Michael Stephen Daigle's Blog, page 20
October 20, 2021
A review: ‘The Botleys of Beaumont County’
Arthur Turfa has a fresh take on traditional Southern literature.
The Botleys of Beaumont County are such an important family that members carry the name of the county in their name, thus Slerd Beaumont Botley.
And as such welcome to the framework of Southern fiction, a space occupied by William Faulkner, Pat Conroy, Margaret Mitchell, and now Arthur Turfa, poet turned fiction author.
Change comes slow in Southern fiction: The themes of historic roots, family, the American Civil War, (which for some has never ended), religion, economic divisions, and racism, both subtle and overt, are as prevalent as barbeque, cornbread, sweet tea and country music.
It is a rich territory and in THE BOTLEYS OF BEAUMONT COUNTY, his first published novel, Turfa both honors these traditions and rips them apart.
Full disclosure: I read this manuscript in an early form. The published book is a far different writing than what I read.
The story opens in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama as U.S. President, the first Black American so elected. Overlying the local happenings is the economic decline of 2008-09.
Turfa works the societal changes deftly in to the story: The Botley’s cement products factory is in trouble, local businesses face failure, racial incidents at the local school, turmoil in the once steady local churches.
As such the story reflects the times of 2008-09, but also shines a light on America of 2021.
At the center is the Botleys, proud, heroically Southern, and a flaming mess of a family.
Turfa details these changes through the eyes of, first Slerd Botley, successful local attorney, decorated Army veteran and family patriarch, and his teen-age daughter Ashley Violet Botley.
Slerd is a fixer, trying throughout the book to solve numerous social and family problems, including his failing marriage. But in his own way Slerd is numb to the building trouble because as a fixer he sees the concerns at times only as issues to be solved through logic and influence.
He is also distracted by his burgeoning affair with Jessica Sinclair Cavendish, his high school sweetheart.
The relationship is central to the hierarchy of the story: She is from the wrong side of town, from the wrong family and their deep attraction is the key that opens the secrets of the story.
Offering a different view is Ashley, whose observations are scattered as asides. Whereas her father Slerd muddles through, one foot trapped in tradition, Ashley breaks those bonds and through her eyes the reader grasps the changes that are coming to Beaumont County.
The Botleys of Beaumont County by Arthur Turfa – Reviewed by Michael Daigle | Reedsy Discovery
October 8, 2021
Coming soon: A GAME CALLED DEAD in audiobook
I am thrilled and gratified to say that an audio version of my Frank Nagler Mystery, A GAME CALLED DEAD is in production. The work is expected to be completed by December.
Great thanks to Imzadi Publishing for arranging this reading. And thanks to Dane Peterson for taking on the project.
Dane previously created the audIo version of THE RED HAND, the fourth Frank Nagler Mystery.
And thanks to Lee Alan., who recorded the first book in the series, THE SWAMPS OF JERSEY
Praise for A GAME CALLED DEAD:
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written crime drama
This was a well-written crime story. The protagonist detective character was well crafted and the plot flowed in a manner that made this a real page-turner. Definitely recommend.
The link to the audiobook version of THE RED HAND:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Prequel
“The Red Hand” is a prequel to the outstanding mystery novel series featuring Detective Frank Nagler. In this book, author Michael Stephen Diagle creates a terrific standalone novel that also serves as a nice set-up for what happens in the already-released novels.
I really like the idea of writing a series of books about a character in the middle of their journey, but then writing a new book to go back in time and fill in some of the blanks to give insight regarding how the characters (particularly the protagonist) got to where they are now. In “The Red Hand” Frank Nagler is a newly minted detective who’s initially over his head in dealing with his first case. It’s a big one: nine murder victims in the space of a few months in the hardscrabble town of Ironton, New Jersey. Ironton is also the town where Nagler grew up, so he knows a lot of the characters already. This fact and the author’s vivid description of the town add to the foreboding atmosphere throughout the novel.
The protagonist detective is easy to root for. About twenty-five percent of the way through the book he thinks, When do I begin to figure all this out? He has no special gifts other than his dogged nature and decency. But he hangs in there and works hard to solve the mystery. The ending is well done and satisfying. Add the other rich characters in the story plus the significant challenges Nagle must deal with in his personal life and you have a total winner. Highly recommended.
