Review of Checkmate by Jonathan Patrick

Jonathan Patrick's political thriller is currently on a virtual blog tour with Closed the Cover through December 6.  International terrorism is at the center of the plot and draws on the experiences of the author as a retired U.S. Air Force veteran.

What happens when North Korea, China, and Iran conspire to attack the United States?  The answer is an intricately woven story full of rich details and research, and (for the most part) high developed, believable characters.  I won't give away much in this review because so many details are so tied into one another that it would risk giving away important plot elements.  Simply put, Checkmate must be read to appreciated.  A synopsis does not do justice to the time and effort obviously made by Mr. Patrick to make the story as realistic as possible.  When the original conspiracy is put forth in a meeting at the Grand Hyatt Taipei in Taiwan, readers can easily become skeptical as to how
 a plan that seems to be so far-fetched could have a chance of being put into motion and actually being successful against the world's greatest superpower.  However, as the author reminds us in the book's trailer, "with most of its once mighty navy staying in port, and the remainder stretched thinly across the globe, America's enemies now have different words to describe America: weak...and very vulnerable".  Without taking obvious political sides, the novel shows how austerity measures have weakened America's military might and thus opened a window of opportunity for the country's political enemies to take advantage of chinks in the armor.

Jonathan Patrick is a retired veteran of the United States Air Force who currently lives in the Carolinas with his wife and two children.  His military career took him to various countries around the world and provided him with experiences with several intelligence agencies.  He is working on a second novel.  To learn more about him and his thought process while creating the novel, check out the Q & A with him on the Author Interviews page of this blog.

As I read the novel, I was reminded of the political thrillers from authors such as Tom Clancy.  The details of the missions, submarines, and military and commercial installations was so realistic that it was almost scary to realize how such a sinister plot could actually play out against American interests.  I also really enjoyed the background information provided about many of the key characters, allowing us to see how even some of those who come to be enemies of America, have human interests, feelings, and motivations.  The only character who seemed under developed was Ramon, the totally inept supervisor of Julie and Gina, the brilliant young women who designed the computer software program that is at the heart of the story.  While America faces imminent threat of attack, his only interest seems to lie in the March Madness basketball tournament.  Readers would shudder to think that a supervisor in a key government intelligence agency would be so out of touch.  But then again....

Checkmate has a fast-paced, chilling climax that leaves enough loose ends to warrant a sequel in the near future.  I for one, will be looking forward to it, if only to continue reading about the heroic characters that were introduced to us in this book and see how America recovers and fights back against a conspiracy that spans the globe.

Review of From Rum to Roots by Lloyd G. Francis

Francis, L. (2013).  From Rum to Roots.  San Francisco:  Marway Publishing.

From Rum to Roots is the debut novel from author Lloyd G. Francis.  When I received the invitation to participate in the blog tour through Closed the Cover, I jumped at the opportunity after reading the synopsis, and the book met all of my expectations and then some.

The story begins in 1937 in the Jamaican countryside.  Linton McMann is the gang driver at a rum plantation owned by Major Blaine.  There is an unspoken, well-hidden secret between the two men-Linton is Major's illegitimate son.  Linton has grown up with the resentment and shame of never being publicly acknowledged by his father, despite Major's small efforts to placate him.  After violence erupts in and around the plantation as the workers rise up in an attempt to organize and demand better wages, Linton and his girlfriend Sheila escape to the settlement of Bessanworse where they join an elder named Timothy and become a part of the fledgling Rastafarian community.  Meanwhile in Kingston, 17 year old Daisy has just graduated from high school and is taking over her family's ice business while dealing with friction between her and her sister Callie, as well as her mother's new husband, Wilbur.  After a terrifying episode of abuse that Daisy shamefully keeps secret, she leaves home and marries Miles, a man who turns out to be very abusive.  Daisy leads a miserable, poverty-stricken life with her two young daughters, Janet and Lissette, while Linton struggles with the loss of Sheila and  their unborn child, leaving him to carry a heavy load of guilt and grief.  Linton and Daisy's paths finally cross in America, when they both receive visas and end up in Brooklyn, New York.  They marry and start on a solid path of upward mobility, fulfilling the American dream while attempting to erase their painful memories of Jamaica.  Daisy's dream of sending for Janet and Lissette fade with each passing year as she and Linton have children of their own and the ocean separating them seems to grow too wide to cross.

