Review - Personal Notes by Emily-Jane Hills Orford

Margaret "Peggy" Murray Downer lived her life out of the spotlight, but for the family and friends who knew her, she was a grand lady whose story should be shared.

Peggy isn't sure why her granddaughter wants to know about her life, but Peggy isn't about to refuse the request. She struggles with what exactly to talk about, especially since she is in her 90s and admits that her memory isn't what it used to be. She wrote in journals every day of her life and held on to written treasures from loved ones. She loves sharing stories, but knows she'd need at least another 90 years to get all her current stories recorded and organized. She's willing to share her life with whoever is interested.

Orford uses her grandmother's early journals and tape-recorded stories to create a biography of a woman who will forever remain close to her heart. She pulls the reader in immediately with Peggy's voice in the the prologue. The engaging writing feels more like a conversation with friends than a book being read. Peggy's story is told with compassion and love and succeeds in letting a large audience get to know a wonderful human being.

Emily-Jane Hills Orford divides her time between her growing family, her music studio, and her writing. She believes in writing about ordinary people. Manay of her stories include the people who were most important and influential in her life, including her grandmother, the source of Personal Notes.

Personal Notes is a touching glimpse into the past. A great family read filled with real adventures and delicious recipes.

Available through http://www.moosehidebooks.com/. Or visit Emily's Web site.

Title: Personal Notes

Author: Emily-Jane Hills Orford

Publisher: Moose Enterprise Book and Theatre Play Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-894650-70-0

Pages: 252

Price: $17.97

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - Killer Butterfly by James R. Vance

Petra's life is a challenging as any other fifteen-year-old with a dysfunctional family, but the choices she makes as she moves through life cross the lines of acceptable, reasonable, and sane.

Petra Rebovka feels entitled to get whatever she wants whenever she wants it. The rebellious streak she develops in order to gain attention as the middle child of three, increase in intensity as she gets older. She's always seeking something 'more'. Men are a constant disappointment, but she can't live without them. One horrific experience changes her life, and the lives of anyone she encounters, into tabloid headlines.

Vance's obvious passion for the thriller genre is apparent through his succint and descriptive writing that has the readers as involved in the story as the characters. He takes a risk letting the reader in on the antagonist's point of view, but he balances it with logical questions, answers, and assumptions the protagonist uses while working to solve the case. He balances dialogue with narrative without wasting a word.

Author James R. Vance lives in southwest France. He wrote his first crime fiction novel, The Courier, drawing inspiration from his knowledge of London and norther France for the storyline. His second novel, Killer Butterfly, features the same two detectives. His third novel in the series, Animal Instinct, will be completed in 2009.

Killer Butterfly is an engaging thriller told in a unique fashion and a recommended read for lovers of the genre.

Available through online outlets, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and http://www.theebooksale.com/.

Title: Killer Butterfly
Author: James R. Vance

Publisher:RealTime Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-90680-674-3

Pages: 280

Price:$10.95

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - Jenny's Dream by Linda Weaver Clarke

Jenny is home from college for the summer and is feeling unsettled with her life but can't figure out exactly why.

Restless Jenny awaits news of a journalism job in Texas with eager anticipation. When not helping around the house or playing with her younger brother and sister, Jenny finds solace in a secluded field where she spends hours getting lost in books. Finding a new friend to confide in and share her dreams with, soothes Jenny's soul, but she needs to confront and accept her past before she's able to make any strides toward the dreams she has for her future.

Clarke's passion for historical subject matter shines through with solid writing which transports the reader back in time effortlessly. She has created layered characters who are empathetic, caring, and independent. The entertaining writing allows the readers to examine a moment in hitory as though they were on location with the characters. The realism with history makes reading the novel and educational experience.

Linda Weaver Clarke's first historical fiction novel, Melinda and the Wild West, was a semi-finalist for Reader Views "Reviewers Choice Award 2007." Clarke writes articles for newspapers and teaches a Family Legacy Workshop where she encourages people to write their family history and autobiographies.

Jenny's Dream, the third of five novels in the series A Family Saga in the Bear Lake Valley is a recommended read. It shares a notable lesson on how one's impressions may be tainted by one's experiences.

Title: Jenny's Dream
Author: Linda Weaver Clarke
Publisher: American Book Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-58982-446-1
Pages: 263
Price: $22.00

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - Scent of Danger by Doranna Durgin

Scent of Danger
Written by: Doranna Durgin
Fiction / Cozy Mystery
Rated: Very Good (****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Dale Kinsall has the sinking feeling that someone is in danger. Worse, that someone may be him.

While Dale deals with ongoing construction at his clinic, he starts discovering mysterious notes in the most unexpected places. The riddles seem to forewarn danger, but could be a prank. With regular worries of managing a staff and maintaining a full schedule of furry clientele, Dale wonders if his life will ever settle down again.

Dale’s best canine friend, Sully, is great at sniffing out varmints, treats, and danger, but with no particular priority to any it’s hard to know when he’s on a serious scent. While the two find time to train together for upcoming dog shows and obedience competitions, they find themselves entwined in a new mystery that has them each stretched to the limit.

Author Doranna Durgin’s newest Dale Kinsall Mystery is an entertaining and fun novel that delves further into Sully the Beagle’s life, which includes training for shows and investigating any danger his nose can sniff out. The dialogue, human and canine, adds humor and a different perspective for the reader. The author weaves veterinarian and performance sports details into this cozy mystery with such seeming ease as to educate the reader while offering the well-disguised details needed to solve the puzzle.

Doranna Durgin’s novel writing career has spanned genres and form to include over twenty novels in mystery, SF/F, action-romance, and franchise (such as “Ghost Whisperer”). She has also published numerous essays and short stories. With several new novels in the pipeline, Doranna also enjoys hanging around outside her Arizona home riding dressage on her Lipizzan and training for performance sports with her dogs.

