Review - Whittaker Family Reunion by Shirley Roe

The Whittakers are having a family reunion in 1881 St. Louis. Can their present celebration outshine the dark family history?

Martha and Jeremy's teenage daughter, Anna, is quite a different challenge from raising three boys. The excitement about Isaac, Abraham, and Zeke coming home after several years is a welcomed distraction, but ignoring issues doesn't make them go away. Changes abound as Abraham befriends and brings young orphaned Billy into the family and Zeke's respite from England allows him to escape some attention while recapturing the eye of a love from his past.

Roe's appreciation for history is prevalent in her writing. She subtly weaves in the details of travel, expresses the challenges men and women faced at that time, and captures the overall feeling of entrepreneurship and pride as towns burgeoned across the nation.

Shirley A. Roe is the Managing Editor and founder of Allbooks Review. Her previous historical fiction includes, Of Dreams and Nightmares and A Call to Faith and Freedom. Shirley writes a syndicated column for California Chronicles and articles for several webzines and web sites. She is a regular reviewer for Foreword Magazine, Midwest Reviews, Mystique Books, Poetic Voices, and several other review publications and sites.

The Whittaker Family Reunion picks up about twenty years after the family's introduction in Of Dreams and Nightmares. The story naturally flows as the new generation's stories are shared. The Whittaker Family Reunion is a recommended read for any family member. Look for the next in the series, Back to Whittakerville, soon.

Title: The Whittaker Family Reunion
Author: Shirley A. Roe
Publisher: RealTime Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-906806-51-4
Pages: 200
Price: $15.95

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - More than Dust in the Wind by Donald James Parker

Star college basketball player Lance "Bambi" Masterson is taken by surprise when his life turns from the path he's always imagined to one full of serious introspection.

Bambi Masterson and his college team finally make it to the national basketball tournament. His future is looking bright, especially with his girlfriend, Lisa, by his side. The tide turns within hours of the great national news, and Bambi is forced to evaluate what truly matters to him.

Parker's conversational writing style makes for a relaxing and enjoyable read. The characters are relatable and the dialogue keeps pace with the narrative. The main character's growth over a thirty year span is quick, but appropriate for the theme of the book. Parker mixes accurate historical data points in to keep the reader aware of the passage of time.

Donald James Parker grew up in Madison, South Dakota. He graduated from Madison Central High School in 1968 and obtained a degree in secondary education from Dakota State University in 1972. After moving to Washington State in 1981, Don focused his writing efforts on software. After twenty-five years of IT work, Don's passion for writing flared up again and the doctors couldn't do anything to cure it, so he now pursues fiction.

More than Dust in the Wind, the second of five novels in the Masterson Family series, is a great read. It shares a lot about the tough questions one may ask himself regarding is core beliefs and how important it is to find the answers by researching, asking questions, and keeping an open mind.

Title: More than Dust in the Wind
Author: Donald James Parker
Publisher: Sword of the Spirit Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-6152-1437-5
Pages: 208
Price: $12.95

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - The Black Widow Agency by Felicia Donovan

The Black Widow Agency
Written by: Felicia Donovan
Fiction / Mystery
Rated: Very Good (****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Amber Gordon’s life is on a downward spiral. She says she was fired from her automotive engineering job and lost custody of her daughter after being framed for possession of a controlled substance.

Amber turns to the Black Widow Agency where the all-female staff is ready to help her get her life back. Each woman at the agency brings her own expertise and each is willing to jump in to this case without reservation.

The Black Widow Agency doesn’t accept any client that comes to them with a tale of woe. The client has to tell them the truth from the start and must be willing to accept methods that may seem a bit questionable. Katie, the owner, relies on a computer hacker, office manager, and financial whiz to help her develop and execute plans that will give sweet justice to their clientele.

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 (pronounced Fa-lish-a) 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.

The Black Widow Agency is an engaging read. It is entertaining, suspenseful, fun, and fast paced. The diversity of the four main characters makes their interactions down-to-earth. I highly recommend this novel to any fiction or mystery lover, especially for those interested in strong female leads.

The Black Widow Agency is available through: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and local book stores.

Title: The Black Widow Agency
Author: Felicia Donovan
Publisher: Midnight Ink
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1082-2
Pages: 234
Price: $12.95

Review - Poison Pen by Sheila Lowe

Poison Pen (a forensic handwriting mystery)
Written by: Sheila Lowe
Fiction / Mystery
Rated: Excellent (*****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Claudia Rose joins a crowd at the star-studded funeral of her former friend, Lindsey Alexander. Claudia is amazed at the GQ model pall bearers, high profile attendees looking for one more big party, and swarming paparazzi trying to capture the best photo.