A native of Oakland, California, Lloyd G. Francis started his career as a photojournalist and ended up covering battles in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kashmir.  To learn more about him, check out the interview with him on the Author Interview page of this blog.

From Rum to Roots is a story of an often untold immigrant experience that turns the history of Jamaica and America in the early part of the 20th century into a mesmerizing, richly detailed narrative with characters who are endearing but flawed, and who epitomize the human struggle to survive and overcome daunting odds.  Linton and Daisy must both overcome personal histories full of pain, guilt and hurt, and until they do so,they can never truly find complete happiness, despite the material wealth that they gain as they become financially successful.  Money truly cannot buy happiness, and their attempts to shut out their past causes friction and a nagging sense of emptiness, and for Daisy, it also causes a nearly irreparable rift between herself and the daughters that she left behind in Jamaica.  This story speaks to the very real struggle that many immigrants to this country face-the desire to assimilate into American life without losing their past and heritage completely.  For Daisy and Linton, their heritage does not represent a source of pride and comfort, but instead serves as a reminder of the struggles and tragedies that they left behind.  They must ultimately realize that burying the past does not bury the pain, and that they cannot heal themselves by turning their backs on their roots, but rather by embracing them and drawing on the wisdom and pride of their ancestors and homeland.  From Rum to Roots is a moving, deeply fulfilling novel that will linger in the minds of readers long after the final page is turned.  This is a first-rate effort from a new author and a worthy piece of contemporary fiction that speaks not just to the immigrant experience, but to the general human experience as well.

Review of Living Again by L.L. Collins

Collins, L. (2013). Living Again.

Living Again is the debut novel of self-published author L.L. Collins.  When I chose to review this book as part of the Closed the Cover virtual blog tour, I was skeptical as to whether I could get into the storyline of a contemporary romance.  However, I  found myself easily pulled into the plot.

Life can't possibly get any better for Kayley Carson. She has a great career as a physical therapist and is married to her college sweetheart and best friend, Alex.  With a baby on the way, their future and happiness together seems totally assured.  Then one evening, Alex is late coming home from work and an ominous phone call sends Kayley's world into a tailspin.  Alex has been critically injured in a terrible car crash.  Kayley rushes to the hospital, only to be given the news that Alex has passed away.  Only weeks later, she gives birth to their daughter, who she names Alexis in memory of the father that she will never know.  Kayley enters the world of motherhood in a fog of despair and grief.  Overnight, she has gone from a happy wife and expectant mother, to a single parent facing the world without the man that she loves most.  Only the love and support of her family and friends, including her best friend Emily, allows her to rebuild some semblance of a life.  Kayley dedicates herself to raising Alexis and keeping Alex's memory alive.  Her family urges her to begin dating again, but Kayley has shut her heart off from the world.  Memories of Alex wash over her daily like the waves of the ocean on the Florida beach near her home. Then one day, she meets Dr. Ben Nichols, an emergency room pediatrician and she tentatively takes steps towards building a new relationship. However, both she and Ben must face and overcome the insecurities and pain from their past so that their new love can stand a chance.

L.L. Collins is a teacher, mother, and wife living in Florida.  Her second self-published novel will be available in the early part of 2014. Read more about her on the Author Interviews page of this blog and enter to win an ebook version of Living Again by clicking on the Contests and Giveaways tab.