Creative play with a dog’s point of view combined with humor and lots of heart combine to make Scent of Danger an enjoyable read for the whole family. I highly recommend this book to any cozy mystery lover interested in cuddling up with a fun, light-hearted story full of suspicious coincidences.

Scent of Danger will be available at: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and local book stores in December ‘08.

Title: Scent of Danger
Author: Doranna Durgin
Publisher: Five Star
ISBN: 978-1-59414-675-6
Pages: 279
Price: $25.95

Review - Partners Again by Arthur T. Lee

Albert McTweed has such an active imagination that PJ McDougal, his imaginary friend, actually comes to life and helps Albert with his troubles.

Albert is an intelligent young boy who lets life's experiences ooze into his drawings. He lets his imagination, in the form of a cowboy named PJ, take on a life of its own. PJ, always in precarious situations that seem to have one dreadful outcome, stays focused on the problem at hand and takes advantage of luck and common sense to save himself.

The author's dedication to entertaining his readers is as prevalent as his desire to inspire education. He includes definitions of certain words in the back of the book. The prose is descriptive and engages all of the senses. Short, tight sentences add to the unpredictable, interesting, and constantly active pace of the story. The two main characters, Albert and PJ, come alive through their vivid perceptions of their individual worlds.

Arthur T. Lee realized when he was a very young boy that writing was what he had to do. It took several school years and encouragement from teachers before he decided to embrace writing completely. Partners Again is his first novel, but several more for middle grade and young adult are in the works. Arthur is a long time advocate of increasing child and adult literacy. Arthur and his family live in the northwest.

Partners Again has something for everyone and is a recommended uplifting family read. It's a wonderful reminder of the enjoyment and power of the imagination.

Title: Partners Again
Author: Arthur T. Lee
Publisher: Nobility Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9802297-0-7
Pages: 240
Price: $9.99

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - Spun Tales by Felicia Donovan

Spun Tales
Written by: Felicia Donovan
Fiction / Mystery
Rated: Excellent (*****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Linda Jordan just needs a little more time to put the finishing touches on her newest medical thriller before submitting it to her publisher by the deadline, but life isn’t that easy.

The Black Widow Agency accepts a case involving a well-known and easily recognizable author. While trying to keep Linda Jordan secluded from fans and protected from foes while she finishes her latest novel, the Black Widows need to figure out how to deal with a required upcoming speech the author needs to give in a highly public location.

Also challenging the Black Widows is a co-worker who is continually absent and unavailable without explanation. The women balance worry with work as they struggle without their computer geek and hunt down the mysterious person or persons who don’t want the controversial medical novel manuscript to ever see print.

Author Felicia Donovan uses her computer forensics experience to create an intelligent and fun story line with women of varying skill sets (from finance to cyber geek), and ages (from twenty-something to sixty-something) righting the wrongs done to their clients. Her writing balances crime-solving with insight into the lives of the four main characters. She portrays strong women with soft sides and weaknesses.

Felicia Donovan began writing stories early on and completed her first novel before graduating high school. She became a teacher, but always felt compelled to return to the joy of writing fiction. Felicia left teaching to join a New England-based police department where she discovered the fascinating world of computer forensics. She resides in the bucolic countryside of NH with her two children and three dogs. She has a deep affection for her family, her friends, fine chocolates and well-spun tales.

Spun Tales is a wonderful continuation of the Black Widow agency series. Like the first novel, this is an engaging read. It is entertaining, suspenseful, fun, and fast paced. The four main characters are further developed and overcome new challenges. I highly recommend this novel to any mystery lover, especially those interested female leads.

Spun Tales is available through: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and local book stores. Keep an eye out for the third in this series, Fragile Webs.

Title: Spun Tales
Author: Felicia Donovan
Publisher: Midnight Ink
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1310-6
Pages: 234
Price: $13.95

Review - Freezing Point by Karen Dionne

Ben Maki is focused and determined to supply the world with fresh water before the need hits critical levels.

The technology, people, and polar cap event finally fall in line and Ben Maki is poised to realize his dream of having an endless resource provide clean drinking water to millions. Staying at the forefront of budgets and years of knowing his company’s competitor could sweep in and take credit, keeps Ben on edge.

He juggles dealing with protestors, an unsatisfied boss, and his daughter’s school science project with an unknown scientist called “Iceman.” The surprises Ben encounters continue to surprise him and cause him to question everything he’s known as truth since the inception of the project.

Debut novelist, Karen Dionne, has crafted an amazingly engaging, fast-paced novel that makes the reader wonder just how the ratio of fiction to reality plays out. The science research is woven seamlessly into the storyline, and the reader can’t help but become educated about the earth’s fresh water resources. Short chapters are filled with tight writing and no extraneous detail. Thriller writing at its best.

When Karen Dionne first moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, her indoor interests were stained glass, weaving, and constructing N-scale model train layouts. Eventually, her creativity turned to writing. Karen’s short stories have appeared in Bathtub Gin, The Adirondack Review, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine and Thought Magazine. She worked as Senior Fiction Editor before founding Backspace, an Internet-based writers’ organization. She and her husband live in Detroit’s northern suburbs.

Imagination mixed with a good dose of real science combine with a lot of answers to the ‘what if’ question to make Freezing Point an adrenaline rush from start to finish. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in an ice cold thrill ride. It feels like Perfect Stormwith ice caps instead of stormy weather. Totally engrossing.

Title: Freezing Point
Author: Karen Dionne
Publisher: Jove
ISBN: 978-0-515-14536-6
Pages: 320
Price: $7.99