Link to the audiobook version of THE SWAMPS OF JERSEY:
Praise for THE SWAMPS OF JERSEY:
5.0 out of 5 stars Detective Frank Nagler has earned a place among the best detectives in crime fiction
Detective Frank Nagler can join Sam Spade, Nero Wolfe, Ellery Queen and all the rest of the crime fiction honor roll as an entertaining and compelling character! I think the author, Michael Daigle, a journalist by trade, is having a lot of fun here. It will be evident to the reader that Daigle has a command of the crime beat, the political beat, and the overall gritty city beat! Daigle’s prose is robust and keeps the reader hooked. If you can win over the reader with your own level of passion, then you’ve won as a writer. And the reader gets to reap the rewards. I’m sure Daigle has paced himself and plotted a fun course for this series. I look forward to more.
September 29, 2021
Nagler 5: DRAGONY RISING is done (finally!)
From the Dawson News Agency
Frank Nagler’s newest story complete;
Author proclaims story is
‘Ripped from the headlines’
Author Michael Stephen Daigle sends
‘DRAGONY RISING’
to Imzadi Publishing
By Jimmy Dawson
New Jersey author Michael Stephen Daigle has completed the long-awaited fifth book in the award-winning Frank Nagler Mystery series, “Dragony Rising.”
The story finds Ironton. N.J. Detective Frank Nagler struggling with the aftermath of an explosion that levels two blocks of downtown Ironton.
The investigation leads Nagler to confront the Dragony, a shadowy organization that has roots in the city’s mining and manufacturing history.
“It is not an accident that Ironton is a city with a history of mining and manufacturing,” Daigle said exclusively to Dawson News Agency.
“More than in any other of the four previous Nagler Mysteries, Frank is mining his family’s past and its possible clashes with an early version of the Dragony. In this story, Frank digs deeply into his mind, heart and soul for answers.”
“This plot of this story will resonate. It is a story ripped from today’s head lines,” he said.
Daigle also leaked that there are new and surprising roles the women in the series. Both Lauren Fox, the city planner and Frank’s companion, and Lieutenant Maria Ramirez, lead the action of this twisting, complex tale of a city fighting for its life. He advised readers to look for an interesting development involving Frank’s good friend Leonard, and his companion, Calista Knox.
Daigle would say little about the Dragony, except to offer this short piece from the story.
“This is from a crucial scene that exposes the Dragony for what it is,” Daigle said. “The speaker is one of the leaders: ”
“Society and its creation, government, at times rot. Such is that time.”
No publication date has been set, Daigle said. “They haven’t even agreed to publish the book yet,” he added. “Of course, I did send it to them only two days ago.”
Catch up with Frank Nagler and his gang and prepare for the arrival of DRAGONY RISING by reading the other four Frank Nagler Mysteries: THE SWAMPS OF JERSEY, A GAME CALLED DEAD, THE WEIGHT OF LIVING and THE RED HAND.
The Weight of Living by Michael Stephen Daigle, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
September 13, 2021
Some new reviews for ‘The Red Hand.’ Listening Netflix?
Thanks to recent readers of The Red Hand, Frank Nagler Mystery.
Coming soon, a preview of THE DRAGONY RISES, A new Frank Nagler Mystery.
One line: “Ah, What ya believe about it don’t matter when it’s happen’ right in front of ya.” — Rodney McCarroll.
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and super satisfying!
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2021
I must admit to reading one of the other books in the series. That book left some questions, straight out of curiosity, about a fictional detective I really liked. This book, although fourth in the series, answers most questions. It is very satisfying. What is more, filling in the holes makes me want to read the rest. Frank Nagler. the super sleuth, turns out to be a regular person, with wonderful skills, but full of issues, doubts and a real life. That’s how I like my detectives, and Michael Stephen Daigle has done a creditable job.
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and super satisfying!
I’m not the film type, preferring to get my entertainment from books. But frankly, I would like to watch this series on Netflix. Oh, I would still read all the existing books, and all the future books. But the author has created someone so real, so satisfyingly visual, that there is room for more on the same guy. Hear me, Netflix? Thanks, Mr. Daigle. I found this book in Kindle Unlimited. It alone is worth the monthly subscription. Highly recommend!
4.0 out of 5 stars Brutal and Honest
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2021
This was a brutal and honest read allowing us to follow in Frank Nagler’s footsteps and dreadful murder investigation. For those into the true crime type mysteries Id imagine this would be right up their dark alley.