Living Again is a modern love story with heavy doses of romance and sexuality.  Due to graphic lovemaking scenes, this book is recommended for mature readers only.  The story is laid out in both the present day and through a series of flashbacks.  It is very poignant and emotional, with some outright tear-jerking scenes throughout.  Vivid imagery, well-written prose and flowing dialogue make this is a worthy debut from a new author in the adult contemporary romance genre.  Living Again should definitely find its way into the hands of romance fans, while fans of other genres may not be as impressed.  On the other hand, they may be pleasantly surprised like I was.

Review of Countdown City by Ben Winters

Winters, B. (2013). Countdown City. Philadelphia: Quirk Books.

Countdown City is the much anticipated sequel to The Last Policeman and the second book in the trilogy.  Readers are once again transported to the pre-apocalyptic world of Hank Palace as he and those around him struggle to hold onto the last remaining pieces of civilization in the face of impending doom.

At the end of The Last Policeman, Hank solved his case determining the true cause of death of Peter Zell and inherited a dog named Houdini in the process.  Hank suffered two significant losses- the official end of his job when the Concord (New Hampshire) Police Department is taken over by the feds, and the murder of the woman he loved, Naomi.

Countdown City picks up with 77 days left until the predicted impact of Maia, the enormous asteroid that will obliterate most, if not all life on Earth.  Conditions are rapidly deteriorating.  The electricity is gone.  Most businesses are closed, and food is becoming scarce.  Palace and two of his police buddies meet at a diner each day for lunch where they are served the only things left on the menu, hot tea and oatmeal.  Citizens are responding to the impending doomsday in a variety of ways:  some have committed suicide, many have disappeared to fulfill their 'bucket list' wishes, while others are hoarding supplies, taking weapons training, and preparing for slim chances of surviving the catastrophe.  Many children have been abandoned by their parents and have taken shelter in a local elementary school, where they sleep outside and play aimlessly.  Hank has taken an interest in two of the children-a brother and sister, and keeps tabs on them when possible.  Perhaps even more saddening, are the large numbers of boats filled with desperate refugees fleeing the impact zone of the asteroid but who are often forcibly turned away by the U.S. Coast Guard.  In the midst of it all, Hank finds himself once again working a case, this time, the disappearance of Brett Cavatone, husband of Hank and his sister Nico's childhood babysitter.  Hank had a bitter disagreement with Nico and they parted ways in the first book, but their paths cross again in Countdown City, both because she becomes helpful in his quest to find Brett, but mostly because of a childhood promise that he made to her that he would never leave her.  The brother and sister's love/hate relationship provides an interesting backdrop to the heightening mystery surrounding Brett Cavatone's disappearance, culminating in a series of events that literally mean life or death for Hank.

Ben H.Winters grew up in Maryland and attended college at Washington University in St. Louis.  He has worked as a journalist and a playwright and has written seven novels.  The Last Policeman won a 2012 Edgar Award.

Countdown City continues Winter's spare, elegant prose as he delves into the life of a detective who struggles to make sense of a world that has fallen apart and maintain some semblance of decency and civility even when it seems hopeless to do so.  Everywhere he goes, Hank is asked "why"?  Why is he so doggedly pursuing cases, trying to solve crimes, looking for a missing person in a world full of people who have gone missing?  Winters manages to achieve the fine balance between making a philosophical point without being preachy.  He shows readers that Hank continues to solve cases for the same reason that he and his police friends meet for lunch each day, for the same reason that Ruth-Ann continues to serve them determinedly from her dwindling menu, for the same reason that Micah-the little boy who sleeps in the elementary playground with his sister, hangs on to his samurai sword-because even in the face of almost certain doom, the human will to survive is one of the strongest forces on the planet. Hank made a promise to solve the case. Ruth-Ann made a promise to serve her customers.  Their fragile world is held together by the slender bonds of these promises-none of which they are bound to keep in the face of such damning odds, but which they keep nonetheless, lest they give up and their souls die of despair before their bodies physically perish.

Winters invites readers to submit short essays to his Quirk Books page answering the question, "What would you do with just 77 days until the end of the world?" What would you do? Please comment below!

