Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 262

Review: THE SILVER BELL by June Winton

Bad cover that could’ve used a graphic designer. As an artist, I have to point that out; however, as a reader, I try not to judge too much on the cover and give the story a shot. Unfortunately, the story was just as disappointing as the cover.


There’s this ski trip to Vancouver with Lacy and her mom. My god, it’s SLOW It gives off more than what you wanted and you don’t really want any of it.


A lousy read with a lousy cover.


My rating: 1 star

Review: DEATH BY MIDNIGHT by Nicole Nadeau

Anna Goode is your typical teenager living in Washington, DC. Smart and witty, she really wasn’t like most girls. In fact, she was typically the odd-girl-out, especially with the popular ones—the mean girls that tormented her daily. With an IQ higher than Einstein, Anna was considered a genius but brandished a freak nerd by the other kids. The only one that ever treated like a normal teen was her best friend, Jake. Nonetheless, Anna’s smarts were both a blessing and curse. And that was why she kept her talents hidden. With the scientist in her, she secretly worked on these astonishing inventions, like sunglasses that could snap pictures, a voice-amplifying watch, and a ring that shocks you with electricity. What a cool kid!
Then some Russian thugs attack her household, kidnapping her and her parents. She manages to escape, but the head mobster will kill her parents unless she gives him what he wants. Who else but a genius could steal a dangerous virus and build a weapon? From that point forward, it’s a race against time.
Anna and Jake make a great team—fearless spy kids. You may not think that a nerd like Anna could hold her own against these mobsters, but she surprises you in the end. That girl kicks a#@! Well, she was going to need every ounce of strength against the Russians, which were bunch of scary dudes. I also liked that Jake was there for Anna every step of the way, being her protector and having her back.
As Anna gets closer and closer to the climactic end, she has to make a choice. Can she risk others by finishing this assignment? And, if she doesn’t, can she sacrifice her parents to save the world? Sacrifice the few to save the many?
Well-written and captivating, this action-packed tale is exciting from the very start. Nice cover design!
My rating: 5 stars

Review: VANISHED by Christer Tholin

Martin was on his first trip to Sweden since his divorce and separation from his daughter. On the first day, he meets a beautiful woman named Liv. The next day, when they agree to meet, she vanishes.
This seemed interesting to me. The character ruminates a lot, often thinking thoughts out loud, which was not bad, but it just didn’t make for very interesting reading. The guy didn’t really strike me as the detective type to be honest. In fact, he goes through the missing case like checking off groceries—remedial and ordinary. The writing was okay, but not too engaging. As you read on, the story gets a little more complicated and judicial.
An okay read.
My rating: 3 stars

Blog Tour: GUILTY KNOWLEDGE by Linda Griffin

Guilty Knowledgeby Linda Griffin
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GENRE:   Mystery/Romantic Suspense
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BLURB:
He's a witness. She may be lying. And he's falling in love with her. 

Detectives Jesse Aaron and Camille Farris have no leads in the murder of Rosa Logan when pretty blonde Sariah Brennan claims to have seen the killer—in a vision. Unfortunately the man she identifies is dead—or is he?

Sariah is an unsophisticated small town girl, but her background and her motives are mysterious. Jesse is increasingly convinced that she has guilty knowledge of the crime, even as he finds himself more and more attracted to her. Can he and Camille unravel the web of secrets before the killer strikes again?
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Excerpt:
 “Aaron!” The voice was unmistakable: Camille.
“Shit.” He let go of Sariah. She put a finger to her lips, grabbed her sweater and camisole, and stood up. He thought she might be amused—at least she didn’t appear to be angry. “Give me a minute,” he said. She went into the bedroom and closed the door. Jesse straightened his clothes, switched off the stereo, and went to let Camille in. “What’s up?” he asked.
She didn’t wait on formalities; she barged right in. “I knew you would want to see this,” she said as she handed him a folder. It contained a fax cover sheet and two documents: a high school transcript in the name of Rosanna Milne and a police report headed with the same name. He didn’t have to read the report to get the gist—attached to it was a photograph of a young woman with a black eye and a split lip. She looked about eighteen, but she bore an uncanny resemblance to Rosa Logan. He turned back to the cover sheet—it was from the Lyon County, Nevada Sheriff’s Office. It was the first lead to the real identity of their murder victim. He started to read the police report, a four-year-old assault complaint, but Camille interrupted. “Seriously?” she said. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“What?” He looked up at her. She was standing in the middle of the living room with her arms folded. She gave him a very dirty look, and then he realized what she had seen—Sariah’s purse was on the coffee table.

