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Undaunted

(Stan Turner #1)

William Manchee (Goodreads Author)

3.22 · Rating details · 76 ratings · 48 reviews

As a youngster Stan Turner is determined to become an attorney. He is mysteriously forewarned that the path to his dream will be difficult and fraught with danger. At every turn, Stan is confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet he pushes forward, undaunted by the unknown forces that seek to derail him. Forced into the United States Marines by a vicious twist ...more

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Paperback, 328 pages

Published June 1st 2010 by Top Publications, Ltd. (first published July 1st 1998)

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· 76 ratings · 48 reviews

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Dec 02, 2010 AH rated it it was ok

Shelves: signed-copy, mystery, first-reads

Undaunted is the story of Stan Turner, a law student who enlists in the Marines during the Vietnam War. During basic training, Stan has a confrontation with his drill sergeant. Later on the drill sergeant is murdered. Stan is the prime suspect for the crime.

There was an interesting story in this book, but it was bogged down by a lot of details and dialogue. There was a lot of dialogue in this book and at times it was difficult to follow.

I did not find Stan very likable and I am not sure if it ...more

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Feb 09, 2014 Kim Schneider rated it really liked it · review of another edition

OMG what a great story! It was a page turner. I would like to read all other books by this author.

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Jan 21, 2011 Kristine rated it it was ok

Shelves: first-reads

I got two copies of this book as part of a goodreads give away. I thought the premise was very interesting, and I do have to admit, I didn't figure out who the killer was--that was a surprise. I had a hard time getting into the book, largely because it's not terribly well-written. The writing gets better later in the book, but the early chapters are pretty painful. There are a couple of chapters (just two, I think) that are written from the perspective of another character (a reporter), but, jus ...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Ishanie rated it it was ok

Shelves: first-reads

I just won this selection through the First Reads giveaway here on Goodreads and I'm patiently and excitedly awaiting its arrival. I love to read any books related to psychopaths or serial killers since it's what I study!

***UPDATE***

So I'm very disappointed with this selection. I know it's a first in a series so I'll be gentle.
This reading was laughable at best. This Stan Turner character was certainly likable but he's impossibly fake. There is NO man like this out there. He claims to be in lov ...more

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Oct 19, 2017 Sandy rated it it was ok

The story was okay and I would have given the book three stars except the edition I read had so many typos it was distracting. It was if someone type the story on a typewriter and failed to have it proofed before being published.

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Aug 31, 2013 IslandRiverScribe rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: z-read-2013, mysteries-thrillers

Don’t you just love it when a book has had its copyright renewed 3 times, the latest being in 2013, and there’s a grammar mistake in the 2nd paragraph of the first page? And it doesn’t stop there! You can hardly go more than two pages without an obvious editing error – grammar, punctuation, incorrect word choice, missing words, uncorrected changes from first person POV to 3rd person POV, et cetera and so on.

I realize that this is either the first or second book that the author ever had published Don’t you just love it when a book has had its copyright renewed 3 times, the latest being in 2013, and there’s a grammar mistake in the 2nd paragraph of the first page? And it doesn’t stop there! You can hardly go more than two pages without an obvious editing error – grammar, punctuation, incorrect word choice, missing words, uncorrected changes from first person POV to 3rd person POV, et cetera and so on.

I realize that this is either the first or second book that the author ever had published (original copyright is 1997). I also realize that this is the first book in a series that, to date, has at least 10 books. But the first book in a series is like the flagship of a fleet. It needs to be good; actually, it needs to be better than good if the author is to entice readers to buy a second and future novels.

And this book wasn’t good. It had an excellent premise, but that premise got lost in a myriad of errors and faulty constructs. And, apparently, the author has never seen fit to give his flagship an overhaul.

First, the main protagonist, Stanley Turner, is portrayed as just about the most oblivious, naïve, wishy-washy late 1960’s college-age male facing the Vietnam War draft that I have ever seen (or read about). You see, I am only a year younger than Stanley was portrayed as being. And even though I am female and was not subject to the draft in those years, every guy I knew in college was. Every last one of those guys knew every option in every military branch open to them on a daily basis. And yet Stanley was written as the ostrich with his head in the sand, not knowing his options, not even checking them out until it was too late, just hoping the war would end before he graduated. The word “unrealistic” doesn’t even begin to describe this set-up.

Secondly, there was the section of the book concerning the court-martial proceedings. Even in 1970, hearsay evidence was not allowed, evidence had to be documented, presumptions were squashed and court-martials were not public. The author’s lack of research in this area is appalling.

And these are just the most obvious of the poor constructs. There are simply too many, large and small in scope, to describe in this review.

However, there was one redeeming value to this book. The author may have portrayed Stan as naïve and wishy-washy, but Stan was also consistently portrayed as an honorable and good man, a man who loved his wife and family, a man with a conscience and the guts to follow that conscience.

In reality, it took over half the book to get to the action, the murder mystery. That first half slogged through an overload of background and biographical material on Stan. It also contained material on other characters and situations without relating that material to our protagonist. And the author failed to establish a creditable timeline in relation to these scenarios.