Thriller Fiction Novelist Tom Clancy Dead at Age 66

copyright 2012 David Burnett

The Penguin Group has announced the passing of New York Times best-selling novelist Tom Clancy in Baltimore on Tuesday.  The author was 66. A cause of death was not stated. Clancy was perhaps best known for his blockbuster thriller, The Hunt for Red October, which became a hit movie starring Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery.

Several of his other novels also went on to be played out on the big screen, including Patriot Games, The Sum of All Fears, and Clear and Present Danger.

In the statement released by the publishing company, Penguin executive David Shanks was quoted as saying "He was a consummate author, creating the modern-day thriller, and was one of the most visionary storytellers of our times. I will miss him dearly and he will be missed by tens of millions of readers worldwide."

Command Authority, Clancy's 17th novel, is due out on December 3rd.

An icon of the literary world is gone but his words will live on.  What is your favorite Tom Clancy novel/film? Comment below.

Review of Gone Girl by Gillian Fly

Flynn, G. (2012).  Gone Girl.  London:  Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Gone Girl may be one of the only books that you encounter in your life in which the thoughtless, forgetful, cheating husband becomes the victim and the person that you root for in the end.  I can't give away too much in this review because of a mind-blowing twist in the middle of the novel. This is truly one book that you simply must read for yourself.

Nick and Amy Dunne are a mid-thirties couple living in Nick's small Missouri hometown.  Both writers who met when living in New York City, they became victims of the economy and the digital wave that wiped out many print journalists.  When they find themselves both unemployed and Nick gets a call from his twin sister Margo to tell him that their mother is dying from cancer, the decision to move back to Nick's home is an easy one-at least for him.  Amy leaves behind everything she has ever known, including her parents, in order to follow Nick halfway across the country, where he and his twin, who he affectionately calls Go, borrow money from Amy's trust fund to start a small bar.  Meanwhile, Amy tries to settle into her new surroundings and wanders aimlessly through her days as a forced housewife.  Her side of the story is told through her diary entries, which paints a picture of an isolated, unhappy woman who maintains a facade of cheerfulness as her marriage slowly unravels.  Then one day, Nick comes home and finds the front door wide open, their cat outside, signs of a struggle in the living room, and most shockingly-blood in the kitchen.  Amy is gone, and his world goes into a tailspin overnight.

Gillian Flynn earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and English from the University of Kansas and a master's in journalism from Northwestern University. A former critic for Entertainment Weekly, she is the author of two other novels.  Gone Girl is a New York Times Bestseller and has been nominated for several awards, including an Edgar Award.

Gillian Flynn creates a stunning masterpiece with an engrossing, startlingly real character study of Nick and Amy at the center.  Their opposing narratives show how the same actions and events can be viewed in completely different ways by the people involved, a phenomenon that is anything but fictional and leads to the disintegration of real-life marriages too.  Colorful characters such as Tanner Bolt, the obscenely expensive lawyer that Nick hires when it becomes apparent that he is suspect number one in Amy's disappearance, and Ellen Abbott-the prosecutor turned true crime television analyst (shades of Nancy Grace) who vilifies Nick nightly in her self-righteous rants, add humor and irony as well as telling commentary on a society that tries criminal cases in the media and in which spouses of missing or murdered persons are judged innocent or guilty based on the amount of emotion they display.  Gone Girl is a can't-put-down must read with a thriller of a twist and a perverse ending that will leave readers begging for a sequel.

Review of Vuto by A.J. Walkley

Walkley, A.J. (2013).  Vuto. Rocket Science Productions.

Author A.J. Walkley spent time in the Peace Corps after graduating from college, working as a health volunteer in the country of Malawi in Africa.  Her experiences during this time inspired the novel Vuto, a moving narrative that describes what happens when two cultures collide and how help from a well-intentioned outsider can be viewed as interfering and have far-reaching consequences.

