nolan – part man, part legend – who leaves a small river town in Pennsylvania to chase his destiny in the Army as a professional soldier. To him the Army is more than just a career, it is the essence of who he is – his very life. From the Plain of West Point, high above the Hudson, to the trenches of WWI France and the wearying decades between the two world wars of the 20th century, he devotes himself wholly and tirelessly to his country and the Army, even when they do not reciprocate. And woven throughout this saga is the historically accurate story of Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and others who graduated from West Point and interact with the fictional Nolan, all of whom forged the victories on battlefields around the world, across a century. They along with Nolan, his friends, family and others – like the legendary “Wild Bill” Donovan, Dave Nolan’s mentor in war and during the peace – make and mold their Army, their country, their Alma Mater and their world.

No Paved Road to Freedom, by Sharon Rushton

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MWSA Review

No Paved Road to Freedom by Sharon Rushton is a gripping page-turner about one man’s quest for freedom against overwhelming odds. It is an inspirational story about a remarkable man who gave up everything (family, career, fiancée) to escape the horrors of communism. Sharon’s book is also a cautionary tale of what governments can do in the guise of “helping” their people.  It is almost universally known now that Communist Russia was responsible for the deaths of over 20 million of her people; Sharon’s story brings the horrors of the purges down to the individual and family level. It is a remarkable and powerful book.

No Paved Road to Freedom is listed as a fictionalized historical biography. It is the story of Cornel Dolana, a real person who escaped Communist Romania. Sharon has done her homework; the book is based on many hours of interviews with her subject, and is backed by solid historical research.

Cornel Dolana’s family owned a 300 acre farm prior to World War II, land they had accumulated by hard work. They produced plenty for their own family and enough to make a comfortable living. Then, with the advent of World War II, formerly neutral Romania was forced to join forces with Hitler’s Germany. Cornel’s father, Marin, was drafted to fight for the Third Reich. It was the beginning of a descent into hell for the family as the war came to their village and they waited anxiously to see if Marin would return.

 Marin returned at the end of the war, but Romania had fallen into the Soviet sphere of influence, and the communist state was determined to turn Romania (and all the countries under their influence) into a “worker’s paradise.” Gradually, under the guise of “helping” their subjects, they imposed a police state where freedom steadily eroded until there was no freedom at all. The Dolana family eventually was forced to give up their land to the “collective,” the people began to starve, and eventually Marin was sent to prison on trumped up charges.  The hardships all of this brought to the family made Cornel decide, after listening to the Voice of America, that he would risk all to escape. The reader will not be able to put the book down once Cornel plunges off a boat into the frigid Danube and heads under close pursuit to Yugoslavia. There is no paved road to freedom; Cornel endured interrogations, harsh jail sentences, frigid mountain passes and treachery to get to Italy, and then eventually the United States, the beacon of freedom. The story of the unbelievable hardships he endured to escape the clutches of communism is inspirational to say the least.

Sharon Rushton’s book should be widely read. It is a reminder of how easy our life is, but how fragile and precious our freedoms are.  Either the soft tyranny of the welfare state or the hard tyranny of communism erode freedom and take away initiative. This would be a particularly instructive book for high school students; it would be a revelation for them.  

Reviewed by: Weymouth Symmes (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

No Paved Road To Freedom is a gripping and emotional story that humanizes the impact of communist occupation in Romania after World War II. It is relevant, it inspires, and it reminds us that freedom is precious. Based on a true story, it documents the extraordinary courage of Cornel Dolana and his family as they pay an incredible price for resisting communism. Cornel makes up his mind to escape the oppression and uses his ingenuity to put his plan in place. His fortitude keeps him moving toward his goal, despite enduring enormous setbacks, brutality, and extreme outdoor elements that few humans could survive.

The Power and the Glory, by William C. Hammond

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MWSA Review

Nautical-themed historical fiction at its best… and swashbuckling good fun too!

William C. Hammond’s “The Power and the Glory” is the third novel in an action-packed series focusing on the nautical adventures of a fictional New England family during the late 1790s and early 1800s.  The Cutler family controlled a vast array of commercial enterprises and is closely connected with the fledgling US Navy in the decade following the American Revolution—when the United Kingdom and France swapped roles as enemy/ally of the US.  Well-researched and well-written, Hammond’s work combines fast-paced fiction with history—masterfully weaving together real people, places and events with fictional characters to conjure up a totally immersive, detailed and believable yarn.  Within the first couple of chapters, Hammond had me completely “reeled in.”  

As I eagerly raced through the pages, I found myself comparing Hammond’s work to two other, well-known books: Patrick O’Brian’s “Master and Commander” and Michael Crichton’s “Pirate Latitudes.”  I can honestly say that Hammond’s book merits the comparison… and comes out on top in many areas.

Like many others who watched the 2003 movie “Master and Commander” starring Russell Crowe, I picked up a copy of the first in author Patrick O’Brian’s 21-installment Aubrey-Maturin series of books—bearing the same title and upon which the movie was based.  I must admit to being consistently challenged by the often impenetrable nautical jargon O’Brian sprinkled throughout the novel.  Hammond, on the other hand, has struck the right balance of historical and lexicographical faithfulness while employing a writing style a bit less taxing for today’s reader.

At times “The Power and the Glory” is also evocative of Michael Crichton’s “Pirate Latitudes;” but seemed to hold together better than Crichton’s posthumously published work.  Hammond’s narrative was extremely well crafted, much easier to follow, and benefited from a seemingly closer entwinement with historical fact.  Noteworthy in this regard was Hammond’s descriptions of the behind-the-scenes political and diplomatic machinations amongst the various nations and their Navies as they struggled to control sea lanes, commerce and territory across the Atlantic and Caribbean.  In this regard, the background he provides on the Haitian Independence struggle is particularly fascinating.

“The Power and the Glory” will appeal to a wide audience and is a quick and enjoyable read.  My only regret is that I joined Lt. Richard Cutler (the novel’s main character) a bit late—starting off with Mr. Hammond’s third novel instead of his first!

Reviewed by: John Cathcart (December 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

This third novel in William C. Hammond's nautical fiction series is set in the late 1790s during the Quasi-War with France and offers readers a thrilling look at the new American Navy during the Age of Fighting Sail. Following in the wake of his previous novels, A Matter of Honor and For Love of Country, it features the adventures of the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts, and an ever-expanding cast of characters some real, some fictional that includes Lt. Richard Cutler along with Capt. Thomas Truxtun, Capt. Silas Talbot, and other naval heroes personifying the best of American honor and courage as they confront French pirates off the coast of Nantucket and heavily armed French frigates in the Caribbean. 

Hammond packs his book with electrifying sea battles and daring challenges to French colonial rule in Haiti and the West Indies. He also offers fascinating glimpses into everyday life of the era, from the bedroom of the Cutler clapboard home in Hingham, to the family's sugar cane plantation in Barbados, to Adm. Sir Hyde Parker's flagship in Jamaica. And at the center of all the excitement, passion and intrigue are two of the finest frigates ever constructed, USS Constellation and her sister ship, USS Constitution. Lauded for his careful research, attention to detail, and thorough knowledge of the ways of the sea, Hammond brings history alive while telling a rollicking good tale.