September 5, 2021
Join us at these book events: Sept. 11, Belvidere; Sept. 18, New Providence
September is festival month.
Across New Jersey we are seeing events that last year were postponed or curtailed coming back to life in all their splendor.
Please join us at these upcoming events.
First up is the Author’s Alley at Belvidere Heritage Days, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 11. This long-running fair celebrates the heritage of Warren County’s county seat. Food, crafts, history, friendly neighbors and, authors.
Info at: Victorian Days – Belvidere Heritage
On Sept. 18, the New Providence Book Festival will take place after a year’s delay.
The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the grounds of the Salt Box Museum at 1350 Springfield Avenue, New Providence.
The festival features readings, book signings and story telling, food and tours of the museum.
Info at:
www.NewProvidenceBookFestival.com
Thanks to J.R. Bale of New Providence for pulling two wonderful book-lover events together.
September 1, 2021
Review: ‘State of Innocence:’ Compelling thriller. 4 stars
In the new and compelling thriller, “The State of Innocence,” Alexia Rodriquez-McKenzie is a troubled little girl, and suburban Mom/therapist Kimberley Mason is determined to find out why.
Each of them shares a life event whose terrible nature draws them together and acts as the pivot around which this well-crafted story spins.
Authors S.K. Mason, an Australian therapist, and Debra Scacciaferro, an American writer and editor, performed an international writing gig to complete this tale based on an actual event.
Set in the Hudson Valley of New York State, the story contrasts Kimberley’s calm, pleasant suburban life with the life led by Alexia, whose parents Connor and Isabella struggle with poverty, addictions and troubled pasts. Alexia’s case is a challenge to the somewhat inexperienced Kimberley, and at times she feels lost.
The title refers as much to Kimberley’s state of innocence as that of Alexia.
As Kimberley gets deeper into the mess that is Alexia’s life — and as she tries to throw the little girl a lifeline – the troubles seep into Kimberley’s life. Her husband Ammon becomes both defensive and concerned as he sees his wife sink into the raw event that changed her life.
“The State of Innocence” lives at that crossroad where the terrible, squirming past, and the lies to cover the pain – “Oh, yes, Honey, I’m okay,” – collide.
That collision takes Kimberley and Connor on a frightening trip that carries the second part of the book to a dramatic, crushing conclusion that leaves one question: Can you burn away all that hurts in one act?
The story is well-paced and the characters compelling.
Well done and well thought out, this is a story worth reading.
August 29, 2021
Joy
This thing, this joy
It streams from you whether you know it or not.
From your eyes even when they are dark
From your hands, fingers, mouth
Like heat from your tender body
Even from the uncertainty of everything
Swirling from your dreams
The life of water in a dry land
Light through the dark uncharted
The steadiness of love through distance
Of grace though pain
Of a whisper heard through silence.
The joy that you are
More than touch
More than wishes,
A smile like sunshine that splits the gloomy day
And turned me like a flower to that light
The joy you are like dew
On the tongue of day.
August 23, 2021
Nagler 5: Lauren returns
Lauren Fox is a city planner and the long time companion of Detective Frank Nagler. She left Ironton for what she said would be four days. She was a few days late, and with the city still roiled by unrest, Nagler was concerned,. But his time is divided by the investigation into the mayor’s death. Nagler is at the mayor’s office looking for clues. Lauren returns.
This in the intro:
The door latched turned.
No one knows I’m here but Maria.
He stepped to the side so the open door would shield him. His plan, for what it was worth, would be to slam the door into the intruder; he placed his right palm on the center of the door as it opened.
“Lauren. What the…”
Lauren Fox turned and placed one finger on his lips.
She locked the door and turned off the lights.
He kissed her finger. “I know why…”
She pressed her finger back on his mouth. “Shush.”
“Where…”
“Hush.”
Her face was dark, her eyes softened with sadness and fear.
He brushed her hair from her forehead and kissed each eye.
“How…” He exhaled a relieved breath. “You’re…”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and offered a gentle quivering kiss. She held his face, and said, “No,” when he tried to speak. “Just this.” She took his hands and leaned over and whispered in his ear.
A thin smile, and he led her to the wide mahogany desk.
****
What readers say about the Red Hand:
Kirkus Reviews: “One of modern fiction’s expertly drawn detectives.”