Vuto is a 17 year old who is giving birth to her third child when the novel opens.  Samantha, a white Peace Corps volunteer, watches and wonders why she is alone, no family or friends present to provide comfort and support. The nurse explains that Malawian tradition dictates that the woman gives birth alone, as a sign of strength.  As the narrative switches back to Vuto's perspective, readers soon learn that her birth name is not Vuto, but she is called Vuto, meaning "problem" because she is deemed a troublemaker.  Her two previous children, both boys, died soon after birth.  Her third child, a girl, whose birth Samantha witnessed, dies on her 13th day.  Tradition dictates that the woman and the child stay isolated for two weeks after birth.  If the child lives past this time, then and only then, does the mother introduce the child to the father. Because all of her children have died before this time period, Vuto has never been able to show her husband their children.  She has carried the burden of her grief alone.  After the death of her daughter, whom she had named Mwala, meaning "Rock", Vuto summons her courage and confronts her husband in front of a tribal meeting of elders, in order to force him to see his dead daughter.  She is immediately ordered to be banished from the village with only the clothes on her back for her disobedience and violation of cultural traditions.  As she leaves, desperate, heartbroken, and unsure of what she will do next, she encounters Samantha, who remembers her from the clinic.  Upon hearing her story, Samantha offers her a place to stay in the small hut that she is provided as a volunteer.  Because Samantha's home is not outside of the village borders, Vuto is violating her order of banishment by staying there.  Leona, the nurse, sees Vuto enter and secretly goes back and tells that she is there.  Enraged, Vuto's husband shows up at the house and attempts to attack her.  Samantha defends her new friend by stabbing Vuto's husband with her Swiss Army knife, killing him.  Panic-stricken and faced with the realization that Samantha may face murder charges, the two women flee, but only after Vuto reasons through Samantha's naive beliefs that the authorities will understand that the murder was self-defense and that the Peace Corps will come to her aid.  Vuto narrates, "she didn't see it from my point of view, only hers, and her point of view was American, not Malawian. Not African at all." After Vuto tells the story of how a former Peace Corps volunteer was raped by a village elder and the organization swept the incident under the rug to avoid bad publicity, Samantha realizes that she is on her own.  Along the way, they receive help from Samantha's boyfriend Hunter, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, and when they reach the Peace Corps headquarters in the capital, things come to a sad, troubling end.

A.J. Walkley majored in English Literature and spent a year in the Peace Corps in Malawi after graduating from college.  In addition to Vuto, she has written two other books.  She currently works as a writer and blogger for The Huffington Post.  To learn more about her, check out the Q &A on the Author Interviews page of this blog.

Vuto tackles tough issues in a thoughtful, realistic manner.  The Malawian characters, including Vuto, are torn in their feelings towards the Peace Corps volunteers.  On the one hand, they welcome the help that is so desperately needed.  On the other hand, they resent and distrust them, viewing them as yet more white outsiders who have come in to change and destroy their way of life.  Vuto herself questions and disobeys some of her culture's traditions, but it is even worse when a white outsider such as Samantha does the same.  Samantha sorts through her own internal conflicts.   Many of the things that she sees, especially the treatment of women and children, goes against her own belief system.  However, she wonders who she thinks she is to come in and criticize or try to change a culture simply because its traditions don't align with her sense of right and wrong.  The Peace Corps forbids volunteers from interfering in cultural traditions, which is one reason why Samantha cannot expect them to defend her.  However, Samantha's-and the reader's view of the Peace Corps as a benevolent humanitarian organization is tarnished as she learns just how far it will go to maintain good public relations.  Perhaps what makes this story so real and compelling, is that all of the answers are not presented neatly tied up in a nice ending.  Samantha's efforts to help Vuto-although well-intentioned, lead to tragedy.  In the end, although she saves Vuto's life, she cannot save her from her overwhelming grief, nor rebuild her broken spirit that has been crushed by years of cruel disregard and even abuse in the name of tradition.  The reader, like Samantha, is left to wonder what-if anything can be done to bridge the gap between Western culture and the rest of the world, after so many years of oppressive brutality and colonialism on one hand, and misunderstood and sometimes abusive traditions on the other.