Claudia, Lindsey, and Kelly had been friends in college. Claudia and Lindsey studied handwriting analysis. Claudia stuck with it while Kelly studied law and Lindsey moved into high profile public relations. Lindsey’s personal actions and behavior pushed Claudia and Kelly away, yet there was still a lingering attachment between the trio.

Claudia would love to see the suicide note found beside Lindsey’s body due to professional curiosity, but she is not involved in the investigation. She is hired by a mutual friend of Lindsey’s who suspects foul play. Claudia hesitates to get involved, but finds herself suddenly propelled into the investigation and she has no choice by to follow the myriad of disturbing clues to the life-changing conclusion.

Sheila Lowe has crafted a unique protagonist using her professional experience. Claudia Rose is an independent career woman with a tender heart, great instincts, and the ability to deal with scary situations, including romance, as they come at her. Claudia learns from past experiences and gives people the benefit of the doubt for as long as possible.

Sheila Lowe is a handwriting expert and the author of the best-selling books The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis and Handwriting of the Famous and Infamous. She is also the author of the award-winning Sheila Lowe’s Handwriting Analyzer software. A British transplant, Sheila currently lives in Ventura, CA. Poison Pen is Sheila’s first published fiction and the first in the Claudia Rose series. Learn more about the series at: http://www.claudiaroseseries.com/.

Poison Pen is a solid mystery as well as a learning experience. The reader is pulled along with the protagonist as she follows the trail of clues to their conclusion, while being privy to some insight into handwriting analysis. It’s a great pairing.

Available at: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and local book stores.

Title: Poison Pen (a forensic handwriting mystery)
Author: Sheila Lowe
Publisher: Penguin/Obsidian Mysteries
ISBN: 978-0-451-22369-2
Pages: 311
Price: $6.99

Review - Dead Witness by Joylene Nowell Butler

Dead Witness
Written by: Joylene Nowell Butler
Fiction / Suspense / Thriller
Rated: Very Good (****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Valerie McCormick is combining a solo all-expense paid dream trip to Seattle with business, while her family is at home in Canada. Her trip takes a life-altering turn when she accidentally witnesses two murders.

Valerie realizes how alone she is when the murderers give chase to silence her. She is unfamiliar with the area and panics even more when she realizes what she dropped. Her inner need for self-preservation to stay alive and get home to her kids keeps her alive. She wrestles with her conscience about what to do about what she saw. It’s her personal family history that helps her make the tough decision and it might not be the safest one.

Learning she witnessed the murder of two FBI agents does nothing to soothe Valerie’s nerves as she makes her way home and tries to keep the graphic images out of her mind. With her brother’s unwavering support, she focuses on the family lumber business and raising her three daughters.

Joylene Butler’s protagonist is a ‘real person’ – a mother, wife, and co-owner of a family business – but it’s the exceptionally crafted, extreme circumstances Butler devises for the protagonist that yank the reader into the prose and keep eyes focused on the pages. Butler’s research is seamlessly written to make the story move along as quickly as the action. The tight, descriptive writing makes the characters seem like they are on a movie screen and not mere text in a book.

Joylene Nowell Butler was born in Manitoba, Canada, grew up in Haney, and raised her sons in Pr. George, BC. She and her husband built and now live in a cottage on Cluculz Lake. The jury is out whether they'll retire there or not, but it’s where Joylene is currently at work on her sixth novel. Check out her blog at: http://cluculzwriter.blogspot.com/.

Dead Witness is a true suspense novel. The reader naturally tries to anticipate where the story is going, but Butler has a surprise around every corner. If you enjoy thrillers or suspense, this book does not disappoint. The novel is a literal page turner if you focus on the story and overlook any editorial issues. Butler is a name to watch in the thriller genre.

Available at: http://www.lulu.com/.

Title: Dead Witness
Author: Joylene Nowell Butler
Publisher: Lulu Press
ISBN: 978-0-9810-3050-0
Pages: 282
Price: $19.95

Review - Honor of a Hunter by Sylvie Kurtz

Honor of a Hunter
Written by: Sylvie Kurtz
Romantic Suspense
Rated: Very Good (****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Faith Byrne has everything money can buy and is determined to be successful in her father’s eyes. Noah Kingsley is great with computers and hasn’t been in love since a brief teenage romance with a woman out of his league.