Normally, I would have abandoned a book with such a plethora of problems well before that halfway mark. However, I won the 5th book in the series, Deadly Distractions, in the Goodreads Giveaway Program. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to give that book an honest review without at least reading the first book in the series. So I purchased this book to try to get a feel for the main character and the basis for the series. And I fought with it to the last page.

I surely hope that 5th book is better.
...more

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Jun 27, 2013 David Caldwell rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, suspense

This is the first Stan Turner mystery.

William Manchee is a master at weaving a multi-plot novel filled with plenty of suspense. He adds plenty of courtroom drama made extremely believable due to his years of experience with the legal system (as a lawyer of course).

Stan is just starting to reach for his dreams of becoming first a lawyer and then a politician. He is also starting his life with his wife and his first child. But with the Vietnam War raging, he is worried about the draft. Just when h ...more

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Sep 30, 2010 Michelle O'flynn rated it liked it

I won this book from Goodreads as a first read. While Willima Manchee comes up with a great storyline, it is rather to trite and doesn't really delve into the kinds of dilemmas and emotions that form the motivations of his characters. The main character Stan is idealistic and yet that is contradicted by his near betrayals with at two females who seemingly want to fall all over him. Yet in the main Stan is a strong person, and should not have so easily been tempted, yet also done so many stupid t ...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Julie rated it did not like it

Shelves: first-in-a-series, first-reads, mystery

I won Undaunted through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway on 12/02/2010 and received my copy on 12/13/2010.

I just finished reading Undaunted and I feel like something was taken from me in a way. I was so excited to read this book and through the whole thing, the book felt a bit robotic. Like someone just had a ton of ideas for the book and jotted them down. I hate to say that, but it's my honest opinion.

Undaunted also skipped around. It will be one month in the book and then the next paragraph ...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Charity rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Undaunted is a huge disappointment. What should have been a great story line ends up being trampled to death in the race to the finish. Characters are flat and poorly developed, with wildly varying traits occurring in the same people at different times in the book. Unless the author somehow forgot to mention that more than half the cast is suffering from bipolar disorder, the characters were unrealistic and often irritating.

The writing itself is frustrating to read because there were, at least i ...more

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Aug 29, 2013 Brent Soderstrum rated it really liked it

This is the first of the Stan Turner mysteries created by William Manchee. This book starts out with Stan joining the Marines so he can avoid being drafted. This takes place in 1970 when our country was still fighting in the Vietnam War. Stan goes to boot camp and things go downhill from for Stan. His drill sergeant is not a warm and guy. Stan gets beat with a plastic rod and ends up in the infirmary. Then the drill sergeant is killed. Stan is the prime suspect. How does he find the true killer? ...more

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Oct 30, 2013 Julie Barrett rated it really liked it

Undaunted by William Manchee
I had read the second book in the author's other series and loved it so much I did go out and buy the other two books and they were just as good.
This book is mainly about Stan Turner and his life, growing up, in high school, college and then married and then his military life.
I recall the draft lottery as my brother had #134 as we sat huddled near the radio that day as the #'s were being announced.
Liked following the military career and found it to be similar to what ...more

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Oct 08, 2010 chrissysg rated it really liked it

Undaunted by William Manchee

This is the first book that I read by William Manchee. I was initially curious about this book because of the picture on the cover, I wasn't sure what to expect from this mystery. In the long run,this was a good read and I found myself excited as to what would happen next in the story. I must admit that at first I was a little confused in the first chapters. I thought it was a short short story book and that one story had finished and another beginning, when in realit ...more

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Dec 10, 2010 Jan rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 11, 2013 Patti rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Received free thru Goodreads First Read

This was a an interesting story premise, but the writing was just not up to par. It was very raw and unfinished, and not in a good way. The whole beginning was very unsophisticated and, in my opinon, completely unnecessary. It was an information dump, I guess because the author didn't know any way else to get the info out there. It would have been much better had he let it come out via the character's thoughts or actions or even just waiting until it came u ...more

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Dec 04, 2010 Billjr13 rated it liked it

I won Undaunted by William Manchee from Goodreads and I found it an enjoyable book.
It follows Stan Turner and every man type character that grew up in California during the 50’s. Turner is married and in law school; to avoid the Army draft he joins the Marine Corps and heads to Officer Candidate School. While there his drill sergeant is murdered and his finger prints are on the murder weapon. Charged with murder Stan has to find the real killer with the help of a nurse who has the hots for him ...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Meredith rated it it was ok

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book through First Reads.

