Jess Steven Hughes's Blog, page 3
March 5, 2019
Book Review - Virtually Lace by Uvi Poznansky
Over the years, I have enjoyed reading Uvi Poznansky's novels. She weaves the ins and outs of human nature and emotions with romance, set in a variety of historical settings. This is her first venture into the world of virtual reality, combined with mystery, in which a murder must be solved. It's a good start but contains a few flaws.
As the story opens, dusk is creeping upon the city of Laguna Beach, California. Michael, a computer software genius, is strolling on a walkway near the city's shoreline. He spots a young woman darting ahead of him. Out of curiosity, he decides to follow, only to lose sight of her in the falling darkness. Soon, he stumbles upon her dead body, among the rocks, near the sandy beach. Fearing he would be accused and arrested for murder, he leaves the scene of the crime before the police arrive.
Later, Michael, with the help of his girl-friend, Ash, a computer genius who has her own major issues to deal with, assists Michael to computer generate a simulation of the shoreline where the victim was found. The two experiment with different scenarios in a effort to discover the murder suspect. They don't have any training in police investigative procedures, so they can only speculate if they are on the right track in discovering who the killer might be.
Unfortunately, this is also part of the problem. When the police enter the story, to investigate the murder, I shook my head. The way it unfolded was something out of a Hollywood movie script. As a retired police detective sergeant, I was appalled by the way it was handled. The two investigating officers appear to be morons with little training. Officers like this would never be tolerated on any police department. From the beginning of the crime investigation, through Michael's arrest and transported to the station, the procedures were wrong. I won't go into details, it would take too long. As far as the shooting, which would have violated departmental policies, that has been discussed by another reviewer.
Except for the police procedural errors (the author should have contacted the community relations department of the Laguna Beach Police Department for advice), Uvi Poznansky did a wonderful job in combining genres, new and old, in developing this suspenseful mystery filled with emotion and a touch of romance.
As the story opens, dusk is creeping upon the city of Laguna Beach, California. Michael, a computer software genius, is strolling on a walkway near the city's shoreline. He spots a young woman darting ahead of him. Out of curiosity, he decides to follow, only to lose sight of her in the falling darkness. Soon, he stumbles upon her dead body, among the rocks, near the sandy beach. Fearing he would be accused and arrested for murder, he leaves the scene of the crime before the police arrive.
Later, Michael, with the help of his girl-friend, Ash, a computer genius who has her own major issues to deal with, assists Michael to computer generate a simulation of the shoreline where the victim was found. The two experiment with different scenarios in a effort to discover the murder suspect. They don't have any training in police investigative procedures, so they can only speculate if they are on the right track in discovering who the killer might be.
Unfortunately, this is also part of the problem. When the police enter the story, to investigate the murder, I shook my head. The way it unfolded was something out of a Hollywood movie script. As a retired police detective sergeant, I was appalled by the way it was handled. The two investigating officers appear to be morons with little training. Officers like this would never be tolerated on any police department. From the beginning of the crime investigation, through Michael's arrest and transported to the station, the procedures were wrong. I won't go into details, it would take too long. As far as the shooting, which would have violated departmental policies, that has been discussed by another reviewer.
Except for the police procedural errors (the author should have contacted the community relations department of the Laguna Beach Police Department for advice), Uvi Poznansky did a wonderful job in combining genres, new and old, in developing this suspenseful mystery filled with emotion and a touch of romance.
March 3, 2019
Book Review - Five Days, Five Deaths by Carol Crigger
Once again, to the show that she is as good a detective as her Uncle Monk, and the younger P.I., Gratton, of Doyle and Howe Detective Agency, China Bohannon, young office manager, bookkeeper and bottle-washer, takes on a case that gets her in over her head.