When Faith discovers someone has been in her secure high-rise condo she calls Noah for comfort. Noah is content with his position in Seekers, Inc. in New Hampshire since it involves adventure, catching bad guys, and at the end of the day he can relax in his country home. The early morning phone call from Seattle evokes numerous emotions, but Noah doesn’t hesitate to hop a plane and rush to protect his best friend.

Noah knows how to use technology to track Faith’s stalker, but her need to keep her obsessive work schedule and be seen in the office stretches Noah’s skills to the limit. Faith wants the stalker identified so she can confront him and show that she is in control of her life. Yet eventually, she realizes the only way to hang on is to let go completely.

As with all her prior novels, Sylvie Kurtz has created unique characters with interesting lives. Her writing brings the characters off the page so they seem like friends. Her strong male and female protagonists have vulnerabilities they try to hide and intense heartfelt emotions they try to intellectualize. The writing is solid and the suspense builds in increments that leave the reader as emotionally involved as the heroine.

Sylvie Kurtz earned her commercial pilot’s license and instrument rating but has since traded an airplane for a keyboard, where she lets her imagination soar to create fictional adventures that explore the power of love and the thrill of suspense. When not writing, she enjoys the outdoors with her family, quilt-making, and photography. For more information on all of her published works, check out her website at http://www.sylviekurtz.com/.

Honor of a Hunter is an engaging read. Readers of romance or suspense will be pulled in by the characters and pulled along by the continuous change of circumstances.

Available at: http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bn.com/, other online outlets, and in local bookstores.

Title: Honor of a Hunter
Author: Sylvie Kurtz
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 978-0-373-69295-8
Pages: 240
Price: $4.99

Owen Fiddler is here!

Mr. Fiddler, thank you for stopping by my humble blog today.
(Owen – nods acknowledgement, puts out his cigarette, takes a seat) – Pleasure Ma’am, Lisa.

How’s everything going for you lately?
How’s it all going? Oh, ‘bout the same as usual, I guess. Nothin’ ever goes too well for me, and even though I complain a lot about it, it don’t seem to help none.

How are you enjoying all these VBT visits?
VBT? What the h- … oh, that’s one o’ them ackernims, right? Lemme guess, ah – Virtual. Blog … Tour? He he, see, I ain’t stupid. Well, I’d haveta say it’s been JFD!

JFD? I’m sorry?
Just (bleep)in’ Ducky!

(wide-eyed, swallow a gasp and cover my mouth with my hand) – Mr. Fiddler, I have to remind you this is a family friendly …
(Owen’s cell phone rings. He flips it open, listens for a second, then hangs up with a crimson-faced chagrin) – Sorry, Ma’am, that was Marvin, the author of my biography. He was royally PO’d, told me to mind my language or else. Sorry, didn’t realize we had kids an’ folks with virgin ears ‘n all that listenin’ in. My bad.

Well, okay, no harm, really – thanks for your consideration. Was it your idea to do a VBT in order to save gas and trees? No sarcasm meant, that’s a sincere question. I think it’s a great way to meet folks.
Nah, that’s all Marvin Wilson’s idea. He’s got all these marketing ideas, and he’s one o’ them ecological-minded kinda guys, y’know. OWEN FIDDLER is out now in trade paperback, but before that he put out our book in Ebook format for people who like to think they can save the world by singin’ Kumbaya ‘n all that new age warm ‘n fuzzy (bleep) – ACH! Darn – sorry, Ma’am. Anyways, the No Dead Trees Cyber Tour, it’s just a long drawn out cutsie way of sayin’ we’re doin’ this internet marketing thing right now, you know.

How are things with you and Kris?
Huh? Kris? Oh, oh, oh … yeah, Marvin tells me there’s some spooky crap gonna happen to me – gonna have some out-of-body spiritual experience, meet some deity called Kris or some crap – all that kind of talk gives me the creepy-crawlies. Me, I wish he’d just wrote the ending with me winning the Super Lotto. That’d be my idea of a happy ending.

Marvin has been darn good to you with introducing you to folks and getting you all sorts of publicity. Have you ever let him know you appreciate him? How?
Well, I’m sittin’ here not smoking, no drink in my hand, talking myself blue in the face, mindin’ my P’s & Q’s, ‘n been doin’ this for weeks now, just so’s he can sell him a bunch o’ books, so that’s my way of sayin’ thanks. Not like I owe him or nobody nothing. This thing takes off, I want my share of the profits, too.