I enjoyed the plot of this book and found it to be a quick read. My issues with the book are that while the narration portions of the book were well written, the conversational portions of the book came across as unrealistic. Something about the wording came across as not how real conversation sounds. I also had difficulty with the point of view changes in the early chapters as it was unclear whose point of view we had switched to and why. Obviously, later in ...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Steve rated it did not like it

For the record, I won Undaunted through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway and finished just now (12/26/10). It could have been a good book but I didn’t like that it skipped around from person to person without clues that the first person, I, was changing. Time moved like in a bad dream where speed up and slowed down uncontrollably. Events that were important were given too much time and so they were obvious clues that went beyond foreshadowing. The writing style was as if a novice had just writ ...more

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Feb 23, 2011 Nicki Markus rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-thrillers-mysteries

Ok. This was an average read for me. I was loaned the book by a friend who won a copy in the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
There was nothing wrong with the story and I was able to finish reading the book from cover to cover but it never really grabbed me. I was happy enough reading it but I was never truly drawn in.
Nothing was wrong with the characters, but nothing stood out about them either.
The dialogue was my main gripe though as at times it felt really stilted to me and I didn't believe it. ...more

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Jun 24, 2013 Bee rated it it was ok

Shelves: giveaways

I won a copy of this book a few years ago, I have reread it recently and thought that I ought to give an honest review.

The story itself is an interesting one, I feel that a series of books would be great and I would read more in this series. There are a lot of ideas to explore with regards to the main characters back story and "future" story.

But I couldn't get past the poor spelling and grammar (hence the low stars). I kept noticing such obvious mistakes that I found myself wanting to underline ...more

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Mar 20, 2014 Pat Eells rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Anyone who likes a military mystery.

Recommended to Pat by: I was a Goodreads giveaway.

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway - thank you. I found the title of the book "Undaunted" to be an appropriate name.

This novel was a quick read, a suspenseful, military mystery re a man forced into the service. He had many problems, solutions, and more problems involving his family and a killing in the Marines. He was accused of this murder and spent much of his time (with the help of others) trying to prove his innocence. The book kept my interest alive and I had difficulty putting ...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Debbie Roberts rated it liked it

I enjoyed the drama that unfolds in this well written story.
After finishing this book I recommended it to a neighbor and she is now reading it.
I love to share good books!

I won a this copy of "Undaunted" from Goodreads!
Many thanks to Willilam Manchee for offering this in a giveaway, and thank you Goodreads for choosing me as a winner. This is a such a wonderful place to learn about new books, discover authors, share ideas with readers and wrtiers...the list goes on and on.

...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Gayle rated it liked it

I won a free copy of this book. It was a good story but I found the writing a little stilted.
Did anyone besides me wonder if the main character was trying to convince me, or himself, that there was nothing
going on with the nurse. He made excuses every time he kissed her. I think a wife would know the difference
between a friendly kiss and a romantic kiss.
Sorry that I can give it only three stars.

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Jan 12, 2014 Marsha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014

Undaunted by William Manchee is the first book in the Stan Turner Mysteries. It is a very well written, very quick read. I enjoyed it tremendously. Mostly, in detective/mystery series, the reader picks up the characters at some life point, then flashes show you what led to those events. Undaunted tells the story of Stan Turner from the very beginning, almost biographically. It is amazingly well done.

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Feb 18, 2014 Joseph Brehm rated it really liked it · review of another edition

While I rather enjoyed the book, I did find it was slow getting started. The character development was a little to in depth during the first few chapters, and the story didn't even begin until half way through the book. Even when it did start it picked up very slowly.

On the good side, when it did gain some momentum there were some wonderful plot twists that catch you completely by surprise. By the last few chapters I found the book hard to put down. ...more

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Mar 19, 2015 Debra Jeakins rated it liked it

This is the first book in the Stan Turner mystery series & I have to tell you I was not at all impressed with the first part of the book. The story drug and drug on the first few chapters & frankly, if I had not already read one of his later mysteries I would have put this down after the second chapter. But thank goodness it got a whole lot better about mid way thru the book & in all honesty I had NO clue of the real killer till the ending which is why I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 1. ...more

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Jul 22, 2013 Richard rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Book 1 in the Stan Turner Mystery series. Mystery/Legal Thriller.
I've read a few books from this series and really enjoyed them, so I decided to make it my goal to read them all.
Undaunted is a fun read with great characters, courtroom drama, suspense, humor, and a few surprises.
Nothing ever works out easily for Stan.
Another book for my favorites shelf.
5 stars. ...more

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Feb 05, 2014 Connie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

FIRST READS GIVE-A-WAY

This was an OK read but bless this Marine Hero! He had so many things go wrong and it seemed he was the only one to be able to fix the issues.
I am aware that both Marines and Heros are the best to call when there is trouble but this poor guy was overworked, and should have just locked his door and stayed in bed.

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Mar 10, 2014 Patricia Ann rated it liked it · review of another edition

This was a fast read. I was distressed by the grammatical errors, the mixing of first and third person in the narrative, run on sentences, etc. WHY were these not corrected in the years between publications???
Storyline was initially slow moving and the main characters needed to be fleshed out .

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Nov 06, 2010 Sarah Jacquie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: first-reads

Won through Goodreads giveaways --

So many things just go so wrong and the character is just too naive. Obviously that made it entertaining each time he'd realize just exactly what mess he stepped into next. I enjoyed it and it moves fast... except the moments where I would face palm ;) ...more

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About William Manchee

William Manchee

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William Manchee is an attorney by trade and practices consumer law in Dallas with his son Jim. Originally from southern California, he now lives in Plano, Texas.