It is 1896 and Spokane, Washington, is experiencing the worst winter in the city's history, when she is approached by flamboyant and wealthy German immigrant, Sepp Amsel. He hires China to investigate the kidnapping of Anka, the sister of his mail-order, bride-to-be, Jutte Kalb. He already believes the abduction was a set-up to "bamboozle" him out of thousands of dollars.
Since Uncle Monk and Gratton are out of the office, when the case was laid in China's lap, she jumps at the chance to prove herself. However, she has only two-three days to find Anka and solve the case before matters get worse.
Dealing with freezing weather and blizzards, China in her own plodding way, learns there is more to the kidnapping than meets the proverbial eye. Within a few hours, four murders occur, which at the time don't seem relevant to her investigation. Unfortunately, to her dismay, they do.
I won't go into detail as the reader must learn for her or himself what China discovers and the trouble she invariably steps into, including wounds and narrow escapes.
Earlier, I mentioned four deaths that occur as the story unfolds. The reader will have to wade through this mystery to learn who is the fifth victim and how the person met their demise.
Author Carol Crigger does an excellent job of setting up what is an intricate plot and believable story line. This is the best book in the series and I look forward to reading the further adventures of China Bohannon. Well done.
It is 1896 and Spokane, Washington, is experiencing the worst winter in the city's history, when she is approached by flamboyant and wealthy German immigrant, Sepp Amsel. He hires China to investigate the kidnapping of Anka, the sister of his mail-order, bride-to-be, Jutte Kalb. He already believes the abduction was a set-up to "bamboozle" him out of thousands of dollars.
Since Uncle Monk and Gratton are out of the office, when the case was laid in China's lap, she jumps at the chance to prove herself. However, she has only two-three days to find Anka and solve the case before matters get worse.
Dealing with freezing weather and blizzards, China in her own plodding way, learns there is more to the kidnapping than meets the proverbial eye. Within a few hours, four murders occur, which at the time don't seem relevant to her investigation. Unfortunately, to her dismay, they do.
I won't go into detail as the reader must learn for her or himself what China discovers and the trouble she invariably steps into, including wounds and narrow escapes.
Earlier, I mentioned four deaths that occur as the story unfolds. The reader will have to wade through this mystery to learn who is the fifth victim and how the person met their demise.
Author Carol Crigger does an excellent job of setting up what is an intricate plot and believable story line. This is the best book in the series and I look forward to reading the further adventures of China Bohannon. Well done.
February 19, 2019
Book Review - The Emeralds of the Alhambra
For those who read historical fiction, but possess little or no knowledge of Medieval Christian or Muslim Spain, this novel is a must read.
Set in Spain between 1367-69 A.D., this is a story of love, intrigue, religious spirituality and hypocrisy, and war. In this meticulously researched book, by John Cressler, the reader learns that Granada, including the palatial Alhambra, is the last enclave of Muslim rule in Southern Spain. Christians, Jews, and Muslims live here in relative harmony. At this time, Muslims lead medieval Europe in engineering, literature, medicine and science.
But Sultan Muhammid V, Granada's moderate ruler, has to maintain a balance between his government (the Nasrids clan) and his more conservative allies of the Moorish Marinids in North Africa. He also maintains an alliance with the Christian king of Castile, to help defend against the enemies of both, the kingdom of Aragon, France, and Pope Urban V. He also is aware, that despite his alliance, the king of Castile wants to one day, along with the rest of the Christians, to drive the Muslims out of Spain.
Into this mix arrives William Chandron, an English knight from Brittany Province, France (at the time an English possession), and Lyla al-Khatib, daughter of the sultan's grand vizier. A beautiful, intelligent, headstrong, well-educated young woman of twenty, Layla dares to question the traditional passive, behind the scenes role of Muslim women. Her goal is to become and Sufi Mystic so she can become intellectually and spiritually in contact with Allah.
When Chandron is captured by Muslim victors at the Battle of Jaen, he is taken to Granada to be used as a political pawn and bargaining chip with the kingdom of Aragon and her allies. The sultan decides that Chandron must be taught Arabic and Muslim customs by Layla, and in turn he must teach her English and Christian ways.
