Thriller

Title: Jugs & Bottles
Author: Nelson O. Ottenhausen
Genre: Thriller Mystery
Reviewer: Jim Greenwald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0979164257

Jami Unice Gamble, a woman deaf since birth, is targeted for murder after witnessing a Mafia style killing and identifying the two killers to the police. She, along with her hearing aid dog Bottles, becomes involved in a story of romance, chaos and murder by organized crime as the Morgan brothers, a contracted two-man hit team, tries to kill her.

The brothers, Vinnie and Bennie Morgan, are petty crooks and amateurs at trying to commit murder, having never killed anyone before. They make several bungled attempts on Jami’s life and get themselves into a series of comedic situations. Jami’s dog Bottles tries to befriend the criminal duo each time he meets them, but fear of the dog and the brothers’ reactions in trying to avoid him only causes them no end of embarrassing moments. The ongoing encounters between the dog and the brothers are oblivious to Jami because of her deafness.

Lt. Randall Casey, a handsome police officer, is the only one in the police department who can communicate with their key witness to the mob style execution. He takes on the responsibility to protect Jami and soon begins a romance with her. His twelve-year-old son Joey is also deaf, and he too likes the woman and her dog, forming an immediate bond with both of them.

During a failed attempt to kill Jami, the Morgan brothers end up in the hospital and another Mafia mobster tries to fulfill the murder contract in order to meet a deadline ordered by mob bosses. He too fails because Bottles goes through an instant metamorphic personality transformation from a docile and gentle pet into a primeval attack animal, killing the assailant in a necessary act to save the members of his adopted pack.

After the death of the assailant, Lt. Casey and members of the police department wonder how to keep Jami safe from the Mafia in the long term, but an unknown ally solves the problem and for a reason that will never be known by the police.

Title: Palmyra, Isle of Death
Author: Karl Boyd
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: Stephen Phillips

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0557256267

The following is historical fact as recorded in the Naval Achieves: "In 1816, a pirate ship named "Esperanza," reportedly filled with stolen Inca gold, engaged in a horrendous battle with another unknown pirate ship. The Esperanza sank its opponent, but soon foundered off the shores of Palmyra. But, before the ship sank, the crew removed the treasure and hid it somewhere on the atoll. To date, the treasure has never been recovered."
In Karl Boyd's novel, Palmyra, Isle of Death, two modern day treasure hunters, Bill "Skeeter" Whitaker and Clete Palmer discover the facts listed above and set off to see if they can find and recover the treasure; and return it to the Hawaiian authorities for historical purposes and any monetary reward offered. Along the way, they meet up and join forces with two other modern day pirates, Carter Jennings and his buddy, Jimmy Henderson, who are also after the treasure, but for their own greedy reasons.

Karl Boyd uses his superb writing ability to blend actual fact with his embellished ideas of what happened aboard the Esperanza and its opponent during the battle, the aftermath, shipwreck on Palmyra, three years of deprivation that followed and the final desperate attempt for the few survivors to reach safety.

As this rollicking tale weaves its way between the beautiful isles of Hawaii and the far off isolated atoll of Palmyra, the reader encounters ghosts of the past, modern day murder, lies, greed, betrayal, unrequited love and revenge.

Even after the conclusion of a well told tale, readers will wonder if Karl Boyd's assumptions of where the treasure still resides is pure fiction, or could it be more historical fact waiting to be discovered? But, in reality, only Palmyra, the Isle of Death knows for sure.

Title: Moryak: A Novel of the Russian Revolution
Author: Lee Mandel
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: John R. R. Faulkner

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1440141509

President Theodore Roosevelt learns that it is the intention of Russian Tsar Nicholas II to sabotage the Portsmouth Peace Conference in 1905. In response, he sends Lieutenant Stephen Morrison on a top secret mission with British agent Sidney Reilly to kidnap the Tsar and remove him from Russia. Morrison, a complex man, who was born in Russia, is also fluent in the language and is knowledgeable in Russian political affairs.
The mission goes awry when Morrison is captured and later sentenced to death. Through a twist of fate, he assumes the identity of the leader of the infamous Potemkin mutiny and is sent to the Imperial Labor Camp on Solovetsky Island. Due to his fearless and violent nature, he catches the attention of the Bolshevik prisoners and becomes known as "Moryak" (Russian for Sailor). Upon his release from ten years in prison, Morrison is invited to join the Bolsheviks. Soon, he is able to infiltrate Lenin's inner circle working as a spy for the Allies during the Great War. Morrison's long and complex mission comes to a harrowing conclusion on the eve of the Russian civil war.

Title: From China with Love
Author: Karl Boyd
Gener: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Reviewer: Mike Mullins

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1604520353

If China is to survive, it must have more land for its millions of citizens. The Chairmen of the Chinese Republic tasks his ministers to formulate a ten-year plan to conquer all of Mexico, the U. S. A., and Canada, thereby turning the territory into "New China" while avoiding a horrific third world war.

Within twelve months, the strategy is finalized and the multi-pronged invasion of North America begins quietly. The devilishly clever operation is totally unobserved by the American public, their military and/or politicians, and their neighbors to the north and south.

The diversified main characters are two new mothers from Los Angeles, and their babies attempting to reach safety inland; a college student from Utah whose family has been wiped out; a police lieutenant from Sulfur Springs, Colorado, the only survivor on his shift and tasked with trying to save as many citizens as possible while awaiting the conquering forces; plus a young FBI agent whose father was killed in the attack.

As the few lucky survivors struggle with their new situations in life and deal with the invaders, along the way there is mystery, suspense, danger and romance, together with a terrible realization that perhaps the United States is soon to be a thing of the past.

As with all of Karl Boyd's novels, the ending is unexpected and decidedly disarming. You'll be tempted to turn to that last page, but please don't until you arrive there naturally. Why spoil a wonderful novel

Title: Darkness into Light: A Post World War ll Sequel and Thriller
Author: Richard S. Baty
Genre: Fiction
Reviewer: Cox, Ed (2012)

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 9781462022144

Darkness into Light is the story of a world trying to find its bearings after the upheaval of World War II. It is also the story of a man and a woman trying to find each other in war-ravaged Europe. The two go to unimaginable extremes to fulfill their objective, including stints in the intelligence world. The result is a stunning and unimagined conclusion.