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  My review: A woman stopped by Detective Jesse Aaron’s office with info about a crime—a murder she saw….in a vision. Although warned to keep her “gift” a secret, she had to speak up because the killer would kill again. Of course, Jesse couldn’t say whether he believed her or not, but he knew she was hiding more than she was letting on. The strange woman identified the suspect, but the problem was that he was dead almost 3 years. Or was he?


The detective wanted to believe Sariah, so he checks her out—he credibility, her history, and so on. After all, “it takes a liar to know a liar.” He believed that she had “guilty knowledge.” Was she at the scene? Or did she have contact with the killer?


This was an interesting case that had a bizarre revelation. I was intrigued in the beginning, but then it kind of tapers off toward the end with its consistent lag and overfill on scene layout. Grand theft auto, child pornography, and a killer on the loose—all open cases that you find in this book. Although it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, it’s still a decent read.


My rating: 3 stars


AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I was born and raised in San Diego, California and earned a BA in English from San Diego State University and an MLS from UCLA. I began my career as a reference and collection development librarian in the Art and Music Section of the San Diego Public Library and then transferred to the Literature and Languages Section, where I had the pleasure of managing the Central Library’s Fiction collection. Although I also enjoy reading biography, memoir, and history, fiction remains my first love. In addition to the three R’s—reading, writing, and research—I enjoy Scrabble, movies, and travel.
My earliest ambition was to be a “book maker” and I wrote my first story, “Judy and the Fairies,” with a plot stolen from a comic book, at the age of six. I broke into print in college with a story in the San Diego State University literary journal, The Phoenix, but most of my magazine publications came after I left the library to spend more time on my writing
My stories, in every length from short shorts to novellas, have been published in numerous journals, including Eclectica, The Binnacle, The Nassau Review, Orbis, and Thema Literary Journal. Guilty Knowledge is my third novel from The Wild Rose Press. Seventeen Days was published in 2018 and The Rebound Effect in 2019.
Links: Website: http://www.lindagriffinauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaGriffinA
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindagriffin.author/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Guilty-Knowledge-Linda-Griffin-ebook/dp/B083RF42BV
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/guilty-knowledge/id1494641936
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/guilty-knowledge-linda-griffin/1136270983
Indiebooks: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781509230457
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/guilty-knowledge-4
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Linda Griffin will be awarding $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.



Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC - a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: HIT OR MISSUS by Gayle Carline (Book 2)

P.I. Peri was at it again. This time an old customer of hers dies suddenly of a heart attack. What’s the great mystery about that? I mean, the old lady was OLD. The thing was that she died shortly after her husband’s death. Coincidence? Maybe.


This mystery was not as enjoyable as the last one and had a much slower pace, too. Not as interesting, but okay.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: FREEZER BURN by Gayle Carline (Book 1)

Peri is a smart-mouth P.I. She needed a job, even if it was to clean out a freezer, looking for an autographed ice cube tray. She never expected to find a severed hand in the freezer. How in the world did it get there?


A homeless girl wearing a vintage Hollywood ring? Was she dead? And where was the rest of her?


I liked that this was set in my hometown of SoCal. Peri has good instincts. Story had a few mysteries in it, including if she was pregnant or not. But Peri certainly handles whatever came her way with humor and grace.  