Because Layla was ordered against her will to instruct Chandron, their first meeting is filled with tension if not downright hostility. But as the two begin to know one another, the iciness thaws between their relationship and blossoms into forbidden love.
What follows not only is beautiful love story, but graphic images of brutal regional conflict, misplaced egos, descriptions of the everyday lives of the people, poor and wealthy alike, and of the magnificent Alhambra.The story can be read and studied on several levels/plains: character, historical, religious/spiritual, and intellectual.
This page turner will keep the reader enthralled from first to last page. Highly recommended.
href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... all my reviews
Set in Spain between 1367-69 A.D., this is a story of love, intrigue, religious spirituality and hypocrisy, and war. In this meticulously researched book, by John Cressler, the reader learns that Granada, including the palatial Alhambra, is the last enclave of Muslim rule in Southern Spain. Christians, Jews, and Muslims live here in relative harmony. At this time, Muslims lead medieval Europe in engineering, literature, medicine and science.
But Sultan Muhammid V, Granada's moderate ruler, has to maintain a balance between his government (the Nasrids clan) and his more conservative allies of the Moorish Marinids in North Africa. He also maintains an alliance with the Christian king of Castile, to help defend against the enemies of both, the kingdom of Aragon, France, and Pope Urban V. He also is aware, that despite his alliance, the king of Castile wants to one day, along with the rest of the Christians, to drive the Muslims out of Spain.
Into this mix arrives William Chandron, an English knight from Brittany Province, France (at the time an English possession), and Lyla al-Khatib, daughter of the sultan's grand vizier. A beautiful, intelligent, headstrong, well-educated young woman of twenty, Layla dares to question the traditional passive, behind the scenes role of Muslim women. Her goal is to become and Sufi Mystic so she can become intellectually and spiritually in contact with Allah.
When Chandron is captured by Muslim victors at the Battle of Jaen, he is taken to Granada to be used as a political pawn and bargaining chip with the kingdom of Aragon and her allies. The sultan decides that Chandron must be taught Arabic and Muslim customs by Layla, and in turn he must teach her English and Christian ways.
Because Layla was ordered against her will to instruct Chandron, their first meeting is filled with tension if not downright hostility. But as the two begin to know one another, the iciness thaws between their relationship and blossoms into forbidden love.
What follows not only is beautiful love story, but graphic images of brutal regional conflict, misplaced egos, descriptions of the everyday lives of the people, poor and wealthy alike, and of the magnificent Alhambra.The story can be read and studied on several levels/plains: character, historical, religious/spiritual, and intellectual.
This page turner will keep the reader enthralled from first to last page. Highly recommended.
href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... all my reviews
Blog Update
Check out my latest blog entry in which I interview Roman historian extraordinaire, Lindsay Powell about his phenomenal histories about Cesar Augustus, Marcus Agrippa, Germanicus and much more. Don't miss this one! http://www.jessstevenhughes.com/blog....
January 17, 2019
Best-sellers
I am recovering nicely from cataract surgery this last Monday. During this time I also received a bit of good news about the historical novels of my Britannia Romanus series, set in First Century AD Imperial Rome and ancient Britannia. To some you will think I'm a bit bombastic about this, but for the month of December, 2018, four of my five novels were listed in the top twenty best-sellers for Sunbury Press' Milford House imprint. They were: #2. The Broken Lance; #3 The Sign of the Eagle; #4 The Wolf of Britannia, Part I and #13 The Wolf of Britannia, Part II. Had to toot my own horn.
December 19, 2018
Blog Update
Check out my latest blog update in which I interview Author Mike Weatherley about his book, Pendragon: The Arthur Chronicles. http://www.jessstevenhughes.com/blog....