5.0 out of 5 stars Taking us back to the beginning of Frank Nagler’s journey, THE RED HAND lets us into his Why
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
Author Michael S. Daigle has given us quite a collection of memorable stories with his books with the main character Frank Nagler. Now with THE RED HAND he takes us back to his beginnings: new on the job, finding his footing and his voice as well as his motivation… the ‘Why’ of why he is who he is.
I enjoyed this book from the beginning. It was almost like getting to know the backstory of an old friend. Things came up in this book that made me think to myself, ‘Oh, now I understand…’. We see Nagler deal with his weaknesses, find and lean into his strength and give himself to the work that can literally be the different between life and death as well as justice.
A satisfying read, even for those just discovering Nagler as a character. You’ll sure to want to know more about him after reading this one.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2021
Well written book that provides a more in depth look at the character Frank of his beginnings. It provides more insight into this character and overall, the plot is effective.
August 8, 2021
Broken; fixed
I get it, things break, disconnect. But they can be fixed.
Sometimes it’s a matter of saying the right words to the right person at the right time.
It started with the new storm door.
It featured a self-storing screen that slipped behind the glass window, which was useful and neat.
Until the bottom part of the screen detached from the door frame.
Well, they sent me a new screen.
The bigger sign that things were sliding out of control was the electric lawnmower.
At nine years old, it had nearly doubled its planned obsolesce, but when it took me two days to mow the postage-stamp sized lawn because the battery wouldn’t hold a charge, it was clear the end had come. That and the fact they had stopped making that model and battery some years ago.
[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.fi..." data-large-file="https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.fi..." src="https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.fi..." alt="" class="wp-image-3123" srcset="https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.fi... 1024w, https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.fi... 150w, https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.fi... 300w, https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.fi... 768w, https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.fi... 1880w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.comI like electric lawnmowers. They mean I can mow the lawn without ear plugs. I’m on my third, the first two lasting nearly 20 years between them.
I get it, things break, disconnect.
But they can be fixed.
A battery can be replaced, a screen reconnected.
Sometimes it’s a matter of saying the right words to the right person at the right time.
Then, just for fun, it was the doorbell, the wireless wonder.
Left our neighbor’s son on the porch holding a bag of tomatoes he had grown, pushing the button and wondering why no one answered the door.
It was a fun device. You had a choice of rings from Beethoven’s Fifth, to Christmas carols to Yankee Doodle. But there was decided Confederate undertone with the added choices of Dixie and a couple other Southern battle hymns.
Anyway, it quit, 20 years in.
Now, ya’d think that only so many things can break in one house in the same week.
But you’d be wrong.
On Saturday, my desktop computer stopped computing.
There I was typing away when the keyboard quit.
Right there in the middle of some word I was misspelling, it decided it had had enough.
Usually with computer peripherals, a quick reboot connects the devices.
But with a keyboard, you need a keyboard to reconnect the computer to the keyboard.
So I found the virtual keyboard and rebooted, and then consulted both the instructions from the computer manufacturer and the software maker for a possible fix, and each said the keyboard was fine.
Of course they did.
So I played their little game of do this or that and reboot until all is well until on the last reboot, the computer just stopped and I’ve been staring at a blank screen all day.
Not all is lost. Computer software is a bunch of ones and zeros and I’m guessing this time the ones went out to lunch and forget to tell the zeros.
The computer can be restarted and the files saved, but, and this is the part that is fun, you need a keyboard and an escape key to do it. One with a cord and plug, you know, old tech.
Meanwhile the last pages of the fifth Frank Nagler Mystery are wondering where I am – I left Frank rifling through the dead mayor’s office looking for clues to his death. Maybe when I get back he’ll have found them.
Stuff breaks.
We get careless, thoughtless, selfish, unforgiving. We damage things we don’t mean to break, and all the rips and tears are like the files locked in a computer, words a lover never hears.
It takes a different software to fix that.
Just need a restore point.
July 23, 2021
Light is time glowing
When space becomes
energy; gathers.
Light is time
glowing.
Boundaries blur,
Heat, light
shift.
Touch, love, desire; all.
Dark eyes light
skin like silk
soft; a sound
teasing, whispering
understood.
Things taken,
given.
Time is light
bent around
us.
![[image error]Pexels.com](https://michaelstephendaigledotcom.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/pexels-photo-1999463.jpeg){kind=link}