What’s your take on the recent nationwide salmonella scare with tomatoes? Did it affect your eating habits at all?
Salma-who? Ah, I don’t read the news, much – it’s always bad stuff, anyways. I don’t get sick much – except for in the head (laughs) – but, no, I ain’t changed my eatin’ habits none at all. Salmonella, huh? Watch – betcha they find some way to raise the gas prices over that stupid (bleep). Dang! (slaps his cheek) Sorry again, Lisa.

No problem, we’ve got a 5 second tape delay for quick zap-edits. You’re doing fine. So -what’s a typical day in the life of Owen?
Get up, throw up, shake off a hangover, take a cold shower, eat somethin’ easy to fix, drag my a-, I mean, my butt off to work, suffer through another meaningless day, try an’ not commit murder dealing with my boss ‘n the idiots I work with, then head to the bar so’s I can tie one on and see if I can’t score me some – ah, well … you know. Then get up the next day and start the same old crap over again. Repeat this cycle ad infinitum, ad nauseum. That’s pretty much my life.

How’d Father’s Day go for you? I’m guessing you might have felt a little down. Maybe you sat and reflected on your past and made some great plans for the future? I’m just guessing.
Great plans? Yeah, right – that’s a good one. Nah, Father’s Day is just another lonely day. Did get to at least talk to my daughter, Frenda, though. She’s been tryin’ to get to know me better here lately, now that she’s grown an’ out on her own. That’s the one and only bright spot in my life, my baby girl Frenda. She’s really somethin’ special. Total opposite of me, a real angel. I lost out on raisin’ her for most of her life, my ex took her away from me in the divorce. Took her and everything else I had, that (bleep) – oops.

So you’re 45 and feeling old, I hear. How do you feel about the idea that maybe you’re only half-way through life?
The glass is half empty, an’ I don’t see no refills coming.

Got any big plans for the next 40 years? Well, other than sleeping with every woman on the planet, that is. But I must say that’s quite a goal – does that include married women? Or just the single ones 18 and over?
Oh, you read that in one of my earlier interviews, eh? I was just kidding, kind of - but not really … well, maybe. I like sex. Can’t seem to keep a wife, so I takes it when I can get it, y’know? I like catchin’ panties off-guard, makes me feel good for a little bit. And, yeah, if a woman’s married an’ still lookin’ – who’m I to tell her no? (laughs).

Mr. Fiddler, hypothetically, if I told you I saw a man drop his wallet the other day and that I picked it up and was going to return it, but then noticed how full of cash it was and so I kept the wallet and the cash…what’s your advice? Should I turn it in to the police?
Hell, no! If you’re gonna turn it in anyway, give it to me! Here’s my number – call me! What’re ya, nuts?

If humans start populating another planet, would you want to go into outer space and settle a new colony?
Jeez, now there’s a scary idea – Owen Fiddler in outer space! I dunno, maybe it’d be a good idea. Maybe there’s another world where Murphy’s Laws don’t apply – where God takes care of poor schmucks like me – where a guy can get a decent break without havin’ to bust his (bleep) for it all the time and then STILL not get a fair shake. Find me a planet or some world like that? I’m THERE, baby!

Do you like chocolate, Mr. Fiddler? How about jelly beans?
Huh? Weird. Ahm, okay, I like chocolate, and I don’t like jelly beans. Ya wanna know my favorite color, too? (shakes his head and snickers)

Thank you for your time, today, I’m sure you’ve made a lasting impression on any visitors to my blog. I wish you well in your travels!
Been my pleasure, Lisa. ‘N thanks for havin’ me on. Hey, if your readers wanna visit with me and communicate, I got a myspace at: www.myspace.com/owen_fiddler. If they want to get a copy of my book, it’s available at: http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.cambridgebooks.us/ and also at your favorite bookstore. The book info site is at: http://www.owenfiddler.com/
(Phone rings) Opps, excuse me (Owen answers, listens, hangs up) Sorry, that was Marvin Wilson – he wants me to let everyone know that he LOVES getting emails from his readers, you can reach him at: marvwilson2010@gmail.com – and his myspace is: www.myspace.com/Paize_Fiddler. Oh, and yeah – make sure and leave a comment on today’s blog. He’s giving away a free first chapter sample of OWEN FIDDLER to anyone who leaves a comment, and that also makes you eligible for a drawing – one person will get a free paperback copy of the book at the end of the tour – just after the 4th of July.
(Owen gets up, pulls out his smokes) Well, I guess that’s about it. It’s been real - thanks again, Lisa!