Chris Birdy's Blog, page 6

THE GIRL IN WHITE PAJAMAS ON SALE

The Girl in White Pajamas kindle edition is on sale for $0.99 for a short time. Grab a copy at http://www.amazon.com/Girl-White-Paja...

UNCAGED BY JOHN SANDFORD

Since I'm a huge John Sandford fan, I feel that giving one of his works 4 stars is almost like spitting on the Pope; but here it is. The story was written for young adults in middle/high school. I'm far away from that age group so I was not a part of the target audience for the story. That said, it was a nice tale, well-written with a strong main character, Shay Remby. Shay is an intelligent, non-conformist who finds herself in a world of trouble as she searches for and finds her brother Odin who is an animal rights activist. When I really got into the story, it was over. I hate cliff-hangers! Couldn't John Sandford have thrown us some kind of bone and let us know if the dog's going to live?

VOICES BY P.S. WINN

When vagrants are slashed to death on the outskirts of a small West Virginia town, the townspeople are upset and the sheriff does what he can to solve the crimes with little to go on. But when the son of a wealthy businessman is murdered, the town is in a frenzy clamoring for justice. Jake Hamlin, the sheriff, has problems at home and is being pressured to solve this murder before it taints a business deal between Lexington Steel and Cook Construction. The pressure and tension slowly build in this thriller until the explosive end. This is book no one should miss.

Standard III Cult of Death by John Reinhard Dizon

Jack Gawain and William Shanahan are dragged unwillingly into another big adventure, and Lucretia Carcosa is right there with with them. They return to Iraq and hook up with the Kurds, assisted by M16, Mossad and others to stop the evil Ayatollah Daibolis from gaining control of WMD, mainly sarin gas. The Ayatollah has surrounded himself with highly trained soldiers of fortune who enjoy torturing and killing any living thing. Moving through the desert, the group encounter many obstacles including capture and wounding. Without giving away the story I just want to say that reading this novel was like watching a non-stop action movie. I did not intend to read it in one sitting, but once I started, I couldn't stop. The story is a blast (literally and figuratively).

Standard II - The Citadel by John Reinhard Dizon

Standard II - The Citadel is the second book in this incredible series. M16's William Shanahan is teamed up again with Jack Gawain to get to the core of an arms smuggling gang known as the Citadel. They work with Lucretia Corcosa, the Europol agent. This story starts off with a bang and keeps on going. Reading this made me feel like I was inserted into a James Bond/Jason Bourne thriller that just kept moving with plots and sub-plots until the end. John Dizon is a gifted writer who knows how to take readers on a super-fast, roller coaster ride and then leave them breathless at the end saying, "Wow! I want another ride!"

THE TROUBLED MAN BY HENNING MANKELL

Henning Mankell is such a gifted writer that his genius shines through even in translations of his work from Swedish. I've followed all his Kurt Wallander series novels for years and was anxious to read the final book, The Troubled Man. The morose detective still found no joy in his life. That was no surprise. The confusing part about this story was the plot. It was all over the place - Hints and clues signifying nothing or never explained. The story left me wondering who was the troubled man, Kurt Wallander or Henning Mankell.

EDGE OF TRUTH BY NATASHA HANOVA

I'm not quite sure how I came to read a Y/A dystopian novel, but once I started it I just blasted on through. It was a well-written story of Rena Moon, a sixteen year old girl, her kidnapped friend and her boy crush Nevan. Rena is an "other" which only complicates her life and adds to the feeling of suffocation in a monotonous environment. Despite the circumstances and setting, Rena and her friends react like most young people in similar circumstances would and that makes the story believable and entertaining.

BABY GIRL BOOK 1 BY ELLE KLASS

This is an incredible story of Cleo, a twelve year old girl, who sets out on her own after she is abandoned by her mother. Living on the streets, Cleo experiences some incredible things and barely escapes by the skin of her teeth. Eventually, she hooks up with Einstein and others forming a small band of thieves. Baby Girl is an exciting tale that keeps your interest all the way through to the end when you look up and say, "I want more."

FIELD OF PREY

It's difficult to write an impartial review for one of John Sandford's books. I'm a fan who believes he can do no wrong. I've read and enjoyed his writing for years and look forward to each new release. Lucas Davenport and his team have a mass murderer on their hands. What makes it tough is that someone's been killing and dumping bodies for years before the police get involved. The cops are highly motivated since one of their own was killed in the course of the investigation. All I can say about Field of Prey is don't miss it!

MY Q&A SESSION WITH JOHN R. DIZON

Writing Process Blog Tour

1. What are you working on at the moment?
Today I read through and approved the galley copy for my second book, The Girl in Black Pajamas, which is coming out on September 22. Since the third book is in developmental edits, I’m working on the first draft of the fourth book.

2. How does your work differ from others of this genre?
I don’t know of any other adult murder mysteries that have a child involved in the cases. Isabella inserts herself into situations where she really doesn't belong, but sometimes her insights are helpful in resolving matters.

3. Why do you write what you do?
I write mysteries because I enjoy reading mysteries. Mysteries are somewhat like equations, no matter what’s happening in the process they must balance in the end.

4.How does your writing process work?
I think long and hard before I write. A story is almost like a movie running through my mind. I rewind, edit and continue thinking until I have a solid outline in mind. I write some notes and then sit at the keyboard and let my fingers take over. Since I’m a neurotic perfectionist, I continually edit as I go. I can obsess for hours over the use of words. Since my writing is dialogue driven, that’s important to me.

And my question for John Dizon is: You are one of the best writers I’ve come across in a long time. Your work is solid, well-written and intelligent. In reading your bio I found you have an unusual background. Was writing always your goal or were you simply living life to the fullest?