Uvi Poznansky's Blog, page 41
August 17, 2020
What to say about this book...
LISTENERJ. Shaw
TwistedBy: Uvi PoznanskyNarrated by: Heather Jane Hogan What to say about this book... Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsPerformance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsStory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsReviewed: 08-17-20
Not what I thought, it lead me where I didnt think it would go.. It could be a Psych experiment....or is it? Come... Read... You will enjoy...
August 15, 2020
Loved it
LISTENER
Shaylah
The White PianoStill Life with Memories, Book 2By: Uvi PoznanskyNarrated by: David Kudler Loved it Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsPerformance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsStory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsReviewed: 08-13-20
Loved it, awesome audio delivery, amazing character change in voice delivery, kept my attention all the way to the end
August 12, 2020
Silence is golden. It allows me to listen, to gather clues
Later, Dr. Patel swings by with a group of medical students. The pages in their notebooks rustle around me as they scribble every word he says. To them, I’m no more than a typical specimen of what he calls the first stage of coma.
“During this stage,” he says, “patients are incapable of voluntary activities such as eye opening and forming speech.”
Ha ha, if only he knew! In spite of his learned opinion, I can form speech all right, but the words remain in my head instead of slipping off my tongue. At any rate, this he should know: Silence is golden. It allows me to listen, to gather clues.
I feel like a fish in a fishbowl, hovering just behind the glass. I watch them watching me. Correction: Since I can’t see, my fishbowl is opaque. All I can do is listen to them watching me.
Dr. Patel explains to his audience that in my state, I can’t open my eyes. He adds that in the second stage of coma, also known as vegetative state—which unfortunately, I have yet to reach—patients may open their eyes, but they can’t interact with others. They can’t talk.
Too bad. I have a long way to go before I can be called normal.
How does he classify patients who can, somehow, lift their pinky toe? That’s the one thing I’d like to know. Can someone raise this question with him?
No. Nobody does. Dr. Patel goes on lecturing his students about the brain, about improving the efficiency of neurotransmitters in it, which allows signals to pass from one neuron to the next across contact points called synapses. At first I find myself bored.
I would yawn, if only I could.
(Volume I of Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance)
Audiobook: Amazon US ★ Amazon UK ★ iTunes
Paperback: Amazon
Ash finds herself in the ER diagnosed with coma. She has no memory of what has happened to her, but what she can do--despite what everyone around her might think--is listen to the conversations of her visitors. Will she survive the power outage in the hospital and then, being kidnapped out of it?
"It's that flirting with reality that makes this story such a compulsive read. Plot twists and suspenseful storytelling make this a book that you will have trouble putting down." ~Kathy Parsons
August 10, 2020
That’s not the case with Brian and you know it
Wrinkling his nose, Timmy squints against a ray of sun that shines for a moment through the heavy clouds. Then, he cries, “Oh! Dad’s here!”
His mother stiffens a bit and rushes ahead of us to meet her ex. “What are you doing here, Ed? At this early hour, too?”
“They told me to take a few days off. Asked me to hand in my Glock, too.”
“Why?”
His jaw is clenched tight. By his taut skin and hard muscles that lift his arms away from his body, he can’t be older than forty, but his close-cropped hair is already flecked with silver. “Because.”
“Because what?”
“Because of the investigation.”
“What about it?”
“They don’t want me anywhere near the case, claim I’m too emotional about the whole thing, so hell, honey, I don’t even know—”
“Don’t you honey me.”
“Sorry.”
“Have they found Brian?”
He shakes his head. No.
She presses on. “How about the other two teenagers, the ones who have disappeared from other Florida high schools? Any clues there?”
“One of them is Eric Brown, a seventeen-years old from Tampa. We’ve gone through the list of his contacts, looking for anyone who might have had a fight with him, or even a sight disagreement. The other boy, Bobby Smith, is a fifteen-years old from Key West. We’ve gone through the list of his contacts, too, and cross-referenced the two lists to find out if anyone—any possible rival of one boy or the other—appears in both lists.”
“And?”
“So far, no significant matches. Maybe the two cases have nothing in common. Maybe Eric and Bobby just ran away from home. Maybe they don’t want to be found.”
“That’s not the case with Brian and you know it.” She turns her back on him. “You should go to your place, instead of coming here. I have enough on my hands—”
“I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself, sitting there alone. Let me be of some help, Tracy. I can take Timmy to school—”
“No need.” Her eyes flutter briefly in my direction. “I’ve already hired someone to do just that.”
a
(Volume II of Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance)
Audiobook: Amazon US ★ Amazon UK ★ iTunes
Paperback: Amazon
The last thing Ash expects when she lands in Clearwater, Florida is to be stalked by a troubled teenager. If that's not bad enough, she is caught in a shooting spree next to the nearby elementary school. The cops think it’s an attempt at mass killing, but Ash wonders if the only victim was specifically targeted by the killer. Will she manage to identify him and have him arrested before he comes after her?