November 19, 2018
Blog Update
Check out my latest blog update in which I interview guest author Wylie McLallen about his book on the history of professional football, TIGERS BY THE RIVER. For those interested in football, please check this one out. http://www.jessstevenhughes.com/blog....
October 31, 2018
Book Review - Conflict on Kangaroo Island
This story isn't only about the tumultuous strife between city scientists, who want to preserve the pristine indigenous flora and fauna of Kangaroo Island, and the farmers and laborers who depend on the crops, especially, the Australian yacca plant, for their living, but also the victims of prejudice and social injustice.
The story takes place on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of south Australia and the capital city of Adelaide. The year is 1913 and although Australia is thousands of miles from England and Europe, tensions are growing because of the inevitable approach of World War I. This affects the lives of everyone in South Australia and Kangaroo Island, for the country is still part of the British commonwealth and loyal to the Crown. They know one day their men will have to do their duty for King and country.
However, this serves only as a backdrop. Most of the drama is seen through the eyes of Pamela Pearce, aka, Pansy. This tall, athletic and highly intelligent twenty-three-year-old woman, who is far ahead of her time (she was a suffragette and didn't know it) has no qualms about aiding others who she feels have been wronged by the rigid Victorian norms of the period. It is her brashness that leads her into trouble, a weakness that she is aware of. Nonetheless, it doesn't stop her from doing what she believes to be right. As a result, she is accused of interfering with the "private affairs" of others. E.G. She had the audacity to help an unwed mother find a job, so she would not lose her child to a state orphanage; assisted a budding young female artist on the brink of a successful career, but is almost destroyed by her cruel, psychotic father; and aided a young, brash scientist who is wrongfully accused of murder.
The characters of the story are slowly and carefully developed. They intertwine with one another leading to a logical and satisfying conclusion.
Through the author's vivid descriptions the reader gets an excellent feel of what it was like to live on Kangaroo Island: the customs, culture, the flora and fauna. As an outsider from the USA, I have learned more about Australia, albeit the southern part, from this story and Stephen Crabbe's other novel, The Song of Australia, than from any other source. Well-done, Stephen Crabbe!
The story takes place on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of south Australia and the capital city of Adelaide. The year is 1913 and although Australia is thousands of miles from England and Europe, tensions are growing because of the inevitable approach of World War I. This affects the lives of everyone in South Australia and Kangaroo Island, for the country is still part of the British commonwealth and loyal to the Crown. They know one day their men will have to do their duty for King and country.
However, this serves only as a backdrop. Most of the drama is seen through the eyes of Pamela Pearce, aka, Pansy. This tall, athletic and highly intelligent twenty-three-year-old woman, who is far ahead of her time (she was a suffragette and didn't know it) has no qualms about aiding others who she feels have been wronged by the rigid Victorian norms of the period. It is her brashness that leads her into trouble, a weakness that she is aware of. Nonetheless, it doesn't stop her from doing what she believes to be right. As a result, she is accused of interfering with the "private affairs" of others. E.G. She had the audacity to help an unwed mother find a job, so she would not lose her child to a state orphanage; assisted a budding young female artist on the brink of a successful career, but is almost destroyed by her cruel, psychotic father; and aided a young, brash scientist who is wrongfully accused of murder.
The characters of the story are slowly and carefully developed. They intertwine with one another leading to a logical and satisfying conclusion.
Through the author's vivid descriptions the reader gets an excellent feel of what it was like to live on Kangaroo Island: the customs, culture, the flora and fauna. As an outsider from the USA, I have learned more about Australia, albeit the southern part, from this story and Stephen Crabbe's other novel, The Song of Australia, than from any other source. Well-done, Stephen Crabbe!
October 22, 2018
Blog Interview- Author Stephen Crabbe
Check out my website's latest blog entry, an interview with Author Stephen Crabbe about his historical novels, set during World War I, in Australia. You find that he is a very insightful person.
http://www.jessstevenhughes.com/blog....
http://www.jessstevenhughes.com/blog....