Smart, inquisitive, and enjoyable!


My rating: 4 stars

Review: FINAL ABSOLUTION by John W. Fike

John and Dave were friends that had a run-in with the police. For a while, that seemed to be the sole focus, until a trust fund changes their lives forever.
The writing was okay. At first, the story seemed simple enough, even with the clutter of various characters and its constant back-and-forth dialogue. Still, the characters bring chaos to the narrative, which confuses the reader. It also seemed repetitious and tended to lag. The premise sounded interesting to me, but it was still difficult to get into this story.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: THE DIAMOND HEAD DECEPTION by James Blakely

Upon first reading this, you almost don’t know what’s going on. We have a guy named Barney and a lady named Luna. It obviously didn’t have the best start for me.
I know there’s a mystery in all of this, which was something I was looking forward to diving into. But it’s just so chaotic and complicated that it doesn’t really lure you in.
The story line sounded promising, but, unfortunately, it did not have a good execution.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: KILLER INSTINCTS by Anna Lee Rose

Hanna grew up with a flirty, self-centered mother, who could never find Mr. Right. Jake joined the army and wanted to get his family out of gang land.
“You have to find happiness in yourself first.”
One day, Hanna leaves her home and finds herself in a bad situation—kidnapped and taken to Mexico, where they use young girls as sex slaves, and ends up the mob boss’ girlfriend.
“I think about my past, my bad but tolerable present, and my probably non-existent future.”
Jake returns from the army broken with no job prospects and ends up being a contract killer for the Dark Web. His next assignment sends him to Mexico.
With the way it’s written, we have 2 separate stories here. Although it’s mostly in the POV of Hanna and Jake, it also includes the views and backstory of other less important characters, like Mike and Malcom. There were too many stories overcomplicating matters. Was it even necessary to have the main characters’ background story in there? It didn’t really give much and it kind of lent more than what we needed. We were probably much better off with just a brief segment. The reader is mostly interested in the kidnapping, salvage, and romance between the two characters, which, as it progresses, becomes more clearer.
Overall, this was a short and somewhat easy read.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: CONTROLLING SHELLY FAGAN by Olive Dunn

Graphic Image designed by Sandra Lopez
Alone, pregnant, and Catholic, Shelly was not consulted. Her parents, influenced by the social mores of that generation, wanted to keep their daughter hidden. Put the baby up for adoption. Force their daughter to move on with her life. Force her to forget. Him.

Shelly Fagan has no choice but to grow up very quickly, and in the midst of the Vietnam War. Married now to another, and a mother of two sons, she unexpectedly comes face to face with the past. Lies told. Secrets kept. She is faced with a decision. A chance to go back with her life as it was, or to continue on as it is now.

Available on Amazon







My review: It’s the 1960’s: 17-year old Shelly Fagan was shocked to realize her parents were dropping her off at a convent because she was pregnant. According to Mother Margaret, she must suffer for her sins and Chris (boy she loved) would never find her.
19 years later, Shelly was married with two sons. It was exhausting pretending to be the upbeat wife and mother like everything was fine—it was NOT fine. For her son’s game, Shelly must return to the convent she hoped to forget. Approaching her tortured destination, Shelly relives memories of her youth that summer in the 60’s.
Story was engaging from the start. The author paints a vivid portrayal of Shelly’s life—past and present—with delicate strokes and somber hues. Reading about life in the 60’s and how Shelly’s life turned out in the present, I really wanted to find out what happened to Chris and the baby as that basically is what launched the story to a great start. It’s an interesting journey through the 60’s, but the reader would have to trudge through miles and miles of memory lane with quick cuts to the present. Going back and forth could be a little disorienting sometimes as you almost forget where you’re at.
A well-written soft prose laced with sharp resentment and deep folds of remorse.
A pretty good read.
My rating: 4 stars