" Twists and turns you never see coming made this reader think, "Yikes, never expected that."
~ Susan Ricci, USA Today Bestselling Author
August 9, 2020
I must get him to lower his defenses, so I may gather clues about his past
As his Chevrolet slows down to a stop, Dr. Patel is eyeing my knees. At first, I press them tightly together and smooth down my skirt as far as it can go, which is not much. Then I figure, why not let him swoon over what he’ll never get to touch?
Don’t hate me for acting sexy. I already hate myself for it. At the same time, I recognize that seduction may be my best weapon. I must get him to lower his defenses, so I may gather clues about his past. Nothing will please me more than to gain confidence in the veracity of his education. A failed experiment is not what I want to be.
Dr. Patel hops out, comes over to my side while spreading out his umbrella, and opens the door for me. This is the first time I watch him outside the ER. Without his scrubs he looks somewhat different, even handsome, and not in a boyish way. Wrapped in a dark gabardine raincoat designed by Prada, he is slightly shorter than my boyfriend, Michael, and more muscular.
I swing my legs around, step out past him, past the edge of his black umbrella, where the pinging of raindrops reaches a high note. I glance over my shoulder at his hand, expecting to see a wedding ring—finding none.
Has he removed it, especially for this date?
No. Apparently he never wears it, because the skin at the base of his ring finger is no paler than the rest of it.
For someone known to be a perfect family man, not wearing a wedding ring seems peculiar, but I remind myself that it doesn’t mean much.
Perhaps he and his wife have some kind of understanding about such things, although—despite the thick, horn-rimmed glasses—he is attractive. In her place, I would be watchful. Perhaps he tells her that jewelry of any kind would be in the way when patients lie under his knife.
Audiobook: Amazon US ★ Amazon UK ★ iTunes
Paperback: Amazon
Months after recovering from coma, Ash discovers that the man who performed her brain surgery has a questionable medical experience and a dark past. Should she expose him, at the risk of becoming vulnerable to his revenge?
"This book is exactly the kind of complex psycho-drama I've come to expect of Uvi Poznansky. The characters are full blown and full of contradictions and there are more plot twists than switchbacks on an Tibetan mountain side."
- Aurora Dawn, VINE VOICE
July 29, 2020
Loved it
LISTENERShaylah
My Own VoiceStill Life with Memories, Book 1By: Uvi PoznanskyNarrated by: Heather Jane Hogan Loved it Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsPerformance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsStory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 starsReviewed: 07-14-20
Amazing, loved the audio delivery as well, kept my attention to the end, didn't want the story to end.
July 25, 2020
Well-written suspense!
Jan Romes5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written suspense!Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is an incredible thriller from beginning to end! The author set up the suspense right away when Ashley (who left California for Florida to recover from sexual assault) rents a beach house that is in dire need of repair and reeks with a powerful stench that her mother says smells like a decaying body. From there, Ash is stalked and annoyed by an admiring teen. She finds a hidden room in the beach bungalow that the landlady doesn't seem to know about. Every day something happens to add to the mayhem, until the whole situation literally explodes with atrocities. This is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but it will also tear at your heart.
Into the oven...
It's coming out of the oven now -- can you smell it?
Ashley Takes A Break In Florida To Regroup. Trouble Follows!
B. RoscoeVINE VOICE5.0 out of 5 stars Lost & Confused After Her Trauma, Ashley Takes A Break In Florida To Regroup. Trouble Follows!Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2020
This is book two of the Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance series.Ashley Winters, twenty-two, needs time alone to regroup after surviving her brutal rape and the coma that nearly left her defenseless against her would-be killer. Over winter break from the University of California Irvine, where she is working on her master’s degree, she decides on impulse to rent a dilapidated beach house in Clearwater, near her father’s Florida home with his new wife, Heather. Michael, her boyfriend and a brilliant software developer, will miss her but is supportive and understanding. He doesn’t know that she is clueless about her future plans – she may end up staying in Florida and starting over. Her overbearing mother flies out to Florida and stays just long enough to assist with her move.
Ashley begins to question her decision as soon as she enters her rental. The odor is unbearable and the landlady resists taking responsibility for it. Mrs. Gore avoids answering questions about the home and is difficult to deal with, but she finally concedes and agrees to replace the carpeting.
At the same time, Ashley acquires a young stalker. Paul, roughly seventeen and in high school, hates girls and hates his mother. He asks Ashley out in spite of their age gap, and doesn’t seem satisfied with ‘no.’ Ashley’s mother even spots him watching the home from across the street.
When the carpet is replaced, the installer draws Ashley’s attention to two matters. First, an unusual stain underneath the old carpeting. And second, a blocked off stairwell leading to a hidden upstairs room. When Mrs. Gore plays dumb and denies its existence, Ashley’s suspicion that something bad had happened in that home grows.
Four issues immediately occupy Ashley’s thoughts as she tries to settle in and get away from her recent trauma. First, the suspected blood in the carpet begs the question – did someone die in the home? Second, why was the upstairs room closed off and hidden? And why had Mrs. Gore denied its existence? Third, how much trouble would her apparent stalker cause? And lastly, is it possible that the awful odor wasn’t the only thing causing her nausea? Could she be pregnant? The suspicion that her rape had resulted in pregnancy added to Ashley’s despair. She and Michael hadn’t gone so far as to make it possible that the baby was his. It was easier to ignore the problem, however, and hope it went away rather than face the difficult possibility.
As Ashley deals with these new concerns, she meets several people. Heather, her father’s new bride, wears tight dresses that flaunts her cleavage, but a nurturing quality prevents her from outright hating Heather. Tracy, a newly divorced mother, hires Ashley to help with her thirteen year old son. Tracy is terrified to leave his side after her older son’s disappearance three weeks earlier. Timmy is a sweet boy that misses his older brother, Brian. His father, Ed, is a Sheriff officer but has been asked to step back from his job due to getting emotionally involved in the case. And Marcia, Paul’s meek mother, turns out to be a distant relative of Mrs. Gore.
When a shooting occurs, leaving Ashley and Timmy in the crosshairs, Timmy suggests it is overkill – that there had only been one intended target in spite of all the melee. Ashley finds herself enmeshed in a crime once again, and having a genius boyfriend that develops virtual reality applications comes in handy. It implies a happy ending in the romance department.
Ashley’s second thriller is a suspenseful quick read. Unlike the first book, this one is serious in tone. She once again shows incredible courage and fortitude in the face of danger. The story is well-written. It is plot-driven. I rate this book 4.5 stars.
July 23, 2020
A Flashback Takes The Couple Back To When They Met
B. RoscoeVINE VOICE5.0 out of 5 stars Reads As A Stand-Alone In A Series Of Stories About Lenny & Natasha.Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
A Flashback Takes The Couple Back To When They Met Shortly After Lenny’s Draft Into The Marines During World War II. Fans Of The Notebook May Enjoy This Book!This is the third book in the Still Life with Memories series, a five book series with a sixth brief book bite. The books are interconnected, spanning various periods of time from World War II through the 1970’s. Different characters within a family tell their stories, but the underlying story revolves around Lenny and Natasha. Each can be read as a stand-alone. Fans of The Notebook may enjoy this book, as some aspects are reminiscent of that story.
This is the story of Lenny and Natasha. It opens and closes in 1970 when they are somewhat older. Natasha is forty-five, Lenny is probably about forty-seven. Lenny has become the caretaker of Natasha, whose memory has been slipping for some time. Lenny has had an affair, but he longs for Natasha to recognize him. She struggles to play the piano and has few lucid moments, and it weighs heavily on Lenny. They do not yet have a diagnosis for her condition. After attempting many tests and medications, he isn’t optimistic they will find a cure. Lenny longs for his teenage son Ben, who quit high school and bought a ticket to Italy, to return home to him. They have a complicated relationship, however.
The bulk of the book is a flashback to the time when Lenny and Natasha met. In October of 1941, Lenny was recruited into the Marine Corps. The story covers his time at Camp Upton and then Camp Lejeune before he is shipped overseas and joins the London Detachment. He receives commando training in Achnacarry, Scotland before being shipped home to visit his ailing father. It is when he is at Camp Upton that he first sees Natasha, who performs nearby. They begin exchanging letters, and over time they become attached to one another. But temptation abounds on both sides of the ocean during the war, and relying on the postal system proves frustrating. The young couple faces early challenges, but the greatest challenge is the approval of Natasha’s mother. At just sixteen, Natasha relies upon her mother to manage her career as a brilliant young classical pianist. Lenny haphazardly decides upon a career as a writer, which does nothing to impress Mrs. Horowitz.
Lenny and Natasha’s story is serious in tone. It is a reflection to their best days, and it is those memories that carry Lenny forward through the difficult challenges he faces nearly thirty years later. The war story is filled with details that take the reader back in time. It is nicely written. The plot is complex. The characters are unique and authentic. The story is written in first person in Lenny’s POV. I rate the book 4.5 stars.
